PlaygroundxMag Present: Diana Acosta

Diana Acosta, tattoo artist born in Panorama, CA who grew up in Palmdale,

Tells us about her come up as an artist. Inspired by her fascination with cursive writing, at the age of 5 she would get a piece of paper and trace the hand writing on the letters she received from her uncle,who was in prison at the time. Along with graffiti and the uprise of LA Ink, Diana began tattooing at a young age. She says, “Since i drew on everyone in class, and my dad had mentioned i should probably get into tattooing and i would be good at it.” Using the money from her 15th birthday she purchased her first tattoo kit. At the age of 15, Diana began working at a tattoo shop cleaning up and earning her way to begin tattooing. When we asked her if she remembers the first tattoo she did she goes on to say, “Yeah, it wasn’t as bad as the first time tattooing in front of a big crowd. That felt like the first time for everything.” The first tattoo was a coy fish that she had done on her cousin who had got her into the shop. Her first time tattooing at the shop, surrounded by a crowd of people, she specifically remembers hearing a girl in the background say, “she’s going to fuck up.” A lot of her early work was fixing up old prison tattoos for free but gave her plenty of practice hours. Although tattooing for hours for free wasn’t something she always liked, the prison work tattoos later became part of her west coast style. Before asking about her style of tattooing we asked her if she had any artists that inspire her or have an influence on her. She says that she has many people that inspire her like Nikko Hurtado, not because of the style but because its great work. She hasn’t yet found her favorite tattoo artist.

With five shops on her resume, Diana has an understanding of the professional environment she wants to be in. In a male dominate profession, Diana talks about the frustration it causes. “Being a female, obviously I have to prove my point, not only that I take my job seriously…it’s something that I’m really passionate about, just as they are, if not more.” Although she gets tested by the males in the profession, she continues to hold her ground.

When it comes to being an artist, growth and branching out seems to always come along with perfecting a craft. We asked Diana if there was anything she’s picked up besides tattooing. Photography, painting, and air brushing came up in conversation. “I think I take pretty good pictures…i would see something and want to take a picture of it because I would want to go back and draw it.” In the conversation of upcoming projects, Diana tells us she wants to get a clothing line going, “If people are willing to get my art tattooed on them and hang my art on their wall, why not wear it…I’m kind of more like a movement other than just a clothing brand.” She has the desire to expand herself through this movement, be able to support her hobbies, and lead up to hopefully opening her own business.

With a young artist like herself, we can see the motivation and passion Diana has for her art. She is someone we are looking forward to seeing expand on her journey to accomplishing her goals, along with the growth of her movement.

“Follow Diana Acosta On Instagram: @ds_tattoo”

Shots By: DannyD