Meet Cyan Townley

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Cyan Townley a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Cyan, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?

For me personally, it took a lot of work and time for confidence to join me in my work. A huge help was my clientele who lifted me up every step of the way. I found myself loving being able to talk to people, learn their stories, and be able to give THEM confidence through my artwork. It’s the most fulfilling thing I’ve ever done in my life and I never want to stop. In short I’d say that my confidence was mainly built up by my clients, and also by my amazing close circle of support made by friends and family. They’ve always given me the courage to try new things.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I am a tattoo artist at Exile Tattoo in Olympia, WA. I am absolutely in love with what I do, and I feel extremely privileged to be able to tattoo every day around other amazing tattoo artists. It’s a somewhat difficult industry to get into, and even harder to learn. Hell, I’ll never stop learning in this industry, but that’s what I love about it. It’s ever changing, and there are always new clients who bring amazing ideas that I enjoy bringing to life. I’ll never get tired of seeing that happiness I can bring through my art, and I never want to stop. Even though tattoos are our main source of income, being artists gives us the urge to keep creating even if it doesn’t relate to tattoos. We always have art, stickers, t-shirts, etc.. for sale and always appreciate the extra boost when people want to purchase those things from us.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

I think the main things to keep in mind whether you’re first starting out or you’ve been tattooing for years is: Always keep learning from those around you no matter how much experience you have. The instant you close yourself off from learning more is the moment your career ends. Always keep humility at the forefront of your mind, and never forget where you started. Your clients, friends, etc are your main supports to your career, and if you hold your ego higher than anything else. You will crash sooner or later, and you may no longer have those other supports. Your clients allow you the privilege to create full time. Appreciate them, work with them, get to know them. It’s the most rewarding part of the job

How would you describe your ideal client?

My ideal client would be someone who has already seen my work/style, has a general idea of what they want, and are willing to sit down with me and brainstorm specifics and logistics. Some of my best work has come from heavy collaboration and communication with my clients to make pieces we are both insanely proud of.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://venue.ink/@townleycyan
• Instagram: @townleycyan
• Other: @exiletattoo

  exileolympia.com