Meet Enkayia Parra

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Enkayia Parra. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Enkayia below.

Enkayia, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

I didn’t. It found me. Like many young adults out there, I used to rack my brain and beat myself up over “needing” to find my career. If it weren’t for the series of events that transpired in my life, I would have never become a Tattoo Artist. Eventually, I would have never met artists that taught me to paint. I would have never ever been a Photographer. I believe that all the paths in life lead to where a person needs to be in that specific point in their life. Even the bitter moments build a better person. If I could talk to my younger self I’d tell him to start tattooing early. But more importantly, I would tell him to relax and let things flow.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

Have you ever heard of the phrase “Jack of all trades. Master of none”? Well that’s not me. I don’t like that phrase. I would hate to be described that way. I think it’s a little pretentious and sounds like theres an artistic dead-end in their somewhere. I bring it up because I curently tattoo, paint and do photography. I feel like I do well in each of those areas, but I’m definitely not a jack of all trades. If I was to describe myself, I would maybe rephrase that whole thing to say: “Capable Multi-artist. Growing through exploration. ”
I have been a tattooing for 18 years now (started in Feb 2007). While tattooing, I started painting around 2012, (because of certain people I met along the way) and eventually I started doing Photography, post Covid 2021 (I believe).
I don’t think Im done growing in those 3 areas either! But I certainly don’t have the mental bandwidth to entertain the notion of “all trades”. I might explore another creative medium one day, but never “all trades”, I just dont have the time. As for the “Master of none” part? Who wants to be a master anyway? Why not focus on having fun instead? I appreciate the humble undertones but reaching the end of any learning journey must truly suck.
I’m done tearing down the phrase now. I feel better (haha).
Like I said in the beginning, Im a capable multi-artist. Growing through exploration and most of all, having fun. I think that is truly what sets me apart from others. I believe when an artist is truly invested in their work without being tied down to an expection or pressure, you are then able to shine and do your best work. Letting creativity flow.
With Tattooing for example, I focus on taking a client’s vision and making their idea into a tattoo-able format/composition. I work at Inception Tattoos in San Antonio Tx and we are primarily a custom tattoo shop. In other words, we make custom art for our clients. We literally take your ideas/inspiration and create something unique tailored to you, our client.
With photography on the other hand, I mainly do concerts and events. But my main focus is to give the the viewer the impression that they are there in person. In essence a photograph is a moment Frozen in time. I want the viewer to feel like they are seeing what I am seeing, POV Style. But with a little dramatized lighting here and there. Not to mention bold and bright colors.
Painting, however, is when things get a little bit more personal. I wait for the artistic Muse to come to me. I do not like to paint unless I truly feel the fire inside. Unless a person commissions me to make a painting. Their excitement is the source of my muse and drive. But when the painting is for me and my own enjoyment. I tend to pour myself completely into these projects, and as a result, those kinds of paintings take longer. But they are worth it. It feels like I can finally breathe when they are done.
I live and breath art daily. If I don’t create. I don’t eat.
Other than that. When I’m not doing anything creative or when I like to decompress and get rid of burnout/artist block. I like to ride my motorcycle from time to time.

I occasionally donate to Children’s charities as well. Mostly on special occasions like holidays or even my birthday. I just feel compelled to get back because who knows, I might be helping a future artist. In a perfect world, If I was rich or famous, I would donate anonymously and I would live in an ordinary looking house. I would still paint, tattoo, and do photography. But I would just be a little bit more picky with the projects that I take on.

If you want to keep up with what I am doing. Please follow me on Instagram @enkayia
You can also catch me doing photography, from time to time, for @bewitchedsatx

I don’t just do concert photography. I also do sweet 16s and weddings. I am currently collaborating with a makeup artist and I am offering a full package with a free makeup session for the photo shoot and/or event.

I currently don’t do studio photography but I want to expand and have a dedicated Studio one day. I will definitely announce when I get the equipment together and a dedicated space.

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?

As soon as you get the hang of the fundamentals and technique…. whatever it is you are trying to do as an artist…. I think the three main things you should focus on is:
●being positive,
●having great people skills, (Don’t be inside your head. Don’t be an introvert.)
But most important of all,
●please take care of your mind/ your body. Self care is the best thing you can do for yourself in any profession.

For positivity. Align and Associate yourself with like-minded possitive/successful individuals. Slowly distance yourself from pessimists. Misery loves company and negative people will only bring you down.

For developing people skills. Read a book on the subject. Practice. Go out there and make small talk with people in public. Don’t try to sell them anything. Just live in the moment and have a pleasant conversation until engaging with others is second nature to you. If anything. Make your daily goal to make someone smile.

For self-care. Take a day off. If something is weighing heavily on your mind, Go speak to a psychologist or a counselor. Slow down and smell the flowers. Do a lot of introspection. More often than not, we suffer more in our minds and our imagination, than we do in reality. Take a vacation… whether that is physically, spiritually, or mentally. Just take care of yourself. But most importantly. Love yourself.

How would you describe your ideal client?

For tattoo clients.
It would have to be someone who has good hygiene practices. Because that would tell me that they would do a great job at taking care of their new tattoo and I won’t need to worry about a possible infection. This will also be a person who comes prepared with a sense of direction or inspiration. But they trust me 100% and have faith in my artistic interpretation of their idea. They look at my work as a collector. Not just a little rinky dinky tattoo.
The ideal painting client is similar. Although that person doesn’t need to have any kind of hygiene. I will appreciate it if they would pass down my paintings as some kind of family heirloom. That way I’m not turning in my grave because my hard work ended up in an attic collecting dust. I want future people to know that I existed and that so much love/effort went into the painting that they are looking at.

With photography. It gets a little tricky.

The ideal event scenario for concert photography would be to have access to the best spots in the crowd so I can get the best shots. It would also be a friendly crowd that is not trying to kill me and can keep their hands to themselves. Also the music artist that I am shooting will be fun to look at and not just standing around with their instrument. That way I can focus on capturing motion. Makes for more interesting photographs after all.

With photography as it pertains to events like weddings or sweet 16s.
The ideal client for that would be someone who isn’t trying to micromanage me and they can have faith in me to let me capture the best moments of their event. An itinerary or some kind of event schedule would help a lot. Because then I can plan my shots and know where I need to be to capture those moments.

When it comes to shooting with models. The ideal scenario would be to work with models who know their angles and their poses. But also people who are open to new ideas. No Divas or bad attitudes essentially.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://inceptiontattoos.com/enkayia
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/enkayia
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tattoosbyenkayia