Alex McWatt

It all began the winter of 1973 in upstate New York. Alex McWatt began life, grabbing the world by its short hairs and giving it the proverbial yank. McWatt spent all the waking hours of his youth scribbling on anything he could get his hands on in an attempt to brighten up the rotten tainted hellish honeycomb of woe called life. His affinity for marking up natural materials began with wood as a child—he unabashedly carved his name into any wooden furniture within his reach.

As he grew older, McWatt discovered a new tool for expression in a small aerosol can. He introduced himself to the world by spray painting his name and assorted imaginary friends on walls far and wide, from New York City to London, Yokohama, and California. His experiential insights into the underground cultures of graffiti, skateboarding, and punk rock music converged when he discovered his calling as a professional tattoo artist.

The progression toward marking up flesh was a natural one. Fortuitously in the summer of 1999, McWatt began as an apprentice at Fly Rite Studios in Brooklyn under the tutelage of Elio Espana. After 2 arduous years of training himself how to see properly, he began his career as a professional tattooer to much acclaim. Since then his designs and artwork can be found not only on people’s flesh but also on skateboards, T- shirts, in publications, movies, and numerous gallery walls around New York City.

After respectful tenures at Fly Rite and TrueBlue Tattoo in Queens lasting almost 8 years, McWatt opened Three Kings Tattoo with partners Vincent Signorelli and tattooer Mattie No Times in 2008. A welcome addition to the Brooklyn tattoo scene, Three Kings has come into a character of its own—the rare authenticity of a classic street shop combined with boutique originality found only in custom shops. Most recently, Three Kings established sister company Empire City Press, a new publishing company responsible for the annual Tattoo flash calendar that features original artwork from tattoo artists around the world. McWatt currently holds sessions by appointment only at Three Kings Tattoo in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.