About Finley

Finley got their start tattooing at 19 years old in their college dorms at San Francisco State University. He bought a cheap coil machine from the internet, and after a few weeks of tattooing the 30+ lemons his roommate brought from their parents' place in Santa Cruz, he started inking up himself and his friends. Though theirs is not the typical or recommended route, Finley has never been one to pursue his goals traditionally, especially when faced with an industry that can be highly exploitative and toxically masculine.

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His beginning tattoos weren't bad, and the encouragement of their friends left an important impression that kept him interested in improving their skills. When they moved home with their family to Santa Clarita for quarantine, they tucked away their new hobby from their Jewish household. 

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Eventually, they admitted to pursuing this culturally debated art form, and their parents eventually came around to the idea—especially when he started to make money. He invested in nicer supplies and worked his way to where he is now, tattooing out of home studios and at small events until his friend and fellow artist Silly Goose Tattoos landed him a spot at Studio Noir in Oakland, where he has been working and steadily improving since 2023. They are almost entirely self-taught, aside from a few classes provided by Studio Noir to help the new artists learn some valuable skills. This has led to challenges considering he had not had any formal art education since the Intro to Art class he took in 7th grade. Yet, with 5 years of mistakes, growth, and observation via getting tattooed, Finley developed the skills that they utilize today.

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Finley considers themself a chaos artist—outside of tattooing he plays with a variety of mediums to create unique and odd artwork. His style ranges from cartoon to illustrative, and he is always trying out new styles and ideas. He prides himself on his clean linework and shading and being able to whip up a walk-in design fast, and works to be the “jack of all trades” in the studio, able to tackle any project brought to them.

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Finley also aims to create more sculptures and mixed media pieces that he can show in galleries. He hopes to make a cohesive series that he can display in their own gallery at some point and even work to collaborate with other artists to do bigger projects and events.