Today we’d like to introduce you to Aaron Ladd Finnin.
Aaron Ladd, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I was born in Baton Rouge Louisiana and grew up in Dallas Texas. I went to Lake Highlands Highschool and Southern Methodist University and then I met Oliver Peck! Since then it’s been a wild ride! I spent ten years tour managing and traveling the world with two bands Matchbook Romance and The All-American Rejects. In 2011 Oliver and I became business partners in Hollywood at True Tattoo and that same year he started as a judge on the now hit television series Ink Master on Paramount Network.
When I wasn’t on tour I would spend my free time getting tattooed by Oliver at Elm Street Tattoo art traveling back and forth with him to Classic Tattoo in Fullerton Ca. This began a strong bond of friendship and business and by 2005 I took Oliver on his first band tour to tattoo, the Vans Warped Tour. This was a pivotal point in our friendship. We knew we traveled well together and rock n roll and tattoos naturally fit and by 2013 I was full time managing Oliver.
Fast forward to today! I am still managing Oliver and the ride is wilder than ever! Oliver and Dean Williams have made their mark on Deep Ellum owning Elm Street Tattoo, Heart and Hand Gallery and opening soon Tiki Loco, a Vegan Taco and Pizza shop serving White Rock Coffee, smoothies Fresh Press juices and shaved Ice all three on Elm Street. It’s all been pretty organic for them and I am fortunate to be on the outside of their businesses while being a part of the Elm Street Tattoo Family.
Bringing all this together can be summed up in Friendship, Community, and Art. In 2012 I was hit and run by a 15-passenger van in Los Angeles. A group of my friends helped me out financially after the accident and it left a huge mark on me to want to give back. Out of that accident came a charity called True South Relief Fund, a 501c3 charity that helps people after major motorcycle accidents with non-medical financial needs. The idea is pretty basic. Friends helping friends. The art community and more specifically the tattoo community has been the main support system for True South. We put on art shows from donated art & sell T-shirts & printed goods to help raise the funds needed to help those that have been in major accidents.
Community is key. I’ve learned over the years how pivotal community is for growth. Struggle and success go hand and hand and the art community has provided the most amazing experience through these struggles. Each a story…a new friend…miles traveled…lessons learned and hopefully a smile shared with good friends!!!
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
Managing artists over the last 15 years has allowed me the opportunity to observe and become friends with so many amazingly talented musicians, writers, photographers, painters, tattooers etc. More specifically Oliver Peck opened an endless network of artists to me. He is a master of graphic and iconic art and composition. He can take any image and break it down and put it back together better than before. His process of taking something, breaking it down and recreating into a perfect image blows me away every time. While I cannot do this on paper in the form of drawing, it has helped develop what I look for in photographing subjects. It has taken me years to find my own voice among these master artists, and Photography resonates with me the most. The repetition strikes a chord within me. My friends will tell u I’m always taking photos nonstop.
I find beauty in the repetition and discovery of subtle differences in images. I see a photo in my head before I actually take a picture. Once I begin to frame the shot that’s where the magic begins. The subject I’m shooting comes to life in so many different ways just by changing my view point, angles, focus, etc. This for me is electric. Going from the picture in my head to a tangible image on film or screen excites me every time. I take a lot of lifestyle shots of my friends in their natural environments. I never really enjoyed studio work.
I like shooting my surroundings. It helps that I am always traveling and around creative people. Once I’m in an interesting environment I can’t help but start shooting. In fact, I think it’s all the interesting people and places I have traveled to and seen that made me start shooting so much. It was easier for me to have pictures to aid in my story telling of these adventures. I hope people feel like they are a fly on the wall when they see my pictures. I love capturing the emotion of a moment and being able to show this to others.
What do you think it takes to be successful as an artist?
Success comes from hard work and repetition. I believe talent is way overrated. Real success takes countless hours of dedication, deletion, messing up, fixing, reworking, and friends. As an artist I believe community is key. Community helps develop so much in the way of how your success is shaped. I mean how else do u get other opinions that matter!? with community you can learn the tricks others have in their bags. I always say “the best artists have the biggest bag of tricks.” Meaning no man is an island…you learn from others, and through others you can refine, shape, breakdown, and rebuild. There is so much accountability in opening yourself to the critique of others. I find my fellow artist friends keep me motivated to do more all the time. I also find their success and failures very motivating to my own output and efforts. It’s hard to slowdown if your friends are always pushing you.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
I am currently working on a series called Two Months A Week. I started a second Instagram for this project after a discussion with my close friend and artist, Luke Wessman. I couldn’t decide how to separate my personal story from my photographs and he suggested starting a separate page to showcase my vision, and @twomonthsaweek was born. Two months a week is the rate at which my friends and I live. Literally, we never stop. You can see the base of my vision on Instagram and Facebook (@twomonthsaweek). The goal of the project is to deliver a photo editorial Lifestyle Magazine and series of books showcasing my friends & master level tradesmen and women. Basically, the world through my eyes and a couple other photographer friends. One being Gray Wilcox, a master in photography and stop motion computer graphics.
Contact Info:
- Address: Aaron Finnin Anchor Screen Printing
4035 Cresthill Rd Dallas tx 75227 - Website: www.truesouth222.org
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: twomonthsaweek and texasbydeath_true
- Facebook: texasbydeath
Image Credit:
Pic Of Me for main pic…by Gray Wilcox www.graylikethecolor.com
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