TAMPA, Fla. -- With tattoo shops shuttered for the time being, Mike Traina is finding another way to make a living and showcase his creative side with the help of new Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady.
“In this piece, I had to create him in an old school Buc jersey,” Traina said.
The ink has run dry for for Traina’s Art District, Inc. business.
“The tattoo business had to totally shutdown, I’m just trying.”
The raging coronavirus pandemic and Florida's safer-at-home orders closed down his shop.
“That’s my bread and butter for the past eight, nine years,” he said.
No longer injecting inky art on his clients' hides, Traina pivots to painting after receiving a portrait request for Brady.
“Once the tattoo business opens back up, I think we will do a lot of tattoos of Tom Brady, but he's the man,” Traina said. “He is the best, other than Aaron Rodgers.”
Phase one of the Brady artwork is the paint. That’s done in his studio. Phase two, must be done outside in his back yard. Traina lights up the edges with a blow torch.
“It’s a little nerve-racking,” he said. “You spend all this time painting this picture, then we’re going to light it on fire.”
The the old Bucco Bruce Buccaneers logo on Brady’s helmet, the crisp edges play to the Gasparilla theme.
“It’s probably not what most artists have in mind when they’re painting something,” Traina added.
In this time of uncertainty, this packers fans is trying to stay positive and creative. and hoping we all come out of this like Brady.
“He’s a winner,” Traina said.
