Mikey, the man with the atom tattoo

Painted as part of Hit the North 2023 with Hennessy

The artist says...

Being given such a picturesque spot in Belfast, I wanted to paint a portrait that related to my history in graffiti. I spent some of the most fun and hectic times in Bristol, living and painting with a small crew, Mikey was one of those people. We had a tight friendship and all pushed each other artistically, this was the time where my love of graffiti and all painting really developed. 

Mikey is pictured here in a freight train yard. We used to regularly check our local spot looking for the best freights at the time, the EWS. One night we caught them sat on the platform and spent around 10 minutes there. The platform was always the dream as these were big panels and you could just about reach the top of the car from the platform. After leaving the spot and keeping an eye on the train for the next half hour we decided to get more paint and go back to paint a full colour whole car. We got about half way through before the train slowly started to pull away, never to be caught again. Years later I saw photos of it running up north. 

Mikey later became a tattoo artist which is the perfect fit for the work he makes, I remember him always having a sketchbook with him filled with incredible illustrations. This man is a true artist, and one of the greatest naturally gifted illustrators I have ever known. 

During our shoot I asked him about his tattoos and he told me “the roses are Mackintosh, the pen is a pen and the atom is for energy, good energy innit”

@voyder