June Artist Sticker - Onnie O'leary

Introducing our June 2026 Artist Sticker: Onnie O'leary! Onnie is currently tattooing out of Lighthouse Tattoo in Sydney. If you don't recognise her name already, you would recognise her brightly coloured pin-up style tattoos, using geometric shapes to frame some very erotic figures. We are so thankful and honoured that Onnie worked with us bringing a beautiful design that will be in orders throughout the month of June. We prepared a few questions for Onnie, let's see what's up.

Song that's been on repeat lately?

All Good Things (Come To An End) by Nelly Furtado.

Do you have any pets?

Sadly not these days, we do have a rat in the back alley I hear at night, does that count?

Go-to drink order at a bar and/or cafe?

At the bar: something with Mezcal. At the cafe, it's a long black.

What or who got you into tattooing? What was the moment that clicked and it was like "I really want to tattoo"?

I went to a local life drawing class and met Nat's What I Reckon long before he was famous. He was tattooing and offered me an apprenticeship when he saw my sketchbook, and the rest is history.

What was the first studio you started in?

The first real studio I worked at was Motor Ink on the Jonge Roelensteeg in Amsterdam.

Tell us about your art background, what types of mediums did you begin with?

Crayons and paper like everyone else! I've been drawing since I was a kid, so crayons, Crayola textas, ballpoint pen, scrap paper, then the worst acrylics you can imagine, and then finally after art school some oils, and now I really love watercolours and Procreate. But the materials don't matter, it's all about how you see and what you want to create.

How have you found posting your work on Instagram? Have you had any trouble with the platform censoring?

Oh yeah, it's a constant battle to stay ahead of the censors, but as much as they say they apply the rules consistently across the board, they absolutely don't, and having a lot of followers will give you huge allowances.

Also related to Instagram, as your work is very popular and therefore your reach is much higher than the average joe, do you receive any hate? What's your response if you have one, and what do you recommend for artists receiving hate on their posts?

I work really hard to foster an enthusiastic and welcoming environment around my work, so I don't get as much hate as you might imagine. If anyone makes a mean comment about me personally I'll try and have a nice conversation because it's great for engagement, but if anyone says something disparaging about my clients or their bodies I delete those comments and message the person privately to ask them to consider what they're saying and why. Usually a polite conversation is enough to come to an understanding. People usually just lash out when something is going on in their life, so I try not to take it too personally.

Is there a place for AI in tattooing?

AI is a hugely unethical and shitty invention that mainly relies on human labour masquerading as machine (look up the mechanical Turk to see the first instance of this, hundreds of years before AI). Where it's useful in tattooing is for clients to use to be able to visualise and describe what they want, but you could really easily achieve this with a quick sketch with paper and pencil. AI is probably not going anywhere because humans are creatures of convenience, and as unethical and faulty as AI is, it is convenient. But you're trading convenience for your soul.

What's one thing you see young tattooists doing in the industry that's wrong, and what should they be doing?

Not learning their history.

What's one of your most crazy tattoo stories?

Oh my god, I've got so many! If you come and get tattooed I'll tell you them all. I once got flown to Palm Springs, California by this incredible German couple who built a tattoo studio in their house for me to work out of. They each got a bunch of tattoos from me, and their neighbour thought they were building a sex room!

What's the reason behind having your identity hidden?

My work is really sexual, so it's nice to have some distance between my public and private personas. A lot of people just assume I'm a man, which is great because I got a lot less unsolicited dick pics that way. It's also great to be able to get a read on people and how they treat you before they realise you're a hot shot tattooer. When I started in the 2010s there was so much derision for female artists who were perceived as using their body for attention, and I didn't want to be attacked for that, so I just kept it out of the equation.

What's your favourite (WOOPS, FORGOT THE REST OF THAT)

Haha, I feel like I might be missing the end of this question, but I'll answer anyway. My favourite food is boscaiola, ideally with tri-coloured pasta like Mum makes.

How did "CENSORED! Solo Exhibition" come about? What are some things people don't realise go into putting together a solo exhibition?

I met Tom Simmo through a Tiliqua Tiliqua exhibition and learned about their studio collective and that they had space for an upcoming show, so I applied and got in. The space was on Parramatta Rd, so it had a big window in the front that could be seen from the street and the footpath at all times, so I thought I could play around with the line between exhibitionism and censorship in real life instead of on the internet. I'm really interested in how we're denied access to certain kinds of art or content, both IRL and online, and working out how to get around those barriers. I don't think external censorship is a good thing, but ideally I think we should all have a level of self censorship to care for and protect some audiences.

Do you have some advice for up-and-coming tattoo artists going through their apprenticeship, and how to find their own unique, recognisable style?

If you're not all in, don't bother, there's too many tattooers now for there to be tourists. If you're more passionate about graphic design then do that instead. Tattooing isn't easy money, it isn't easy work, and it only gets harder as you get older. If you really love it then do it, but otherwise find a good job where the pay will increase with inflation and you'll have some security. Your own style will find you, it's the tricks and shortcuts you take when you're not overthinking things. Just keep making work and it'll come to you.

Have you been to Perth? If you have been, when are you coming again?

I've been to Perth a lot, I guested at WA Ink, then Golden Panther, and I'm hoping to visit again, but Dan and Ali just had their first baby so I'll give them some time to get settled first. I'm not sure when I'll be back, but I definitely will be!

Break down your stencilling process for us, is yours unique at the studio?

No, lots of people do some degree of freehand at Lighthouse, there's a lot of Japanese tattooing there so Alex, Ryan, Jared and Enku do most of their backgrounds by hand, and Danny Pinter draws on a lot of his work. I generally start with the framework, blocking out the design in a light colour and use darker and darker colours as I refine it. You have to work light to dark, because if you try and work dark to light you wouldn't be able to see what you're drawing! I use Sharpies for everything except the final layer, and for that I use a stencil pen which has a Gentian violet pigment in it that lasts on the skin, same as stencil paper just done by hand.

Any shoutouts to up-and-coming artists, and what they are doing that makes you think "fuck yeah, that's dope"?

Angel, or Shady Cook as she's known on insta, just joined our crew, and she's not only funny and fun but also does a mean tattoo. Lots of anime, but she's an art school gal, so we get on great talking about all that stuff. It's nice to see new young artists around who are doing amazing things!