Chen Jie remembers the day that she saw a tattoo that invited her into the world of body art. It was a tattoo on Angelina Jolie’s arm, that the artist saw in a magazine. She later got even more inspired by an artist who taught her the intricacies of tattooing, and finally, in 2004, she made up her mind to dedicate her life to this art.

When she mastered the technicalities of tattooing, she realized that nobody in China was doing tattoos in a watercolor style. She had been fascinated with Chinese paintings and decided to give it a try and master this painting style on human bodies. Later she became famous for it.

While doing her first tattoo, the artist was very nervous. Fortunately, she had a lot of kind and supportive friends who wanted to have a tattoo on their bodies. While speaking about her style, Chen Jie reveals that doing watercolors on the body and on paper is essentially the same. On paper, you need to dilute the ink to get a lighter hue, and on the skin, it’s exactly the same.

When she started in 2005, tattoos were not very popular. In fact, there were many prejudices about this type of art and being a woman also made it worse for her. Luckily, over the years, the stereotypes have vanished and now the artist even welcomes the parents of her clients who want the same tattoo done.

Chen Jie revealed that many foreigners now come to get tattoos and trust her as their tattooist. She finds it absolutely moving, since some people who’ve lost their loved ones wanted a commemorative design that symbolized their relationship. Others wanted to remember a place where they had lived. The life stories of the people she tattoos leave an impression on her after each visit.