Sticky Stef

Some artists follow a style. Stef has had more than fifteen years to sharpen his own.

As founder and owner of Argus Tattoo, he works from the enduring grammar of old-school tattooing: decisive outlines, readable silhouettes and images that keep their character from across a room. His neo-traditional work opens that language up. Shadows deepen. Colour grows richer. Familiar subjects acquire a stranger edge.

Flowers, animals, faces, daggers and creatures with questionable intentions all receive the same treatment. Strong where strength matters. Detailed where detail earns its place. Whether the final piece is black and grey or unapologetically coloured, Stef designs for impact today and legibility years from now.

His story is tied to the shop’s. What began as Sticky Stef Tattoo at Lange Koepoortstraat 40 became Argus Tattoo in Berchem: a larger name for a wider family of artists, built on the same steady hand.

Stef is a father as well as a founder. Perhaps that explains the particular patience with which he listens to half-finished ideas, asks the useful question and waits until the drawing sits right. Experience, in his chair, does not announce itself. It simply makes the room calmer.

Bring Stef the bones of an idea

A classic subject in need of a personal turn. A rough composition. A colour mood. An old piece of flash you would like reinterpreted rather than repeated. Stef is a strong match for custom neo-traditional tattoos, old-school designs, bold black-and-grey work and colour pieces with a clear silhouette.

Send him the subject, preferred placement, approximate size and a few useful references. He will take it from sketch to skin without sanding away its character.