Four Months In — A Big Year for Award Winning Tattoo artist, Kelsea Lake

Brianna Carey
Apr 9
2 min read

Some years take their time, This one has been moving fast, with few breaks.

Just a few months in, Kelsea Lake of Obscura Ink has already covered more ground than most years do start to finish — and IT IS only picking up from here

Award-Winning Tattoo Artist

This year started strong with travel and recognition.

At the Villain Arts Tattoo Convention in San Diego, Kelsea took home, an award-- 🥇 First Place — Best Melanated Tattoo

Shortly after, at the Evergreen Tattoo Invitational in Eugene, Oregon, she placed--🥈 Second Place — Small Black & Gray

These are NOT participation awardS. .TheY ARE judged in rooms full of experienced artists — people who understand technique,, healing, and what makes a tattoo withstand the test of time.

Recognition like this does NOT happen by accident.

Staying a Student

Winning only created more momentum, and urged KElsea to reach higher. This year has pushed her to keep setting higher goals and that means remaining a student.

Next up, Kelsea is heading to Maryland for a weekend intensive with Robby Latos, one of the artists she respects most.

Kelsea understands that staying comfortable is the fastest way to stop growing.

Learning from other artists-- especially at a ahigh level-- is part of staying sharp, refining technique, and pushing realism further.

Here is what this means for her work:

More patience
More precision
More control

And growth shows up in the details with cleaner gradients, stronger contrast, better composition, and of course, tattoos that heal and age well.

Every convention, every intensive, every conversation with another artist feeds back into the work happening at Obscura Ink.

Clients do not just g et a tattoo-- they get the result of ongoing refinement.

A Year Still In Motion

Four months in, and there is already travel, awards, new space, continued learning, and there is more coming.

The goal is not to just do more work-- it is to do better, more intentional, more refined, and more consistent work.

Final Thought

Recognition is good. Growth is better.

This year is Not about coasting on wins but about building the skills required for wins, and if the first few months are any indication, there is a whole lot to look forward to.