BIO
Liudmil Vasilev is one of the best known names in the tattoo scene in Bulgaria. With more than
15 years experience in the business, thousands of people have a piece of his fine art. His work
speaks louder than any words, as the saying goes ‘a picture paint’s a thousand words’.
Liudmil has been drawing since the day he could carry a pencil! Liudmil graduated French
language school but whilst he studied he always found time to draw. He begun with drawing
sketches and later progressed to oil paintings, using photographs and life models. Much of his
work is published in magazines. As he developed his technique, he began to draw book covers,
for magazines and designed advertisements – all using his unique creative flare and individual
style.
His interest for tattoos came alive in 1986-1987 by the music and tattoo magazines of the time,
beginning with small tattoos as a hobby. In 1992-1993 there were very few tattoo studios in the
whole of Bulgaria, things were about to change. Liudmil began his professional career as an
apprentice to Vladimir Haidushki, Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria - one of the very first Bulgarian tattoo
artists.
In 1994 Liudmil opened his first tattoo studio with the name of “Magic Needle” with the help and
advice of many tattoo artists from the UK, Germany and Belgium. The more he tattooed, the
more experienced he became and his tattoos reflected his passion for his art.
In 1997 he was invited to join the team of “Indo-China Tattoo” (Karlsruhe, Germany) as a guest
artist. After this he also worked at “Power Tattoo” (Landau, Germany). This days at Germany
grow him, not only as professional artist, but as a style of drawing, living and thinking. After that
he came back to Bulgaria and implemented another turning point for the “Magic Needle”. In
1999, Liudmil organized the first edition of “Extravaganza Tattoo Expo” in his own town of
Vratsa. During this time he worked toward his goal of developing his talent, his tattoo shop and
for the popularity of the art form of tattoos. This was an exciting time as Liudmil also begun the
production of hand made tattoo machines. To date he has produced 6 bespoke machines, all of
which are limited editions, but they are well known in Bulgaria and Europe.
Another passion for Liudmil is the drawing of tattoo flash-sets, black, grey and coloured. He has
sold over 2000 copies in over 20 countries all over the world.
He is also the author and publisher of the first Bulgarian guide “Tattooing, an A to Z – How it
works”. Liudmil contributes in every tattoo convention in Bulgaria and has won over 10 First
Places! Because of his numerous awards, talent and hard work he was honoured in 2004 as
Master of Arts by the Bulgarian National Craftsman Guild.
Photos of his tattoos and artwork are published in over 30 newspapers and magazines. He has
taken part in many TV shows, radio and press interviews speaking always very positively about
his passion for art and tattoos.
Liudmil creates tattoos in all styles but his true passion is the black and grey life portraits (where
he has won most of his awards).
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BIO
To conclude, Liudmils moto.
“Everyone who ever wanted to be a tattoo artist must be ready to take the moral responsibility to
give every customer only the best, without any compromise and every client must leave the
studio with a real piece of fine art!!”
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