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Name: Josh sutterby aka Alfa
Home Town & Country: Chiselborough a small village in south west England
Age: 27
Occupation/Job title: Artist/illustrator

What can you tell us about your design on the edding Art Series markers?
It was loosely based on a traditional tattoo flash. That’s all I can say really. At the time I was just getting into really tradition tattoos so I was drawing things like snakes, swallows, panthers etc. Since then I've evolved my own style of drawing tattoos but I’m still using the basis of the tradition.

Which (artists/designers/illustrators etc) have been (or are) your greatest influences (dead or alive)?
I’m really into the old 80's skateboard graphics like Santa Cruz and Jim Phillips etc. Also I love a lot of the old heavy metal art work done for Metalica, Guns n Roses and Iron Maiden (not to be too cliché – ha-ha). But mainly, like I said, I’m really getting into tattoo art so a lot of my inspiration comes from these artists. I really like what the Italians have going on over there like Samuel Briganti and Miss Ariana etc. Are you a member of any crews/collaborations/groups? Can you tell us about them? I'm a member of Monorex (global creative agency), Pirates (artist collective), The Rare Kind (creative agency), a graffiti crew called RT and now a small up and coming agency called Over It & Co.

Describe your trademark style/character? (or What are you most famous for?)
Ummmm these days I’m not really too sure. I was once known for a very stylised skull that I used to draw a lot to get recognition as an anonymous artist. The thing is, I’ve since then kind of grown out of the whole repeat one thing enough times (street art mentality) and you might get some kind of recognition for it one day. Don’t get me wrong there’s plenty of street artist’s I love and get kicks to see there work in a good spot on the street. So no not really, I try to keep my material moving and as fresh as I can.

If you could collaborate with one artist/group who would that be and why?
I really enjoy collaborating with other tattooists, although it is essentially them doing the tattooing on me. But I do like to have my input when giving them an idea and working together with them on the final piece. That works well for me and is helping me to understand the rules and guidelines of how traditional tattoos should look.

What’s your favourite colour?
I'm colour blind. So colour has always been kind of an issue for me, although it kept me out of the army when I was 17 though, so in that respect I'm grateful for it. I guess black is my most valued colour.

Where and when did you start?
I've drawn and painted all my life. My Mum used to make us draw instead of watching TV; although I'm sure I moaned about it at the time, I’m grateful for it now. Thanks Mum.

Where is the best place that you have worked and why?
Barcelona at the Bread and Butter Show was awesome. Great weather, great people and great fun generally!

Who are your usual artistic partners?
My usual wing man would be Disco. This year we have been all over the world together with Monorex. It’s been great. He’s a good guy to travel with and it’s never boring.

What can we expect to see from you in the future?
Tattoos. Lots of tattoos. I'm learning right now so look out for me...