Premier Chinese Tattooist will bring a Dynamic 'American-Oriental' Aesthetic to Los Angeles

    LOS ANGELES, CA, January 08, 2016 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Inspired by the art form from a young age and trained by a skillful mentor, tattoo artist Haifan Liu founded the Chaoqing Hui Tattoo Studio in Beijing, one of the most famed and celebrated tattoo studios in all of China. He's delivered exquisite ink work in China on an impressive base of clients ranging from entertainers, sports figures and writers of renown.

Parlaying that success, Liu has been chosen to share his craft and special talent as a designer and tattoo artist at the Hailin Tattoo Shop in Los Angeles. The opportunity is one that ushers into the U.S. a tremendously talented, original and dynamic tattoo artist with authentic Asian sensibilities.

"Americans very much like the Asian culture," Liu said. "They like what I am good with - Chinese traditional style. When I am in the United States, I can learn more about Western culture. Through the Eastern and Western cultures, I can create an aesthetic more in line with American-Oriental style tattoos. It will be a big change and break about my tattoo style."

For Hailin Tattoo Shop (www.facebook.com/hailintattooshop), Liu is slated to design tattoos, provide regular in-house tattooist services, participate in international shows and collaborate on a special book about tattoo design.

The appointment will mark a reunion between Liu, a native of the city of Laiwu in the Shandong Province of China, and Hailin Fu, owner of Hailin Tattoo Shop. Fu originally taught Liu the art of tattooing in the capital city of Jinan (Shandong), in 2003.

"I knew about tattoo when I was young. It amazed me," said Liu, who has three tattoos, one of which he inked himself. "I liked this art for many years, but it wasn't until I knew Hailin that I learned how to become a tattoo artist."

The apprenticeship was all the spark that was needed to get Liu's tattoo career ablaze. By 2009, he would establish in Beijing the Chaoqing Hui Tattoo Studio with partner Donglin Li, a 15-year actor, director and producer for film and theater.

"Haifan immediately excelled in his own shop where he served as the lead and only tattoo designer, developing the designs with the clients and sketching the stencils himself," said Li.

Their initial goal was to create a place where tattoo enthusiasts could receive creative and unique tattoos. "As a good tattoo studio, the most important thing is to have good tattoo artists and the tattoo work must be wonderful," said Liu. "When people select their tattoo, they will select a tattoo artist first. They want to know the tattoo artist's previous work and whether they prefer this style."

Once that mandate was met, the studio, which is still thriving today, built itself with a reputation for excellence. The success was especially impressive and equally ironic considering tattoos are widely viewed as a taboo commodity by many functions of Chinese culture and such tattoo parlors are further limited by advertising restrictions.

Nonetheless, knocking on Chaoqing Hui Tattoo Studio's doors were celebs with a penchant for ink such as rock singer Qi Luo, pro racer Huayang Gao, actor Tie Zhou and producer Liwei Ren, among many others.

"Today, Chaoqing Hui Tattoo Studio is largely believed to be the best tattoo shop in all of China," Li said. "We now employ several tattoo artists at any given time to help apply Mr. Liu's designs since our clientele is so large he physically cannot tattoo every customer we reach."

Originality is one fundamental artistic device Liu engages in his one-of-a-kind designs. "I have my own style," he said. "The idea is it cannot be copied."

But it's even more than that. "I think my tattoo designs have power. I'm good with the use of lines. I'm good at traditional Asian style, especially Chinese traditional style. I am also very good at new-school style."

Noting the same power of Liu's designs, Li said, "The studio has been a massive commercial success and has been a testament to the demand for Mr. Liu's designs, a demand I am sure that will continue to any country he visits."

Liu, who served as lead tattooist for Jackie Chan's hit action movie, "Police Story 2013," is also an accomplished and sought after designer and painter. His collective flair for visual art has some overarching characteristics that show up in different mediums.

"Tattoo artists and designers both need to have good painting ability," he said. "It's just different manifestations and different carriers. If I paint on paper, it is to design. If I paint on the skin, it is the tattoo."

Before helming the Chaoqing Hui Tattoo Studio, Liu's career has featured stints where he applied his sensational talents at the Jinan Liehuotang Tattoo Studio, the Beijing Lucky face Art Studio, the Beijing Black House Tattoo Studio and the Beijing 798 art studio.

Liu is also the Chinese Tattoo Association Vice Chairman (Shandong). He was the artistic director for the Beijing Culture Communication Company and the Guandong Decoration Engineering Company.

In 2013, Liu designed a special clothing collection for the Yuzhou Pingshan Industrial Group that featured color patterns from ancient Chinese porcelain and a gorgeous blend of Eastern colors with a Western-styled cut. In the same year, he took part as tattoo artist and painter in the North Storm Tattoo Alliance tattoo show and in the Strange Space event, which is a prominent tattoo exhibition headquartered in Beijing.

His revered oil paintings titled "Hippocampus" and "Cheb face" experienced salient commercial success in the international marketplace where they sold at the Artron Auction, which is the largest auction in China. Demonstrating his versatility for differing platforms, Liu designed and created illustrations for the distinguished Chinese economics book, "After a Lazy Lunch."

Explore Haifan's work on Instagram: @haifan_liu

Follow Hailin Tattoo Shop on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hailintattooshop

Haifan Liu is a tattoo artist and designer from the city of Laiwu in the Shandong Province of China.

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