About Billy Martin

I’m an illustrator and tattoo artist who like to draw nervous animals trying their best. Most of them are dealing with some life crisis, social anxiety and issues with fitting in.

I grew up in a small town in the French Alps, and moved to the UK. I started tattooing and eventually I opened Picnic Studio in Bristol, which is a fun, colourful, queer-friendly tattoo studio where people can feel safe, seen, and celebrated while getting tattooed.

Picnic also doubles as a tiny press comic shop, offering zines and books by artists who don’t fit into the usual art world boxes, the kind of work I love most. I also run art markets twice a year in Bristol.

My illustrations and tattoos both evolves around mental health, awkwardness, and humour. I like turning anxious energy into something funny or gentle , a horse having an existential crisis, a cat questioning god. It’s my way of dealing with life and making sense of things and connecting with other people who feel the same.