VALERIE VARGAS: We are around here.
STEWART ROBSON: We're where the big, red circle is.
VALERIE VARGAS: We're in the big, red circle.
Did you see the kangaroos in there?
And the wallabies?
STEWART ROBSON: Hello.
VALERIE VARGAS: How cool is he?
STEWART ROBSON: You want to go on the slides?
You know you do.
VALERIE VARGAS: Can you imagine getting a hug from one
of them, how awesome that would feel?
It would wrap around your whole entire body.
MALE SPEAKER:
STEWART ROBSON: I can't really remember, to be honest.
She'd probably need to jog my memory.
MALE SPEAKER:
STEWART ROBSON: Oh yeah.
We were working together then.
We were friends, and we were whatever.
And she was blind drunk.
Horrendous.
I remember telling her, if you were a man, I'd knock you out.
Because she's a mean drunk, really horrible.
And then, well why are you being an asshole?
And her answer was, I fucking love you.
A few months later, we were together.
VALERIE VARGAS: The lion's voice is the deepest and
loudest of all cats.
How low is your voice compared to a lion's roar?
Pop your head through the hole and growl as low as you can.
Go on.
STEWART ROBSON: I'm not going to roar.
VALERIE VARGAS: Go on.
STEWART ROBSON: Ahh.
VALERIE VARGAS: We were friends just before he started
to be serious about wanting to tattoo, and before he actually
started tattooing.
By then we were talking every other day swapping stories
about what's going on with me.
And I really liked his work online.
He had a couple of websites with some of his work.
And it was like, hey, would you mind just doing a little
black tattoo?
And he did it.
And we just stayed in touch.
So it was a lovely journey, friendship wise.
And then when we got together it felt like, right, this is
where it really begins now.
STEWART ROBSON: I absolutely love the head, the tail--
yeah.
VALERIE VARGAS: [INAUDIBLE]
STEWART ROBSON: Yeah, absolutely.
Every element about it is just more the position of where
he's off to.
VALERIE VARGAS: Well let me draw it first.
And then I'll let you have a look.
STEWART ROBSON:
VALERIE VARGAS: He doesn't like the claws, the way the
angle of them goes.
STEWART ROBSON:
VALERIE VARGAS: He's always been very good at doing that,
telling me why something is wrong, not just telling me
it's wrong or why does that look like shit, you know.
STEWART ROBSON: That's how we ended up
getting together, really.
Because it worked really well.
She helps me with drawings, I help her with drawings.
And she went, why is that tiger you drew cross-eyed?
And I'm like, I didn't fucking notice it's cross-eyed.
And so we can help each other.
Maybe I focus more on composition and flow, and she
focuses more on detail.
And Valerie can characterize a mood and a feeling and a
character in a tattoo.
And a lot of people don't make a character.
They either make it angry or sad or whatever, but there's
no character there.
She's known for faces.
But she also does a characterization with eagle,
snakes, and narrowing an eye, and maybe a larger pupil or a
smaller pupil.
And she understands that stuff.
VALERIE VARGAS: I'm just so happy that I like his work, he
likes my work, which means that we have mutual respect.
I've said to him before, kind of jokingly, if you sucked I
wouldn't have half as much fun in this relationship
as I do, you know?
It's really cool to watch over his shoulder and just be like,
how did you do that?
That's amazing.
And I love it.
STEWART ROBSON: I don't think either of our work would be as
accomplished without each other.
All right, Dragon Man.
VALERIE VARGAS (OFFSCREEN): The Dragon Man.
STEWART ROBSON:
VALERIE VARGAS (OFFSCREEN): Shut the fuck up.
It doesn't need a wave at all.
STEWART ROBSON: It says, [INAUDIBLE] in
the water above it.
VALERIE VARGAS (OFFSCREEN): Ugh.
Shut up.
You're just making my life harder.
MALE SPEAKER: You're not a fan of waves?
VALERIE VARGAS: I can't draw water to save my life.
I'm generally quite a grumpy sod, to be honest.
You know, I don't know if it comes through or what.
But I think the more I hang out with people the more they
see it, definitely.
STEWART ROBSON:
VALERIE VARGAS (OFFSCREEN): Where?
MALE SPEAKER (OFFSCREEN): Where?
VALERIE VARGAS (OFFSCREEN): If you're going to say here, I
don't want it there.
STEWART ROBSON: No, no, because that'll take up space.
You need a cloud in here.
VALERIE VARGAS: Really?
STEWART ROBSON (OFFSCREEN): Yeah, in that little bit.
Because that's just an empty hollow there.
That's all.
VALERIE VARGAS (OFFSCREEN): No, I'm not
gonna do a cloud there.
VALERIE VARGAS (OFFSCREEN): See, Stewart?
STEWART ROBSON (OFFSCREEN):
DANTE DIMASSA: We all say that Stewart's under the thumb.
You know, I'm married, I have a child, and the one who wears
the pants in my house is my wife.
It might not look like that, but that's how a man's life--
not a man's life.
You know, when you get married you sign up for that.
That's how it is.
So it's all right.
And Stewart knows that.
Stewart knows how to handle Valerie.
STEFANO C: I mean, I know many couples
that are both tattooers.
So there's always the team work.
And I guess it does help.
I mean, having satisfaction from work makes you go home
and have a positive love life or relationship.
It's obviously a full-on tattoo life.
VALERIE VARGAS: You're going to have to get a spider web
for this one.
I think that would be nice.
Either that, or get a spider web, actually, on the ball of
your shoulder.
STEWART ROBSON: There's not much outside of
tattoos in our lives.
And things have fallen by the wayside that aren't tattoos,
or that we can't soak up information
from to use in tattooing.
But then, tattooing has given us so much.
Our relationship is due to tattooing, our friends and the
opportunities that arise.
It's given us our lives, and we enjoy our lives.
So keep feeding the beast.
STEWART ROBSON (OFFSCREEN): [INAUDIBLE] neck.
VALERIE VARGAS (OFFSCREEN): They always look
like they're drunk.
STEWART ROBSON (OFFSCREEN): He's pissed.
He's not happy.
VALERIE VARGAS: You think so?
Yeah?
Green dragon, some purple, some yellow, some red?
MALE SPEAKER:
VALERIE VARGAS (OFFSCREEN): Really?
Because I thought I'd draw a peacock on you.
MALE SPEAKER:
VALERIE VARGAS (OFFSCREEN): Oh, that's
definitely not green.
Oh, no, no.
That's definitely turquoise blue.
That's not green.
Like that kind of green.
MALE SPEAKER (OFFSCREEN): OK.
VALERIE VARGAS: Basically, since I got into tattoos in
2004 with my apprenticeship, I've just not stopped.
And I'm catching up now with the fun stuff.
And I keep reminding myself I'm a 30-year-old woman, I'm
not a 15-year-old girl.
I need to learn to drive, I need to learn to do things.
I barely know how to cook.
And he kind of jokes about it, but he's very
serious at the same time.
Like look, when we finally settle into this flat, I'm
going to take you to the supermarket, and I'm going to
teach you how to shop for food and stuff.
Because I don't know how to shop for food.
I literally go, I want a sandwich right
now, I'll buy a sandwich.
And then what do I eat tomorrow?
I'm really bad like that, so he's going to help me a little
bit, be a bit more domesticated.
That's a sexy fish.
Would you not agree?
STEWART ROBSON: A sexy fish?
VALERIE VARGAS: Yeah.
Oh, look at that dude.
How awesome is he?
STEWART ROBSON (OFFSCREEN): It's just nice to grow
alongside someone, as well.
It's super cool.
I guess we're still growing together.
She's still developing.
It's really cool to see that.
And I'm still developing, and she's really
supportive of that.
Yeah.
VALERIE VARGAS (OFFSCREEN): It really works for us.
It's not for everybody.
A lot of people do go, how do you do it?
How do you live together, go to work together, work the
same days, and hang out together on your days off?
I don't know.
It works.
Can't hug you with this?
STEWART ROBSON (OFFSCREEN): I know, bags everywhere.
VALERIE VARGAS: You having fun?
STEWART ROBSON: Yeah.
STEWART ROBSON (OFFSCREEN): [INAUDIBLE]
A little bit.
VALERIE VARGAS: What do you want?
STEWART ROBSON: Just stand there.
[INAUDIBLE]
VALERIE VARGAS: Hang on.
Yeah?
Enough?
STEWART ROBSON: You hate having your picture taken.
VALERIE VARGAS: I hate having my picture taken.
STEWART ROBSON: [INAUDIBLE]
VALERIE VARGAS: Yeah, he loves having his picture taken.