Bowser

Laura Lesser a.k.a. Bowser is a Berlin based artist, best known for her illustrations and tattoos.

After finishing art school in Karlsruhe, Germany, she soon found that navigating in the art business was not for her, as it often meant to aggressively bring one’s own persona to the market which turns out to be an even more tedious task to an artist that happens to be in a female body.

So, in 2014, she started tattooing.

Bowser and the Beaux Arts

Quickly, she found an audience who could relate to the somewhat laconic designs that she had started to put on her customer’s skins. A loyal fanbase started to grow, following her creative output that she dropped on Instagram with a steady frequency.

Of course, the fascination was less about the showcasing of technical skills, degree of detail or photorealism, like it's often celebrated on common tattooer’s accounts.

Her more cartoonish kind of tattoos, most often featuring simple linework, drew attention because of the unique combinations of allegedly cute creatures with contemporary topics that ranged from the fragility of the psyche to the banality of modern life.

We've all been there.

Yes, we've all been there.

Bowser’s work draws inspiration from the most diverse sources. An academic background of art history as well as extensive knowledge of the black metal music catalogue up to your daily internet meme. Her designs being original, relatable and almost always kind of funny - even if you didn't get every layer of reference that they are pointing to.

It’s not blasphemic if someone medevial did it..

Here's an example: Everyone who is a visible internet personality and displays creations online has to deal with anonymous hate commenters. You can discuss with them, you can ignore them or you can block them.

Bowser chose another path. And it sheds a light on her artistic approach, taking inspiration literally from anywhere.

Strong opinions: the international currency of the internet

Speak it out with the voice of your parents, as you should do with every hate comment from the internet

Internet hate has never been handled more elegantly (and creative). You can look up some more examples in our selection of Bowser’s work and on her Instagram feed.

While making herself a name as a Tattoo Artist, Laura Lesser still maintained and kept exploring other means of artistic expression, always curious to learn new things while relying on her crafting skills like a swiss army knife. Be it tufting a carpet, painting with oil colors, hand-stitching clothes or getting seriously into pottery.

It’s not blasphemic if it’s painted in oil.

Always try.

Behind all that diligent productivity stands the firm conviction, that everybody should feel free to express themselves through the means of crafting. So that, as a customer in her studio, you will be encouraged to make your own bracelet while you wait for your custom design to be drawn.

Or, if you want to try out yourself as a painter, you can book a painting class with her, as she has been a certified Ross Instructor® since 2020. The latter might be telling about Bowser’s non-high-brow and slightly ironic perception of the essence of art-making.

Actual footage of Laura's Bob Ross Class.