Nonlee: From Fine Art to Skin – A Journey in Color and Form

Nonlee blends fine art with tattooing, using bold colors and botanical elements to create hyperrealistic tattoos that flow naturally with the body.

Tattoo artist Nonlee, also known as Jungyeon Kim, found her path to tattooing after nearly a decade of teaching watercolor and pencil drawing. Inspired by a student’s passion for tattoos, she shifted her focus from teaching to creating, bringing her fine art background into the world of ink.

With a foundation in sculpture, painting, and printmaking, Nonlee’s tattoos are rooted in hyperrealism and botanical illustration. She carefully studies nature, capturing details from plants and marine life to craft intricate designs that blend seamlessly with the body’s natural contours.

Now working at Ziho Gallery in Seoul, Nonlee continues to refine her signature style while pushing her work toward larger-scale projects. Whether through custom tattoos or flash pieces, she seeks to create designs that are both visually striking and deeply connected to her artistic journey.

Your journey into tattooing began with a student’s request. What was the most unexpected challenge in transitioning from teaching to tattooing?

The transition from teaching to tattooing wasn't as challenging as I expected. The only real difficulty was balancing both jobs for a while, as I had to finish my students' semester. On the contrary, my teaching experience was a great asset when I started tattooing. Most of my students were about to enter university, and since they trusted my skills as a teacher after they became adults, they became my initial clients. Their support was truly special and something I'm very grateful for.

Your style blends hyperrealism with botanical illustration and a vibrant color palette. How did you develop this signature approach?

My tattoo style evolved from traditional watercolor or oil painting techniques. Adding colors to shadows or light to create a richer color expression and a specific atmosphere in the painting is similar to how I taught watercolor to my students. However, since tattoos are smaller than paintings, I used bolder colors to maximize the effect. This was also inspired by one of my favorite American artists, Wayne Thiebaud. The subjects I mainly draw, plants, reflect my personal taste. I love plants and animals, but I'm terrible at growing plants. It's a relief that I can at least capture plants well in my drawings.

With a background in sculpture and fine art, how do these disciplines influence your tattoo designs and composition?

My background in sculpture greatly helps me create three-dimensional effects in tattoos. I can imagine the side profile of an object just by looking at one angle, which significantly reduces form errors during the design process. As an artist who mainly draws plants and animals, I'm sensitive to accurate representation. My spatial perception, trained through sculpture, is very useful in determining whether the scale and joint movements of an animal are feasible. Also, my background in fine arts, such as painting, made me comfortable mixing tattoo inks like paints. I can create the colors I want without much worry about the ratios of colors to mix, which allows me to create tattoos with richer colors.

Nature plays a big role in your inspiration. Do you have a favorite botanical subject to tattoo, or do you enjoy the challenge of new ideas?

The most enjoyable subjects to draw are those with many petals, like roses or peonies. Sometimes, it takes an incredibly long time to complete a single flower, but it maximizes my ability to depict delicate details. However, I'm always open to my clients' ideas. Sometimes, I feel recharged by clients who request fresh subjects that I haven't thought of.

Your tattoos have a distinct, almost dreamlike quality. What emotions or feelings do you hope to evoke in your clients through your work?

Nature in reality is beautiful in itself, but I wanted to add something special, color, to express my appreciation and admiration for it. Through my distinctive colors, I hope people feel the emotions of warm sunlight, clean air, and themselves enjoying it all together.

You’ve worked closely with tattooist Ziho and have also taught workshops. Have you learned more from mentoring others or from being mentored yourself?

I've had the experience of teaching someone for a long time, not just workshops. And I think that in any kind of class, the teacher gains more than the student. I can concretize and establish concepts that I vaguely had in my head, and through students' questions, I can think about things that I haven't thought deeply about. And it's also a happy thing to build relationships with my future colleagues.

As realism tattoo artists gain experience, they often transition to larger projects. Are you interested in exploring large-scale tattooing?

I also have a desire for large-scale projects. However, large-scale tattoos have the constraint that clients have to visit regularly for a long period of time, so if I establish a base somewhere, I plan to gradually try large-scale tattoos.

With Seoul's tattoo industry evolving rapidly, do you see it as your long-term home, or are you interested in exploring other cultures and tattoo scenes?

Seoul is the city where I grew up and a city with a developed cultural industry. Korean consumers have very excellent artistic tastes. Since I haven't been in the tattoo culture for very long, I want to create experiences in various places around the world in the short to medium term, but I want to continue tattooing in Seoul in the end.

Your personal tattoo collection includes work from incredible artists. How do you choose the designs and artists you trust to tattoo you?

I do tattoos with very diverse colors and complex details, but I like to get tattoos with restrained details and colors on my own body. Since I got my first tattoo from the respected Korean artist Oozy, I've been careful to make sure that the tattoos on my body harmonize with each other. Most of my tattoos have meanings like a diary, and after thinking about the subject of the tattoo I want, I ask the artist who can best express it. Once I choose an artist, I leave everything to them.

Many aspiring tattoo artists look up to you. What advice would you give to those trying to follow your steps?

I want to tell them not to be afraid of new attempts and to be patient. In any field, you have to try something other than what already exists to become a standout and irreplaceable being. This also means a big risk. And sometimes, it takes time for existing customers to get used to it and accept it. But if you have self- confidence, keep trying patiently until you get results.