Julian (xwildxlovex)

Julian — known across the Pacific as xwildxlovex — is the color specialist of the Waikiki network. Look at his portfolio for ten seconds and the signature is unmistakable: saturated illustrative palettes, painterly highlights inside hard black outlines, watercolor wash backgrounds bleeding behind the central figure, handwritten script woven through floral compositions. The pieces feel painted as much as tattooed.

That illustration-first sensibility is what separates Julian from the broader color-tattoo category. A lot of color tattooers think in terms of "fill a Traditional outline with bright pigment." Julian thinks like an illustrator — composition first, then how to translate that composition into the medium of skin. The hard-edge keyline is still there (Julian is a tattoo artist, not a painter; the keyline is what makes the piece readable from across the room). But inside the keyline, the color does watercolor things, the highlights do painterly things, and the background does things tattoo backgrounds historically didn't do.

What's in the portfolio

• An oversized coral hibiscus on an inner forearm, petals graduating pink-into-coral, sage and emerald leaves wrapping below, a sky-blue watercolor wash behind the bloom.
• A USMC Eagle, Globe & Anchor in Julian's saturated palette — brushed-teal globe, ochre anchor, red-white-slate eagle wings. Military iconography drawn with comic-book conviction.
• A traditional rooster mid-flap on a thigh — wings unfurled in coral red, teal, and ochre, a single touch of teal in the background. Pure Traditional figure-drawing on a 2025 palette.
• A tiger snarl on a calf, body curling so the striped tail loops above the head — saturated orange-and-black stripe blocking, classic linework, a teal background pop.
• A plumeria cluster on an ankle, five peach-into-coral blossoms with fine black ornamental swirls extending the composition along the bone.
• A "Skimani belle" memorial script in the ribs, two plumeria bracketing flowing handwritten letters, watercolor pastel washing behind.
• A hibiscus inside a Polynesian honu silhouette — hard-edge tribal geometry framing soft watercolor petals. East-meets-island design.

The throughline is emotional. Julian's pieces are full-saturation expressions — bright, decorative, romantic, often memorial. The audience self-selects: clients who want their tattoo to feel like something painted rather than something drawn end up at Julian's chair.

The memorial work

A significant portion of Julian's portfolio is memorial — name-script + floral compositions for clients commemorating family members. The work matters because memorial tattoos are one of the hardest commissions in the trade: emotionally weighted, often non-negotiable on detail (the name has to be that name, in that script), and asked to hold up for decades because the person being remembered is being remembered for life. Julian's florals carry that weight gracefully. The hibiscus, plumeria, and ornamental-scroll vocabulary he draws best is exactly the vocabulary that works for memorial composition — soft enough to feel tender, structured enough to hold up under saturation loss over time.

Why Ohana is the right room

Color illustrative work needs time. The pieces are session-intensive — the watercolor wash backgrounds get laid in over multiple sittings, the painterly highlights need touch-ups in subsequent sessions as healing settles the saturation. Ohana Tattoo Company on Saratoga Road has the schedule space to support that kind of work: a roster of artists who handle the walk-in flash demand so Julian can book his appointment chair properly, and an open-late hours block that lets Julian's clients come in after their workday for the longer sittings.

How to book Julian

Custom color compositions need lead time. Text Julian (via Ohana's shop number) with the concept, reference images, size, and placement. He'll respond with a composition sketch and a quote before booking the first session.

Further reading

• Ohana Tattoo Company — shop profile
• The Color Realism style guide