Two types of art exhibited at On Point

News

Staff Writer

“I’ve been into art ever since I could hold a pencil,” said Kyle Miller, artist and partner at On Point Ink Tattoo & Art Gallery on East Bay Street.

He said he started with graffiti, then eventually enrolled in classes at Florida Community College at Jacksonville (now Florida State College at Jacksonville) to study drawing, painting and fashion design.

“I may be the only artist who knows how to do a French seam,” said Miller.

Eventually his interest turned to body art and that led to Miller and a business partner and fellow artist, Randy Keener, opening On Point. It’s part art gallery and part custom tattoo studio.

Miller said he was attracted to a career as a custom tattoo artist thanks to something his mom said. “My mother always told me I’d never find a job where I could wear baggy shorts and have tattoos. I set out to prove her wrong.”

He apprenticed in the body art business in 2000 and worked in Gainesville, Lake City and Jacksonville before opening On Point two months ago.

He and Keener specialize in custom designs, which Miller said sets the business apart from other tattoo studios.

“In some shops, you pick out a design from a chart on the wall. That means a lot of people will have the same tattoo you have,” said Miller. “We believe each person should have something unique just to them, so we don’t do the same design twice,” he said. Every On Point design is drawn the individual client.

Creating art on the human body as opposed to a canvas can lead to some challenges, said Miller.

“I call it ‘flow anatomy.’ I don’t think there should ever be a straight line of the body because our body changes shapes when it moves,” he said.

The art gallery element gives them and other artists the opportunity to share their paintings and drawings with the urban arts scene in the East Bay Street entertainment district environment. Miller said the location near TSI, Dive Bar and Mark’s exposes their art and business to those who choose Downtown as a nightlife destination.

He also said the location was chosen because Downtown property owners and managers are more open-minded when it comes to art, whether traditional or tattoos.

“The whole perception of having tattoos has changed. It used to be just for bikers and sailors, but now there are motorcycle clubs that are just doctors and lawyers with $30,000 motorcycles,” said Miller.

That didn’t make it any easier to open the studio. Miller said after exploring locations and being turned down, he and Keener looked Downtown and found a more welcoming business climate.

“Downtown needed a business like ours,” said Miller. “More people should come Downtown when they want to do something. It’s easier to open a shop Downtown than anywhere else.”

On Point is a First Wednesday Art Walk stop, but Miller said the idea behind the gallery isn’t to exhibit local artists once a month.

“We want to be an open gallery and we’re always looking for tattoo-oriented art,” he said.