By Jenna Kaplan | Read the full article at
HeyRhody.
Some tattoo ideas arrive as carefully saved reference photos. Others begin with a song, a feeling, or two words: Bob Ross.
Warwick tattoo artist Alex Quinn welcomes all of the above. At her private studio inside Sola Salons Warwick, she creates everything from fine-line and black-and-grey pieces to geometric, dotwork, traditional, and custom designs. The styles may change, but every appointment starts the same way: with a conversation.
On a recent visit to Quinn’s studio, I brought her two handwritten words. “Love” came from a birthday card signed by my late grandmother, while “always” came from my mom. I wouldn’t have tattooed “love” on its own, but pairing their handwriting turned “love always” into a small piece of family history.
I originally pictured the tattoo inside my finger. Quinn could have agreed and picked up the needle. Instead, she explained that tattoos in that spot tend to fade quickly and admitted she wouldn’t choose the placement herself. After giving me time to weigh my options and adjusting the stencil one last time, we settled on the outer side of my forearm.
That same attention carried through the appointment. Quinn explained each step, checked in regularly, and kept the conversation going enough that the needle rarely became the most interesting thing happening in the room. Her honesty didn’t feel discouraging. It felt like advice from someone who wanted me to love the tattoo long after I left her chair.
“It’s like when you get your hair or nails done,” Quinn says. “Once you find your person, you find your person.”
Some clients trust Quinn with plenty of creative freedom. One woman sent her songs and asked her to design whatever came to mind while listening, without pulling directly from the lyrics. Quinn turned one song about the fluidity of the human body into a surreal portrait featuring a woman’s face and a water droplet.
“Whatever I saw when I was listening to the song was what I created,” she says. “That’s one I will never forget.”
Other ideas take a lighter turn. One client keeps a journal devoted entirely to frog-themed tattoos and chooses one from the list whenever he visits. A recent entry consisted of two words: Bob Ross. Quinn imagined a frog dressed as the famously soothing painter, working on a canvas filled with lily pads.
“His idea will be this one little thing, and it’ll become this big thing,” she says.
Quinn didn’t always approach those ideas with the same confidence. Early in her career, anxiety sometimes made her too cautious with the tattoo machine. Experience taught her to trust her training, be direct with clients, and recommend another artist when a request falls outside her expertise.
“Confidence is key,” she says. “It’s honesty, confidence, believing in yourself.”
That growth recently earned Quinn a place among Sola’s nine 2026 Visionaries. The program brought her to Chicago for business classes and introduced her to independent professionals from across North America. Now, she hopes to travel, pursue guest spots, and make more time for her own artwork.
Quinn’s work also helps her honor a close friend who died from ALS. Each year, she joins the friend’s mother in organizing a fundraiser for ALS research, bringing together drag performances, raffles, tattoo flash events, and donations from local businesses.
Whether she’s preserving family handwriting or sketching the next resident of a client’s “frog legs,” Quinn keeps refining an idea until it feels right. By the time she picks up the needle, the client knows the tattoo is in good hands. Visit
@alexquinntattoos on Instagram to explore Quinn’s portfolio, check current booking information, and find upcoming flash events.
