“I watched a lot of Care Bears as a kid,” muses local artist Jessica White with a laugh. “I use colors all from that palette, I don’t know if that’s on purpose.”

White is a tattoo artist at Reclamare Gallery and Tattoo. She works out of the Land Park shop with her boyfriend, local artist and Reclamare owner Corey Bernhardt. Born and raised in South Sac, she didn’t make her way to Midtown until a few years ago.

White’s tattoo work is a play on traditional American, a style she describes as whimsical neo-traditional.

“It’s a little bit more stylized than American traditional, and I think I take that neo-traditional concept and I add a little bit of whimsy and an effeminate touch, and so it doesn’t quite look like the standard neo-traditional, it ends up having a little bit softer color palette,” White explains.

Her tattoos retain a youthful, fun playfulness, with a color pallette that utilizes bold, bright blues and striking pinks. If you’ve ever enjoyed the boardgame Candyland just for the elaborate, colorful board itself, you will find something to appreciate in her style.

She has a fun approach to color and pop culture elements, binding them with elements of traditional American tattoos. Her love of coffee and fantasy and cartoons is also evident in her portfolio.

One thing that comes as a surprise when talking to her is how humble she is as an established artist, making a specific point to note her group of friends as influences artistically and just all around. When she started to recall the possibility of pursuing a different career path, you could hear the moment of pause where she, for that moment, tried to visualize her life without her group of friends.

Reclamare will be celebrating their four-year anniversary with a group art show Saturday, Nov. 12, 2016.

“The theme for the show is very loosely surrealism,” elaborates White. “I have a couple digital pieces of mine that I’ll be offering at the show that would fall into that realm for sure.”

Why did you choose tattooing as a medium?
It sort of was by happenstance. I was really into drawing and art in general at an early age, but in my generation I guess, being an artist wasn’t necessarily a very lucrative career, and I was worried about that, so I actually went to UC Davis to study science, because I was good at science too, and I thought, well, I can make a living at that. And fast forward four years, I was pretty miserable, I wasn’t really happy with the path that I was on or what I was doing. So I told my parents that I didn’t want to go to school anymore, and they were really supportive, and then I started getting into photography, and thought that was going to be my artform, and I really enjoyed it, but it wasn’t 100% what I wanted to do. And I got asked to take some photos at a tattoo shop, and while I was there I started to talk to the artists about the industry and what tattooing was like, and I had mentioned that I thought it’d be something really interesting to get into, and they offered me an apprenticeship, and I was there for like maybe two weeks before I quit all of my other jobs. It was called The Body Embellished; they’re not around anymore. I just dove right in, it was different than anything else I had done before. And I really liked that I could be creative and interact with people. I was there for almost a year, and then I went to another shop in Dixon and learned a lot from them as well, before I officially was a tattoo artist.

I think that I was always surrounded by tattoos; my parents had a lot of friends that had tattoos, so maybe subconsciously it was something that I was interested in. At a young age, I didn’t know that tattooing was as artistic as it is. I didn’t know that the industry is as influenced by art. I always thought that it was American traditional and that was it. I had no idea up until I started working in the industry, that there was so much more going on, so many fine art applications being used.

Did you always identify as an artist? Were you creative as a child?
Definitely, I used to draw and color all the time. Specifically, I drew Jessica Rabbit a lot, and I drew this little girl that was from this movie Cats Don’t Dance and I drew the hummingbird from Pocahontas a lot.

My mom Sally White and my grandma Naomi White both painted, and painted around me at an early age. My mom painted things that were a little more storytelling and my grandma did landscapes, so their subject matter didn’t necessarily resonate into my work, but being surrounded by art at such an early time I think was unavoidably influential. My mom was always encouraging me to do art and supplying me with all the tools to do so. I remember her taking me on a trip to see a family friend who was an oil painter, I don’t know how old I was but we all sat at the table and they were trying to teach me how to draw a horse. I actually think I still have that drawing at home, or maybe only the horse she drew, because mine was probably terrible. My mom saved a lot of my early doodles though, I think she was pretty proud.

Unfortunately [my mom] never got to see me working as an artist. She passed away before I received my apprenticeship. But I think that her passing was another moment that signified my departure from a conventional career path and made me want to focus on something more fulfilling. Life is short as they say …

When do you feel like you found your stride as an artist?
I would say I definitely recognized it in 2015, at the end of the year. I looked back and I was like, ”This was the year, this was my year, that things really started clicking, and I really started honing on what my style looks like. And then this past year has been further delving into that, and trying to tighten my portfolio up and really make sure that everything looks like ”Jessica did that tattoo.”

I think that this last year, and the year before, really solidified that this is what I want to do forever. I never thought that I didn’t want to do it, but I was always open to the possibility that there might be something else. And now, I don’t think that I could not tattoo, it would be crazy if I didn’t tattoo.

How different do you think your life path would be if you would have just pursued the sciences?
Hugely different [laughs]. Because I was thinking about going into phlebotomy or pharmacy; I guess phlebotomy wouldn’t have been that different, still dealing with needles. I probably wouldn’t even have the same group of friends, which is really sad to think about, because my core group of friends are huge, are very, very important to me. I didn’t meet any of them until after I started working in the industry, and I think the solidity of those relationships is much due to the fact that I was really coming into my own and being more true to myself, which allowed me to connect with people on a better level. My friend group is very important to me. I don’t know what I would do or be without them and I’m so grateful to have these people in my life.

Who inspires you as an artist?
My main inspiration would be [Reclamare owner] Corey Bernhardt. He is definitely my baseline. His drive and approach to art has definitely pushed me and helped me tremendously. Watching his growth and seeing him strive to achieve what he wants out of himself artistically is extremely inspiring. As for artists whose work I find inspiring: Kelsey J. Beckett, Brandi Milne, Ly Aleister, Kelly Doty and Emily Rose Murray.

What music is on heavy rotation while you work or paint?
There’s a lot of music that inspires me to get down to work. Right now I’m listening to a lot of This Will Destroy You, because Corey listens to them a lot. And this band Eisley, and Radiohead has always been something that I listen to when I work; they are probably one of my favorite bands. My favorite album is OK Computer. There’s also a lot of Sigur Ros and The National. And also Sacramento artists Rituals of Mine [formerly known as Sister Crayon]; I have listened to them consistently for probably the last 10 years.

The Reclamare Gallery Annual Group Art Show is Saturday, Nov. 12, 2016 from 6–10 p.m. at Reclamare Gallery & Custom Tattoo located at 2737 Riverside Blvd. in Sacramento. The show will feature new original art and prints by some of the best tattoo artists in the greater Sacramento area on display and for sale. Find more information at Facebook.com/Reclamaretattoo.

Speaking in front of people scares Corey Bernhardt. So does tattooing, painting and producing comic books. But he does all four.

“I like to challenge myself,” the Sacramento native says. “Tattooing scares the shit out of me, but that’s why I do it. That’s why I paint. I make this statement, ‘I’m gonna do this’ and it scares me to talk in front people but that’s why I love it.”

He admits to being scared of this interview too, but along with his ability to face his fears, Bernhardt knows he wants to connect with people and to learn from experiences and mistakes.

He also knows that all he’s ever wanted to be since he learned to read is a comic book illustrator.

“I had a friend who lived down the street when I was 5 or 6 years old and he had three or four comic books, and I was instantly blown away,” says Bernhardt, now 32. “He gave them to me probably because all I wanted to do was look at them when I went to his house, and I just read them front to back over and over again and started trying to emulate the illustrations.”

Bernhardt didn’t release his first creator-owned comic book Cardboard City, until 2010, some 15 years after his childhood comic experience. The short-lived action sci-fi publication with a robot as a main character received mixed reviews.

“I made a lot of mistakes,” he says. “I had never done a comic book before. I had trouble drawing certain things, or the pacing wasn’t right. I want to take what’s there and rework it and re-release it.”

Bernhardt loves storytelling and when he’s not painting, teaching or tattooing, he is home storyboarding and figuring out characters.

He started his professional art training in his early 20s, when a friend got him an interview for a graphic design position at a Tower Records production office.

“I started at Tower Records—it was kind of like the evil empire, a bizarre work environment,” he says looking back. “When I started I had no real graphic design experience, I knew a little Photoshop, I was 20 or 21, but I took some of my work and titled the folder ‘Please hire me,’ and the person interviewing said ‘It’s not the best work, but I like your attitude.’”

Bernhardt learned from other graphic artists working at the office and later produced freelance work for local bands and businesses—flyers, stickers, whatever he could try.

Hoping to further hone his skills, Bernhardt studied illustration in 2005 at the Academy of Art in San Francisco. In 2009 his freelancing and illustration work landed him an apprenticeship at Pretty in Ink Tattoo in Roseville.

“I never in a million years thought I would be a tattoo artist,” Bernhardt says. “When I was 19 or 20, I had some friends say I should tattoo but I was intimidated by tattoo artists. I didn’t have that persona, didn’t think I could hang out with them. But through graphic design, I got into it.”

Along the way, Bernhardt found much respect for tattoo art and painting.

“What I like about tattooing is it allows me to crisscross back and forth between the art forms, switch gears and do more sequential work or illustration, then go to painting,” he says. “I can’t say I love one over the other. And I think that’s how art is going today. You have to be able to cross genres, put down the pencil and pick up a camera, then put down the camera and pick up a paintbrush. But it is hard to find a distinct style.”

Bernhardt says he found his painting style, which reflects in his other work, when he first started putting oil on wood.

“I was never interested in painting—I just wanted to be a comic book illustrator—but when I started working at a tattoo shop, both tattoo artists I worked with were oil painting and they would bring out a canvas in between clients,” he says.

The practice intrigued him.

“With tattoos you would think it’s more about drawing, but it’s more like the fundamentals of painting, color theory, mixing colors,” he says. “Until I tried it I didn’t realize that. And when you work at a shop, you can put [your painting] behind you and a client will see it and might want it. It’s one more thing in your arsenal when you’re a freelance artist or independent contractor.”

So Bernhardt took a magnifying glass to his favorite artists’ prints and chose oil on wood to begin painting. A Circa Survive album cover inspired him, and he found out the artist had been Esao Andrews. His style, along with that of James Gleeson, left an impression.

“When I saw what those guys are doing I was like, yeah, that’s what I want to do,” he says enthusiastically. “It’s beautiful, grotesque, what I admire and I’m trying to emulate that kind of universe that they paint in. I think what made me so attached to that style of painting is when you see the painting, you want to be there, you want to see what it’s like to live there for a day.”

Bernhardt is more attracted to painting the bizarre in nature, using animals, insects and fruit.

“I like to do bizarre things like put a fish in the sky, a bird under water,” he says. “It’s more a conceptual thing than a message. I’m not trying to convey a message, I’m just trying to get a feeling out of it.”

Bernhardt has only been practicing fine art for a couple years, but he has befriended a slew of Sacramento artists along the way. After connecting with local tattoo artist Jessica Ann White, and sharing with her a vision for a fine art gallery that also includes a tattoo shop, the two decided to open Reclamare Gallery and Custom Tattoo at 2737 Riverside Boulevard in Land Park.

The gallery will host pieces from both Bernhardt and White regularly, as well as from Andy Steele, Jared Tharp, Chris Bales, Jared Konopitski, Jacquelyn Bond, Jayme Goodwin, Andrew Luck, Jason Taylor, Kathryn Mayo and Joel Smith during April’s Second Saturday.

“I wanted to get people to keep coming to the shop and also help other local artists by being a hub,” Bernhardt says. “You see that nowadays, there will be a gallery but there will be a bar or something in it, so the gallery doesn’t draw a lot people but you can get them in for a drink. I wanted people to know this was for fine art. It’s a gallery for artists who happen to do tattoos.”

He also wanted a place to host local workshops, classes and artists who could teach painting, as a way to give back to the community that supported him. Currently, Bernhardt teaches figure drawing at University Art on Marconi Avenue.

“I just want for people to be comfortable and talk about art and not be intimidated by that whole culture,” he says of the new gallery.

Bernhardt is happy with the location of the gallery and shop because he doesn’t want to take away from the tattoo studios that have been established downtown, and because the gallery is in line with a few others in the immediate area.

“We’re also across the street from the cemetery, which is kind of creepy but it’s beautiful,” he says, noting he thought the shop might be haunted but took care of any possible spirits before opening.

Just another small scare along his path. No big deal.

For more info, visit Reclamare’s little corner of Facebook, Facebook.com/Reclamaretattoo.