Mr. Cartoon, Mark Machado, spoke at the Pico Youth and Family Center on Tuesday, April 28. About 100 people, mostly youth, attended the event. Cartoon, a world-famous tattoo artist, came from a challenging background and overcame many obstacles, to achieve his prominence. He urged the young people to have dreams and reach for them, finish school, and keep busy to avoid the pitfalls of social and environmental pressures. And he encouraged hard work, saying that he started out as a graffiti artist, and twenty years of experience has made him the artist that he is today. Cartoon is tattoo artist to the stars including Beyonce, 50 Cent, Alicia Keys, and Eminem, has a special-edition Vans shoe, a clothing company, and is sought after by movie studios including billboard art for the new “Fast & Furious” movie. Cars, all that stuff, comes and goes. What’s real in life is what’s invisible- love, passion, and giving back to your community.”
photo by Margaret Molloy
