Lew Sommerville
Lew Sommerville was born and raised in Trenton, New Jersey. As the son of two fine artists, he has always been attracted to the idea of pursuing art as a career. Following high school, however, he opted to attend the University of Pittsburgh, and went on to graduate in 2020 with degrees in both Chemistry and Anthropology. Deciding that neither of these career fields were for him, he pestered the artists at Empire Tattoo into allowing him to pursue an apprenticeship in tattooing under Angel O’Connor.
Lew has a deep appreciation for all forms of tattooing, but took special interest in engraving, woodcut, blackwork, fine-line, and dot work. He loves exploring weird and bold subject matter, typically with some form of a medieval twist, although is absolutely always open to the client’s ideas and interests. Having been working steadily for the past year, Lew loves developing professional relationships with his clients and other tattooers, and looks forward to further developing his skill as an artist at Empire.
Outside of work, Lew enjoys training in Muay Thai, morning runs, reading, and hangin’ with his cat Birdie. He serves part-time as an Infantry officer in the PA National Guard, and has been in the service since 2017.
