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T
o convey the sheer wonder and
amazement of the underwater world
and its inhabitants, Deano Cook’s
preferred medium is skin and ink.
His body of work — thousands of
sprawling, richly colored seascapes
replete with giant octopuses, sea turtles, blue marlins,
corals, orcas, dolphins, divers, and sharks, always
sharks — adorns the bodies of his clients and has
made him a cult hero to ocean insiders and tattoo
aficionados alike.
The 45-year-old visual polymath — he also paints
and is an award-winning underwater photographer —
typically takes his own reference photos for tattoos. “I
like to take my art from sea to skin,” Cook explained.
“It makes my work a more intimate experience.” But be
prepared: One of his larger creations (an inked sleeve, for
instance) will set you back the cost of a new rebreather.
Andy Dehart, vice president of animal husbandry
at the Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science in
Miami and the shark advisor for Discovery Channel’s
“Shark Week,” has served as Cook’s chainmail-
clad bodyguard on shark photographic treks. He
said Cook’s passion for the ocean and his deep
understanding of color and light enable him to capture
animals in their true form.
Cook initially inked on the aquarist’s upper right
arm a half sleeve featuring Emma, a tiger shark Dehart
worked with at Tiger Beach, Bahamas. The tattoo
subsequently grew to include two lemon sharks. “It’s
like wearing a Picasso on your skin,” Dehart said.
Cook’s predilection for water and art is in his blood.
His father had a master’s degree in photography and
worked as an illustrator. When Cook was young, his
uncle would take him fishing, crabbing and snorkeling
in Panama City, Fla. That’s where Cook encountered his
first shark, which became a subject for his early paintings.
Cook started building his portfolio at an early age.
He painted backdrops for his school and pored over
art books. His mom enrolled him in oil-painting
classes. But there was no money for art school, so at
17 he left home and went to work as a house painter.
He also painted cars for a local dealership.
After showing his portfolio to a local tattoo shop
owner in 1993, he was hired on the spot. When the
shop closed a year later, Cook opened Psycho Tattoo,
which he still operates today. This enabled Cook to
marry his color-realism-based art with tattooing when
the realism movement in tattooing was on the rise.
Today in ink circles he is regarded as a pioneer.
Cook soon realized a long-held dream by becoming
a scuba diver. Soon afterward he started using point-
and-shoot cameras to bring back underwater images
to show his friends, then he began incorporating
ocean art into his business.
By the late ’90s Cook had become known for his
portraits and pin-up-girl tattoos. “They put me on
the map, but I wasn’t connecting with my clients,” he
explained. In contrast, his ocean art was attracting
like-minded individuals. “I was meeting marine
biologists and documentary filmmakers, and I realized
that water people were my people,” he said.
Cook met marine artist Wyland in 2000, and a few
years later he helped Wyland paint his 88
th
whaling
wall mural in Destin, Fla. He went on to help paint
four more. Wyland, who now boasts a Cook sleeve,
inducted him into his Ocean Artists Society.
Cook learned how to photograph sharks under the
tutelage of pioneer Stuart Cove and participated in
Cove’s early Shark Shootouts in the Bahamas. He took
Hometown:
Atlanta, Ga
.
Years Diving:
21
Favorite Destination:
The Bahamas. I consider it my backyard.
Why I’m a DAN Member:
For the diving insurance, the continuing safety
education and
Alert Diver
magazine — I love the quality and enjoy the articles
on imaging. [Note: Cook won
Alert Diver’
s 2013 Ocean Views Photo Contest.]
DEANO COOK
By Michael Menduno
30
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WINTER 2017
DIVE SLATE
DAN MEMBER PROFILE
EDDIE TAPP