‘Ink Master’ Finalist Kelly Doty Talks About Final Tattoo, Ryan Malarkey’s Win And Much More

“Ink Master” finalist Kelly Doty is happy the Spike reality show ended Dec. 6, but it doesn’t mean she’s done with tattoo competitions. The tattoo artist might thrust herself into the limelight once more, so long as the timing is right.

“I’ve considered it because it’s a thing you see contestants do sometimes,” Doty told International Business Times in a phone interview Tuesday. “It’s kind-of ‘hippy dippy’ but it’s nice that the break from the show happened around the winter solstice so everything has this nice little complete death before it starts again in the spring.” She added: “I would absolutely be down given the right time period.”

While things have slowed down for Doty since she wrapped up “Ink Master,” her tattooing has not. “I fell right back into normal life,” she said. “I wasn’t sure what was going to happen when it was all over-- like if I was going to have [this feeling of] wandering the earth, unable to cope. As it turned out, I’m pretty good. Things went back to business as usual.”

Spoilers! Well that was all quite a ride. This is my 24-hour master canvas that I did for last nights @spikeinkmaster #inklive finale. I'm really proud of it and my only regret is that I didn't get the chance to show everyone. But I want to thank Caleb, my master canvas, for sitting through a grueling 24 hours and letting me do this on him! And I want to thank the AMAZING and rowdy crowd last night for being so supportive! I've never experienced anything like that before, and as kind of a weirdo, it meant everything to me. The amount of support from my friends and heroes and family (which are often one and the same) has been beyond amazing and I really don't have the words for it. I just don't. And to @ryanashleymalarkey and @giankarle, there's no one more deserving to be up there. You're both some of the hardest working most genuine people I've gotten to meet and you have earned everything good that comes from this. I'm so happy for both of you, and very excited for @ryanashleymalarkey and the incredible accomplishment she's achieved! Final note: I appreciate everyone's support more than you know but please remember we don't need to tear others down to build ourselves up. Thank you all again. And thank you so much to @spikeinkmaster and @davenavarro @oliverpecker and my captain @chrisnunezhandcrafted for this surreal opportunity! #inkmaster #inkmasterseason8
A photo posted by Kelly Doty (@kellydotylovessoup) on Dec 7, 2016 at 8:53am PST

Doty likes to call herself the “endearing third place loser.” And one this is certain: Her sense of humor is certainly in tact. “I have a dart board with Dave Navarro’s face on it,” she quipped. “That’s not even true,” she added with a laugh.

When it comes to Ryan Ashley Malarkey winning the title of “Ink Master,” Doty has no hard feelings. “I felt like anybody could win and it would be completely justified,” she said about the final three.

One thing Doty touched on was the female alliance in Season 8. The women banded together, hoping a female would take the title of “Ink Master” in Season 8. While it’s true Doty wanted to see a woman win, she wanted a talented tattooer to take the title. “I feel like there was this prevailing thought that we didn’t care what one won as long as a woman won. The point was it had to be a woman that deserved it,” she said. “There isn’t a woman that deserved it more than Ryan. She worked her butt off.”

She called finalist Gian Karle Cruz “amazing,” too, and then joked that she wanted herself to win 3-percent more than the others. “I’m just biased that way,” she joked.

Since Doty landed in third place, she didn’t get to show off her final piece, an American traditional tattoo that took her 24 hours to do. She wasn’t surprised “Ink Master” didn’t show it, but she was still “bummed.” Earlier in the season, she didn’t hit the mark with her American traditional tattoo.

“I was hoping to have a full circle redemption on it. I am really happy with it,” Doty said about 24-hour chest piece.

She also praised her canvas, who took proper care of the tattoo when he went home. “We send them out and then we have to chew our nails and hope they heal well. They could go home and take and cheese grater to their skin and you have no control of it,” Doty explained. “He healed it beautifully and he’s super happy with it.”

Ink Master Season 8 — Kelly Doty had the chance to become the first woman to win "Ink Master." Spike

One of the things Doty liked most about being on “Ink Master” was the people she met. But she also liked the challenge of doing tattoos that were outside her expertise.

Doty is the co-owner of The Helheim Gallery, a full female shop in Salem, Massachusetts. Getting onto the show during Season 8, when the female alliance was prevalent, was especially important for Doty.

Doty had previously talked to “Ink Master” about being on the series, but it didn’t work out until Season 8 because of scheduling conflicts. “This seemed to be the first season that both me and ‘Ink Master’ were in the right place at the right time,” she said. “I’m really glad that it happened for this season in particular.”