Born in Spain, Salva Navalon’s history with Smiley Dogg began when he entered into professional tattooing. Although he started with the world of tattooing in 2012, it wasn’t until 2014 when he first entered a professional studio as a tattoo artist in Valencia (Spain). This afforded him the opportunity to eventually guest spot with Smiley Dogg and two weeks later he made his journey to the Emerald Isle. Making an impression during his first experience as a guest tattoo artist allowed him the opportunity to often return and a mere two years later, he found himself staying with the business, making the life changing decision to relocate to Ireland and start his new venture. Since late 2016, Salva has acquired the Smiley Dogg business as his own and has been heading up the studio since, combining tattooing with business management.

Salva’s own personal style of tattooing is mainly characterised by using a soft contrast between black and grey realism. Also a portrait specialist, he continuously strives to get the best results from his reference images.