TattooLaPalooza
July 10-12 2009
Miami, Florida
Miami Beach Convention Center
Tattoo & Motorcycle Convention

Live Free or Die Tattoo Convention
July 10-12 2009
Manchester, NH
Radisson Hotel
Contests, Side Show Performances, Concert Saturday

4th Annual APT Tattoo Rendezvous Convention
July 16th-19th 2009
Kansas City, Missouri
EmbassySuites-TiffanySprings
7640 N.W. Tiffany Springs Pkwy.

Pomona Body Arts Expo
January 17-19 2009
Pomona, California
Fairplex
Tattooists, Contests, Merchandise

5th Annual International
Stavanger Tattoo Covnention
July 24-25 2009
Stavanger, Norway

If you know anymore conventions happening in July leave them in the comments…
Content Provided by Tattoo Conventions.com

West Frankfort, Illinois native Dan “Curly” Summers seems to love three things: 1. The Three Stooges 2. Wrestling 3. Tattoos.  He also probably loves those three things in exactly that order.

How much does Dan love The Three Stooges?  Well, while growing up he claims that every Saturday night at 11pm, regardless of who or what he was doing, he would get home to watch the The Three Stooges television program.  The Stooges were Dan’s life.  Then, after some time Dan decided that he wanted to honor his favorite comic trio by getting some tattoos of them.  But why stop at one?

14-years of tattoo work later and Summers had his body covered with 86 tattoos of varying sizes, all of which, were of the Stooges.  Still eager to show off his love for Moe, Larry and Curly, Summers decided that there was plenty more room on his face and so, Dan “Curly” Summers proceeded to have 13 more Three Stooges tattoos done right on his mug and dome, including an inner lip tattoo which reads “4th Stooge”.

The thing was that after some time, having 13 Three Stooges tattoos on his face got a little bit tiresome. Dan got sick of having Three Stooges tattoos all over his face (go figure) and decided to have them removed.  He even found a doctor in LA who agreed to perform the removal procedures for free, provided Dan allow him to take before and after photographs.  Dan did and wow, I must say that the doctor did a great job.

These days Dan trains to be a pro-wrestler.  His face is tattoo-free, but all the other Stooges tattoos remain, including a particularly massive back piece of Curly’s face.  The spirit of the Stooges seems to be pushing Summers on toward his goal of entertaining people.  He even claims that he’ll be the WWE Champion of the World in 2 years.

I don’t even know what to say.  Check out this video of Summers practicing his wrestling, chatting with reports and mugging the camera with Stooges moves.

In the past I’ve written several posts about the various manners in which tattoo art is making its way into the mainstream.  I see now that I was wrong all along.  Tattoo art isn’t making its way into the mainstream, tattoo art is the mainstream.  And if you need proof of that as I apparently did, then you should read this article from The Baltimore Sun.

It never surprises me to see a new addition to the tattoo art on (insert object here), but now it seems as though companies are scrambling to find a surface to display any form of tattoo art possible.  Ami James, star of “Miami Ink”, for example, has designed the “Do Not Disturb” door hanger signs for the Dana Hotel and Spa in Chicago.

Don’t get me wrong, I have no objection to Ami making a buck - I know that he’s just a squirrel trying to get a nut too, and all that - but some of this is just starting to feel a little bit, well, I don’t know…a bit much, I guess.  I can only speak from my personal standpoint, obviously, but my personal standpoint is that tattooing has never been about trying to fit into that whole is it cool or isn’t it scene.  Tattooing, I think, has always been above all that, without ever adopting a holier than thou attitude.  When I hear or read things like this:

“The look is popular with hipsters,” says Allan Gordon, president of Wholley Sheet, a Los Angeles company that markets the Ed Hardy Home Collection. “People who are ‘fly’ love the look.”

Hipsters?  The same guys that wear skinny jeans and sport Keffiyeh scarfs around their necks? Those guys? Hey, no offense guys.   If you want to wear skinny jeans and Keffiyeh scarfs, then more power to you.  But do we have to quantify tattoos in the process?  Do they need to be made into something exclusive, something that defines who is cool and who isn’t?

At one point, people who had tattoos were considered bad, outlaws, troublemakers.  It seemed that you were either a good person with no tattoos, or a bad person who had tattoos.  The idea that a tattoo could dictate what type of person you were was laughable to those who knew better, but still widely regarded to be true by society in general.

My point is that tattoo has never excepted the notion of being or acting as any sort of judge.  Tattooing just is what it is: a personal and permanent artistic expression.  That’s the way that it should be.  So when people talk about hipsters and how “fly” (seriously, I can’t believe that dude used the word “fly”) people like tattoo clothing and products, well…I get a little defense. 

When it comes to Celtic art you would be hard pressed to find a better tattoo artist than Pat Fish. Trained by the legendary Cliff Raven, Pat has gone on to carve out her own unique identity as the go to person when it comes to Celtic tattooing.

By her own admission Pat had no ethnic identity as a child, yet she had a gnawing craving for a connection to a bloodline and history. Typical of unfortunate children who have been orphaned, she sought out her roots and was delighted to discover that she was Pict and Scott of the Clan Campbell on both sides of her families heritage.

It seemed that fate took her by the hand even then, because at the same time she met her true relatives and learned about her heritage she also began her foray into the world of tattooing. Such supposed coincidences could only mean that she was destined to bring the intricate world of Celtic and Pictish art to life in skin.

Featured in the October 2008 issue of Skin and Ink magazine as one of the top 13 women tattoo artists. Pat has also won the prestigious First Prize for Best Ornamental Tattoo at the Stockholm Ink Bash 2008, as evidenced by the picture to the right from her website Luckyfish.

But don’t think for a moment that this amazing tattoo artist is a one trick pony. Just a quick look around at her online portfolio here will soon let you know that Pat Fish is an all around artist capable of realistic work, as well as traditional.

Pat can be found laying ink out of Tattoo Santa Barbara studios at 318 State Street, Santa Barbara, CA. So if you have a craving for some really eyepoping Celtic tribal, both traditional and custom, as many in the know can tell you. Go Fish.

First off I do want to make it clear that I am not Vegan, in fact:

“I like mine with lettuce and tomato;
Hinze 57 and French fried potato.
A big kosher pickle and a cold draft beer.
Good god Almighty which way do I steer?”
Cheeseburger in Paradise, Jimmy Buffet.

All clowning around aside, I also admire the Vegan lifestyle, it’s just not me, and I have to hand it to anyone who does opt for this animal friendly way of life. On the practical side, though it’s not easy to live in our modern world as a Vegan. Not only do you live as a vegetarian, but for the most part you refuse to have anything to do with products that are made using animal parts. No leather jackets, purses, wallets, etc. No drugs that are made from animals, or foods that may contain animal byproducts….and for many Vegan tattoo enthusiasts, no ink that may contain animal byproducts. As the Vegans explain it, it’s all part of a cruelty-free lifestyle.

Now that can be very tricky since most collectors give little thought to the ingredients that go into making tattoo ink.

With the exception of hazardous materials, such as heavy metals, tattoo ink can contain everything from burnt animal bones, (Bone Black), to glycerin, which although sometimes produced from plants is more typically made using animal fats. For a Vegan this is downright unacceptable.

Even for Vegan collectors there are two sides to this ongoing argument, which I have no interest in getting in the middle of, and opposing viewpoints can be found in this article, as well as this one. Since both the authors are Vegan they have a firmer grasp of the subject than I.

I did, however research a few establishments that offer Vegan tattooing. In New York Fun City Tattoo not only employs Vegan Tattoo artists, but guarantees their Vegan inks. Scapegoat Tattooing on the west coast is pretty much the same. In a pinch you can ask your artist if he uses the following inks, which are all quite Vegan.

Pelikan black is Vegan.
Starbrite is Vegan except for their black.
Stable is all Vegan.
Eternal is all Vegan.
Waverly colors are Vegan.
Unique (Permapro) colors are Vegan.
Classic is all Vegan.

As always, it is your body, your tattoo. Never be afraid to ask your tattoo artist questions. No legitimate artist is going to be offended, and if they are…..find another artist.

Peace out, Gang!

It never ceases to amaze me how after thousands of years and tons ink on everyone from ice age humans, carnival performers, royalty, and celebrities, a single tattoo can still generate more than a bit of buzz. Not to mention publicity.

Not long ago Erin Lucas, star of MTV’s The City, announced on her Twitter page that she had decided to get a tattoo. This caused a bit of a bit of speculation as to what she would choose. Thought on the matter ranged from an a-typical butterfly tramp stamp, to the newest craze in celebrity tattooing of having a poignant phrase, or motto. So, in keeping with her nonconformist image Erin opted to honor her famous father, Cliff Williams’ legendary metal band AC/DC, with their stylized lightning bolt on her right ribcage.

What impresses me the most about this particular celebrity tattoo is not the fact that another celebrity has chosen to get inked, that has become almost standard practice these days. No, what makes me stand up and take notice is her choice of placement. From years of experience as a tattoo artist I can say one thing for certain. The ribcage is one of the most sensitive places to have any body art placed. Even though women are tougher when it comes to tattooing, that is a very hard core place to get a tattoo, especially a first timer.

Way to go, Erin!

Naturally, the new tattoo caused a bit of a stir on the web after she showed up at the Gen Art benefit party in New York Wednesday night, with quite a few supposed web blogs doing the same lame “Do you like it, or not” polls. Seriously, what does it matter if the public likes the tattoo, or not? She got it because she likes it, and since she has the ‘balls’ to get her first tattoo in a decidedly hardcore area, I’m pretty sure Erin is not all that worried about whether some lame geek, who probably isn’t even a fan, dislikes her tattoo.

Personally, I think it looks good, and it is definitely  a personal statement. Which, of course, is what tattooing is all about. Individuality, and a personal statement.

We all know that Michael Jackson died today, but what about the Michael Jackson Tattoos???
If you know of anymore Jackson tattoos… I can only wonder what crazy tattoos people will becoming out with over the next couple days, leave a comment if you see one.

Read the rest of this entry »

For more than thirty years, Boston native turned LA convert Mark Mahoney has been busy.  Not just busy, like he has a lot of work to do.  Anyone can just be busy.  Mark Mahoney is the kind of artist who is busy.  Tattooing celebrities?  Check.  Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt - Mark actually works in close production with British director Tony Scott, creating tattoo design work for characters in his films.  Most recently his tattoo design work can be seen Columbia Picture’s The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3. 

Fashion world links?  Got it.  Not only are they fashion world links, but in Mahoney’s estimation, he took part in one of the …very first times fashion and tattooing came together. That entire movement now seems to be gaining in momentum.

Mahoney’s black and white art definitely retains the feel of something gritty and raw, like the street itself with a harshly sincere LA vibe.  One of my personal favourite Mark Mahoney tattoos is of a Mexican day of the dead mask, resting below the stylish script of the words Los Angeles.  It’s a stunning tattoo, most notably for the three dimensional work on the mask.  Unfortunately, I can’t find a photo of the tattoo online, so if you’re interested in looking at this beauty along with a whole lot more of Mark Mahoney’s work, you can do so by clicking here. and viewing Mark’s entire online gallery.

Last but not least, let’s not forget LA’s notorious Shamrock Social Club -which Mahoney presides over as owner and artist - and where some of the finest black and grey (okay, and sometimes colour too) can be had if your pockets got the green.

One of the tattooing world’s greats.

So after we reported the news in regards to the girl in Belgium, Kimberley Vlaminck, who asked for 3 tattoos and received 56, she has finally come clean and admitted the truth… like all good girls she lied about her innocence to her father because he was made.

Miss Vlaminck told a Dutch TV crew: ‘I asked for 56 stars and initially adored them. ‘But when my father saw them, he was furious.
‘So I said I fell asleep and that the tattoist had made a mistake.’

The tattoo artist Toumanaintz said, ‘I don’t regret it. To tell you the truth, this has given me some publicity.’

Will she get them removed them or keep them? Stay Tuned….

Prison tattoos are nothing new and I know that I always come down on scratchers and that prison tattoos are basically done by scratchers, but the guys are locked up in prison and they don’t really have anyone to give them quality tattoos and well…that’s kind of sad, isn’t it?

Well, Rhea County Prison inmate Ricky Parker Jr thinks that it is and so he decided to do something about it.  Apparently ever the industrious fellow, Parker undertook a prison tattoo ink manufacturing method called “Pop-lighting”.  

Pop-lighting involves taking an electrical cord of some sort, stripping it to the wires, then touching them together.  A styrofoam cup is then burned upside down in order to capture soot.  That soot is then mixed with toothpaste and used for ink.

If you think that sounds like a shitty way to make ink for a tattoo, that’s because it is.

Anyway, Parker got a little too much heat going via those stripped wires and ended up setting his entire styrofoam cup on fire.  This caught the attention of the guards, who came to his cell and discovered that Mr Parker wasn’t up to anything that prison authorities generally approve of.

As a result of Parker’s smoke show, he’s been hit with a reckless endangerment charge that will extend his current sentence.  Which sucks for Ricky Parker Jr.  

All the guy wanted was a tattoo.