Know a great tattoo artist who is good at monster tattoo pictures and designs? Leave a link to there monster tattoos in the comments and we’ll add them to Tattoo Blog!

Jeremiah Barba
Outer Limits Tattoo
22 chestnut place,Long Beach, CA US

Jeremiah Barba
Outer Limits Tattoo
22 chestnut place,Long Beach, CA US

Jeremiah Barba
Outer Limits Tattoo
22 chestnut place,Long Beach, CA US

Josh Woods

Larry Brogan
Tattoo City Skin Art Studio
14508 S. Archer Ave. Lockport, Illinois 60441
815-836-TAT2 (8282)

Larry Brogan
Tattoo City Skin Art Studio
14508 S. Archer Ave. Lockport, Illinois 60441
815-836-TAT2 (8282)

Marco Cerretelli
West Hollywood Tattoo
8206 Santa Monica Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90046

Mike DeVries
MD Tattoo Studio
Northridge, CA US

Nate Beavers
Vampire Girl
Off the Map Tattoo
March 12, 2009 – March 16, 2009
Easthampton Ma 01027

Tim Kern
Tribulation Tattoo
New York , NY US

The cigar city tattoo convention is scheduled for Jan. 8th-11th in Tampa Florida.  Some attending artists whose work I’m familiar with include Tom Depriest; Tony Olivas; Cool Aid; and the fucking phenomenal Phil Holt.  Check out cigarcitytattooconvention.com for details.

While you’re there you may want to swing by the Miami show that’s taking place at the same time.  miamitattooexpo.com is the place, although I couldn’t find any particular artists names in the forty seconds I spent looking at the site before I wrote this, you may have better luck.

Here’s a disclaimer:  If you’ve never been to a show (convention) before, you should know that you will need to bring a lot of cash as it’s almost impossible to attend without getting the ‘itch’.  It’s a rare occassion indeed that I go to a convention and don’t get tattooed.  Also, should you want to get tattooed by a particular artist, it would be a good idea to get in contact with them as soon as you can to reserve some time.  Have fun kids!

Wildo

Alder Vandelft
Black Chapel Tattoo
2180 West Fairbanks Avenue
Winter Park, FL 32789.
(407)644-4467
Myspace. com/wickedvandelft

My name is Alder VanDelft and I work at a shop called Black Chapel Tattoo in Winter Park, FL. I started tattooing at the tender age of 19 and have been doing what I love for the last 15 years. I endured a pretty ROUGH apprenticeship under a guy named Frank Romano in Long Island, NY. My apprenticeship lasted about 8 mos. working 10 hour days 6 days a week with no pay. How I was able to earn any sorta income during that time was by doing crazy shit that entertained Frank. And by entertain I mean by having to go to Dunkin Donuts in my underware and order coffee for everyone at the shop, or by being dared to run naked down the major highway that ran in front of the shop for $100. It was like being mentally and physically tortured BIG BROTHER STYLE!!But thats how it was back then, you had to earn the priveldge to be taught how to tattoo. I did free tattoos for 6 mos. then 1/2 price tattoos for 6 mos, then finally I was part of the gang. I quickly pushed myself towards doing free-hand custom tattoos. That was a great and memorable time in my life, Frank was my teacher and a great one at that. Read the rest of this entry »

“Please allow me to introduce myself;
I’m a man of wealth and taste.
I’ve been around for a long, long year;
Stole many a man’s soul and faith.”

“Death and darkness have always been a classic tattoo theme – skulls, snakes, demons, spiders and spiderwebs are all conventional tattoo imagery. Darkside tattooing takes our fascination with mortality, death, isolation, fear and evil to new levels.”

The Body Art Book : A Complete, Illustrated Guide to Tattoos, Piercings, and Other Body Modifications, Jean-Chris Miller, pg 56.

No matter how you look at it the most popular tattoo images are from the dark side of human nature. From the hot naked red devil girl so popular in the fifties and sixties, to the durable, been around forever,skull and grim reaper imagery. Demon, dragon and devils have been a staple of the tattooing world for as long as anyone can remember. A fact that the “moral” religious right has been increasingly up in arms about since the popularity of tattooing has been on the rise.

Never mind the fact that millions of us got to watch these bastions of “moral” behavior backstab each other during the Jim Baker fiasco of the 80’s, or that to make this country their own they lied, cheated, stole, and murdered. Oral Roberts threatened to die unless his “congregation” came up with millions of dollars to save his life.

Despite all this, and far more than I have the space, or will to get into, we are the bad guys leading people into Hell with our Satanic ritual of tattooing. Excuse me for a moment while I roll around on the floor laughing.

Over the course of many years I tattooed folks from all walks of life, especially when the art became more popular. Everyone from Bikers to Used Car Salesmen came through the doors of the various shops I worked in, and I’ve done images that ranged from Skull and dagger, to Jimmy Buffet tropical sunrises. During that time I learned a bit about people. It’s not the tattoo that makes someone good or evil, it’s the person. Plain and simple.

A few interesting facts about the number of bodies that I put ink to.

I did a tattoo for a pagan friend that was perhaps a classic as far as supposed “satanic imagery” would go. It was a pentacle with a horned skull in the center. Around the outside was a series of runic symbols at the points of the interlaced star. This guy was one of the kindest, gentlest, and most boy scout type of person you would ever want to meet. At one time he got semi-famous for saving a five year old from drowning, and the dude couldn’t even swim. He paddled out to her hanging onto an inflated inner tube.

Another note worthy tattoo was done on a prosecuting attorney, young guy, stand up member of society, went to church every Sunday and on Wednesday revival. He got a small cross with a rose. He was known for going after drug dealers with a vengeance and seeking maximum penalties. He was later arrested as the leader of the ring that was importing the cocaine being sold in the first place.

The point is that the tattooing choices people make have little to nothing to do with whether or not they are satanic in nature. It is the person themselves that is in question. Sure there are more than a few bad asses who wear tattoos. I also know there are more than a few good people out there who love them too. I’d be more than willing to bet that the good people out number the bad one’s by quite a large margin.

As tattoo collectors we show the world what we like. We make a statement that more often than not proves the old saw; “You can not judge a book by it’s cover.” If getting a tattoo is a sure sign of going to Hell. I guess I’ll meet you all over by the bar-b-q. Seems more often than not you’ll be spending time with a better class of people.

Maybe I can talk Paul Booth into doing my next dragon while we’re there?

I had wanted to be a tattoo artist since I was about 12 years old.  Other kids wanted to be fireman or pro wrestlers or Batman, I liked to draw on myself and chewed copious amounts of Bazooka Joe gum (only some of you will get that one, the old some of you’s).  At seventeen I convinced my folks to sign for me to get my first tattoo.  Dad was against it but knew that saying no would just further increase that rift the tends to occur between a father and his teenage son and besides, I’d be eighteen in a few months (and thus totally unstoppable).  In my high school year book my classmates voted me most likely to ‘end up owning a tattoo parlor’.  Thirteen years later I’m a professional tattooer, heavily tattooed, and totally fucking unstoppable.  Thanks Dad.

I had friends that got tattooed at parties when I was a drunk teenager but I’d always avoided that.  I did however get tattooed by a fellow Marine when I was stationed in Japan (I was young and stupid, his work looked okay to me, and I didn’t know enough to find good tattooers in Japan.)  That scratcher tattoo hurt like all hell.  I rememeber that guy drinking beers and blasting Sublime for the duration of the three-hour outline, meanwhile I’m watching my sweat pool on the floor as a result of trying to sit still through this impromptu torture session.  When he’d finished his outline I went downstairs to get a good look at it in the mirror and as soon as my shirt came off my roomate said ‘He fucked your back UP!’  this did not bode well.  Upon inspection of said fuckery I realized that I’d made a horrible mistake and I’m sure I mentioned my difficulties with anger management, so I went upstairs to have a little talk with the guy.  I decided to use a metal tee-ball bat as a mouthpiece.  I knock-knock, he opens door, I split his forehead open.  The ensuing court-martial resulted in an E-5 being reduced in rank to an E-1 (almost unheard of in my experience) and the guy was to receive a Bad Conduct discharge from the Marines, which would prevent that twelve-year veteran and career Marine from reenlisting.  This happened, the court said, because the senior Marine should have known better than to mutilate his fellow Marine and that others had stepped forward to speak against him (though their tattoos weren’t nearly as large or as screwed as mine).  I got a slap on the wrist since I had won Marine of the year for my base that year and I had to live with my mistake for the rest of my life.  Marines, ya gotta love ’em.  A few years and a few hundred dollars later and I had a decent cover-up to hide my shame.  So even wildo makes mistakes…

That being said, the problem with scratchers is that they always have and always will exist.  As long as people remain uninformed and until tattoo is seen as an art by more than just the folks who have ’em, stupid people will try to save a buck or two by letting some supremely confident and completely ignorant asshole scratch on ’em.

For scratchers:  The reason your tattoos will never be worth a shit is because you don’t care enough to get good.  You don’t care about the people you mutilate, the artform you trash, or the fact that you’re making life harder for the people who have worked so hard for so long to bring ethical practices to this business.  Your work will always suck because you can’t get the pigment I use or the machines I use, and you know nothing of the application of either of these things in a professional context.  You don’t know what terms like frame geometry, angle of deflection, hertz, magnetic polarity, tempered steel tensile strength, or metal fatigue mean.  You don’t know shit. You don’t care enough to learn how to do it right, you just plain don’t have the heart.

Things that will help:  Until there are standardized laws across the lower 48 states that provide professional tattooers with an consistent basis from which they can ply their trade there will always be scratchers.  Until those laws include a moratoriam on selling to unlicensed individuals, driving unethical suppliers out of business or forcing them to clean up their act there will always be scratchers.  Until existing laws regarding scratching are enforced, and the penalties for those laws stiffened we won’t be rid of scratchers.  Until tattoo is appreciated for what it is and nothing more or less than that, those people who get tattoos from scratchers will continue to get tattooed by scratchers.
Read the rest of this entry »

MusInk – the brainchild of LA Ink’s Kat Von D – has fizzled. 

The nationwide tour combining musical acts such as MOTORHEAD and Social Distortion along with some of the world’s hottest tattoo artists doing what they do best was scheduled to launch January 30 2009 but has been cancelled. 

“I’m sad that this year’s festival will not go on as planned, but I’d rather the fans not be disappointed, as there were key elements that did not come together as originally designed,” Kat Von D said in a public statement. 

The festival’s PR has cited the U.S.’s “current economic climate” as the reason for its shut down. Rumor has it that ticket sales weren’t as high as expected and, because of this, the costs of the show far outweighed its means.

“T” Massari
ELECTRIC SOUL TATTOOING
42033 6Th. St. West
Lancaster, CA 9353
661-945-2111
http://www.myspace.com/tmassari

My Name is “T” Massari and I own and tattoo at Electric Soul Tattooing in Lancaster, CA. Me and my lovely wife (Alexandria Massari) decided in 2005 to open our own shop and mold it into what we thought a tattoo shop should be. It has been a ton of work and alot of sleepless nights, but now we are exactly where we want to be. Electric Soul Tattooing is a custom tattoo shop that believes in a higher quality of tattooing as well as a higher quality of shop environment. We have a family of acceptionally talented artists with good motivated attitudes and the tattoo shop is super relaxed with a high class salon feel.

Type of tattoos you enjoy doing
I love doing almost anything realistic in color or black and grey, and i tend to always come back to neo-traditional. Traditional seems to suit my drawing style best and i love using all the crazy colors, fat out lines and a ton of black.

Tell us a Funny/Interesting story related to tattooing
Tattooing has more or less saved my life and given me an awesome career that I love. I finally found a job where i can make a good living and actually be excited to go to work every day!

Do you take more walk ins or appointments
I work off of appointments. At Electric Soul there is 5 other artists than myself, so there is almost always someone available for a walk-in.

Who is your typical customer?
My typical customer is someone that usually wants either portraiture work, or bigger custom work. I do a ton of realistic stuff, lots of sleeves, leg sleeves, stuff like that. Its gotten to the point where if I am not interested in taking on a project I dont have to. I am super lucky and have a really good clientel of loyal customers.
Read the rest of this entry »

Despite the best efforts of some of the opposing citizens in around East L.A.’s Oval community, a local shopping center will be getting a new tattoo shop as planned. The tattoo shop, The East L.A. Tattoo and Body Piercing, was set to open in the shopping center before a number of citizens began a campaign for it’s removal. The campaign led to a meeting of the local government early last week where it was decided the shop can continue as planned.

The owner of East L.A. Tattoo and Body Piercing had already purchased the space and begun to set up shop when a small group of citizens began to oppose it. The citizens started a website, which included a forum for others to “voice their concerns”. The group also posted an unlisted ad in the local newspaper which read, “join us at the Nov. 24 selectmen’s meeting . . . to help stop tattoos on the Oval.”

Unfortunately for the opposition, the majority of the town remained supportive of the new business. Carolyn Crooker, who owns another business on the Oval is quoted as saying, “This is his dream and it’s not up to us to crush it, whether we like it or not.”

In addition to the other business owners in the area, a number of citizens spoke out to the local news, each other, and on various internet forums letting the shop owner know they were in support of both him and his store. The response no doubt came as a surprise to the opposing citizens who were reported as being disappointed with the lack of support they were receiving in the area.

After a lengthy dispute between the people of the town the council finally held a stand-in meeting to express their opinion on the store’s opening. During the meeting the council explained that the shop met all of the health and monetary requirements and as such would be allowed to continue as planned. The council had performed a lengthy background check on the tattoo shop and found it had no reported incidents with the department of health in the 30 years it had been in business in another area before moving to Oval.

Despite the outpour of support from the community and the ruling of the local government, opposing parties like, June Costa, are not finished fighting the shop’s opening. Costa had been the shop’s biggest critic, and left the meeting stating, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way, and obviously there’s not a will,”

Obviously, the shops owner faces some future troubles in the new area, but hopefully the supportive citizens will remain supportive and the experience will be a positive one for both Oval and it’s new tattoo shop. [via]

We’ve heard a bit as of late on here about Scratchers and the negative effects they have on not just tattooing as an art form, but also the personal health and well being of those they tattoo.  A new article at Wales Online gives further proof to the growing cancer of unlicensed, DIY tattoos.  According to the article, full tattoo starter kits that include tattoo guns, inks and needles can be purchased offeBay for as little as 85£ ($126).  Not only is it easy to find these online deals, but the retailers of such goods are not restricting sales of the equipment to certified professionals.

 The problem seems to be a growing one in the UK, where this past September numerous teenagers were hospitalized after being tattooed at a house party in Llanelli, Wales.  Also in Llanelli, tattoo artist Dai Williams had 20 teens stop by his shop with infected “tattoos” they had received at a house party.

 “They have got bad infections because they are not using sterilised equipment,” said Williams.  “The guy who did these tattoos was using the same ink on people and tattooing 14-year-old kids on their hands.  Not only are there health issues, but it will affect these youngsters’ job prospects in the future because they have scarred, poorly tattooed hands.”

 Blame most certainly has to be laid on Scratchers and those who enable them with the necessary equipment, yet at the same time, I can’t help but point a finger at sites like eBay who allow these types of sales to take place.  This problem is not strictly endemic to the tattoo community either; it is a health issue that should be quickly corrected by government and online retailers alike.  What’s more, honest and certified tattoo artists should not have to suffer the negative associations to their art that Scratchers and their eBay purchased equipment bring.

 What’s more, I’m very curious to know why eBay needs to sell tattoo equipment.  Do licensed tattoo artists not have more reputable sources to go to for their equipment?  I would think so.  Ebay needs to step up and either put stricter regulations on its sales of tattoo gear, or discontinue the practice altogether.  I myself am not a tattoo artist, but it pisses me off to know that any idiot with the ability to draw a circle and Internet access can be etching ink into people’s flesh in a matter of weeks.  You know that saying about one rotten apple spoiling the whole bunch?  Well that’s definitely what’s going on here.  Here’s hoping that things will start changing soon.

 

I’d like to address what I think is the underlying issue with some of the posts I’ve read here recently.  Every aspect of tattooing, from government regulation, prison programs, or waning popularity can be broken down into two basic categories:  Good tattoo and Bad tattoo.

No government regulation is going to make people smarter, and the people that get tattooed by scratchers are undeniably dumb.  The single best way to get rid of scratchers is by doing/getting good tattoos.  I’ve found that the vast majority of the general public has no idea what a good tattoo looks like or what some artists are capable of.  When folks with scratcher tattoos come into the shop here and see what they’ve been missing it’s like they’ve been asleep for years and they’re just now waking up.  The same goes for areas where tattoo popularity is waning.  Barring the artificial increase in tattoo interest created by recent television programs and the subsequent “norming” that will no doubt occur when those shows are no longer aired, people who say they find tattoos unattractive are regularly the same people who don’t know dick about tattoo.  Hell,  find shitty tattoos unattractive myself, doesn’t mean I don’t like tattoos, just means I only like good ones.  I’d like to see a survey done comparing people’s response to images of good tattoos and bad ones, I think there will be a direct correlation between people’s dislike of tattoos and the poor quality of work.  Of course, some people just plain ole’ don’t like body art in general and that’s just fine (diversity makes the world go round) but to say that tattoo popularity is somehow decreasing whne it’s at it’s most popular ever is a bit premature.  Once again, when you can’t find tattoo shows on tv anymore I think we’ll see mainstream interest decrease, but that would just make it business as usual for most of us.

As for prison tattooing:  The only way for a program like this to work would require good tattoo artists to give of their time in order to train prisoners to tattoo.  The logistics of just that should help people see how difficult this proposal would be.  The moral argument is there, but the practicality of such a thing is nonexistent.  The bottom line is that tattoos should be done in tattoo shops or conventions, by professionals and anything that detracts from that philosophy is something that will detract from tattooing as a whole.