San diego tattoo artists/tattoo shops

[geni]

I live in San Diego... I know I'm super lucky to live in a city with so many great tattoo artists, but does anyone know if there's an artist that does watercolor tattoos? I really like Nate Banuelos from Guru Tattoo but I've yet to see a portfolio with watercolor tattoos. Help?

[David Flores]

I live in San Diego... I know I'm super lucky to live in a city with so many great tattoo artists, but does anyone know if there's an artist that does watercolor tattoos? I really like Nate Banuelos from Guru Tattoo but I've yet to see a portfolio with watercolor tattoos. Help?

What is a watercolor tattoo?

[geni]

Just a tattoo made to look like it's painted on with watercolor paints. :)

Here's some examples:

39 People With Watercolor Paintings Tattooed To Their Bodies

[heathenist]

What is a watercolor tattoo?

Yeah, don't most tattooers use watercolor to paint flash? Thus, making all tattoos that are based on flash (most American traditional), watercolor tattoos.

[geni]

It's basically just a tattoo made to seem like it's painted with watercolor paint. :) I've been seeing them a lot lately and I like. I tried posting a link to a website with examples, I think it got filtered? Here's two examples:

Sorry for hijacking the thread...

[CABS]

It's basically just a tattoo made to seem like it's painted with watercolor paint. :) I've been seeing them a lot lately and I like. I tried posting a link to a website with examples, I think it got filtered?

Looks like Amanda Wachob's work. I believe she works out of NYC. I don't know anyone else doing this kinda work though.

[Joe Shit]

I live in San Diego... I know I'm super lucky to live in a city with so many great tattoo artists, but does anyone know if there's an artist that does watercolor tattoos? I really like Nate Banuelos from Guru Tattoo but I've yet to see a portfolio with watercolor tattoos. Help?

Briana@ San Diego Tattoo Shop - BUJU Tattoo - Briana Sargent has some examples of that type of work.

Gene@ Artists | Tattoo Culture does that splatter the ink style in NYC.

[heathenist]

This is a completely personal preference, but christ I hate those "watercolor" tattoos.

Also, Chris Smith just posted that he is now working at Master Tattoo in SD.

[OrlandoFerron]

I love San Diego, and i make sure to visit Guru Tattoo every time im in the neighborhood, the folks that work there are an A+ all around. Nice, friendly highly skilled bunch of guys that are very welcoming. I got tattooed by Honkey Kong a while back and its one of my favorite pieces. They did a great job in covering all angles of the tattoo spectrum. I really havent gone to other shops in the SD area but im sure there are some other great shops around.

[traditional111]

Don't rule out driving the 1.5 hours to Orange County and hit up Goldrush Tattoo. A collection of all-star tattooers there.

Having said that, I would check out Full Circle and/or Flying Panther in San Diego.

[ian]

Marcus Kuhn, The Gypsy Gentleman, is now located in San Diego.....

[traditional111]

Marcus Kuhn, The Gypsy Gentleman, is now located in San Diego.....

Hell yes! I almost forgot about Marcus. He was tattooing out of Full Circle, but now has his own appt. only studio near downtown I think?

[ian]

Hell yes! I almost forgot about Marcus. He was tattooing out of Full Circle, but now has his own appt. only studio near downtown I think?

yep, you can reach him at [email protected]

[Tuchaka]

Figured i would bump this thread especially since i can't post a thread of my own yet. I am looking to get a full sleeve dragon tattoo , the two artists i have found so far that i really like there work and had similar examples to what i have in mind are Terry Ribera and Bill Canales. I am willing to drive to Los Angeles and anywhere in between but am looking for some other artists simply because i am so new to Tattoo's and i really wanna look at a lot of people's work before i make up my mind. As far as other cities go obviously LA has a lot of choices and the first one that just grabbed my attention was phillip spearmen but i have no idea if he has a long wait list or not.

[Graeme]

Figured i would bump this thread especially since i can't post a thread of my own yet. I am looking to get a full sleeve dragon tattoo , the two artists i have found so far that i really like there work and had similar examples to what i have in mind are Terry Ribera and Bill Canales. I am willing to drive to Los Angeles and anywhere in between but am looking for some other artists simply because i am so new to Tattoo's and i really wanna look at a lot of people's work before i make up my mind. As far as other cities go obviously LA has a lot of choices and the first one that just grabbed my attention was phillip spearmen but i have no idea if he has a long wait list or not.

If you're willing to go to LA to get tattooed, I'd suggest checking out Tattooland. Chris Brand, Stan Corona, and Mike Suarez could all give you a great tattoo.

I'm not sure all these images will work, but let's try this:

Chris Brand:

Stan Corona (kind of wanted to find a picture of a dragon he's done, but this backpiece is just too good to not share):

Mike Suarez:

Personally, I wouldn't worry about things like waiting lists. You might have to wait, you might not, but it's far more important to get the tattoo you really want.

[Tuchaka]

Thanks for the help guys ya i would rather wait and get a great tattoo then rush and get stuck with something i have to tell a story as to why i allowed someone to put 'that' on my skin :)

That tattoo Mike Suarez did is amazing.

* thanks for all the advice of people that keep posting :)

[Joe Shit]

Figured i would bump this thread especially since i can't post a thread of my own yet. I am looking to get a full sleeve dragon tattoo , the two artists i have found so far that i really like there work and had similar examples to what i have in mind are Terry Ribera and Bill Canales. I am willing to drive to Los Angeles and anywhere in between but am looking for some other artists simply because i am so new to Tattoo's and i really wanna look at a lot of people's work before i make up my mind. As far as other cities go obviously LA has a lot of choices and the first one that just grabbed my attention was phillip spearmen but i have no idea if he has a long wait list or not.

Out of those three I would go with Bill.He does a lot of Japanese work compared to the other two.

Alessio & Denny@ Avalon II Tattoo San Diego are real good with dragons.

Japanese Style Tattoos at Onizuka Tattoo | Little Tokyo, Los Angeles CA some good Asian artists at this shop.

Home - Small Paul Tattoo has a lot of experience doing dragons.

Instagram

[CABS]

Figured i would bump this thread especially since i can't post a thread of my own yet. I am looking to get a full sleeve dragon tattoo , the two artists i have found so far that i really like there work and had similar examples to what i have in mind are Terry Ribera and Bill Canales. I am willing to drive to Los Angeles and anywhere in between but am looking for some other artists simply because i am so new to Tattoo's and i really wanna look at a lot of people's work before i make up my mind. As far as other cities go obviously LA has a lot of choices and the first one that just grabbed my attention was phillip spearmen but i have no idea if he has a long wait list or not.

For a full sleeve dragon tattoo, I would go see Bill Canales.

- - - Updated - - -

@Graeme that Stan Corona tattoo though.... THOSE PINKS. WOW.

[Graeme]

@Graeme that Stan Corona tattoo though.... THOSE PINKS. WOW.

I believe I read on instagram that she'll be showing that tattoo at the Perseverance exhibition. I can only imagine that it's one of those tattoos where the picture does it absolutely no justice, but yeah, those pinks and blues with the smooth black and grey...incredible.

[SnowyPlover]

I just want to put in a word for Bill Canales - I've seen quite a few of his tattoos in person and they are incredible! Plus, he is a super humble, professional guy. You could always check out the shop, it's in South Park and look at his book too. And if you're curious, Bill is in Marcus Kuhn's Gypsy Gentleman, Episode 4.

[Tuchaka]

thanks guy for all the advice anyone know how long of a waiting list Bill Canales has ?

[tatB]

thanks guy for all the advice anyone know how long of a waiting list Bill Canales has ?

Call the shop. They are the most reliable source for answering this question.

As a side note I think we as clients do artists a disservice by publicly quoting the length of a wait list. I wouldn't want a potential client to not contact an artist because they heard a rumor that their wait list is X months/years long. A new client might get lucky if they call right after a few flaky people back out of big scheduled projects. Or certain ideas might be bumped to the top of the waiting list.

[Tuchaka]

Ya that is a good point just with the few artists i have contacted sometimes the wait list is longer and some times its shorter people say a lot of things on the internet :)