NY Daily News Article on "Celebrity" Tattooer, Keith McCurdy (Bang Bang)

[Upndown]

I just finished a session with Garver and it was worth every penny!! He drew up my tattoo in the same day as the consult and was nothing but humble and professional through the entire process. His rates are not what has been posted here on this blog! His fame has nothing to do with the fact that his work is outstanding!

[David Flores]

The price is the price, whatever it is. It all depends on how bad you want to get tattooed by someone. Just for the record, Chris Garver over Gogue all day every day in my world. I can respect what Gogue does and his artistic ability, but not the kind of tattoos I would want to wear, but again just personal taste. I think the best Gogue tattoos I have seen are on Nikki Kasper from TAM. she wears them well. What can I say I am a sucker for tattoos that look like tattoos.

[tacitapproval]

What can I say I am a sucker for tattoos that look like tattoos.

A thousand times, this.

[slayer9019]

To @MoistTowelette, @Killercook76 and everyone else, we here at LST would prefer if you keep the price of your tattoos or quoted tattoos between you and your tattoo artist. Pricing is a touchy subject.

If you want to know how much a tattoo will cost, go talk to the artist and get the tattoo. Throwing prices out really doesn't help people because it really is a personal thing between you and the artist.

I will say though the person I went to with the highest quoted rate, has been the cheapest of all the artists I've been to, and the cheapest artist I was quoted was the most expensive.

[Killercook76]

To @MoistTowelette, @Killercook76 and everyone else, we here at LST would prefer if you keep the price of your tattoos or quoted tattoos between you and your tattoo artist. Pricing is a touchy subject.

If you want to know how much a tattoo will cost, go talk to the artist and get the tattoo. Throwing prices out really doesn't help people because it really is a personal thing between you and the artist.

I will say though the person I went to with the highest quoted rate, has been the cheapest of all the artists I've been to, and the cheapest artist I was quoted was the most expensive.

I was actually trying to defend Chris by saying he doesn't charge 400 per hour... I never said how much he actually charges! I know how much he actually charges because I have a tattoo from him. The other guy you are talking to never got a tattoo from him... Having said that I totally think I got an awesome tattoo and worth every penny!

[slayer9019]

I was actually trying to defend Chris by saying he doesn't charge 400 per hour... I never said how much he actually charges! I know how much he actually charges because I have a tattoo from him. The other guy you are talking to never got a tattoo from him... Having said that I totally think I got an awesome tattoo and worth every penny!

I was just reminding everyone (you just happened to be in a discussion about price, while not saying exactly how much).

Also yes Chris puts down some amazing tattoos. I got to watch him two sessions ago putting a dragon on some dude. Pretty cool stuff!

Edited July 8, 2013 by slayer9019

[ironchef]

Getting back on topic....more on this:

The Tattoo Artist All the Celebrities Want Now - The Cut

[Delicious]

that guy is so full of himself

[G.Uristti]

And did I read that right, when the artist said Bieber will realize one day he has bad tattoos? Is he for real, putting shit on his body and not telling him it's all bad ideas...

The article is so badly written...

The daily news is good at writing bad articles

[Wedge]

my friend contacted him and his rate in nyc is $2000-$2600 for a full day session which is 5-6hrs for him. that equates to 400+/hr.

- - - Updated - - -

sorry i generally dont either but i was trying to prove a point.

- - - Updated - - -

tried to edit the last post and it wouldnt let me.

Actually it was me who was recently given that quote/price from Garver. Whether that's what he would actually charge or not I don't know since I decided not to pursue the project. I won't restart the conversation but I didn't want to leave @MoistTowelette hanging.

[Bunny Switchblade]

Ummmmm.....Paul Booth is the "God-father of tattoo art"???

Glad I read that article....I never knew.....

[Thomas Zman]

lol my bad i ruffled your feathers. XXX+/hr is INSANE. i have 130+hrs of work from some top notch artists and none of them were nearly as much. jeff gogue is one of the best around and he is SUPER fast and he charges half as much. i know this is a matter of opinion and this forum heavily favors trad, but i will pick jeff over garver 10000 times out of 10000 times. again, garver does good work (and to please you i will say he does great work) but i stand by my comments. if it helps, i wouldnt pay XXX/hr for ANY artist. thats just me.

Fucking idiot. Who the cares about the time? I would stay at a studio for 99 hours if that is what it takes to make it perfect. "He's a good artist he's fast" WTF? Idiot saying idiot things, probably has shitty tattoos.

[tatB]

Fucking idiot. Who the cares about the time? I would stay at a studio for 99 hours if that is what it takes to make it perfect. "He's a good artist he's fast" WTF? Idiot saying idiot things, probably has shitty tattoos.

Welcome to the forum!

[MoistTowelette]

Fucking idiot. Who the cares about the time? I would stay at a studio for 99 hours if that is what it takes to make it perfect. "He's a good artist he's fast" WTF? Idiot saying idiot things, probably has shitty tattoos.

Lol. Yes i have shitty tattoos.

[SeeSea]

Fucking idiot. Who the cares about the time? I would stay at a studio for 99 hours if that is what it takes to make it perfect. "He's a good artist he's fast" WTF? Idiot saying idiot things, probably has shitty tattoos.

Um, I for one care about the time. Perhaps you misread the comment as fast = good, rather than good + fast?

[Fala]

There's no such thing as perfection... All I read was that the artist is good, and happens to be fast (which I interpreted was an added bonus.)

[9Years]

Lol. Yes i have shitty tattoos.

Anyone with functioning eyeballs would disagree....

[Thomas Zman]

Lol. Yes i have shitty tattoos.

Just checked out your instagram and I take back everything I said. I apologize for my words and my immaturity. Can you explain some more? You think triple digits an hour for any kind of tattoo is a rip off?

[MoistTowelette]

Just checked out your instagram and I take back everything I said. I apologize for my words and my immaturity. Can you explain some more? You think triple digits an hour for any kind of tattoo is a rip off?

No worries bro. I am not saying that at all. I just can't justify paying anyone $400/hr for a tattoo. I can SOMEWHAT understand if you are super duper fast and charge a high rate because you finish twice as fast as the next artist, but even then I still think greed comes into play there.

My Gogue example was: he is super fast and charges half what the artist in mention charges (bases on what my friend was quoted).

Of course art is subjective and if you like it then go for it. Pay 1k an hour for all I care, but some of these artists are getting way too greedy. This is just all my humble opinion of course.

[Thomas Zman]

No worries bro. I am not saying that at all. I just can't justify paying anyone $400/hr for a tattoo. I can SOMEWHAT understand if you are super duper fast and charge a high rate because you finish twice as fast as the next artist, but even then I still think greed comes into play there.

My Gogue example was: he is super fast and charges half what the artist in mention charges (bases on what my friend was quoted).

Of course art is subjective and if you like it then go for it. Pay 1k an hour for all I care, but some of these artists are getting way too greedy. This is just all my humble opinion of course.

That's a really interesting perspective and I appreciate your response! Yes, 400$/hr does seem steep. How much do you know about the 'well-known' tattoo artists in the body art community? Like the semi-famous tat artists? I'm under the impression that they charge a lot. I know I'm not being specific here. Do you reckon you could get tattoos just as good from artists who charge less? How much does quality of ink come into play? Sorry for all these questions..

[tatB]

"Body art community"

[SeeSea]

@Thomas Zman - I am remiss in welcoming you to LST as well. Do you have tattoos? These are some questions you might as your tattoo artist. All else being equal, keep in mind that locale plays a part in pricing - rents are ridiculous in some areas, and as a result, hourly rates reflect that. As basic economics dictates, price is what the market will bear. If someone wants to get tattooed by artist XYZ and is willing to pay for the "brand" (damn those Jimmy Choo shoes) then can you blame them? Some of that boils down to personal ethics. There is a guy who does these really interesting tattoos - David Hale and he doesn't charge anything. He takes donations if you want to give.

Anyway, yes, you can get awesome tattoos from artists who charge different rates across the spectrum. Don't compare rates or costs. Compare what means quality to you and what you want. Find what you want and if you can afford it, pay it.

And remember, there's a surcharge for whining and crying.