Greetings from Denver!

[Voyager785]

Hello everyone - thankful to be joining here. I joined because I will be getting my first tattoo this year (half sleeve) and will be requesting some general advice on tattoo artists in my area that can cater to what I'm looking for without breaking the bank (hopefully).

I am mostly interested in blackwork, as I really like the thick bold lines in that style. So no skulls, fireballs, quotes or anything like that. I really want to give the artist the freedom to do their own thing and really be bold and do something different. I have a general idea of what I want but not exactly. So here I am!

Some of my favorite artists include Roxx, Gerhard Wiesbeck, Shige, and generally ethnic/geometric pattern tattoos. Of course I am also interested in other artists that are comparable (especially in Colorado! I am definitely willing to travel a bit to find the right artist).

That's about it really! Cheers and happy holidays : )

Cody

[exume]

Hey, welcome to LST! I'm up here in Summit County and usually drive down to Denver to get tattooed, there's a ton of great tattooers in your area. First thing that comes to mind with the style you're looking for is Ian Lutz (@onemancult on instagram) who works at Lifetime Tattoo on Colfax. You can also get a reasonably priced plane ticket to Austin, TX and see Thomas Hooper. Both of them are going to be closer to geometric dotwork designs rather than the solid black stuff you see in Roxx's work but definitely worth checking out.

[Voyager785]

Definitely liking his work, thanks for the recommendation!

[Joe Shit]

@Voyager785 Instagram Is good at those styles..

[SStu]

Curtis Burgess has some really nice black and grey work, but not necessarily geometry as a specialty.

[Voyager785]

Awesome, thanks guys. I am wondering if I can just show some artists pictures of what I like and see if they can do it.

[SStu]

as long as they aren't "artists" who will claim to be able to do anything . . .

Educate yourself enough to be able to at least look at a portfolio and see if you think they are capable.

[Voyager785]

There was a guy named Ishmael who worked in Colorado Springs at a place called Westside Tattoo, but I can't seem to find him.

- - - Updated - - -

I've also found Kris Davidson from Boulder to do some pretty interesting work. Not sure if anyone knows anything about him?

http://instagram.com/kris_davidson_

[Graeme]

Maybe you mean Ishmael Johnson? He's in Fort Collins now. I got tattooed by him in September, he's a really great guy and I got an excellent tattoo from him. I totally recommend the experience.

[Voyager785]

Thanks Graeme, I'm glad someone recognized where he is now. Might have to get in touch with him.

On another note - I went into a tattoo shop the other day (called to make an apt for a consultation) armed with pictures of tattoos I liked. The artist I was working with was tattooing someone, so I explained what I wanted as he was tattooing a customer which I thought was kind of odd, but whatever. Explained what I wanted (I literally said I wanted something similar to Roxx of 2SpiritTattoo in San Fran.... bold, clean, black lines inspired by architecture and geometry, utilizing the natural movement of the body, similar to a polynesian in terms of detail and blackwork) and he said he would draw something up for me and get back to me next week. He told me how much it would cost and asked if I was willing to proceed. I said sure, as long as I obviously got to see his designs beforehand and make any tweaks that I wanted. So off I went.

So I get a call from the shop a few days later, and they tell me that he actually didn't draw anything up and that he just free hands polynesian tattoos. Problem is, I'm not looking for a polynesian tattoo. So I think this guy just totally spaced on what I was telling him when I described the tatttoo I wanted, and all he heard was "polynesian".

I did my homework on the artist and knew he would be able to do something I wanted, went in to consul with him about it and we agreed on coming up with some artwork next. So ofcourse I laid down a 200 dollar deposit to secure some time in his chair a few weeks down the road, artwork pending. But now I am just totally put off by this place by the fact that the artist changed his mind and now wants to "freehand" a half sleeve of geometric and architectural inspiration. Im almost positive they are going to take my deposit when I tell them I no longer want to work with them.

How should I proceed here? I feel like I just got robbed.

[SStu]

Explain to the shop manager that Polynesian was only part of what you described earlier, and that specifically Polynesian is not what your consult and deposit were about. Give him or her a chance to liase with the artist . . .

[exume]

Which shop did you go to?

[Voyager785]

Which shop did you go to?

Place called Tribe Tattoo