hardest artist to book

[CultExciter]

And just to clarify, I wasn't hear to crowd-source what everyone thinks O'Donnell charges. I was just waxing a little after mentioning that I was so stoked that I got a consultation.

[Stewart Robson]

You're not one to mince words, are you? :)

No.

Unlike most here, or elsewhere online talking about tattoos. This is my business, not a pastime or hobby. So I'm a businessman.

The last thing I want with my business is confusion or uncertainty.

[Avery Taylor]

I realize now that I have unfortunately derailed this thread for quite a bit. Sorry about that folks. I do have something to add, that hopefully garners some interesting discussion.

I always have a hard time asking questions regarding cost, maybe it is do to my fumbling nature, but I always want to approach artists I respect with a bit of tact. I definitely would never consider the idea of going somewhere else because it is cheaper.

But my question is...how do you think artists like this topic to be approached?

I am the same way. I was raised to believe that any discussion of money, outside of close friends and family, was rude. I realize that there are many situations that this is not true, and paying for a tattoo is one of them, but it is hard to shake things that are ingrained in you. I think that it is a big part of Southern culture. Never talk about money, never ask someone who they are going to vote for, and never send food back in a restaurant, no matter how bad it is.

[CultExciter]

But, I reckon, in some industries, the price just needs to be discussed.

[hgiles]

Yeah, the money talk is always a tough conversation. I've had guys give me a flat rate for a half-day, or all day. And then of course hourly.

I had an artist ask me what my budget was -- "How much do you have to spend?" That really made me uncomfortable. I could theoretically end up with a dime sized MOM tattoo for $1000. That kind of approach really puts the burden of trust solely on the client. Tricky. In my particular case it worked out fine.

I also had an artist ask me for an extra $100 after a session because the tattoo came out extra special. Still, I got a good tattoo out of it, but that didn't sit well with me.

I don't know what the solution to this is. At some point you have to trust the artist and put your balls on the table. But yes, I think some shops toss around a high hourly rate as some sort of litmus test.... I know, I am just rambling.

[Reyeslv]

I also had an artist ask me for an extra $100 after a session because the tattoo came out extra special. Still, I got a good tattoo out of it, but that didn't sit well with me.

Wow, I was about to say to you "hey the price is the price". By where the guy asks for an additional 100 bucks I'd say he didn't abide by that rule. It works both ways.

[CultExciter]

Has anyone been tattooed by Civ?

[Gregor]

Not me, I think hes a cool bastard tho esp all my time as a youngster jumping about to gorilla biscuits

[eisen777]

Has anyone been tattooed by Civ?

Nope, But Ive seen some in person and they all looked good.

[CultExciter]

Ditto. Anyone know what his wait is like?

[peterpoose]

From the artists I have chosen I have bagged 3 of them but the 4th is still an elusive creature :)

Robert Hernandez!

[Dan S]

I got a full sleeve done around some existing pieces by Miles Maniaci when he was at CTC, maybe ten years ago. I walked in thinking I'd have Dale Grande do it, but he had stopped tattooing regularly and said "I've got thie amazing young guy working here now, and I think he'd go nuts on this". Excellent choice. Miles did a tracing of my arm, took the plates I brought in with the specific elements I wanted incorporatd in it, and called me back in a few weeks and asked me to come in and take a look. I did, and ended up having the wholepiece outlined that evening. Every two weeks we did another chunk, up to about six hours, until it was finished.

He told me a flat rate-which was far less than anything being talked about here, but also was ten years ago. I apid it as we went, and made sure to leave a good tip at every session.

Miles left CTC, went to Taylor Street Tattoo, and I heard from people trying to book work from him that he had a one-year waiting list. Wow. Now he works at Deluxe, and I never have heard anything but the highest praise for his work. Don't know if he's still booked out like that, cause I'm still hung-up on CTC.

And that's a bitch! Shit, I had to wait two day to get Nick Colella to work on me once-it was turrible!

I think way too much of what is going on now in parts of the tattoing world is celebrity/media driven, and that has resultied, IMHO, in inflated prices, long waits, and tattooers who are competent being billed as rock-stars. Of course, there are the genuine artists - tattooists - who are worth waiting for, but I think not that many.

.02

[scubaron]

who are some of the hardest artist to access and book. i'm sure they are hard to book cause they are good but are they a fad or are they really worth it?

I just found this old thread. Being new to tattoo's, I think it's a very interesting topic. Like many new people, I keep searching for the top artists. Come to realize, that if what I am looking for is basic, I might not need a top artist.

Large detailed back pieces, sleeves, original unique designs, etc., it makes sense to seek out high level artists. Artists that are hard to book or access might be a combination of they are in demand because of their quality, popularity, work at a high profile shop and hype, but also being creative artists, they might not conform to typical business standards of organized schedules, timeliness, good communication.

One artist here in NYC, I've been trying to get in touch with for a month. No response to emails and has not been in the shop the 2 times I stopped in. Is he booked solid, not interested or just a poor communicator ? Who knows, he's popular, works in a high profile shop and a creative type.

[polliwog]

I dunno about the creative/disorganized thing. I've met enough prompt, organized creative people to be suspicious of that as an excuse.

[scubaron]

I dunno about the creative/disorganized thing. I've met enough prompt, organized creative people to be suspicious of that as an excuse.

I guess everyone is a little different. Just thinking that being organized, prompt and a good communicator are not normally things that come to mind when I think of a talented gifted artist.

Excuses or not, I'm willing to give in a little when it comes to dealing with artists.

[irezumi]

If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?

[Omar]

Not that he's so difficult to get in touch with, but Victor Portugal's waiting list was +2,5 years half a year ago.

To get in with high profile artists depends a lot on your approach I believe. If you show you're serious and you give them enough creative freedom, it's not that hard.

Same goes for Markus Lenhard. I've contacted him about a month ago, and I'm in for september this year (Hooray!)

But I guess getting booked in with Guy Aitchison or Jeff Gogue will be another story.

[scubaron]

Long wait list is understandable. What's more puzzling is not being able to get in touch with them. No response after a few emails and shop visits, I'll keep trying, but I'm starting to feel like a stalker.

[graybones]

That's a problem I'm having. I contacted an artist who is known to have a 8 - 10mo wait list for new clients. He responded to my email, seemed like he was interested in my idea, but then communication stopped and I didn't know if I was on the wait list or not. Tried calling the shop a few times, no luck. Decided to give it a rest before I got annoying. Seven months later I tried to follow up again (I live across the country for this shop so I wanted to be prepared to make travel arrangements), no response.

Not sure if he just wasn't into my idea or if my emails just got lost in the pile. Can't tell how to walk the line between showing how committed I am and not being irritating. In the meantime I'm just going to keep getting tattooed by other people and hope the opportunity to get tattooed by this artist comes up in the future.

[TrixieFaux]

That's a problem I'm having. I contacted an artist who is known to have a 8 - 10mo wait list for new clients. He responded to my email, seemed like he was interested in my idea, but then communication stopped and I didn't know if I was on the wait list or not. Tried calling the shop a few times, no luck. Decided to give it a rest before I got annoying. Seven months later I tried to follow up again (I live across the country for this shop so I wanted to be prepared to make travel arrangements), no response.

Not sure if he just wasn't into my idea or if my emails just got lost in the pile. Can't tell how to walk the line between showing how committed I am and not being irritating. In the meantime I'm just going to keep getting tattooed by other people and hope the opportunity to get tattooed by this artist comes up in the future.

Hm, sometimes it pays to be persistent.

[Killercook76]

I'm going to throw in Tim Hendricks in the list! It took about a year of persistent emailing! Well worth the wait!

[Lance]

So as a momentary aside, the last few posts made me curious. At what point do you or should you give up reaching out? When does it get to the point that you are just badgering the person?

I remember in the past, before I ultimately decided to go completely traditional Japanese and stick with 1 artist, I reached out and tried emailing or phoning other shops but had no response. These were all highly regarded artists. After months of waiting with periodic calls to the shops or emails through their web sites (I couldn’t stop by the shops as they were international or across the country) I ultimately decided I didn’t really need tattoos from them. The artists tattoos were cool, but didn’t blow my mind enough that I couldn’t go to another awesome artist that specialized in the same style that I liked equally. Where as in the beginning, the Artist who I go to, the opposite happened. I hounded her till I was able to get a hold of her and schedule a consult, then appointment, and nothing was going to stop me from getting that appointment. I’m sure I annoyed my way into having her take me on, after a bit I was starting to feel bad. ;-)

You could say some artists may even make it difficult to contact them so as to weed out those who don’t really want tattoos by them bad enough, which actually works because as I mentioned earlier, I did exactly that by walking away from people who didn’t respond to me. I can also assume some artists don’t respond because they are not interested, others though are simply busy and will get back to you in time. So when do you cross the proper etiquette line?

[scubaron]

All good questions but not knowing why the artist is not responding makes it difficult to know what to do next.

Weeding out non serious people, not interested in idea, too busy, unorganized and/or poor communicator. If I knew their reason, I would know what to do next. Be polite but persistent, propose a different idea, try again in 3 months, regularly visit the shop, etc..

Killercook, could you tells us more about your Tim Hendricks experience. Did you change your idea, was he weeding you out, was he too busy ?

[graybones]

Hm, sometimes it pays to be persistent.

What would you (or anyone) consider persistent vs. not getting the hint? Should I keep trying with the calls and emails? I don't want to give up too early but I'm afraid if I'm too pushy he won't want to tattoo me. My most recent idea was to wait until he comes to a convention / has travel dates at as shop I can get to and try to talk to him there... hope that doesn't sound too stalkerish.

[TrixieFaux]

What would you (or anyone) consider persistent vs. not getting the hint? Should I keep trying with the calls and emails? I don't want to give up too early but I'm afraid if I'm too pushy he won't want to tattoo me. My most recent idea was to wait until he comes to a convention / has travel dates at as shop I can get to and try to talk to him there... hope that doesn't sound too stalkerish.

That could be a good plan.

I don't really know what's too much, guess it depends on the person.

I have a friend who really wanted a tattoo from someone I've been tattooed by who is sometimes hard to reach. She emailed him and he didn't reply. I put in a good word for her w/him and he told me I could give her his cell number. So she texted and left him a voicemail...didn't hear back. I didn't know what to do because I had already put in a good word and I didn't want to bother him... well, she just kept on texting and calling him and eventually, he responded. He joked with me later that her persistence paid off. Anyway, she's very happy now because she's getting some big stuff from him. He is totally laid back and sweet though, I think he just doesn't reply if he doesn't feel like it, I have no idea! But he wasn't mad about the texting or calling. And I'm not certain how many calls and texts she put in--it wasn't like several a day or anything crazy, but I'm thinking maybe once a week or so.