Tattooers with little to no tattoos

[Lochlan]

A thought which I often think about then over the past twenty-fours hours have been really thinking about due to Tattoo Dex and her viral video of the 152 facebook friend tattoo sleeve is tattooers with little to no tattoos.

I think this is a heavy weight for me on whether or not I would get tattooed by someone. I'm not saying they need to have hands, fingers, neck, face, head, etc but at least some good visible tattoos for me to know they get it. Or I don't know if "get it" is the right word but they have taken the time to get good tattoos and can do good tattoos. They have done and are doing their time

It is like many of the tattooers on here have said over and over again to those interested in getting into tattooing "get tattooed by good tattooers". Plus the million other suggestions and deterrents they have said but anywho.......Would you get or have you been tattooed by a tattooer with little to no tattoos? Thoughts? Experiences?

Also here's the video if you missed it in our other thread:

[CaptCanada]

It's also like Tim Hendricks says in his interview, how much of the craft is leanred by getting tattooed your self, checking out how other artists work and maybe snagging a few tricks from them. I really doubt I would get tattooed by someone that has none them-self. It would be like buying meat from a vegan butcher, how do you trust them. They can be in the studio like a 9-5, once they leave it's not part of there life. For the rest, tattoos are with them until the day they die.

But I have always wanted to see a tattoo artist who has a full body suit minus sleeves. Only arm tattoo they have is like a few lines from a unfinished outline. And of corse they would need to work in an walk in style only shop. That way you could fuck around with everyone getting their first tattoo, likehow painfull it is and stuff. Just to mess with them a little bit.

[henry rodriguez]

It like going to a dentist with no teeth. Wtf

[mario desa]

no respect.

[A.Sanchez]

Is this for real? from the way she's tattooing to the lack of tattoos. and why don't we get a close up? these are suppose to be tiny portraits right?

man, just checked out the site.....they offer try on tattoos! I really cannot get behind this kind of tattooing, this kinda tattooer or this viral video. yuck:mad:

[Perez]

There is nothing in my career i have learned more from than GETTING tattooed. Period.

Vegan chefs make shitty steaks, If you don't have tattoos you shouldn't tattoo.

[jade1955]

There was a tattooer on LA ink, can't remember his name, he had tattoos but no visable ones. I'm not talking hand or neck tattoos but on his lower arms.

Why would you want to cover your tattoos, in a tattoo studio of all places?

[gougetheeyes]

Vegan chefs make shitty steaks, If you don't have tattoos you shouldn't tattoo.

AHHHH Perez what is that from I swear I fucking read that.. somewhere. You are also insightful, too.

[Pat O'Donnell]

hard to take someone seriously who hasnt made a commitment to the trade

[Perez]

There was a tattooer on LA ink, can't remember his name, he had tattoos but no visable ones. I'm not talking hand or neck tattoos but on his lower arms.

Why would you want to cover your tattoos, in a tattoo studio of all places?

That was "Paulie Tattoos" from Brooklyn, He's got a backpiece from Mike Ledger and then like, a tribal armband. Super weird.

[Shannon Shirley]

im just askin , how do we know that chick aint got any? i was helping/ teaching good time charlie's daughter ,Reina ,to tattoo about 20 yrs ago. she didnt have much. And what about Filip Leu, i think he started at the age of 12 ,professionally , i dont recall, but i dont think he had too many. dont get me wrong, i see crappy stuff by people that got no business in the business all the time.but anomalies do exist. im always amazed by the generally unsmart,hehe, and their willingness to sit down with a practitioner that obviously doesnt fit the mold. that chick,excuse me, appeared to know how to do it. she was using disposable tubes, so maybe she learned to do an eyebrow and lip liner first? this whole damn biz is in brutal flux. god help us everyone. If i could go back in time i would. PS , im watchin a f#ckin rerun of miamink and Kat von namestealer just said she started when she was 14 , how inked was she? we all started somewhere. It is easy to throw rocks , if you know what i mean. ask anyone that can tattoo, we all suck in the beginning. PPS : its hard to weed out the f#CKERS.It is thankfully,a free,well sort of, country. lets not get to cocky. I have quickly become a "fan" of this site, im reconnecting with old friends. but everyones opinion doesnt matter , even mine. PPS; GTC started in his car in Wchita with all his designs on the headliner, that wasnt that long ago.hehe. I think he told me he first tattooed his 10 yr old brother.scott's got a early aaron cain on his chest, not so nice. we all started somewhere.

[chrome]

Does Boris from hungry have any tattoos? He's good and I didn't see any tattoos on him. I would def get shit from him even if he doesn't have any.

[ian]

there's a guy 45 minutes from me that does AMAZING black and grey work, he's tattooed a bunch of my friends with some amazing shit, and has no tattoos himself. He's always been an amazing artist and decided to start tattooing, it seems to have come natural to him. He also grew up in one of the 'hoods so maybe the homeboys encouraged him.

Another guy that did a lot of my work, who is also an amazing artist/painter/tattooer, only has a bunch of scratch from when he was 15. He's now in his 30's and hasn't got anything since being a youngster.

Maybe the fact that both grew up in the hood has something to do with it but no one can take away from the fact that they're great tattooers. Not everyone tattoos to be a part of the 'scene', some just like transferring their art into another media....

[Radiophonicus]

I don't have a bunch of tattoos so I guess that puts me in the "little" category. It's certainly not from lack of wanting, but I don't settle for junk shit and I don't have the money to pay for what I want right now as I have a 15 year old daughter. If that makes me less of a tattooist then fuck it, I'll take the clientele I get.

[Deb Yarian]

i don't think the point is that tattooers with little or no tattoos aren't capable of applying great tattoos. They are!

But someone without tattoos doesn't have the benefit of the shared experience or commitment. They can't truly empathize.

I think I wouldn't respect the counsel of a priest regarding marriage as much as someone who had experienced marriage himself.

[chrome]

i don't think the point is that tattooers with little or no tattoos aren't capable of applying great tattoos. They are!

But someone without tattoos doesn't have the benefit of the shared experience or commitment. They can't truly empathize.

I think I wouldn't respect the counsel of a priest regarding marriage as much as someone who had experienced marriage himself.

So u wouldn't get surgery from a surgeon who's never had that procedure? It's just a tattoo, I don't think theres too much to empathize. Although I would say 99% of the "top" artists are heavily tattooed.

[Julio Avila]

Who would be in that 1%?

[Deb Yarian]

So u wouldn't get surgery from a surgeon who's never had that procedure? It's just a tattoo, I don't think theres too much to empathize. Although I would say 99% of the "top" artists are heavily tattooed.

Totally different imo. But, if given the choice,and all else being equal- I would be more comfortable having elective surgery performed by a surgeon who had also chosen to have elective surgery than one who would not.

" It's just a tattoo, I don't think there's too much to empathize" --- That's definitely not how I feel as a tattooer and I really hope the people i choose to get tattooed by feel the way I do---not the way you do.

[chrome]

i guess i just don't need empathy from my artist. what i care about is how well they will tattoo. r. hernandez, boris from hungry, and chuey quintanar aren't heavily tattooed and i wouldn't hesitate getting anything from them.

would you guys not respect grime, shige, and horiyoshi as much if they weren't tattooed. would you not get things from them if they don't have a drop of ink on them?

but i get what you guys are saying. different strokes...

[Deb Yarian]

Chrome are you a tattooer or a collector?

To answer your question as to whether I would "respect" Grime,Shige or Horyoshi as much if they weren't tattooed.

No, I personally do not and would not "respect" a tattooer who chose not to experience what I consider the transformative experience of being tattooed- As much as one who did.

I would still " respect" their artistic abilities , just question their motives.

[Deb Yarian]

No I wouldn't "respect" a tattooer who chose not to be tattooed , as much.

[Joe Shit]

Does Boris from hungry have any tattoos? He's good and I didn't see any tattoos on him. I would def get shit from him even if he doesn't have any.

Some magazine did an interview with him,and he gave some kind of excuse why he doesn't have any tattoos.I did meet him at the NYC Convention last year,and didn't see any visible tattoos on him.

[Joe Shit]

No I wouldn't "respect" a tattooer who chose not to be tattooed , as much.

I agree..I walked into this shop in San Diego and there was a girl tattooing,and a guy sitting at a desk in the back.I asked to see the portfolio's,and he said they had their work on the computer.I sat down at the computer,and he pulled up their website,and said this is my work.I thought this dude was just the counter guy,because he had his shirt rolled up,and i didn't see any tattoos on his arms,or chest area.It was a weird situation..I wanted to say where's your tattoos,but just looked through their work real quick and left.I don't think an artist has to be heavily tattooed to gain respect from his peer's,but at least have some visible tattoos on your arm's.

[Bubbleberry]

I guess there are unwritten rules in the industry, and for me, to many of them are about "respect". Lots of artists who have been working in the industry for 20 + years are covered in tattoos, but I would not let them near me with a needle, even though they are well respected. Some of the newcomers who put out amazing work have little tattoos, but receive little respect from the industry because of how long they have been around. The average customer does not hang around forums like this, they come in off the street looking for something "nice" from the flash. I do not think they care how long the artist has been around, how tattooed they are, who sponsored them etc. For them its about the "experience" .My wife is about to start her apprenticeship, and has only 1 tattoo. She wants more, but is cautious by nature, so when she knows what she wants, and who by, she will undoubtedly get more. But the artist she will be working under was happy that she had only 1 tattoo, so that she knew what it felt like. He was more interested in her artistic ability, which again, is what the average Joe is concerned about.

So for me the answer is that I care more about the tattoo they are putting on me than the tattoos they have.

[chrome]

Chrome are you a tattooer or a collector?

To answer your question as to whether I would "respect" Grime,Shige or Horyoshi as much if they weren't tattooed.

No, I personally do not and would not "respect" a tattooer who chose not to experience what I consider the transformative experience of being tattooed- As much as one who did.

I would still " respect" their artistic abilities , just question their motives.

i'm just a collector. other than my neck, hands, and one side of my chest i am covered. maybe it's i'm not in the industry as a worker but i guess i don't really care if the artist is tattooed or not all i care for is they know how to tattoo. on that note artists that i have got tattoo from from are covered from head to toe. but even if they weren't my respect for them as artist would not be diminished one bit. for me it's all about how much they care for the art and the respect they have for tattooing. having said that maybe that goes hand in hand.