David Flores

I think you point is very valid and if you know who is the best at what you want then I certainly think you go there, but With the exception of serious tattoo collectors and tattooers, most people really I meet and discuss tattoos with don't really understand how different each style is. Someone might see a traditional piece on me and ask me for the guys name who did it so they could get a portrait or some tribal, they don't know a tattooer by their name, they just know he did what they view as a good tattoo on someone and they want the same feeling. I guess why I wrote this thread is the times when I see a nice tattoo and ask someone who did it and it's a completely different style then what I am used to seeing by that tattooer. Also seeing so many people on the show blame their shortcomings on the tattoo not being their style, when there are plenty of great tattooers willing to tackle anything that walks in the door and give the customer a tattoo that they love and is technically sound at the same time. This thread has kind of become a favorite tattooers thread, but I think I am okay with that, because it's brought up a lot of names i haven't heard in awhile and some I have never heard of.

You guys did Portland 2 years ago right? My buddy wants me to go to Chicago in April, but will be closing on my house that week. I will tell him to check out your booth.

The only thing is even the kid who tattoos out of his kitchen has a bandwagon of people blowing smoke up their ass. You call someone out then it becomes this big soap opera of people who don't even have a clue about what is being debated. Addressing it in this manor I think at least brings it to light and like @G.Uristti said trends will change.

Yeah I couldn't argue with either of those guys. I was going to Say Dan Gilsdorf and Lewis Hess but they don't have the right number of letters. When I think of Dan Gilsdorf, traditional tattooing comes to mind but seeing some of the work he does in other realms in person and his portfolio makes me think he is about as perfect as of a tattooer as there is. Lewis Hess puts on solid tattoos of all kinds and whenever someone suggests something a little wacky, he is the guy who comes to mind that could pull it off.

I would love to get something done from him. Unfortunately for my tattoo collection I just bought a house so not too many tattoo road trips in the near future. Oh well, soon enough. Can't wait to see your tattoo.

So I am always a week behind the show (watch it on spike website) and at this point don't really care how it ends, I have seen enough. That being said the idea of a who the most well rounded tattooers around is something worth discussing, so I figured I would ask who people would put on the show ideally. Obviously most of these tattooers probably would never go on this show, but nonetheless I figure it's an excuse to give great tattooers the credit they deserve. I am still thinking about my list but so far I would say Freddy Corbin Juan Puente Tim Hendricks

I am not a fan of any of the color outlines or realism stuff and I agree with everything that people say. If I have an eagle tattoo you should be able to tell what it is from ten feet away and it shouldn't matter if it's twenty years old. That is not to say it is going to look as good as the day I got it, but it still should be recognizable. But another thing I see that I would almost equate with it is the dumbing down of traditional work. Elongated panther heads without any definition in the jawbone that look like they would probably lick you to death before they attacked you and blocky eagles with not enough feathers to take flight. Clearly it's a traditional tattoo and nobody is asking for a portrait of said animal but just because it's a traditional tattoo doesn't mean it shouldn't be a good drawing. I think I would rather pick an eagle out of the Rollo sketchbook than have a custom drawing put on me that wasn't up to snuff. One argument would be that the old school way you paint the flash a little sloppy and clean up the design when you tattoo it, but I don't see that happening these days. This stuff is getting tattooed just as it's painted. I worked with a guy for awhile, had been tattooing for a few years but never really learned how to do it the right way. I would look at him draw and some of the stuff was horrible. I would steer him towards using reference material, but he was set on drawing everything from his own head. It just seems like if you draw something with no frame of reference of what it supposed to look like it's bound to end up a little wonky.There are guys who can do it, but only after years and years of drawing certain things in the proper way. I have a file of stencils at the shop I saved of stuff I couldn't believe he put on people. I am not saying this is what's happening but if it is we are all doomed. Eventually enough people got on his case and he came around and his tattoos are looking better (not amazing by any means). I am not trying to bust people's balls or call out names or dwell on the negative. There are plenty of people doing great traditional work and clearly this is not about them. Maybe I am just over thinking things, I mean it's just a tattoo. I remember the story where Terry Tweed sent someone home for the day, well actually sent him to the zoo, because he put a green eye in the eagle tattoo he did that day. Clearly this is a slight overreaction, but I think he made his point and that was at least 15 years ago.

So they accepted my offer on the house last night. They actually had at least one offer that was for more money, but my realtor saw this coming and sent them a letter from us (that she wrote) with a picture of my son in his halloween costume (Fozzie Bear from the muppets), hoping that since that had a small child it would appeal to that in them. They basically said that if we paid the closing costs they would accept my offer. I imagine the closing costs made up the difference between the two offers, but our bid would have never got a second look if it wasn't for my realtor. My house is right off Albina, about a mile away from Atlas Tattoo, and really has a million things to do and some really good parks. Under most circumstances we couldn't afford to live in this neighborhood, but there is a small pocket of newer homes that are actually priced reasonable. Worst case scenario I figure in a couple years I can either sell it or rent it out for about 500-700 more than my payment+taxes equal.

Anybody else planning on attending this convention. I know Eugene, Oregon is not the most appealing place to go, but it is a couple hours closer than Portland for the California people. Ross, our owner has never been big on conventions, but somehow we convinced him to do this one. We will see how it goes. I already see a few good tattooers on the list, hope to see a few more, as I still have a few spots left. Oregon Ink: 2012 Attending Artists

Found a good house in North Portland, going to put a bid in today. I sacrifice having a small yard to live in the up and coming neighborhood, but the price seems too good to pass up. So far there are no other offers so hopefully I can get in there before anyone else. I have a couple of others I am seriously considering if this one doesn't pan out, but this one is going to be gone quick so time to act fast.

@Dan S , Haven't seen much of Nick on here as of late, you might have better luck contacting him by email or facebook.

Instagram Get a cool sheet of praying hands for a $25 and donate to the cause.

If you are trying to say he ripped it off, I think that would be a hard sell. The tattoos look way different and yes the pose is similar, but it has been done a thousand times and most importantly neither of them made it up. I am not sure who did, but if I had to bet I would go with someone like Vargas or Elvgren or someone of that genre.

I have avoided Phoenix since I left there in 1996. The only reason I would go back would be to get tattooed by Aaron Coleman.

maybe they will trim a bonsai tree or try to catch flies with chopsticks the next challenge, Mr Miyagi style.

Nick Colella A good friend and coworker at Chicago Tattoo Rudy Carrillo was hit by a car 2 days ago while riding his bike home, Rudy has no insurance and 2 daughters to take care of . He has a broken mandible and is seeing a plastic surgeon today to help repair damages to his chin. The force of the hit was so bad that the front fork of his bike was sheered clean for the rest of the frame. We are asking everyone if they can make a donation to help out with Rudys hospital bills while is out of work. We are trying to get a fundraiser together soon to help out as well. All donations can be sent to his paypal at [email protected] thanks.. -Nick Collella I DON'T KNOW RUDY REALLY OTHER THAN HE IS THE PIERCER AT CHICAGO TATTOO CO. , BUT HE HAS ALWAYS BEEN COOL TO ME WHEN i GET TATTOOED AT THEIR SHOP AND IT SUCKS THAT THIS KIND OF STUFF HAPPENS, ESPECIALLY IN A LINE OF WORK WHERE MOST PEOPLE DON'T HAVE INSURANCE AND HAVING TWO DAUGHTERS CAN'T HELP THIS MATTER. EDIT: NEITHER DOES MISSPELLING HIS NAME IN THE TITLE OF THIS THREAD BUT TOO LATE TO FIX I SUPPOSE. DF

Praying hands and Pin ups, sounds promising.

I think they already have. I mean flash sets have gone way down in price. But to be fair a lot of that is the customer wanting a custom design. Buying a sheet of flash with liners with designs for $100- $200, knowing the first time you sell a design it pays for itself and may even make you money seems like a no brainer. Now you buy a set of 5 sheets for $100 because it's reference or maybe decoration or you don't buy it at all and you just draw your own version. A lot of flash is very heavily influenced (to say the least) by designs that have already been done, and there is nothing wrong with that in my mind, but like you said a lot of customers expect a tattoo for them and aren't just going to pick off the flash sheets. I am not one of those customers and would have no problem being blindfolded and forced to pick out a design off the wall.

Repainting flash for fun or the shop is one thing (even then you change it up a little) , but you don't put it in your sketchbook or flash sets you are trying to sell.

I think it went pretty close to right. B tat and Jeremy clearly had major technical flaws and that even being a nice guy can't correct. Bili and Al both equally gigantic douchebags but Bili can at least tattoo in his own specialized style (which I have no use for), Al just sucks all around so he had to go first. If it was just a douchebag contest it might have went down different. So Bili probably should have gone next, but Heather did such horrible tattoos in general, but especially the firehat and bought one more week for him. Leah and Bili both didn't do very well in the traditional challenge, but Leah had two strong tattoos in a row and i think has shown much more versatility in style,but ultimately will probably go next unless someone really screws up a challenge.

Had a crazy weekend of looking at houses and even tried to put in a couple offers, but got beat out on some and others just didn't work because the sellers owed exactly what they were asking for the house, so there was no wiggle room. It would have worked out but what they owe is 20K or so more than it's worth. Right now there really aren't that many houses on the market, but my realtor says for some reason March seems to be when people starting deciding to sell homes, so hopefully something will come up soon. I have concentrated my efforts to the St John's neighborhood of North Portland. While it is not as close to downtown as I live now, it is an actual neighborhood with lots of small businesses, old time barbers, neat parks, and cool bars. One of them even brews beer outside on the sidewalk as you pass by. It will be a little more than living in Suburbia, but of all the real neighborhoods in portland it seems to be the most affordable.

That tattoo was pretty cool. Hearing the skin pop was pretty cool. I guess what it comes down to for me is at the end of the show he gets a tattoo I would wear myself. I didn't think episodes really provided that for me. It was interesting in kind of the same way a national geographic special would be (informative), but didn't make me want to rush out and let some Borneo headhunters tattoo me. Still I think the idea is cool and it sure seems to be his thing and getting paid for it is never a bad thing.

I would have to agree and for the record my wife hates my reaper with tits and at least once a year asks me to get it covered.

Skulls, Skulls, Skulls. or a reaper with tits. But that's just me.

AUCKLAND TATTOO STUDIO - MERV O'CONNOR - 64 Ponsonby Rd Ponsonby Auckland Auckland Merv O'Connor oldest living tattooer in New Zealand. He operates out of Auckland and not sure if he will be there, but he's a good guy that puts on a solid tattoo and he won't be doing it for much longer. My friend had the oppurtunity to work at his shop during 2011.