Bill Blood

Oh shit! That's awesome, come by and say what's up sometime

Yeah man, I would have gone to a different tattooer a long while back. Most artists would not like a piece they started finished by someone else, but in this case he kind of brought it on himself. Good luck getting it finished, post pics when you do!

I used to work at a shop that had uniforms. When I started we didn't, but the owner got black Dickies shirts and pants with the shop logo embroidered on them. Even after that it was kind of an optional thing, and we often wore our regular jeans with the shirt. I would have worn it more if I dug the logo more. I almost like the idea, just for the sake of solidarity between employees, and repping their shop. Ironically, I rarely wore the uniform there, but at my current shop we all wear the shop t-shirts a lot. Of course, I do even when I'm not working. They are dope shirts, and the shop is the mad cool. I don't like the idea of wearing hospital scrubs in a tattoo shop, which I've seen a few times.

A friend of mine opened his own shop after years of working for others. He put a lot of work into it and made a really nice little shop in an area that doesn't have much close competition (which is not easy to find in Brooklyn anymore). Within the first month, not 4 blocks away another shop opened. The owner was not a tattooer and the shop had a banner outside that read "Grand Opening - 50% off All Tattoos." I hit up my boy and said that they deserve a brick through the window. I said something very similar to you, to the effect of 'in the old days we would've set the place on fire.' My buddy was pissed off but didn't do anything. Since then the 50% off shop has closed.

I used to work with a shop manager who would ask "Doing a lil tatty-zapping?" when I would set up for a tattoo. Overall, he was alright, but when he said that I often wanted to punch him in the mouth.

Not at all my style, but it's not badly executed. The question you need to ask yourself is do you like it? I have some gnarly tattoos that are not well done at all that I still like. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks.

I dig Jason Phillips a lot, and don't hear too much about him over here on the East Coast

Very cool. I have a small collection of old time tattoos from NYC. Just people I come across at the shop or on the streets. I will upload when i get a chance (all of my pics are scattered on external hard drives, etc.). A friend of mine had a beautiful panther head by Brooklyn Blackie. He was always asking me to fix it up, (was just a bit faded, but really cool). I told him it was a piece of history and I didn't want to change it. Eventually he had someone else rework it. I was kinda bummed about it but I guess he just really couldn't stand it.

This kind of stuff really gets under my skin. I was at the supplier once a few years back and saw a kid buying his first "starter kit." I remembered him because he tried to converse with me about how he likes to do portraits. 2 weeks later, he had forgotten me but came into my shop with his "portfolio" trying to get a job. It was full of Bob Tyrell tattoos stolen from the internet. I kicked him out and told him if he's going to steal, he should be aware of how well known his victims are. It's always been a problem, but I've been seeing a lot more of this kind of stuff lately.

Very cool, can't wait to see what else you have. Thanks for sharing!

Awesome pics, thanks for sharing!

Brooklyn has changed a lot. Where are you going to be working? I would check out Sunset Park, South Slope, Bushwick, and Bed-Stuy. Should be some reasonably priced apartments. Maybe also Ridgewood (which is an area that borders Brooklyn and Queens) depending on where you are working. Good Luck!

Hey, I've been cruising this site for a while, but only just signed up this week. I was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY and began tattooing in the late 90's, though it has been a long road to where I am now. I learned under a very skilled artist, but his work tended to lean more towards new school and black and grey. I feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to learn so much from him, but I have always been more interested in traditional tattooing. Which has changed quite a lot since the 90's (as I'm sure most of you are quite aware). I worked for years in a high volume street shop, which gave me a chance to really lay my groundwork (pumping out Cherry Creek and old Spaulding flash...) and then worked in a custom shop in Staten Island for the last few years. It was nice doing custom work, but at that shop it was mostly black and grey religious work. for the majority of my career this far, I haven't had a chance to do much traditional work except on friends here and there. I find coming from that background my instincts are to over-complicate my work, but I have recently begun to simplify and get back to the basic bold lines and heavy black that attracted me to tattooing in the first place. I recently came back to work in Brooklyn, at a traditional shop, and I'm happier than ever here. My co-worker and friend Jon has been a huge influence and help in steering my work the direction I want to bring it. I'm glad to be a part of Last Sparrow and look forward to sharing my work and seeing the progression. I do not expect the old timers and heavy hitters on here to critique my work, though any imput from anyone is appreciated (good or bad, I can take constructive criticism). Thanks for reading, cheers!