traditional111

In reply to the folks talking about that "swirl": The worst part about that tattoo, aside from the tattoo itself, is the fact that that asshole "artist" has been tattooing for 20yrs. Think about that for a second. 20 years! That's about as long as guys like Tim Hendricks and Chris Garver, etc have been tattooing. I don't think either one of those guys would even know how to fuck up a tattoo that bad. Someone should have beat that guys ass and melted his machines down never to be used again. That was beyond disgraceful.

Hell yes! I highly recommend that those who haven't seen them get on Youtube right now and fix that. It's a great, great series that I wish there were more of.

This is a bit of a mashup/mistake here. Just for the record, I am the one who posted that Myke was a great artist. Somehow your post here has me quoted as saying otherwise. I'm a big fan of Myke's work.

Thank you so much for sharing that! I had never heard of Johnny before and am glad that I have now. I only wish it went on for about an hour.

This has the potential to be an interesting thread. I have watched many of Billy's videos and wondered what respected tattooers would think of them. Not being a tattooer myself I don't really get an opinion but...it seems to me that he straddles the very fine line of maybe talking a bit too freely about the craft? I have to say I kinda enjoy the videos as I enjoy learning about the craft even though I have no interest in ever trying to become a tattooer--zero drawing ability and too old to think I could master something like that.

"If they stopped the challenges because most 'artists' fucked them up then they would need to stop pinups, portraits and realism too!" Yeah, the show would pretty much be over. There wouldn't be anything left for them to do. Actually I'm sure they would have a bitchin batch of new school episodes. And that would be alot of fun. Sarcasm.

Better get your spot in line now. You never know when you'll get a chance to be tattooed by an "InkMaster."

Oh, I'm totally with you on that. Heck, I even applaud Myke Chambers for recently appearing on that abomination of a show "Tattoo Rescue." Someone has to do it, so it might as well be the truly talented and those that can rep. tattooing in the best possible way.

The problem with these sort of tattoos is quite simply, not everything that you can paint or create needs to be or should be a tattoo. Some things don't work as tattoos. This style is one of those things.

Sorry bud, it's all in fun.

I have to ask then, how do you now feel about Oliver Peck and Chris Nunez, Forrest, Tony Hundahl, etc.?

Forgive me if this has been posted/discussed before, but I couldn't resist. I'm not even a tattooer and this lady pissed me off. Notice the times that the needle hasn't even touched the skin yet and she starts screaming:

He doesn't really have any lines, does he?

Well, except for Oliver Peck, Chris Nunez and all the guest judges haha.

Now that's funny.

Bad tattoos are popular because, generally speaking, you can get them for cheap. For instance, there is a shop here in San Diego that advertises a "tap-out special" for $400. This means you can book the "artist" all day or for as long as you can take the pain for $400. Now, I have never stepped foot in this shop (nor would I), but I see the tattoos from the shop that are included in the ad and they are....well, it looks like something you might get at a "tap-out" tattoo shop. Sad.

True. Period.

Thank you Stewart for all of your efforts in making this project (as well as all of your other shorts) happen for us. We are all beyond stoked!!!

He told me in an email that it should be out in a week or two. He mentioned the translation was still giving them difficulties. Soooooooon.

Forgive me if his name has come up before in this long thread, but I believe there is pound for pound no one better than Tim McAlary at Goldrush Tattoo in Cost Mesa, CA. I know there is no best and I would never claim that he (or anyone for that matter) is the best, but he definitely deserves some recognition. He is killing it.

Hell yes! I almost forgot about Marcus. He was tattooing out of Full Circle, but now has his own appt. only studio near downtown I think?

Don't rule out driving the 1.5 hours to Orange County and hit up Goldrush Tattoo. A collection of all-star tattooers there. Having said that, I would check out Full Circle and/or Flying Panther in San Diego.

I'm going to be scheduling my chest piece for July with Tim McAlary at GoldRush. I'm hoping for the best with the pain haha. But fuck it, it's been about 7 years since my last tattoo so at this point I don't give a damn about the pain. I'm jonesin' for the tattoo!!!

Hey all! My name is Matthew and I am located in the SoCal area. I love the obvious artistic side of tattooing, but I also really appreciate the craftsman/artisan side of the tradition, ie machine building, ink making, etc. I know this site is filled with tons of things I can learn. Looking forward to checking it out!!!