guitguy

....I just wanted to add, as a tattoo enthusiast that has a deep respect for, if not extensive knowledge of, what could be called 'old school' tattoo history, I really appreciate how this man came up, much like so many now famous artists. And, the interview illustrates the kind of heart the man has. There is something magical about artists (and musicians, a category I fall into) that have experience and heart and can really get inside a piece. I'm starting to wax poetic. Nuff said lol

@ cltattooing.....That's awesome man! Glad to be of service. That you appreciate so much makes me happy. I am proud to have this man in my backyard, so to speak. I have only known of him for the past year after researching Toronto shops that specialize in traditional styles. Trying to find anything about him online has been a mostly fruitless challenge. But, wow, how cool is the interview!?! It has made me more curious and ups the need for me to get some of his work lol. My reasons for that are not because of the legend but more to have work done by someone with so much experience. It seems that tatooers with that much experience and understanding are so very rare. I have my pick of 20somethings in my area to get work, as I'm sure everyone does. While some is quite good, the overwhelming majority of the work I see is less than inspiring. Tim Pausinger, imho, was an exception to that rule and eventually led me to Pearl Harbor Gift Shop. But, to find someone with that many years in the game is pretty special. Anyway, I hope my next piece can be done by Bill Baker. I'm gonna get to work on that ;)

I found this pretty fascinating. I have been very curious about Bill's story and haven't really come up with much info in my research other than his being a tattooer of 30 years and some people singing his praises. He has no portfolio to speak of (for reasons mentioned in this interview). It seems pretty rare to have someone still in the game after 30 years. It's largely for that reason I have wanted to get tattooed by him and if this interview gets around, that may become harder than it already is, but I share this anyway ;) I have been tattooed at The Pearl Harbor Gift Shop by Tim Pausinger and I can say that the shop and crew is nothing short of awesome. Enjoy.... Swallows&Daggers | Interviews | Bill Baker Interview (Part 1)

Oooooh. Ouch! LOL

That is just so cool man! I don't think my mom would even touch a pigs foot LOL How old is your mom?

cltattoo.....THAT IS AWESOME!!!!!!!!! Weaselly and awesome ;) Great story too. Your mom rules.

I think I may have figured out how to post a pic here. We'll call this is test. If you can see this image, it was done for me by Tim Pausinger at The Pearl Harbor Gift Shop in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on November 27, 2012. This pic was taken by Tim on my phone as soon as it was done. I still need to get a decent healed pic but, suffice to say right now that it has settled in very nicely. It is inside my right bicep. - - - Updated - - - Success! :)

Nice work! Welcome to the forum. Cheers!

My first tattoo was a rose and dagger design on the very top of my right arm bicep/shoulder. It was done shortly after my 16th birthday in 1983. I had to show proof that I was 16 to get the creepy old tattooer to even let me into his dingy downtown basement shop. I had figured because of the placement, I could easily hide it from Mom just wearing a t-shirt. I was mostly right. I knew that it would have to be revealed someday but, I was in no hurry. Much to my chagrin, it happened sooner rather than later. My folks vacationed in Jamaica and had brought me back this shirt, much like a karate jacket, made out of a large cotton/linen sugar bag. I figured it was a good choice to wear over a fresh tattoo, loose fitting and all. As it turned out, the old guy was not only a creep (insisted I have my hand on his knee the entire time....didn't get it then...makes me shudder now...) but also a bit of a butcher. I oozed blood and ink for a day at least and of course, permantly stained the souvenir from Jamaica. Moms caught me coming out of the bathroom, saw the mess on my sleeve and asked what the hell happened there. I've never been able to lie to my mom (even at times that I really should have lol), so I smiled sheepishly and took my shirt off. She stood dumb founded for a minute, asked me if it was real and then smiled, shook her head and called me an idiot, in the most loving way of course. Lucky. Cool as hell mom. Last year I posted a pic of my most recent piece on Facebook with an apology to my mom and stating that she had likely not quite forgiven me for the first one hahaha. She's cool about it in her resignation :)

I think Kahlan raises an interesting point. My opinion is, reproducing work of classical artists that were never intended to be tattoos is kinda cool. There is no mistaking the work of a Dali or a Giger. No one could ever wrongly take credit for it. I think Giger's style has certainly been "quoted", if you will, by many a tattooer and perhaps to the point of plagerism or insult depending on the quality. Then there is someone like Sailor Jerry. Obviously one of the most important people in tattoo history whose work is something of a standard in modern tattooing. His designs have been copied millions of times and even indirectly, plenty of designs can be traced back to him. How does he fit into this discussion? I suppose, in his case, we are again talking more about flash than original designs meant for one person. I'd still be interested in hearing people's take on that.

cltattoo.....I think you really hit the nail squarely on the head there. Thanks for posting that. It actually made me feel better about the whole kettle of fish lol

"If it's on the internet, it's fair game," is such a bullshit cop out imho. You do pose a tough question though. The art of tattoo has always had copying and repetition. All the classic designs have been done to death and occaissionally been reinvented by the more brilliant and forward thinking artists. But, we're talking standard flash here and not original works of art based on japanese tradition. To me, the examples sited above equal "unforgivable plagerism". No matter how taken I was with a design of this nature, I could not in good conscience wear it as my own without making significant changes and an artist that would take credit for it is....well.....I'll leave it at that.

Woah! That's just down right creepy! Steps away from amputation! Ugh! Not with a ten foot pole!

@ faw3310.....That's a great story and I congratulate you on your strength and perseverance. I just watched Scott's interview with Kore Flatmo and was fascinated. You are certainly in good hands and I can't wait to see the results of your collaboration. Keep up the good work !

Ha! I watched the whole thing and thought to myself "Man, I wish there was subtitles". I never was one to read instructions thouroughly lol. I figured it out eventually and watched it again. Fascinating stuff. Thanks for posting. The man's words on tattoo becoming commonplace kinda bummed me out because we can see that happening here in a big way. It seems everyone and their little sister is tattooed nowadays and it has really taken that beautiful dark edge away from it. I know I'm restating the obvious, but this vid brought it to the forefront for me and sometimes I wonder if I should continue getting tattooed. I usually snap out of it though. It is after all a personal journey and the young lady serving my food with a full sleeve of flowers and song lyrics really has nothing to do with me still wanting a crawling black panther or homeward bound ship or whatever. For me, it is less about "Hey people, look at my tattoo" as it is me looking at myself and saying " I love my tattoo". Pardon the digression. Awesome vid. Thanks again for posting.

That's looking pretty real from here. Wow ! I see face tattoos as somewhat of a trend but hopefully not faces full of bold script ! Geez! I see a lot of younger people with neck tattoos, both male and female. It wasn't very long ago that that was very rare except on heavily tattooed people or artists. To my eye, most wear them well. Face tats are different though. I think some small ones can look cool if well executed and properly placed like any other good tattoo. But, the above example does not by any means fall into that category. Ugh! And yes, the comment thread below it makes the heart sink further......

@ else....Wow! That snake head really caught my eye. Awesome work. Nice colour and composition. The shading out at the scales stands out for me big time. That rocks. Congrats!

Hi Mark Bee, Thanks. I have seen some of your posts and thought I might hear from you at some point as we are nearly neighbours (I'm in the Waterloo area) and we have the Pearl in common. I seem to have missed a bunch of the guests of late. Do they actually anounce them on their website? If so, I haven't been paying close enough attention. Yes, Tim is great and a really nice dude ta boot. I am very curious about Bill Baker. All I know about him is his reputation and the fact that he is a veteran. Although I've never seen any of his work, something tells me I should get tattoed by him. I would love to hear from anyone that has had experience with Bill. Cheers Mark. Maybe swe ya at the Pearl someday :)

Cheers Graeme. Thanks. The name you mentioned rings a bell. I will check Mr. Ferguson out. I have not always been a big fan of black and grey but that'sstarting to change. I do have a small celtic knot that is just black. I would love to have black and grey done by Tim Hendricks or Freddie Corbin. Although it's not of my world I have a great respect for the west coast black and grey masters and the So Cal vibe in particular. And speaking of awesome black work,again, Thomas Hooper. Wow! I'll be posting some pics in the coming days. Cheers!

Hey SStu . Thanks for the shout out. Yeah I do consider myself lucky to have a piece by Mr. Hendricks. It was one of those things that just turned out as if it was meant to be and was really a life changing experience. Finding my way under his needle again is proving to be a hell of a lot more difficult ;) And thanks also for the link. I'll be checking it out shortly. Cheers!

Beautiful work there Eilin ! Congrats ! Chris Conn's work is a new fascination of mine and I don't mind saying that I am rather jealous!

I have to admit to getting sucked into this show last season. Fully aware of the general ridiculousness of it all, I do think it has some merit. I agree with the poster who mentioned that the critiques are educational and hearing Oliver dump on some of these dumbasses is totally priceless! Amongst all the crap have been some good moments. I have managed to sit through it waiting for them. I am just a junkie for anything tattoo related so I am willing to put up with obvious reality tv crap to see some work being done and actually sometimes see some good results. As a quick digression, I will make mention of Miami Ink. A totally different concept but still "reality tv". With all disclaimers assumed, I was a fan of the first couple of seasons. Drama and bullshit aside, there was some great work to be seen on that show. My fandom lead me to seek out the shop while in Miami at the end of a vacation. It was just a whim..."We dig the show, we're here, let's go just to say we were there and maybe come away with a souvenir...." That visit introduced me to Tim Hendricks. I was not aware of him as he had not yet appeared on the show. What I came away with was a new appreciation for serious quality and a new benchmark for my future tattoos. It's possible that Ink Masters could end up turning people on to artists that don't suck and they may never have found otherwise and also an new appreciation for truly quality tattoos.

Hi everyone, Another former lurker/ new member. I have been checking out this forum for about a year now and have become a much more frequent visitor in the last few months and decided I might as well join. Seems like a great thing is going on here. A wealth of info and a lot of interesting people. At the age of 44 I am still what might be considered a novice with 5 tattoos (not counting a few little hand poked things I did myself at age 14...haha....I still love them). And my tattoo experiences have been rather few and far between. First one at 16, second one at 17, then a huge lull until my 30s. My 5th and largest piece was done just short of my birthday last year. I have had a fascination with tattooing since childhood that has never left me. Even through said lull, I stayed interested and was a big fan of tattoo publications throughout the 90s. I remember quite clearly reading the Freddy Corbin "Mr. Niceguy" article among others and now wonder if I still have those mags in storage somewhere. Nowadays I am hooked on "Tattoo Age" and "The Gypsy Gentleman". IMHO, they can't make enough of those and I've had to watch them all a number of times. My first tattoos were not terrible, but not great either. But, they are mine and I still dig them. I have become quite fussy however, in terms of who puts needle to my skin. The turning point was getting a piece from Tim Hendricks some years back as a walk in in Miami. It is just a small, very simple traditional piece but, the quality of it turned my head. I then knew what flawless line work and shading looked like and it ruined me, in a good way. I had no idea who Tim was at the time but, I sure found out and have followed his work ever since and have made it a goal to have him work on me again. Flight from Toronto to Cali are a bitch on many levels though lol! I have the itch almost constantly and am always thinking about where and what my next piece will be. I am foremost a fan of American Traditional and have become a fan of Steve Byrne, Valerie Vargas, the crew of Smith Street and countless others. I also love traditional japanese. I also have a serious fascination with the work of Thomas Hooper right now. I am rather jealous of folks who live in near proximity to these great artists but also know there is a lot of talent right in my backyard. My last pice was done by Tim Pausinger at The Pearl Harbor Gift Shop in Toronto. Great shop and Tim is a fine young man and talented tattooer with many great years ahead of him. I would love to hear from people about artists in this neck of the woods that they have experience with and would reccomend. I do quite a bit of research but, sometimes it gets kinda mind boggling with so much info out there. Sometimes my eyes begin to cross and all the shit looks the same ;) Anyways, thanks for reading. I look forward to becoming an active member of this community. Cheers! - - - Updated - - - Oh, I would be remiss if I did not mention Scott Sylvia's interviews as an obsession of mine along with the Tattoo Age and Gypsy Gentleman docs. The interviews are awesome and educational. My fave has to be the Oliver Peck one. Fucking hilarious! What a character!