Different styles of tattooing and the cultures they represent

Tattooing is more then just throwing on a stencil and going to town on someones skin. For thousands of years tattooing has represented the many different cultures around the world. One of my favorite styles is that of the great Japanese artist Hiroshi Kawai who tattoos out of his studio in Tokyo Japan. An article with an interview with Hiroshi tells of his attention to detail. Hiroshi believes that the outline of the tattoo must be the first and foremost area of the tattoo the artist must concentrate the most on. Here at Aberration Pro Custom Tattoo  we pound this fact in the heads of our apprentices. The outline should take the longest, it should also be crisp and clean. Our shop sees some very bad tattoos done by scratchers who have no other motive but to make the money. For an individual to be an artist he/she must always remember that the work going into the piece must always be 110%.

Many times if an individual has a trained eye. The individual should be able to tell by the piece of art what kind of style had a influence on the piece. Whether it be Western or Eastern. One of the great Western Artist Larry Brogans is located in Joliet Illinois. He is the owner of Skin Art Studio and has been on the convention circuit for many years winning all kinds of awards. If you look at his art you'll be able to pick out the differences from Hiroshi's work. Artist from a particular region of world will always be influenced by the environment around them. Dragons, tigers play a big part in the Japanese culture. While here in the West and more particular the United States skulls, zombies and realism portraits dominate the tattoo scene.

In order to better enjoy and understand the culture of tattooing an individual must go behind the scenes. Look at a piece and see what the piece represents to you or what the artist was trying to convey through the piece. One practice that has really started to disappear in the states is the pre-tattoo meeting. It's still pretty much alive in the east but here in the states tattooing has become very popular. Artist are more concerned with tattooing in a factory assembling line then to sit back with the customer and really dig into what they are wanting the tattoo to represent or given pointers to how to make it look better.

A shop here in Rockford advertises that they are open 24 hrs a day. My questions are many regarding this gimmick. Does it really help the customer coming in for a tattoo at 3 in the morning when the artist is in no mood to tattoo in the first place. This is an example of trying to put money before the customer. It's one thing to be open till 2 in the morning but an entirely different story being open 24 hrs a day and slave driving your employees. The stories have been numerous as people come into the shop for cover ups or fix ups. Or the stories of employees sitting and playing PS3 and ignoring customers. A tattoo shop now a days needs to be friendly and inviting. In the Eastern culture you would never see any of the above taking place. Tattooing is still considered to be a craft that is to be respected. Here in the West we have lost our way, not because we are not artistic but because we are more into the money then the art.

Out With the Old.....

As we wind down 2010, and look ahead to 2011, I wanted to take care of one of my several loose ends from the past year.

Back in July, I met a guy named John on the D train. He had tattooed arms and we chatted a bit. He said he'd send me photos and he did a few weeks later.

I never posted the photos because the resolution was low, and when I tried to increase the size, they blurred. I was going to include these in the Christmas housecleaning post, but the work is just too good.

So hear you have them, small photos, but recognizably amazing:

I mean, what is there to say? This work is quite excellent. The koi, the tiger, the sailing ship, sugar skull, nautical stars - it's all quite a body of work!

The artist is Nacho, who appeared once before on the blog here. You can check out Nacho's work here. in New York, he tattoos out of Studio Enigma on Avenue U.

Thanks to John for sharing these amazing tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

And thanks to all of our fans and contributors for making 2010 a successful year of inkspotting!

Carpenters have hammers and Tattooist have their machines

Just like any other profession needs to be familiar with their tools tattooist need to be familiar with their machines. Nothing is worse then when a machine breaks down in the middle of a tattoo. Here your on a roll and all of the sudden a back spring breaks or capacitor goes out. Machine maintenance is often one of the least taught to new apprentices. Now a days it's easy to go onto ebay and just buy a bunch of machines every time one breaks down. This is a scratchers way of doing things. A professional will have a tool kit on hand consisting of extra coils, springs, contact posts, o-rings and even extra frames in case a machine needs to be totally rebuilt from the bottom up.

Many artist have their choice and preference on what type of machines to use. Aberration Tattoo Artist usually prefer the coil machine. These machines have been old reliable for over a hundred years. They have plenty of surplus parts- they are the easiest to break down and get going again. Other machines can cost hundreds of dollars more and basically do the same thing. I was asked by one of the apprentices which one I prefer. I've always been found of the Mickey Sharpz Tattoo Machines. They are unbelievable in quality and craftsmanship.  They are balanced and run very smoothly on the skin. Only skilled artist should use them since they are very interesting to tune once out of balance.

As apprentices we usually recommend that they just get a set of good irons. Any brand is fine but we want them to stay away from the cheap machines that are brought in from China. The coils are never any good, the frames crack easy and the lines pulled are never any good. Many scratchers use these machines and many of them wonder why tattoos never come out right. The tools of the trade is one of the most important aspects of the craft. A difference in keep hand tools compared to Snap-On tools-same goes with the machines we use in the business.

So as anyone in the business getting started. U don't have to spend huge amounts for equipment. You don't have to have the best of the best. You do need reliable and solid equipment. This includes your power supplies, inks, grips and so on. Shop around- many supply companies are good on the Internet. Due diligence is your responsibility in choosing your equipment as well as maintaining and tuning it to have it help you do the best that you can.

A Bright Spot in December: A Phoenix and a Pin-Up

As one would expect, inkspotting is tough during December. Here we are at the end of the month, and I have only interviewed three people since the 1st. There were a few times over the summer when I interviewed three contributors during my lunch hour!

The last person whose work I photographed was Megan, who I found upstairs at the Penn Plaza Borders store.

Megan has seventeen tattoos, but it was this one that caught my eye:

This is a phoenix, of course, but fewer people may recognize it as Fawkes, the phoenix of Professor Albus Dumbledore, in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

The artwork is based on the illustration by Jason Cockcroft on the cover of the UK edition of the aforementioned book.

The tattooist Jamie Nichols at Gargoyle Tattoo in Aberdeen, Washington, completed this piece in about eight hours over two sittings.

Megan also has this pinup on her upper left arm:

The use of negative space for the bombs is pretty cool.

Marcus was the artist at Gargoyle that Megan credited for creating this piece..

Thanks to Megan for taking the time to speak to me about her cool tattoos!

Tattoo inks and whats the best or worse

Personally at Aberration Pro Custom Tattoo we have a few artist and with that comes different tastes in tattoo ink. I've worked with many inks over my 15 year career. I started out using Mom's back in the day when it really wasn't anything to talk about let me tell you. Today when of our best color artist use only Mom Tattoo Ink and his color blends are just out of this world. The ink goes in smooth and easy without mixing it with witch'es hazel or water. The ink settles great and stands the test of time.

As for what I use I'm sold on Starbrite and Intense. I really only like using the primaries because from that palette of ink I can pretty much mix any color I want. Over the years in my career I've used the clean and dip method but as time went on and different types of techniques came about I rarely use nothing but the mud and dip technique. I don't like throwing just straight black anymore without mixing it with one of the primaries. The only time I go straight black is when doing a Black and Gray piece but at the same time I stay away from the mixes or dipping method and use the needle to give me my different shades of black.

Outlining ink has been a tough change for me. I use to use Kumo Sumi but now I've decided to go with Dynamic  Black ink from Kingpin Tattoo Supply. The black ink goes in just awesome and has a great tone to it. Kumo Sumi I've found has that problem of just lightning up way too much and lately isn't hitting the skin good. Kingpin Tattoo Supply sells the Dynamic Black in 8oz bottles so it's going to last you awhile. I use it for lining as well as shading.

Tattoo Ink is really just a preference of the artist. Some will do better then others. I never recommend going to off brands or tattoo ink made out of the country. The quality is very poor and it could be dangerous because it can contain toxins that the FDA does not allow. Before any artist settles on one brand of ink over the other I suggest trying them all out at least once. Always buy from a Tattoo Supply store that is reputable and sells to professional artist. There is Kingpin, Unimax, and a whole lot more. I would recommend staying away from Superior Tattoo Supply because they are way overpriced and cater mostly to non professionals. Places like Unimax, Cam, and Kingpin actually check out if your a legit pro or apprenticing with a shop.

Two-for-Tattoosday, Brazilian-Style

Sometimes, due to a) a language barrier and b) the passage of time, we're not always able to give you the most in-depth story about our subjects' tattoos.

Such is the case with Celso and Reginaldo, who I met back in September outside of Madison Square Garden.

Both gentlemen were visiting from São Paolo, Brazil and one of Celso's tattoos caught my eye:

That was on his right arm. He also had this one on his left arm:

Celso's friend Reginaldo pulled his shirt off so I could get the full view of his koi tattoo:

Celso credited Artur at True Love Tattoo in São Paolo for inking his dragon and his mermaid.

Artur also was the artists who did Reginaldo's koi.

Thanks to Celso and Reginaldo for sharing their tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Updates by Gabriel and Eric Gimmelove2 @ Dunlop.

Aww, look at these really awesome work Eric has done when we were at Brussels Tattoo Convention and 2 guestspots in Germany with me. We were having lotsa fun in Inky und Stretchy and Buntland Tattoo and Galleria. We are so gonna be back there in a few months for a couple of conventions like 2nd Tattoo Ink Explosion and Frankfurt Tattoo Convention.

I really like Eric's work. Getting too scary!!!
Enjoy! More to come!















_____________________________________


Some recent work by me!!! Enjoy too!
A fishing year for me! Lotsa Koi's to tattoo... Cheers!

-Gabriel

Some cool facts about tattooing and it's history

The first tattoo machine was actually invented by non other then Thomas Edison. His invention did not gain traction in the commercial world so in 1891 Samuel O'Reily improved on his design and had much better success. In 1899 Alfred Charles Smith invented the modern 2 coil machine. It can give you a perspective on just how long it's been for tattooing to become main stream (Easily 110 years from the modern invention). From my perspective as an artist this machine has carried the industry this far and I don't believe the Neumas or rotary machines will ever be widely used. Call me an old dog but I can't see them taking over as the tool of choice for tattooist.

Did you know the word Tattoo comes from Tahitian  "Tatu" which means "To mark something". Since the days of the cavemen the Human race has used tattooing in many ways. It could be a status symbol within a tribe, a religious practice still used today in cultures in the Middle East, Africa and South America. Tattooing could be a right of passage into adulthood for many cultures. It wasn't until the last 20 years that tattooing became socially acceptable in much of North America, South America, Europe. For a really in depth history of tattooing I recommend the Smithsonian which is really a whole world of knowledge on the subject of tattooing.

It's this rich history of tattooing that got me in the industry. Aberration which means "Not to conform to society" is in part why I named the shop Aberration Pro Custom Tattoo. I know one day the fad of tattooing or piercing will eventually die out with each and every generation. It's the shops that hold true to it's core beliefs that will make it in the industry. Being an artist is not a job- it's an art form there for each and every individual to express his/her vision on someone else who shares some of the same types of inspiration as we do. As long as there is rebels from outside what society thinks tattooist should be very busy in the future. Hopefully artist will find that passing our craft to the next generation is urgent. Without our traditions as an industry we could see what we know today gone tomorrow.

How to deal with an employee situation at a tattoo shop

If you are an owner of a tattoo shop or work at a tattoo shop an individual must realize just how important it is to have the right type of artist or even apprentices working with you. Artist are the trickier to hire because this industry is full of drama, full of "I'm the Best" attitudes and frankly individuals who are not business orientated. In the apprenticeship school I teach it's a big point of mine to make sure that the students understand that they are in business for themselves. Each person that works at the shop is the owner of his/her business and must approach their career from that perspective.

As a shop owner it's only my responsibility to promote the shop according tho my marketing plan that was set up. It's the artist who contracts with the shop to ensure that they are building a client base. Lately I've been seeing some disturbing trends within my shop. Artist are getting comfortable relying on walk-ins. Walk-ins are those people who the shop has advertised for on it's own business budget. So this week I must take the step of informing the artist at the shop that they can no longer rely on just walk-ins. Most of their schedules will be based on Appointments only! I've decided that it is better this way because it helps the artist get up and moving and promoting their abilities as a Independent Business Owner.

The artist I want working at Aberration Tattoo are ones that are motivated to better themselves and never become reliant on someone else. As shop owners an individual must always do whats best for his/her shop and clients. This is why it's imperative that the owners or shop managers never become too friendly with staff. Either one of the mentioned must maintain a strictly professional relationship. I've seen many owners go down fast for either being non-professional or never at the shop at all. It's a huge step going from artist to shop owner. It's a big step because this industry is still taking baby steps forward to social acceptance for one. For too long artist or apprentices in this industry have been slow to grasp the concept of being in business for themselves.

Aberration Tattoo prides itself with being an industry leader. We hope all shop owners and artist soon realize it's up to us to set the standards in the industry. Artist must always maintain a professional attitude as well as a professional look to them. Customers don't want to walk in seeing an artist about to do a tattoo dirty or smelling bad. No they want to see an artist who is professional. The Illinois Tattoo Body Code has even stated this in its rules and regulations for tattoo shops. What does a shop do when faced with a unprofessional artist? The shop owner or manager must address the problem with the artist before it becomes a problem for the business. A shop owner must remember that it is his/her shop that will suffer when customers walk out the door.

So it is important for an owner of the shop to think about his/her business. Issues that come up should be addressed right away before the business is affected. Artist and apprentices must remember by getting into this field that they are self employed. Both need to promote their businesses because that's why most shops pay them a 50/50 cut. If an artist and owner cannot agree on an issue then it's up to the owner to use his/her best judgement in making sure the business don't suffer.

Polynesian lizard shoulder tattoo

Hi,

Here's the third polynesian design I've been working on in the last few days.
It has a nice symmetry and contains a lizard in the center and a mask at the top.

Here's a sketch in an early stage:

First I create the main contours of the tattoo by drawing two circles for the shoulder part and adding a rectangular shape at the bottom.
Then I draw other main lines like the diagonal ones and horizontal guide lines.

I really like the repetitive patterns and typical "polynesian" shapes and the eyes at the top of the design.

It took me quite some time to get the image right, most of the time I draw, erase, redraw etc.
So before I get to the final stage of tracing the image, I have nearly spent half my time tweaking and adjusting the image :)




Polynesian shoulder tattoo 3

Here's the final shoulder design, the top is symmetrical and the lower part of the tattoo has wave patterns, triangles, arrowheads and turtle symbols

The original size of this tattoo is 23,5 x 21 cm (9 x 8 inches), but it can be scaled to adjust it to your arm/shoulder.

Price for this design is 35,70 euro (47 US dollar)

If you wish to order it, simply press the "Buy now" button and you will be redirected to the Paypal site for the payment.

Once I receive your payment, I'll send you the high resolution design and a linedrawing for your tattoo artist.

Any questions? Just let me know.

If you want to "retweet" this post to your followers, simply click the green button at the top.

Mark Storm
info@storm3d.com
www.storm3d.com

Christmas House Cleaning

Regular readers of Tattoosday will notice that, although I generally follow a chronological order when I share tattoos I have encountered.

However, certain pieces, for various and sundry reasons, have been bypassed, and haven't made it to the blog, until now.

I was originally going to post a dozen to represent the Twelve Days of Christmas, but I settled for eight. For the nights of Chanukah, perhaps?

Without intending to offend anyone for not receiving a post all to themselves, I have lumped these tattoos, spanning from late August to late October, in one post.

These are the neglected tattoo pictures that are just a little off, some not through the fault of the contributor, but for reasons beyond their control.

The quality of the photo may not be ideal, or the host and I faced a language barrier that prevented a good back story from emerging, or I didn't find the story behind the tattoo especially compelling. And then
there's what is likely one of the poorest tattoos I have seen, but the story behind it is somewhat compelling.

So, without further ado, here is a Christmas cleaning, eight posts rolled together into one gigantic one.

~~~

First up, we have Esteban, who shared his sleeve when I met him in September, at Fairway in Red Hook:

Alas, I was still using a borrowed camera, and several shots were over-exposed and/or blurry, but I was able to salvage this one:

The artwork is pre-Colombian in its inspiration, and is part of a larger tropical motif.

Next up we have Dave, who I met in Penn Station. He has over 25 tattoos and selected this one to share:

The phrase "Uniting the Strong" is the title of a song from Victim in Pain, the second album from the band Agnostic Front. This is a friendship tattoo that stresses unity and the host's nod to the hardcore punk scene.

Dave credits Jelena at Lone Wolf Tattoo in Bellmore, New York with this piece.

~~~

Next we have Orlando, a Fine Arts student at FIT, where I met him outside while walking toward 23rd Street on my lunch break, also in September.

This ship tattoo is an homage to his father, who served in the navy for thirty years. He wanted a "classic look" in the Sailor Jerry style.

Orlando confirmed for me that his dad loves the tattoo.

It was inked at Crazy Fantasy Tattoo in Manhattan by an artist named Antonio.

[Update: I got a better, crisper picture from Orlando of the ship tattoo in May 2011:]

Orlando has seven tattoos in all [in May 2011, he updated this number to ten], and shared this one, as well, inked at Dare Devil Tattoo on the Lower East Side.

The quote, "This my excavation and today is Kumran" is from a song called "re: Stacks" by Bon Iver.

Orlando explained that he interprets this quote as a reminder that "every day has the ability to make you or break you. It just depends on what you do with it." Other interpretations are here.

For the record, I did email Orlando to ask for an opportunity to get clearer pictures, but I did not hear back from him.

~~~

I met Farkas in Union Square back in October. He had this wolf on his right arm:

He explained that his name means "wolf" in Hungarian, and that one of his friends in Hungary did this tattoo for him.

~~~

A couple days after meeting Farkas, I met an Israeli named Ran on 34th Street across from Macy*s. He shared this iguana on his right leg:

It's a pretty nice tattoo, but he hasn't sent me any further details about it.

~~~

A couple weeks later, I was in the West Village before a concert, and met Carlos, a manager at the Qdoba Mexican Grill where we were having a quick bite before the show. He shared this intricate tattoo on his right arm:

He and friend collaborated on this tattoo together. He told me that, when he was little, he did jigsaw puzzles with his mother a lot. The tattoo reminds him of those fun times growing up.

~~~

The following week, I ran into Iancu in Penn Station, and he shared this piece on his upper left arm:

Iancu told me he came to the artist, Rico, formerly of Rising Dragon in Manhattan, who was initially unwilling to do the tattoo. However, he convinced him to do it. It's basically a Guns N' Roses tribute although, he
noted, the guns were added about a year and a half after the original design was inked.

~~~

And finally, I must first say that  it is very rare that I ever criticize the quality of a tattoo.

Even if it is inferior to the work of much better artists, I always like to believe there are some redeeming qualities in a tattoo.

Which is why I struggled with this next tattoo, which I photographer back in August, and which I have included in this odds and ends post in December.

I approached a guy named Danny who had a lot of interestingly-tattooed words and such on his arms.

However, he offered to remove his shirt in Penn Station so I could photograph this:

Um, yeah.

If this was done by an experienced artist, I would likely not have posted it. Despite its obvious flaws, it is compelling, in my opinion, because Danny told me, like all his tattoos (15 or 16, he told me), this one was
self-inked. Now, I can see tattooing one's arm or leg, but I cannot even fathom how challenging it would be to self-tattoo your chest. He estimated this took one and a half hours to do.

The message is "Diamonds Aren't Forever," or, in  Danny's words, "don't take what you have for granted".

~~~

So there you have it, a Spring Cleaning for Christmas.

I do sincerely thank the individuals who shared their tattoos in this entry. Happy Holidays, y'all!

Ian Francis updates from Gimmelove1 @ 40b Sago Street

Having Ian with us is definitely a joy for us as he's such a joy to work alongside with and the vibes at Studio 1 couldn't get any better than this! Check out his recently new works below! On a side note, on behalf of the whole of GimmeLove's Crew, I would like to wish all our friends, families and readers a Merry Christmas and a happy upcoming new year! Be safe n stay happy always guys!







-Baldwin-

Home Sweet Home for the Holidays

The saying is, "you can't take it with you," but there is a way to carry your home with you when you move somewhere else.

Take, Adam, for example, who I stopped on Seventh Avenue between 29th and 30th Streets.

He currently resides in Pittsburgh, but he has lived in Miami and New York City.

His tattoos are a work in progress and he has had about eight hours done so far.

Adam says he has lived all over the United States and he wants, ideally, to tattoo a "piece of everywhere I've lived".

Check this out:

The Statue of Liberty clearly represents New York, and the palm trees recall Miami. All the bridges and a few of the buildings are Pittsburgh landmarks, like PPG Place

and the Highmark Building.

The "Home Sweet Home" sentiment is anchored by the multiple locations, echoing the idea that home is where the heart is.

Adam's work is done by Michael Patrick at Jester's Court Tattoos in Pittsburgh.

Thanks to Adam for sharing his wonderful sleeve with us here on Tattoosday!

Two, No, Three from Lisa Marie

I ran into Lisa Marie in my local grocery store a few months back and she was happy to share a couple of cool tattoos:

That is, for those who don't know, the symbol of Coney Island's Steeplechase Park.

She got this because she loves Coney Island, one of the most iconic spots in Brooklyn. Lisa Marie later sent me a shot of the tattoo when it was brand-spanking new:

This was inked by Michael Kaves at Brooklyn Made Tattoo.

On her left forearm, Lisa Marie had this whimsical tattoo:

That is a famous golden ticket from her favorite movie, 1971's Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, the film version of  Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

That tattoo was done by JR Maloney at Vanguard Tattoo in Nyack, New York.

Lisa Marie also sent along a couple of extra photos that she had documenting Mr. Kaves inking another of her tattoos, a cupcake:

Thanks again to Lisa Marie for sharing these cool tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Polynesian shoulder tattoo designs

Hi!

I've been working on a few new shoulder tattoos for my web collection.
The designs are inspired by the Polynesian tribal style, like the Dwayne Johnson tattoo and have some nice detailed patterns.

I started with a circle which covers the shoulderball and a wider rectangle just below.
Then I drew som spearheads and other tribal shapes, like turtle patterns.


I already have a few pieces like these ones in my gallery (shoulder 143, 144 and 145) and they are quite popular, so I decided to add similar designs, but only a bit wider, so it wraps around the upper arm.

The tattoos will cover the shoulder and half the upper arm.





Polynesian shoulder tattoo 1

The original size of both designs is 23,5 x 21 cm (9 x 8 inches), but it can be scaled to adjust it to your arm/shoulder.

Price for this design is 35,70 euro (47 US dollar)

If you wish to order it, simply press the "Buy now" button and you will be redirected to the Paypal site for the payment.


Once I receive your payment, I'll send you the high resolution design and a linedrawing for your tattoo artist.




Polynesian shoulder tattoo 2


This second design has a nice Polynesian mask in the shoulder area and triangles and arrowheads.

I'm working on another design in this style, so I will show you an update soon.

Any questions? Just let me know.

Regards, Mark Storm
info@storm3d.com
www.storm3d.com