Hiya folks, apologies for not being around lately, I got sidetracked in Amsterdam from anywhere between 3 days to 3weeks.  I’m still not sure which.  At any rate (and on a side note), the Amsterdam Tattoo Convention 2013 just wrapped up  on June 2nd I would like it very much if I could get one of their cool as hell T-shirts.  I can’t find a link to buy one from the convention website, so if anyone out there happens to be reading this and knows how I can get my hand on a couple shirts, please leave a comment below and let me know!  Thanks!

Okay, on to other things…Did you know that England is the most tattooed country in Europe?  ‘Tis true.  The Brits love their ink.  If you’re interested in knowing a little bit more about that ink addiction, have a look at the Channel 4 documentary below called “My Tattoo Addiction”.

See you soon!

If you’ve been reading Tattoo Blog for a while, then you’ll most likely know that I’m not the biggest fan of tattoo reality TV shows.  Hell, I’m not the biggest fan of reality shows, period.  That being said however, I know that there are plenty of people out there who just love a good tattoo reality show (“good” being a very subjective word here).  I’ve never seen the tattoo reality show called Best Ink, but apparently it pits tattoo artists against one another in a race against time to see who can do the best tattoos.  It kind of sounds like Hells Kitchen with tattoos or something.  Joe Capobianco is one of the judges.  They start out with twelve tattoo artists and whittle the competitors down each week until there is only one remaining.  It might not be all that bad, but it’s not for me.

But hey, it doesn’t really matter if it’s for me or not.  This post after all, is about YOU.  Why?  Because Best Ink just happens to be looking for tattooists who are interested in auditioning for the upcoming third series of the programme.  Do you live in or near the Chicago area?  Or are you so desperate to audition for a tattoo reality TV series that you’d drive cross country just for your shot?  If you answered “Yes” to any of those questions, then keep on reading my little potential tattoo luminary…

If you’re a tattoo artist age 21 or older, casting directors from Bunim/Murray Productions would like to meet you between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. Saturday, May 4, at Mad River Chicago, 2909 N. Sheffield Ave. Applicants are asked to bring a recent picture of themselves that will not be returned, a photo ID and photos of their artwork, which will be returned.

Sound good?  If you want additional information on the audition, you can find it all here.

The thing about a TV series such as this is that even if you don’t win the competition, you can definitely get your name out there and let others see what your work is all about.  Some prefer to gain their notoriety through hard work and just doing what they love to do, with no promise of ever being hailed as an amazing tattooist.  Others don’t.  I guess it’s all up to you in deciding what path you and your art take. Whatever you choose, good luck to you and remember to always stay true to what you feel is best.

Thought I’d take the time to send a few works of amazing tattoo art your way.  If you happen to just love quality tattoo, these works are undoubtedly courtesy of some of the best names tattooing today.  If you tattoo, take a good look – the bar doesn’t get much higher than this.  Very inspiring, very talented, very unique works of art.  I’d like to send a big Thank You out to all these artists for the hard work and dedication that they have to this artistic medium.  This is the stuff that keeps me loving tattoo…

It’s true: once you get a tattoo, you look at the entire process differently.  People who don’t have tattoos and who don’t ever plan on getting any often view getting one or having them as something crazy, wild or even trashy.  I guess it’s kind of understandable – if you don’t have any frame of reference on something, you don’t know what it’s really like.  India might seem like a crazy place to travel to, but unless you’ve done it, you can’t say for sure.  So you go with what you think you know about it. (Incidentally, I can verify that India is indeed a crazy place to travel to.)  Anyway, what I’m getting at here is that it still really surprises me that there are parents out there who actually waste their time worrying that their kids will get tattooed.  I know for a lot of parents this is a completely legitimate concern, but for me, it just seems silly.  There are so many other things out there that can really negatively effect your child’s life other than a tattoo.

As a matter of fact, even the President of the United States is worried about his kids getting tattooed.  So concerned about this potential evil is he that he’s actually come up with a plan that he feels will dissuade his daughters Malia and Sasha from ever getting tattooed.  The plan?  If his kids get tattooed, he and his wife have vowed to get the same tattoo and go on YouTube as a family, showing off their matching family artwork.

Hmm…will this actually work?  No.  No, this will not work.  Why?  Because I’m calling bullshit on Obama.  There’s just no way he’d get the same tattoo as one of his daughters.  There’s no way that Obama would get a tattoo,  period.  Not only that, but the suggestion of going on to YouTube as a family to show the matching work off is such an over the top parental bluff, that Malia and Sasha must be curious of doing it just to see if their father will man up on his claim.  I know that I would.  Being on YouTube with your family, all sporting the same tattoos is a small price to pay to see your mom and dad with matching sleeves.  Didn’t think of that one, did you Barack?  And what if the kids get rebellious, get something like “No Drones” tattooed on their forearms?  Is the POTUS going to cruise around Washington with “No Drones” tattoos?  I would love to see it, but alas, I don’t think it’s going to happen.

The whole idea of trying to threaten or scare your kids out of getting tattoos just seems so passe to me. When I got my first tattoo and showed my mom, she just shrugged and said “It’s your body.  If you want to walk around with that, it’s up to you.”  And she was right.

Thanks for not being Obama, Mom.

Anyone up for a little tattoo documentary courtesy of the Vice crew?  Of course!  These guys make the best tattoo mini-documentaries out there.  This time the focus is on Dan Santoro, a wonderful, multi-talented tattooist who can be found at Smith Street Tattoo in Brooklyn, New York.  Dan’s work is truly original and his thoughts on tattoo as well as the tattoo process are invaluable.  So sit back – if you’re at work make it look like you’re working – and have a sneaky little viewing of this excellent three part doc on a wonderful artist.

It’s no secret that in the world of tattoo, rivalries are going to occur.  Not everyone gets along all the time, people have back history with one another, we get it, it happens.  In fact, it’s fair to say that most businesses have rivalries that have gone on for decades: Coke and Pepsi, McDonalds and Burger King, etc, etc, you get the idea.  Typically, these sorts of rivalries stay pretty mild and tame.  No one gets hurt, and the worst thing that happens is that maybe one business loses a little business to the other rival.  Nothing’s ever life or death.

I guess then, that Mark Kempster or “Mark the Snake” as he’s known to people who think he’s like a snake, or something, didn’t get the message about just being kind of chill toward your rivals.  Kempster, who owns the Preston, England tattoo studio Snakes Skin Studio was caught on camera threatening a rival tattooist.  I don’t mean threatening like I’ll-take-all-your-customers-and-bankrupt-you-if-you-open-your-tattoo-studio-near-mine kind of stuff, it’s more like I will physically kill you if you don’t leave here and open your tattoo studio outside of a 5-mile radius of this town.  That’s a bit more severe.  Of course, I’m only paraphrasing here, so if you really want to know for yourself what The Snake said to a rival tattooist who was planning on opening his business next door, you can read about it and check out the footage here.

I guess some people just never learned to play nice.

What’s up folks,

Any Londoners out there, reading this? How about anyone in the UK who has the potential to get to London in a relatively timely manner? Well if you’re out there and you’re reading this, then I suggest you take advantage of a great opportunity that has been set up by the kind people at Time Out London, and of course, by tattoo crackerjack Mo Coppoletta.

Here’s the gist: as part of the London based art show The Other Art Fair (April 25-28), Coppoletta will be setting up shop and tattooing those who have made it on to his rather lengthy waiting list. You, my fine as-of-yet-untattooed-by-Mo-Coppoletta friend, are now being presented with the very rare opportunity to not just be tattooed by Mr Coppoletta, but to actually have your pick of one of four original Coppoletta tattoos designed specifically for The Other Art Show. Does that sound good? I think it does. I think it sounds pretty damn good, in fact. A free tattoo from one of the world’s best tattoo artists? For free? Not many things better than that.

So how do I do this, you ask? It’s very simple. Follow this link and answer the most basic of basic questions (hint: the answer is Damien Hirst) and you are officially entered in the draw. But do it now because the contest ends at midnight on April 15th. After that, you’ll have to get on the waiting list like the rest of us poor chumps. In the meantime, here’s a bit of Coppoletta stuff to whet your tattoo appetites.

In the past few years, there really hasn’t been any shortage of tattoo related television programmes, specials and documentary films.  It seems that people are hungry for tattoo and that means that there is always going to be an audience for these sorts of productions.  The problem is, not all tattoo productions are worth wasting your time on.  I can honestly say that I’m relieved that the days of LA Ink are over and that other similar tattoo reality TV shows are dying out.  I don’t have anything at all against making TV or film productions based on the lives of tattooers or their art, I just want it to always be about the tattooers and their art and not some absurd, made up gossip or blown out of proportion in-fighting that has nothing to do with tattoo.

Director Eric Schwartz’ documentary Tattoo Nation looks to find its focus on something of substance in tattoo: the lives of three pioneers; Charlie Cartwright, Jack Rudy and Freddy Negrete, and how their efforts helped to change tattoo forever.  There’s also plenty of cameos from other tattoo legends like Mister Cartoon, Ed Hardy, Tim Hendricks and Mark Mahoney, to name but a few.  Check out the trailer below and see what you think.  LA Ink, it (thankfully) ain’t.

Hey people of the world,

I decided today to bring you a very small sample of some of my favourite tattoos done by some of my very favourite artists.  One look at these and it’s pretty hard to deny the amazing skill that can be found in the world of tattoo.  There’s something here for everyone and if for some crazy reason you don’t see anything that you like here, well, all I can say is that I’ll be back with more at another date in the near future.  But I mean, really?  There’s nothing here that you like?  Are you sure you like tattoo??

Hello dear readers,

A good day to you all.  I’m going to continue with a short video documentary (once again from Vice – these guys certainly know what the hell they’re doing) on one my absolute favourite tattooists working today: Grime.  If you don’t know who Grime is, man-o-man is it ever time for you to find out.  Grime has that shit locked down – although judging from this video series, he’s his harshest critic.  That’s okay though, because his own harsh criticism has kept him safely at the top of his game.  He’s San Francisco based and well…why don’t I just shut up and let you check out everything about him for yourself?  Sound good?  Of course it does.  Enjoy…