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Introduction Thanks for checking out our first issue of TrueArtists magazine. We’re really stoked to be able to get it out there, and showcase the work of our amazing artists. All the artists at TrueArtists get certified through an application process to guarantee their work is amazing. That just makes sense for tattoo fans, whether you’re looking for new ideas, or an amazing artist to collaborate with on a piece you’ll have for life. Too often people end up searching through loads of photos of good and bad tattoos, our goal is to help people to find great art and an artist in their area that can do it. We have some great stuff in this issue, interview with Solokill which was fun, plus some great advice on sleeves, and loads of killer tattoos. Enjoy.

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Featuring: Tattoo Fine Artits

10 06. Sleeve 10. SoloKill (Interview) 21. June Tattoos 38. Reggie Pineda (Interview) 46. Trash Polka

38 46

Sleeves

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hat makes a good sleeve?’ That was my assignment from True Artist and I thought I knew just where I could get the answers. ”A good sleeve...hmmm?” The question bounced around my brain as the tires hit the tarmac.

I had just flown in from Phoenix, 118 on the ground & even hotter up in the hellfire that had taken the lives of 19 firefighters up north. Brutal business; Brave men. I felt a little guilty wincing about a filling I had lost chewing ice on the jumper flight outa phx. Sweat turned to chill when I arrived in Oakland to find B.A.R.T.(subway) was on strike, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to walk to S.F. I wasn’t sure. True Artist would cover the $50.00 so I cozied up to an I.T. by the luggage carousel & slipped an I.D. badge off his lapel as I helped him on with his shoulder bag. The driver looked a little doubtful as I boarded the Google geek shuttlebus to the city with only my yellow legal pad & a Mr.T’s bloodymary mix from the plane, while the others clicked upon their smartphones,& clacked away @

laptops, but my i.d. badge got me a seat & we headed in. “What makes a good sleeeeve?” drifted through my fitful sleep. I awoke as we hit the city. My whole jaw was throbbing, so I hunkered down in the 500 club on 17th & guerrrero, a good homebase for me, for the answers to my question lie only a block away @ Black & Blue Tattoo. I asked the bartender to pause a sec midway thru pouring me a jack & coke. I tore the filter from a fresh Marlboro, quickly dunked it into the whiskey & crammed the whole shebang into the gaping hole in my tooth. “proceed barkeep” I quipped as the mellow mash seeped into my nerve endings & the stacatto throbbing subsided into a gentle backbeat. Just then two long shadows strafed my barstool. “Are you Jack?” I looked up to see two tall thin blondes approach thru the dim of the bar.

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“perhaps we should move to a booth?” I suggested. They were Samantha & Brittany. Two more outstanding artists from B&B, & knockouts to boot! “I need your help ladies, I need answers!” “What can we do to help ?”, they asked amiably. “What makes a good sleeve?” I asked. Lorem Ipsum dolor sit amet.

“Planning.” answered Sam con-

fidently, “One cohesive idea for the entire sleeve. I think the best sleeves are planned before any of it is tattoed on.” A lot of people don’t have the patience to figure what they want for the whole arm.” “You can’t just pop one design on any person.” Brittany said, joining in. The best sleeves have to fit that person, their personality, their skin, the shape of their body.”

“A good sleeve looks like an extension of that person”, she continued, “ Like they were born with it. Like it was always there, but you (the artist) are just helping it come out of them. “Hmmm..” I interjected. “I’ve heard that from sculpters, the image is already in the marble or wood & they are just freeing it.” “Exactly!” Brittany said. “A good

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tattoo, first have a concept in mind. Find an artist who’s style you like. You don’t want to just go to any shop & pick any artist blindly without seeing their portfolio. You need to feel comfortable with the piece, it’s going to be on your body for the rest of your life. Meet with the artist first. Personality can be a big deal. You want to feel connected with the person tattoing you, because it is such an intimate experience, that when done right, you & your artist will always remember.”

sleeve has to flow, follow the lines of the body.” Sam chimed in. “ Flow? What makes good flow?” I asked. “Good flow is following the contours of the body (It helps if your artist has a basic grasp of anatomy/ muscle structure) & having a good mixture of foreground and background.” she answered. “My favorite sleeves were done by one artist, one style. I don’t particularly like when one artist does the tattoo & another the background. They are not thinking the same way, they are not drawing the same way, so it may come out mashed, like a an orange through a keyhole... splatter.” “Although, as in super tradional style, it can be fine to have your sleeve comprised of many artists if all are in a particular style, like collectors of traditional flash or a mix of photo realism.”

“Well, I think I have all that I need ladies. I can lay the matter to rest. But if you gals wanna get round of cocktails or two...”

“ & remenber as to cost, you get what you pay for!” If someone is getting a sleeeve, what should they consider Brittany?” “Well,” she replied, “like any

“Thanks Jack, but we’ve got to get going” they replied in unison & they were off, leaving me me to ponder my notes... now if True Artists would cover my bar tab....??

Steve Sleeve Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat..

o we just did an interview with Shanghai Kate and we were like, um, do we call her Shanghai?... Kate?... or Shanghai Kate? So we have to ask, is it Solokill?... Solo?... Robin? Robin is fine..most people don’t remember a normal name. Solokill was my DJ name my friend Frank gave me. It was that or Chainsaw or something, and yeah, Chainsaw wasn’t really me. You once said “Every tattoo is a story for somebody”. What’s the best story for a tat you’ve heard. Besides the random drunk bet tattoos in my early years, the most impact a client had on me was the story of my client Becca Babcock, who was at the time battling colon cancer at a young age. She wanted a pheonix the entire length of her back. Her reminder of overcoming her fear and empowerment. After several years of on-again, off-again tattoo sessions because her treatment effected her skin and ability to heal, we finally completed it. She lost her battle last February.

Dubstep took over, made my choice easy. Kidding, sort of! I still miss it at times, not the night life though, just playing loud, live and on stage. Are there any similarities or cross-overs that you notice between the two. DJ you affect many people at once, with tattoos it’s more intimate right? Tattooing gave me confidence to get on stage (yeah, I was the shy girl) and DJing gave me confidence to talk to people. Also, if you pour your heart into a set, same is for pouring your heart into a tattoo, that’s a rush, making people smile or dance. Gratification. Both require

a great deal of confidence and dedication to be good at them. What’s the hardest part of being a tattoo artist? Or maybe, the most annoying, apart from the people who walk in with a Google image and say "I want this!" Committing to a piece..saying “this is it, this is the final product ready to be permanently inked”. So when we emailed you first, we got your auto-response that said “Everyone has their strengths. If it’s Asian Inspired/custom I might be a good fit. I won’t copy anyone else’s work.” Does this help to weed out people who come in with a print they grabbed from a Google search?

Doubt any story could have had more impact on me. She was wonderful.

No! I totallly don’t mind people bringing things in as inspiration. In fact, I encourage them if they can’t find words to explain it. It’s more or less to avoid doing a graphic image or a design someone else has. Everyone is stronger in one or two styles generally.

You were a Drum ‘n’ Bass DJ for a long time, but then switched to tattoos. How’d that happen?

You draw mostly on Asian/ Japanese art. Are there styles that you want to try and get into?

I started tattooing around the same time actually, so I did both. It wasn’t till I moved to Chicago and got busier doing custom work, that I had to give up one of em.

Not really, since the day I started learning how to tattoo I’ve been inspired by japanese art. I would only get to paint it though. It wasn’t

till about five years ago that I got to slowly start doing more of it. Now it’s all I want to do. I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time, dammit! Things go in cycles, whether it’s retro fashion comebacks, fascination with fixies, or beards. The challenge with tats is that they’re permanent. Are there styles that you would try to stay away from or advise against, because say, 5-10 years they’ll be aged or maybe even corny? Not really, no one really knows what’s gonna be hot and, like you said, it does cycle, so I’m sure anything could be cool again. Except the barcode tattoo. It was once the thing and I think everyone wants to cover them cause they don’t age very well.

I refuse to tattoo hands, necks or faces of young teens or people that don’t have a lot of tattoos. I just won’t. You’re booked up for months and in high demand. What’s your average work day like? Seems like you’re a very busy lady. I get up and hit the gym for a few hours, tattoo all day four days a week then work two to three days on artwork for clients for the next week. I manage to find some time to relax with my bulldog or run errands, answer emails, etc. Sometimes I’ll get lucky and have a day off. Otherwise, I have to schedule

time to do personal artwork or I’ll just keep working. I’m pretty structured and don’t really do much else. Pretty lame, huh?

iup or get input. Many artists seem to work within a code of ethics, are there moral standards to your art that you adhere to?

From the Metamorph site, looks like you’re the only woman at the shop. Are the rest of the guys more like big or little brothers to you, or what’s the vibe there?

I don’t collaborate, although I’d be down. I rarely ask opinions except from my clients, mostly cause I tend to work at home alone. However I do get inspired by them. We toss ideas around generally.

There’s another girl who just started. The vibe is chill for the most part, no real drama, not like those tv shows. We certainly have a lot of personalities. I am like one of the guys at this point in my career. They are my family. Ultimately I’m there to do my job, I get pretty serious real fast but I do love my colleagues. Everyone there does custom work. Do you ever collaborate or ask each other’s opinions on drawing stuff

Morals or ethics. Omg! I have some. I refuse to tattoo hands, necks or faces of young teens or people that dont have a lot of tattoos. I just won’t. I never have and never will. I also will not tattoo things I think someone else would be better at. The more great tattoos out there, the better the world! And everyone gets to tattoo that they love. This relates to the previous question. Any place on the body you absolutely won’t tattoo and why? Any tattoos you won’t do because you find them offensive? Ha ha ha! Yeah, I totally answered that question above. I just know I hated all my adolescent tattoo ideas as I got older and lets face it, a lot of jobs aren’t keen on facial tattoos or visible tattoos. My thought is, sometimes it’s nice to be incognito. I had my fingers tattooed with “Solokill”. Yeah, I have kill on one hand...but took 10 years of being in the business to get them done. Yes, I regret it sometimes cause people ask me all the time “What does that say, what does it mean?” Ah yes, this is why I love

the incognito thing. With an artist who works with paint, they can create a piece and keep it, and reflect on it, sometimes they want to change it, or become tired of it, or fall in love with it, decide not to sell it. Tattoos are different in that you can draw up a piece, ink it and it walks out the door, maybe never to be seen again. You don’t get that with repeat clients but are there pieces that you’ve sent out into the wild that you’d love to see again? Honestly, nope. Not one. The people I put them on, I sometimes do. Sounds like a cheese all statement but it’s true.

You’ve been working in the business for over 10 years now, have you seen an evolution in styles, placements, equipment, inks, tattoo culture. Anything surprised you? Yes! 12 years! Huge changes. TV shows, Ed hardy T-shirts, more girls in the business, no needle mak-

ing (new apprentices you guys are lucky!) people getting sleeves as first tattoos, hot girls with crazy facial tattoos and necks and throat and hand tattoos, modeling. It’s just blown up. I wouldn’t be surprised if it becomes an corporate job, with health insurance, 401k, and a paycheck for hourly work.

I’m happy to see more people accepting it as a form of art though! A lot of artists travel, and take guest spots at shops around the world, that something you’ve done, want to do? I have done a couple guest spots... Florida, Pittsburg and Brooklyn. And yes, I really want to travel abroad to guest spot. There are some sick Japanese artists in Europe, Sweden. It would be a dream of course to tattoo in Japan! I’d be so happy to work next to talent and learn while I’m there! Ever tried to talk someone out of a tattoo, artwork, placement or otherwise? Absolutely! If I feel like its gonna be a bad idea I’ll let them know.

I wouldn’t be surprised if it becomes a corporate job, with health insurance, 401k, and a paycheck for hourly work. When I’m painting, I put on headphones and shut the world out, no interruptions. I’m curious, when you’re drawing up a piece, is that a time where you try to avoid all interruptions and work it out, or is it something you think about over a few days and let it sit in your head? Yeah, I only work at home sometimes with my dog sitting in a chair next to me at the table. No Interuptions, it defo sits in my

head for a while, then a scribble it out. I’ll work it out at the actual size it needs to be. Sometimes up to seven hours straight depending on size and subject. Then I walk away. The next day, I’ll see if anything looks wierd. I draw with music or sometimes with just cartoons going in the background...adventure time! He he. You don’t take phone calls? Is that to avoid interuptions too? I don’t like to waste my clients time in the chair, and I can’t think about anything else at that moment. I will take phone calls, if I schedule them. I schedule everything. Do you wake up at night with ideas for custom work? I used to, I tend to multi-task and no one wants to hear it, but sometimes

I’ll get ideas while I’m tattooing! If I’m home and it doesn’t come out I take a nap. That seems to help.

Your tattoos are really fluid, like, there’s almost a lot of movement to them. How do you get that lo

For inspiration, a lot of your work is influenced by Japanese art, and clearly a style you’re very comfortable with and good at. What other things inspire you on a daily basis?

Thank you. I don't know, I think it just happened, I used to paint and show people I looked up to who were doing Japanese art and they all said, it’s too stiff, it’s stiff, stiff ..ugh.....trial and error and I want the eye to move from top to bottom. I guess Its not stiff anymore. Yay!

Nature..spring time...seasonal flowers. The fish market ..a good workout will get my mind going, too. Equipment. What can’t live without? My tattoo machines. Besides that obvious one, my lunch bag.

Often it really depends on the piece, but are there colors you’re really drawn to? Red and turquoise. Love hot reds. My first tat was a tribal band on my bicep. I was 18. It’s since been covered up. Your first tattoo – what was it, why, and who did it?

18 year old girls, I went alone...horribly done and yet totally covered up. The guy who did it, has passed away. I loved snakes..even had a pet snake. Do you have any work you’ve had covered up? Tons! Laser treatment and everything, too. Outside of DJing and tattooing, if you weren’t doing what you were doing today, are there other paths you’re curious about that you’d like to take? Makeup artist for artistic photoshoots, airbrush, etc. Or work with manatees ...I love manatees.

Awesome! Had a snake armband on my 18th birthday. Unlike most

There are up-and-coming artists, beginners and the like who are reading this. You’ve been doing it for over ten years. What do they absolutely need to know right now? Its a totally different generation of tattooers...people with different work ethics. All I can say is work hard. Nothing is given, it is earned. Someone stops me and asks, “Badass! Is that a SoloKill tattoo?” What makes your stuff unique to you? Sort of related to the move-

ment I would think, but also you clearly put a lot of thought and time into them. Thanks again. I do put soooo much time into each piece. It’s great if someone can pick out my stuff. That is the goal! Defo my use of negative space and clouds. I’ve been told my clouds are a dead give away.

Not everyone can draw, or ink well. Your take? I agree! just because they can draw doesn't mean they can tattoo.

At TrueArtists, we know everyone has to start somewhere, but, our difference is the quality. Our take is, if you’re going to get it done, and it’s forever, get it done by an artist.

Juan Marquez

September

Rapid fire round Whose the one at Metamorph most likely to play a practical joke? Jay Who has the best fashion sense? Um, I don’t know. We look normal, ink splattered jeans and tshirts or tanks, hoodies and tattoos. Best cover up you ever did and why? Upper arm full of black tribal from chest to back to under arm. Transformed it into flowers. It was one of the worst tattoos I’ve seen.

Tramp stamp. Comment. Hahaha! Its awesome! It let’s me know how old the tattoo is to cover it! Last music track you listened to and where. Chimira black heart in my car on my way home. Craziest tattoo you’ve ever done? They are all crazy. The shit’s permanent and parents hate em... only crazy people get tattoos! Sooo kidding! I seriously don’t know though I’ve done a lot of crazy stuff. Like a shamrock on a 85-year-old lady brought in in a wheelchair. That’s crazy cool!

Tattoos

If not Chicago, where? West coast or Europe. How do people find examples of your work and get in touch with you? The best way seriously is my Facebook book page: www.facebook.com/tattoosbysolokill or instagram @solokill ...I keep up with these alllll the time and post sketches and in progress work. Contacting me via email is the best way, solokillart@gmail.com

Your super secret to great tattoo healing Saran wrap at bed time for first two nights, wash often and let the body heal it. The body is crazy efficient.

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XXXX XXXX Juan Marquez

Unknow Artist

Teika Hudson Calgary CA

Tetova탑er Cigla

Unknow Artist

Tony Mancia (Georgia) The Rogues Gallery

Tony Urbanek (Pittsburgh)

Unknow Artist

Yakup DragNaar (Turkey)

Yakup DragNaar (Turkey) Yakup DragNaar (Turkey)

Yakup DragNaar (Turkey)

samantha tutchener GB

Samantha Tutchener UK

Skinshokz Paul Priestley GB

Stefan Kr채mer (Germany)

Steve LaMantia

samantha tutchener GB

Scott Bond Thunder Bay

silesanda glasgow

sean duffy dublin pennysylvania

Mike Stockings supes

Resat G端l (Turkey)

Rob Richardson

Mosse Finland

Resat G端l (Turkey)

Rember Orellana (Texas)

Przemyslaw Malachowski (UK)

Nic Westfall (San Francisco, CA)

Nikk D

Nikolay Karagyozov Metal Monkey (Bulgary)

Noa Yanni (Italy)

Chris Hess (Kansas)

Chris Garcia

Paul Rap

Chris Hess

Chris Toler

Chris Walkin Lake Charles (Los Angeles, CA)

our work spans multiple styles from Asian/Japanese to Biomech, Realism, color to black & grey, and youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re solid in them all. How did you get to be so accomplished across multiple

Reggie

Pineda 40

different styles?

Working with different clients everyday helped me to be versatile as I can in any styles. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fun for me to do various styles from one day to another. 41

Favorite machine that you use? I like using Cheyenne Thunder a lot together with traditional coil machines. Your work features a lot of animals too, any particular reason why? Seeing wildlife has this soothing effect on me, it’s like being at a scenic nature. I think for the most part though, clients have their own representation with their animal pieces

How would you describe your studio? The studio has this great atmosphere. Plenty of places around the shop to hangout after sessions. There’s nothing like looking forward to go to work everyday. My colleagues are down to earth and we respect each other, this is where everything starts really. One can be at the nicest busiest shop, but it only takes one deuce bag ruin everything.

Any tattoos that you wouldn’t do, or any part ofthe body you won’t tattoo? I’ve turned down clients before, but will definitely not do a penis tattoo and won’t do a tattoo on a penis! A lot of tattoos that artists do, they see them walk out the door and that’s the last they see of them unless it’s a repeat customer. Is there a piece you’ve done that you’d like to see again? I would love to see that colored octopus tattoo

again, one of the oldest, original piece I did. This tattoo also made me realized that anything is Tell us about that, what kind of stuff do you play, what instrument? I’m still active with my current band playing guitar and singing, trying to keep up with our projects with my busy schedule. Just doing what I love to do and I don’t care where that takes me, I’m pretty sure it’s somewhere I’d rather be on my free time from tattooing.

What’s next for Redge Pineda? I’ll be tattooing! No one will get me off my artist chair!

Reggie Pineda in action. 44

ADVERTISE HERE

TRASH POLKA M

y first impression upon viewing the startling work of Volko & Simone , with its realistic gasmasked skulls, helicopters, explosive shocks of red scything through bold blacks and layered with narrative fonts, was “If Kroenen the assasin from Hellboy did tattoos, this is what they would look like!” Scenes of Mark Pauline & his buddies @ Survival Research Laboratories, backed by the soundtrack of an Einstuerzende Nuebauten or a Diamanda Galas, flashed across my brain along with the

music of machine guns. I could hear the chop chop of those helicopter blades. Silly, I know, but phrases like orchestrated chaos,& beauty in tragedy popped to mind. The portraiture, the brushstrokes, blood red poppies and a sepia of halftones that connotated a kind of age & validity, almost a documentary tattoo. I saw a kinship with the work of graphic novels @ play, Frank Miller’s Sin City or J.M. Dematteis’s work on Blood: a tale? Comprised almost exclusively of large pieces, executed in their bold, dramatic & graphic style, Trash Polka is increasingly gaining traction as an usual & exciting tattoo style whose influence can be seen to be spreading internationally throughout the tattoo scene. Trash polka, or “Realistic Trash Polka”, as coined by Volko Merschky & Simone Pfaff, the founders

If Kroenen the assassin from Hellboy did tattoos, this is what they would look like! of Buena Vista Tattoo Club in Wurzburg Germany, can be identified by photo realistic elements meticulously rendered in black & grey. Skulls and birds are a common motif. These images are counter-balanced with bold swathes of solid black, slashes of blood red & interspersed with type fonts/lettering that make theses pieces pop with clarity. These works are unlined & omit the usual unifying background that traditionally tie a large piece together.

Jay Purdy

Using instead the “negative space” of the clients natural skin to form the backdrop & “ground” the images. The designs we create don’t fit into any known style, so we made up our minds to think of a term that best describes it. “We came up with Trash Polka. Ours is a mixture of realistic elements combined with the abstract or graphic parts which we have termed “trash”” relates V&S. “Hence the phrase realistc trash polka.” The phrase trash polka itself references a piece of music written by Johann Strauss in 1859. Our V&S duo are musicians themselves & perform under the name Dobbs Dead. Self-described as “post mortem folk for anti-heroes” (While not the noise-punk orchestra I envisioned in my head, at first exposure they do posses a certain outsider sensibility, albeit in folkpolk form.) Volko & Simone found they identified with this Mauro Amaral

Nic Westfall Trsh Polka

Nico ChAosInK

composer & adopted this title to encapsulate the diverse elements present in their art works. Their work does not appear static. The art itself seems to possess the movement & intonation of a musical work. “It’s a fusion of realism & trash” Volko describes. “Nature & abstract, technology & humanity”.

They laid the foundations for art movements to come...the Avante Garde, the Surrealists, & Arte Brut (with which V&S have also been compared). And an argument can be made for the Dadaists to have blazed the trail for our modern rebel rousers, from Dali to Pattie Smith, a list that would include many of our favorite film, music punks, and poets.

Some traditional tattoo purists object to this style, along with many of the current “no-outline” styles, calling them “arty & a trendy fad”. The case can be made that Buena Vista tattoo club is building upon a foundation laid 97 years ago.

Interestingly, the Nazis had a strong reaction to modernist art, of which they included Dadaists, banning such works and artists identified as “degenerate artists”. (Sound familiar tattoo fans?) Artists so labeled were forbidden to show, sell, or in some cases to even produce their art. Non-traditional music, film, and theatre were banned as well. In 1937 the Nazis mounted an exhibit in Munich to showcase this “un-German work” entitled Entartete Kunst (degenerate art) displaying examples of this “abberant art” to turn the public against modern works. The similarities in V&S work to Dadaism can be seen in the graphic design elements present in the programs, pamphletes, and magazines of the Dadaists. So, a fad you say? Thats a fad showing no sign of waning in almost a hundred years.

Following in the tradition of the German Dadaists, the artistic movement known as Dada first emerged in Zurich in 1916 & quickly spread to Berlin. it is felt that Dadaism was a reaction to the first world war & the horrors that lied therein, and like V&S, their endeavors were not contained to a single medium, but encompassed visual arts, poetry, graphic design, and theatre. And like tattoo it was anti-traditional art, antibourgeois, anti-establishment.

polka westfall tattoo backpiece

Paul Talbot

Rosaland Daniels V for Vendetta

Your work is fantastic, stands by itself in a number of different styles, portraits, realism, biomech, and others, but you were in the news most recently for a cover-up. You fixed the worlds worst portrait tattoo. How did that come about, tell us about it?

The client drove about six hours to my studio, Empire Ink, in Akron, Ohio to meet me in person. I had no clue who he was or what he was looking to get done. He had one of his kids with him who handed me a piece of folded paper. The client then started to tell me his story as I opened up the paper to reveal a handmade sign that the boy had drawn up to post at his school. On it was a photo of his mother who, I was just learning had died in an electrical fire roughly about three weeks after her wedding day, and a photo of his father showing off his shiny new tattoo that unfortunately looked more like a

decaying zombie than his wife. In big hand-drawn letters the paper stated “This is my mother who died in a fire and my dad who got her tattooed on his arm. His tattoo is known as the world’s worst portrait tattoo...” It went on attempting to raise money to get the tattoo repaired for his dad. I asked the client to see the tattoo and when he showed me I was floored by it. Floored not so much because

ment. Three months later he showed up for the appointment, I sat down in front of his horrible piece of shit tattoo and just blindly dove into it. Luckily, the original artist didn’t touch the teeth beyond his first session so it had about six years of fading that enabled me to go right over what was there with Starbrite White to repair the teeth, which I felt was the focal point of why this piece was so horrible. I

We read your 20 Rules to Follow. So we’re gonna refrain from calling it a “tat”. But we do want to find out about your background. So we’ll ask you about your apprenticeship instead. Who did you apprentice with and for how long?

it was the infamous tattoo that I had come across a million times on the internet over the years, but because it was a hundred times worse than that original viral photo. He had gone back to the tattoo artist who butchered it two additional times in the six years since it was originally done and the guy had brutalized it even more. The artist had also made a crude window of flames around the portrait. Flames? The poor lady died in a fire and he enshrined the horrible portrait in flames? I told the client that we’d surely need to cover that up as well. I set him up with my soonest appoint-

had to move the eyes and reshape most of the major features with dark contrasts then I went in and layered lots of white wash. It took about three or four hours until I felt satisfied that I had done my job. He was so happy he was almost in tears. He thanked me, shook my hand, and told me I had finally brought him and his entire family closure.

is a great inspiration to me even to this day. In my eyes he’s one of the greatest tattooers who ever lived.

And you did it for free? Yeah, I couldn’t bring myself to charge him. He had paid that hack artist $450 for the tattoo in the first place. Then he had to spend the next six years of his life shamed every time he got onto the internet. He had long been paid up for this tattoo.

I apprenticed under Jim Locker at Hammer’s Tattooing in Canton, Ohio in 1994. Honestly, I don’t even remember how long I was there. Jimmy

What was the best advice about tattooing that you ever got? The best advice I ever got about tattooing was that “there are no rules to tattooing”. Tattooing is an art. Sure, if I were to adhere to a certain style like traditional tattooing I’d have rules regarding perfectly bold, straight lines and simple solid packed color. But I don’t approach my tattooing like a tattoo artist. I approach my tattoos as though I were about to do an oil painting. I don’t go from dark to light inks or start at the bottom and

don’t approach my tattooing like a tattoo artist. I approach my

work my way up. I get messy and dip into every color I can as often as I can, and then I bounce my ass around the tattoo like I’m a kid hopped up on way too much candy. Do you think someone could make a good artist without doing an apprenticeship? Yes. Look at Nikko! That guy started out of his house and worked his way up to the top. He’s one of the most innovative tattooers of his time and just because he started in his crib doesn’t make me think of him any less. If someone steps into the tattoo world having been an artist their entire life, all tattooing is - is another medium to work in. The shitty scratchers tend to weed themselves out rather quickly on their own. What are the changes in the industry that you’ve seen since you started? Rotaries kick ass. The Cheyenne Hawk in particular is responsible for completely changing the way I tattoo and taking my work from average to extraordinary. More so than the rotaries, it was the cartridge system that revolutionized my work by allowing me to quickly swap out needles on the fly with only one machine set up for everything I needed it to do. It saves me astronomical amounts of time and energy on each and every tattoo... and remember kids... time = money! Tattooing as an art form to some extent is more mainstream now than before, do you think this is a good thing or a bad thing? Both. I think it’s good because society is finally to a point that it’s taking tattooing seriously. In the past tattooing has traditionally been looked upon as a lower class luxury

don’t approach my tattooing like a tattoo artist. I approach my tattoos as though I were about to do an oil painting.

service typically reserved for bikers, sailors, and miscreants. Today, artists such as myself can completely make a living creating fine art on skin, and have the creative freedom and the client’s trust to be able to experiment and push the envelope of what tattooing fundamentally is. On the other hand it’s bad because these mainstream tattoo reality shows make tattooing look easy to Uncle Billy Bob chilling out in his kitchen with his brand new E-bay special tattoo kit ready to “tat-up” the twelve year ol’ neighbor girl.

Do you go to a lot of conventions?

You’ve won a fair amount of awards that you display in the studio at Empire Ink. What award gives you the most satisfaction out of them all?

(This question seems a little redundant.) To me, the best thing about what I do is that I have a burning passion for it. I love tattooing. If I were stuck doing tribal butterflies for the rest of my life, I’d still love what I do (I’d hate the damn tribal butterflies but I’d still love that I get to tattoo for a living.).

1st Place Most Unusual. Done on my wife, Melaine, at the Reformed in Ink convention in 2012. Most satisfied because I’m pretty fucking unusual anyways.

I have not. Up until last year I didn’t feel my work was good enough to stand next to the tattoo gods that work the conventions. I’m coming out of my shell though and with my recent international exposure and the onslaught of sponsorships that I’ve been picking up, I’ll be in all of your faces soon enough. Your studio does completely custom work. Is this the best thing about your work, being able to create one of a kind pieces?

Worst thing about your work? I can’t crank it out fast enough. My schedule is the worst thing about what I do. The demand for my work is so through the roof that I have had the hardest time managing it. I’ve been through four personal assistants in the past year whose job its been to solely manage my schedule and to keep my clients happy. They all hate me. Someone sees a tattoo and says “that looks like Scott Versago’s work”. What’s unique to your style? Details details details. I start my work by blocking in large structures and then I keep drilling down smaller and smaller details until I’m to the point that I no longer have needle configurations small enough to go any finer with my details. Once I’m to that point I spend about five minutes pounding in my brightest highlights with a new liner needle. A lot of artists are really good at one particular style. Your portfolio shows a depth and breadth of a number of different styles, all tremendous quality. How did you get so good at all different styles? Unlike life in larger populous cities like Los Angeles or New York City, Akron only produces a relatively finite amount of clients that give the artists complete creative control. For an up-and-coming tattooer this means that you must cater to any

and all styles that may walk in the door. Doing this every day for about 20 years makes you pretty well versed in absolutely every damn style there is! Which style do you prefer the most? I don’t really have a preference. I enjoy the challenge of realism, the abstract flow of biomechanical work, and the fun bold lines of doing a new school style all the same. I stay as far away from traditional style tattooing as possible. Any style you want to get into? I have two styles I am experimenting with currently. One where I’m trying to incorporate watercolor techniques and two dimensional design elements into three dimensional photo realistic pieces. The other I’m incorporating creepy three dimensional photo realistic character designs into large biomechanical pieces. Outside of tattooing, what else do you like to do? I don’t have time for much. I have four kids, a wife, and two dogs. I own an insanely busy tattoo studio called Empire Ink in Akron, Ohio. We’ve just expanded that location to eleven tattoo artists and five apprentices and are in the process of opening a second location up closer to Cleveland. I am in the beginning stages of creating another company called Monsters of Ink that will sell my (currently top secret) innovations as well as play host to what I intend to be one of the East Coast’s

Today, artists such as myself can completely make a living creating fine art on skin.

biggest and best tattoo and music festivals ever! Apart from ones that are taller than you, which artists today do you look up to? (I know, we’re too hilarious) Uuuugh... so many... Tommy Lee Wendther, Bob Tyrell, Nikko Hurtado, Carl Grace, Alex De Passe... (Check back with me later. I’m going to need to write this on a separate piece of paper.) Any place on the body you won’t tattoo on a customer? Are there any tattoos that you would refuse to do? I am strictly anti-weiner... sorry buddy. At TrueArtists our focus is on showing only quality artists, that meet high standards. What are the things you look for say in an apprentice to see if they’ve got the ability to work the craft First and foremost I look for that spark of passion in their eyes. Art, for the most part can be taught to a monkey, but I want to be surrounded by great artists 24-7 and great artists bleed passion from every pore. I look for that. What piece of equipment do you absolutely swear by? My camera. The single most

important tool of every tattoo artist should be their camera. If you don’t get that one shot before the client walks out the door, all your work is for nothing.

Morssuza. I’m always welcoming to anyone who’s interested in doing a guest spot. Please contact us with your portfolio at info@empire-ink. com

Tattoos have come a long way from even 20 years ago, lots of new styles. Seeing some more UV tattoos now, what’s your take on those?

Any secrets of tattoo aftercare that you’d like to impart, apart from “don’t be a complete dawbrain and pick the scabs with dirty fingernails?”

Anything that glows under your skin can’t be good for you. Hell no. I strictly do not let my artists tattoo with UV ink.

Over the years, through trial and error, I’ve found that many products actually work if used correctly by the client. From non-scented lotions, to H2Ocean Tattoo Aftercare, to Aquaphor, I’ve tried them all. However, the very best product hands down is La Peau Ink Mango Tattoo Butter. LPI has proven to me to cut down the healing process of the tattoo from about 7-14 days down to 3 days with no scabbing. I’m currently sponsored by LPI, but only because I pursued them to the end of the earth. I was sponsored by Hustle Butter, which is still a great aftercare product, but I wanted to be sponsored by a product I could stand behind with my whole being as a product I would recommend to my kids or my wife.

Empire Ink is the only disposable tattoo studio in Northeastern Ohio, so obviously your focus on hygiene and safety as a priority. When did you move to that or has it been like that since day one? Since day one. I started the studio with the intent of having an all disposable studio that supplied all needles and tubes to the artists and passed the cost onto the client in the way of a service fee. Selfishly, I did this to integrate my personal supply expenses into the studio. This has now changed because over time, I found that each artist preferred a different brand or an odd configuration of needles. The associated costs became too extraordinary so I changed gears. Do you host guest artists in your studio? Yes we do. We’ve got the phenomenal portrait artist, Jake Ross, gracing us next month followed by another soon to be legend photo-realism artist from Brazil, Ary

Finally, what’s your funniest tattoo story... You’ve just read it!