Double Whammy

By Guy Aitchison.
What do you get when you throw 3 of today’s best artists together
on a marathon sleeve project?

NewSkool Collective
What else need we say? Interviews by Crash.

adrian lee
Phil Holt
Matt Shamah
Paco Excel
Ron Earhart
Tattoo Tales
By Mike Malone

Step-by-Step
Watercolors by Mike Dorsey

Machine Theory
Discussing the basics of tattoo machine theory.
By Seth Ciferri.

The Oni
A history lesson by Jason Schroder

NewsFlash
New flash from around the globe.

Jeff Zuck
Neo-traditional stylings. Interview by Crash

Submissions
Hot new photos to awe and inspire. Send in
your submissions!

Sleeve by adrian lee

E Tattoo Ar tist
 WELCOME FROM THE EDITOR
Greetings, and welcome to the premier issue of Tattoo Artist Magazine. What you are holding in your hands represents more than just pithy words
and pretty pictures- it is the culmination of many months, (years in some respects), of research, writing and work from a dozen or so professional
tattooers- all of whom were willing to donate their time, talents, and money toward this pursuit.

From the first quiet whispers of this project till now I have been forced to ask myself a few questions: Why should so many well-known tattooers band
together and contribute to the success of this project? Why offer your tattoo tips and tricks to total strangers? Why send in your flash set, your newest tattoo
photos? Why bother placing ads in a magazine that may not even make it past the first issue?
In short, why would any of these people be willing to help make this magazine happen? I
really struggled with the questions for quite a while, then I started talking to the people I
respect in this business and I couldn’t believe the response I got. Now I think the answer to
those questions is as plain as the tattoo on Tyson’s face…because we, as tattoo professionals,
need it. We require something designed for, marketed to, and focused on the needs and
desires of the professional tattooer and we always have. That’s the goal of this magazine
and that is the real potential of what you hold. Consider this your open invitation to get
involved; our success depends on you.

How can you help meet these goals? I hate to point out the obvious, but you can start by
subscribing & advertising. (I’m going to leave it there for now. I want to see what kind of
backing we get without any televangelist-type tricks to motivate your support. I would
hope that everyone sees the benefit in keeping this magazine around.) Beyond that minor
$$ necessity-just get involved. Send in your column or feature ideas, no matter how inane
they seem. Write us a letter or an email; join in on our online forum (which should be up
and running by the time you read this.) Make a few phone calls and discuss your ideas
with friends and peers. Send in your photos, your flash, your articles. Make sure you take
advantage of the opportunity to get involved here because this magazine is your thing. We
may not use all that you send in but at least you will be given the chance to be involved-
whether you are a “superstar” or not, and I mean that. I’m no big-shot in the tattoo circles;
the truth is that I am a nobody, a fanboy; just some schmuck who got lucky and landed a
writing gig as a way to pick the brains of artists I admire. Admittedly my objectives have
grown a little in their scope, but I’m still just an average tattooer looking to learn every-
thing I can from those I admire most. I’m just like you. So believe me when I say this-we
want to hear what you think!! This magazine is for you…and that’s no BULLSHIT!
Original Cover of TAM #1 2003
This thing began with a simple concept: design a magazine for tattooers. I won’t waste the
time pointing out the shortcomings of the tattoo rags lately; suffice it to say that most, and
I stress-most, tattoo magazine editors care very little about the people who are actually
providing them with content month after month and they are completely unwilling to give
any ear to what that audience wants to see in print. Here’s your chance to change all that,
to have a voice; don’t blow it.

So, though I’m not accepting any award, I’d like to take the time to thank a few people;
without them there would be no Tattoo Artist Magazine. I want to start with my King, my
family and my church for being my inspiration and sure foundation. Thanks to Gunnar for
helping to plant the seed. Thanks to Soba, Seth Ciferri, and The Read Street Tattoo Forum
for providing the fertile ground for this idea to grow in. And to adrian lee & the NS crew,
Grime, Jason Kundell, Marcus Pacheco, Adam C., Rollo, Crofoot, Noble, Mike Dorsey,
Guy, Michele, Aaron, Jeff Zuck, Mark Longenecker, Jason Schroder, Will Lollie, Gabe
and Sean at TattooNOW.com, Bert Smith, Holly Ellis, Kent Smith, Johnathan Mordenti,
Denise M. Hart, Adam Hathorn, Christian Ratchford, Chris Pfouts, Sherri Cullison, and
Chuck Brank for all your help and contributions; all of you have provided the light for the
seed to grow by. And, finally, thank you to all of our advertisers, corporate and individual;
you believed in this project enough to invest your cash; by doing so you have given us the
opportunity to do instead of just say. I hope that all of you are as enthused about the end
result as I am.

See you in 90 Days.

-C

New Stream-Line Reprint 2008

Front Cover Art

Todd “Noble” Holloway
Tattoo Culture Magazine is the collaborative project of Tattoo Artist Magazine and
professional tattooers everywhere, for the purpose of educating, entertaining, and
inspiring tattoo fans worldwide. TCM includes interviews and in-depth bios on some
of the very best tattooers in the world, as well as music articles, event coverage, art
shows, and general health and development columns for our modern Tattoo Culture.
I’m Crash, your humble editor and host for the journey. On powerful and individual skill set and gift we can give to
behalf of our staff and all the exceptional artists and friends tattooing and to this community. It is our task to help each
who’ve taken the time to contribute to this project, let me member realize his or her own potential.
say that we are all VERY glad you made it! Trust me, tattoo
Learning how to navigate this territory with integrity, care,
artists everywhere are watching closely to see what sort of concern, passion, and respect requires time, experience,
impact our collective efforts can have in the public sphere. patience, and yeah; even love. But it also requires
The most astounding thing about the Tattoo Culture project MENTORS to help along the way. The same is and always
isn’t the quality of our contributed content, or that we HAS BEEN true for EVERY tattoo artist, including the ones
feature only the finest professional tattooers on the planet; featured in TAM & TCM, as their biographies repeatedly
it’s that our often disjointed community is WORKING demonstrate.
TOGETHER to do something positive and proactive!
Though easy to forget, we ALL start at square one in the
TCM is the bi-product of a community’s intentional efforts to tattoo world, and we ALL need to be taught. What these
Educate, Entertain, and Inspire an entire new generation of participating artists, companies, and contributors are doing
tattoo lovers by sharing some of what we think makes is what we call “GIVING BACK”, which, in our community, is
tattooing so great, and why we cherish it so much. We want often much more a slogan than anything else. But the TCM
to see it respected, valued, and enjoyed... and we also team of co-conspirators (each from differing backgrounds,
want to expose readers everywhere to the VERY BEST tattoo styles, cliques, cultures, and generations), all agree on this
artists in the world! (Hint- they are rarely the personalities one thing: GIVING BACK is more than what one says, it’s
featured on television;) what one LIVES!
To help this vision along, last fall we created the “TAM Think So...PLEASE pay special attention to the people who are
Tank” (more on that soon) to begin asking professionals taking the time to help. Write to them and thank them for
questions about WHERE tattooing is going, and WHAT we caring, for teaching, for entertaining, and for inspiring. Find
can collectively DO about any of it. To our delight, these them at conventions, get tattooed, get a shirt, buy a print or
questions have resonated with a growing army of friends other product, follow their social media and share their
and artists within the community, drawing like a magnet, work and projects with others! It’s all they ask in return for
participants and partners deeply interested in collaborat- their efforts.
ing for tattooing’s future, and each, willing to do his/her
own small part, can ensure the authentic tattoo community There’s another saying in our community: “Take care of
HAS A VOICE! tattoo and tattoo will take care of you!” We believe in this
as well, and this little project is, at the root, how many of us
Why are we all doing this? We want to help novice (or are trying to do just that!
seasoned) tattoo FANS progress to being educated tattoo
COLLECTORS…and we want to help every tattoo client Not only will we teach you what you need to know (and
discover how to recognize and get GOOD tattoos! what no one else can), we’re also going to entertain the
hell out of you along the way…
To learn what makes a ‘good’ tattoo (or a good artist or
shop), one needs to be trained…by experts. Guess what? Thanks for being interested in more than the pop aspects of
We ARE the experts. Guess what else? WE had to be our world. For now, sit back, relax and listen...but then- get
trained, too! Each of us, without exception. Every tattooed off yer ass and JOIN THE MOVEMENT!
person has a unique path to take, and we each have a -Crash

.:. wake up .:. connect .:. contribute .:. develop .:.

PHIL HOLT ALEX DE PASE CHENTE 7TH SON TATTOO

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TattooCultureMagazine.com/app
Digital Issues for all other devices & computer are available
on the TCM Store at www.TattooCultureMagazine.com

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by Guy Aitchison

My left arm was a mess, like a moldy loaf

of French bread. It was covered with my
teenage tattoos; hand-poked, fixed, cov-
ered up, fixed again and finally abandoned
in frustration. Day after day I put tattoos
on clients that I would gladly have traded
for the mess I was living with. The time
eventually came when I had both the
resources and the motivation to begin
lightening this old junk with a laser with
the goal of one day re-tattooing my arm
with something I could be excited about.
Arms are, after all, our most prime real
estate- most visible to the world, and more
importantly, always in our own line of
sight.

Laser treatments can be a real test on

your pain tolerance. The laser feels some-
thing like a pan of hot bacon grease spit-
ting drops of sizzling goo on your skin,
several times per second, over and over
again in an agonizing rythym that makes
getting tattooed feel like a nice massage
by comparison. To make things a little
easier I used Emla, a pre-numbing cream
that is applied two hours prior to the ses-
sion, wrapped in cellophane, and then
cleaned off before starting. This is an
effective means of killing pain for 20-45
minutes, which makes it helpful for laser
treatments but of questionable value for
tattooing.

In addition to this, I used ice to chill the

skin right before the laser hit it, numbing it
the rest of the way. We would begin the
session at the top of my arm and move
but the connecting flight to our little rural strong graphic power and painterly texture.
gradually downward, staying a step ahead
podunk one-strip airport is cancelled until My hopes for this project were to bring
of the laser with the ice pack and following
tomorrow. We discuss options and finally together all of these sensibilities, along
it with another ice pack, which cools the
find him a one-way car rental the rest of the with Aaron’s, into a single piece of art.
skin back down so it won’t boil in its own
way here. Good enough.
juices, minimizing trauma. The whole
Several months prior to their arrival, I
ordeal was a lesson in pain management.
Neither Aaron nor Grime need any introduc- emailed them a photo of the naked arm
I have to extend my compliments to our
tion here. I have known Aaron for most of and a rough sketch. I asked them to look
dermatologist, Dr. Michael Bond in
my career and have always admired his at the sketch for a moment, absorb the
Memphis TN, who is a patient, pro-tattoo guy
work. We have collaborated on numerous parts they liked, then put it away. I meant
that gives you chocolate and is all about pain
different projects throughout the years and only to give a general sense of the flow
management. He’s worth looking up if you’re
have no doubt had a bit of influence on and dimensional effect I wanted, espe-
in the midwest or south.
each other. I carry a fair amount of his cially the blade-like thing on the forearm.
work in my collection, but it’s all below the Once we were all in the same room, we
Fast-forward six years. Aaron Cain is hav-
belt. I have always wanted a large, flowing printed up a couple dozen copies of the
ing a Budweiser and we’re sketching, wait-
free-form abstract design on my arm, and naked arm photos on typing paper and
ing to see what’s taking Grime so long. It’s
Aaron is one of the torch-carriers when it proceeded to make a bunch of different
February and there’s freezing rain falling
comes to these types of designs. sketches. These were done quickly, with
out of the sky. Getting these two guys to
no intention of coming up with anything
commit to traveling out here at the same
Grime has been in the game almost as final. All three of us did this, and com-
time took some doing- two years of persua-
long as Aaron and has made his reputation pared notes the whole time as we went.
sion, to be accurate- but the week has
by being both versatile and suprising. This happened for a couple days in between
arrived and I’m stoked. I’m just hoping the
There are no two pieces in his portfolio other things, such as Grime tattooing a
damn plane doesn’t get rerouted to
that come from exactly the same place. He friend of ours and Aaron and I doing a
Albuquerque or someplace.
is a dedicated painter and works in many sculpture, so we had a few days to reflect
different media with equal fluency; this on the sketches and create new varia-
Finally the phone rings; he’s in St. Loius
has given his tattooing a unique blend of tions. Finally, we laid them all out like a
deck of cards and started drawing purple
arrows pointing to the parts we liked. No
single sketch had the winning combina-
tion, but the collection of them gave us a
whole library of bits and pieces to combine
into something we could all be happy
with.
The next step was to draw on the arm, but
not for the purpose of tattooing. After nar-
rowing down the sketches, Grime and
Aaron drew a simple version of the final
design on my arm with a light green mark-
er, just to get the basic flow and place-
ment right. This involved a lot of erasing
and fine tuning, but no detail or refine-
ment. When the drawing began to look like
the basics were as they needed to be, we
took photos and made a big print of them,
big enough to fill a 20”x30” pad of tracing
paper. We laid a sheet of tracing paper
over this, sketched in the basic shapes
from the marker drawing, then laid another
sheet over this and began working out
details, with all three of us combining our
efforts. For the later stages of this draw-
ing, I hung back, trying not to get so
involved as to cramp anyone’s style.
The final pencil drawing contained enough
information that there was no question
about the basic layout and use of dark and
light. This allowed them to proceed with
the tattoo without having to constantly ask
each other questions about basic relationships
in the design.
Finally the big day arrived. I continued to
play the same game with myself that I had
ever since they had booked their tickets a
month or so prior-that this was an exciting
tattoo project I was working on with a
couple friends. The thought that it was
actually going on me was kept deliberately
out of my forebrain. Such thoughts aren’t
always helpful, after all. So I managed to
stay calm as they drew on me, this time
for keeps. Like before, they began with a
light green marker, which is dark enough
to see but light  enough that scribbling
won’t make the final drawing look messy.
When this started to look right, they
switched to magenta markers and re-drew
the whole thing, this time without scrib-
bling, creating a clean, readable line draw-
ing on my arm. This light-to-dark strategy is
very effective when drawing on skin with mark-
ers.
Needless to say, Aaron packs a lot of
machines. He actually shipped a box of
them to himself so he wouldn’t have to
bring them on the plane. He then proceed-
ed to crack open the box and hand them
out like wierd alien cookies. Many of them
were new designs, fresh off the press.
Some of them were designs that Grime
had created the original wax mold for. All
of them are beautiful, smooth-hitting tat-
too machines. They set up ten of them,
just for good measure.
I could no longer pretend this was going on
someone else, so I got in the chair. I have
sat for many hours of tattooing in my life-
time, but never from two artists at once.
Considering how many times I’ve teamed
up with other artists and wailed on people
with two machines at the same time, it
was high time I experienced it for myself.
Grime began by lining the whole thing with
a tight three using grey wash, which took
less than an hour. This was enough of a
warmup. By this point Aaron was feeling
left out, so I could no longer postpone the
inevitable. Before I knew it, two machines
were hitting my skin at the same time.
Some folks have complained that the mul-
tiple machine thing is just unbearable,
twice as bad as just one. Others have
commented that having two machines
going at once makes it hard to focus on
the point where the pain is happening,
making it more of a general feeling of dis-
comfort as opposed to a pinpoint of agony.
I found this to be the case, thankfully. Yes,
it was brutal at times, but the double
action seemed to spread the pain out and
keep it at bay. Plus, there is definitely a
good feeling knowing that twice as much is
getting accomplished as usual.
Throughout the process, the discussion
continued, sometimes involving my input,
sometimes not. Since all of the basics had
been established in the drawing, this was
the time to work out the details and suble-
ties. Much of this was allowed to happen
on its own, like any tattoo, but the fact
that we were all involved in the thinking
process made it inviting to bounce ideas
off each other, even small things like tex-
tures and nuances of color. This added to
the richness of the piece.
They worked in small areas, bringing them
to completion before moving to the next
region. This made the process more bear-
able for me, since jumping around from
place to place can be far more annoying
than taking areas to completion before
moving on. This also made it possible to
work a second day, since the greyline was
so light that it could be worked over the
second day without trauma, and by day 2
there were many areas that were totally
untouched except for the greyline.

Each area was worked by both artists in an

effort to keep the overall look consistent.
First the major outlines in each zone were
built up and the black shading added, then
the color brought about halfway there. At
that point they would swap seats and fin-
ish what each other had started.
Occasionally one or the other artist would
rest for a few minutes while the other
worked, but for a good eighty percent of
the piece, I had two machines striking me
at once.

This was not only a chance for me to get a

great tattoo, but a rare opportunity for Aaron
and Grime to try out machines and setups
that they would otherwise never try. Years
ago, when Aaron came out to our place to
swap tattoos, we collaborated on a sleeve on
a local artist and had a chance to work exten-
sively with each other’s equipment. I changed
many things about how I work as a result of
that week, including the amount of needle I
have hanging out, how I find that ‘sweet spot’
on the rheostat where the machine hits with
just enough power for my rythym, even how I
blood, and agreeing together that it was that I am. And frankly, I feel that I have
layout my ink caps. I can’t speak for either
done. I didn’t want to be the one to stop most decidedly earned the right to have a
artist in terms of what they may have
the session. And I tried, I really tried. But tattoo I am happy with.
changed about how they work, but no doubt
by the end of it, if either of them had tried
the experience at the very least gave them
to poke me with one more needle, I might For those of you that feel your tattoo col-
both many small technical details to think
have said something rude and unpleasant. lection is less than you deserve, there is
about. This is just one of the many great
Besides, it was done, and I think they were hope. Laser treatments are not a magic
things about artistic collaboration.
just doing that whole wierd tattoo psychol- wand for solving your tattoo problems, but
ogy thing where the artist announces that can be helpful in the long process of
For most of the session, they kept me laid
the piece is finished, the client starts to reversing your mistakes and redeeming
out on a massage table. This made it
stand up to take a look, and the artist your bodysuit. If you approach the whole
easier for them to both work at once, with
says, ‘wait- just one more highlight”. I’ve process with patience and keep a clear
the arm extended horizontally. This also
done this enough times to others, but vision in your head of what you want, you
made the sitting easier for me, since a tat-
when they did it to me, it wasn’t funny. will eventually find a way of making it hap-
too is always easier to endure when the
pen.
position you’re in doesn’t require any
Needless to say, I am delighted with my
effort to maintain. This was especially
tattoo. It is exactly the kind of thing that I If you choose to get a collaborative tattoo,
helpful towards the end of the second day,
have always wanted on my arm, and com- be sure to find a pair of artists who are
when I had accrued a total of close to 40
pared to what I had there before, it is just open minded and work well together. The
hours of tattooing in two days (that’s 20
hard to believe. It does bear some resem- most successful collaborations are the
hours times two artists). As much as I
blance to the vague picture I had in my ones where there is a good deal of discus-
wanted the piece as fully realized as pos-
head before starting, but it is so much sion and preparatory work, so both artists
sible, I was getting close to my limit.
more alive, rich, detailed, and energetic can display their strengths without
than I could have ever anticipated. It feels cancelling each other out. Approached the
From the beginning, my goal had been to
like a reward for dealing patiently with all right way, it can not only provide a reward-
finish the piece. I wanted them to reach
of those years of having work I was unhap- ing tattoo experience, but can send both
the point where they were both looking at
py with, followed by years of lasering; artists home with all kinds of new things
the piece, wiping off the last of the ink and
these ordeals helped to shape the artist to think about.
T
here exists very few masters of any
art form and they come along quite
seldom in life. The last 12 years or
so have seen the greatest advance-
ments in centuries in regard to
tattoo art and during that time there have
risen many blessed and talented artists,
but you can count on your hands the indi-
viduals who are going to go down in history
as the most influential of each era. I hon-
estly believe adrian lee to be one of those
people. Maybe not for what he’s done so far,
though what he has done is damn impres-
sive, but more for what I think he’s going to
do. I’ve often said this to people, “In 10
years adrian lee is going to be the most
sought after tattooer around”, and I really
think that to be true. I know adrian and he’s
never happy with where he is; I can’t picture
him ever just sitting back and getting by
when it comes to his art. He drives himself
to excel in whatever it is he attempts, be it
graffiti, tattooing, figure studies, or anti-pro-
paganda propaganda—whatever it is, adrian
goes all out. It’s part of who he is and it’s the
defining factor, I think, of NewSkool’s suc-
cess.
Crash: Let’s start with the Suits Made to Fit
show you guys put on last year. How did you
find the experience?
adrian lee: It was really good. We learned a lot
during that whole process and we’re going to
do more projects like that in the future.
Well that show created a whole lot of buzz
in the tattoo community and I think a lot
of people were blown away by what you
accomplished. The skill you showed in
putting it all together; the collection of
artists who got involved, the package you
created to present it all in—everything
was very impressive. I just wish I could
have made it to the show. Back to the
book…you took quite a risk, (at least at
the time it seemed like a risk), printing
the book which documents the show. You
financed that yourself, right? Went into
debt and everything?
Deep into debt. It was risky at the time; we
had no idea it was going to be so
successful.
You’ve sold out of those by now, right?
Yeah. We sold out within about six months or
so. I still have a few copies, but they are
basically sold out. We’re doing a Deluxe
Edition of the book right now. This one will be
much nicer; it’ll have both books, [the NS
guys & the Annex artists], in one hard cover
volume. We designed a new cover. There will
be new stickers and a DVD this time instead
of the CD that was included with the first edi-
tion.
When and where will it be available?
It’s at the printers now. So just check our web
site, Lucky’s or Pulse for updates on that.
What’s the next project you guys are
working on?
Well, we have another NS project in the
planning stages, but we are each doing our
own art projects right now. After completing
the Suits Made to Fit venture, we dispersed
creatively. You can’t keep everyone fun-
neled on that level indefinitely and remain
sane. We will probably start another NS
group project next year after we’ve had time
to finish up what we’re working on now.
What are you working on now?
Well, everyone is doing their own thing their
own way. Myself, right now I’m working on a
50-piece project, 50 painted panels that
connect together to make one piece.
Are you going to show it when you’re finished?
Yes. Locally, it will show at the A.M. Gallery,
in September. Then at the Sumusi Gallery
in Osaka, Japan, in November.
What’s the basis behind the whole project?
How did it all come about?
Hmmmm. The idea is basically to explore
the, uhhh, well, it’s a stream of conscious-
ness, a compilation of the toxicity that bom-
bards us everyday, all day. I’m trying high-
lighting the obvious that is subverted by cor-
porate, media & governmental (same thing)
interests, a visual display of their links.
Looking for perspective amidst the barrage
of information and therein creating a visual
panorama. You know, taking all the puzzle
pieces and trying to put them together. All
the multitude of information that rushes
through our minds tripping wires of paranoia,
angst, and such, has to form something. But
we never get to see it with clarity because
it’s subverted by these weapons of mass
distraction all around us. You’ve seen my old
sketchbooks, there is a definite evolution of
the character drawings over time.
You’ve had the “Salary Man” thing for a
while now and I really can see the begin-
nings of this stuff all the way back with
your artwork. How did it start?
Some girl in Japan actually named the
“Salary Man”. I was painting one on this
electrical pole in Osaka and this girl walking
by stopped and said “Ah! Sugoi! Sarery
man!” It really surprised me cause’ it hit it
right on the mark and that’s a common
term in Japan. They often refer to people
who work for giant pyramids as salary men.
Before that I was just painting these
decrepit business men whose lives had
turned into a Talking Heads song. But hear-
ing her say that really simplified it. But as
to how the idea came about for this project?
If you think about it things like this brew for
years. But for most people it fades because
they become complacent. I mean, you put
500 TV channels in front of someone and
their mind is fucking fried; goodbye free
thought, hello sheep. Visually I have always
drawn subversive imagery, but now it is
approaching a kind of critical mass in my
mind. It’s a lot like the way we approached
the body suit project. We felt like we had
acquired enough of a visual library to
attempt it so we did. So here I am now try-
ing to get it all out. I just need to work it all
out of my system. It’s something that I’ve
been working towards for years, just playing
around with, and, hopefully, when it’s done
I’ll be finished with it for a while…having
worked through it all during the course of the
project.
What are you reading, what type of research
are you doing?
I read every night so I can have some infor-
mation to work with the next day. Let’s see…
Noam Chomsky, Gary Webb, Howard Zin,
Naimo Klien, William Cooper. You know, all
the respected nuts. National Public Radio
usually offers a balanced approach towards
news reporting. I don’t watch TV any more, no
good information there. You can also go
online and get articles from foreign papers to
get a different perspective.
I have to.
OK, back to the point now; what are you
doing the individual paintings in? Oil, acryl-
ic?
Enamels, latex, ink, some acrylic, mostly
mixed media. Whatever I have on hand at
the moment that feels like it’ll work.
And for the show it’s gonna’ be, what, a
room you walk into and all 50 pieces will
be hanging together all the way around
the room…or something like that, right?
Yeah. There is no real end to the panels;
they just start over again. The last painting
will also be the first…if I can figure out how
to hang them all in sequence like that.
There are several different movements…I
think there will be around five. And those
each transition into the next stage.
So you’re documenting the whole process:
painting, postering, stickering, all of it…
and the plan is what? Are the individual

Do you have to do this project? Do you feel

compelled? I ask because whenever I read
anything like that I end up really militant
about it for a while and I just want to shake
everyone I know to get them to wake up…
y’know?
panels going to be for sale once the show
is over?
Each panel will be for sale and each paint-
ing will come with an accordion style book
that you can pull out and view the whole
thing at once, a DVD documenting much of
the painting process and the hanging of
propaganda the posters and stickers. I’ll
also include pages from my sketchbooks
and a lot of still photos of other aspects of
what I’m doing.
What kind of packaging is this going to have?
Probably a hand made cover on the book.
The DVD will have lots of footage of me
hanging the propaganda posters and stick-
ers. It’s not just the finished painted prod-
uct I’m interested in; it’s the whole process
that counts. Which is true of most art,
right? Once the piece is done it’s over, past
tense. The process is what counts most
often and then the reaction.
With all this stuff going on right now, how But after the shows are over, then you’re
much tattooing are you doing? back to tattooing full time again?
Not a whole lot right now. I’m not taking on That’s what I love to do.
any more really big projects until I’m fin-
ished with this thing. I am still tattooing Since we’re on the tattoo aspects, let’s
about three days a week, on a few new talk about your tattooing and how it’s
projects or finishing larger scale work in advanced in the last few years. What do
progress, but I just can’t stay in this mind- you think has been most significant since
set unless I focus on it almost all the time the body suit show?
to try to get it finished. That makes it diffi-
cult to get into any other project that Well, doing those studies gave me a bet-
requires a lot of my time and attention. It’s ter idea of what direction I need to be
hard to pull away and get focused on draw- going in, and helped me to understand
ing a tattoo when my mind is flooded with shapes and flow a lot more.
MK-Ultra or some other consuming thought.
But at the same time it feels good to get
away from that and do tattooing. Which is
part of the reason I am tattooing noticeably
less. I can still take the time to focus 100%
on fewer tattoos, as opposed to trying to
tattoo on the same scale and not giving my
clients all my energy, and still have time to
put 100% into the existing project. It keeps
me from going completely crazy, too. I make
enough income to cover the rent and plenty
of food, so I’m good for now. As long as my
coworkers don’t threaten to excommunicate
me for not tattooing enough, I’ll be able to
keep it up.
You seem to definitely be working on
larger scale pieces. I don’t know how
many huge pieces you were doing prior
to the body suit show but it seems that
now you have an abundance of large proj-
ects in the works. Are you doing a lot
more work since the body suit show?
Yeah, up until I started painting again.
Now I have an abundance of large projects
in limbo. I let a few creep into my life as
time allows but until January it’ll be tight.
What’s interesting about the big projects
you’re working on is that not very much
of it looks like what you did for the show.
You know what I mean?
It’s progressed, and that was the real purpose
of the project anyway. We figured if we wanted
to do that type of work we had better study it
on paper and canvas before we attempted it
on skin. I don’t really even like most of the
ones I did for the show. If I could redo it, I’d
lose all but maybe two of them now.
Another aspect I’ve noticed, and I don’t
know how much of this you were doing 2
years ago, but I see that you’ve been doing
a lot of photo references for your tattoos,
building your designs around real models.
I’ve always done that.
Really? I never really realized it before.
Maybe I just didn’t see that many of your
figure tattoos.
I’m doing more stuff now than ever before.
And I’m using a lot more reference photos
too, stuff I shoot myself to work from.
Will you walk us through your whole pro-
cess for a good sized figure tattoo?
It starts with the consultation. When we
first start talking about an idea I’ll scrib-
ble around in a notebook, just putting
down some ideas. Then when the per-
son’s appointment approaches I’ll start
running it around in my head. I’ll devote a
few pages to the sketchbook. Sometimes
it magically appears but more often than
not it takes a few blows to the skull to get
it out onto paper. I don’t know why it takes
so long sometimes, I should just be able
to go right into it, but eventually I work up
some concept sketches. Once I get the
form I am looking for I can start working
on a line drawing. If need be though I’ll
shoot some reference photos in similar
poses to my sketch. So I’ll call Tyson, or
Ron, or whoever is willing to get mostly
naked for me and we’ll shoot some
flicks.
Once you have that part done, you’ll do,
what, a tonal study and then a color
study?
Almost everything gets a quick, rough tone
study. I find that it’s important to do that
because with what I do, with any large
scale tattooing really, the shapes are just
as important as the outline. If I still don’t
feel completely competent with the direc-
tion then I’ll do a color study. Most of the
time I don’t work it all the way to comple-
tion, I like the freedom to be spontaneous
somewhat while I am tattooing.
Yeah, I have a bad habit of doing that
sometimes. I try to work everything out in
advance, and then the whole tattooing
process gets sort of stale.
Well, if you’re unsure, you should work it
out before hand. But if you already know
basically what you’re going to do, if you can
visualize the process then go with it. It’s
more enjoyable for you and it allows you to
work with the body more instead of copying
what’s on paper. It’s easy to kill the original
idea if it’s completed before you start. Then
essentially all you are doing is copying it
and a lot of times you lose the life. But it is
a matter of confidence too. You have to be
able to project to your client that you are in
control and if you are stopping constantly
second-guessing your self then the tat-
tooee gets uncomfortable. I work on the
concept until I am ready to tattoo it.
Whether it be drawing it to completion or
sketching a few shapes on the skin, what-
ever the situation calls for.
How many hours go into a typical figure
tattoo you do, say, half-sleeve size?
It really depends what you’re tattooing, but
I’d say 5 to 12 hours. As long as it takes.
Is that the type of imagery you want to do
full time? What is it that attracts you to
any certain piece…besides money, that is.
(Laughter)
The concept and the form are what excite
me. I like to keep the idea simple and let it
expand from there as opposed to coming at
someone with a litany of ideas. I prefer to
start with a few and let them develop. Say
if you come at me and say “I want this and
this and this to go with that next to this part
symbolizing my father and these in the
background and fire and water and I like
tribal tear outs too!” I’d throw everything
out and start with symbolizing your father.
And from there? (meaning…do you then
try to incorporate some of those other ele-
ments the client wants, or do you push
them in other directions or what…??)
Well, from there we can build on the heart
of the matter. I don’t want to steal their
concept I just want to make it coherent.
That’s part of the fun, the mixture of ideas,
back and forth. Usually the client is trying
to fill space so they come up with all these
ideas for you. So, more often then not we
don’t need all the extra baggage and we
can keep the image simple and build off it
from there. But sometimes some ele-
ments are important to them for various
reasons so you have to figure out how to
get those in there. If you can figure out a
more subtle way to symbolize the image it
will say so much more. But yeah, I do often
encourage them to go this way or that way
and yeah it is partly for my gain too, but as
long as they realize you are only trying to
give them the best you can they open up
to your ideas too. But no tribal tear outs
under any circumstance!
What do you think are your strongest assets
in regard to your tattoo work? And what do
you think are your greatest weaknesses?
Right now in life my strongest asset is
NewSkool. My greatest weakness is and
always will be time.
Where do you want to be in 3 years? 5
years?
I don’t set specific goals for myself until I’m
set on a definite direction. So now my main
focus is getting these paintings done. From
there I like to keep the vision of the future
open, just let it evolve, let all the different
directions funnel. But without a doubt we’ll
all be dead a lot longer than we’re alive. So
in that respect, I intend to accomplish as
much as possible before then.
What part of your tattooing frustrates
you? (Obviously, I think your color theory
and figure studies are your primary
strength…what about the other side?)
See you’re asking me this one again. There
isn’t much that doesn’t frustrate me about
my tattooing. Feel free to point out a weak-
ness and I’ll show four more. I guess I
struggle most with the concept and then
again with the final creation of strong forms,
pre dermal execution. I have a long way to go
when it comes to working with figure execu-
tion and color balance. But other than that, I
don’t think it is appropriate to publicly and
overtly voice your internal weaknesses when
you are a tattooer. People come to you
because they trust you. Just because I am
apathetic and accomplishments are sooo
fleeting and I question what the fuck I am
doing to these people everyday, doesn’t grant
me the right to tell someone their tattoo is not
up to par. I want someone who has a tattoo to
feel confident in it and me saying to them your
tattoo sucks, that’s crap and I’ll never tattoo
like that again. That’s inappropriate. Compare
it to a surgeon publicly saying I don’t do that
procedure any longer because I haven’t ever
been happy with the work. But, colleague-to-
colleague, we can discuss and criticize openly
and that’s where it is most productive.
Talk about the concept of NS?
NS is an evolving concept.
What is “The Collective”?
You’ve seen Voltron.
How has your vision of the studio evolved?
Paco and I set up the studio so we could work
without a moneyman constricting what we
could tattoo. It was relatively simple, split the
bills, and use the remaining time to be cre-
ative. On the outset it was so exhilarating
because for the first time we were tattooing
what we had been trying to, all without some-
one breathing down our necks for the skrilla.
Over time, more and more people became
involved and for a while it was really chaotic
trying to manage the thing. Really, the energy
is the only thing that kept it going. Eventually
it got to be too much like trying to run a “tat-
too shop”. Not that there is anything at all
wrong with that formula, it just wasn’t working
with what we were doing. We wanted to be
tattooers and we were becoming the money-
men. We’re not businessmen and it was seri-
ously straining the relationship between Paco
and me. On top of that it was creating an “us
and them” aspect between us and those we ishing tattooer but are only out for yourself
worked with. So, out of necessity, we took a then this isn’t the place for you. Basically we
more democratic approach. We borrowed look for someone with a fast walk, a good
from the format that Marcus had used for heart and a steady hand.
Primal Urge and applied part of it to NS. We
gave up much of our authority and those who What’s next for NewSkool Tattoo?
worked with us took on more of the responsi-
bility. It puts everyone on a more even plane Tomorrow we’re gonna’ do some tats.
and it allows us to work together better cre-
atively. It is the flow of energy that is impor- www.youdie.com
tant for us. We do what we need to to keep
that going. Without it there is no point.
What do you look for when you are bringing
in someone new to NS?
We look for drive, dedication, what they are
going to bring to the group. If you’re an aston-
Phil Holt is one of the newest members of
the NewSkool Collective, joining the crew
in 2001.
Crash: Give me your work history.
Phil Holt: I Started tattooing about
6 years ago.
When you were 19?
Yeah I guess almost 7 years...I started tattoo-
ing in the back of this head shop in Florida. I
did it that way for about a year…or maybe for
about 9 months and then quit tattooing all
together.
So you were scratchin’ at this head shop in
Florida…
Yeah, it was pretty rough; it was nasty, and it
was a big mistake. So after about nine
months I realized it wasn’t working out so
well. So I was like, “to hell with tattooing.”
I started going to a so-called design that
ended up being computer school; it was a
gigantic waste of money. Somewhere in
there I started playing around with tattoo-
ing again. I worked in Florida for another
6-7 months. Just working here and there,
switching shops a lot. I moved to Ohio and
worked in Columbus for a while.
When was that?
It’s been 5 years now. Wow, it’s gone by
fast; April 1st it’s been 5 years! I moved up
there and jumped around some shops a
bit…
Where all did you work
around Columbus?
It’s too many to list. I won’t bring up any…
Stained skin?
Ha…yeah, I worked there for like 18
months, which in my opin-
ion is where I started to
learn tattooing. Up until
that point I hadn’t really
worked with any other
tattooers that really
had an interest in
helping me out. But
Durb, that guy defi-
nitely knows what he’s
doing; so he started
showing me how to mix up
pigments and we’d play
around with machines
and stuff. In my opinion,
that’s where my tattoo-
ing really started. I
worked there about 18
months.
Did Gunnar work there
when you worked there?
He started working there pretty much
right when I left there. Well no, that’s
not true, we probably worked there
together for about 6 months. Um, he
and Eric [Merrill] came up and did a
guest spot, soon after Gunnar ended
up moving out there. After that I moved
to Chicago to work at Deluxe Tattoo.
I’d been getting tattooed at Deluxe for
a while and me and my wife were just
kind of done with Ohio so we were
moving to Minneapolis, then Ben
Wahhhh offered me a job at Deluxe, so
we went to Chicago and that worked
out really good.
When was that?
Um, about 3 and a half years ago. I
worked there for almost two years. It
was awesome.
Who else worked there?
At the time I started, it was Dennis
Halbritter, Harlan Thompson, Tim
Biedron and Ben Wahhhh…after about
a year Dennis had moved out to
Incognito in LA and Ben hired Hannah
Aitchison. Shortly after that I left too.
It was a good learning facility and it
was great working with the whole crew.
I became good friends with Tim and he
helped me out a lot…more than he
probably knows.
How did you get the gig out here in
San Jose?
I actually had just written NewSkool a
letter, really… I just sent them an
email and said I wanted to come out.
My sister-in-law lives in San Jose so
my wife wanted to come out here and
visit for a family reunion. So I just
wrote them a letter and said I was
going to be here and would like to sit in
for a couple days and, if it was possible,
it would be awesome. They called back
and said I should come for out for a
couple weeks. I’m stoked, right? So I
came out for 2 weeks and hung out and
it was a really fun time; everyone was
really hospitable, we all hit it off. A
month later I came back out again for a
couple weeks. Then I started looking
around for apartments, just checking
things out and really liked it. Everything
just fell together. That was also 1 1/2
years ago. I moved out July 2002; no,
that can’t be right…it was 2001.
Just before the 911 shit?
Yeah, I actually moved out right before
911…me and Jason [Kundell] were going
on a road trip, we had these trips all
planned out. And we left Sept. 8th.
Then the shit happened and we got
stuck in Kansas City. We hitched a ride
with this guy Matt from Kansas City, MO
to Denver. From there we hooked up with
Sean Perkins and Jason Phillips from
FTW in Oakland; they drove us back. I
don’t even know how long it took us. It
was pretty crazy.
So how’s this experience been out here
with this collection of artists?
Awesome, I think uh, without a doubt
this has been the best experience ever,
hands down. Yeah, it’s such an awe-
some place; it’s a great shop. It think
my tattooing changed about 180 degrees
since I’ve worked with these guys. It’s
different out here, Crash…I mean tat-
tooing is so different in California than
tattooing in the Midwest. You know, like
the styles are totally different. So many
people come in and ask for traditional
Japanese sleeves and traditional old
school stuff, Americana images. The
spectrum of what gets done here is
totally different than what you do in the
Midwest and even in the south. I don’t
think I had even done a traditional tattoo
before I moved to California. Here it’s a
totally different animal. People almost
want their tattoos to look….like, a lot of
Westcoast tattooers have a similar style,
and I think some of that stems from what
the public wants them to do. It’s been
quite a process trying to unlearn and
relearn tattooing. You know, when you
start tattooing, you’re trying just trying to
learn HOW to tattoo; out here I am trying
to learn the roots, the basics again…
after tattooing for 6 years. It’s different.
But I feel like my coming to NewSkool…I
feel as though I’ve completely started
over. Like I had no idea what I was doing
before I moved here.
And compared to these guys, you prob-
ably didn’t. Every time I come here, I’m
like “God, I suck. I quit.”
With this crew, you get drilled constantly,
but there is so much inspiration. I mean
it keeps everyone going because every-
one keeps working on people with awe-
some tattoos.
Let’s talk about your art. You’re like the
only guy who doesn’t ever have any
paintings for sale. Why’s that?
They’re all gone. (Laugher)…I’ve definite-
ly been blessed lately with people buying
my stuff.
You paint and put it out there for a day
and it’s sold?
I have stuff now that’s bought and it’s
not even started. So people have paid for
paintings that I haven’t even sketched on
yet. I’m way behind. Way, way, behind.
This winter I’ve been selling a lot of stuff.
My wife and I just had a baby so money
is definitely needed; we need to sell
stuff.
You also kind of jipped the tattoo com-
munity by selling this awesome flash set
with only 5 copies and not a few dozen!
I know it was stupid, but again, I needed
the money. I sold an original sheet with
each of the 5 sets. It was good; I liked
it. Like the people that did buy it, they
paid like plenty for a piece of flash.
Yeah, but there’s like 1000 other
people that wanted it but couldn’t get
it.
Well, ok, yeah…that was the first time I’d
ever done that and I don’t think I’d repeat
it. Just cause it went too fast.
Well then what are some of your goals
for this year then?
Goals for this year? I don’t know, I’m
going to work on a flash project for
release in mid 2004. Aside from that,
just been spending a lot of time with
my family.
That’s admirable. Are you going to do
any traveling?
I’m really burned out on traveling…
though I’m sure I will be doing plenty of
it. I went to Japan with Jason last year
and I’ve traveled a lot since my
baby was born. I kind of want to
spend more time with my kids. I say
that all the time and it’s hard
because people always suck you
into things.
Well, you went to Milan with
Grime, right?
Yep, and I tried to back out; I actu-
ally called him the night before and
was like, “Dude, I’m not going,” and
he talked me into it. So anyway, I’m
spineless. And I’m glad I went;
Milan was awesome. I came back
super inspired, for like a day or
two…now I’m back to watching TV
and eating Cheetos. Actually it
keeps me inspired still. Milan was
the best convention I’ve ever
worked.
Check out the rest of his work
online. Here’s the latest develop-
ment: Phil and family are packing
up and moving to the Tampa area
at the end of August. The plan is to
do a month long road trip in
September so book your appoint-
ments early. You can stay in touch
with Phil via email.
Redletterone@hotmail.com
http://www.redletter1.com
Matt Shamah appears to be everyone’s favor-
ite “new” tattooer on the scene…all this
despite the fact that he isn’t really new and
he hates the “scene”. The reality is that
though Matt has been pushing the pins for
quite a while now, he has generally refrained
from publishing his work- I’m not sure how
much of this is humility, how much apathy and
how much foolishness, but I am positive that
Matt’s work SHOULD be published. He is an
astonishing talent and has developed a unique
style in the genre of traditional themed tattoo
work and painting style…and besides all that
stuff, he also happens to be a great guy.

Crash: What were you doing before you

started tattooing?

Matt Shamah: Going to high school. I started

apprenticing one week after graduation.

How old are you?

I’m 26.

Were you doing a lot of art before tattooing?

Not a lot. I was getting tattooed though, and

was eventually offered a spot as an artist’s
helper at a local shop. That artist ended up
moving but the shop kept me on and offered
me an apprenticeship.

Who was it that ended up teaching you?

A guy named Jeff Houston. He was really great.

And he taught me a lot about machines and
pigments, he also pushed me to draw and work
on color flash-everything really.

You got a good one it seems. Not too many

people are fortunate enough to find someone
good to teach them that stuff and it ends up
taking years to learn it all correctly.

Oh yeah. He was a great teacher.

How long did you serve in your apprenticeship

and how long did you stay at that shop?

Hmmmmm. I don’t really know…it was a while

before I ever touched the machines. I worked
there for about 3 years before leaving to work
in Fresno at Acme tattoo with Ron [Earhart] and
Nate [Banuelos.]
Really. That’s interesting. How long were you at Acme?

I wasn’t even there a year before I moved over some girl.

Oh, man, you’re not THAT guy are you? (Laughter)

What guy?

You know, the guy whose life is constantly unbalanced…

usually due to women.

Yeah, I’m that guy. (Laughter)

Ok. So where’d you go?

I went home, back to southern California. My plan was to just

work out of the house for a while and not really get into a shop.
Just chill for a while. I had a huge clientele out there
anyway, so I didn’t plan on working for anybody for a
while, but Corey Miller heard I was back in town and
offered me a job at Six Feet Under.

Cool. How’d that happen?

We had a lot of mutual friends and had met several times

before. I guess he just liked my work. It was a perfect
opportunity and I couldn’t pass it up. I still work there a lot
when I’m in town.

Were Ron and Nate the first profound artistic influences

you got to work with that pushed you in that respect,
artistically?

Yeah. I had met Ron at some convention and we just

started hanging out and staying in touch. Jeff had pushed
me hard to do everything: draw, color, tattoo, work on
machines…all of it; it was the best possible apprentice-
ship. But Ron and Nate really got me working on my art.

Who else influenced your art?

Ed Hardy, Jeff Whitehead, Dan Higgs, Scott Sylvia…&

Grime; really no one outside of tattooing.

That’s pretty crazy. Not a lot of influence outside of the

modern tattoo masters, huh? But it certainly explains
your tattoo style. I think you can see all of these influ-
ences in your work…but you also know that it’s not
from them…it’s a Matt Shamah tattoo. That’s a good
quality to have. How’d you develop that…considering
that it’s just the same old school images that everyone
else is using?
Yeah. I don’t know. I just draw what looks right to me.
There’s no secret to it. I draw a lot.
Some of it is, yeah, but not all of it. I have sent pictures in before, they
just weren’t printed. Then, when they were printed, I thought they all
sucked cause they were old and that kind of kept me from sending in any
more. I just have too many good artists around me constantly helping me
get better, critiquing my work; I just wasn’t ready to put it out there to be
seen by everyone.

How much other art do you do? Any other mediums? And now?

Not too much. I do some acrylic work now and then, and
watercolor mostly; for flash and similar type images.
You’ve got some flash?
Oh I have lots of flash; it’s just not available. (Laughter). I
have a bunch of sheets painted, they’re just all in a
closet somewhere.
What?! Get ‘em out and sell ‘em. I’ve seen your paint-
ings and a sheet of the NS flash…that shit is dope!
The NewSkool sheet? I’m pretty happy with that one, but
the rest just suck. I’m never happy with my work.
Jeeez. Cut it out. Get some flash out there…
that stuff is great.
It’s closer. I’m pretty happy with what I’ve been doing lately.
Does that have anything to do with being here at NS?
Sure. I’ve only been here fulltime since January, but it’s a great shop and
everyone pushes you to keep your art up. I’ve learned a lot since I
started working here.
What do you think you bring to the table here at NS?
I’m really not sure, but I’m glad to be here. I hope I can figure that out.
Everyone seems to have his own specialty and I’m still trying to figure
that out for myself. I really tattoo a lot of different styles. And I’m not
conceited about it at all…I don’t think I’m great or anything. I just can’t
decide what I like doing best. I really enjoy the Japanese imagery…but
Paco’s doing so much of that here lately. I like the rendered type images,
and the traditional American stuff.

I am going to do a complete set this year…I swear. Even
if I think it sucks.
You always put down your own work…is that why
you aren’t published very often? It’s obviously inten-
tional, right?
What are your goals for the rest of the year?
I’m going to do a series of paintings this year…do that set of flash…and,
uhhhhh, just make a ton of artwork.
Excellent; sounds like a good plan. Then publish it somewhere.
C
o-founder of the NewSkool Collective, Paco Excel has
earned quite a reputation the last several years. He’s not
only known for doing some straight dope traditional tattoo-
ing, but also for ripping into artists’ portfolios when asked
for a critique or loudly proclaiming his opinions on certain
subjects which he views as “sacred”. It’s understandable why some
people have a hard time with that, most of the artistic world would
prefer being stroked to being taught; nevertheless, Paco is only trying
to give to others what he himself was given by his teachers, many of
whom are considered masters in this art form. Nothing can help your
art progress like a good dose of reality slapping you in the face…
whether you like it at the time or not.

Crash: When did you start tattooing?

Paco Excel: When I was 20. I’m 29 now.

How did you break into it?

I used to paint murals in the cities I lived in…on cars, businesses, and
clothing. It was basically like airbrush art. I incorporated it with my
graffiti background. That was in Oakland. Eventually, I ended up paint-
ing a mural inside of a tattoo shop called Doug’s in Oakland and that
ended up scoring me a job.
Cool. That’s a good story. So how much
graffiti had you been doing or…how long
had you been doing graffiti before you got
into tattooing.
I would say maybe 4 or 5 years.
Ok, so you worked at Doug’s Tattoo and
that’s where you got your apprenticeship…
Yeah, pretty much. I mean for what it was
worth…I really didn’t know too much at the
time. Basically we did everything with
rounds…(laughter). We didn’t know that
much then, and I’m not bagging on them,
that’s just the way it was. I only stayed there
for like 6 months, I wanted to learn more.
So where did you go to from there?
From there I came to San Jose. I was man-
aging a shop for this guy and he had
enticed me to come out here to work for
him; that was the whole reason I came to
San Jose…but he was a fuck-up, always
messed up on drugs and he never wanted
to pay me. We got into it one day and I split
to work for a guy named Little G; that’s
where I met adrian.
How long did you work for “Lil’ G”?
I think I worked there for like 6 months or so
and I worked with adrian for 2 or 3 months
there before that guy ended up leaving town.
When he left town adrian and I decided
instead of trying to work for somebody else
in town we’d go do our own thing, ‘cause
there was only one other good shop at the
time.
Right, right.
And we were cool with that owner there in
the other shop and we went there and
asked him if we could work for him. He was
like “We don’t really have the space, but if
you guys need help we’ll help you out.”
adrian and I got together and figured maybe
we would be a burden on him, you know, he
doesn’t really have the space and we don’t
want to put him out…so we just opened our
own place and called it NewSkool.
What year did you guys open NewSkool?
‘95.
From there it exploded for you guys. You
have one of the most impressive crews
ever. It’s a roster of artists that each have
something incredible to offer. Is it difficult
managing that many talented guys or
what?
Sometimes. We’ve had some hard people
to work with…I mean, we got a good crew
but it’s hard working when you have so
many different artists in one spot; it can
get a little difficult, complex personalities
and stuff.
Right.
But we are lucky to be around so many
good artists. We’ve also lasted pretty long
compared to other shops that do this or
have such a big crew of talented people.
Right. Offhand, I can only think of one
other shop around now that has a crew
anything like that. There have been sev-
eral in the past, but none seem to make it
too long. When you started you were pri-
marily doing graffiti styled tattoos, right?
Yeah, cause at the time that’s all I knew
how to draw. That’s how I drew, I didn’t
know how to draw any other way. At the
time adrian was just starting out too and he
was doing graffiti as well. We both just
studied the stuff, it was kinda hip hop
related kinda stuff…but then we started
learning about other tattooers. In the begin-
ning that’s what it was all about.
Actually, now you are well known for hav-
ing this huge array of styles that you are
quite competent in tattooing.
The shop or myself?
You.
I don’t know what people think about me.
They think you are an asshole. (Laughter)
We’ll get to that later. You have been
known for the graffiti stuff and the last
few years you’ve gotten really adept at
the Japanese style, and you’re really well
known for doing more traditional American
style stuff too. That’s a pretty wide range.
What prompted you to start expanding
your horizons?
Just trying to learn all I can, never being
satisfied with where you are.
What direction are you pushing right
now?
I’m really, really studying hard with the
Japanese stuff right now, but I still love
painting and the traditional stuff too.
Right.
I really want to do full-body Japanese tat-
tooing. It seems to be one of the only
styles that work well at that size. American
stuff looks cool, too, but at that size it
breaks down somewhat. I don’t know,
that’s just what I think anyway. Maybe not
even so much body suits but, well, I got to
do the whole Suits Made to Fit show last
year and it was a great success. It has to
be one of the most talked about events in
recent history as far as tattooers getting
together and doing something; it had a lot
of impact I think.
Certainly.
We had a lot of artists involved in that, and
we got to see a lot of different styles of
work on a larger scale…so, in my opinion,
what I really thought worked best was the
Japanese stuff and that’s the direction I
want to move in now; the larger work.
Well the show gave everybody an oppor-
tunity to see that you guys could work on
that larger scale; you know what I mean?
You had some big work out there for
people to see.
Yeah, that was our goal, at least part
of it. We wanted to show that we
were more than just “new school”
artists. We can do that stuff
but at the same time we’re
not limited to that, so it was
a way to show people
that’s not what we are
all about.
Well, you have a
reputation for
being a very
strongly opin-
ionated guy when it comes to other peo-
ple’s tattoos and art, why is that?

I’m just trying to help, y’know. I have had

the benefit of being around a lot of great
tattooers, and every one of them was hard
on me, all the time, y’know. Like a few
years ago I went and hung out with Chris
Trevino. That guy is one of the biggest influ-
ences I’ve had and every day when he
studied one of my drawings he ripped it
apart. It wasn’t to put me down, y’know, it
was to build me up. He was trying to help
me get better at what I was doing, my
drawing.

Right. And it works…obviously.

That kind of teaching is rough and hard on

some people, but that’s the way I know
how to teach because that’s the way it was
shown to me.

Right. What other teachers are you talking

about that had that kind of impact on
you?

The first one who opened up my mind and

really showed me anything was Grime. I
met him at a tattoo convention, I can’t
remember which one, it was ‘97, ‘98,
somewhere around there. Grime came up
and we talked and stuff, I didn’t know who
this guy was then, then showed me his
book and I was like, “What the Fuck!” I
showed adrian and told him we have to let
this guy come to work with us. We hit it off
so I invited him for a guest spot he ended
up staying; he never went back home. After
meeting him is when we met other people
and I started getting a lot of tattoos and
stuff. I learned a lot about how a tattoo
should look. Not all tattoos look like a tat-
too should look.

Ok…explain that.

Ok, a tattoo should be easy to read but

artistic. Simple but slick, y’know. That is
how a tattoo should look.

Yeah, I can see that as one possible way

for tattoos to look. But there is also room
for incredibly intricate and illuminated
textures. Y’know what I’m saying here.
It’s all artistic interpretation.

But if someone comes to me and asks me

for my opinion, I have to go with the way I
see it, y’know. And I don’t know how well
tattoos like that hold up over time, I only
know that the tattoos I learn from have
been done certain ways for a hundred years
and I know they work that certain way for
specific reasons. You don’t have to agree,
but if you ask I’m going to tell you what I
think.

Anyone else you want to name as a teach-

er, or big influence on you?

Well, after Grime we started getting more

involved with other tattooers; we met Scott
Sylvia and Jeff Whitehead, we got to hang out
with Marcus [Pacheco]—adrian and I get a lot
of tattoos from Marcus so we learned a little
bit from him. But another major teacher was
Trevino; he was my last. I learned a lot from
Aaron Cain too when I was doing the Biomech
thing. I learned how to watercolor from a guy
named Joel Long. We’re good friends.

I think a lot of people react negatively

towards you about some of your comments
at times, you know what I mean?

Yeah, but it’s only because they don’t really

appreciate the effort, but everyone’s ego is
so puffed up and anyone who comes along
and sticks a needle in them, they are so
upset about it, they miss the opportunity to
learn something. I just don’t think they appre-
ciate it enough. And everyone has an ego in
this business…like you have to be someone
egotistical to do what we do. You have to be
sure of yourself if you’re going to mark some-
one for life, right?

Sure you do. You can’t be tentative. Either

you can do what you’re doing or you can’t,
and in that case, you shouldn’t be doing it
at all.

Right. It has to be a confidence thing; you

have to believe in yourself. That’s why I’m say-
ing it’s hard to work with so many different
people too, like, there’s 6 of us now in the
shop and there’s 6 different ego’s right, all
going in different directions.
Does it add to or take away from the
shop itself?
adrian and I have good balance now. The
shop has good balance now too. You’ve got
to be on your toes now, otherwise you get
left behind.
Artistically?
Right. If you don’t push hard enough then
someone’s going to give you hell about it in
the shop. Like, right now I’m kinda’ off my
game on my art. I’ve got some other things
going on in my life and I can’t focus too
much on the art. I think that’s also part of
it too, you go in these cycles, but you can’t
let it go on too long, you know.
That was something I wanted to bring up.
You normally do a set of flash every year
and do a road trip every year or so, but I
haven’t seen anything in the last two
years from you. Why is that?
I’ve just been busy with other things, like
other projects and also this last year it
seems nobody really is interested in flash
anymore. It’s all paintings now.
No, I don’t agree. Everyone is certainly
painting more, no doubt about that, but
there is a ton of cool, new flash too. What
about the traveling?
I was still traveling, but not nearly as much now, so we’re all just kinda doing our own
as before. I stood up with my fiancé, so thing until that’s over and then we’ll all come
that slowed me down for a while. I also got back together for a new shop project.
busted on some graffiti shit that I’m going That’s cool. And you all participated in Sean
to court over right now…who knows what Crofoot’s Skateboard show…
that’ll end up being. They are really trying
to burn me on that stuff. I was suppose to Yeah. Did you have fun doing that?
go to Tokyo soon, so I’ll just have to figure out
what’s up with my case before I can do that. Dude, I had a blast. I was stoked just to be
I’m going to Tokyo and then I’m shooting for a invited to participate. I’m no bigshot, so it
trip to Europe after that. I’m supposed to go to was a real honor to be involved. Did you guys
work with Henning Jorgenson out there and a have fun?
friend of mine named Allone who is going to
open a shop in Spain. I’m very interested in
working in Spain and then I think next year I’ll
probably do another U.S. tour. That was really
a lot of fun and I met some great people.

And it really got your name out there, I think.

You’ve been really successful the last couple
of years; your work has sort of culminated to
the point where you’re now able to travel all
over the world and be able to support your-
self while you’re doing it. What’s next?

I’m working on some new projects now. I don’t

know if it will be a new book, but I am working
in that direction. And when I was arrested they
took like 30 rolls of film from me, so all my
recent tattoo work is gone.

That blows! You’ll be able to get it back,

right?

I hope so, shit. That’s a lot of work to lose over

some stupid shit, y’know. Ummm…aside from
that adrian has a big project he’s working on

I did. I love skateboard graphics, it just hit
me at the wrong time—I only really had one
night to work on my deck when they told me
about that show—I was so busy. I hope he
does another show where I can spend more
time on the project.
There’s a rumor…well, forget about that
for now.
I really want to get around more artists too,
y’know, share some knowledge.
Yeah, that’s cool; that’s what sets you
apart from a lot of guys. You keep push-
ing yourself in different directions, like
all the different styles we talked about.
It’s like when something inspires you,
you take off full speed towards it, absorb
as much as you can, learn as much as
you can, and what I really appreciate is
that you are willing to share it. You don’t
keep it to yourself.
You have to share, man. If you don’t, it will
wear off and you won’t get any benefit from
what you know…and you’ll never grow your-
self. You have to do that give and take thing
with everyone and you’ll always learn
something from every person you meet.
Right. And as far as the people who think
you’re an asshole??
Whatever, bro. I’ve always been tough. Not
too many people are willing to help you
learn this stuff, y’know, so I’ll just keep on
doing what I know I can do. I’m sure some
people appreciate it…I know I do.
 Ron Earhart specializes in what is known
as Biomechanical or Biomech imagery.
Biomech can be traced back to Swiss
artist H.R. Giger and his revolutionary
work made famous by the award-winning
designs he did for the film “Alien” in
1978-79. Though the style started there,
(arguably; there are hints of its origin in
other people’s work prior to Giger but he
certainly laid down the framework for
Biomech as we know it today), it has gone
through endless mutations to finally end up as
one of the most innovative forms of tattoo
imagery ever. Most of this is directly due to the
work of two artists in particular-Guy Aitchison
and Aaron Cain, each of whom started tattooing
in the late 1980’s. Their work is extensively docu-
mented and these statements can be easily
affirmed. Since that time many artists have attempt-
ed to render the “Mech”…and, regrettably, ill-experi-
enced artists working beyond their means have
poorly done most of it. All of that is simply a lead-in to
introduce Ron’s work. Ron is continuing to expand the
Biomech legacy, taking up where others have left off,
he is maybe the only person out there in the tattoo
world still doing GOOD Biomech on a daily basis.

How old are you Ron?

27 years old

How long have you been tattooing?

Professionally? 10 years, since I was 17.

17? Wow. Were you scratching somewhere before that?

For probably about 3 1/2 or 4 years before that I was playing

around with homemade equipment out of my house in Arizona.
That was just the beginning; the people I hung out with were all
the skateboarding/punk crowd and they all wanted band logos or
skateboard graphics tattooed on them. It was pretty amazing that
we could get it to stick since it was just a guitar string and a cas-
sette motor machine. One day I saw this add in a magazine for
one of those kits for like $189 and I thought, “Hell yeah”.
Did you ever actually serve an apprenticeship anywhere?

No, I didn’t. I spent some time in the tattoo
shops that were around then; I just watched
and tried to Hawkeye it and learn what they
were doing. I don’t know if they really knew that
I had my spy camera on …
Oh, yeah, they knew.
You’re right. Looking back, they knew all along.
I started talking to some of the local tattoo
artists, and actually I was just trying to get
some information from them.
How old were you when you opened up and
what was your first shop called?
I opened it when I was 17 and it was called
Skully Bros. Tattooing. I kept the shop there in
Arizona for about 4 years. Most of the time I
ran the shop myself and it was a nightmare.
The town I was in was near a marine base.
They would get on a bus and the bus would pull
up in front of the shop and next thing I would
be working till 3 in the morning - just me some-
times tattooing 15-20 marines. They’d be get-
ting the same design, holding each other’s
hands and praying…(laughter), it was pretty
funny but it was also the perfect opportunity
for a lot of practice.
Where did you go after you closed down the
shop there?
Well, what happened was I met Nate Banuelos
at the Hollywood Inkslingers Ball and we kept
in touch; he did a guest spot at my place and I
did a guest spot at his place in Fresno and we
pretty much decided that we wanted to hook up
and maybe create a shop together. I was ready
to get out of Arizona so I just went ahead and
shut down my shop and went to Fresno at the
drop of a hat and started working with Nate.
Was that Acme Tattoo?
Yeah, that was Acme. We had that shop down
in the tower district maybe 6 or 8 months
before deciding to open a storefront out on the
main strip in Fresno. When we went to the
storefront it was just strictly tattoos, no pierc-
ings and it was all custom work, so we didn’t
really have any flash. We were trying to do
custom work on every person that walked in
the door instead of them picking something off
the wall. About the time Fresno got what we
were doing we ended up moving. We were
there about 4 years and had built a really solid
reputation in Fresno and then Nate decided he
wanted to go to San Diego so we decided to
shut down the shop and move.
How did you end up at NewSkool?
At just about that time I got a call from adrian.
I’ve known adrian probably for 4 or 5 years at
the time and he said they were looking for
someone. I guess Eric Ross had just left the
shop and they had an opening to fill. They
offered me the spot and it was the only logical
move. I couldn’t think of any place else I would
fit in. I figured it was either I’d be working out
of a street shop doing flash or I’d actually get
a chance to do some custom work if I took the
spot at NewSkool…so I jumped on it.
How was the transition to this type of environ-
ment?
It was a humbling experience because I went
from being known by everybody in Fresno to
being a nobody again; I’d walk in a grocery
store in Fresno and the clerk would know who
I was…
You were Rock-stars.
Yeah, in Fresno we had the reputation of being
rock stars. We were pretty much the only peo-
ple there doing the raw stuff, you know, every-
body else was doing the flash and when I got
to San Jose it was like starting over; nobody
knew who I was…I had to fight to get custom
customers. But it was a good thing. I think
everybody should have that happen to them at
least every 3 years, if not your head can just
get so big it will float away. So it was very good
for me; I came to that point where I realized I
had a lot of work to do just to be playing ball
with these guys. Everyone here is so talented
and you are expected to add to the group here.
I would have to say these last 3 years that I’ve
been at NewSkool have probably been the big-
gest jump I’ve made in progression ever. This
shop is all about pushing at each other and
raising the bar on a regular basis. I feel very,
very, very fortunate to be a part of NS.
How does it work in the shop, since each guy
has his own sort of specialty, do you guys
divide up the customers based on style or do
you all just throw down every day?
Easy. We just give Phil all the walk-ins…(laugh-
ter). Just kidding. When someone comes in to
get a tattoo we direct him or her to the appro-
priate artist, based on what they want, and I
think that makes it so easy for us each to
progress at a faster pace in each category.
And even though you all specialize in some-
thing different you just have a really great
thing going on even though you are all going
in different directions artistically, you still
feed off of each other and push each other;
that’s got to be difficult to keep up with, but
you guys do it consistently.
Yeah, its what we do every day. We are all
always doing some sort of art. We have to;
we’re booked every day almost. So our art is
something we don’t put in the closet and forget
about for a month, it’s something we’ve got to
keep up with and the best thing about it is we
all live right downtown except for Phil. He’s the
only one who doesn’t live walking distance
from the shop.
How much time do you spend painting or
doing other types of art?
Right now it’s tough. But I like to paint as much
as possible. I’m behind right now; I owe some
people paintings already and I’m late.
(Laughter)
When did you start to get into the Biomech
imagery?
I think once I started really getting into it was
probably right when I got to Fresno that’s what
Nate was doing on my left arm and I think for
a lot of people the tattoos they get put on them
are what they like to do. Once I got to San
Jose I was doing maybe 80% Bio because even
though Paco was doing some Bio and adrian
was doing his, it wasn’t too often, so I kinda’
picked up that style of tattooing and I think It
gave them the freedom and opportunity to
concentrate on what they wanted to make their
forte…like Paco’s Traditional Japanese work
now and adrian is excellent at the human fig-
ure; I think it just gave each of them more
time to focus on what they really wantd to
do.
When did you get your Biomech sleeve from
Aaron [Cain]? And did that help you get a
better grip of the mech?
We started it in December ‘99 and finished in
March 2000. My whole tattoo career I’ve
looked up to Aaron as one of the greatest tat-
too artists alive. I’m sure a lot of people feel
that way, he’s amazing, but when I got the
chance to get tattooed by him it opened my
eyes to the way Bio should be done. As far as
the formula, y’know, and he has that down so
that it’s bullet proof, you know what I mean?
Getting a chance to experience that on a first
hand basis. It was the best experience I’ve
had.
Was he very open with you on his techniques
and stuff like that…helpful?
Oh yeah, when I asked him a question he never
had a problem answering anything but at the
same time I hope I didn’t bug him. I tried not
to pick his brain too much.
Let me ask you this, do you catch flack from
people about you doing the Mech? Is it some-
thing where you are accused of ripping off
Aaron all the time or …
I get people that say, “Oh you’re just ripping
off Aaron Cain”; it’s common.
How do you…is that ok with you in long
run? Most people tend to try to bridge
out and go in a different direction, do
something unique…but you haven’t
and the work is incredible, so I’m not
joining that crowd in asking these
questions…I’m just curious how
often you deal with that.
I hate to say it like this, but I think
I’m trying to carry the torch to
keep this art style alive. I’m not
trying to step on anybody’s toes,
I’m not trying to piss Aaron off,
I’m not trying to piss Guy off; if
anything I have the most respect
for those guys…and Marcus
Pacheco too, I have respect for
them all…but I don’t want to
see this art style disappear. It
seems Aaron doesn’t tattoo
as much as he used to, and
Marcus and Guy have each
moved on to other types of
imagery…it’s just too cool a
style to let it die out.
Oh yeah, I agree. In fact, I
firmly believe that Bio has
evolved into its own thing
now, a new base to build
from, y’know? Like traditional
Americana tattoos, or
Japanese, or graffiti… there’s
plenty of room for people to
come in and work from that
base to expand the vocabu-
lary of the art; especially the
last 5 or 6 years I think Bio
has grown beyond just a few
people.
But if you don’t do it right you fall
flat on your face. It’s just one of
those things if you don’t do it
good you’re doing it bad, there’s
no medium. I can look back defi-
nitely and see that some of my
early pieces sucked ass, and I
studied a lot before doing it. With
Bio, there are no shades of gray.
It’s cool as long as you understand
those formulas, and that’s what
I’ve learned the most with doing the
Bio-the way the body flows; the way
the sleeve should flow, it’s crucial.
So I agree, there’s room for more
people to be doing it but if its not
going to be taken serious, it shouldn’t
be done. The danger is that people think they can
just dabble in it like they do anything else…take
American traditional, it looks simple, and in some
respects it is, but there are definitely right and
wrong ways of doing that stuff; it’s really hard to do
unless you do your homework…and with Bio it’s
crucial to understand it.

You can’t fake it!

Right. It’s got to be taken serious with a lot of

studying and a lot of time on paper. I’ll be the first
one to admit I have a long ways to go before I am
truly, truly happy with what I’m producing, but that’s
just being an artist too; you’re never going to be
happy with what you’re doing at the time. I think
right now I have what seems to be a never-ending
supply of people who want to get Mech. I couldn’t
ask for a better environment than what I’ve got.

You’re doing it 4 or 5 days a week and you’re

doing large scale work every day right?

Actually, 6 days a week, 2 people a day normally,

and almost all of them are1/2 sleeves or sleeve
designs. I couldn’t be happier when I can look at
my book and the whole week is what I love to do;
it just makes me happy. I think I’ve put in my time,
I’m not saying like I deserve this, but I’ve put in a
lot of hard work and I think it’s paying off for me
now.

You’ve been in a few magazines lately and you are

staying booked every day doing Bio, so that’s a
pretty big accomplishment.

I feel like I’ve been taking it kind of slow, so it

wasn’t like “yeah, here’s Ron Earhart, the Biomech
guy”, y’know what I mean? I’ve been featured in 2
or 3 magazines since I started and I want everyone
to know how much I appreciate their support and
help.

So, you’re just trying to do it slow and respect-

ably.

I’m definitely not trying to jump in and be famous;

I just want to be able to tattoo and make people
happy with their work. I love to tattoo and this is
just more progress in the right direction for me,
being at NewSkool. Doing the magazine thing is
good too because you get your artwork out in more
than the just the town you’re living in. So I’m all for
that but I definitely don’t want to be exploited…you
know what I’m trying to say, right? Take away from
that what you will…

Shit, man, you just came with the studio I

wanted to cover. (Laughter) Who the hell do you
think you are…Aaron Cain or somethin’?
Shhheeesssshh.
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 When Crash came to me with an invitation to do some sort of
regular piece for his new rag, I thought of friends who had attempted
the same. In every case, it worked a short while then fell back to Earth,
sometimes in flames. This ol' badger isn't going to follow the rest.
"MAYDAY! MAYDAY! WE'RE GOIN' IN!" I hate the smell of
napalm. So I've decided to pull a Tom Sawyer and drag the work out
of my pals in the biz.
TATTOO TALES is an idea I've been sitting on for years, so now
we shall see what hatches out of it. One of the best things about tattoo-
ing – besides lifting the average art student out of the gutter up onto
the curb - is that the nature of tattooing and people who get tattooed is
far from any normal endeavor. I've often said that just the word "tat-
too" is like flypaper for nuts. On any normal day, the average shop can
suddenly and without warning erupt in nearly any manner of high
jinks. I began tattooing just as the Sixties were drawing to a close. The
Sixties had tested the limits of radical behavior, everyone believed. I
was lucky enough to see beyond that point and realize the stage was
set for the high water mark in a bastard art form that had been lurking
in the carnivals and arcades of America for nearly a century.
When that wave started to build, I wanted to be on it. It cost me a
total lifestyle change, and all that went with it. Friends fell away, first
just a few but in the end, all of them drifted out of my life. It was just
too strange for most of them, and my gung-ho attitude out my new
interest drove the last of them off for good.
By July of '73, I was at the wheel of China Sea Tattoo in Honolulu's
Chinatown. China Sea came to me after Sailor Jerry Collins' death.
Jerry was a famous tattooer in the days before tattooers even got
famous. Talk about tattoo tales, Jerry had the greatest I'd ever heard. I
was lucky enough to have seen him in action.
So begins my first Tattoo Tale...

In 1972, Ed Hardy and I went to Honolulu to
visit Sailor Jerry.
It was a mini-summit, of sorts: Des Connelly from
Australia and Kazuo Oguri [Hori Hide] from Japan
were also aboard for the fun. We were kind of
honoring the ol' man. Jerry was our Rembrandt,
Babe Ruth, and Blackbeard all rolled into one griz-
zly ol' tattooer. Jerry's family - his wife, young son,
and infant daughter - were on the mainland to
introduce the new baby to her grandparents. The
house was empty and we were all staying at Jerry's.
We were thrilled to have 24-hour access to our
hero.
At that time, the tattoo world was much smaller. I'd
say less than 300 people were pushing the pins in
the U.S.A. but to those who were watching, Jerry
was standing that little world on its ear. Jerry was
not just a great artist but also a wizard in the techni-
cal and mechanical aspects of tattooing.
Some of Jerry's most important discoveries were
in the realm of tattoo color. Color technology had
come a long way by the Seventies but it took a
certain kind of personality to sift through all
the technical stuff pertaining to new pigments.
Some were safe as milk and some were radical
compounds that would cause all manner of skin
eruptions. The information that came with
these pigments was beyond the average per-
son's understanding.
Jerry wasn't cowed by technical stuff. What he
didn't get, he would find out about, some by
reading, some by using himself as a test monkey.
Jerry once showed me places where he had tested
colors that had left nasty-looking scars or lumps
that swelled and itched off and on, depending on
how much sun they got or what he had eaten that
day.
In the Sixties, Jerry's competition was a tattooer
named Lou Normand. Lou was a guy who had a
glad eye for the spotlight. He would jump at the
chance to do a TV interview. While blabbing to
the press, Lou would never fail to mention that
purple was a color you would never see in a tat-
too. "Much too poisonous", he'd say. "It can't be
tattooed without an awful skin reaction," Lou
would crow until Jerry finally blew.
Jerry would never stoop to pander to the media,
but he had healthy ego. Normand shooting off
his mouth to the press drove Jerry nuts. The
purple thing really stuck in Jerry's craw, and he
felt Lou was just making noise to impress people
with his vast knowledge of tattooing.
This set Jerry to work. He started writing all the
pigment manufactures for samples of purple pig-
ments. Jerry told me it took a long time to finally
find a purple that would heal into the skin, really
look purple, and not cause any skin reactions.
He took his revenge on Lou Normand by tattoo-
ing a purple dragon on a sailor's arm. When the
tattoo was healed, Jerry sent the kid over to Lou's
shop. The young sailor asked Lou if he could
make him a purple dragon tattoo. Lou, of course,
goes into his rant on the impossibility of purple
tattoos until the kid rolls up his sleeve and shows
him Sailor Jerry's discovery.
The good purple was now Jerry's new secret. Jerry
kept his secret for years and would dole out the
purple only to his special pals. It became a sign that
you were part of Jerry's inner circle if you had some

of the good purple.
During our stay in the islands, we all spent as much
time at Jerry's shop as we could. Just outside was a
tropical paradise but we were where we wanted to
be: Jammed into this tiny tattoo shop in the worst
honky-tonk area in Honolulu, sitting at the feet of
our hero, listening to stories, watching the old man
tattoo, and trying to learn as much as we could.
Jerry had a local fanbase as well, kids who would
drift in and out during the day. Among them was
a young sailor who wanted to become a tattoo
artist. He had some tattoo equipment and was
doing some amateur work on his shipmates. He
really wanted to get next to Jerry, but his outlaw
tattooing and his general attitude pissed Jerry off.
He thought the way to Jerry's heart was to try to
be as much of a tough guy as Jerry. His mistake
was that Jerry really was a tough guy and saw
right through his act.
At least once a day, the sailor kid came by the
shop. Every time Jerry would give him a real
hard time, not to the point of tossing him out of
the shop but just tease this kid to no end and
delight in making him the butt of jokes. One of
the reasons the kid hung in was that he really
wanted some of Jerry's purple. During every one
of his visits, he would at some point make men-
tion of the purple. He tried everything and
offered Jerry any price. When he couldn't buy
some, he tried to shame Jerry into giving him
some; he would even beg Jerry for just enough to
do this or that job. As I remember he went so far
as to offer one of us money for a taste of the
purple Jerry had given us. Problem was, he just
didn't know how to be humble. When the cool
tough-guy act didn't work, he would just turn it
up and ultimately defeated himself.
Des Connelly, the visiting Australian, brought
Jerry some violet crystals. The Aussies were
using violet crystals to make stencils. These
crystals were a powdered form of the stuff that
hectograph pencils were made out of, the
active ingredient in today's hectograph sten-
cils. The crystals were a beautiful, deep purple
and they would sparkle in the light. They
would also release a powerful purple dye
when mixed with alcohol.
One afternoon, Jerry was showing us these
crystals and snickering about something he
had planned for the young sailor, who by this
time had Jerry really annoyed. Late that day,
the young sailor came strolling in, full of wise-
cracks as usual.
Sailor Jerry played his cards well; he stayed
calm and joked with the kid, drawing him out.
We were all super curious about what Jerry
had planned. I'd heard plenty of stories about
Jerry's practical jokes, but now I was about to
see one. Finally, Jerry's moment came. The
young sailor made mention of Jerry's purple.
"Oh Christ," said Jerry. "I've got a new purple
that makes that old stuff look sick!" Jerry
brought out a plastic bag of the violet crystals,
got a tongue depressor, and scooped out a
good tablespoon of the stuff.
"Come here," he said to the kid, inviting him
into the work area of the shop for the first
time. The kid broke into a big smile - it was a
big deal to be allowed into the work area. Jerry
beckoned him closer, holding the pile of pur-
ple powder up to the light. The kid came for-
ward.
"Gimme your hand," said Jerry. The kid's
hand automatically shot forward; he was total-
ly in the old spider's spell. I wanted to yell,
"Look out, kid, it's a trick!" but I didn't have
the guts to ruin the old man's joke.
Jerry dumped the pile of powder into the kid's
hand. "Now, hold it up to the light," Jerry com-
manded. The sailor kid held his hand up to the
light as Jerry talked to him. "See how it spar-
kles? It does that in the skin!" And as the kid
examined the stuff under the light, Jerry's hand
snaked to the alcohol bottle on his work stand.
Jerry struck like a cobra. The spray bottle of
alcohol was set on full stream and in a flash;
Jerry pumped about three good shots of alco-
hol into the pile of purple stuff the kid was
holding. The alcohol instantly turned the pow-
der into a super-strong dye that covered the
kid's hand and ran down his arm. The purple
slop was spreading fast and starting to drip on
the floor.
Jerry reared back and in a loud, angry voice
hissed, "Jesus Christ, you're getting that shit all
over my floor!" He handed the kid one paper
towel and ran him out of the shop, cursing him
for a dummy. The kid exited the shop followed
by a hail of cruel laughter. Jerry was so proud
of himself he laughed about it all night.
The kid didn't return that evening. The next
day, however, while walking to the shop, I saw
the kid in an arcade playing a pinball machine.
His right hand was still light purple.
The End
S ST T E E P P
by
with mike dorsey

I know a lot of people believe

that you must use sable brushes
and what not, but I just use what-
ever I have around. Most of the
brushes I use for lining are soft
nylon, but for coloring I use a pret-
ty stiff brush and “scrub” the color
in. That’s why I use rough water-
color paper, it stays wetter longer,
and holds up to the abuse I put on
LIST OF the paper. I rework an area 3 or 4
SUPPLIES times (working up the layer
beneath) or until I get the fade I am
• Arches 140 lb. Rough
watercolor paper looking for. Building it up slowly,
• Dr. Martins water with multiple washes also helps
color concentrate me control how dark it gets. I rare-
• Jacquard silk paint ly ever use a straight black, but a
(Black) dark gray wash, and build it to an
• #6 liner brush off-black. I also just have a basic
• #3 brush idea of what I want the image to
• Windsor & Newton look like. I am a bit scatter-
#6 (filbert tip) brained and paint very loosely. I
• Windsor & Newton
build off my main image as I go,
#2 round
developing the composition,
• Dynasty 000 Chinese
changing colors, and adding new
images to bring the eye through
the painting. orange, and a reddish-orange where just have fun.
the violet was strongest.
First thing I do is tape off the
I tend to look at a painting by the Try layering different colors… you
area with black acid free tape. Then
temperature of the colors; warm col- come up with some cool effects just
normally I draw it directly on the
ors proceed, cool colors recede. You by monkeying around.
watercolor paper unless it’s really
can change the temperature of a
complicated, then I work it out on
color by adding another, such as The way I paint more than
tracing paper and use and x-ray box
cooling a warm brown with a green likely isn’t the “proper” way to
as a light box and trace it off onto
for shadowing. Also layering wash- do it, but I am doing this for
watercolor paper.
es of different colors for a cool effect fun, not to get the look of
like shading an area with violet and approval from an art teacher
washing the whole area with a gold- who couldn’t paint a good greet-
en brown, turning the violet into an ing card on their best day. So
1
I draw the Oni on the paper (I know I
scribble more than I draw). I for the
life of me can’t draw finger waves
from left to right so I draw those on
tracing paper and flip it over and trace
it off on a light box.

4
Next I do the waves in the foreground
the same way as I did the Oni, but I am
leaving the front wave unlined till I fig-
ure out how I want to do them, It seems
like a big dead area to me at this point
and I should put something in there but
not sure what I want there so I leave it
open till I figure it out.

2 5
Once I have the drawing the way I like it
I do the thinner out lines with a # 3
brush and the # 6 liner brush for longer
lines outlining with rapidograph ink for
film. Holds up well with water though
Talens does the trick in a pinch but does
have a sheen to it.
Now it’s time to start putting in the color. I use Jacquard
silk paint for black and gray. It kinda’ smells like sulfur and
goes on more of a green gray when wet, but dries a nice
cold gray. First, I lay a wet area were I want the fade to
begin and end. Next I block in the color working from the
line over the dry paper into the wet area until the fade is
back to water then back and forth. I will do this probably
two more times till I have built it up to the tone I am look-
ing for, letting the paper dry between. There definitely
is a “sweet spot” when the paper isn’t too wet or too
dry. If I have wet it too much, you can lift the water
from the paper with a brush dry it with a paper towel
and repeat until the paper is at the wet point you want.
Too watery, and it’s hard to control the paint when it
touches the water, too dry, and it doesn’t travel at all.
**If you want a longer working time, add a few drops
of dishwashing liquid to your spread water (something
I picked up while tinting my car windows to give you
more time to mess with the tint film and smooth it out).

3 Next I block in the bolder thicker lines

with the Chinese style brush very loose-
ly. I like the mixture of a bold rough
outline mixed with the finer lines, it also
brings yer eye right to the Oni since its
lines are the strongest.
 6 I repeat this throughout the background
and work it over a few times till it’s as
dark as I want. After the first time block-
ing of an area, I rewet the entire section
and add more watercolor. Again starting
where I want it to be darkest and working
9 On the moss from the turtle in the hat, I
laid in a wash of green on the outer
edges and worked green on dry paper
out to the lightest area. into the wash green and fade it out.

10 This whole process is repeated, working

one little area at a time until the painting
is complete. I won’t bore you with every
section…. I just repeat what I did about
a million times until I am happy that
everything is built up to what I’m look-
ing for (or until I’m tired of looking at

7
the damn thing).

Next I blocked in the moon. This was

kind of a pain in the ass, because you
have to keep working off a wet edge and
trying to get between the finger waves as
keeping a wet edge takes some speed. I
just try and block it in at this point. I will
go back about 3 times and refine it and
smooth out the fade to the moon. Again,
this isn’t black, it’s a dark gray.
Sometimes if you use straight black, it
tends to leave a film that isn’t in the paper
but seems to be riding on top of the paper
and gets a sheen to it and stands out like
B.J. Betts in a bikini.

8Next I move to the hat. I used Alpine

rose (Dr. Martin’s) and faded the edge.
Later I worked crimson into the darkest
11 As in the body I used Dr
Martin’s gamboges yellow,
washed in some ochre for
shadow and violet for the
darkest areas.

area and violet in the darkest area. I

could have just used violet to crimson
to pink but it would have looked like a

12
rainbow. By layering the colors with a
base color underneath it, it seems to
carry as a tone for the pink and not as In the cloth, I used tur-
the color by itself. The pink was too quoise and juniper green
warm so the crimson cooled it a bit and for the darkest parts.
the violet made the crimson a bit darker.
13
I had a lot of trouble deciding what color
to make the beard on the Oni, so I put it
off until I decided. Two packs of ciga-
rettes later, I’m finishing the foreground
and refining small fades and what not… I
choose violet. I figured the front right
16 Finally, I thought the moon was a big
empty area that drew my eye too
much, and the fade was sloppy, so I
stuck some clouds in to take care of
both problems
hand corner needed something so I left a
circle... and yet another dilemma for
me…. What do I put in it?

14 On the beads I washed

in a gold, let it dry
and straight brown for
the centers.

15
I figured I would do a monotone clam
and pearl (to go with the pearl on his

17
hat). I did it monotone because I didn’t
want it to stand out too much, and com-
Next, after all is said and done, Dr. Martins is not very lightfast.
pete with the main image. But wanted
The HYDRUS is more lightfast but works more like ink to me.
something to draw your eye, and not
It’s intended for quick production, so it’s not very archival. But
make it so top- heavy. A cool idea I stole
you can’t beat the colors’ vibrancy with anything else. It won’t
from Kore Flatmo.
“chalk” like tubes will when doing solid color. So I mist the whole
painting with a UV-clear, then more of it. The misting is so you
don’t make the paint run, and then you can coat the shiat out of it!
This will help the painting hold the color. And cause I’m paranoid,
I suggest framing it in UV- resistant glass, just to be safe.

If I haven’t explained thoroughly the “right way” to do it. But it’s

or have missed something feel free fun, damnit! Besides, my mom
to email me at: thinks I make pretty pictures and
permanentproductions@yahoo.com. in the grand scheme of things,
Any suggestions are welcome as well. isn’t that all that matters?

As I said, I am totally self-taught here,

so the way I paint isn’t necessarily
Please Explain...
“WHY I OUGHTTA…”
“When ideas float in our mind without any
reflection or regard of the understanding, it is
that which the French call reverie, our lan-
guage has scarce a name for it.” --Locke.
In this modern age of tattooing, what’s old has
become what’s new, and with this grand wave
of nostalgic extravagance, a great deal of our
forebear’s intent and ingenuity has been for-
saken. Merely mimicking the motions, and par-
roting the shapes of what’s been done previ-
ously accomplishes nothing if a thorough com-
prehension of a tool’s function is not existent,
or at least contemplated to some extent.
What’s this all about? Well… it’s kind of hard
to explain, but I’ll try.
Everyone and his Uncle wants to be a machine
builder. Why? I don’t know. Must be the easy
money, (Sarcasm). These days, you can’t walk
into a tattoo convention swinging a dead mon-
key without hitting a tat gun peddler. Everyone
has “Handmade irons built to last a lifetime”
and “slow punchy shaders, guaranteed to be
your everyday …”
No, really, I think it’s because nowadays more
and more tattooers want to be further involved
in every aspect of the trade, from painting flash,
to making needles to building machines. One
precipitator of this phenomenon is the belief
that we ought to adhere to some sort of “old
school” ethic in order to be a “real” tattoo artist,
figuring that if we cut some frames out of sheet
metal with a hacksaw then we’re doing it right.
That If we spitshade some crappy looking don-
key fucking a snake, then we’re making Sailor
Jerry proud as long as there’s a coffin or a can-
dle jammed in there somewhere. There’s so
much more than that, obviously. Can’t forget
the spider webs!
There’s nothing wrong with taking a hands on
approach to your work, and really putting forth the
effort to craft one’s own tools from scratch, but
let’s start with some basics, please? How about for
starters we consider frame geometry and it’s rela-
tion as to the efficient application of pigment into
the skin? Then there’s machine speed vs. pigment
viscosity, and why these things matter. Spring
length, width, and thickness.
Armature weight, length and position, and how
these factors can be used to compensate for
poor frame geometry. Also, what is poor frame
geometry, and how do we know? What makes one
frame good for a liner, and another good for a
shader? Next time we’ll look into some of these
issues, and begin to identify how they all relate to
a good tattoo, but for now let’s just ponder a
while on a few common frame designs, and what
makes them what they are. Photocopy the illus-
trations on this page, fill in the blanks, and specu-
late a little bit on theory.
First person to mail in the completed worksheet
with some solid theory occupying the blank
spaces, wins a special prize, [we’re not saying
what yet, but someone is going to be happy.
Send your worksheet to: Machine Theory, c/o
TakArtMag, 54 Farmer St., Newnan, GA
30263]. This process might seem a bit rudimen-
tary, but we’ll get into the juicy stuff later; this
is just to get things going.
THANKS!
Seth C.
The Oni (generic demon) came to Japan via ily between the land of the living and the them from harm. Zen Buddhism provides
China, along with Buddhism, and with him dead. Most often representing a destructive several opportunities for oni as evil forces
he brought the notions of heaven and hell force in the human world, oni interact with overcome by good. Some paintings depict
which were previously unknown to Japan’s luckless human beings. oni in monks garb with a gong asking for
Shintoist earth and animal based beliefs. alms. But be careful…is he really a monk or
The form and character of these creatures Lord Emma, the king of hell, is often depicted an evil oni playing a trick?
is a result of the long inner action between with his oni army punishing the tortured
Shinto and Buddhist beliefs which was souls of hell. Ma-Mien, the horse-headed An evil oni cannot be vanquished by com-
imported to Japan in the mid 6th century. demon, and Mu-Mien, the bull-headed demon, mon humans. Heroes, saints, the virtuous
are among Lord Emma’s
Oni are ill tempered, have a lack of will chief officials. They are
power, a love of the drink, and are notori- often pictured flaying
ous voyeurs. Oni are usually of giant size, the skin off of their vic-
can be pink, red, blue, or grey. They gener- tims, smashing them
ally have two horns (but are also seen with between giant rocks, or
one, in the center of the forehead) and are pouring boiling blood
occasionally seen with three eyes. This down their throats until
demon has three fingers and three toes, they are so bloated they
the head is squarish, the eyes malignant, can be played as drums
and are surrounded by large eyebrows. Oni until they explode.
can fly, but rarely do they use this power. Ma-Mien is typically
Unusually cruel, malicious, and lecherous, seen in the same prints
this creature is of diminished intelligence. pulling a flaming spike-
Oni will sometimes be seen carrying a mal- wheeled cart over the
let (one similar to Daikoku, the god of bodies of his victims.
wealth), but it is not uncommon to see it
carrying a spiked iron rod and wearing a However not all oni are
tiger skin loin cloth. blood thirsty stupid
lechers. Some legends
The oni takes the form of many gods. Rai- actually speak of oni
Jin, the god of thunder and lightning, and converting to Buddhism
Fu-Jin, the god of wind are both depicted as and having their horns
oni. Both flying through the air, one beating sawed off and offered
his drum bringing the thunder and lightning, to god as a symbol of
while the other sends wind and rain from a putting their evil ways
giant bag he carries around his back. Bun- behind them. These oni
Sho-Sei, the flying oni, is associated with become protectors of
the dissemination of written thought. He is temples and its congre-
represented with a writing box in one hand, gation. Sometimes the
and a brush in the other. He is mounted soul of a revered priest
upon a fish with the head of a dragon and becomes an oni after
fins transformed into wings. death to protect his fol-
lowers by dispelling
Whatever it’s form, the oni can move eas- disaster and protecting
and inspired individuals are the only
ones who can best them. The oni can be
overcome and defeated. If so they are
required to become the servant and
slave of their subduer. This can be par-
ticularly handy as the oni have particular
talents in the ways of medicine.
Shoki, the demon queller is the most
famous of all Japanese demon fighters.
A huge bearded man wearing the robes
and cap of a Chinese scholar is often
seen riding a tiger. Although there are
other portrayals of demon fighters, Shoki
is the most prevalent. His exploits
became a running theme for artists and
scholars in Japan. He is usually seen
with a bound demon, or chasing demons
with sword drawn.
Japanese tradition of the supernatural
that are depicted in art and literature
combine Chinese ideas of heaven and
hell, Indian notions of the transmigration
of souls and the native Shinto beliefs of
nature and animal spirits. Oni are seen
as a parody to human emotions repre-
senting them at the basest level.
Many great Japanese artists were fond
of the oni. Hokusai over his long life
made thousands of sketches of oni and
their exploits. Kyosai (Gyosai) produced
some of the most detailed hell scenes in
the woodblock form of demons upon
demons dishing it out. Shoki was also a
favorite subject of Hokusai and Kyosai.
There are several large scrolls of
Shoki vanquishing oni. Yoshitoshi,
Kuniyoshi, and several artists of the
period produced an enormous amount
of demon and macabre paintings to
the public’s delight until the Japanese
government deemed the imagery too
vulgar. They believed it was responsi-
ble for moral depravity and social
unrest and would lead to the downfall
of Japanese life. It remains a powerful
image of pop culture.
Bibliography and image credits
Shoki & demon, Hokusai
How to Draw Oni, Hokusai
Bun-Sho-Sei , the red flying demon
with brush, is by Kyosai (Gyosai)
Shoki’s Tiger w/Demon by John
Macintyre
One horned oni flash page by Jay
Cooper
All other images by Jason Schroder
Other reference books
The Hokusai Sketchbooks: Selections
from the Manga, James A. Michener
Legend in Japanese Art, Henry L. Joly
Japanese Mythology, Juliet Piggott
Mario Desa/Jeff Zuck set $100 • Zuck • Name Brand Tattoo www.namebrandtattoo.com
Desa • Deluxe Tattoo • www.mariodesa.com •www.deluxetattoo.com

Dave Fox/Josh Hoffman set $100 • Olde City Tattoo • www.oldecitytattoos.com

J eff Zuck isn’t exactly a household
name in the tattoo community, at
least not yet. Though he has pur-
posely shied away from magazine
coverage the last several years, the
truth is that Jeff Zuck has a growing reputa-
tion as one serious badass tattooer. Normally
I’d go on and on here about Jeff and his
great artwork, but I think that his work
speaks for itself and I also think we had a
really good interview, so I’m just gonna’ let it
roll the way it happened.
Crash: How old are you?
Jeff Zuck: 27
How long have you been tattooing?
About ten years or so.
Well good. I don’t hate you as much as I
thought I was going to. I was really afraid
you were going to say something insane
like, “I’ve been seriously tattooing about 3
years,” and then I could officially HATE your
guts! Anyway, you started tattooing before
you got out of high school?!
I did.
Did you finish high school?
I did. I know it doesn’t always show.
Did you do an apprenticeship?
Nope. I was taking shop class and this
guy in my class had a cousin or something
that used to be in prison and he knew how
to build one of them there tat guns. So I
built one and practiced on some buddies for
six months or so before I got accepted into
a tattoo studio.
So you were scratchin’ away, right? How
long did it take you before you got into
a studio environment?
I was. I think I did maybe a total of about
6 months before I got into the studio. I
worked there maybe a week before I was
on skin. I was definitely unaware of the
quality of work I was doing. It was bad. I
got some photos, do you want ‘em?
I do. Definitely. I want a couple of bad
photos. I’ll put them on the “Hope
Page”. How long were you there?
I was there about 4 years, and then I
went to a town outside of Chicago,
Illinois to Vanity Tattoo.
Did you work with anyone good there,
did you learn anything significant?
Not really.
OK, how long were you there?
I was there about a year. Then I moved to
Indiana. (laughter) I was there for about a
year.
What studio were you in there?
It was just another studio. I was going nuts
and that’s kinda’ what I was sick of hearing
from everyone. Y’know, shit like, “My broth-
er can do this for 20 bucks.” It drove me to
Ann Arbor to open up my own studio, just to
get away from that mentality.
Any other reasons?
Well, I just wasn’t growing as an artist, so
working at shops just wasn’t cutting it for
me and I guess I figured that if I opened
a shop I could focus on what I wanted to
do. And I really did it for my family. My son
was getting to the age where I needed to
be around more and I just wasn’t willing
to sacrifice family for money.
Well, that’s a good answer. Have your rea-
sons changed and evolved since you
opened?
I never wanted a shop. I never wanted to
be a shop owner until I worked in those
bad locations and I was going nuts. I just
didn’t want to deal with that anymore. I
kinda’ felt like this was what I had to do.
How long did you work the shop by your-
self?
There was a guy who worked with me a little
bit and when I was gone to conventions or
whatever he would work the shop, but it
was petty much me I guess close to a year
with just a little bit of help.
And then?
Now I have the kind of crew I have
always been looking for. I have a girl
named Dawn Cook; she’s a real strong
tattooer.. She’s tattooed for about 3
years. And she tattoos kinda’ like a
man, (laughter), real traditional stuff,
she’s cool. I have Bill Falsetta, he’s
been here about 2 years. And he was my
apprentice. Which was weird because I
never wanted an apprentice.
Then why have one?
Well, I allowed him in as a friend to sit in
and hang out and watch, thinking that
maybe something could work out at a
friend’s shop or whatever in the future.
Then one day I was going to let him get in
with a friend of mine’s shop in Flint and I
just started thinking, “Why am I letting
this guy go? He’s such a dedicated guy
and the type of guy you ask him to do
something and he says, “OK,” no ques-
tions and doesn’t argue or nothin’. I really
had some trials and tribulations on this,
like do I let him go, what am I doing? So I
decided to take him on even against my
own original desires and I think I came to
realize there wasn’t going to be anybody in
Ann Arbor, Michigan with more potential or
more talent. So he stayed.
Are you glad?
Yeah. I realized that I just wasn’t going to
find someone here who fit my bill, so I
needed to make my own tattooer.
Alright, Dr. Frankenstein.
Right (laughter), so I made my Frankenstein
Monster and it’s worked out great.
Let’s talk about conventions; how long
have you been working conventions?
How long have I been working conven-
tions? Hmmmm, probably about seven
years now.
Wow. What do you think have been the main
advantages in working the convention cir-
cuit?
Ahhh…more exposure for sure. And expo-
sure to new ideas, you know. I know it’s
kinda’ vague. I don’t know, you can skip that
part actually. Oh yeah, meeting so many tal-
ented people. That’s the best part of doing
that stuff. The best advantage is meeting
people that today I call friends and that have
helped progress me in my life. Without those
people I would just be lacking so much.
How many conventions do you work a
year now?
I try to do maybe three or four a year. I
guess.
OK. How much travel do you do outside of
conventions, like guest spots or whatev-
er?
I’m out of the shop maybe once a month or
once every two months. I feel like that’s the
best way to keep my booking solid.
Have you done any over seas traveling
yet?
I did a convention in Puerto Rico a long time
ago. That’s nothing big I guess.
So you don’t go to Japan every other
month?
(Laughter) Nah, I’m not that fortunate.
Definitely plan on it in the future, though.
When the time is right, Japan is on the
list.
You know, I’m sure that’s gonna’ open up
for you real soon, those opportunities.
What mediums do you use for your paint-
ings?
Hmmm, well, watercolors right now. Acrylic
painting in the past, but I am pretty strict
on the watercolor. I also like to do a little
sumi painting and things like that, study
the traditional Japanese birds and flow-
ers…just a little bit here and there.

How much painting do you do now?

Here lately I only do a painting maybe

once every month or two. I was doing
them pretty religiously for a while. I guess
you could say I go through my phases
where I’m really having fun painting and
it’s kind of an outlet to learn. I’m not at
the stage yet where I can just paint to sell
them. I try to use it to add to my vocabu-
lary, y’know, like what do I need to add to
my vocabulary, my artistic vocabulary, I
guess.

Well, that’s why I don't have that snake

painting yet, huh?

What? Was I going to do one for you? I’ll

do it.

How important is it to you to have anoth-

er medium to work in as far as art
goes?
Oh, so important. And, like everything I’ve
told you, I don’t realize this stuff until I’ve
already done it, but learning to paint is
what has helped me tattoo so much better
than before. And I gotta’ thank Seth Ciferri
for helping me do that. He doesn’t think
that he’s the best teacher at that stuff,
but he did the trick. And painting made me
realize a lot of techniques and ideals that
are relative to, or that go hand in hand
with, my tattooing. For example: the way a
rose is painted and the way you tattoo it
relates a lot. It makes you understand it in
a much better way to have been painting
roses for a week before you do that rose
tattoo. Also, I never paid attention to people’s
art like Mike Dorsey and Martin Lancaster’s
work before I started painting. Now my eyes
have been opened and see things I never
would have seen before. So, I find that it’s
been very beneficial to me to learn to paint.
How long have you been painting in watercol-
or?
Well, like a year and a half I guess.
Wow. OK, never mind I do hate you;
you’re an asshole. Let’s move along. I
haven’t ever seen much of your stuff in
print, why is that? Is it intentional?
Yeah, a little bit. I’ve always felt like I
should put a little bit out there and every
so often I’ll mail some stuff out but the
last two or three years I haven’t really sent
anything in. And I’ve never felt real com-
fortable with my art, y’know. I’ve learned a
lot over the past four years or so and my
artwork has changed a lot over the years.
I wasn’t ready.
Let me ask you then what are some of the
key things that have happened over the
past three years that have made you
more comfortable with your work or that
have made you happier with it now? I
know everyone goes through that. What
helps those insecurities?
Studying man!! Pick your school of
thought and study, study, study. Paint,
draw, practice, but mostly studying and
going back to books; learning how to do
the Koi fish correctly, learning why wind
should be like this and not be repetitive
and the way it should flow; the dynamics
of wave structure in traditional Japanese
images, really building a strong vocabu-
lary of art to the point where you’re like,
“Wow all this that I’ve actually studied is
working together good.” The shit looks
right. So you have to study and pick
apart your art and figure out what
sucks.
That’s hard too. How do you do that?
It’s all about going home, doing your
research, then doing a project and asking
your friends to critique them. Then fix ‘em
and do it again. Every time you go through
that you’ll add new stuff to your artistic
vocabulary and you can use it on your next
tattoo. It’s a never-ending process.
How important is it to get critiques by
the artists you respect?
It’s one of the most important things. I
think people have said stuff to me and I’ll
try it on the very next tattoo and see it. It
becomes totally different, more powerful,
correct. But make sure you go to some-
one you respect, whether you know them
or not, and ask for a critique. But when
you do, sit there and shut up, don’t make
excuses, don’t get offended, just listen
to what you’re being told. You asked for
their opinion, be quiet and let ‘em give it
to you.
Yeah, even though it is the natural
response to try to justify the work, just
sit there and take it. I have a hard time
with that, and I’m sure everyone does,
we’re artists. But getting those gems of
wisdom from these guys can make the
difference in your work. Then getting
work from them and talking to them,
that’s where you can really learn a thing
or two. The bottom line is, if you’re not
in some super artistic environment and
you’ve got talent, then you need to use
these resources. You need to be pushed,
or you’ll just end up wasting years worth
of your time.
That’s right. Don’t waste the time.
Who’s been the most helpful to you by cri-
tique?
Grime; definitely Grime. He’s the man.
Yeah. Grime cares and it shows. One of
my friends said of Grime’s critiques, “No
one gives a verbal ass-whoopin’ like
Grime.” And he’s right, Grime can be
brutally honest with you, but it helps.
He’s probably had the biggest impact on my
work, just by going over my book with me
again and again. It’s absolutely indispens-
able.
I think that all interviews sort of take on
their own life, and in this one we’re really
hitting on primarily one topic: what are the
things that have helped you get from that
early insecurity stage as a tattooer to the
point where you are now, which is, in my
opinion, the verge of becoming a very
renown tattooer.
This interview may be boring to a lot of peo-
ple, or even typical, but these are the things
that have helped me the most in my progres-
sion. Study, draw, paint, get critiqued, and
start all over again. Cut and dry, that’s about
it.
You can get a hold of Mr. Zuck at:
Name Brand Tattoo
621 Church St. 2nd Floor
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
734.623.0553
www.namebrandtattoo.com
info@namebrandtattoo.com
 Andrew Conner Mario Desa Andrew Conner
Alley Cat Tattoo Deluxe Tattoo Alley Cat Tattoo

Tom Strom Mario Desa Bert Krak

Electric Dragonland Deluxe Tattoo Rock-A-Billy Tattoo
 Tom Strom
Electric Dragonland

Mario Desa Jason Schroder

Deluxe Tattoo Incognito Tattoo
 Grime
AWR

Jason Schroder Jason Schroder

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Brian Bruno
Read St. Tattoo
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