Inspiration Above My Desk

This poster hangs above my desk, and I always love looking up and admiring all of its intricacies. This was given to me while working at PAIN Magazine. I truly heart the old school tattoo style, and have thought of going crazy with said style on mine own canvas (but probably won't).

Yes, one of the many perks of working at my previous place of employment was the free swag. In my time, I walked away with quite a few stickers, patches, lotions, soaps, a few pipes, some salvia (but we know how that turned out), three glass-blown dogs (a chow, bulldog, and mini pinscher), an original Sailor Jerry business card along with his book, and lots and lots of artwork from tattoo studios.

Getting artwork was always my favorite. Before the magazines, I was fairly unfamiliar with the goings-on in the body modification community. But over the next 20 months, I got to meet a lot of artists, some of which even played on our softball team. Artists from all over the country would send in pictures of finished pieces and/or information about their studio. I interviewed business/studio owners every month, and I once had a very, very, cool 30-minute conversation with Lyle Tuttle. Also, writers (and friends) were sending in articles and monthly columns, so although I didn't have the ink to walk the walk, I thought I could talk up a pretty good storm.

And I'd like to continue talking about ink, if that's alright. Many people only know shows Inked or L.A. Ink. I have some problems with the former, but they help to expand people's knowledge about tattoos beyond tribals or the lower back butterfly, but there are SO MANY ARTISTS out there making amazing artwork. Here's a few I'd like you to check out:

Monte Agee: That's his name to the right in my links, too. CHECK HIM OUT!! He might be my favorite artist and puts out some incredibly detailed work.
Brandon Bond: From All or Nothing Tattoo in Atlanta. Brandon is a pretty crazy guy; he's been published, put on a DVD following him around, and has won many, many awards.
Mark Carter: Non-tattoo artist, but an artist nonetheless. There's so much embedded within each piece, you find something new each time. Also a really nice guy.
Deano Cook: Very realistic and beautiful underwater tattoos.

...and there's just so many others I can't remember off the top of my head. PAIN was my favorite magazine of the three, as the body mod industry is a very unique, creative, and eccentric one. And to close this post, I'll leave you with some truly old school designs...8-Bit ink!