I’m an artist.  I’m not special necessarily.  I doubt anyone is.  I mean; think about it… there are billions of people on the planet and billions who’re already gone, passed away in the far reaches of time. What could they think of us?  Were they special in their time? 

I’m an artist.  There are differences in people.  Like many I embody, literally, many of those differences.  However one may explain oneself, we are all part of; as well as apart from… those around us, our culture, the world.  The difference of course makes the difference in how one represents visually, kinesthetically, intellectually, emotionally, physically.  We are all works of art continuously conditioned and subsequently conditioning our environment. 

I’m an artist.  Primarily visual, but that bleeds, (literally, liberally), into many other genres, other mediums, other modalities.  I’m a writer.  I’m an opinionated, critical…  and yet: open-minded individual.  I’d better be if I want to learn anything. 

I’m an artist.  Emotionally biased toward sensation and non-logical determinism.  I have this knack, this trick, where I see the end near the beginning.  It infuriates those for whom logical progression is necessary.  (It makes it easy to confuse some folks, but my process is like that, a leap from start to finish…)

I’m an artist.  Study, research, thought, analysis, and persistent redundancy are necessary for my expression in any of the artistic realms.  A muse helps.  Dreams are even better, once the work of focus has been exhausted and the body is allowed to relax.  Epiphany comes from a bit of effort… at least for me effort of some sort is the prerequisite more likely to generate illumination, an implicit intuition…

I’m an artist. I literally move to the beat of a different drummer. A funky drummer to be sure. In my tattoo environment you’ll be treated to Funk, Blues, Soul, R&B, Jazz, a bit of Country, some show tunes, Swing, Hip-Hop and a smattering of Rap. I like drums, bass, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, strings, guitar, keyboards and… did I mention… FUNK.   

I’m an artist… fated to be an artist.  I don’t always love producing art.  At times the production of art, for me, requires effort; sometimes struggle.  The exertion makes the result that much sweeter.  Oh… happy accidents are very welcome; but a part of me finds it exquisitely exhilarating  when I must needs strive to redesign, reconstruct, renovate my technique and/or understanding of the explicit artistic endeavor.  The tattoo that is…

I’m an artist.  Not all my work is fantastic, mind-bending, acid-flashback chiaroscuro induced nightmares nor noir dreamscapes.  However, my desire is to achieve artistic breakthroughs pushing a resultant beauty, drama and visually arresting work evoking distracted emotion coupled with unexpected and seductively idiosyncratic symbolism…   in a nutshell… 

I’m an artist.  Technique is paramount.  Without intent of persistent discipline or the ability to replicate the rendering today… tomorrow, or more importantly; to improve the technique of today tomorrow… one is lost as an artist.  That is to say; I must be capable of rendering, at the very least, adequately in the medium currently being worked.  (Here: ink in skin.)  However, that is not enough.  I must be more than adequate.  I must be in the top ten percent with my skills.  That too is not enough.  I must consistently work to improve my skills and develop better and/or improved technique.    

Previous Shops Tala has worked in Tala Tattoo – simply the best, trust me.  San Francisco  415 902-4794 Black and Blue Tattoo, Best of the Bay 2007, 2008 PierceInk   San Jose Gotham   San Francisco Leona’s Tattoo   Gurneville on the Russian River

Tala is a commercial and fine arts photographer and a writer as well as a tattoo artist.  Tala has worked with computers, is a master machinist, mechanic, programmer and metal worker.  Tala is an astrologer, a clinical hypnotherapist and an educator.   Tala is a business consultant and has advised numerous businesses how to successfully increase their profit.  Tala has also been the subject of documentaries and has been interviewed by various media.

Tweet This Post

well, really, any tool available, but here we’ll be focusing on photography…

So… what does working with a camera do to an artist?  What specific actions- things- must one do when using a camera as an extension of, an adjunct to, tattoo art?  (Aside from the fact that one MUST make at least acceptable photos of tattoos if the tattoo artist is going to publish or advertise their work.)  Perhaps a better question is: what could one potentially learn as a painter, sculptor,  tattooist… in fact, anyone producing art, by using a camera? 

The question may be answered in a number of ways, but here are a few for your mastication… 

Using a camera forces the photographer to do certain things.  Not the least of which is LOOK.  Part of the beauty of the process of photography is the need to compose in the camera.  Now, you may NOT compose in the camera, but then you run the risk of loosing the image, part of the image, or most importantly… detail.  All photo capturing processes have a limited information capacity including processes which rely on chemical/film/metal and/or digital production…  Resolution of lenses and lens distortion play a part in composition.  Available darkness plays a part…. (yes, yes, I know, most photographers refer to this as “available light,” but when you turn it on it’s head you might see something different, ya?)   Composition is about what one leaves OUT of the image as much as what one puts into the image. 

Another factor is shutter speed.  The time from the press of the button to the moment when the curtain actually moves and the image is captured.  There is ALWAYS a lag, even in the most expensive and well engineered cameras.  One must learn to anticipate the shot as well as how to frame it.  (What has that got to do with other media including tattooing?  Well, yet again, it trains the artist to LOOK.)  When the mind/eye/heart are synced a more interesting set of image options open up.  One starts to see the world in stills and…perhaps,  in moving frames, captured and framed art, continually evolving and presenting itself from moment to moment. 

A good friend once asked me what the most important tool for a photographer was/is… Of course the answer was off my radar… She said: “The WALL.”  Huh?  Yup, the wall is your best friend as a photographer, painter, graphic designer, tattoo artist… in fact ANY artist benefits from putting her/his work up on the wall and LEAVING it there.  Study it.  Walk away.  Come back and study it some more.  Ignore it.  Walk past and glance at it.  Leave it up on the wall for a good amount of time…  weeks or months.  Have friends and family critique the work.  (Doesn’t matter if they don’t know or understand art.  You’ll know if their critiques mean anything and you’re inviting them to be a part of your life, your process.)  Have other artists look at your work.  Have several artist friends and/or acquaintances over to view the work… more than once.  LISTEN to the artists.  You don’t have to do what they suggest, but it might be worth trying at some point on some other image… or the one they’re critiquing…  Conversely, spend time with artists who invite you to critique their work…  There’s a ton o’ info there!

Perspective is probably an artifact of the use of lenses…Italian perspective is simply an understanding of optics.  No doubt the result of using the Camera Obscura and later… lenses…  Lenses were a HUGE factor in how the west and the world literally changed viewing and creation of art.  Lenses distort.  A friend proudly displayed a painting of a race car in action and proclaimed the artist never painted from photographs… Perhaps, but the artist had several artifacts from photography in the painting including compressed depth of field and limited plane of focus including an out of focus thumbprint from a specific type of lens.  Thus suggesting; images from cameras have played no small part in his understanding of what a picture SHOULD look like… 

Cropping… my favorite… While I do everything possible to crop in the camera, there are often better images within the image I’ve captured on film.  These refined images may be perceived through the use of two of my favorite tools; 2 pieces of black art board cut into wide “L” shapes such that they may be placed over an image and used to isolate the most pleasing composition possible.  (This is also a great tool to use when composing/designing a tattoo…  There are times when a tattoo looks better using part of the image instead of the whole enchilada…)   Cropping your photographs translates back into how you shoot/compose images in the camera and… how you see and render tattoo art. 

These are but a few points on the use of cameras/photography to improve any art form.  The most important bit here is the focus… not necessarily through the camera/lens, but the focus on producing art.  The discipline aimed at the outcome.  When one lives the art, sleeps it, breathes it, views it in everyday interactions one must change the form of the art produced…   Necessarily

Tweet This Post

So, the debate about what makes a good tattoo often takes a number of spins/turns…  With many artists dumbing down their response by stating the following: The only good tattoo is what the client wants.  Is that true?  Yes and no… 

Yes if the only concern is having the client feel good about the tattoo right now.  And please understand; there are many clients who only want the tattoo they want and… it has to be the tattoo they’ve brought to you right now…  As an artist I need to remember, people change their minds.  They learn new ways of looking at the world.  They mature.  They get art educations.  They change… inevitably… 

As a tattoo artist and a member of a community, a place, the world; I believe I have a duty to help my clients get the best I can give them right now.  (Hopefully my skills continue to advance and my work continues to get better over time.)   So… suppose a client brings me the image shown below…  With some slight alteration this will make a stunning tattoo…  Is it the best tattoo I can give my client?  (Scroll down past the image to read and see more…)

What about the image below?  Would this make a “better” tattoo?  Well, yes and no…  No if the client is only interested in black tribal tattoos and that’s their plan for the canvas of skin… now and in the future.  (remember… people change.)    Yes; it is a better tattoo if the client is looking for maximum impact from a visual image rendered on the body.  The image below, when concentrated in the skin, is STUNNING and I guarantee people will look at it and be blown away.  Additionally this tattoo will age more gracefully and hold its pop and wow value far longer than the black tribal above.  However… the black tribal above is STILL a fantastic piece of art and will get it’s own fair share of “Damn thats a FINE tattoo” compliments…   

So, if you’ve read this far I’m now in the December Doldrums and… it’s the end of a year and… the end of the decade!!!  If you contact me, book an appointment, and put your booty in my chair for either of these images before January 1st, 2010, I’ll give you 50% off.  If you make the smart choice and get the image below, I’ll give you an additional 10% off.  That’s 60% off normal fees.  I really, really want this image in my portfolio…  Don’t you too want a kick-ass tattoo?   Bring a friend and they can have the image you don’t get!!! Call me now!  415 902–4794.

Tweet This Post

If you’ve been waiting for your artist to have the time to get the ink in your skin, if your artist is booked in advance, you may find December and January to be your friend…  The holidays are fraught with drama for most folks.  People literally die at this time of year.  It’s tough for the toughest to get through.  This means many more openings in a tattoo schedule.  Clients have holiday emergencies with family, work and more importantly… MONEY… $$$.

The result of this is an opportunity for you.  If you’re one of the lucky ones who takes care of their money, has a happy family and one for whom the holidaze are an easy time, well, you can talk to your artist and she, or he, may just be able to find time to fit you into one of those slots a less fortunate client has vacated.  Trust me on this and take advantage of it asap if you’ve been waiting for your artist to have the time…  Truly, the time is now. 

Tweet This Post

You’ll find a LOT of disagreement on this subject.  Read all the art theory you want, all the color theory, it’s all interesting, informative, full of science and reason.  All good stuff.  Color/light/dark/value… Reflected vs transmitted.  Truly delightful and all a good read and worth thinking about.

Is black a color?  Well, yes and no…  If we’re talking value and all we have are black and not black, is there color?  Depends on what is meant by color.  See, we’re getting into nominalizations and epistemology here and I’d really rather talk about the requirements of DRAMATIC imagery. 

What’s so important about drama?  Do you really need an answer to that question, given the nature of North American Culture?  We live drama.  So, from my personal point of view, (there’s a song in there…), drama is, and therefore… BLACK, is a necessary and required component of tattooing. 

View the Dutch Masters and… El Greco, Caravaggio, Artemisia Gentileschi.  Dark pushing light forward.  To see bright color one must have an abundance of Black and also, importantly, de-saturated color.  A very bright painting/tattoo will generally have perhaps 10% pure saturated color.  Saturated color will generally be located closest to, right next to, the darkest black. 

All that said, most good black isn’t.  My blacks often depend on the complement of the major color theme of the tattoo.  My blacks often contain that/those complimentary color/s.  So, is Black a color? 

A good tattoo may not have a great deal of black in it, however, a GREAT tattoo must have an abundance of BLACK.  I expect my clients to want and achieve the possession of great tattoos.   

Artemisia Gentileschi Painting: Judith Slaying Holofernes – Oil on Canvas

Tweet This Post

What makes a good tattoo? How can I tell?

Tattoo Design Considerations… What makes a good tattoo? Really…

Ultimately it comes down to what you, the client, wants; but… there are some over-riding fundamental design issues that make for a readable, legible, sharp, long-lasting tattoo which contains that magical and artful “WOW” factor.

• Contrast of value (light vs dark)
• Contrast of line (thin vs thick)
• Contrast of color (opposites on color wheel)
• Contrast of Positive/Negative Space
• Contrast of Texture (smooth vs rough)
• Placement and Flow of tattoo on body (fit on body)
• Proportion (size, weight, area, style)
• Lost and Found edges
• Strong negative space
• Technique and/or tattooing experience (time spent tattooing, ability)
• Excellent tools and materials (inks, machines, needles, tubes, power supplies)
• Size of Tattoo (Small Tattoos ain’t cute!)

The previous list of design elements does not have to be contained in one tattoo nor is it an exhaustive list. A great tattoo can be created using only one or two of the design principles above. However, a good tattoo will generally contain many, if not most, of the tattoo design principles outlined above…

A good tattoo will be understood, read, and readable across the room, across the street and through time. To achieve that end the tattoo has to be designed such that the tattoo is recognized for what it is at a distance. You know a good tribal design when you see it across the street. Simple bold lines/shapes which fit the area of the body it lives on. (Tattoos are part of a living organism, they are alive and constantly changing just like your body is changing.) You “know” a good dragon design across the street for the same reasons…

A tattoo design that is TOO busy will be unreadable across the room. (It may be unreadable from two feet for that matter.) Too much detail with too little contrast within any area will read as a crappy tattoo. If you have to stop and ask yourself; “What is that?”, you’ve been informed at a deep deep level just how poorly that particular tattoo was conceived and executed.

A tattoo of small fine lines spaced closely together will eventually become an unrecognizable amorphous blob. Bold lines, bold transitioning areas of dark to light or contrasting areas of dark/light, complimentary colors, complimentary texture, caligraphied lines and negative/positive space will all help to improve the readability of the tattoo design.

A tattoo of muted pastels may look great the day of the tattoo when the color and contrast appear brighter due to skin trauma, plasma and blood mixed with the ink. But… one year later that tattoo will be a mess of unrelated, marginalized and faded areas of zero contrast and be completely unreadable… The simple use of pastels ONLY… lacks enough contrast to read independently from skin tone. The whitest skin is one value brighter than medium grey, therefore MOST skin is nearer the middle of the white-black spectrum. Compare that grey, (yes if you photograph skin in black and white; skin is grey), to a sheet of white paper or canvas. You may be surprised. As tattoo artists we have a shorter value range to work with and therefore greater contrast of all design elements is necessary to execute a good tattoo design in the skin. (If you want to call attention to the tattoo and… while it ain’t necessarily ALWAYS about attention, it’s generally the point.)

People often deride traditional Flash tattoos as simple when the only thing simple about traditional American Flash is the elegance of design and the ability of that flash to be read as well designed tattoos today, tomorrow and forty years from now. (That said; Not all flash is good flash… Consult with an artist who knows…)

Portraiture: To do ANY illustrative or photo-realistic work on the body generally requires an INCREASE in contrast, (especially most candid photos), and that generally means more and darker black, purple, green, brown and/or blue in strategically placed areas of the design. Not all photos or illustrations are good or great in terms of their execution or design… If you want to know if a design is tattooable, call me, set up an appointment, email me your ideas and come to your consultation with an open mind… Tattooing is an art form. Good tattoo artists recognize good tattoo design principles and can articulate how those principles work in your design… (Or, conversely, a good artist will let you know what design principles are lacking in your design… Ask!)

Balancing elements of a design is a talent for some folks and takes work and experience for others. All of us have something to learn and any design can be improved with enough time and money. Positive and negative space are one of the most interesting challenges in any artwork, especially any work being executed on the body. EQUAL AMOUNTS of positive and negative space, light and dark (which is VERY much different than pos/neg space), line style, color contrast, size of design elements, and texture will create a VERY BORING tattoo. A good design needs an imbalance of pos/neg, light/dark, diffuse/sharp, texture/smooth, line weight and color contrast to generate a confident, readable and well executed tattoo.

Non-Traditional tattoos may not be good tattoos in terms of design, but your tattoo may be about something other than design, readability, sustainability and longevity. You may want your tattoo because it means something special to you. Does that make it a bad tattoo? Well, it makes it your tattoo and that’s fine. It may not be a design I want to execute or that I want attributed to me. In that case I’ll let you know and… pass you along to someone who will be delighted to render your design. Cause… I believe the customer is always right in their desires, needs and wants; except when it comes to a choice I’m going to pass on, and then: they’re still right; they’ll just have their tattoo rendered by another artist. Then… we’re all happy.

Small intricate tattoos can look stunning beside that dime your artist photographed it next to. Wait till next year and after the ink bleeds it’s normal amount of distance through the skin and what you have is… THE BLOB. Congratulations, you’ve just made the “It ain’t cute.” tattoo choice of every girl who wants their first tattoo. Notice that wasn’t; “Ain’t it cute?” There’s a reason for that… Trust me, get a BIGGER tattoo; you’ll be MUCH happier. Really… Or, I’ll be happy to cover that blob you got back in the day, give you something to be proud to wear.

Ink spreads under the skin. Ink spreads under the skin. ALL ink spreads under the skin. Have I stated that enough? Good. That means ANY line will be wider over time. Fuzzier too. It’s inevitable. That’s the purpose in bold wide lines in tattooing. They look very much the same after ten, twenty or thirty years… so… your tattoo looks good a generation from now. Make sense? Any questions?

Apprentice tattoos are SHITTY tattoos. (That’s WORSE than crappy by the way.) It’s the nature of the level of skill and it matters NOT the talent of the artist. The apprentice tattoo will have to be repaired at a later date. If you’re lucky your apprentice will inform you of the consequences of apprentice tattooing. See, with minimal skill you get marginal tattoos AT BEST. Let me reiterate that last point: MARGINAL TATTOOS… AT BEST… PERIOD. That stated, a great talent near the END of an apprenticeship under a great teacher MAY be able to give you something good, BUT… needle in a haystack… I’m just sayin’…

The worst thing about apprentice tattoos is line work, coloring, shading, placement, time management, lack of experience and general attitude that the apprentice can do anything before they’re ready and without guidance or instruction. (Basically everything…) On the other hand… you may like shitty tattoos and in that case an apprentice who’s in the first year of their apprenticeship would be a perfect choice. Ya gets what ya pays for…

Good ink is an absolute necessity for a good tattoo. Even crappy black ink will produce poor results. When we throw color into the mix it gets even more interesting. So, how do you know your artist is using good ink? You don’t. Ask the artist how they arrived at their current choice of inks. How long have they been tattooing? Who trained them as tattoo artists? How rigorous was the training? What do they do as an artist to improve their tattoo technique?

Good equipment will make it easier for a good tattoo artist to do their job of tattooing you. A good artist can use almost any piece of crap tattoo machine and create a great tattoo. It takes more effort, but it can be done.

I prefer great equipment, well manufactured, well tuned. I like well made tools and I’m constantly searching for and building better tools/equipment.

Tweet This Post

Have Patience – Artwork takes time!

Artwork takes time. It requires reference, thought, sketching, thinking, contemplation, insight and it evolves from the first contact to the time we start inking your skin.

If you expect the process to be quick, simple and involve little thought; choose a piece of flash off the wall, off the internet, out of one of my books. If you want a custom piece it will require patience on your part. Just because we have an appointment scheduled for your tattoo to begin on a certain date does NOT mean it will start at that time. I’ll do everything in my power to make certain we do start as scheduled, but… poop drops… or… in other words, unfortunately… SHIT HAPPENS.

A tattoo artist doing custom work is always looking to make/find time to draw, paint, think, catch a bite to eat, hold the kids and/or a conversation with a friend. If you’ve never tattooed you can’t imagine the amount of time going into all the tattoos an artist does in a week. I literally spend all my waking hours preparing for and researching tattooing.

I have a friend, another tattoo artist, working out of his home who is booked more than a year in advance. He’s lucky; most of his clients simply give him a general idea and he designs what he knows will be a kick-ass tattoo for them. They trust him. You’ll have to trust me if you want a great tattoo. I’m not booked a year in advance… YET, but I will be. Soon. (He charges $400 per hour… I’m still a bargain – now.)

Most tattoo artists are working on designs up until the time the client walks into the shop for the appointment. There is simply NEVER enough time. For this reason it is extremely unrealistic to expect a design to be emailed to you prior to the appointment. Please don’t ask, I won’t email a design under any circumstances.

A large portion of my earnings go to support the process of your tattoo. I’m constantly researching art techniques, tattoo techniques, purchasing equipment including better tattoo machines – (they’re not all created equal!) – and… tubes, grips, ink, needles. Add to that the number of reference books I own, (which are pushing me out of house and home), and continue to acquire and you may begin to get an inkling of how little is left for fun… I am obsessed with art and the art of tattooing – to your benefit! We haven’t even begun to talk about computers and software yet!

Most of the design work viewed at your consult and/or your appointment is unfinished. That is to say ;the design/artwork is an idea, a rough sketch, ready for a stencil, but contains no color, no shading. You’ll need to trust me for shading and/or coloring. I have it in my head. If you want finished artwork to view prior to being tattooed it will cost you dearly. I’ll charge you for design/artwork time at the tattoo rate. I’ll estimate the time for artwork and receive that amount from you before starting the design.

My artwork, especially tattoo design, is becoming more complex, more intricate, requiring much more of my time for drawing. Consequently I have to manufacture time to draw, paint, etc; usually taking time away from tattooing. Needing compensation for my time… I charge for design work. Hourly payment for design equals hourly charges for tattoo time. Also; when the designs are more complex, they require larger deposits.

If I’ve run into something needing to be addressed before we start your tattoo session we may use all or part of your tattoo session for discussion of your design/artwork. A discussion about a major design issue may mean a complete change in the tattoo and will/may require another deposit for additional work. This is fair. It’s unfortunate, but not always possible to tattoo on the day of your tattoo appointment. Please be patient. It means you get a better tattoo in the long run.

I’m expressing these thoughts and business practices here to further insure a fantastic result for you. If you want a shitty tattoo there are plenty of folks who’ll throw one on you. I have deeper integrity. I expect your desire in wanting an extraordinary kick-ass tattoo is a major part of choosing me as your tattoo artist.

Deposits are applied to the finished tattoo only when the drawing is negligible requiring little work to render. That stated… Deposits are NON-Refundable for ANY reason. EVER. If you’re unsure about your tattoo, me or any aspect of the process, stop, think about this implicitly and deeply and then commit to me as your artist for the duration. This is a collaboration and the money you’re investing is for something you really, really want. Be sure you want it and are committing to the time and patience required to achieve the result.

You agree to the deposit and it either pays for time spent in creating artwork, to insure your showing up for your appointment, or… it is applied to the last session of your tattoo. Once you give me the deposit you have committed to your tattoo. We can/may make changes in the design. Changes MAY incur further charges; they may not. How much you place on a deposit depends on our relationship, how stoked I am about your tattoo, your showing up on time, and especially how much preparation I have to do for your tattoo.

When you get a tattoo from me it may take a year or more to complete, really. Larger takes longer. Greater complexity takes longer. That said… design often takes longer than you may have expected and, the design may require changes. It’s a process you MUST be prepared for. If you’re not getting your tattoo soon enough it’s because I’m making sure you get the best possible tattoo I can give you. Please be patient. Recognize this process of tattooing with anyone is just that, a process. Enjoy it. Relax and expect the best. I do. And… I plan for the best. For you.

Tweet This Post