DrewDaggers

Go to Lucky's and see Luke Wessman.

Great start

Alex Pardee did that as a painting the day after Sheen did the whole 20/20 interview. He made prints the next day, and I believe someone made a shirt out of it as well. It may still be available on his website too.

I love Daniel Albrigo's black and grey roses.

I love Stewart Robson's tattoos. I really enjoy Chris O'Donnell's tattoos as well. His blog is CHRIS O'DONNELL SAVED TATTOO Blog

I forgot to add Mike Shea too. He's probably my favorite tattooer right now. Mike Shea Redemption Tattoo Blog

I've had a few stupid things happen over the years. I broke/dislocated my finger playing catch in high school. The football jammed my finger so hard it actually broke my knuckle, and popped it out of the socket in one move. My finger is still kind of crooked because of it. My best stupid injury was breaking my foot slipping off a curb. I slipped on a waxed curb, and broke the ball of my foot behind my big toe, into two pieces. The doctors told me they could either put two pins in it to keep it together, or take half of it out and leave the other half, and hope it grows back. They also told me both solutions aren't guaranteed to help the problem, so I left it. No one believes me that I broke my foot that way, since I'm not very clumsy, everyone just assumed I did it skateboarding. Unfortunately, it's a true story, and I get shit about it every once in awhile.

All I do is wash it with anti-bacterial soap, and unscented hand lotion (green top aveeno), and my tattoos heal up just fine.

Thanks a lot to both of you for your information. I think a left handed machine will be in my near future, just to see if it does make a big difference in my tattooing.

Since I'm left handed, I thought this might be a good topic. How many of you guys are left handed tattooers, and if you are, do you use left handed machines? I've never used one, but does it make that big of a difference? I've only been tattooing for a few years, and never really thought about it until recently, but does anyone else have experience using them?

There's a really cool article about Russian prison tattoos in Tattoo Artist Magazine #16, written by Valery Sibrikov.

Tattoo Artist Magazine just posted an article about him on their blog, I'll try to find it, or if anyone else has a link for it, please share.

I just found it. http://www.tattooartistmagazineblog.com hope that works.

Christopher Lee Hanna Remembered

By Hunter Spanks

In an industry filled with clones, wannabes and egos, it is hard to find someone who stands a bit above the rest with his own swagger and style. On February 4th, 2011 the tattoo industry was dealt a blow with the loss of such a man. Lee Hanna passed away and has left a void in the industry that will be a hard one fill.

Lee was a true tattooer in every sense of the word. Hell-bent on keeping traditions of the greats before us alive and well, in a day when it seems that what it once meant to be a tattooer is truly going “out the window.” Lee had a balls-to-the-wall lifestyle and attitude, living every moment at full speed. His tattoos and paintings had the grit and feel of those from a time well before his years. He had a true passion for those who had come before him and he paved the way for all of us, truly loving the art and craft of tattooing.

I have been lucky enough to have known Lee for the past 10 years. He has been an inspiration to me as a person and artist from the first time I had met him and will continue to be for the rest of my years.

I first met Lee around 2000-2001 at Blue Flame Tattoo in Raleigh where he was doing a guest spot. What presence he had. Almost intimidating at first. Quickly realizing that looks and first impressions aren’t everything. He had a way of conducting himself that he could make the most nervous college girl feel at ease and getting her first tattoo seemed like she was a veteran and would take it like a champ.

He could also shoot it to you straight when he had to. I remember such a time that first trip when he had to with me. Two girls had come in the shop one wanting a butterfly and the other a heart. Lee took the butterfly and I took the heart. Easy enough. Well, it was there first and one wanted to sit with the other. You know that sort of thing? Well, this got my panties in a bunch. It was later in the evening and I was ready to get out of there. The butterfly went quickly and now time for the heart. They come out and Lee said, “She’s ready for her heart.”

At this point I had been there stewing about this silly situation and looked at Lee and said, “What do you want me to do about it?” Lee looks at me straight faced and a bit confused and said, “I want you to get up and tattoo this fucking heart.” Which I did. Hesitantly. Ha-ha.

We had been around each other only a couple days, but I really appreciated his straight- talk back to me when I was being a little bitch. As if to say without saying, “Stand up man. You are a fucking tattooer. Now act like one and not a little whiny art-fag bitch.”

He was also one of the most giving and kind people I have ever met despite his tough looking exterior. I was never tattooed by him, but I was able to watch him tattoo and paint on many occasions. He had given me one painting by him on that first trip to Raleigh, stained with the coffee I was drinking that day. I thought “man that’s clever” watching him tattoo with efficiency and ease that few of us have. He has left me with many a fond memory in the short 10 years I got to know him. This gives me some comfort and I know that we will be able to swap stories again. Here’s to one of the leaders in an industry of followers.

Lee Hanna: February 18, 1975 to February 4, 2011…

Nice article. I'm a big fan of collecting shoes as well. It's been awhile since I've purchased anything too crazy though. I still enjoy Dunks, which seem to have lost their appeal over the past few years.

i have always been a huge fan of lettering. even before tattooing. ive always noticed the lettering in cool old signs and window season displays.

once i started tattooing, first time i saw some dave gibson lettering and some jack rudy letting i was FLOORED!

you guys remember the old National tattoo convention posters that jack would design? each poster had like 9 different styles of lettering in them. all of them amazing.

that being said, if you want to be good at lettering, study the shit out of it! i notice it and space draw it all the time. for some reason, i always see good lettering at the movie theater. like right before the movie starts when words come up telling you about no smoking and popcorn and shit like that. when you cant think of anything to draw, draw letters. and i dont mean write letters, i mean DRAW letters. there is a difference.

i could go on and on with this subject.

ms rad, if you want good lettering, look for sign painters manuals. also, look at other peoples letters. see what you like and learn how to do it. and then add your own spin on it.

tattooers here in milwaukee HATE doing lettering. ill do it all day long. word

edit..... favorite style of lettering for tattoos..... SCRIPT AND PIKE STYLE LETTERS. done correctly, they will always look classy and timeless

worst style of letters for tattoos...GRAFFITI. ugh. just ugh

Pooh and Sam Bielinski do nice script here in Milwaukee. I also Like Ricardo's script, he did my collarbone at Atomic a few years ago. Most tattooers here do hate lettering tattoos though, it seems like everyone gets the same font, but I'll take it all day. I'd rather do a lettering tattoo than nothing at all.

Chris O'Donnell, Chris Garver, Dana Helmuth does some really nice tigers too.

I didn't think the stomach was too bad, I'd compare it to getting your lower arms tattooed, some spots sucked, but it wasn't unbearable. For me, the left side of the body doesn't hurt as bad, maybe its because I'm left handed. Near my nipples really hurt, it felt like they were getting pulled off while getting tattooed. My legs in general bug me, they always seem to take forever to heal. I have my right knee cap tattooed, and that didn't really bother me, only spot that really sucked was near the top, by the thigh.

I did read those, and I don't really expect much out of anyone. I was just wondering if anyone has tried this method, and if its worked out for them. I'm not looking for anything technical, just some basic answers. I'm gonna try it regardless, just wondering if its worked out for someone else, or hasn't worked.

One of the guys I used to work with worked at a really sketchy shop, so he used to keep his tubes completely separate from anyone elses in the shop. He would take all of his dirty tubes to his dentist, and he would autoclave them for him every week, and he would get tattooed in return. He collected full sleeves from him, and many of his assistants had visible tattoos as well. In Milwaukee, its pretty common to see people with hand tattoos and neck tattoos.

One of the guys that I work with, has expressed interest in building a few machines. I've always been interested in building machines, and metal work has been something that I always had fun doing. My question for you guys, since I know there are a few machine builders here, is have you ever used frames that you had cut from a water jet machine? I have a buddy that runs a shop, and he has said he would like to help us out, by cutting a few frames that way for us. Were trying to weigh the pros and cons of this. Has anyone tried this?

My name is Drew, and I'm from Milwaukee, WI. I've only been tattooing for about a year, having gone through a traditional apprenticeship (lots of drawing and scrubbing toilets). Thanks for setting up such a great website, where new comers such as myself, can learn new things from tattooers that I may not be able to from otherwise.