Tattoo Artist

[KPHMPH]

Hey guy, I used the search function and everything I came up with was old old old.

Looking to find JUST an artist to take my vision and put it on paper.

Anyone have any good recommendations?

Everything will have to be done over phone / email so anywhere in the country will work.

[vengie]

What style are you looking for?

This will matter a lot before a recommendation can be given.


Edit: If you're looking for Black + White Realism - I would highly recommend Tim Ashman at Obsidian Rose in Chestermere.

He did mine.

[schurchill39]

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What style are you looking for?

This will matter a lot before a recommendation can be given.

This.

A great place to start is social media. Look up hashtags using airport codes + "tattoos" like #yyctattoos or #yxetattoos. Also try city + tattoos of major centers. Look through different people's online portfolio to find one that matches the style of your vision then see what tags they are using to explore a bit more for similar artists. Thats the process I'm currently going through to find someone in Calgary as all of my stuff has been done in Saskatoon with a certain style type.

[tirebob]

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Hey guy, I used the search function and everything I came up with was old old old.

Looking to find JUST an artist to take my vision and put it on paper.

Anyone have any good recommendations?

Everything will have to be done over phone / email so anywhere in the country will work.

Style is everything... You have to understand that just being able to tattoo well does not mean an artist will be interested in your vision. Any of the very good artists are just that... Artists. They have their own interests and preferences of working and as such they are not just paid employees that put out work of no meaning to them so finding one that works in the style you like is crucial to getting something you will both be happy with. That said, you can find tattooers who do happily just pound out whatever is put in front of them but generally those are more street shop type businesses rather than active and heavy consulters of the craft.

Also, if you are talking about not going in person and doing everything by phone and e-mail, expect to be asked for a fairly heft deposit in advance for their time and effort. The actual creation of the artwork can be more time consuming and labour intensive than the actual tattoo time itself and of you bail on them before actually getting the tattoo then they are out a ton of time and effort.

I do advise being able to meet an artist in person as placement on the body dramatically affects design because of shapes and contours. A tattoo is not a flat, 2 dimensional surface like a drawing on paper so that needs to be considered, especially as every person has differences in that regard. It may sound dumb too but the personality of the person working on you (and the client for them) can be important, especially with large scale, time consuming pieces. Being worked on by someone who is irritating as fuck is not fun, just as being an artist working on someone you want to stab in the eye can be. Depending on your own m mindset as well, tattooing/getting tattooed can be very personal and if you find out that the person who permanently marked you with something incredibly important to you is actually a vile human being who stands for everything you hate, you may never look at your piece the same way again.

Or you can just be one of those people like me who simply likes to pick 'em and stick 'em in the moment just because you find it hilarious! lol!

[LilDrunkenSmurf]

I just came in to reiterate what Bob said. Also, most artists are booking well into next year already, with already existing projects, so having one go back and forth with you via email will be difficult, for potential of a project.

[03ozwhip]

Also, these days, without a deposit, you won't be getting any sort of work.

[kvg]

For a solid recommendation you need to specify what you are after.

[shakalaka]

I just finished my sleeve last weekend. All except a quarter arm has been done by James Jacobs at Enso Tattoo. Honestly, he's the best I found and have been going for over 10 years to him. He books several months down the line but it's worth it. What I did with my entire sleeve with him was exactly what you're looking to do. I just told him an idea of what I wanted, a vision so to speak and he translated it on to paper and then skin absolutely perfectly. He 'specializes' in Japanese but that's not what I had done and he did a great job, so I think he's quite versatile style wise.

[Clever]

Check out Deadly Tattoos and Honor Bound, these two shops have a collection of top notch artists IMO. If you’re looking for traditional, Ryan Gagne.

[tirebob]

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Check out Deadly Tattoos and Honor Bound, these two shops have a collection of top notch artists IMO. If you’re looking for traditional, Ryan Gagne.

I would have Ryans babies... Bar none my favourite trad tattooer working today!