Poor choice of artists in my opinion.

Some absolutely amazing works there. Still don't think I could ever commit to a life long tattoo on my body though.

The "Spiderman" is really sick...

Nice collection. I had already seen most of them!

Yummy! Don't have one but want a sleeve.

The spiderman's tattoo is awesome!

I don't think this post (or any 'Tattoo-as-art' piece for that matter) would be complete without a shout-out to Mike Giant.

(http://www.mikegiant.com/tattoo.php)

if your looking for good tattoo artist i suggest you pick up juxtapoz (magazine). One example would be mike giant a true tattoo master.

I agree Yoshikun, besides some exceptions, it's mainly typical stuff (lot's of derivatives and copies), not all of it well executed either.... Not one of the best tattoo artists in the world ismentioned.... Guy Aitchison and Michelle Wortman, Filip Leu, Paul Booth, Heidi Hay, Sabine Gaffron, Horitoshi, Robert Hernandez, Grime, Eddie Deutsche, Aaron Cain (now making only awesome machines), to name a few....

YA THE SPIDERMAN ONE LOOKS REAL DAWG!!!!

The spiderman one is really sick [2]
How that possible?

Let me share with you some great pieces of my tattooer:
http://www.myspace.com/mariagraziatolino and
http://venombodyart.com

This is a great idea for an inspiration thread, but I somehow knew all of the TLC/TV artists would be in here. There are so many other artists that have such incredible work that it is sad to see them not listed here just because they aren't on TV and aren't known in the mainstream. Not knocking the TV artists, they are all talented, but could of had more diversity here.

I like the Spiderman !!!! awesome !

i can only see about 5-10 great tattoos...

Spider man is SICK! and as usual, Kat von D's awesome tattoos are some of the best (if not, indeed, the best) - as she is too ;)

Agree with droppixel. Very nice idea, but the tv-guys are not the best imo.

A few other artists to check out, could be:

Shige
Jason Vaughn
Uncle Allan
Saira Hunjan
Steve Moore
Kamil Mocet
Jeff Gogue
Dave Bruehl
H-Bomb
King Carlos
Franz jäger
Myke Chambers
Valerie Vargas
Electric Pick
Adam Hathorn
...and the list could go on.

They vary in styles, but most of them do great oldschool work (my favorite style).

Whoever put this article together...have you never seen a tatt before? Seriously, there's nothing inspirational or new here. I've been seeing the same thing presented here for over a decade. And some are really sub-par.

With all the amazing things being done with tatts, it's amazing you chose this crap.

These are awesome, the spiderman one is EPIC.

I'm always stunned by Kat Von Ds work.

sorry to be a dick but not a good choice of artist!!

Try: Nick Baxter, Nikko Hurtado, Mike Devries, Anil Gupta, Guy Aitchson, Mordenti Brasil, Shige, etc....

I, too, was a bit sad to see so many mainstream tattoo artists being featured. I feel a bit like their talents have had enough exposure, why not feature the people who don't have a reality tv show or a tattoo studio franchise?

Oddball Studios in Portland, OR has done some of the most amazing work I've ever seen.

Enormous kudos to whoever got the spiderman tattoo.

when it comes down to tattoos, you really dont what you are talking about

there are some lousy tattoos here and the rest is just mainstream artists that anyone can see on tv.

show us some really cool stuff

wew...Lot of tattoo designs but I love the elvis one.

I don't believe spiderman tatto was real

Not the best tattoo artists in my opinion. All very talented but a little generic especially being that most of them are known because of *vomit* reality TV. For a truly brilliant tattoo (and artist in his own right) check out www.nickbaxter.com. this guy is incredible

Did you not like my comment?

Not the best tattoo artists in my opinion. All very talented but most are known because of *vomit* reality TV. To see a truly brilliant tattoo artist (and artist in his own right) check out www.nickbaxter.com. This guy is incredible.

The elvis one is absolutly horrid.

@droppixel: true, but if you're gonna complain bout the selection, at least post links to sites of artists you think should have been inluded...

And yes, the Spiderman tattoo is just awesome and I can't imagine running around with something like that at the beach. Just imagine...

El awesomo!

damn! there are some crazy ones! lol! really inspiring! Thanks for sharing! ;)

http://www.atombombtattoo.com/gallery.html

Cool stuff. I would like to see some flash art!

Tattoo Flash - (Tattoo artwork)

For all you noooobs

Paul Timman also does some great work. You can check it out here: http://www.paultimman.com

And speaking of Tattoo's and art - his line of dinnerware is number two in Metropolitain Home's Design 100.

You can check that out here: http://www.inkdish.com

http://www.victorytattoo.com/g.php?var1=0&gallery=Tattoos&theartist=Kip
This is one of the best artists in my home town. Look throught his gallery and you will see art that surpasses alot of the above pictures. I imagine there are many like him. They just never made it on TV. I wonder what art would end up on here if it were Chris Garver or Kat doing the picking? There are some awesome tats on here no doubt, but some are so plain jane run of the mill.

You missed the best one: Best Tattoo Ever

Lots of those portraits suck. (#6) I would be pissed if i paid a bunch of money to some "famous" tattoo artist and ended up with a tatoo of crooked face or one eye lower than the other one...unless it's sloth from the goonies

only two or three good artist everybody else average at best

http://austintattoos.com/

really sucky post, imho.

these tattoos aren't that great apart from half a dozen, at most.
get some contemporary tattoo pics or simply head to Anil Gupta's website: http://www.anilgupta.com/portfolio/portfolio.htm

some examples:
http://www.anilgupta.com/largepics/nature/Fish.htm
http://www.anilgupta.com/largepics/abstract/Martina.htm
http://www.anilgupta.com/largepics/nature/JohnPaulBonanno011807LeftArm2.htm
http://www.anilgupta.com/largepics/biomechanical/Ed111700.htm

Actually, beyond pandering exclusively to artists featured on TV, randomly throwing other deserving artists' work into "Miscellaneous" is even harsher. Please give credit where credit is due.

As for myself, I would suggest people visit bmezine.com, or Google people like Tom Renshaw, Paul Booth, Yann Black, Tin-Tin, Stéphane Chaudesaigues, Nephtys, Vyvyn Lazonga, Kari Barba...the list goes on and on.

Yep, Spidey was a standout for me as well.

*yawn* nothing in terms of quality that I haven't seen from half the artists in any city.

over rated is an understatement

Wow, very cool tattoes dude!

RT
www.whos-watching.net.tc

Some of those are really really poorly done in scaling. Don't get me wrong the artists have talent, but the work probably isn't their finest (I hope).

Here in Japan, you should see some of the ink done by some of these Yakuza tattoo artists. They use a special ink that's probably not entirely safe but is more about tradition. The precision with which they ink is amazing.

While every artist listed has nice work..........my favorite artist listed is Chris Garver.

The artist that absolutely captivates me is a private artist named Jason Clay Dunn. His artwork and tattoo's are stunning and he is one of the most down to earth guys you will ever meet. One of the things that irritates me about most tattoo artists is the "rockstar" attituide, and Jason has nothing that even resembles that.

http://blog.jasonclaydunn.com/

too many,tv personalities for me tbh.

http://www.nickbaxter.com/tattoos/tattoos_19806.html
(yeah i know its the nightmare before christmas but shit it looks sick)

http://www.nickbaxter.com/tattoos/tattoos_23163.html
(Pollination Sleeve I)

Nick Baxter's tattooing skills > pretty much all of these ones here.

where is paul booth? every single one of his tattoos is a work of art. google him, replace this webpage with his homepage. then your header will be true :)

I agree with droppixel, would have loved to see some other very talented non-tv aritist.

Here is one link to some other amazing artist although they aren't in the U.S.

http://www.swastika-freakshop.de/en/tattoo.html

These guys put out amazing work on a daily basis.

You can also check out www.bmezine.com for links to tons of other amazing artist.

@apu

So far no luck... my suggestions have been denied... apparently

I missed the artists from L.A Ink, Hannah and Kim, they rock and are famous,
Also, u could put some of the brazilian tattoo girl, Akemi, shes pretty good too =]

but nice selection!

Comon now, terrible artist choices.....
Paul Acker and all of deep 6 labs is missing, NY adorned, which imo is the best oin the east coast for Japanese traditional work. This is like saying Soulja Boy represents hip-hop, it's just....not accurate.

you should check out daemon rowanchilde's work on urbanprimitive.com. now theres talent.

Try these guys, the patterns and designs Tomas Tomas does are truly astounding -

Mr X - http://www.duncanx.com/
Tomas Tomas - http://www.siddhamrastu.co.uk/galleries/galleries.html

how about the alien dude.That is just unbeliveble...

We have a great tattoo artist in Maine that specializes in amazing traditional Japanese tattoos. Worth checking out http://www.tsunamitattoo.com/page1.html

The world still needs more cliché Asian-themes tattoos...thank you to those who get "tats," you're heroes of culture.

love it!

None of the tattoos by the TLC cast are particularly impressive- next time you create a list like this, list the artists based on skill, not on star power. Kat Von D's portraits are sometimes quite beautiful, but overall her works leave much to be desired.

Chris Garver is the best artist on this page...I wish I could get a tattoo from him...

Dear All,

Thanks for the comments and suggestions, for sure we will use it in a next post!

Regarding the selection to this one, I used the ones that offered quality images at their websites and from most artists I directly contacted to receive some nice pics since the site didn't offer it, I had no reply!

For sure the guys from the TV series are not the only ones, but they are very talented! So be kind. ;)

Gisele

Nothing screams "I don't know anything about tattoos" than boasting art from Hart & Huntington, Miami Ink, and Kat Von D. The best artists are the ones you never hear about.
This list kinda blows.
Look at Nick Baxter, Earl Funk, Jason Stephan, Gabe Smith, Jesse Smith, etc.

My grandfather was Sailor Jerry. He used to talk about how tattooing was an art that allowed people to make a permanent statement. He saw it as an art, and spent his life trying to prove it was. I think it's great that you're portraying the art so well, but your point of how the art has changed over the years has been completely missed! You've said nothing about the great artist's that paved the way and inspired most of the artists you've shown. People like Bert Grimm, Kate Hellenbrand, or my grandfather.

Hey the spiderman is clever..Who's the artist??

Too much awesome work!