•like most people i know and/or meet these days, i got my first tattoo way before i was eighteen. i did it to myself, with a needle and some thread twisted around it. little vial of indian ink bought from a local head shop. sat for hours, just...poking. years later, "wow, thats stupid" it's covered it up now, i just want to start with saying, don't be stupid.
•just....think about it. for a long time. i always say to people that look undecided; hang it on your fridge, or your mirror, fuckin....back of your toilet, who cares just hang it someplace your gonna look not just everyday, but a few times everyday. theres nothing better than certainty. seeing it, keeping it on your mind all the time, that'll decided certainty.
•i owe me falling into the tattoo world on two people. a damn good friend and old bandmate, Tom Belanger. who bought, taught, and sold me everything. Next is Wayne Morris. amazing piercer and friend that for years has worked at White Mountain Tattoo in n. conway, nh. he always hooked me up for cheap, and let me follow him to the shop sometimes.
•back in high school i did more sketching than homework, and i don't regret it for one fuckin second. i got kicked out more times than i care to explain, and seriously the berlin high school system just wasn't fucking worth anymore of my time. some people from that school call me an asshole, but some people call me their friend. fuck high school.
•eventually, i attended a years worth of private art instruction at Chester College of New England. i can honestly say i learned more in that one year of college than anything i had ever known artisticly. blew my mind. small classes, working artist teachers, amazing students artists. i learned how to perfect many things that year, and i owe credit to a list of people, all students and friends.
•during college, i took a break from tattooing in which i had dabled in, but afterwards i got very seriously back into it. the years i tattooed before college , i would borrow some equipment and do maybe a tattoo a month, while concentrating on doing many piercings on a nightly basis. but piercings just didn't fill that artist gap for me, so i started focusing on new styles and techniques of tattooing. began drawing more and more, and soon enough friends turned into repetative clients, then more would follow.
•left new hampshire, lived out in california for a couple years and got quiet a bit of tattoo experience. and basically all on my own, i chose not to work in any shops. got a couple offers, but sometimes...things just don't work out the way they should. here's what i say to the owners of shop life...'get your hands off my cash n clients, get your hands on your own tools and work station, and quit watching miami fucking ink! i love tattooing, period. it's not about making as much cash as you can, doing them the fastest, charging a ridiculous amount of $/hour, then give someone else, a boss 40/50% of it. whats the point? either way, you as the tattooer make the same! so in most cases you cut the middle man, no, cut the top man! plus, yah a secretary may be nice and helpful, but fuck! don't be so lazy, setup n clean your own shit. and stop watching that damn tattoo show, cuz it's making you cocky and seriously...i'm not gonna walk your dog and clean your fucking truck.'
•k, sorry. thats out. i hate tattoo shops out west, seriosly. so now, i work for myself. i have no boss to pay, so yes, i work for cheaper than most artists in shops and i'm happy with that. why? i don't go to most shops because i won't pay the prices, so why should i charge those prices? i won't. "How much do you charge?" i hate this question, it's hard. umm i don't charge by the hour, i charge by the piece. how much detail, size, colors, it all adds up to a final price. most shops in the area charge roughly $100/hour, i'll often do almost a couple hours for that much $. But...it depends on the piece.
•after leaving california, moved into my family house in Rumford, Maine. spare bedroom was fastly converted in a private studio. didn't take to much to go legit and get licensed, mainly just waiting around for papers to get pushed. had to put up a wall, and put a sink, hardwood floor, etc. i wasn't open for business all the time, just by appointment only, but this just wasn't enough work, and i needed more. soon, i needed my own full time place.
•Now, i have a full time shop open in Rumford Maine, on 72 Congress Street. Easy to find, look for the Jolly Roger, or Pirate flag. I love the new place, it's fucking huge, eneough room for 20 artsits to work, but it's just me Come check it out! ...here...
