Jet Black Stains

2012 Flash Project

2012-02-10T20:03:00.000-08:00

stockpile

safety first

I skipped a week of posting because I've been busy tattooing and trying to catch up on drawings. But, here is a bunch of flash that I've been painting. These are not gonna be available as a set or for sale. These sheets are only available for trade. I'm currently picking up a project I started a year or so ago. I am painting and trading 50 sheets of flash with tattooers from around the country. I've already traded off 7 sheets and these sheets pictured are the stock pile I've painting to trade off when I start getting sheets from people in the mail.

This project was inspired by all the tattooers out there filling their own shops with hand painted flash made in house. I love people embracing tattoo flash and de-stigmatizing picking a tattoo design off the wall of a tattoo shop. I cringe when people look down on flash tattoos. Tattoo flash designs were the cornerstone of Traditional American tattooing. There was a time when flash was all you had to choose from. The more designs a shop had to choose from the more business they would have. Tattooers would know their clients and design flash that would sell. I love seeing this making a come back. Want a tattoo that not everyone is gonna have? Want a tattoo that your local tattooer is gonna be totally invested in doing the best job he possibly can? Pick a design they made themselves, painted in house and sold to you.

Keep painting y'all...

SF 2012

2012-01-23T20:00:00.000-08:00

San Francisco will always hold a special place in my heart. I spent 10 years there and often time think of returning. This trip was a much need vacation and no tattooing happened while I was there. I did however visit a few shops to pay my respects and say hellos.

First stop was Goldfields Tattoo in beautiful North Beach. Henry apprenticed Dave Bobrick, who in turn apprenticed me. Tattoo Grandfather if you will. I stopped by to pay my respects and leave a little gift for Henry.

This is a banner I helped paint for Tattoos and Blues in either 2003 or 2004. I remember the convention was coming up quick and there was a lot of banner to get finished yet. Dave got the call from Henry telling him he needed his guys to help out if this was gonna get finished in time, so off we went to lend a hand. Henry always makes amazing banners and I was honored learn his process with him on this banner. Featured on the banner are left to right; Dave Bobrick, Rob Merrill, Hirome, Joey Armstong, Henry Goldfield and Luke Steward....a damn solid crew.

This is an amazing sheet of flash that hangs in the lobby over at Goldfields. Henry painted this in 1980, some of you weren't even born yet. I'd wear any one of those designs to this day. In fact that design in the upper left corner is calling my name.

Next stop was One Shot Tattoo, to visit my mentor Dave Bobrick. I didn't take to many pictures here. But I was glad to see that Dave still uses the liner I made for him daily. Nate Leinfelder made this side plate after an Erno Stealth machine. I borrowed an actual Stealth from Zack Johnson to try and get it legit.

The last tattoo stop was Seventh Son Tattoo. When I was apprenticing with Dave, Luke was working over at Goldfields. We use to have a weekly meeting after hours at One Shot were a bunch of tattooers from various shops got together to teach, learn, critique and brainstorm on how to excel at our craft. It was a special time and a lot of good guys were involved, Greg Rojas, Sky Winchester, Devon Blood, Clifton Carter, Luke Steward, Joey Armstrong, Jason Storey, and others I'm forgetting right now.

Greg Rojas aka Gold Hand is at Seventh Son now. Greg was at One Shot when I was apprenticing and he taught me so much about the craft while I was apprenticing. Especially machine building, I made my very first liner and shader by hand with a hacksaw, file, drill press and a torch. I almost threw in the towel at hand winding coils, but Greg was patient and had a monster roll of copper wire so every time i fucked up I just started over till I got it right. I still have both of those machines and they run great. Greg also taught me a lot about drawing script, dealing with customers and the art of bullshitting. I was glad to see him happily tat zapping in his new station.

Luke is and always has been a tattooing demi-god who farts out sleeves and back pieces at will. Here he lays down a little cover up tattoo, no problem. I highly recommend you check out this shop if you haven't. The line up there now is epic, they really do have someone to handle just about anything you could want. They also just had a great show called The Year of the Dragon with too many amazing artist to name here. Go check that out as well.

Next week...piles of flash.

Rosabelle Believe

2012-01-15T17:01:00.000-08:00

I'm back. The holidays were hectic and I'm just now getting back into my usual routine. I spent a week in San Francisco at the beginning of the New Year and it was a blast. No tattooing, pure vacation. I did however visit some tattoo shops and catch up with some people. I'll post more about that next week.

Here are a couple of tattoos I've done this week. A hummingbird with an extremely long beak. I actually shortened the beak from the reference. The placement is a bit strange but I really like the tattoo. I've had more and more people wanting sideways, backwards and upside down tattoos. I don't understand this. I feel like "But, It's for me" is all I hear anymore.

The second tattoo is on a very good client of mine. She usually just gives me an idea and let's me run with it. This is a Planchette, french for "little plank", a little heart shaped piece of wood that one moves around on a board (typically a Quija board) to spell out messages or answer questions. Many believe the planchette is moved about the board by paranormal forces, guided by spirits, ghosts or even demons.

The back story to this one is a reference to Harry Houdini and his wife Bess. Houdini had been a skeptic of self-proclaimed psychics, conjurers, spiritualists and mediums. Before his death, he and his wife agreed that if Houdini found it possible to communicate after death, he would communicate the message "Rosabelle believe", a secret code they agreed to use. This was a phrase from a play in which Bess performed, at the time the couple first met. Bess held yearly seances on Halloween for ten years after Houdini's death, but Houdini's spirit nor his message ever appeared.
Kinda romantic in an occult x-files kinda way. Which I'm a huge fan of.

Next time some SF photos and a lot of the flash pages I've been painting lately.....

For ears

2011-12-23T11:02:00.000-08:00

I love radiolab. The second story in this short is fantastic. It's a captivating, romantic tale of one man's efforts to track down a sidewalk vandal. Lend an ear, take a listen...

Drugs Crew x New Image Art

2011-12-16T10:44:00.000-08:00

My pal Mark Cross is back in town for more art installation as well as a few tattoos that happened yesterday at American Electric. Tomorrow night there is an art opening at New Image Art here in Los Angeles from 6-9pm. Drugs Crew, Teen Witch, Charlie Marks. Be there.

It takes all kinds

2011-11-28T14:17:00.000-08:00

Zander Schloss

Do not go to prison.


Rebecca's seahorse skeleton

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I love a street shop. We get all kinds around these parts. First up is Zander Schloss of the Circle Jerks, Weirdos and of course, (my personal favorite) "Kevin the Nerd" in Repo Man. Zander is a long time shop friend, all around swell fella, and snazzy dresser. He always brightens our spirits whenever he drops by to shoot the breeze.

Next up boys and girls is a friendly little reminder to stay on the straight and narrow. This is prison work. I did not do these tattoos. This fine fellow was a referral from one of my other clients named Nacho. We will hear and see more about Nacho soon, as his back piece re-do is almost complete. This guy wanted to consult with me about how to fix up his work.

And lastly we have Rebecca's seahorse skeleton. I really like doing this kind of black and grey work. This is the second piece like this I have done. The other was much bigger and technically it was a sea dragon. That's all for now folks....thanks for keeping me busy. Keep the cool tattoos coming.

Timeless Art Gallery and El Classico Tattoo

2011-11-17T12:44:00.000-08:00

Due to my overwhelming amazing organizational skills, I have two pieces of art in two different shows in one night. If you are on the eastside of LA (as I am) come on out and see the Paint and Destroy show at El Classico Tattoo in Echo Park, on Saturday, November 19th from 7-11pm. The Grill 'em All food truck will be there serving up delicious burgers. Come on out and kick it with the homies.

Secondly, I also have a piece in the La Luz De Mi Corazon show at Corey Miller's Timeless Art Gallery in Upland. The opening is at the same time on Saturday, November 19th. Both show have great line ups. If you are further inland come on out to Upland and see this show. Corey's shop is beautiful and you won't be disappoint in the show he puts on.

Here's a crappy photo of the painting I did for the show at Timeless...

RIP Mike Brown

2011-11-16T10:45:00.000-08:00

tumblr is a bizarre place

2011-11-07T12:32:00.001-08:00

jetblackstains plus

Tattoo Age: Freddy Corbin

2011-11-07T12:06:00.000-08:00

Like many tattoos who spent any time in the bay area, I have always admired Freddy Corbin. Temple Tattoo was like mecca when I lived in San Francisco. I was lucky enough to get tattooed by Chris Conn when he worked there and I've always loved the vibe of that place. Check out Mr. Niceguy...

Art Openings...

2011-11-05T09:06:00.000-07:00

I've been away from thee blog a bit because I've been busy working on 3 different paintings.
I am going to be in 3 different group shows coming up. Here are two flyers for the events, the first one is a Black Flag tribute and is tonight in Santa Ana so if you are near (or even far) come check it out.

The second show is coming up quick at El Classico Tattoo in Echo Park. Here is the flyer and a sneak peak of my painting for the show. I painted bigger then I usually do, 16" x 20", and think this is gonna look great all framed up.

The third show is at Cory Millers Timeless art Gallery in Upland, the show is called La luz de mi Corazon. The light of my Heart for you english speakers. I'll post more about that as I get flyer art, times and dates all together. I would love to see some familiar faces at the shows....see ya all then.

To the letter

2011-10-30T17:48:00.000-07:00

Barry and Josh

Sean Barton

Espo

Maseo

Dabs & Myla


Pixacaos

That's All Folks by Scott Campbell from Purple Magazine on Vimeo.

Doyald Young

My first memory of seeing dynamic lettering was in Wilmington, California. Both my parents lived in Wilmington and attended Wilmington High School. The writing on the walls. I still remember how it made me feel. I knew it had meaning, I recognized its power, its placement, its intent.

Now a days, my personal library has a great number of books in it dedicated to typography. I've spent the better part of my life studying lettering. I've practiced on walls, on paper, and now in skin. I always try to remember how it felt the first time. These are some examples of lettering that makes me feel the way that first wall did.

Street Shop

2011-10-10T19:56:00.000-07:00

Healed tattoo that came back to say hello.

Guy walks into a tattoo shop and asks for a fish...

Directions.

Cray Cray.

American Electric Tattoo Co. is a street shop. Now when you work in a street shop you get all kinds of folks walking through the door. We've been on Sunset Blvd. in Los Angeles for 13 years. We've seen our fair share of characters. People will always ask me what the "craziest" tattoo I have done is. I don't think any tattoo is crazy... the clients on the other hand, well I've had some special ones.

The drawing pictured above belonged to a client of mine. He got this very odd, Zodiac Killer looking circular symbol with all kinds of cryptic letters and numbers in the center of his chest the size of a dinner plate. He left behind a green spiral notebook full of drawings like the one pictured above. I was in the process of xeroxing this page when he came back in and asked if he left something behind. Oops.
I wish I had more time with that notebook, it was very interesting to say the least. We have a whole section of the shop where we post up little mementos of past clients. Sometimes it's reference material they have left behind, a sketch, a letter from prison, a photo, interestingly filled out consent forms, you name it. Maybe I'll share some more in the future.

Twenty Twos or Better

2011-10-01T13:17:00.000-07:00

My buddy Tyler has a little blog called Twenty Twos or Better (a reference to rims). Tyler is a very talented tattooer who hails from Cincinnati, Ohio. Tyler used to work with me at Incognito and has followed me around like a little puppy ever since his arrival from Nasty Nati. Tyler enjoys Donks, Young Jeezy, Hot Dogs, Morrissey, Japanese and Traditional American tattoos. He has been slowly disintegrating Twenty Twos or Better as a blog. I've been trying to discourage him from doing so and to keep up the good fight and put his stuff out there for the world to see. We agree to disagree. So, what I've done for this post is to put up some unsanctioned Twenty Twos or Better tattoo photos. He's gonna be pissed when he finds out. So go visit the site...call the shop and make an appointment to get tattooed by Tyler. Do your part to save Twenty Twos or Better.

Summertime

2011-09-30T15:16:00.000-07:00

Summer, I tip my hat to you. It's still hot as balls here in LA, but I know you are almost over.
It's been fun. thanks.

New camera

2011-09-08T19:02:00.001-07:00

So, I finally went down to cameratown and purchased myself a shiny new digital camera. It looks like a little black bar of soap. It's got 16.2 megapixels and all kinds of features I'm sure I'll never figure out or use. I also bought a fancy little card reader and a handy carrying case. I'm really jumping into the future here. Gramps will now be able to take better pictures (hopefully) and possibly even update this here blog with a tad more frequency. Maybe.

Dice magazine and Tri-co.

2011-08-29T10:16:00.000-07:00

American Electric Tattoo Co. got a brief visit from Matt at Dice recently. He was kind enough to blog about it on the Dice Blog. The Dice blog is a wonderful place to visit if you love the two wheeled vehicles as I do. Check it out.

Also, if you are anywhere near the LA area you should come out this coming Saturday night to celebrate the opening of Tri-co. A little collaborative shop effort by our friends at Dice, Dixie and Great Frog. There will be bikes, beer, food and music.

Seattle Tatto Expo part 2.

2011-08-25T17:00:00.000-07:00

I started off Saturday by breaking my solder lug connection. Seth was kind enough to rig some lighter soldering for me. Thanks dog.

Tat jamz, after Seth fixed me up. Another sugar skull, Seattle, 2011.

Cleaver and sharpening thingy, Seattle 2011.

Jack Rudy was there making tats and talking UFOs.

Henry Lewis as Damon Conklin.

Shawn Barber was also in attendance.

And upon my return, these arrived. Perfect timing.

Seattle Tattoo Expo 2011

2011-08-16T17:49:00.000-07:00

"Sullivans' art. These are some of the most intricate stencil pieces I've ever seen."

"The lovely and talented Sullivan Giles"

"Some of the amazing sign painting at Under The Needle Tattoo in Seattle"

"Tim getting ready for day 2 at the Seattle Tattoo Expo"

I just got back to LA from Seattle yesterday. It was good to sleep in my own bed and get a full nights rest. The extended weekend was a lot of fun. Thanks to all the new clients who came by to get tattooed. It was my first time in Seattle and I was happy to be working the whole time. I will have some photos up from the weekend soon. I've been shooting good ol' fashioned film and I have to get some rolls developed.

I wanted to thank Under the Needle for an amazing after party and after-after party. The art was great, the food was amazing and the shop was fantastic. I also wanted to thank Artcore for putting on a great art show featuring the talented Sullivan Giles.

And lastly, thanks to Seth Cifferi for driving our asses around and for a wonderful Italian dinner the last night.

The show was great overall, well organized, well attended and a lot of fun. I do believe I'll be back next year. More about Seattle soon...

Graffiti artist turned tattooer

2011-08-01T12:34:00.000-07:00

Maggie getting some Swoon work all prepared to install.
These things aren't nearly as sturdy as you'd expect them to be.
A message for Barry, all in good fun of course.

A lot of stuff had yet to be unpacked at this point.
Invite a bunch of artists into your space and you can end up with a mess like this.

As many of you know, you can't huck a rock without hitting a tattooist who was a graffiti artist before venturing into the wild world or tattooing. So, back in March I had a tattooer buddy of mine visit Los Angeles. He was in town to paint an instillation with his buddies at MOCA, for the Art in the Streets exhibit. He invited me down to the Museum after hours to hang out and check out the action. It was quite surreal to be invited inside a major museum for the act of graffiti. I showed up around 10:30-11:00pm and was let in the back door. The place was full of fumes, and painting was in progress. I got a little behind the scenes tour and got to see a lot of work in progress. There were many old friends and colleges in attendance and I had to chuckle a bit. It's a strange path life weaves.....
I have my own feelings about legal graffiti and it could probably be a entire blog post in and of itself. Hell, I could probably start an entire blog on the subject. The basics are; I don't think graffiti is, or should be, considered art. I believe graffiti is vandalism, and I enjoy it most in that form. It's nice for the museum to acknowledge this subculture, but I also think the museum environment completely changes the context of graffiti and it is no longer the animal it once was when it is caged and displayed in this manner. I think it is in fact a bit exploitative. A show of this nature has already been done by Jeffrey Deitch before at Deitch Projects over 10 years ago. This show comes at a time when Deitch is the new Director of MOCA and at a time when MOCA is in dire straights. I enjoy the content, I am just suspisious of the motives. This is not a new show or a new concept and it comes at a time when Jeffery and the MOCA needed to knock one outta the park. In that respect it is a successful show, art is after all a business. So, go check out the show, and if you don't feel like throwing money away to see what you could see in the streets go on Mondays, as Banky has been kind enough to pick up the tab on Mondays.

Seattle Tattoo Expo 2011

2011-07-26T18:46:00.000-07:00

I've started getting goodies ready for the Seattle Tattoo Expo this year. I've got some cool Jet Black Stains stickers on the way as well as some other secret projects in the works. Come on by the convention and say hello and maybe even get a tattoo. The convention is August 12th, 13th and 14th.
If you would like to book some time please contact me via email at Mr.bananchez@gmail.com.

Technical Difficulties

2011-07-15T17:16:00.001-07:00

I like diners like St. Francis Fountain.
This is what it looks like before the pain begins.
Brian got this image from a sheet of Clash of the
Titans flash I painted for Briza.
Jobstopper for Jude.

The posts have been far and few between because we broke Tyler's card reader. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of excellent, perfectly focused and cropped photos are now trapped on the "shop camera". When I say "shop camera" I mean the camera that Tyler bought and everyone at the shop abuses. Basically, this is the reason Tyler can't have nice things.

So, here are some images I swiped from Facebook and old fashioned analog photos taken with film loaded into a manual camera.
Hope these hold you over until I resolve our little technical difficulties.

Tattoo TV

2011-07-05T09:09:00.000-07:00

I work at a shop that was featured on the "reality" TV show LA ink. There I said it.

I don't watch the show and I don't support it. It a lot of ways it does support me though. I'm not gonna lie, it has brought the shop a lot more walk in traffic. Sometimes people just want to take pictures with Craig, sometimes they buy a T-shirt, but lots and lots of them get tattooed. I like making tattoos that's my passion, my passion is not being famous, being seen on TV or boosting my own ego by having people haw and hem over me. I'm trying to make lemonade here. More people through the door means more chances for me to make the best tattoo I know how to make.

I've had long, drawn out conversations with many a tattooists about the pros and cons of tattoo TV. I have no desire to be on TV. I don't think mainstream tattoo TV shows have anything to do with the craft or the history of tattooing. They don't care about tattooing, and they don't accurately represent tattooing as I know it. I do know that if you make a deal with the devil you shouldn't expect to walk away clean without paying a price. Editing is a bitch and I realized long ago that once all the filming is done if the people behind the cameras don't give a damn about tattooing they can cut you up to make things appear however they want. That is not reality, not as I know it, that is manipulation, misrepresentation and self centered greed. And I think that shows in their final product.

There are some good representations of the tattoo world on film. They are not on mainstream TV. But if you hunt you can find them. Here are a few of the good guys...

Gypsy Gentleman | Episode 1 | Teaser from Kinetic Science on Vimeo.

Puzzled

2011-06-10T14:38:00.000-07:00

Sometimes people come in with tattoo ideas I don't really understand. I don't know what the importance of all the elements are, and sometimes I don't need to know. This is not my general rule, as occasionally I can find a better solution to a design problem by really understanding what the significance of the elements are. Often times, if I know more about the motivation behind a design, I can come up with multiple solutions that might not have occurred to the client. But, other times I don't need to know. Get it because it looks cool, you know what it means, everyone else does not need to know.

I like weird. An occasional odd pairing of elements I can handle. As long as I can figure it out on paper and it looks good, I'm down. Too many elements, like all your kids initials, or things "hidden" in tattoos I'm not into. If you are gonna wear it, wear it proudly, don't hide it.

Sooo...I call this one, dagger stabbing through puzzle pieces with cherries.

Add a goldfish to your arm, why not?

And this Lion came back in after a few months, all healed up nicely and settling into the skin where it will sit for the duration of this lifetime.

Thanks again for keeping me very busy folks. I've been working long hours, 6 days, sometimes 14 days at a time. I appreciate it. And keep em coming.

Gettin' my hurt on

2011-05-27T16:19:00.000-07:00

I've been away a little longer then usual. I've been traveling about, to and fro, north to south and back again. I spent a bit of time in the capable (and very large) hands of Scott Sylvia, getting my ribs tattooed. The process of getting tattooed is essential for me as a working tattooist. It gives me perspective (yes it hurts, it always hurts) and there is no better way to learn how to do better tattoos then to get tattooed by those artists whom you admire. Scott is an incredibly efficient tattoo maker and I highly recommend the experience, even on the ribs.

Erin is a client of mine who went MIA. I think any tattooer has his or her share of clients who just disappear into the mist. Erin came back over a year later to complete her tattoo. Everything had been outlined already, the bird and dandelion were already colored, so all we had to do was color the rest and I went through and punched up some of the line weight here and there. Done for now, Erin would like to continue with more flowers across and down her back.

Last up is a pretty cool repeat client of mine who just unexpectedly walked in today and wanted this cool ass bulldog. The photo is a bit off color and swollen, but you get the idea.
I'd like to thank my client for all the cool subject matter I get the pleasure to work with, keep em coming...

Good Luck Hard Work

2011-05-16T12:47:00.001-07:00

I was thinking about luck a while back when I painted this. And then I started getting clients who wanted to bring a little bit of luck into their lives. I'm pretty good at conjuring...

Here are some horseshoe tattoos I did this week. The first one is a decorative little fella in Payne's grey. The next one is a tricky little one that makes use of some Cockney rhyming slang. Clever, no?

The last one is one I've been wearing for quite sometime. It has served me well.
Good luck y'all.

dia de los muertos overload.....

2011-05-09T20:13:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it is really hard to find a new way to do the same image over and over again. The Dia de Los Muertos skull faced girl is one of these designs. I might have to retire the subject, it just feels so rediculously over done. Maybe I'm just hangry (hunger driven anger).

I had an old client come in and talk to me about designing her next tattoo. I put this heart shaped lock on her about a year ago, maybe longer.

And last up, a pretty straight forward dagger.

till next time...

Drawing for drawings sake

2011-04-28T13:08:00.000-07:00

I've drawn as long as I can remember. From a very young age I filled much of my free time drawing. I doodled all over my school work in class, drew characters out of my imagination and copied my favorite characters out of comic books. As time went on, I started drawing from life. I started keeping sketchbooks. I'd sketch people on the train, on the bus, at coffee shops, friends, lovers, strangers, kids, animals....whatever would sit still long enough. I've always loved drawings more then fully rendered paintings, sculpture, photo or any other art form. There is some kind of energy in it that tends to get over worked for me in other form. Drawing seems pure, direct and immediate.

Later, I went to art school and studied Illustration. I drew nude figures, clothed figures, studied anatomy, heads and hands, the history of illustration, color, perspective, light and form. I rendered endlessly until it was second nature. I learned to design images for other people. For clients. This skill translated pretty well to the craft of tattooing. Take someones ideas, render them on paper and then tattoo them on skin. Somewhere along the line I ran out of time to draw for me.

I have started to draw for me a lot more lately. I've picked up sketch books again. I try to always have one with me. I try to draw for me, from me. Most of my days are filled with endless reference material. So drawing from imagination is pretty liberating. Taking those images I see in my head and getting them out on paper with no agenda, no client, no appointment date, is refreshing. I also started illustrating my dreams. The first drawing is a dream image, the other two are just silly stuff that came out when I put pencil to paper.

I have no words for you

2011-04-18T15:09:00.001-07:00

Behold the Wizard

2011-04-09T19:19:00.000-07:00

It's been a little while since my last post. I've been unable to work a camera properly to capture the work I've been doing. Here are a couple of my better attempts at photography.
My buddy Tyler over at Twentytwos or Better was nice enough to make this little watermark for me to use. It's a Brown Casper to protect fake asses from stealing tattoo photos and claiming them as their own. I've recently had photos stolen from my portfolio at the shop and I have to assume the same thing is happening on the world wide web.

Jim is a client who I tattooed some time ago and he recently came back for this little Irish Mermaid. He's a good client and has some really good tattoos planned for the near future.

The owl is on Randal, a really nice Native American vet who served in the Middle East. In some Native American tribes Owl is a bad omen, a messenger of Death. He told me a story about him and his unit being on patrol to check out some shady fellas who were in an area they shouldn't have been. On their way they came across an owl sitting in the middle of the road. This owl didn't move. Randal and his Commanding Officer (who was also Native) decided this was a good sign to turn back. He feels certain they avoided an ambush that day. I told Jim trusting your intuition is a good thing. He agrees.

And last up we have a classic Rollo design on my buddy Mark Cross. Mark was in town for a hot minute doing some fancy art stuff and popped into the shop for this bitchin' wizard. This tattoo made my day.

Dirty Deeds

2011-03-20T16:27:00.000-07:00

Years before I started tattooing, 2 years before I started my apprenticeship, I was working the counter at Sacred Rose Tattoo in San Francisco's Mission district. This was when it was on Guerrero at 17th, kitty-corner from the 500 club. I worked with a great crew and it was in that building that I fell in love with the tattoo biz. I had the pleasure and privilege to work with Karen Roze, Bryan Randolph, Paul Taylor, Jill Bonny and then apprentice Clifton Carter.
One day I showed up and Jef Whitehead was working there. Doing a couple of tattoos while on hiatus from Tattoo City. Jef gave some advice that I remember to this day. He said, "Tattoo faster, more efficiently, it's more humane."
To this end, I've been making efficiency my practice lately. I've managed to make a single pair of gloves and a single paper towel last quiet a while. I'm paying attention to things like making less unnecessary movements, not taking unnecessary breaks, and less wasted time, because that shit hurts.

The bearded lady is in progress, this is sitting #1.

The color tattoo is a design based on a Scott Sylvia design off his latest set of flash. I hope i did it justice.

till next time.

Do work

2011-03-07T13:20:00.000-08:00

I've been getting put through my paces lately. I've had one day off in the last two weeks. And on more then one night I was at the shop until midnight. I've always had a good work ethic and sometimes i don't know when to call it a day and just go home and sleep. Today is my Friday and I am pretty excited to have a couple days off to recuperate. I'm thinking a bike ride, a massage, a movie and a nice meal, not necessarily in that order.

First up we have Behemoth the cat which I tattooed on Kirsten. Behemoth was a character from a book she read and we decided to immortalize it in skin. Kirsten has some good tattoo ideas and I look forward to tattooing her some more.

This deer was on one tuff French girl. She sat like a rock for a pretty intense tattoo and we were able to knock it out in no time at all. Check out that inverted cross on her middle finger!

Wasn't I just saying something about dia de los muertos imagery? Well, here ya go.

And last up we have a peacock on Nea from Sweden. She came all the way to America to get this traditional American style tattoo from an American (me) at American Electric Tattoo Co.

Now I rest..............

American Electric Tattoo Co.

2011-03-01T14:59:00.000-08:00

My pal Kyle Kelly came by a while back to take some snap shots of the shop for us to use on our newly updated American Electric Tattoo Co. website. Kyle took time out of his busy schedule to do this for us as a favor and I really appreciate all the time he spent shooting and color correcting these photos till they looked just right. Kyle is an all around move maker, a hustler and a shot caller. He has many irons in the fire, not least of which is a cycling blog called trackosaurusrex. Check out his stuff and keep an ear to the ground for a new project he'll be launching soon.

And extra special thanks go out to Annie Madison for putting up with Craig's lack of understanding about all things technological and all the work she did to re-vamp our site. Yeah it's Annie!!!!

Good Luck

2011-02-17T15:06:00.001-08:00

Here is a little painting I did as a trade. The original has a nicely taped off boarder and is hitting the mailbox headed to Jessica Pooka Herra. The color prints on card stock can be yours for $15, postage paid in the US. My paypal address is mr.bananchez@gmail.com.

Blessed to be Busy

2011-02-13T18:45:00.001-08:00

I was hanging out with a few tattooer buddies of mine recently, we have this weekly, secret meeting where we hang out and work on art. It's a chance for us to draw, paint and illustrate for ourselves. Each of us have been making drawings for other people for years and years. So it's nice to dedicate a separate time aside to just switch off the old brain box and just see what happens. Adam pointed out how cool it was that each of us were working artists and that we were fortunate enough to be able to set aside 4-5 hours out of a weekday to get together and just make art. Yeah, we are pretty lucky. I'll divulge more about the secret meetings and what we are producing in future posts. For now here are some more tattoos.

Dia de los muertos imagery, Jose Guadalupe Posada reference, calaveras, sugar skulls, and ladies with skull face paint. These images have got to be at an all time high in terms of popularity. I've done lots of these lately, and I'm not complaining. I wanted to do the rose in red but the client wanted it done in black and gray, I'm not the one who is gonna be wearing it to the grave....so black and gray it is.

A little heart and crown with Norwegian Rosemaling for my Norwegian pal Emma. There is another Norwegian friend getting down with this design tomorrow so maybe I'll get them to pose together once both are healed and post them here later.

Lauren got this fun little skull and baby palm tree on her arm. And lastly, here are some of the other fun stencils from my week that I was too incompetent to capture with the lens. I would like to give a special thanks to all my clients who allow me to support myself by drawing on their skin. Thanks guys, without you there would be no this.

mishmash bits of this and that

2011-02-04T14:33:00.000-08:00

So here we have the John Baizley piece all finished up. This is a fresh picture, I'd really like to get a healed one as I feel the tones are so much nicer once they soften up.
Next up is a painting I've done for a upcoming art show in San Francisco called Here Be Monsters at Space Gallery, Feb 12th. It is 16" x 20", ink, watercolor and gouache. I have yet to think of a snazzy title for this one.
The next photo is a nice little black and grey piece I did for a young servicemen. I really like doing fine line black and grey like this and hope to do a lot more pieces like this one in the future.
Last up we have the butt bow. I had a completely different idea about how to approach this tattoo but, after talking with my client and really listening to what she wanted I went in a completely different direction with it. I like it when clients challenge me to think outside of my comfort zone. And I'm pretty happy with the results. Till next time......

RAD!!

2011-01-17T17:27:00.000-08:00

I love walk ins. You just never know what you are gonna get and some days are better then others. This fella informed me that he just had Stu Thomsen autograph his back and wanted me to make it stick. I was already more then willing to oblige and that was before I got a gander at what other tattoos he had gracing his dreadlocked crowned frame.

I was one of those kids that just never got into BMX, I had a blue and gold Huffy that most likely came from Toy R Us. I turned onto skateboards pretty early in life and never had a passion for BMX. This guys passion for BMX is pretty intense, and I truly hope he keeps pushing forward with his amazing vision for this one of a kind back piece.

Next up is a piece I started on Alex. He brought me some John Baizley artwork to turn into a tattoo. This is the second John Baizley inspired piece I've worked on. It should be fun. This picture is a healed pic after the first sitting and before the second.

Last up we have a little flutterby on Karla. Karla has a bunch of butterflies and a dragonfly across her hip and up her back (now over her shoulder) that she got from friend George Campise some time ago in SF. I was honored to add to her collection and have work next to Georges.

I have lots more to post soon, flash sheets, prints, more tattoos and hopefully some good vacation pictures............smell ya later.

Legalize it...

2010-12-27T13:15:00.001-08:00

First up is a sheet I quickly (maybe too quickly) whipped out for some secret tattoo buddies at the Citadel.

Next up is one of those cases when I try and actually talk a person out of a cover up. I guess he's not the party animal he once was....oh well.

Lastly is a duck I did for my buddy Josh. He wanted it in the spirit of a traditional american chest eagle. It was a fun one. Greaser panther by Berk Krak.

So wrong it's right

2010-12-07T20:01:00.000-08:00

Sorry I've been away so long, my technology is at an all time low. While this suits me just fine, it doesn't do wonders for keeping a blog up to date.

First off my old pal at The Flopbox was nice enough to link me up. Check out his fine printed matter here Flopbox Press.

Next up is Kevin's leg. Kevin has quite a collection of bizarre, humorous and off color tattoos. He only does black and grey so both Tyler and I gave it a go. I'm responsible for the weird batgirl and Tyler laid down Micky. Click the link to see the sheet Mickey came from and buy some of Tyler's flash while your at it, so you too can make magic like this.

American Electric Tattoo Co.

2010-11-16T11:14:00.000-08:00

Times are a changing. I can now be found at

American Electric Tattoo Co.

(323) 664-6530

3532 Sunset Blvd.

Los Angeles, Ca. 90026

hooty hoo

2010-10-04T19:44:00.001-07:00

2010-08-19T02:29:00.000-07:00

Retrograde

2010-08-15T05:41:00.000-07:00

I love books, old books, illustrated books. I love hunting through musty old book shops in hopes of finding treasures. I love when I get a client who asks for an image and I know just where to look in my library. In a world where everyone in the tattooing game has access to the same pool of images a rare book is good to find. In LA I have my favorite spots for hunting; secret spots, disorganized places with grumpy shop keeps. Right now I'm on vacation in the midwest and unfortunately book hunting hasn't turned up much. Keep looking, keep searching.

Waverly Color

2010-07-04T11:54:00.000-07:00

The first time I met Bill from Waverly Color I was just a lowly apprentice and he was stopping by the shop to visit Greg Rojas. But he came with gifts for all. With him he had a sizable box filled with 4oz. bottles of color. He explained to us that these were samples, some of them new colors, and that we could take whatever we would use. Needless to say each artists at the shop took at least 3 to 4 bottles of color each. These were some of the first colors (other then the ones we mixed there at the shop) that I was exposed to. A lucky break for me really, because I have been using Bill's colors since day one.

Bill mixes color the way I was taught to. Keep it Simple Stupid. Powdered Pigment, Water, Glycerin and Alcohol. No smoke, no mirrors, no screen printing ink, no puffy paint, no silly color name, no BS. Waverly color is just good old fashion, thick, color saturated pigment that goes in easy and lasts a lifetime. I believe when a person has good positive energy, those intentions and hard work go into making the finished product something that stands apart from all the others. I feel that goes for tattoos, pigment, machines, paintings, donuts, clothespins, etc etc.

So if you feel like supporting a guy who cares about tattooing and making other tattooers jobs a little easier then you should check out what Bill does over at Waverly Color.

I know he recently mixed up some new Mint and I do believe he has some others fantastic colors in the works as well. If you don't see what your looking for on the site, call or email him, he's always helpful like that.

The pictured tattoo was made with Waverly Dark Black, Green, Red, Brown, Gold and Light Blue.

I only check the mail when I am certain it has arrived

2010-06-29T12:01:00.000-07:00

So my flash trading project is definitely gaining momentum. I have received some great pieces of flash via the US postal service. I am planning to publish the whole collection in a book as soon as I have enough pieces. Here is a small sneak preview of some of the gems I've received as of late....

Nick Colella was clever enough just to stick a stamp on his page and drop it in the mail sans envelop, or protective coating of any kind. Ballsy.

I have a lot of great artists lined up to contribute, so stay tuned and I'll post some more sneak peeks as I receive and send out more flash.....

Hey, man. All we represent to them, man, is somebody who needs a haircut.

2010-06-01T08:16:00.000-07:00

A lot of folks have been checking out lately. Enjoy your time while you can.

Get shit done. And have fun.

RJD and DH will be greatly missed.

Ice Wizard Meth Owl

2010-05-19T23:04:00.000-07:00

I got to do this owl on Rosie, she said I could color this guy however I wanted to.

I was drinking energy drinks (which I rarely do) and this is the result

book learning

2010-05-10T09:11:00.001-07:00

Busy bird

2010-05-01T08:01:00.000-07:00

Been very busy lately. Too busy to update all the internet media. Stay tuned...

for the chillins

2010-04-14T08:25:00.000-07:00

Here is a painting I did for an art auction that will benefit the Starlight Children's Foundation. The painting is ink, watercolor and gouache and measures 22"x 30" on some fancy French Arches paper. This was a fun and challenging one to do. Since this art auction was for sick children I decided to steer away from the usual dark subject matter of skulls, daggers, snakes, reapers and things of that nature and lighten it up a bit. I worked larger then I usually do and I freed myself up from the usual tattoo subject matter. I use to do a lot more paintings like this, but somehow tattooing and tattoo subject matter has slowly taken over. It was refreshing and something I look forward to doing a lot more of.

I got asked to do this painting through a book project that benefits the same charity. The book is called Tattoo Stories and I have one small tattoo featured in the book. The guy behind this has really good intentions and the book is pretty slick. The photography, layout and design is all very well thought out and executed. Thanks for looking.

Step 3

2010-03-25T18:09:00.000-07:00

So this took me a day longer to finish then I first thought it would. Mostly due to my indecisiveness. It's sometimes hard for me to tell when something is finished. I think this one is finished.

Step 2

2010-03-23T09:52:00.000-07:00

Now that everything is lined out and on the page I get to the shading. Usually for traditional american flash, I stick with straight black shading. But since this page is a little more artsy fartsy, I've mixed it up with some grey washes, and some stippling. I really like for a piece (flash or tattoo) to be able to stand alone in it's black and grey values. I try and get it so it is readable and stands strong without color. I have always thought that the values and the line work are the cake and that color should be the icing.

I've also started thinking about colors there in the margins.

I hear a voice in my head telling me "MORE BLACK", but this is an experiment, a diversion from the norm. I'm a big fan of trying something different every time. If it sucks, so what. Move on to the next thing. So I'm gonna leave it alone and move on to the color....tomorrow.

Step 1

2010-03-21T09:29:00.000-07:00

I decided to do a little step by step bloggin. This sheet is not for my flash trade project. It is a birthday gift for Jason Schroder of Incognito Tattoo in lovely Pasadena, California. (Jason this is the part where you avert your eyes)

I try and start with a tiny thumbnail sketch, just to get all the elements into a nice little compostion. I wanted to include something about Pasadena. I went with roses and the city seal, which I worked some dynamic letters into. I have a little bird sitting on the letters and one of the tattoo machines Jason makes in the bottom right corner. Jason's numerology number goes in the top right corner to make it magikal.

Now that all the elements are mapped out I get to drawing full sized. Once everything is rendered to satisfaction, I transfer it all to watercolor paper using a little graphite paper.

Then I outline everything using an old fashioned ink nib pen and some drawing ink.

more tomorrow....

owlish

2010-03-17T19:19:00.001-07:00

blood rainbows

2010-03-16T10:06:00.000-07:00

fire irons

2010-02-23T07:45:00.000-08:00

I've been busy busy lately. Punching holes in peoples skin and filling them with pigment as well as lots of painting projects.
I am working on a huge porkchop sheet of die cut designs with my co-worker
Tyler Borich
I've also been continuing on my other flash project, I will keep on posting more as it evolves

Chicago

2010-01-03T11:17:00.000-08:00

This year's Holiday travels had me spending a bit of time in the fine city of Chicago, where I was fortunate enough to receive word of an art exhibit that was simply too wonderful of an opportunity to pass up. Freaks & Flash at Intuit is an expertly curated and beautifully displayed collection of traditional american tattoo flash, acetates and circus banners. On display are many artists local to Chicago and the Midwest such as, Amund Dietzel, Cliff Raven, Milton Zeis, Tatts Thomas, Stoney St. Clair, W.R. "Doc" King, Ralph Johnstone, Sailor Bill Rogers, Bert Grimm and many more. Some stand outs in the collection include early rare pieces by folks like Samuel O'Reilly, George Burchett, and Gus Wagner. Not to mention original tracings, flash and acetates from Sailor Jerry, Leroy Minugh, Joe Lieber, Rosie Camanga and Dainty Dotty.

I am telling you my stomach dropped once I realized the scope of the collection in this one room. I spent as much time as I could examining the tattoo flash in great detail. This is truely a once in a lifetime deal. If you are a tattoo artist, tattoo enthusiast or collector this is not to be missed. There is not a lot of time left as the show comes down on January 9th. So read the rest of this post later and get yourself there.

Another stop I was glad to have made is to the fine folks over at Chicago Tattoo Company. I came into the shop, which is a piece of Chicago tattoo history in and of itself, to visit Mario Desa and was pleasantly surprised to catch Jef Whitehead doing a guest spot there. Jef is an amazing tattooer who, in my opinion, is one of Traditional American Tattoos unsung heros.

I would say get down there and get tattooed by him, but I'm pretty sure today is his last day of his guest spot. So if you snoozed you lose.

The midwest was a wonderful place to visit, too cold for me to live on the regular but, I ran into a lot of warm, welcoming folks and a lot of amazing tattooing and tattoo history. Thanks to Mario Desa for the hospitality and for the heads up on a fantastic art show.

cold days

2009-12-11T14:01:00.001-08:00

I have not be as diligent about updates here as I set out to be. I've been staying busy during the winter months though. Here are some random shots of things around the shop that I've been inspired by lately...

2009-10-24T18:15:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking a lot lately about all the people that I've meet in the wild world of tattooing, and how generous people have been with me. I have been fortunate enough to be privy to vast amounts of tattoo knowledge. Tips, technics, advice, stories, etc.

So I got the wheels turning on a new project that involves giving, here's what I've managed thus far...

Tradition

2009-10-07T16:03:00.000-07:00

I've been having a lot of fun lately making tattoos for people. I've been fortunate enough to have quite a few clients who aren't afraid to pick a design off the wall and wear it on their body forever. I'm not sure why this practice has fallen out of favor. I know everyone these days wants to express themselves as individuals. People want to come up with an original design and I hate to say it, but "It's all been done". Traditional American designs are in a large part about just what the name implies; Tradition. These are time honored designs that have been proven to stand the test of time. I'm always excited and proud to put one of these kind of designs in the skin.

The first picture is of Mark, he picked out a couple of Mike Malone designs to stick on his belly. He was celebrating, you see the horse Mark owns placed first in the 135th Kentucky Derby. (Click on his picture to get a closer look at that belt buckle.) Mark is in town for the Breeder's Cup and has already picked out his next design. Good luck to Mark and Mine That Bird.