Image via Complex Original
A tattoo is a life long (or sometimes even longer) commitment. With thousands of celebrated tattoo artists and distinct illustrative forms out there deciding what to get and tattooed and selecting an artist can be stressful. Most of the time the results are awesome, but without proper consideration beforehand you could end up with one of these misspelled monstrosities. A little research can go a long way when selecting an artist and be sure to pick someone who is well versed in your chosen tattoo's form, whether it be lettering, graphic, or photorealistic.
With that in mind, we've compiled a fresh list of tattooers you should know. Tattooing is now a broad medium, with a range of specialties, and knowing who offers what (and where) is invaluable when considering your first or next tattoo.So here are 50 Great Tattoo Artists You (Probably) Haven't Heard Of to help inform your decision.
Shop: Divine Canvas
Style: Blackwork
Want an elegant geometric dot work tattoo? Visit Xed Le Head in London. Want an extreme tattoo (by extreme we mean those body parts most avoid)? Again, visit Xed Le Head. He's one of the undisputed masters of blackwork and dotwork tattooing.
Shop: Frith Street Tattoo
Style: Traditional
Vargas is getting her due shine in the second series of Tattoo Age at the moment, and we're happy to give her a nod here as well. She likes doing girl heads. She also has an absolutely charming and unique spin on traditional, managing to balance feminine details with a really powerful punch. Catch her at London's famous Frith Street Tattoo.
Shop: Wooster Street Social Club
Style: Black and gray
Montoya had a star role on NY Ink, but that doesn't mean he's reached Kat Von D household name status. He does great portraits. He's also the man behind Klockwork Klothing.
Shop: Right Coast Tattoo
Style: Traditional
Todd Noble, based in Delaware, kills it with kick-ass neo-traditional tattoos. Want a girl head? Check him out. Same for bright red roses and eagles.
Shop: Blackheart Tattoo
Style: Biomechanical, Japanese
Tim Lehi rules! Most important, he's a tattoo legend. He's also an artist and a guitar player. Lehi is based in San Francisco. If you are into Black Metal, you'll also want to seek out the albums he has made as Draguar.
Shop: East River Tattoo
Style: Traditional
Sue is a master of quirky, fun black line tattoos. She is also really good at taxidermy. Are their correlations? Not really. But, each skill helps to make up one awesome person...and awesome people general make the tattoo experience better. If you are in NYC, head out to Greenpoint, Brooklyn and visit East River Tattoo.
Steve Byrne
Shop: Rock Of Ages Tattooing
Style: Traditional
Down in Austin, TX, Steve Byrne offers classic American tattooing and has done for over 15 years. Byrne was born and raised in the UK, and moved to Texas with his family in 2009.
Steve Boltz
Shop: Smith Street Tattoo
Style: Traditional
Make no mistake, the entire team at Brooklyn's Smith Street is killer. You'll likely have heard the names Bert Krak, Dan Santoro, and Eli Quinters before. As such, we're highlighting Mr. Boltz as friendly reminder that Smith Street Tattoo Parlour is simply undeniable.
Shop: Saved Tattoo
Style: Traditional, Japanese
Before tattooing, Stephanie Tamez worked as a graphic designer and as a sign painter. Her background shows in many of her tattoos. While Tamez is well known for brilliant typeface work, she's also superb at classic traditional and Japanese styles. She tattoos at Saved in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Shop: Good Time Charlie's Tattooland, Memoir
Style: Black and gray
James Spencer Briggs splits time between Anaheim's Good Time Charlie's Tattooland and Memoir (home to Kim Saigh and Shawn Barber) in West Hollywood. He works exclusively in black and gray. For good reason, he's damn good at it.
Shop: Saved Tattoo
Style: Traditional
Resident of Williamsburg, Brooklyn's Saved Tattoo, Wood takes a keen interest in natural history. Not surprisingly, he's a whiz with animals. He's also a tremendous traditional tattooer. When he combines both interests, the results are understandably special.
Shop: Allstar Ink Tattoos
Style: Traditional
Based in Limerick, Ireland, Ross Nagle and Dale Turner's Allstar Ink Tattoos hosts an awesome rotation of traveling guest artists. And, of course, when he's not on the road, the shop has a healthy dose of Nagle himself. He's well known for traditional, black and gray, and Japanese work. Tattooing has been his passion since he was 15.
Shop: Artistic Element Tattoo
Style: Biomechanical
Roman Abrego has been tattooing for 10 years. He calls Yucalpa, California home. Aside from biomechanical work, he also loves to do color portraits.
Shop: Electric Tattoo
Style: Traditional
Ryan mixes a passion for patterns with traditional American iconography. The results are bold, inventive, and undeniably fun. He's one of the best reasons to visit Bradley Beach, New Jersey. His shop, Electric Tattoo, is also home to the brilliant Tom Yak and Mike Schweigert.
Shop: N/A
Style: Color Portrait
You may recognize Nikko from his television appearances (he's been on LA Ink and Tattoo Wars). Or, if you are a Wale fan, from the portrait of Malcom X (first image) he inked on the rapper. In the end, you should simply remember that he's one of the best (if not the best) portrait artists around.
Shop: Private Studio
Style: Biomechanical
Nick Baxter tattoos out of a private studio in Austin, Texas. He's pretty selective about his clients, working with those whose ideas match his style and interests. He also writes great stuff for Tattoo Artist Magazine's blog, which we can't recommend enough.
Shop: Art Studio Tattoo
Style: Blackwork
Argentinian blackwork master Nazareno Tubaro is a badass. He's been tattooing since 1996 and added to his education in tattooing with university art classes in Buenos Aires, where he is now based. Tubaro has operated his own private studio since 2009.
Mike Rubenell
Shop: King's Avenue
Style: Japanese
Fans of Vice's Tattoo Age will already know Mike Rubenell. He's one of the best Japanese-style tattooers in America... hell, one of the best in the world. Whether you're heading to Long Island or hitting his shop on the Bowery, the experience will be worth the effort.
Michele Wortman
Shop: Hyperspace Studios
Style: Biomechanical
Wortman is a pioneer. Her work is motivated by desire to provide holistic, balanced ornament with a feminine feel. She only takes female clients and works closely with them to produce organic, complimentary custom pieces.
Shop: N/A
Style: Neo-traditional
Buchi describes his style as educated traditional. He's attracted to classic icons and symbols and employs lessons drawn from the blackwork and dotwork tattoos of Jondix and Thomas Hooper. He is also a trained typographer and designer. He tattoos between London, Paris, New York, and Lausanne, Switzerland.
Shop: Private Studio
Style: Biomechanical
Working from his home, just outside Berlin, Germany, Markus Lenhard specializes in custom biomechanical designs. He's been tattooing since 2003.
Shop: East River Tattoo
Style: Traditional
Formerly of San Francisco, now based in New York City, Cross has a playful approach to traditional tattoos. He's also a very good photographer.
Shop: Full Circle Tattoo
Style: Traditional
Travelling tattooer Marcus Kuhn produces a very good documentary series, The Gypsy Gentleman. When not on the road, Kuhn calls San Diego home. He's been tattooing for 23 years, and his reverence for the medium is clear.
Shop: Wooster Street Social Club
Style: Traditional
If you want a bold, proper tattoo from a guy with great reverence for tradition, go visit Wessman at Wooster Street in New York's Soho neighborhood. He's an industry veteran and brings a distinct SoCal style to classic imagery...and he makes sure it is absolutely right.
Liam Sparkes
Shop: Shangri La
Style: Neo-traditional
Sparkes' cross-hatched black tattoos have an immediately recognizable quality. He loves left-of-center, vintage iconography. His interests and his style converge successfully in striking, bold tattoos. Find him between London, New York, and Barcelona.
Shop: Color Conspiracy Tattoo Gallery
Style: Biomechanical
Award-winning artist Juan Salgado studied Paint, Sculpture, and Computer Arts at university. He never finished. But, the combined lessons have proved invaluable in his decade of tattooing. He's based in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Shop: Low Rider Studios
Style: Black and gray
If you want a traditional, L.A. black and gray tattoo, Jose Lopez is a name you should know. His work has a great balance of shades and fits well with everything from pin-ups to portraits.
Shop: N/A
Style: Blackwork
Jondix produces some of the most beautiful and original tattoos in the world. He's got a distinct visual language. One of the dotwork masters.
Shop: The Skull & Sword
Style: Traditional, Japanese
Working with the incomparable Grime, Henry Lewis is part of a strong tradition in San Francisco. He can whip up some smooth script, a brilliant bird, and, well, just about anything you can imagine. He calls the tattoo shown here "Cyclops Bitch."
Shop: Hyperspace Studios
Style: Biomechanical
Aitchison's work focuses on natural geometry and organic structure. He's been featured in all sorts of books, from Don Ed Hardy's Eye Tattooed America to Victoria Lauptman's The New Tattoo, and has also painted a number of awesome album covers. For those of you into tattoo tv, you guessed it, Guy is Hannah Aitchison of LA Ink fame's brother.
Forrest
Shop: Cobra Custom Tattoo
Style: Traditional, Japanese
Based in Plymouth, MA, Forrest is one of the most sought after artists in New England.
Shop: Infamous Tattoo Company
Style: Black and gray
Eric Marcinyzin is a rising star in the black and gray world, and one of the best on the East Coast. Go to him for portraits, pin-ups, and statuesque sleeves. Catch him at the world's best conventions...or, alternatively, at home in Delaware.
Shop: Aloha Tattoos
Style: Traditional
Buenos Aires-born El Monga tattoos in Barcelona where he applies his own bold take on classic traditional tattoos. He's a regular traveler too, so don't worry if you don't think you'll be making a visit to Spain.
Style: His own
Duncan X started tattooing when it was still an antisocial, punk thing to do. His graphics still carry that power. His tattoos are bold and take things down to their essential elements. Not for everyone. But, those who do want that style won't find a better man to do the job.
Shop: High Voltage
Style: Traditional
LA Ink-star Dan Smith is awesome. Aside from doing amazing traditional tattoos, Smith also put together the astounding book With The Light Of Truth, which highlights straight edge tattooers around the world. He was born in England, raised in New Zealand, and now calls L.A. home.
Shop: Private Studio
Style: Biomechanical
Based in Wisconsin, Dan Hazelton describes his personal style as "skull/face/eye/mouth/flowing/textured/organic/biomechanic." He prefers to work in his private studio, skipping the convention circuit and rarely doing guest spots. So, if Hazelton's tattoos appeal, you're in for an awesome trip to WI.
Shop: Skin And Bone
Style: Dotwork
Colin Dale was born in Canada and now lives and works in Denmark. His Skin & Bone Studio supplies dotwork tattoos in a range of ethnographic styles. Dale is particularly interested in Haida (native Northwest Coast Indian) styles and Nordic symbols.
Shop: N/A
Style: Black and gray.
No doubt, you've seen Travis Barker's head and NBA-star Tyson Chandler's sleeves. Both guys were inked by Quintanar. Find him in Long Beach, CA.
Shop: N/A
Style: Traditional
Mr. Koeplinger's always on the road. Really. Just check his Instagram feed, you'll regularly see flight updates. The good news, given hectic movement, is that he'll probably be somewhere near you sooner than later.
Shop: N/A
Style: Biomechanical
Biomechanical master Carson Hill is interested in understanding dimensional reality. His tattoos have an organic feel and great 3-dimensional depth. He's also interested in technology, founding Neuma Tattoo Machines in 2000 after inventing the first pneumatic tattoo machine.
Shop: Bob Tyrell's Night Gallery
Style: Portraits
Tyrell is the king of Detroit. His portraits are world renowned. If you want to commemorate your love of a rock star (or family member) consider a trip to the Motor City.
Shop: Trademark Tattoo Gallery, State Street Tattoo Gallery
Style: Lettering
BJ Betts is not a one trick pony. However, when it comes to lettering he's top of the class. His five lettering books are industry standards, and he's constantly innovating when it comes to handstyles. He splits time between his shops in Wilmington, DE, and Kennett Square, PA, as well as regularly hitting the international convention circuit.
Shop: Power Tattoo Company
Style: Black and gray, Traditional
Nobody does small tattoos like Ben Grillo. He's the undisputed expert at applying miniature portraits to hands. Given that, when he goes large scale, the minute detail is astounding. Check him out if you are out in San Diego, CA.
Shop: Inkline Studios
Style: Biomechanical
New York-based Gupta is comfortable with several styles, but will focus here on his biomechanical work. He's also well known for miniature reproductions of old master paintings. And, for tattooing the always cool John McEnroe.
Shop: Private Studio
Style: New school
Amanda Wachob is known for her "painterly" style, which is funny because she went to art school to study photography. She's interested in expanding the medium of tattooing, using lessons of skin and needle to expand her fine art practice.
Shop: N/A
Style: Biomechanical
Balancing life as a fine artist and a tattooer, Adrian Dominic specializes in biomechanical work and can also kick out a killer bird. Look for him at Memoir Tattoo in West Hollywood, CA, or taking various guest spots around the country.
