The big homey Roberto from New Jersey came through to start his inner left sleeve with a Jesus piece. Normally with these pieces another session would follow, but we decided to push it a little further before he flew back to the east.

Thanks brother, fly safe.

The homey Miguel came through to start his lower right sleeve.

His favorite animal is the peacock so we began it with the feather being one of the main focused for the front. Still a few more session to go on this one..

Here’s a couple of more  things you have to check out..

NC from the moment you land is beautiful-unlike LA, the natural parts of town are clean and untouched. Forests surrounded the entire suite.

Big Ernie insisted on stopping by the nearby Harley store which had a collection of their finest bikes.

Check this sick shit out! At the banquet we ate a full stock of good food, but all of it almost came back out when I saw this guy sitting on the table. Of course, Ernie didn’t hesitate to swallow one of the pig’s feet.

And check out this little guy. This woman’s pet who we thought was a dog is actually a wild fox, a rare breed that doesn’t grow beyond this size-dope. 

 The following days Saturday and Sunday tattooing began and we got to work. We had the biggest booth in the show which consisted of Jack Rudy, Brian Everett, Klown, Jose and myslef. The brother Hugo came through to get his first tattoo, upper right sleeve, going off the popular Julie and Boris image. We decided to keep most of the Aztec details in from the original piece, but also twist the serpent to more the quetzcoal type.

Hugo took it like a soldier, sitting through a 9 hour piece. At the end of the day we took home Best Tattoo of the Day award…not bad for your first tattoo!

Thanks goes to Hugo, and all the artists of NTA who showed us love, and of course my pops Jose, Tony, Brian,  Klown and all the fam. Although receiving an award is a huge honor, it unleashes hours of shit talking from your mentors and raises expectation beyond the fucking wall, and being the youngest kid at the show dosen’t help. The entire night throughout the party was a long argument between the fellas who were talking about my entire  future lifetime–give me a break. 

Here’s a sample of what went on:

“School? What the fuck mijo? Fuck you and fuck school, drop out and be a the shop early!”-Tony Olivas

“You better be become better  than any of us has and take this shit where I can’t take it”-Jose Lopez

“Stay in school son, don’t listen to fat fuck he dosen’t know what he’s talking about”-Brian Everett

“School and Tattoos? Shit holmes, do em both”-Jack Rudy

The following day came and I was ready to pack up and head back to LA when I saw this sick piece. Some of the smoothest color at the show!

We also made a pitstop at Don Ed Hardy’s booth who was releasing his new book.

One of the wisest and coolest men alive, this man has seen over 3o years of tattooing history  and it was a real honor to be his side.

My big homey Klown was working a sleeve just when I was heading out to catch my flight, and just got word that he took Sunday’s Best Tattoo of the Day award. Congratulations goes to big Klown, who well deserves it. So at the end of the show, a total count from Lowrider Tattoo Studio- 26 awards. But I think the true award this weekend was the growth of the friends and relationships from the people that made all this possible. We owe it ALL to the men and women of NTA, Brian, Jack, Don, Flo, Ed, Tony, and the rest who have started the tattooing industry and who are the reasons why we are here. It is because they have guided us under their wing that we are able to walk through the door, now it’s time we open another one. Thank you!

Back to LA.

We had the honors of attending the most prestigious, and most ancient tattoo convention in Charlotte, NC- NTA: The National Tattoo Association of America. I landed Thursday night to meet up with the fam..

Thursday night jumped immediately into a feast. This would be the NTA’s 30th anniversary, with all the godfathers of tattooing like Brian Everett, Jack Rudy, Ed Hardy, and many more. As NTA tradition, the ceremonies and banquets filled our schedule for the entire two days before any tattooing began. The critics and entire organization of the NTA made up by and for the artists!

Contest and judging went on for hours, as some of the most craziest and way out shit you will ever see walked the stage–like this, she calls it ” The Universe on the left ass cheak!”

It is indeed, and check out the homey Bounty…

I like these paper towels for tattooing too, but damm!!

Beautiful..

tattoo.

And finally it was the family’s turn to show some skin, Manny, Ernie, and Mark all representing Jose’s work, Many wasn’t feeling the thong, so instead he had to show his bare, hairy ass to the public.

After the contests, an entire awards ceremony followed with announcements and recognitions for all the contestants.

A once in a lifetime pic, of all the old school greats, all artists who have been tattooing over 30 years, followed by the 20 years, and later– Ed Hardy-left, followed by Jack, Flo, Don, Tony Olivas and…

the rest! These men and women who started the tattooing industry in the US, and the ones who will carry it on, made me think, jesus! I got about 26 years to go!

All the contestants and supporters of the artist clamored together! After this the awards began, and so did the madness.

Category after category, from black n grey to overall artist, back and forth awards were being tossed at Jose! Poor guy had to be at two places at once, while several different magazines and photographers bombarded the man at one end, at the same time they awarded him another plaque at the other end! Many, Ernie, and Mark were juggling plaques as the entire table began to overflow!

The verdict: a groundbreaking 24 awards in black n grey, large, sleeve, overall and artist’s choice. Lowrider Tattoo’s first appearance at NTA, Jose breaks the record of most awarded artist! In the end, we had to thank Brian Everett again for his support, and Brian looked at us and and told us ” We started this game, now it’s you guys are going to determine where it’s going to go”. And I got to say again I am  the luckiest kid on earth, and proud to be a student of  Jose’s, Brian, and the all the leaders of this industry. 

This shit just got started, so stay posted.

Tony came in to seal off his sleeve, inner right bicep.

He wanted to express the struggle of life, and how time is always against us, but no matter what, the gears inside have always got to be grinding.

Big Leonard came in for a quick add in for his sleeve project. He’s in the process of paying tribute to his Catholic family bloodline, this cross will be the focal point of his piece.

Rockie came through and sealed off his classic Virgin Mary with baby Jesus piece, upper left back.

This is a piece that is set to transition into the portraits of his kids on his left upper sleeve, the concept of both watching his back and over his kids. Here’s a detail..

Tattooing old master renaissance pieces are always intense to tattoo especially when they are this small, but the extra effort brought good results.