Phil from CIRCA came through to begin his first tattoo.

Although Phil is new to the needle, he dove boldly into a pretty intense piece like a veteran. The octopus entangling the ship symbolizes his triumphs through the countless obstacles he has overcome in life to be where he’s at today. Innovating and collaborating in the apparel and footwear industry, Circa has been and is a monster in the business, much thanks to men like Phil who continue to bring together creativity.

Still a final session to go. Life and all it’s twist and turns, can be overwhelming for any human being. And especially in these unstable and insane times, there are many who fall and are drowned within the depths of this distorted society.  But Phil is a living example of a survivor, and is here to stay. Keep your heads up, we are going to make it.

Dawn dropped by to get her first tattoo.  She wanted to go with a ocean influence to reflect her passion as a surfer. As delicate as this piece might seem, the feet can prove to  be a test of endurance. Fortunately Dawn has been in deeper waters, and  was fearless.

Remember George? He came through in the spring to work his QUETZAL and dropped by for a quick seal off of his lower sleeve. More to come in the inner portions of this sleeve.

Keith dropped by to begin his upper back piece.

He wanted to pay tribute to his native Irish blood with the iconic symbol of the hands embracing the crowned heart. Much more to come with this piece.

And Terrell from ICEE FRESH came through to begin his left chest plate. Terrell is known to represent material that is worn by the rich and famous, but decided to tribute his skin to the most valuable and priceless of all jewels-his youngest baby girl. Still more to come with Terrell.

We made a pit stop over at CANVAS GALLERY to visit Todd when something slapped me across the face of the main entrance…

This is the exquisite, and flawless work of the legendary BOB ROBERTS of world famous SPOTLIGHT TATTOO.

Bob Roberts who is from the old school generation of Jack Rudy, Brian Everett, Ed Hardy- was, and still is one of the founders  of traditional tattooing who changed the industry from the start. These pieces are done with watercolors- and for all you photoshop and illustrator addicts-done by the human hand.

Seeing these photos dosen’t truly compare standing in front of these larger than life paintings. The intensity is powerful enough to have you sit there all day looking at these pieces. Some of these pieces span decades and hold with them a serious piece of tattooing history. During my journey learning how to swim to try and become an embryo, Roberts was doing this…

The shop, SpotLight Tattoo is the oldest tattoo shop in Los Angeles filled with good and bad times and has been a place where careers take major turning points-one that you might be familiar with is Cartoon.  Check out this piece, my personal favorite, something serious happened…

That’s just a glimpse of this extensive exhibit that hangs throughout  CANVAS GALLERY. Discussing with Todd, he had stated that almost all of Hollywood’s shops and artists were at this opening. And having seen the mainstream growth of the tattooing industry in the past few years, in turn we’ve seen new shops opening like crack houses all over the country and people (especially the young and dumb) go purchase a machine for $60.00 and within 24 hours you have your brand new ready to go tattoo artist!

If your a tattooist of the younger generation-this generation- and serious about tattooing as a career, stop by and check out a once in a lifetime exhibit of work that is the foundation for us today, only at CANVAS.

And in the words of Baby Ray, “Don’t be scared like a fucking pussy……you PUSSY!”

AMIR JOHNSON came through to begin the project for his back piece.

I have to say again how important drawing is to tattooing. “Free Hand” tattooing as many have called it, always has it’s characteristics. Stemming off of the greats-Baby Ray, Corey Miller, and Cartoon to name a few who have developed serious solutions from drawing to tattooing on the human body. Simple, direct, yet fluid movement of line quality forms the basis for Amir’s piece.

It’s not everyday an individual tries to attempt a back piece in a 1o hour sitting. But then again, maybe it’s because Amir is not the average 22 year old.

Amir just got back from a charity event for kids out in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil teaching them the NBA’s secrets. He’s headed for Toronto in a few weeks to start off the next season and wanted to get work before his restless training gets put to the test.

With eyes on the ball, he gears for his shot to shine amongst the other great ballers of today. Regardless of the luxury lifestyle that a NBA career can offer, Amir is all about the focus, drive, skill and passion for the sweat that is needed to push him where we wants to be….

…at the top! We got a good start, still more to come on this project.