So – just to get you all psyched for some up and coming content – I will be meeting with a tattoo artist this afternoon to go over ideas for finishing off my Phoenix 3/4 sleeve tattoo. I will be adding space designs – and have spent the last two months searching high and low for an artist who could render those designs on my flesh with the most accuracy and beauty.
This is that guy: London Bellman of Atomic Art Tattoo here in good old Portland, Oregon.
My concepts include adding a half-earth towards the bend of my elbow – along with inky blue/purple space, stars, a spiral galaxy and maybe a ringed Saturn like planet. Also hoping to get some touch-up work done on the original piece.
I’m feeling really confident about this man – he seems like a genuine artist and someone who will be easy to communicate my ideas to and get a gorgeous looking piece. I scouted him out through word-of-mouth from a trusted friend, scouring his portfolio and the shop reviews.
What I discovered in my searching is that there is a wealth of tattoo talent here in Portland. You can EASILY find at least five or six shops in town with impressive reviews and the chops to back them up. Some others I considered before finally choosing Atomic include:
- Infinity Tattoo: Alice Kendall specifically
- Optic Nerve Art: Pedro Dorsey probably does the best portrait work in town
- Imperial Tattoo: Todd J. originally created the Phoenix
- Raven Ink Tattoo: Been inked here before – seen artwork done on friends. Will most likely be back up if Atomic falls through.
- Atlas Tattoo: Great old school flash arty stuff. Not right for my style
While I was mostly sold on the artwork and the vibe from the shop (custom pieces only – setting is a zen kind of Japanese garden) – what finally did it for me was locating this interview with London Bellman on youtube yesterday. This is the kind of calm, respectful person I feel most comfortable letting near my skin:
First, I want to say that Phoenix tattoo design is always a great option. These are some of the most fascinating tattoos you could think about how inked. That said, you may have noticed that many of the images they're looking for this style are not close to being "great". That's because search engines tend to lift tons of galleries that are packed with nothing but generic, cookie cutter images that are more than seven years old. Above all, a good 70% of the images were not even meant to be used as real tattoos! That's the scary part, because some galleries will throw any type of artwork in their sub pages.
To find a quality Phoenix tattoo design on the net, you have to realize that in international forums are loaded with information about where galleries are sizzling. Tattoos become a big issue in most of the forums, so you better believe that the issue of good galleries come up very often. All you have to do is go through the posts and find links to great galleries to other men and women have found. It's as easy as that.
