Baxter's Tattoo Blog

Click to enlarge

TRENT’S BEAUTIFUL PORTFOLIO

How would you like your best tattoo images showcased in a custom, hand-tooled, leather portfolio for tattoo photographs created by Heather Bleser at Waste of Talent? Valued at $350, these distinctive portfolios are perfect for displaying your handiwork at conventions and the front counter of your shop. So, with that in mind, and the fact that we have recently posted the fifth in our series of “How to Photograph Tattoos,” the winner was Trent Valleau from Taste of Ink, in Austin, Texas. Heather has been working with Trent to come up with the perfect, personalized portfolio to show off the photos of his tattoos. And here’s Trent’s prize!

P.S Be sure to contact Heather to order your amazing hand-tooled, leather portfolio. A regular sponsor of Tattoo Road Trip, Waste of Talent‘s custom leather portfolios  are unbeatable and perfect for professional tattoo artists who want to make their photo presentations look super classy!

SONER TURAN

It seems that lightning can strike twice in the same place. The winner of this month’s MOM Tattoo Contest was a close second in last month’s Color Tattoo Contest. Soner Turan of Brooklyn, New York’s Citizen Ink, takes first prize (a hand-made special- edition “Mom” tattoo machine from Infinite Irons) for accumulating a whopping 51% of the vote. Second prize, a hundred swords, goes to Shukur Carrion (with 23% of the vote), and third prize (an autographed copy of Levi Greenacres “Mommy’s New Tattoo“) goes to Jen Rose of Liquid Amber Tattoo, who narrowly edged out a crowded field, with 7%. Here’s some samples of the winners’ tattoos and flash.

Note: Click images to enlarge.

FIND A SCHIFFER BOOK AND WIN IT!

Be the fifth person to find the cover photo of Schiffer‘s spicey new “Alvarado’s Pin-up Nudes” book, featuring 148 full-page, full-color photographs, and win it! The cover image is buried somewhere in a past Blog article that was posted within the last 12 months. Find it and email the location (month, day and the word “Pinup” in the subject line) to baxter@tattooroadtrip.com. If you are the fifth person to email us that you found it, it’s yours! Just go out and stand by the mailbox. Or order directly from Schiffer for $34.99.

>>> WE HAVE A WINNER! <<<

We had quite a few tries, but the actual winner (number five) knew to enter the name of the photographer, Alvarado, in the Search For window, on the right-hand sidebar of this page. (Try it and see.) It automatically brings up this post and also the one where we pasted the image of the book cover (July 1, 2012). See, it’s worth learning how easy it is to navigate this site (with, to date, over 1,600 posts). All that said, a copy of Schiffer’s “Alvarado’s Pin-up Nudes” goes to Allan H. Henshaw. Congratulations, Al! If you missed out, click on the book title and order from the publisher for $34.99. It’s a terrific book for tattoo artists and other fans of eye-popping pinups.

  MOTHER’S DAY, HERE WE COME

We love ya, Mom. And to show just how much, here’s a tattoo contest just for you, with cool prizes like: a hand-made, custom Infinite Irons tattoo machine from Joey D. (valued at over $500); a hundred bucks cash; and an autographed copy of “Mommy’s New Tattoo—A Bedtime Story for People,” by Levi Greenacres.

THE PRIZES

1st-Infinite Irons “Mom” machine

2nd-Cash Money

3rd-Schiffer book

THE FINALISTS

Members of our Tattoo Shop Directory are highlighted in blue. Just click the shop name and, Shazam!, there’s all the  appropirate contact information, so you can connect up with the artists in this contest.

• Brent Severson, The Skin Gallery, Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin

• Jim Carter, Incendiary Tattoos, Victoria, B.C.

• Jen Rose, Liquid Amber Tattoo

• Eddie Molina, The Hand of Fate, Ithaca, New York

• Jon Hall, Art with Heart, Aurora, Colorado

• Joe Paul, One Shot Tattoo

• Joe Khay,  Citizen Ink, Brooklyn, New York

• Shukur Carrion

• Brandon Lattanzi, Sleepy Hollow Tattoo

• Soner Turan, Citizen Ink, Brooklyn, New York

VOTING BOOTH CLOSES SUNDAY, MAY 12TH (MOTHER’S DAY)

Congratulations!

COLOR TATTOO WINNER FROM SURINAME!

It was a hard-fought battle all the way to the final minutes, but Gerard Louwers from Black Tribal Tat’Shop, in Paramirabo, Suriname, South America, with nearly 35% of the vote, wins a fabulous Micky Sharpz tattoo machine (courtesy of MickySharpzusa.com).  Paramirabo, by the way, is the capital and largest city of Suriname, located on banks of the Suriname River. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 250,000 people, more than half of Suriname’s total population.

Second prize winner, by a very few votes, is Soner Turan from Citizen Ink, in good ol’ Brooklyn, New York. Soner wins an autographed copy each (four books total) of Baxter’s “Tattoo Road—California,” “Two Weeks in Samoa,” The Pacific Northwest” and “California Cover Girls.”

Third is Adam Romano, from Guayama Ink, Longwood, Florida. Adam wins a “Best Ink—Season 2″ Press Kit, which includes a CD of the TV show.

Note: Click on image to expand and click again to enlarge.

Mom Tattoo

1st Prize

HONOR MOM, WIN KOOL PRIZES

Send us your favorite “MOM” tattoo and win: (1st prize) a custom, hand-crafted tattoo machine from Infinite Irons (valued at $500); (2nd prize) $100 cash money; or (3rd and 4th prizes) an autographed copy of Levi Greenacre’s “Mommy’s New Tattoo—A Bedtime Story for People,” from Schiffer Books!

RULES

(1) Enter one or more hi-rez (at least 300 pixels) digital photos of a “MOM” tattoo (or “Mother,” “Mum” or whatever) that you did or was done unto you.

(2) Include your name, address, email and phone number. Indicate if you are the artist. First prize, the tattoo machine, will be awarded to the artist who did the tattoo.

(3) Email images to baxter@tattooroadtrip.com. Be sure to type MOM CONTEST on the subject line.

(4) Deadline for entries is Midnight, Sunday, April 28th.

(5) Voting begins on Monday, April 29th and ends on Sunday, May 12th (Mothers Day).

SORRY… THE CONTEST IS OVER

First Prize

Schiffer Books

Here are the Finalists in the Small and Medium Color Tattoo Contest. Prizes will be awarded to the top three vote-getters.

• First Prize: World-famous Micky Sharpz ”Hybrid” tattoo machine.

• Second Prize: Four of my “Tattoo Road Trip” books from Schiffer: ”Pacific Northwest,” “Southern California,” “Two Weeks in Samoa” and “California Cover Girls.”

• Third Prize: Official Oxygen Network’s “Best Tattoo—Season 2″ Press Kit

THE FINALISTS

For your convenience, the following finalists and their contact information are listed on our Tattoo Shop Directory: Adam Romano, Guayama Ink, Longwood, Florida; Shotsie Gorman, Sacred Rose Tattoo, Berkeley, California; Ben Shaw, Archetype Tattoo, Albuquerque, New Mexico; Joel Gonzalez, Z-Edge Tattoo, Sarasota, Florida; James Morgan, Art with Heart Tattoo, Aurora, Colorado; Vincent Moison, Colorfast Studios, Coral Springs, Florida; Steve Thompson, Art with Heart, Aurora, Colorado; Victor Hernandez, Van’s High Caliber Tattoo, Kennewick, Washington; Soner Turan, Citizen Ink, Brooklyn, New York; Clint Morrison, Black Tie Tattoo, Round Rock, Texas; Gilbert Trevino, Sharpshooters Tattoo Shop, Early, Texas; and Gerard Louwers, Black Tribal Tat’Shop, Paramaribo, Suriname, South America.

Note: Click on images to expand, and click again to enlarge.

SORRY, VOTING BOOTH CLOSED ON SUNDAY, APRIL 14TH

First prize from Micky Sharpz

ENTER TODAY!

At Tattoo Road Trip, when one contest ends, we do our best to start another. This one isn’t limited to subject matter, in order to give more artists a chance to show their skills. Here’s the rules:

1. Enter a photo of your favorite Small or Medium-sized Color Tattoo, any subject. Multiple entries are okay.

2. Send hi-rez, digital images to baxter@tattooroadtrip.com. Type “Contest Contest” in subject line.

3. Include artist name, shop name, city, state and phone number.

4. Entries close Sunday. March 31st, 2013.

5. Voting Booth will open on Monday, April 1st, 2013 and remain open for two weeks. (At this time all the finalist photos will be posted, along with the artist and shop names.)

6. Prizes will be award to the top three vote-getters.

• First Prize: World-famous Micky Sharpz “Hybrid” tattoo machine.

• Second Prize: Four of my “Tattoo Road Trip” books from Schiffer: ”Pacific Northwest,” “Southern California,” “Two Weeks in Samoa” and “California Cover Girls.”

• Third Prize: Official Oxygen Network’s “Best Tattoo—Season 2″ Press Kit.

Note: Tattoo machine prize will only be awarded to tattoo artists working at a bona fide, professional tattoo shop.

Shamrock Social Club’s Mark Mahoney

FABULOUS PRIZE!

Trent Valleau at Taste of Ink Tattoo Studio, Austin, Texas, with 67% of the vote, wins a custom, hand-tooled, leather portfolio for his tattoo photos, from Heather Bleser at Waste of Talent. Now he can be just like Mark Mahoney and dozens of others who proudly display their personalized Waste of Talent portfolios on their shop counters and convention booths. Stay tuned… Heather will be sending us photos of the design she and Trent came up with.