After a few stolen moments in conversation with Phoenix-based tattoo model Deisy De La Muerte, it’s easy to see why this sweet-voiced maven is as grounded and tough as they come. Raised in the rough-and-tumble backdrop of Phoenix, Arizona’s gritty west side, this daisy in the desert was forced at an early age to see the world for what it is, and in the process she had to learn how to express herself and how to survive. Behind her tattooed exterior and outward confidence lies a quiet tone of introspection, which serves up a subtle vulnerability that is much more suited to someone sitting in a church pew than someone sitting at a ghetto bus stop. It is the sum of these dueling parts that equals Deisy as a whole.

What Deisy’s family may have lacked in financial opportunity, they more than made up for in spirituality, as the roof that Deisy was raised under was a decidedly religious one. This environment, a setting Deisy rebelled against to a certain degree, has also helped to connect her with the value of life’s lessons, ultimately shaping the beautiful person she has become. It would be this same beauty that pushed her toward her current career path, albeit somewhat unexpectedly. “The modeling thing kind of just fell in my lap,” she says reflectively.

Aspiring tattooists make their early marks on everything from napkins to oranges to grapefruits to pig ears, although many up-and-comers are now learning their trade on sheets of “practice skin.” While the preferred learning canvas varies from artist to artist, the one thing they can all agree upon is the fact that once they get to working on human skin they rarely stray from it. What if skin wasn’t the last bastion of tattoo creativity? What if there were other canvases that could be permanently etched with a tattoo gun and made to last a lifetime?

We posed this question to a few artists and received our answer from one of them in the form of this amazingly designed thermos-style cup. This one comes to us from behind bars and carries a 12-hour workload drawn out over the span of a few weeks thanks to the limited free time our artist had to spend working on this “contraband.” The tribute and inspiration behind the paños-style artwork came from the inmate’s father, a self-professed pit-bull lover, who was raised in the classic Mexican ranchera setting. Rest assured the entire composition was done with a crude homemade gun, a feat that wasn’t easy for that and a couple of other reasons. “Of course I could only work on it during free times, so it took me much longer than it would have had I been on the outside and using a legitimate tattoo …”

Richie the Barber is certainly not the barber your father took you to as a child. This self-confessed nonconformist is a byproduct of what happens when an old soul falls in love with punk ethos. Known for his 1920s gentleman-like mustache and Chaplinesque picture poses, the man is a dedicated barber whose clientele is as broad as his horizons. On any given day you can find him at his shop, located in the back of tattoo shop 264 Customs on L.A.’s zany Melrose Ave., cutting up anyone from Travie McCoy to Benji Madden of Good Charlotte. Richie is not all about celebrities though. “My favorite clients to cut are the kids,” he says wistfully.

You can bet the kids love to get their coiffure snipped by the ever-so- entertaining Richie, who’s known for giving out toys and candy and turning a normally mundane haircut into the most fun you’ve had in a long time. We’re pretty sure your barber at the local Supercuts isn’t giving you a fade while putting on a personal unicycle and juggling clinic right in front of you, but Richie is. While Richie is well-liked and makes it clear that he is certainly the ringleader to his own life’s circus, there is much more to him than meets the eye.

“My grandfather was a barber and he taught me at a young age, so I’ve always cut hair for as long as I can remember. He’d tell me to always have imagination,” Richie says in reverence.

It’s clear the young barber took that advice to heart, as his own style is ever-evolving, much like his train of thought. “I daydream a lot. I think I do it so much that I find it hard to concentrate sometimes.”

We recently had a chance to stop by Hart & Huntington’s shop within the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.  As you might expect, a highly-stylized atmosphere surrounds a busy artist area at this location, which is easily one of the most well-known tattoo shops in the United States.  Not knowing how much time the staff would have for us, we rolled into town and made our way to the Hard Rock, hoping to meet the crew and perhaps even get a bit of ink ourselves.

We needn’t have worried.  We were greeted warmly by Mooch, the shop manager, and several highly-skilled, well-known artists were on the premises.  If fact, we noticed very early on that it wasn’t just us magazine types that were treated well—anyone and everyone who wandered into the shop was greeted warmly and treated with respect.  “Making people comfortable is something we take seriously,” remarked Mooch, “We cater to a broad cross-section of customers and tattoos are no longer just a specialty market—to a large extent we’ve moved into the mainstream.”

Indeed that seems to be the case, and Hart & Huntington seems to be having no trouble taking on the expanded clientele.  In addition to Las Vegas, H&H now has shops in Hawaii, Orlando, and at Niagara Falls.   Company patriarch Carey Hart seems to be everywhere; in addition to his legendary dirt bike legacy (one that includes spectacular achievements in both Supercross and freestyle motocross), Hart has expanded the Hart & Huntington brand into a clothing line, with designs inspired by and created by the tattoo artists employed by the company.

Sure enough, a couple of Bound by Ink staffers stuck around to get tattoo work done at Hart & Huntington, and the results were nothing short of outstanding.  Check out the photos for a closer look.

Artist Emiliano Gabaldon went to work on our ad sales guy Jason Bukolt.  The spectacular Japanese-inspired koi fish mural that resulted was one of the most beautiful tattoos we’ve ever seen created in a single session.  This was a five-and-a-half hour job.

Artist Jason Tritten specializes in neo-traditional styles and went to work on Publisher Jeff Dahlin’s inner arm.  He re-created the rose in the center of the piece (which had already existed) with a much more vibrant color scheme, and then added other elements (the heart, the branding iron, vines, and clouds) to create a densely-inked landscape.

The Hart & Huntington Las Vegas staff.

Every so often, an artist comes into the world and develops a style that challenges the very foundations of medium and technique. Simon Hayag is one such artist. Though he is certainly not the founder of the digital medium, his work with it is nothing less than extraordinary. One look at any of his art will leave you scratching your head and reciting the ’80s catch phrase, Is it live, or is it Memorex? You see, Simon’s digital works look more like paintings; so much so in fact, that many of his admirers would have no idea that they were created on the computer. Is it possible to have “amazing brushwork” via a computer program? Simon obviously thinks so, as his work speaks volumes about the possibilities. “There are so many mediums out there, and I’m equally inspired by all of them,” he says as giddily as a first-year art student.
His respect for art is genuine, as his traditional artwork is easily as impressive as his digital works, lest you think he is some sort of one-trick Photoshop hack. No, he is a first-class talent, and his caricatures rival those of acclaimed caricature artist Sebastian Krüger—someone whom Simon was fortunate enough to take a class under. With images and inspirations from MMA fighters, actors, actresses, tattoo models, and musicians, his caricatures are larger than life and have as much personality as the subjects they depict. These are not his only strength—though Simon does not have years of formal training, he has studied and participated in a variety of workshops under the tutelage of some of the country’s best artists. Learning everything from life drawing to painting and digital art, Simon’s skills are well rounded and he has become increasingly fascinated with the medium of tattooing.

The answer to Grammy Award–winning singer/songwriter Paula Cole’s proverbial question is embodied perfectly by a man who practices “postmortem tattoo artistry” under the moniker “El Vaquero Muerto.” If she had been truly searching, Cole would have found him where he rightfully belongs—in the desert. Much like the determined saguaro cactus, his artwork rises as a beacon of social commentary defining survival and strength, embodying the cost of freedom in a world rife with weakness and cowardice. Southwestern images and Dia de los Muertos themes run rampant throughout his leather work, paintings, and illustrations, as this Last of the Mohicans strives to keep cowboy art alive. “I want to bring Southwest art out of the doctor’s office,” he says wryly via telephone. “I’ve had friends tell me that I’m the only ‘cowboy artist’ that they respect.”

This gallery exhibits the  artistic beauty of tattoos while showcasing the multilayered beauty of its tattooed subjects. Each photo contains its own unique interpretation, and the charming expressions and landscapes offer a vivid and fascinating look into a world  where creativity is only defined by one’s ability to dream.

he Yakuza table created by Reddish Studio is a digitally tattooed masterpiece that also happens to double as a piece of furniture. Crafted from veneered MDF, the table was treated as a living body, and the design of each table is patterned after the infamous tattoos of the Yakuza.
“The wood texture acts as skin, becoming a platform for expressing a strong cultural and personal identity,” say Naama and Idan, the proprietors of Reddish Studios.
Set aside the complications of the etching/burning process and one will surely find this is a piece of furniture that is not only awe-inspiring but classy in all terms of build, construction, and, quite obviously, design.

Making her way through the urban grime and filth of the underbelly of Chicago, Dani Fatal walks tall. Proud, sexy, and confident, her beauty is a constant juxtaposition in an otherwise cold and unforgiving setting. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and is currently pursuing a cosmetology degree. Her voice evinces the girl-next-door charm of boyhood fantasy. Equal parts Winnie Cooper and Gidget, this self-described “princess” is one whom any young man would be proud and lucky to call his. While Dani’s identity can be found in Anytown, USA, her looks cannot. With a powerful beauty and the majority of her body heavily covered in tattoos, she certainly doesn’t look like the girl next door, at least not in the traditional sense. Maybe this is why she is the subject of much attention, both good and bad, from the opposite sex. “I think it’s a fantasy for them. I don’t look like the girl they bring home to mommy,” Dani explains.

If only these men knew who she really was they’d know why the eyes, rather than the tattoos, which are constantly perceived as the open door into Dani’s world, are the windows to the soul.

Take these three sayings, add them together, and the sum of these parts is humbly embodied by 35-year-old SoCal tattoo artist Ben Grillo. You want details? He can carve a perfectly shaded portrait of Jesus onto your knuckle the same size as a penny. He can place a detailed skull on your earlobe as an earring replacement. If you can wait through his 8-month waiting list, he’ll put a pinup girl on your neck no larger than a half dollar. Of course, coming up under artists like the legendary Jack Rudy, Mr. Lucky, and Chris Brand at tattoo mecca Goodtime Charlie’s Tattooland would make any artist focus on his detail hand—if he were talented enough to earn a job there.

Talented is certainly what Ben Grillo is, although he’d never tell you that himself. More student of the game than star player, Ben loves all aspects of tattoo culture not just the micro-tattoos he has become known for over the past couple of years. “I’d like to think of myself as being well rounded; I like doing everything,” says Ben via phone from his current shop, Two Roses Tattoo in San Diego, California.

After just six years in tattooing, this former electrician is now one of the most sought-after artists in the California scene. “My mom and my sisters pitched in to buy me my first tattoo machine,” he says, looking back on his beginnings. “My friends loved my art and I think they just wanted free tattoos, so I began by working out of my house.”