Tattoo Machines, Tattoos and Celebrity Tattooist Artists

Tattoo Machines, Tattoos and Celebrity Tattooist Artists

The perception of tattoos has come a long way in recent years. From less than salubrious origins in the murky ports and back alleys of another time and place via motorbike gangs and prisoners in cells using homemade tattoo machines, today the tattoo is virtually gleaming with respectability as everyone and your bank manager has one.

Perhaps we have the rise of celebrity culture to thank for this; as more and more actors, singers, reality TV stars and assorted wannabes try and make their mark in the increasingly crowded world of people we aspire to be and love to hate; the ubiquity of inked skin is becoming less shocking with the publication of every gossip magazine.

But for every reality TV star' and his clichd arm band or her tramp stamp' there are a dozen proper old school tattoo aficionados who are keeping it real with their rock n' roll ink.

And what of the artists who are responsible for these works of art? These days some tattoo artists could give some of their clients a run for their money in the notoriety and fame stakes. Take Jonathan Shaw who opened NYC's first store front, public tattoo studio, Fun City Tattoo in 1991, and who not only counted Iggy Pop, Dee Dee Ramone, Marilyn Manson, The Cure and Johnny Depp amongst his clients but was ALSO was an understudy of the great Charles Bukowski whom he met whilst writing for the Los Angeles Free Press. It doesn't come much more rock and roll than that.

Then we have Henk Schiffmacher, a Dutch artist, who Anthony Keidis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers once described as "an underground philosopher, artist, Hell's Angel associate, booze hound, drug hound, girl hound, an absolute rapscallion of Dutch proportions". High praise indeed!

One of the most famous tattoo studios is arguably Hollywood's Sunset Strip Tattoo. Axel Rose even wore one of their t-shirts in the video for Sweet Child o' Mine and Paul Timmans who works there has inked a mixed bag of stars including Rob Zombie, Drew Barrymore, Ben Affleck, Angelina Jolie and Pamela Anderson.

Finally, no list of celebrity tattoo artists would be complete without mentioning one of the most famous tattooed women in the world right now: Kat von D is every bit as well known as some of the people she inks her black and grey portraits on to. Still in her 20's von D currently stars in LA Ink, the reality TV show which follows the day to day running of her tattoo shop, High Voltage Tattoo. Counting the Jackass boys, porn star Jenna Jameson and members of Green Day, Metallica and Slayer as clients, von D has also had 2 books in the New York Times best seller list and fronts a make-up line for cosmetic giant Sephora. Consistently dividing people as to whether she's a sell out or a genius, there is no doubting whichever side of the fence you fall on that von D is a bona fide and thoroughly modern celebrity tattoo artist.

Whether you tattoo the greatest names in rock or are more low key, preferring to shun the limelight and concentrate on giving the good people in your local area the designs they crave, you can always use a new tattoo machine! There are some great deals to be had on the web so why not check out a few sites and reward yourself for making it to the bottom of this article with a new machine?!

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