Continuing Education

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This article is a good read for anyone curious about the " watercolor" tattoo trend. I like how it covers multiple angles. 

http://www.techinsider.io/watercolor-tattoos-might-age-badly-2015-9

I'm normally sour towards any kind of tattoo related movies/tv, but this new documentary shows some promise. It's nice to see tattooers who view it as a trade and not as a vehicle to trans-hipsterdouchebageddom. If it sticks to the theme put forward in the trailer, it's sure to be an interesting documentary. At least their beards look necessary. 

 

Virginia Beach Tattoo Festival August 2015

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HELLO! So earlier this month we attended the Virginia Beach Tattoo Festival, and had a blast. Matt Clarke and Chris Stoll tattooed at the booth, while I (Alley) hung out at the booth and talked to *hopefully* potential clients, made new friends, saw some amazing tattoos, and discussed future amazing tattoos with some of you. As promised, the following is a list of the tattoos that placed in the contests with photos of the tattoos. If you have any photos from the weekend, feel free to e-mail them to us at red5tattoova@gmail.com!

FRIDAY:

Matt Clarke: 2nd place best traditional

Chris Garcia: 1st place best Japanese & 2nd place best Japanese

SATURDAY:

Chris Garcia: 3rd place best color portrait, 1st place best small black and grey, 1st place best large black and grey, 3rd place best black and grey portrait

Carl Fuchs: 3rd place best large black and grey

SUNDAY:

Chris Garcia: 3rd place best sleeve (shown above)

Carl Fuchs: 1st place best back piece (shown above)

 

We had a lot of fun, hope to see all the awesome people we met soon!

Propaganda for the benefit of all.

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Being near the mall, we get a rather broad sample of the public walking in to check the out the shop. As tattooing continues to proliferate among the main stream crowd, people seem confused as to the appointment process of getting a tattoo. It may be their first time, or they're used to getting small walk-in designs, or (worse case) they're just another member of the unwashed stumbling in to kick tires and make our day much more awkward than would've been. I thought it best to give the average Joe a heads up on how it ideally would work:

1. Before you come in make sure to know roughly what you want and who you would like to do it. Print out a clear, as high-res as possible, picture of any reference you think would be helpful. Every one's portfolio is on this site. Take a few minutes to decide what artist you would like to talk to beforehand. 

2. Walk inside with your idea and tell the lovely counter staff that you would like to set an appointment to get tattooed by whoever you decided on earlier. If they are there that day you can talk to them about what you want done. If they are not, come back when they are. We'll take a look at your idea, and guide you about the best way to have it done. 

3. Trust and listen. We know what is best for your tattoo. You must think of us as at least somewhat competent or you wouldn't even be considering coming here. In the end I'll do whatever you want within reason, but if your artist tells you it would look better done one way over another, you'd do well to listen.  Theres this misplaced " It's my body! I'll do what I want" attitude. Realize that it's the artist's name and reputation attached to it. When nobody likes your tattoo or you get made fun of, you will just blame us. So it is in everyone's best interest to do a good job.

4. The DEPOSIT. This shouldn't be a foreign concept. Anytime a high dollar service is being purchased, the person providing the service needs a commitment in the form of a monetary payment to be held in trust. This is to compensate us for our time in the event that you do not show up. Deposits are nonrefundable and will be subtracted from the final session. If you no-show or cancel last minute you lose it. Deposits are proportional to the amount of work you're requesting. DO NOT PUT DOWN A DEPOSIT IF YOU ARE UNSURE ABOUT GETTING TATTOOED. Once we have a deposit down, we'll get to work on the drawing.

5. The drawing is just the basic outline that will become the stencil. It usually won't have any color or shading, and is ready the day of your appointment. If there are any concerns or changes, they can be made right then and there. A lot of trust on your part is crucial to the entire process, and don't think it goes unappreciated!

Well thats it. Pretty easy right? I'm sure most of you knew this anyway. Oh, and sorry about the smarmy tone. It might've helped if you had read it in the voice of James Spader.  

Dire Consequences For Us (not you)

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...but first some good news. If you're into space stuff, on May 20th NASA and The Planetary Society will launch a test flight for their LightSail Project. It has a capital letter in the middle of its name so you know it's cool. LightSail is a small craft that is propelled by the Suns energy through a solar sail. It doesn't sound like much, but if your not worried about time it means we can travel around the solar system with an infinite fuel source. It's also neat because it maneuvers like a sailboat, but in space. Bill Nye talks about it at length on Neil Degrasse Tyson's podcast. Anyone interested in getting off this damn planet should give it a listen. 

In May 2015, the Planetary Society will launch its first LightSail spacecraft for a “shakedown cruise” in Earth orbit. So who better to answer fan questions about the program than their CEO, Bill Nye, and comic co-host Chuck Nice?

 

Ok this next thing has me terrified and all other tattooers need to be too. I'm talking about the day we are made obsolete by our fine robot masters. Someone figured out how to turn a 3D printer into a tattooer. I saw this a little while ago, but I think I'm just now dealing with it. What pisses me off is that, in the little bit of footage they do show, it looks pretty precise. Now do you really want to get a tattoo from a cold unfeeling contraption that won't even be able to tell you how terrible your ideas are? Now us tattooers...I think we can all agree that this abomination needs to be destroyed.  We have to protect our phony baloney jobs here, ladies and gentlemen! We must do something about this immediately! Immediately! Immediately! Harrumph! Harrumph! Harrumph!

Tattooers From Around the World. (or Broaden Your Tastes You Bastards)

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Hello! It's Lorin again and I have some new stuff for you this week. Every other day customers ask me what tattoos I like, what my favorite thing to tattoo is, etc. I never really have an answer for them, because what I like today I hate tomorrow. However what constitutes a good tattoo is fairly concrete, but it is hard for me to put it into words. A lot of care and planning goes into getting it just right. I have a few examples of people who get it right constantly. These artists have managed to tattoo their way out of the day to day mundane nonsense you see on every stained tank-topped asshole in line at Busch Gardens. I mean it is not enough to be a good tattooer, but their trusting clients deserve much of the credit as well.  These people set a standard. Everything they do is just cool. I quit.

Peter Lagergren- Malmo, Sweden    CLICK HERE FOR HIS INSTAGRAM 

This guy. Insane large color pieces. I really like his tattoos. This is what good tattoo is. Not just because they are done well, but because they have all the elements that make a tattoo last much much longer than an Instagram post. Clean lines, proper use of black, and bold solid color. The art and subject matter are always fresh which, in a world of the oppressive Pinterest bullshit, is saying something.

Annie Frenzel- San Antonio, Texas USA     CLICK HERE FOR HER INSTAGRAM 

I'm a little biased, because she has done most of my tattoos. Annie is a tattooer's tattooer. A German who currently lives in Texas, her work is incredibly sharp and she's cultivated her own look to her tattoos. Her pieces are easily recognizable to tattoo nerds, and she's one of the more ripped off by other tattooers thanks to the internet. Just as with the other artists mentioned here, her work is consistently clean, super solid, and lasting. The Germans have a word for it but I think its spelled like Hümkdhscbdheurigklatsenfismustard.

David Corden- Edinburgh, Scotland   CLICK HERE FOR HIS WEBSITE

Holy piss this guy has a firm grasp on realism. His color as well as black and grey make me want to blow my brains out. What I like most about his tattooing is that he manages to nail down that photographic quality WITH the use of nice black lines as a framework. That's something that all of the "cool kid popular tv host wannabe color portrait douche tattooers" need to wrap their pointy heads around. Mr. Corden's studio should be opening sometime this year, but until then he's traveling.

There are many good tattooers out there, but there are infinitely more shitbirds and con-artists. So watch out. Remember tattoos should be art, not kitsch. So measure yourself, or we all wind up looking like assholes...in line...at Busch Gardens.  

Interesting(?) Areas of Tattoo Philosophy

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First of all, let me say "Hello! ". My name is Lorin and I'm one of the artists here at Red 5. From time to time I'll be posting on here. I'll bring you intelligent, impossible to disagree with, rants or just things I find around the interwebs. I found this little blurb from a tattooer named Johnny Thief at Seppuku up in New Jersey. The guy brings up many good points. Now, before I get a bunch of emails giving me a "customers always right" speech, I'll tattoo almost anything you want. I need to keep the lights on like everyone else, but I wish there was a greater gravity given to the average tattoo decision.  It's a good read and gives some insight into why we sometimes tell you that what you want looks better in your imagination then out here with the rest of us.

The Letter of the Law: Laws for Lettering and Tattoos  <- click that

If you happen to agree with this, please share. Education is usually the best way to make sure you don't wind up looking like an idiot. 

 

Thank you for an awesome weekend at the HRTF!

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We had an awesome time meeting people, tattooing, and seeing friends this last weekend at the Hampton Roads Tattoo Festival. Brett and Lorin crushed it on Friday, Chris Garcia and Carl killed Saturday, and Matt held it down on Sunday. Being directly next to our friends from Richmond at Loose Screw was a pleasure as well! We look forward to seeing everyone at the Virginia Beach convention. If you have any photos you'd like to send us, our e-mail is red5tattoova@gmail.com... we'd love to see! Please enjoy a few photos our awesome client, Jassy, took Saturday at the convention, including a photo of George Bell (the tallest man in America) with the Red 5 booth!

Photo Credit Jassy.Ano Photography - Hampton Roads - 757.362.8997

Welcome to the Red 5 website!

/ Red 5/

Welcome, and thanks for visiting red5va.com. Here we will have an updated list of artists, as well as photos, and links to their social media. We will keep you up to date on what's happening in our studio, and events we will be hosting or attending. We look forward to our future here in Virginia Beach, and we can't thank you enough for your help and support.

*Artists work (starting from the top center, moving clockwise) Carl Fuchs, Chris Garcia, Matt Clarke, Lorin Hay, Chris Stoll, Brett Spickard*