Weird Wit

Late last night I had a conversation about bullfrogs. Earlier tonight I had a conversation about Philly tattooists and Chris Kline’s name came up. These two events are probably not directly connected, but Mr. Kline’s affection for the noble Bufonidae is well known so, really, who can say.

Chris is one of my favorite local tattooers; if I were to do a ‘five to watch in 2017’ you can bet his name would be on the list. You can follow him on Instagram or shoot him an email for appointment information: Christopher.awesome@gmail.com

Josh Hotstuff

In the years since becoming a client of Josh Hoffman, it literally never occurred to me to nickname him Josh Hotstuff. I’m not really sure why. I’m not really sure why Josh needs a nickname at all, save that he’s a pretty funny guy and funny guys usually have nicknames.

The last time we checked in on his Instagram feed it was to check out some Hot stuff Devil paintings. I swear he does more than that, but when something works, it works. You can check out more of his work on his Instagram feed, or swing by Living Arts Tattoo in New Hope, PA.

Oh. Full disclosure. One of my favorite tattoos that Josh did on me was a Hot Stuff Devil/Kewpie that he did years ago….

Is it getting WEIRD in here, or is it just me?

There are people who don’t like weird things just for the sake of weird.
There are people who think that a tattoo design of a diarrhea spewing anus is gross.
For those people…. Born Weird probably isn’t for you.

For the people who always wish that a Dave Lum design could not only come to life, but could fuck the hell out of a Scott ‘Welt’ Harrison tattoo and thus create the ultimate “what in Christ’s name is that” masterpiece…. c’mere. I’ve got something to show you. The folks at YELLOW BEAK PRESS are still taking preorders for the 11×14 compendium of all things what the fuck, BORN WEIRD, which is scheduled, tentatively, to ship in April. I’ve shown some samples from the book in previous updates, so I’m not going to ruin the surprise, but… buy it.

 

 

Yellow Beak Press.

Tattooers on Instagram: Josh Hoffman

For whatever reason, tattooers have flocked to Instagram to share their works in record numbers; so many amazing artists posting so many outstanding tattoos and paintings that it’s hard to keep up with everyone. So from time to time I’ll be posting my favorites- people doing kickass work that are for sure worth following.

The first is Philadelphia’s Josh Hoffman.
Josh is one of my favorite tattooers; I started getting tattooed by him in 2000 shortly after moving to Philadelphia. His work is distinctly based in traditional American style tattooing with a 1970s biker flair. Sounds like an odd combo, but it works. He’s started posting a stream of new paintings that are just stellar. I’m really glad to see him pushing out new stuff… makes me want to get something new!

Funny Hoffman story:
Josh had his jaw broken years back, when I worked around the corner from Olde City Tattoo. (the shop he was working with at the time) I’d see him every day when I’d walk to get lunch, miserable with his jaw wired shut. After a while I started picking up presents from him at the store…

Jawbreakers and Caramels came up a lot.

I’m just that kind of friend.

You can follow Josh on Instagram via: j_hoffman

Sympathy

As my latest tattoo from Robert Ryan heals (and coincidentally enough, it’s of this fella above’s arch nemesis) I find myself being very protective of the remaining skin that I have left to tattoo. I’ve posted ‘painted into a corner’ updates before; that I’m rapidly running out of available spots and that every new tattoo is one less that I’ll ever be able to get.

It makes me happy that I’m so close to being ‘done’ but there are just so many folks out there doing killer work who I know I’ll regret not being tattooed by- folks like Michael Bennett, Adam Shrewsbury and Ohio’s Jacob Des.

Every time Jake busts out a new painting (and it seems it’s daily- he’s the hardest working painter in Tattooing sometimes) I realize that saving him a little spot is a necessity.

So enjoy this one from Mr. Des. It’s the devil, and who doesn’t love the devil?

Jacob Des Central.

Payin’ off like a slot machine!

I wonder if the world of tattooing will ever have genuine characters like Stoney St. Claire again?
Not a twentysomething with pomade in his hair who loves boxing with (insert exotic animal here) while waxing his mustache, but honest to god hillbilly carnies like Stoney.

Sadly, probably not.

That said, Stoney’s legacy left us with so many amazing stories and anecdotes- some of which can be seen in the film by Alan Govenar with even more in the classic Stoney Knows How book.

This painting came to me recently as a gift from my good friend Wayde Dunn; an Australian living in Canada. Like myself, Wayde can’t get enough of Stoney, and this painting is a little reminder of an accent paying off- something I’m sure Mr. Dunn can relate to.

Thanks, Wayde!