’Shamrock Social Club, Disassembled Still Life’, oil on wood panel, 36” x 48”, 2024
After 23 years in their iconic tattoo destination on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, California, Shamrock Social Club transitioned out of their physical location into an upscale private studio, a result of the ever-evolving shifts in the business of tattooing. A personal favorite space to visit, I compiled multiple artifacts from my experiences there to create this ‘collaged’ painting, composed (in effect) as a loose commentary on the past transitioning into the present.
‘Shamrock on Sunset’, oil on wood panel, 36” x 24”, 2023
Mark Mahoney’s iconic tattoo shop on Sunset Blvd, Shamrock Social Club…
'Freddy Corbin's Temple', oil on canvas, 60" x 40", 2012, Personal Collection
This ever evolving shrine inside Freddy Corbin’s Temple Tattoo in Oakland, CA displays Freddie’s collection of religious gods, goddesses and spiritual ephemera.
'Lombard Street Tattoo, Portland, OR (Homage to Ken Davis)', 2015-2016, oil on panel, 36" x 24", 2016, Collection of Coro Kaufman
At the time, I had taken a sign painting class with the interest of learning the muscle movement, process and craft of hand painting letters. I visited a friends’ shop in Portland, Oregon and witnessed the beautiful work of our friend, the artisan sign painter Ken Davis. Ken had painted some signs for our studio and many pieces for various friends across the west coast.
This point of view is looking into the shop from the entry way to the right of the front door. I really focused on recreating Ken’s lettering, but was equally interested in creating the illusion of hand painted letters on a glass window, with some of the environment within the space peeking through. I used a range of medium in this painting, including multiple layers of cold wax medium to give the glass the frosted look it needed.
I do not see myself as a ‘photorealist’ painter, although this piece embraces that style of work.
‘Lombard Street Windows (Homage to Ken Davis)’, oil on panel, 48” x 36”, 2016, Personal Collection
After painting a straight forward, realistic painting of Lombard Street Tattoos’ front windows, I knew that it wasn’t enough. I like to play, especially with paint and ideas. This larger scale painting became a looser interpretation of the windows on the other side of the entry way, peering through the glass into the windows in the previous painting. To me, this painting is about that space, but more about the experimentation of working with hand painted letters.
Much of what I do is working in layer upon layer, upon layer. In this piece, the background / window that’s further away was painted first. After that had dried completely, I layered it with a series of transparent and tinted layers of cold wax medium mixed with either Gamsol, Galkyd, and or colored oil paint. To further create the illusion of the situation, the top layer was hand painted with sign painter’s paint (one shot) in reverse. Then, not satisfied with the results, I scraped, sanded and played with paint to create this final result. The surface of this piece has a broad range of sheen and texture.
'ArtWorkRebels, NW 23rd, Portland, OR', oil on canvas, 36” x 24”, 2017, Collection of Jason Kundell
In 2016, ArtWorkRebels Tattoo’s building in Portland, Oregon was destroyed by a gas leak at a construction site across the street. One of my closest friends, Jason Kundell, lost his life’s work, his business, 25 years worth of art collecting, his coworker’s supplies and personal artwork, and a few pets, as well. A devastating tragedy, Jason mustered up the strength to rebuild his business with little to no help from the insurance companies.
The tattoo community came together to help Jason and his crew, a testament to the power of our peers. I spent a lot of time in that old shop on NW 23rd Street, got tattooed quite a bit there, made some tattoos, painted and taught some painting classes, and enjoyed the spirit and camaraderie of a shop filled with love and respect for tattooing and the tattoo family.
This painting is my homage to the old shop, a small gift for my friend honoring the memory and spirit of that special place.
‘Hanky Panky in Amsterdam, Study 1’, oil on canvas, 14" x 11", 2017, Collection of Tin-Tin
After a hazy night in Amsterdam, this was a last minute snapshot of one of tattooing’s most cherished historical ambassadors and all around great human, Henk Schiffmacher.
'Ernie Gosnell's Hideout Museum', oil on canvas, 30" x 24", 2014, Collection of Gloria Connors
'Tin-tin's Toilette, Paris, France', oil on panel, 48" x 36", 2016, Personal Collection
I walked into Tin-Tin Tatouage’s Paris tattoo shop bathroom for the first time and was overwhelmed with the density of tattoo magazine clippings glued to the walls and ceiling. Scanning through the purposefully placed photos of tattoo artist friends and well documented tattoos from the last thirty years was a pleasant surprise. These tight fitting quarters gives the sitter more than enough visual chaos to keep them busy while they do their business. I immediately knew that I would paint this special water closet.
‘Tin-Tin Tatouage,Paris; Upstairs looking down’, oil on panel, 14” x 11”, 2017, Collection of Mikael de Poissy
One of my favorite tattoo shops, Tin-Tin Tatoauges in Paris. On the second floor is Tin-Tin’s work area and a couple of stations for guests and full time tattooists. I wanted to focus on the daily routine of Tin-Tin walking down the tiny curved stairwell from a full day of work and fun. I especially love the light in this space and wanted to play off the shapes and angles from this tiny nook.
‘Razzouk Tattoo Family Heritage, 28 Generations’, oil on linen, 24” x 24”, 2023
This painting is a trompe l'oeil style painting, with a twist. A tradition at Razzouk Tattoo is getting tattooed by one their ancient stamps, some as old as 500 years. the overlayed design is from one of these archaic impressions. The four Razzouk family members displayed are Jiries Razzouk; Jacob, son of Jiries; Anton, son of Jacob; and Wassim, son of Anton.
‘Jerusalem in Light, Razzouk Tattoo Study’, oil on linen panel, 12” x 9”, 2024
Established in the 1300’s, Razzouk Tattoo Studio in Jerusalem’s Old City is likely the oldest in the world. A Coptic Christian family, the Razzouk family has been tattooing marks of faith on all walks of life for 700 years.
'Dan Sinnes’ Turtle Vase Still Life', oil on linen panel, 16" x 12", 2022, Collection of Jacob Moss
‘Portrait of a Plate (Tin-Tin's Amsterdam Tattoo Convention Trophy)', oil on panel, 12" x 12", 2017
‘Tin-Tin in Light’, oil on canvas, 36” x 24”, 2019
‘Civ’s Spot, Sayville, NY’, oil on canvas, 48” x 32”, 2010, Collection of Jason Kundell
'Freddy Corbin's Temple Study', oil on panel, 10” x 8”, 2012, Collection of Ken Davis
‘Tomas Tomas' Altar’, oil on panel, 12” x 9”, 2017, Collection of j.frede
A small altar at Tomas’ Tomas’ work station, Paris Tattoo Convention.
'Damon Conklin's Afro Pick', (Collaboration with Henry Lewis), 2014, oil on panel, 12” x 9”, Private Collection