Where to get inked in Oly

September 5, 2012 10:43 AM

I am looking for recommendations for a tattoo artist in Olympia, Wa.

I KNOW that Bryan at Spidermonkey is THE GUY...but he has a waiting list a year long and isn't even taking new clients unless he loves their idea (mine isn't all that exciting).

I have a very specific tattoo in mind, done in a VERY specific style, Art Nouveau. The accuracy of the style is more important to me that the content, really. Here is an example if you need a reminder:

http://artnouveau.wikispaces.com/file/view/art-nouveau1.jpg/144136059/art-nouveau1.jpg

I really want to have it done in Olympia, and I know there is no shortage of great tattoo artists here, but everyone I ask tells me to go to Bryan. I really don't want to wait...I have waited forever already to finally get this tattoo, and I'm ready now. Can anyone recommend someone who could pull off the style I'm looking for?

posted by virginia_clemm to Media & Arts (3 answers total)

Best answer: Go to shops with good reputations. Sit down and look at portfolios. Look for someone with a solid portfolio in the style that you're looking to get. The rest of the artists at SpiderMonkey look pretty decent--worth going in and checking out their physical portfolios to see if one's art speaks to you. Given that he's the owner, Bryan is unlikely to hire crap folks to work in his shop.
posted by mollymayhem at 10:56 AM on September 5, 2012

Best answer: The other artists who work with Bryan are pretty great too. I don't know about how any of them would be able to interact with the Art Nouveau style, but I went in for a line tattoo and got a great experience and a more awesome tattoo than I was expecting. The result has been the picture in my profile for a while.
posted by Blasdelb at 12:27 PM on September 5, 2012

Best answer: I emailed two of my friends with great tattoo taste, and they recommend Marco or Jorge at Lit Fuse and Matthew at Spidermonkey.
posted by semaphore at 2:56 PM on September 5, 2012