I was born in
Southern California, spent my adolescence in the East Bay, and have lived all
over the country. One of the great things about tattooing is that it offers me
the ability to experience new places and meet new people. Living and working in
many different parts of the country has afforded me the opportunity to broaden
my skills in a variety of styles. Every new city brings it's own exciting
culture and it's been an awesome ride so far!
In 1990, while
living in Southern California I
began a tattooing apprenticeship. In 1992 I moved to Dallas, TX where I spent 2
years working at Trilogy Tattoos. In 1994, I moved to Atlanta, GA, where I went
to work at Urban Tribe. I moved to
Tampa in 1996, and went to work at Instant Gratification. In Tampa I met Annette LaRue, who at
the time owned Blue Devil Tattoo Studio. She offered me a job in New Orleans
where she had just bought Electric Ladyland Tattoos. I spent a week there, and
loved it. So I went back to Tampa, packed up, and moved to New Orleans. The following
four years in New Orleans, working for Annette, were probably the most
influential of my career. I learned a lot from her, and I am still grateful to
have had the opportunity she gave me. After four years, and with a daughter on
the way I made the tough decision to leave New Orleans since I did not see it
as a place I could raise a child.
In 2001 I moved to Louisville, KY and took a position at Tattoo
Charlie's of Kentucky/Middletown. My daughter was born the following November.
I stayed in Louisville for the next four years to be close to family even
though the environment was not ideal. After years of hearing nothing but great
things about Portland,OR; in May of 2005 I got a job offer at Adorn Body Art
that I could not pass up, so I made the move. Six months later Matt Reed
offered me a job at TigerLily Tattoo, which was too good of an opportunity to
turn down. I spent four years in Portland. Working at TigerLily was a great
experience. I met and worked with some great people. After my marriage of 10
years ended, the opportunity to move back to the San Francisco Bay Area arose.
I found a job at Soul Patch Tattoo on Haight street. As of 2010, I'm tattooing
in San Francisco, and occasionally I make trips to Portland to work at
TigerLily and to see my daughter.
The gallery includes work that dates back as far as my days in Texas and some as
recent as a few weeks ago. It shows the broad
range of my work, but in no way is meant to represent the "only" work
I do. I can and do work in every style of tattooing.
