Features

Portrait of an Artist

It's the artistic talent and thriving ideas that set 35-year-old artist and entrepreneur Thomas Pendelton apart from his peers. Now that he is no longer tattooing, he is now using his creativity to start up his own clothing line, “Ministry of Ink.” He is also the proud father twin girls as well as his 10-year-old son.

“My life is now 100 percent family-oriented and business,” Pendelton says. “Where I am today is exactly where I want to be.”

Past and Present

Veteran tattoo artist Fip Buchanan feels the social interaction between the artist and client is the best part of tattooing. It’s what keeps him intrigued on a daily basis. The past years have brought a lot of changes to the tattoo industry, and he has experienced many of them.

A Travelin' Gal

Shanghai Kate might indeed have the most interesting resume of any male or female tattoo artist in the country. She's worked plenty of side jobs from a graphic designer, art gallery promoter to an influential columnist. The revered artist and entrepreneur of 35 years keeps herself in perpetual motion by promoting her work and meeting fans at tattoo conventions throughout the country.

While celebrities get all the credit for art performed in front of the camera, many of the hardest working artists in the industry prefer to hide behind the scenes away from the chaos of Hollywood. Artist Tom Berg is one of those, as he has combined the buzz of his tattoo machine to the scratch of his pencil and the wisp of his paintbrush.

Working with Love under the Lights of Las Vegas

Fred Giovannitti doesn’t like the word “tattoo.”

“It brings a stereotype to mind,” he says. “There’s a huge difference between tattoos and skin art. Tattoos you get by a tattoo technician. Skin art you get by an artist.”

Getting the Word Out

What does it take to promote your artwork? RankMyTattoos.com explores business strategies work for tattoo artists, and what fail.”