The TattooFinder.com artists are incredibly talented. Kat Von D and her artists on L.A. Ink are also amazingly gifted. Coincidence? I think not! TattooFinder.com is home to over 20,000 designs and growing, many of these creations belonging to world famous artists. So what happens when TattooFinder.com artists appear on LA Ink? An overload of talent and tattoo design goodness, that's what! L.A. Ink featured TattooFinder.com artists Guy Aitchison and Brandon Bond on separate episodes during their first and second seasons. Kat Von D also put on a three day tattoo and music festival, MusInk, that featured over 100 tattoo artists, including TattooFinder's very own Friday Jones! What was the experience like for our artists? Keep reading below to find out . . .

LA Ink

TLC's L.A. Ink was filmed at Kat Von D's tattoo studio, High Voltage Tattoo in Los Angeles, California. After leaving the show Miami Ink due to a falling out with co-owner Ami James, Kat moved back to LA to commence her own show. Tattoo artists Hannah Aitchison (sister of Guy Aitchison), Corey Miller, and Kim Saigh joined forces with Kat and began tattooing Hollywood one client (or celebrity) at a time. Hannah can be found at Deluxe Tattoo in Chicago, Illinois when not filming for LA Ink. Corey has been tattooing for over 23 years and also owns Six Feet Under Tattoo Parlor in Upland, California. Kim, another artist who started her tattoo career and a young age, works from her shop Cherry Bomb Tattoo in Chicago, Illinois while not in Los Angeles. The celebrities with bragging rights about receiving ink on the show include Steve-O, Bam Margera, Jenna Jameson, Nikki Sixx, Margaret Cho, Jared Leto, Jeffree Star, Rob Zombie, Slayer, members of H.I.M., Eagles of Death Metal, Jesse James, Green Day, and the Misfits.

Kat Von D

Corey, Pixie, Hannah, Kim, and Kat Von D

Kat Von D's life wasn't always full of glitz, glam, and celebrity clientele. After completing her first tattoo at the tender age of 14, Kat realized that tattooing was what she wanted to pursue. She dropped out of high school her freshman year and began working in a professional tattoo shop at age 16. Her hard work, motivation, and talent eventually led her to work with Chris Garver and Clay Decker at True Tattoo in Hollywood. Kat's notoriety and fame began to escalate and eventually landed her a spot on TLC's Miami Ink with Ami James, Chris Nunez, Chris Garver, Darren Brass, and Yoji Harada. After leaving Miami Ink and starting her own show, Kat is now bigger than ever. When asked about how becoming a celebrity has affected her artwork, she replied, "I think it keeps me on my toes. I feel like I have to be a good representation of tattooing. Everything I do on the show gets over-analyzed and dissected not just by tattooers but by everyone in general. So I think especially with season two, I really pushed myself, tried to do bigger pieces, and just really tried to take it to the next level. I feel like there’s always room for improvement." To stay updated on what's currently happening with her, check out Kat's MySpace page.

Miami Ink

TLC's Miami Ink was filmed at the studio Love/Hate Tattoos in Miami Beach, Florida. While it's co-owned by tattoo artists Ami James and Chris Nunez, they, along with other artists Chris Garver, Darren Brass, Yoji Harada, and Kat Von D (while still on the show) only worked at the shop during filming. Kat appeared as a full time artist for two seasons on the show until her and Ami started butting heads. As can happen, personalities clashed, and the tension continued rising between Kat and Ami. Rumor has it that L.A. Ink was already in the works before Kat left Miami Ink, but eventually the two artists agreed that they couldn't work with each other and parted ways. Miami Ink began filming its' fourth season in April 2008 with some original faces as well as some fresh ones. Read more about the stars of the show on TattooFinder.com's Miami Ink page.

Darren Brass, Yoji Harada, Chris Garver, Chris Nunez, and Ami James

TattooFinder.com Artists with Kat Von D and LA Ink

Guy Aitchison

Sleeve done by Guy Aitchison while on L.A. Ink

Guy Aitchison is a world renowned tattoo artist and pioneer of the biomechanical style. His work is sought after by many, and appreciated and envied by even more. He visited L.A. Ink and did a collaborative tattoo with his sister Hannah Aitchison who is a regular artist on the show, as well as a sleeve on a lucky client. Here is what he had to say about his experience:

"The new phenomenon of tattooing being featured on popular cable TV shows is hard to ignore. Despite the lightweight pop-culture treatment that tattooing is given on these shows, it has inarguably been a large factor in the growth of our industry over the past 5 years. As a result, it's almost impossible not to have an opinion of the tattoo TV fad, and people seem pretty divided about it. Many feel that these shows have taken some of the outlaw mystery out of tattooing and presented it as a cheap fad that can be bought and discarded like any cheap plastic part of this season's shiny things, while others, especially tattoo shop owners, argue that it's impossible to separate the popularity of these shows from the growth that the industry is going through; any growth is good, especially when it means a greater sense of public acceptance of tattooing. In reality, both of these viewpoints are valid to a certain extent, and it's inevitable that a deeper discussion of the TV phenomenon's pros and cons will take place within the industry.

I was at first reluctant to be part of 2007's Tattoo Wars series. My initial reaction was that they wanted to present tattooing like a monster truck rally or something to that extent- make a spectacle while ignoring the fine art aspect of what we do. My first inclination was to say No, but Aaron Cain talked me past my objections. His point: if we don't do this, someone will . . . and we have the opportunity to present tattooing in a more accurate light. We ended up being pleasantly surprised at how things went down: the producers (LA's Original Productions) were extremely open and receptive to our ideas and basically let us design the show. It was a lot of stressful last-minute planning, but between Aaron and I, my wife Michele, all our friends and clients and of course Durb Morrison from Hell City - we managed to pull it together, and the Aaron/Guy episode was better than we could have hoped for.



Guy and Hannah Aitchison's collaboration back piece tattoo on L.A. Ink

Unfortunately, the series got no promotion or advertising whatsoever at TLC. At first I was puzzled by this, but now that some time has passed I have made a major distinction. Tattoo Wars was a very unusual format for a program, and was heavily focused on the art. Naturally, for the artists and collectors that are the core of this industry, that was the most interesting thing to see: the art. However, let's not forget that television is NOT a fine art gallery, but an entertainment venue. There is a broad line between "documentary" and "television"; and the big difference is this: people are forced to sit through documentaries, while they willingly will tune in to television. Translation: documentary is not a good investment if you are a TV network. Tattoo Wars is documentary. You do the math.

That brings us to the shows like LA Ink and Miami Ink. I have heard a great deal of criticism about these shows, and have agreed with some of it myself. The chief complaint is that the art is not enough of a highlight in the show, or that aspects of how it is done are not portrayed accurately. These grievances would be valid enough if we were talking about tattoo documentary shows . . . but we are not. This is the important distinction: these are LIFESTYLE shows, not tattoo shows. They just happen to be tattoo-flavored . . . and that is what the networks are willing to give us. Period, end of story.

That said, as far as lifestyle shows go, they do put a strong spotlight on tattooing and have helped popularize the art form. Your average person who goes in for their first tattoo now goes in with a plan, not just a vague idea that they'll pick something from a wall. Some seem to feel that they need to come in with a story as well- the shows have trained them as such - but in my opinion, if that makes the newbies think about their ideas more, then that's a good thing. If someone gets a silly tattoo but they believe it's for their dead grandfather, they may be more likely to treasure the tattoo despite its silliness.

Another thing that I think is important to point out here: these are prime-time shows. Families watch them; even in the rural community we live in, the neighbors are sitting down with their kids watching these programs. What this means is that in 8-10 years, we'll have a whole generation of young adults who grew up in an environment where tattoos were totally normal and acceptable. I look forward to seeing what that will translate to in real life.

As far as my own experience with LA Ink, it was fun and memorable. The best part was seeing my sister Hannah, who I don't get to see ever unless we're at the same convention (and since my cutting way back on the conventions, this happens very rarely). Kat Von D's High Voltage Ink is a cool shop with plenty of space and all kinds of fun stuff hanging everywhere. The worst part was not being able to play music - but that's understandable enough, for production reasons. Every now and then the filming would pause and someone would crank music . . . Kat played Beethoven. Loud.

I said a few things in interviews that I hoped would make it in - most notably, about how tattooing needs to be learned the right way, with an apprenticeship - but they had to edit it down to the few minutes that ended up in the show. Mostly I am pleased at how the episode came out - after all, it was a great opportunity and I'm not going to take this elite attitude that they should design their show around my expectations. As it was, we forced them to break their normal formula a few times (each time, this was cause for an emergency meeting - TV money people do not like operating outside formula) but for some things that was necessary. For instance, skipping the fake consultation with our back-piece client Sue and instead showing her the stages of the drawing that Hannah and I had emailed back and forth to each other . . . that was not only necessary (I refuse to pretend that we did not only do that whole tattoo but the drawing also on the same day!) but also ended up making for some great TV.

If you are interested in seeing something particular happen on one of these shows, or have any artists in mind that you think would be good guest artists, don't be shy about it - go to TLC.com and email their PR department. Keep in mind that they respond better to compliments than criticism (Ex: "I really liked that episode where so-and-so did such-and-such . . . could we see more of that?"). With enough feedback, it can make a difference.

In the meantime, I think the time has come for the artists in this industry to start flooding YouTube with their own self-produced tattoo TV shows . . . this is now both affordable and technically possible for anyone with a little creativity and computer know-how. (See the HyperCoSMic Painting Jam video at our YouTube channel, Tattoo Television, for an example). Let's not wait for the big guys to give us an opportunity - it's upon us to create these opportunities for ourselves." - Guy Aitchison

Brandon Bond

Brandon Bond is a Pit Bull lover, gun enthusiast, and recognized world wide as a top tattoo artist. He appeared on both the first and second season of L.A. Ink. During his first visit he helped throw a fund-raiser party for then shop manager Pixie and the surgery she needed. The party, along with his trip overall (both times) were a success. Here's what Brandon said about his experience:

TattooFinder.com artist Brandon Bond on the LA Ink set

"The environment in which the artists on that show are filming is incredibly grueling and demanding. It's really amazing that they can produce that level of art under those circumstances.

I have never even sat through an episode of Miami Ink or Inked. To be honest the commercials alone made me sick. But when I watched the season premiere of LA Ink, I knew that the level of art was obviously higher than that of the other shows. The artists are respected, well known, established bad-asses and I saw it as an interesting and fun adventure to participate in.

They told me that Nikko had just stopped in to tattoo Kat Von D and that Aaron Cain and Guy Aitchison were scheduled to make potential appearances - if possible - as well. These are also artists that I greatly respect and that have influenced my work for many years. When approached about it, I could not resist the opportunity to show up for a big party and raise money for a great cause. We support our family of artists with blinding intensity and it was great to help two families join together to achieve something beautiful together.

My studio actually turned down a couple of offers to film some television shows in our studio, and now I am REALLY glad I rejected it. The process was horrifying and stressful, and I enjoy that our studios here in Atlanta are relaxing and comfortable. I have no interest in turning my private life into a weekly censored boob tube event, yet I am fascinated by these artists' ability to produce such great art under those circumstances.

I have known and respected Hannah Aitchison for many years, and consider her an amazing and influential artist and a friend. People can say whatever they want about how TV shows will ruin the secret underworld and integrity of tattooing (and I have to admit that I have many mixed feelings about it myself), but these folks do great tattoos and have a great time doing it. Brian (the Darth Vader back piece guy) and I had a blast out there. I don't regret it a bit, and everyone involved was incredibly accommodating and respectful." - Brandon Bond

Friday Jones

Deja Kai with Friday Jones at the MusInk Festival

Photo © 2008 Angelina Butera Used With Permission

So much can be said about TattooFinder.com artist Friday Jones. She's known as the tattooist of the stars (clients include Angelina Jolie and Janeane Garofalo), has traveled Europe with the Queens of the Stoneage, and most recently, attended Kat Von D's MusInk festival. Not only did she get to sling some ink, she also was a judge along side L.A. Ink cast member Cory Miller for "Tattoo Of The Day." Here's what Friday had to say about the event:

"I love LA. If they had a football team, I would gladly have Kat Von D in my box, but sadly, LA seems to lack the emotional fortitude it takes to support such diversions. Not so with tattooing, which I happily realized on the opening day of Kat's latest venture, The Musink Festival.

Lines of SoCal devotees began forming outside the Orange County Fairgrounds hours before the venue opened. Lines continued well into the day, both indoors and out as Kat's fans queued up in front of her massive booth for hours waiting for her frequently touted daily autograph signing session. God bless event organizer and good pal Roxan Moran who set me up along with Walt Clarke of New Orleans' NOLA Tattoo and Joey Galiger of Melrose Tattoo. Pin-up model Angelina Butera was on hand to sign posters and we had a lovely spot right in the center of the center aisle and fielded the 30,000 plus attendees with aplomb. Not so with the hapless artists positioned near Kat, who had an unmovable line of purists for most of the day waiting for their chance to meet the Diva of LA Ink.

Kat has always been charitable to her fans, and it was refreshing to watch her handle the massive volume of adoration with grace and patience. Sadly, her popularity has stirred resentment in the tattoo community and it came to a head on Sunday when one artist pulled a freak-out shouting at poor Hannah and flipping over the tables in his booth. Security took care of him with alacrity and Kat's fans quickly dispatched with his equipment. Sorry gnarly dude, time to get out of the kitchen.

The scheduled entertainment was also terrific as Kat and Goldenvoice lined up some great acts for the festival and Friday night's Fireball Ministry in particular brought the noise in true Sunset Boulevard fashion. The film crew was in effect shooting footage for LA Ink's season finale and 80's satire-redux Metal Skool brought Kat and the gang (and the rest of us backstage headbangers) up front and center for a Bon Jovi hesh-sesh by way of finale. Complete sweaty goodness. Kat and the crew looked as foxy as they've ever been and at one point Kat caught my eye and shouted over the din, "So FUN!!" For true, Mujer. Keep on truckin'." - Friday Jones

Tattoo by Friday Jones

Photo © 2008 Ryan Ferrario Used With Permission