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NEW "Flow & Fit" video seminar added!
We are excited to announce the addition of an important new seminar, Flow & Fit, to the Reinventing The Tattoo curriculum! Flow and fit are at the core of good tattoo design, and such a fundamental part of the discussion of good tattoo drawing that it's the first chapter in the book after the introduction... you'll find the new seminar posted at the end of Page 9. Featuring the work of @guyaitchisonart @meganjeanmorris @coryferguson @burningxhope @philgarcia805 @zhencangtattoo @tymcewen @juan_salgado @russabbott @natebeavers @adamfrance and @shainesmithtattoo, the workshop shows you how to apply strong flowing design strategies to any style of tattooing. Available now in your ReinventingTheTattoo.com subscription!
NEW Guy Aitchison Coverup Tutorial Available Now!!
Many tattooists avoid coverup work, feeling that they do their best work on clean skin, but a lot of clients who are seeking coverup work are also transitioning from collecting small tattoos to becoming serious tattoo collectors, and the artists willing to help them with their unwanted work are also likely to get lots of clean skin from them as well- so by taking on coverups you can greatly expand your client base and your career. Noted tattooist Guy Aitchison has been doing coverup work for most of his 30 years in the trade, and shares what he knows about the subject in two DVD tutorials, Coverup: A Fresh Look and Coverup: The Next Level, showing an artist's eye view of the coverup process from consultation to completion, guiding artists past the common coverup pitfalls and showing healed and settled results for many kinds of coverup projects, including work by guest artists in a variety of different styles. These two seminars are now bundled together in a comprehensive educational package that will help gain you coverup superpowers- and in the process, a whole new scope of clientele including larger scale work. You can find it at alongside our other educational DVDs. Or you can simply subscribe to Reinventing The Tattoo, which makes all this material instantly available.
First Aitchison Mini-Print of 2018!
This week we are releasing Guy's first new print of the year, an affordable mini reproduction of LavaCoil, which he just completed last night. Prints are 8x10" plus a 1" colored border for mounting purposes, and come signed on archival canvas for only $30. Can be stretched or matted. Color matched and produced right here at Hyperspace Studios, and perfect for your workstation art collection. Available until noon on Wednesday February 7, and then we are removing it permanently from our catalog.
Ohio Bio Show Combo!!
We've made an overrun of prints for the Ohio Bio Show at Red Tree Gallery last fall, and they've just sent the extras back to us. We are offering a discount on a combo of all three of these prints for the next 48 hours only, with all of them combined for $125. Click HERE to take advantage of this deal!
Expand your drawing skills!
For this week's special we are reaching out to all you artists wanting to expand your drawing skills. Joe Swanson's Draw Tattoo Style is a great primer for fundamental classic tattoo drawing, and The Body Sketch Book is designed for the purpose of applying your drawing skills toward specific body parts in a way that can help you draw more fluently for your clients. Try watching Swanson's tutorial and then taking those ideas straight to The Body Sketch Book, and see how quickly you can advance your abilities!
'Tattoo Drawing Combo'
is the Featured Item unitl the end of January.
Order this item and get FREE SHIPPING!!
(FREE SHIPPING to US orders only.
Order more items and get the shipping special on your WHOLE order!!
Any additional shipping charges will be refunded when order is filled)
Final 72 Hours of The Biomech Encyclopedia Kickstarter!
For those of you who have been following the current Kickstarter campaign that we're having for The Biomech Encyclopedia, there's great news- we have exceeded our goal and have raised enough funds to print the deluxe two-volume slipcase edition, which is really what we had our hearts set on. The campaign isn't over yet, though, and any additional funds raised in the final 72 hours will go toward making the book even better, including a few more fun publishing bells and whistles, and also funding the purchase of a large format printer to make proofing of this massive edition easier.
We have a lot of great rewards available for supporters, including some not pictured here. The book itself is the important one, and you can pledge amounts for one, two or three copies. We also have available T-Shirts, a die-cut sticker pack, a limited edition poster, and combination packages including the shirt, poster, book and sticker pack. For those wanting to show a higher level of support we have some unique collaborative pieces of original art made during the production of the art in the book, signed by multiple artists and placed in a hand-embellished mat. The next level up are color mixed media signed biomech originals, matted and framed. You can also take this rare opportunity to line up for an original framed oil painting from Guy's current series, which will be ready to ship shortly after the campaign.
Show your support for this one-of-a-kind publishing project, and get some cool stuff in the process- drop by The Biomech Encyclopedia at Kickstarter to see the project in detail.
New Rewards Added to Biomech Encyclopedia Kickstarter Campaign!
Happy New Year from Hyperspace Studios!
The big news this week is our ongoing Kickstarter campaign, which is intended to fund the upcoming epic community book project, The Biomech Encyclopedia. The campaign is going well, and at this point it looks like we will at bare minimum reach our $40,000 goal, which will cover the cost of a deluxe 10x13” hardcover edition with a few extra bells and whistles. But we don’t want to settle for that if we don’t have to- ultimately, we’d like to raise enough to print the two volume edition with slipcase, as pictured here. That would allow us to include more content and to make the book more deluxe in general.
If you are already a supporter of this project, take a look at our newest rewards. For those who have pre-ordered the book, you can now upgrade your pledge to include both the book and T-shirt. In addition, for those who have pledged at a higher level, you can now upgrade your pledge to include circular framed oil paintings by Guy, who is slamming away full time right now on the book content and reward packages.
Let your friends know about the Biomech Encyclopedia Kickstarter campaign- this is a book that will be an epic visual trip for any art fan and an incomparable learning experience for tattooists, filmmakers, special effects artists, game designers, and graphic artists of all types who are wanting to expand their vocabulary. Once we break the $40K goal we’ll be announcing new rewards for stretch goals, some which will only be available to our early supporters.
Help support the Biomech Encyclopedia project today!
Click HERE for all the info!
Sign Up Now For Guy's Latest High-Power Artists' Workshop!
Guy Aitchison has been teaching seminars to tattoo artists since 1993, in the process fine-tuning his approach to give artists the most bang for their buck. In his newest workshop, Contrast: The Backbone of a Tattoo, Guy begins by going over a broad range of theory and practical ways of increasing the impact of your work, using still images and video from not only his own studio but also including work by a variety of top artists working in different styles. This will be followed by a hands-on workshop for participants, giving them a chance to put these ideas to work right away in order to see how to incorporate them into a day-to-day tattooing practice. Intended for professional tattoo artists of all levels of experience. The workshop will take place on Sunday, May 20th at 10:00am, at the Tattoo The Lou convention in St.Louis, MO.
Print Specials available at our eBay Store!!
A new year is the perfect time to add art to your studio or home. So, we are putting some budget priced archival canvas prints up at our eBay store. All prints are signed and dated on archival canvas, and are extras from our proofing process. This means that they may differ in size or have slight color differences from the production run. The good news is, you get to save some money; because these prints are roughly half the price that they are in our catalog at the HyperspaceStudios store. Some prints are limited run and no longer available in our catalog! Check out our eBay store by clicking here: https://www.ebay.com/usr/hyperspacestudios2upg
Biomech Encyclopedia Kickstarter Campaign is now LIVE!
Hey everyone,
So the big moment has come. As of thursday morning the Kickstarter campaign for the Biomech Encyclopedia is now live. We have every intention of making this campaign a successful one, which will fund the costly print job for the massive book. If we exceed our $40,000 goal we plan on making it a multi-volume edition with all sorts of fun bells and whistles. This will be a 30 day campaign, which is recommended in the Kickstarter Creator's Guide as being the most likely duration for success, as longer campaigns tend to bring on a kind of campaign fatigue. So let's make every one of those 30 days count.
We are hoping that we can rely on you to help spread the word. I've attached some graphics and included a couple links, along with some generic text that you can either use as-is or customize to your liking for use on Facebook, Instagram or anywhere else that it fits. We also encourage you to support the campaign by making a pledge there- this is a great opportunity to grab some original art, or order copies of the book in advance. And if you know of any blogs or other press contacts that you believe we should reach out to, please let us know.
We also wanted to remind you that the collaborative Flickr gallery will be running for the duration of the Kickstarter campaign. You should be able to find the invitation in your inbox, but if not, let us know and Kurt will resend it. It's starting to get interesting there, but we would love to get a lot more of you involved. The collab gallery has been one of the most fun aspects of this project, and is an inspiring way to spend your downtime this December and early January. I recommend installing the Flickr app on your phone so you can review, comment, download and upload things instead of wasting time scrolling through that old instagram feed. We need more rough sketches there, which you can do on a bar napkin and then take a quick snap on your phone and upload it then and there.
Anyway, I hope to see you there. Below is some text for your social media announcements about the Biomech Encyclopedia. Thanks, and let us know if you have any questions!
G
Here is a link to the Kickstarter campaign: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/139266974/biomech-encyclopedia?ref=discovery&term=biomech%20encyclopedia
and a link to a high resolution version of the video, on YouTube: https://youtu.be/4f1k4F4C9eM
(long version)
Biomech Encyclopedia Kickstarter Campaign is now LIVE!
Tattooists who like to work in the biomechanical genre have known for a long time how fun and productive it can be to collaborate in this style, which allows for free exploration of visual themes. Most of you are familiar with the work of H.R. Giger, who popularized this style when he designed the creature and sets for the original Ridley Scott movie Alien. Tattoo artists have picked up where Giger left off and run in all kinds of diverse directions with these abstract worlds, demonstrating the broad range of what can be expressed with organic and biomechanical art.
Produced by veteran tattoo artist Guy Aitchison, The Biomech Encyclopedia explores this great graphic range, acting as a source of instruction and inspiration for tattooists, filmmakers and special effects artists, game designers, and any art fans wanting to dive deeply into this abstract alien realm. The book will be large format (10x13"), around 500 pages, hardbound, possibly with a deluxe slipcase, and will include art, collaborations and feature articles by dozens of artists from around the world. To fund the production and printing of this massive volume, there is now a Kickstarter campaign where you can preorder the book along with a number of other rewards including collaborative paintings and original art from the book. You can find the project by going to kickstarter.com and searching "Biomech Encyclopedia". Help make the Biomech Encyclopedia a reality! #biomech #biomechanicalart 3abstract #art #tattoo #tattooart #artbook #kickstarter
(short version)
Biomech Encyclopedia Kickstarter Campaign is now LIVE!
Tattooists who like to work in the biomechanical genre have known for a long time how fun and productive it can be to collaborate in this style, which allows for free exploration of visual themes. Produced by veteran tattoo artist Guy Aitchison, The Biomech Encyclopedia explores this great graphic range, acting as a source of instruction and inspiration for tattooists, filmmakers and special effects artists, game designers, and any art fans wanting to dive deeply into this abstract alien realm. The book will be large format (10x13"), around 500 pages, hardbound, possibly with a deluxe slipcase, and will include art, collaborations and feature articles by dozens of artists from around the world. There is now a Kickstarter campaign where you can preorder the book along with a number of other rewards including collaborative paintings and original art from the book; go to kickstarter.com and search "Biomech Encyclopedia". Help make the Biomech Encyclopedia a reality! #biomech #biomechanicalart 3abstract #art #tattoo #tattooart #artbook #kickstarter
(shortest version)
The Biomech Encyclopedia is a community art book project that explores the great graphic range of the biomechanical genre, acting as a source of instruction and inspiration for tattooists, filmmakers and special effects artists, game designers, and any art fans wanting to dive deeply into this abstract alien realm. There is now a Kickstarter campaign where you can preorder the book along with a number of other rewards; go to kickstarter.com and search "Biomech Encyclopedia". Help make the Biomech Encyclopedia a reality! #biomech #biomechanicalart 3abstract #art #tattoo #tattooart #artbook #kickstarter
December 11-12 Featured Iteml!
We have some great gifts available at Hyperspace Studios, with Christmas shipping inside the US guaranteed on all orders received by noon on December 18th. If you are stumped about what to get for the art fan in your life we recommend the Tattoo Community Project Pack which bundles together several particularly cool items for one low price! These include Scratch Art, featuring scratchboard art by hundreds of artists in a highly diverse collection; Innerstate, a book and documentary DVD showing about tattoo artists creating visionary art pieces; The ArtFusion Experiment, Paul Booth's documentary about live collaborative art performances; and Pint Size Paintings, a pocket sized book featuring tiny pieces of epic art. All of these items are loaded with surprising creative content that will inspire and entertain anyone with an interest in the tattoo world. As our Featured Item, it has free US shipping, plus free shipping on all items ordered with them!
(FREE SHIPPING to US orders only.
Order more items and get the shipping special on your WHOLE order!!
Any additional shipping charges will be refunded when order is filled)
Holiday Specials: December 8-10!
For this weekend's special we are featuring three large format prints at a great holiday discount. Michele's painting From Within celebrates the expression of your unique personal energy in your art and your life.
Guy's painting Beacon Of Faith is about transcendence and personal evolution, and his piece Hypercosmic Spiral is a large format yet compositionally simple artistic gesture, painted live on stage in a performance. All three of these prints are normally $200, but for this weekend we are discounting them to $150 each. As our Featured Items, they get free US shipping, plus free shipping on all items ordered with them!
(FREE SHIPPING to US orders only.
Order more items and get the shipping special on your WHOLE order!!
Any additional shipping charges will be refunded when order is filled)
Music Special from Proton Press!!
Just in time for the holidays we are offering our 5 CD Proton pack of electronic music for only $15. Many of the artists included in this collection have been featured in video content we’ve produced including live performances at Hell City and Innerstate, and makes a great soundtrack for your painting space or tattoo studio. Limited availability!
Order between December 6-7 and get FREE US SHIPPING!!
(FREE SHIPPING to US orders only.
Order more items and get the shipping special on your WHOLE order!!
Any additional shipping charges will be refunded when order is filled)
December 4-5 Holiday FREE Shipping Specials!
For this holiday season we are offering some great deals on high quality archival canvas art prints, which make amazing yet affordable gifts for art collectors. Prints are on archival canvas and are produced in-house for careful color matching, and are signed by the artists. The deals listed here are available until December 18 (cutoff time for U.S. shipping) but if you order in the next 24 hours you'll get free shipping too!
Michele has just added Zenscape 1 to the catalog, and it's the largest print we produce here while at the same time making a reserved statement ($250, $50 savings)
She has also introduced canvas editions of Sacred Space 1&2, available together ($100) or separately ($60 each)
Her epic vibratory painting Potential is available in 2 sizes, discounted to $75 and $150 ($50 savings on each)
She is also adding Seed, a striking meditation on life's promise, $60 ($20 savings)
Keeping with the holiday theme of life and rebirth, Guy is offering deals on several of his prints including Perennial, temporarily priced at $50 ($30 savings)
Radiant Flux is about channeling creative energy, and is one of Guy's most colorful recent pieces, priced this month only at $90 ($30 savings)
And for those seeking something truly epic, Guy's visionary pair of organic and mechanical crystalline pieces, Lightform 7 and 8, are now each available for $150 ($50 savings) or as a pair for $275 ($125 savings!)
For the next 48 hours you can get free shipping in the US on all of these items! Special pricing is available until December 18.
(FREE SHIPPING to US orders only.
Order more items and get the shipping special on your WHOLE order!!
Any additional shipping charges will be refunded when order is filled)
Hyperspace Studios Family Mini Print Combo
Celebrate the holidays with the Hyperspace Studios Family Mini Print Combo! We are bundling together three small prints from @guyaitchisonart @michelewortman and their daughter Kaia Rose. Guy's painting Flamecoil is about focusing personal internal energy, making it a perfect gift for artists. Michele's painting Trio celebrates family, in a palette meant to work well in any architectural space. Kaia's painting Wooden Duck is an abstract exploration of light and form. The prints are 8x16", 8x11" and 8x10" plus 1" colored borders for mounting purposes, and are signed by the artists on archival canvas, $100 for all three. We've added this combo permanently to our catalog, but for the next two days it's our featured item, giving you free US shipping on it plus anything else you order along with it!
Featured Item: 11/29-11/30
Order this item and get FREE SHIPPING!!
(FREE SHIPPING to US orders only. Shipping to Canada is $22.00 and anywhere else is $32.00.
Order more items and get the shipping special on your WHOLE order!!
Any additional shipping charges will be refunded when order is filled)
Cyber Monday Specials!!
This Cyber Monday we are offering 4 great specials until Midnight tonight!!
Each special includes FREE US SHIPPING!!
Order more items and get the shipping special on your WHOLE order!!
Perfect for cool weather, this comfortable indoor/outdoor knit and faux leather jacket has on of Michele's crystal mandalas embroidered on the right sleeve. For Cyber Monday only, we are dropping the price to $40 and throwing in FREE US shipping!
In The Tattoo Community Project Pack, we feature books and DVDs from four projects: The ArtFusion Experiment, Scratch Art, Innerstate and Pint Size Paintings. For Cyber Monday only, we are dropping the price to $99 and throwing in FREE US shipping!
Save $25 on two of Guy Aitchison's most essential video tutorials. Technique is a 4 DVD set detailing Guy's rendering methods, and Coverup: A Fresh Look features an updated approach to coverup, allowing you to greatly expand the scope of your career. These two tutorials also make a great gift for tattooists of all levels experience. For Cyber Monday only, we are dropping the price to $199 and throwing in FREE US shipping!
For this holiday season we are adding a new combo pack of two signed archival canvas prints of Michele and Guy's most recent paintings, BioSpore and Chrysalis. You can get these two prints together for $125 - a savings of $15. Get them today on Cyber Monday and get FREE US shipping!
Order any of the special Cyber Monday items and get FREE US SHIPPING!!
Order more items and get the shipping special on your WHOLE order!!
Any additional shipping charges will be refunded when order is filled.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!
New Print Available from Guy Aitchison - Chrysalis
This week's special is an archival canvas print of Guy's latest Mind Tree painting, Chrysalis. For those familiar with Guy's Mind Tree series, Chrysalis is the next level in exploring this colorful, luminous abstract alien space, and is currently hanging in the Ohio Bio Show at Red Tree Studio in Columbus, Ohio. The print is 18x26" plus a 1" colored border for mounting purposes, and is signed and dated by the artist. As this week's special, you get free shipping in the US, not only on the print but on anything else that you order with it!
(FREE SHIPPING to US orders only. Shipping to Canada is $10.00 and anywhere else is $20.00.
Order more items and get the shipping special on your WHOLE order!!
Any additional shipping charges will be refunded when order is filled)
New Print Available from Guy Aitchison - Chrysalis
This week's special is an archival canvas print of Guy's latest Mind Tree painting, Chrysalis. For those familiar with Guy's Mind Tree series, Chrysalis is the next level in exploring this colorful, luminous abstract alien space, and is currently hanging in the Ohio Bio Show at Red Tree Studio in Columbus, Ohio. The print is 18x26" plus a 1" colored border for mounting purposes, and is signed and dated by the artist. As this week's special, you get free shipping in the US, not only on the print but on anything else that you order with it!
(FREE SHIPPING to US orders only. Shipping to Canada is $10.00 and anywhere else is $20.00.
Order more items and get the shipping special on your WHOLE order!!
Any additional shipping charges will be refunded when order is filled)
Special Keith Ciaramello & Guy Aitchison Postcard Combo!
This Week Only (October 13-19)
'Keith Ciaramello's KEEP IT REAL Combo Pack'
is the Featured Item this week.
Order this item and get FREE SHIPPING, a $46 discount
& Guy Aitchison's 6 Piece Postcard Set!!
(FREE SHIPPING to US orders only. Shipping to Canada is $20.00 and anywhere else is $35.00.
Order more items and get the shipping special on your WHOLE order!!
Any additional shipping charges will be refunded when order is filled)
Keith Ciaramello's Keep It Real Volume 1,2&3 combo pack
7 DVDs 13+ hours $199.00 (Save $46.00!)
In Keep It Real Volume 1, Award winning artist Keith Ciaramello takes you through the process of tattooing a color portrait of "The Eighth Wonder of the World" Andre the Giant! Topics covered include; choosing reference, enhancing reference in Adobe Photoshop, making the stencil, stencil application, flesh-tones, color mixing, needles, inks, using the Neuma Hybrid and much more. Keith has added a third BONUS DVD of his live seminar lecture. This is over 5 hours on 3 discs! The techniques discussed apply to coil and rotary machines as well.
In Keep it Real Volume 2, Keith picks up where he left off in KIR vol.1 by explaining applied realistic techniques in black and gray. Keith continues to provide the clear, detailed explanations he has become known for, and once again (as in KIR Vol.1) includes his onscreen "Palette Cam" and photo reference throughout the entire process. It's presented almost entirely in real time, and shot with extreme closeups so clear you can count the needles. Find out firsthand why Keith's instructional DVDs receive such positive testimonials from tattoo artists all over the world. If you have any interest in improving your realism techniques, this 4 hour/2 DVD package is an opportunity not to be missed.
In Keep it Real Volume 3, Keith offers an insightful glimpse into pet portraiture, which has recently become a popular- and sometimes surprisingly striking- tattoo motif. In Keith's approach you can see how his foundation in painting and other mediums translates into his painterly approach to handling subtle realistic color on skin. It shows pretty much the entire tattoo process over the course of 4 hours on 2 DVDs, with the whole procedure described in detail. It's meant for tattooists who already have a solid foundation of basic technique and are looking to take their realism work to the next level.
New Book - Back & Large Pieces!
We are excited to add Back & Large Pieces to our catalog! Published by Brazilian editor Daniel Martino, this beautifully presented softbound volume showcases large work by some of your favorite artists from around the world. Representing premium examples of many different styles including Japanese, traditional, illustrative, biomechanical, realism and black&grey, Back & Large Pieces includes a number of full page plates from both Guy and Michele, shown in gloss printed detail that you just can't see on a screen. We now have this epic book in our catalog at tattooeducation.com!
BJ Betts & Big Meas 7 Book Combo Special!
This Week Only (October 16 - October 22)
Save $50 when you order the
Lettering 7 Book Combo for one Great price!
Includes the BJ Betts Combo & the Big Meas Combo
Click HERE for all the information!
Order this Combo and get FREE SHIPPING!!
(FREE SHIPPING to US orders only. Shipping to Canada is $30.00 and anywhere else is $45.00.
Order more items and get the shipping special on your WHOLE order!!
Any additional shipping charges will be refunded when order is filled)
Coverup Trivia Question #6
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Coverup Trivia Question #6
What about those really tough spots? Certain areas of the old tattoo are dark and scarred; how can I cover those parts?
It's all about smart design. If you think ahead you can often make use of the worst parts of the old piece in ways that make the coverup not only successful, but unexpected and original. See examples of this in Coverup: The Next Level, now included FREE in your Reinventing The Tattoo subscription, building on last year's foundation, Coverup: A Fresh Look. Find out more at www.ReinventingTheTattoo.com.
Coverup Trivia Question #5
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Coverup Trivia Question #5
I've seen solid black tattoos where it was obvious where the coverup areas were. If solid black can't do it, then what can?
It's a simple answer: Detail. Clever use of detail can not only hide the old piece but also disguise which parts of the new tattoo are coverup and which aren't. We dis cuss many examples of this in Coverup: The Next Level, now included FREE in your Reinventing The Tattoo subscription, building on last year's foundation, Coverup: A Fresh Look. Find out more at www.ReinventingTheTattoo.com.
#tattoo #education #tattooeducation #coverup #coveruptattoo
(photo provided by @juan_salgado ...you can see his amazing coverup of this mess at his profile, or better yet, see it discussed in detail, along with many other examples by various artists, in your Reinventing The Tattoo subscription)
Coverup Trivia Question #4
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Coverup Trivia Question #4
When I see large healed coverup tattoos, it's usually easy to pick out where the coverup areas are. How can I avoid this?
Let's say you're doing a backpiece to cover up a "tramp stamp" and a couple small shoulder pieces. You finish and step beck, and are mostly happy, but those coverup areas are just a little denser than the rest. Since this is impossible to avoid with many coverup projects, the answer lies in balancing out that density by adding it in a few areas that aren't coverup, in order to bring that look through the whole piece. Find out some practical strategies for this in Coverup: The Next Level, now included FREE in your Reinventing The Tattoo subscription, building on last year's foundation, Coverup: A Fresh Look. Find out more at www.ReinventingTheTattoo.com. #tattoo #education #tattooeducation #coverup #coveruptattoo
Coverup Trivia Question #3
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Coverup Trivia Question #3
Can't you just blast over the old piece with skin color a couple times to lighten it?
Well, yes and no. When you apply layers of ink across multiple sessions, you are mixing pigments in the skin, so adding a lot of white or off-white pigment can limit how black you can get your lines later on. It is possible to get a lasting lightening effect by using white, but it may be a little different from what you'd expect. There's way more on this subject in Coverup: The Next Level, now included FREE in your Reinventing The Tattoo subscription, building on last year's foundation, Coverup: A Fresh Look. Find out more at www.ReinventingTheTattoo.com. #tattoo #education #tattooeducation #coverup #coveruptattoo
Coverup Trivia Question #2
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Coverup Trivia Question #2
What is the Translucency Factor?
I've laid out six major "Coverup Realities", including the Translucency Factor. When a coverup tattoo heals and settles, you can usually see the old piece coming through, because the new tattoo isn't opaque like acrylic or oil paint- it's translucent, like watercolors. Find out strategies for working around this problem in Coverup: The Next Level, now included FREE in your Reinventing The Tattoo subscription, building on last year's foundation, Coverup: A Fresh Look. Read more at www.ReinventingTheTattoo.com. #tattoo #education #tattooeducation #coverup #coveruptattoo
Limited for 3 days only: Collaborative Guy Aitchison/Chris Hall Print
Crinklemech Hook
Signed canvas archival canvas print
$65 including shipping inside US
Painted by Chris Hall and Guy Aitchison during a collaborative tattoo project, Crinklemech Hook represents a unique crossover of organic abstract styles, and is graphically striking both up close and from a distance. At 14x14" plus a 1" colored border for mounting purposes, these archival canvas prints are signed by both artists and would look great in your workstation! $65 includes shipping inside the US (you can contact our manager for overseas shipping rates). Available until noon Central US time this coming Thursday, October 5th, and then it's being permanently removed from the catalog.
Coverup Trivia Question #1
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Coverups are a pain. Why should I bother when I do my best work on clean skin?
No doubt you are already aware of how much potential business there is for an artist willing to do coverup work. But there's an important demographic of clientele who you really don't want to turn away. Who are these people? Find out in detail in Coverup: The Next Level, now included FREE in your Reinventing The Tattoo subscription, building on last year's foundation, Coverup: A Fresh Look. Read more at www.ReinventingTheTattoo.com. #tattoo #education #tattooeducation #coverup #coveruptattoo
Guy Aitchison's- Coverup: The Next Level- added to Reinventing The Tattoo
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As tattoo clients start to get larger work, it is often up to their artists to steer them toward thinking larger scale, instead of filling up with small pieces. These artists will usually have the job of covering or incorporating earlier pieces, and if approached with the right mindset, these collectors can be guided into getting the kinds of large scale work that we are proud to have in our portfolios. Guy Aitchison's Coverup: The Next Level provides a clear foundation for not only tackling any kind of coverup job, but also for using coverup as an opportunity to get larger scale projects and a more serious clientele.
Building on last year's Coverup: A Fresh Look, Coverup: The Next Level has been added to the coverup chapters in the Reinventing The Tattoo curriculum, making it part of the most comprehensive guide to coverup tattooing anywhere in the industry. Reinventing The Tattoo now contains dozens of videos showing closeup tattooing with in-depth voiceover descriptions, along with hundreds of pages of richly illustrated text addressing every aspect of tattooing, including guest chapters by artists such as Phil Garcia, Megan Jean Morris, Halo Jankowski, Don McDonald, Russ Abbott and Nick Baxter. Drop by www.ReinventingTheTattoo.com to find out more!
OUT-OF-OFFICE NOTICE!!
ATTENTION!!
WE WILL BE OUT OF THE OFFICE BETWEEN 9/23 - 10/1
Please note: If you place an ORDER between 9/22- 10/1
we WILL NOT be shipping your order until 10/2.
Also, if you apply for ARTIST VERIFICATION,
we WILL NOT be able to verify until 10/2
Sorry for any inconvenience!!
4 Day Sale - 30% off "Keep it Real 3" Plus FREE SHIPPING!!
GET 30% OFF Plus FREE SHIPPING! - September 18-21
Our 4 Day featured item this week is, Keith Ciaramello's ‘Keep It Real 3’ DVD. He offers an insightful glimpse into pet portraiture, which has recently become a popular- and sometimes surprisingly striking- tattoo motif. In Keith's approach you can see how his foundation in painting and other mediums translates into his painterly approach to handling subtle realistic color on skin. Anyone who orders our Featured Item gets free shipping on their whole order anywhere inside the US, so if you are planning on picking up some books or other heavy items, keep this in mind!
Order this item and get FREE SHIPPING on your entire order!
(FREE SHIPPING to US orders only. Shipping to Canada is $7.00 and anywhere else is $12.00.
Order more items and get the shipping special on your WHOLE order!!
Any additional shipping charges will be refunded when order is filled)
Featured Item - Ciavarro & Swanson COMBO! - SOLD OUT!!
SOLD OUT!!
SOLD OUT!!
Drawing is at the core of a well developed tattoo skill set, and this week's special is aimed at helping you bring your drawing skills up a few notches! Tony Ciavarro's two Shut Up And Draw DVDs give you a detailed over-the-shoulder look at Tony's drawing process, showing every step taken from rough sketch to completed color design, while Joe Swanson's Drawing Tattoo Style gets down to the nuts-and-bolts fundamentals of clear, readable, skin-friendly drawing. This week you can get all 3 of the disks for $125! This combo deal is our featured items, meaning not only free U.S. shipping, but anything else you order with it gets shipped free as well!
Order this item and get FREE SHIPPING!!
(FREE SHIPPING to US orders only. Shipping to Canada is $25.00 and anywhere else is $35.00. Order more items and get the shipping special on your WHOLE order!!Any additional shipping charges will be refunded when order is filled)
Featured Item - Guy's Biomech Tribal Tee
We have just dropped the price on Guy's Biomech Tribal tee shirt, featuring his timeless mech style in a low-key black on grey look. It's silkscreened on a high quality fitted shirt with designs on both front and back. Available in sizes M-2XL. This weekend it's our featured item, meaning not only free U.S. shipping on these shirts, but on any items ordered along with them. Drop by Hyperspacestudios.com to see the other cool wearable stuff in our catalog!
(FREE SHIPPING to US orders only. Shipping to Canada is $10.00 and anywhere else is $20.00.
Order more items and get the shipping special on your WHOLE order!!
Any additional shipping charges will be refunded when order is filled)
Special Edition Studio Print Now Available!
Since painting it in 2009, Mind Tree X has been one of the paintings that Guy has had the strongest response to, especially when people visit the studio and see it in person. Although we've had a print of this iconic piece available for some time, Guy never felt that it properly captures the subtle luminous essence of the original. Now that we have our own printer he's re-photographed it and done all the color matching himself, making for a much nicer print that is almost a dead-on match to the painting. So we wanted to let you all know that we are re-issuing this print at a generous 22x38" size, plus a 1" colored border for mounting purposes. Prints are on archival canvas and are signed and dated.
In addition, for one week only we are offering a special edition studio size print, perfect for your workstation at 16x28" plus mounting border. Prints can be stretched or traditionally framed. This is a perfect piece for your clients to get lost within while sitting under the needle. Available until September 6, 2017. Drop by www.hyperspacestudios.com/prints to see what we have in our print catalog!
Special Deals on Guy Aitchison's Massive TECHNIQUE Tutorial!
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One of Guy Aitchison's hardest-hitting video tutorials is simply
titled Technique. It’s a four disk set that shows you closeup footage
of the machine in action as Guy works through five different projects,
presented in a concentrated format. The first two disks are a special
edition cut of his 'Guy’s Bag Of Tricks' webinar, showing a project from
start to finish as he answers a variety of questions from the audience
about design preparation, palette and the equipment and methods he's
using. The other two disks, Tightening 1 and 2, go into detail about
finishing techniques, spotlighting four projects up close, describing
every move in detail as Guy shows the line building, detailing,
smoothing and other development on a variety of effects including
floral, organic, mechanical, metallic and carved wood, with each piece
showed healed so you can see the kind of results that you can
realistically expect from working with these methods.
We're now offering this tutorial at a price of $125 for the entire
set. Or, even better, you can get it FREE with a subscription to
Reinventing The Tattoo, Guy's epic online educational package. If you
are already a Reinventing subscriber, simply log on and you'll find it
waiting for you at the end of Page 354.
(click on the pic below to see a video about TECHNIQUE)
Drop by ReinventingTheTattoo.com to read more about this package,
meant as continuing education for the professional tattoo artist.
Limited Edition Print - 'Organic Study'
Organic Study - Aitchison/McEwen Collaboration
$100
(FREE shipping in the US - $15 to Canada - $30 Worldwide)
A couple weeks back, noted organic artist Ty McEwen visited Hyperspace Studios to work on a couple collaborative tattoos. While here, he and Guy completed a small oil study for one of the projects. This painting got such a strong response on social media that they decided to offer it as a limited run print. It's small (10x20" plus 1" mounting border) but packs a visual punch, and would look amazing at your workstation! Printing and color matching were done in-house on archival canvas, and are signed by both artists. Available until noon on July 10, then it will be removed from the Hyperspace print catalog forever!
"Aquatica" Available Now!!
(Premium edition on the left, special limited edition on the right)
Deano Cook is known for his flawless approach to marine realism, and Guy's reputation is mostly about his abstract biomech work. These two iconic artists bring together their styles and approaches in Aquatica, their debut collaborative painting project.
Due to such a strong response from their audiences, they have decided to release Aquatica in 2 canvas print formats, including a smaller limited run, 19"x28" plus a 1" border for mounting purposes, hand-signed by both artists, and a premium 26"x38" pre-stretched full-sized gallery edition.
Item of the Week - ENCHANTED!
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This Week Only (June 12 - June 18)
'ENCHANTED'
is the Featured Item this week.
Order this item and get FREE SHIPPING
PLUS $10 OFF This Item!!
(FREE SHIPPING to US orders only. Shipping to Canada is $30.00 and anywhere else is $45.00.
Order more items and get the shipping special on your WHOLE order!!
Any additional shipping charges will be refunded when order is filled)
Limited Edition of 1000 copies, with gold stamped faux red leather cover with gilded pages and a silk red ribbon bookmark
Dimensions: 8.5" x 11"
Hardcover, 336 pages
$79.99 - SALE $69.99
We've always been excited about books from Out Of Step Publishing, who search deep within the tattoo community to create fun, visually rich books based on a variety of subject matter. Enchanted does not disappoint: bound in a beautiful large-format limited storybook edition, with 366 pages of tattooing and other artwork exploring themes of fantasy, fairy tales, folktales, fables and other whimsical works of the imagination, done by over 500 different artists from all corners of the tattoo community.
NEW Limited Edition Print AVAILABLE NOW!!
It's been a while since our last limited print, so we are excited to offer a gallery reproduction of Guy's most recent painting, inspired by his excursions into the deep forest around his rural studio. This yet-untitled piece is the beginning of a series that Guy is feeling pretty inspired about, and you can adorn your home or workstation with a high quality color-matched signed archival canvas print of it for only $50. The print is 12x16" plus a 1" colored border for mounting purposes. We'll have it in the catalog until Monday, June 12, then it will be taken down from the catalog forever.
ITEM of the WEEK - TATTOO EXTREMITIES!
This Week Only (May 29 - June 3)
'Tattoo Extremities'
is the Featured Item this week.
Order this item and get FREE SHIPPING
PLUS 10% OFF This Item!!
(FREE SHIPPING to US orders only. Shipping to Canada is $30.00 and anywhere else is $45.00.
Order more items and get the shipping special on your WHOLE order!!
Any additional shipping charges will be refunded when order is filled)
Tattoo Extremities $50 - Sale $45
Hardcover, Published by Memento Publishing
240 full color pages, 10 inches by 10 inches in size. Featuring 170 Tattoo Artists with Over 800 photos!
Placement of tattoo art is an important facet of each design and has the power to turn each piece into an extraordinary aesthetic experience. Throughout the years, the extremities of the body have been utilized to tell stories, depict ritualistic significance, and serve as the canvas for exhibiting grand artistic projects. Though not all tattoo collectors choose to decorate their hands, heads, and feet, many of those who do expose the world to some of the tattoo industry's finest accomplishments - proudly displaying their artwork for all to see. This book features an extensive body of tattoo work from tattooists around the globe. These talented artisans provide us with distinct styles, genres, and creativity, all inked upon the far-reaching limbs of the body. Enjoy an intriguing artistic journey that honors those bold enough to wear the ink and the artists skilled enough to make their imaginative concepts come to life.
TATTOO EXHIBITION Extended & Item of the Week!
Some of you may remember the historic tattoo exhibit at the Chicago Field Museum, where Guy was given the opportunity to showcase a backpiece design, complete with an impressive 3-minute documentary filmed by the Field Museum crew. Due to popular demand, this exhibit has been extended until this fall! If you are in the Chicago area or are planning on traveling there this year, we highly recommend dropping by the museum to check out this unprecedented exhibit showing not only historic objects and images from around the world, but also a comprehensive feature of contemporary artists’ work on skin and canvas. You can check out a gallery of images from the exhibit on our Facebook page.
Speaking of tattoo exhibits, we have a unique book in stock that was printed alongside a tattoo exhibition in London in 2014. It features paintings and works in other media by an international cast of some of the biggest names in the industry, including one of Guy’s most significant paintings for that year. Time: Tattoo Art Today is our featured item this week.
This Week Only (May 22 - May 28)
'Time: Tattoo Art Today'
is the Featured Item this week.
Order this item and get FREE SHIPPING
PLUS 10% OFF This Item!!
(FREE SHIPPING to US orders only. Shipping to Canada is $20.00 and anywhere else is $35.00.
Order more items and get the shipping special on your WHOLE order!!
Any additional shipping charges will be refunded when order is filled)
Time: Tattoo Art Today - Softcover 144 pages $50 - Sale $45
Over the summer of 2014, Guy Aitchison had a painting hanging in the Somerset House in the UK, along with pieces by such amazing artists as Filip Leu, Titine Leu, Horiyoshi III, Don Ed Hardy, Shawn Barber, Timothy Hoyer, Grime, Paul Booth, Chris Garver, Robert Hernandez, Marcus Pacheco, Jeff Gogue, Sabine Gaffon, Nick Baxter, Eddy Deutsche, Joe Capobianco, Bugs, Ichibay, Nikko Hurtado and Ami James. We have managed to secure a limited amount of the catalogs from the show, which come in the form of a large-format 144 page softcover art book. It's a thought provoking and beautiful art collection centered on the theme of Time, in a rich variety of artistic styles.
5 Day SALE - Coverup: A Fresh Look
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5 DAY SALE!
May 17 - 21
Order - Coverup: A Fresh Look, and receive $15 off the original price,
plus FREE SHIPPING!!
(FREE SHIPPING to US orders only. Shipping to Canada is $7.00 and anywhere else is $12.00.
Order more items and get the shipping special on your WHOLE order!!
Any additional shipping charges will be refunded when order is filled)
Coverup: A Fresh Look
DVD, 1 hour 45 minutes
As the tattoo art form continues to evolve and grow in popularity, knowing what to do about unwanted tattoos is becoming more and more crucial for tattoo artists. Despite the enormous artistic growth in tattooing over the past two decades, there still seems to be a fundamental gap in understanding what coverup tattooing is all about and how to avoid making dark, dense, obvious coverups.
Coverup: A Fresh Look was filmed at the 2015 Worldwide Tattoo Conference, and was designed to go over the most crucial theory behind what makes coverups either work or not work, and shows many examples in both photo and video form on several different types of coverup projects from small, single-pass pieces to large, epic transformations, and everything in between. It also goes into detail about the laser, showing several sample projects and discussing in detail the realities of the laser. Video examples are close up and detailed, and the live format also allowed for some insightful audience questions to round out the program. 1 hour and 45 minutes, for professional tattooists only!
Item of the Week - FEATHERS of INSPIRATION
This Week Only (May 8 - May 14)
is the Featured Item this week.
Save $11
Order this item and get FREE SHIPPING!!
(FREE SHIPPING to US orders only. Shipping to Canada is $30.00 and anywhere else is $45.00.
Order more items and get the shipping special on your WHOLE order!!
Any additional shipping charges will be refunded when order is filled)
Feathers of Inspiration: The Bird Art Project features an extensive and brilliantly colorful collection of bird inspired artwork from around the globe. With a multitude of mediums included, our feathered friends are beautifully interpreted in thousands of different ways, by artists of many disciplines and genres. This collective project brings together an artistic treasure trove of inspirational work to celebrate the remarkable world of winged wonders.
This is a limited edition pressing with only 750 sets available, which are sure to be gone by the end of the year. Works include a number of pieces by our very own Michele Wortman, plus hundreds of other artists of a broad range of styles. They're great books for both artists and collectors which go over extremely well both as gifts and as reading material in the tattoo studio waiting room.
April- Fine Art Print Promotion
For the entire month of April we are having specials on our fine art prints! All prints are on archival artists' canvas, signed and dated, with colored borders for mounting purposes. Some come ready to hang. This month we are offering"
Buy 1 Print
Get 15 % Off
Buy 2 Prints
Get 15% Off Plus
FREE SHIPPING
Buy 3 Prints
Get 25% Off
Plus FREE SHIPPING
(FREE SHIPPING to US orders only. Shipping to Canada is $25.00 and anywhere else is $35.00.
Order more items and get the shipping special on your WHOLE order!!
Print discounts and additional shipping charges will be refunded when order is filled)
You can see a detailed description of our fine art reproductions at Hyperspacestudios.com/prints.
For April 28-30, we are featuring:
Lightform VI - $200
By Guy Aitchison, Lightform VI, 2003.
Print is 21x27" with a 1" black border plus additional blank canvas for mounting purposes. Signed by the artist.
(Order the featured item and receive a Guy Aitchison postcard set, a $10 value for FREE!)
Save $40 on new Scratch Art / Innerstate Combo
Tattooers are often involved in all kinds of community projects, everything from group art shows to collaborations to publishing projects and much more. We have been involved in a few of these projects ourselves and have a couple cool books in our store as a result!
Scratch Art focuses on the scratchboard medium, which tattooers have done incredible things with; the book contains hundreds of examples of masterful pieces in all styles.
Innerstate was an event we hosted where we invited a group of tattooers to come paint for 5 days and complete an epic project in a group environment. The book we made from this event shows not only the finished pieces but also visits with the artists as they work side by side with their peers. It also includes a 50 minute documentary film celebrating the creative community that tattoo artists share.
You can get both these inspiring group project publications at a steep discount if you buy them together- $50 total instead of $90!
ITEM OF THE WEEK - DVD Combo!
This Week Only (March 27 - April 2)
Paint Tattoo Flash DVD - by Joe Swanson
& Illustrative Tattooing by Scott Irwin *COMBO*
is the Featured Item this week.
Order this item and get FREE SHIPPING!!
Save $21 when buying the Combo!!
(FREE SHIPPING to US orders only. Shipping to Canada is $7.00 and anywhere else is $12.00.
Order more items and get the shipping special on your WHOLE order!!
Any additional shipping charges will be refunded when order is filled)
Paint Tattoo Flash DVD - by Joe Swanson
2 DVDs plus booklet, over 2 hours running time
This course, made by veteran tattooer Joe Swanson, will take you step-by-step through the entire painting process. Learn what materials to use, how to tint your paper to give it a vintage look, how to use an age old technique called spit-shading to give your flash that unique tattoo look, plus tons of other useful techniques. The entire course is comprised of 8 sessions. High Quality picture-in-picture feature in videos 4, 5, 6, and 7 so you can easily see all the detailed shading technique instruction from different angles. This feature makes it so you don't miss a thing. Over 2 hours of total run time.
&
Illustrative Tattooing - by Scott Irwin
One thing that all illustrative styles seem to share is a rich language of narrative elements that can be drawn and tattooed in a variety of visually interesting ways. Scott Irwin's Illustrative Tattooing DVD is a great guide to approaching illustrative rendering on skin. It's a clever production that's jam-packed with information, including detailed and insightful looks into the execution of several different tattoos of different subject matter. It's a high quality production with a tight, well-lit view of each piece being done including a camera on the palette to show how he achieves his subtle color mixes. Each tattoo is edited to 30-45 minutes to show all the most critical parts, with Scott's voiceover describing exactly what's going on. There is also a bonus section showing his methods for setup and preparation, including some very clever tricks and ideas.
ITEM OF THE WEEK: 'Inside Out' by Chris Dingwell
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This Week Only (March 20 - March 26)
'Inside Out' by Chris Dingwell
is the Featured Item this week.
Order this item and get FREE SHIPPING!!
PLUS - 50% off the price of the item!!
(FREE SHIPPING to US orders only. Shipping to Canada is $30.00 and anywhere else is $45.00.
Order more items and get the shipping special on your WHOLE order!!
Any additional shipping charges will be refunded when order is filled)
'Inside Out' by Chris Dingwell: $40 - Sale $20
"Painting in the tattoo world is not exactly a new thing, but tattoo people painting with the excellence that rivals the world's fine artists is." Johnny Thief on Chris Dingwell
Chris Dingwell is a respected and accomplished tattoo artist and fine painter, from the grotesque to the sublime this books chronicles the last 8 years of his painting career. His style is all his own and yet clearly he draws on technical skills that he has been honing for a life time, his work is alive, vibrant and engrossing and anyone who collects art, knows art, or studies art will get something of value out of this book. Each page draws the viewer into a world that is a bit surreal, sometimes chaotic but always visually mesmerizing. A perfect item to round out your art book collection. 10x10", approx. 150 pages
ITEM OF THE WEEK: Cranial Visions Softcover Edition
This Week Only (March 13 - March 19)
'Cranial Visions Softcover Edition'
is the Featured Item this week.
Order this item and get FREE SHIPPING!!
(FREE SHIPPING to US orders only. Shipping to Canada is $30.00 and anywhere else is $45.00.
Order more items and get the shipping special on your WHOLE order!!
Any additional shipping charges will be refunded when order is filled)
Cranial Visions is a high quality, coffee table book published by Memento Publishing that is 8 inches wide by 12 inches tall, all 240 pages are printed in full color, featuring 258 artists with over 800 images! $60 - Sale $54
The fascinating and grim history of the skull has been a forceful subject matter throughout the ages. Maintaining prominence in the scientific and medical fields, it is also commonly interpreted through artistic endeavors, tracing back as far as creative collections have been recorded. This book features an immense volume of work which highlights the skull in all sorts of mediums, bringing together artists and works from all walks of life. Readers are invited to explore the fascinating and macabre world of the cranium-cetered theme. A spellbinding journey told through chromatically brilliant photos and words; this book is sure to awaken the mind and senses.
Chapters Include: Tattoos, Paintings, Sketches & Drawings, Mixed Media, Digital Art, Graffiti, Photography, and Skullptures. Available now in a softcover edition.
Unique New Round Framed Reproduction - Circle Hook
Circle Hook - Limited Edition Print
We are excited about the unique new print we are offering this month! Round art is typically very difficult to frame, so this print comes mounted in a high quality handmade painted frame, signed and numbered and ready to hang. Print is 10", frame is 13" overall and 1" deep. Limited to only 15, then this is gone from our catalog. $250 plus shipping!
ITEM OF THE WEEK: Tattoo World
This Week Only (March 6 - March 12)
'Tattoo World'
is the Featured Item this week.
Order this item and get FREE SHIPPING!!
(FREE SHIPPING to US orders only. Shipping to Canada is $30.00 and anywhere else is $45.00.
Order more items and get the shipping special on your WHOLE order!!
Any additional shipping charges will be refunded when order is filled)
Tattoo World by Marisa Kakoulas: $35 - Sale $31.50
Once considered part of the counterculture movement, tattooing is now undoubtedly a mainstream practice. Although the history of tattooing is rooted in ancient customs and beliefs, it is a constantly evolving art form, as skilled practitioners continually reinterpret traditional motifs and experiment with new ones. With more than 1,000 illustrations from 125 of the most important artists working today, this book is the most comprehensive survey of tattooing ever published. Collected here are designs from around the globe, spanning a broad range of styles, including Japanese and East Asian iconography, classic Americana, and photorealism, among others. Featuring the work of tattoo legends alongside pieces by pioneering artists pushing the limits of the medium, this visually arresting survey is the essential reference work for anyone interested in this exploding art form.
ITEM OF THE WEEK: Zombie Caricatures
This Week Only (February 27 - March 5)
'Zombie Caricatures: Infections and Exaggerations'
is the Featured Item this week.
Order this item and get FREE SHIPPING!!
(FREE SHIPPING to US orders only. Shipping to Canada is $30.00 and anywhere else is $45.00.
Order more items and get the shipping special on your WHOLE order!!
Any additional shipping charges will be refunded when order is filled)
Zombie Caricatures: Infections and Exaggerations
Hardcover 160 Full Color Pages 8.5 x 11 $30 - 10% off sale $27
The content of this book showcases the work of some of the best caricature artists in the world. Sean Gardner and Nick Mitchell have managed to take something that is super difficult and make it look effortless. It takes a different type of artist to be able to pull off a great caricature. Not only do you have to capture the likeness of each victim, but you also have to figure out what it is that makes them unique and stand out in their own way. Then, you have to figure out a way to bend those unique features as far as you can without losing the essence of what makes that individual who they are.
ITEM OF THE WEEK: Time: Tattoo Art Today
This Week Only (February 13 - February 19)
'Time: Tattoo Art Today'
is the Featured Item this week.
Order this item and get FREE SHIPPING
PLUS 10% OFF This Item!!
(FREE SHIPPING to US orders only. Shipping to Canada is $30.00 and anywhere else is $45.00.
Order more items and get the shipping special on your WHOLE order!!
Any additional shipping charges will be refunded when order is filled)
Time: Tattoo Art Today - Softcover 144 pages $50 - Sale $45
Over the summer of 2014, Guy Aitchison had a painting hanging in the Somerset House in the UK, along with pieces by such amazing artists as Filip Leu, Titine Leu, Horiyoshi III, Don Ed Hardy, Shawn Barber, Timothy Hoyer, Grime, Paul Booth, Chris Garver, Robert Hernandez, Marcus Pacheco, Jeff Gogue, Sabine Gaffon, Nick Baxter, Eddy Deutsche, Joe Capobianco, Bugs, Ichibay, Nikko Hurtado and Ami James. We have managed to secure a limited amount of the catalogs from the show, which come in the form of a large-format 144 page softcover art book. It's a thought provoking and beautiful art collection centered on the theme of Time, in a rich variety of artistic styles.
February Limited-Run Print Available Now!
This month's limited-run print, Fissure, is part of Guy's recent Surface & Space series of paintings. This one is small (8x10" plus a 1" colored border for mounting purposes), printed on archival canvas and signed by the artist, and we are offering it for $35 this week only and will ship anywhere in the world. It will be removed from the catalog permanently at midnight this coming Sunday, February 12. The original piece is still available as well; you can DM Guy at his Instagram profile, @guyaitchisonart, if you want more information about this or other original pieces.
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ITEM OF THE WEEK: The ART of the LEU Family!
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This Week Only (February 6 - February 12)
'The ART of the LEU FAMILY'
is the Featured Item this week.
Order this item and get FREE SHIPPING
PLUS 10% OFF This Item!!
(FREE SHIPPING to US orders only. Shipping to Canada is $30.00 and anywhere else is $45.00.
Order more items and get the shipping special on your WHOLE order!!
Any additional shipping charges will be refunded when order is filled)
The Art Of The Leu Family
Paperback, 190 pages, $60 - Sale 10% off: $54
The tattoo world has long been familiar with the Leu Family, in particular the iconic Swiss tattooist Filip Leu. Filip's work has long been sought after by serious collectors for his unique take on the Japanese theme. But Filip is also a painter and artistic explorer in many ways, and comes from a family tradition steeped in rich creativity. Many tattoo fans are aware of the paintings of historic tattoo figures by Filip's wife Titine Leu, the wild surreal ink drawings and tattoo work by his father Felix, the hypnotic mandala paintings by his mother Loretta. And the family creativity goes even further, starting with Felix's mother Eva Aepelli, and his sister Miriam Tinguely, then including many of Filip's siblings.
Digital Tattoo Design Rendering Now Added to Reinventing The Tattoo
Reinventing The Tattoo has just had three hour-long Photoshop seminars added! Have you ever wondered how to use Photoshop to get those seamless professional design results that you see people posting? Guy has just added his Wacom Weekend seminar: Digital Tattoo Design Rendering to the Photoshop chapters of Reinventing. This class is about an hour long and goes into detail about how you can use Photoshop to get high-end results with your designs. Drop by ReinventingTheTattoo.com to read more about Guy Aitchison's comprehensive educational package for professional tattoo artists.
ITEM OF THE WEEK - 'Sketched Out'!
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This Week Only (January 27 - February 6)
'Sketched Out'
is the Featured Item this week.
Order this item and get FREE SHIPPING on your entire order!!
Sketched Out: An Assortment of Sketches by 100 of Your Favorite Artists!
9″x12″, softcover, 272 pages, $40.00
Get a glimpse into an artist’s creative process with this collection of sketches by 100 of your favorite artists! In sketching, the artist finds the freedom to create without limits or judgement, to play with ideas, to make mistakes and to experiment. This book delves into the minds of several of the best contemporary artists as well as some of the best tattoo artists in the world and examines their creative processes. How do they realize what it is they wish to create? How to they decide what works and what does not? The sketches in this book showcase the method behind a work of art, and provide an insider view into the imagination of various top notch artists in the tattoo community.
Photoshop Compositing Tutorial Now Added to Reinventing The Tattoo
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Reinventing The Tattoo has been expanded again. Are you curious about how to use Photoshop to smoothly bring together images from several sources, including online material and your own drawings? Guy has just added his Wacom Weekend seminar: Essential Design Compositing to the Photoshop chapters of Reinventing. This class is about an hour long and goes into detail about how you can bring Photoshop into your design workflow. Drop by ReinventingTheTattoo.com to read more about Guy Aitchison's comprehensive educational package for professional tattoo artists.
Photo Retouching Tutorial Now Added to Reinventing The Tattoo
Reinventing The Tattoo just became even more useful. Ever wondered how you can turn those pretty-decent snapshots of your finished work into a professional-looking portfolio, or how to prepare them for a magazine feature? Guy has just added his Wacom Weekend seminar: Photo Retouching and Portfolio Work to the Photoshop chapters of Reinventing. This class is about an hour long and goes into detail about how you can improve your photos without improving the tattoo. Drop by ReinventingTheTattoo.com to read more about Guy Aitchison's comprehensive educational package for professional tattoo artists.
January's Limited Print: Quadrant
January's Limited Print: Quadrant
For this month's limited run print we are celebrating the New Year by offering a limited run of Guy's recent abstract work, Quadrant, which is one of his favorites from his recent body of paintings. Quadrant is an exploration of how things that look chaotic up close can have a surprising structure and harmony when seen from a distance. It's get this high-quality archival signed canvas art print for $50. It's 12x12" with a 1" colored border for mounting purposes. Available until January 15, 2017 at the Hyperspace Studios online store.
ITEM OF THE WEEK - 'Hair of the Dog'!
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This Week Only (January 9 - January 15)
'Bob Tyrrell: Hair Of The Dog DVD'
is the Featured Item this week.
Order this item and get FREE SHIPPING on your entire order!!
Bob Tyrrell: Hair Of The Dog DVD
Bob showed up on the tattoo scene a couple decades back and immediately gained notice for his smooth, original approach to black and grey realism. He has a talent for translating iconic images into strong, clearly readable realistic tattoos with a unique balance of graphic strength and subtle realism. Hair Of The Dog explores animal portraiture using Bob's technique, and is loaded with artistic and technical wisdom that is sure to be useful for tattoo artists of all levels of experience. Pet portraiture is a big market, and this tutorial not only goes into the animal subject in detail but contains many great nuggets that could be applied to almost any artistic style. If our experience tells us anything, you may only have a couple days before they are sold out!
Perennial Print Specially Priced for January!
Guy's 2014 painting about rebirth and renewal, Perennial, is now being produced in-house on our new printer and looks great... for the duration of this January you can now get this high-quality archival signed canvas art print for $50. It's 12x15" with a 1" colored border for mounting purposes. Available now at the Hyperspace Studios online store.
Item Of The Week: Coverup- A Fresh Look
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It's great to push ourselves every day as artists, and in the tattoo profession this effort can pay off in tangible ways. What better excuse to treat yourself to an educational experience, than an upcoming New Year? Our Item Of The Week is my recent DVD release, Coverup: A Fresh Look, which is an in-depth seminar going into both the theory and technique of doing effective coverups of all kinds of different bad tattoo challenges. Even if you've done a ton of coverups, this seminar goes right to the heart of the matter using closeup video footage and is loaded with useful tricks that you can put to use right away. Since it's our Item Of The Week, that means not only do you get free shipping in the US, but any other items you order along with it will be shipped free as well.
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Another great DVD to start 2017 is Bob Tyrrell's Hair Of The Dog, an in-depth and well explained exploration of black and grey animal portraiture, as told by one of the industry's masters. Bob's easygoing teaching style makes it easy to follow and relate to while he explains his common sense approach and meticulous application. We only have a few left in stock; order it along with Coverup: A Fresh Look, and get shipping on both items for free!
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And I might as well remind you about all the new additions to the Hyperspace Studios print catalog, now that we are able to handle printing in-house. Order any of these prints along with our Item Of The Week to take advantage of the free shipping. Treat yourself this New Year, and take your skills to the next level!
ITEM OF THE WEEK!
This Week Only (December 28 - January 8)
'Coverup: A Fresh Look'
is the Featured Item this week.
Order this item and get FREE SHIPPING!!
(FREE SHIPPING to US orders only. Shipping to Canada is $5.00 and anywhere else is $15.00.
Order more items and get the shipping special on your WHOLE order!!
Any additional shipping charges will be refunded when order is filled)
ITEM OF THE WEEK!
This Week Only (December 19 - December 25)
'Reinventing The Tattoo: TECHNIQUE'
is the Featured Item this week.
Order this item and get FREE SHIPPING!!
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New Collaborative Art Print by Brian Geckle and Guy Aitchison!
2016 has been a great year for collaboration here at Hyperspace Studios, with large scale two-artist projects on skin happening every month and a few paintings and other projects being passed around as well. Visionary tattooist Brian Geckle was just here so that he and I could start a new calf sleeve project and wrap up a back piece, so while we were both present we did the color matching and test printing for the reproductions of the painting we finished earlier this year, Pineal Manifestation, which celebrates the far reaches of the imagination.
The new print came out great, and we are offering it as a 12x22" archival canvas reproduction signed by both artists. The print is archival for 125 years and includes a 1" colored border for mounting purposes. We've just signed the first batch of them... available now at the Hyperspace print gallery!
It's Not Too Late to Surprise Your Loved Ones With Art Gifts!
So the countdown is on, and there's very little time left before the shipping cutoff for ordering holiday gifts. We have a few suggestions to make that might simplify things- how about a few unique art books produced within the tattoo community? There are many titles available covering all different subjects, and I'd like to show you a few examples of what we have in the Hyperspace catalog.
Out Of Step Books has been consistently putting out anthology books that allow many artists to contribute their unique visions regarding specific subjects- for example, Antennae Of Inspiration is all about insects and other small creatures, interpreted by many of your favorite artists in all kinds of mediums. Their books are thick and loaded with hundreds of pages of high-quality material; drop by the Hyperspace book store to read more descriptions of the various volumes of theirs that we carry.
We also have put together a few book combo packs that can save you a little money while providing some unique choices. The Tattoo Community Project Pack is one of the best examples. One of the most exciting things about being part of the tattoo community is how many cool projects there are to get involved with... More than any other art scene, tattooists tend to be very comfortable working together on collaborations, performances and other art projects, allowing them to explore a wider range of techniques and styles than an artist would just working by themselves. Over the past decade we have been involved in a number of such projects, all of them very different from each other but each exploring a different aspect of vision, creativity and collaborative energy. In The Tattoo Community Project Pack, we feature books and DVDs from four of these projects: The ArtFusion Experiment, Scratch Art, Innerstate and Pint Size Paintings. You can read about these projects, and the books and DVDs that they spawned, at the Hyperspace book store.
These examples just scratch the surface; drop by the store at Hyperspace Studios to see more, including some low priced stocking stuffer gift packs. Shipping in time for Christmas is guaranteed on all US orders placed by the 16th of this month, and shipping on all fine art prints is free until that date.
Some Last-Minute Art Gift Ideas
Michele has been very artistically active this fall and wanted to be able to offer some art ideas as gifts, which inspired her recent low-priced print Red Lotuses, which has been a top seller this week, along with one of her latest, Trio, also priced for a stretched-out holiday budget. For you last-minute gift seekers, she has gone ahead and stretched a limited number of the Red Lotuses canvas prints on archival stretcher bars, making for a perfect gift- since it's ready to hang right out of the box! Prints come signed, are archival for 125 years, and are available in a limited quantity for the unprecedented price of $50 each. Drop by the Hyperspace print gallery to see what else we have there.
In addition, Michele has lowered the price on her classic visionary art book Moments Of Epiphany by almost 50% for the holidays. Moments is a book of abstract photography that highlights Michele's unique and luminous artistic vision. Perfect to open and share with family on Christmas day, it's filled with colorful abstract wonder. On sale now at the Hyperspace online store. US orders received by the 16th are guaranteed for delivery before Christmas.
New Videos, Interviews And A Great New Print!
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Recently, Michele and I had the honor of being interviewed by Jake Meeks of the Tattoo Improvement Network when they visited Hyperspace Studios. It was hard to keep it short, since we had so many interesting topics to cover, so it ended up being published in three half hour segments, which are now all posted at the Tattoo Improvement channel on YouTube. These interviews are both fun and information-filled, including plenty of historic detail from the past 30 years of the evolution of the tattoo profession. I think this material would be of interest to both artists and tattoo fans; drop by the Tattoo Improvement channel to check it out! Jake also published a review of Reinventing The Tattoo, my electronic educational package, which I thought was thorough and well written. If you're thinking of treating yourself to a subscription for 2017, check out his review to get his perspective.
Speaking of videos, Michele just posted a new 1-minute video highlighting her recent body of paintings. It's a short and contemplative little segment that gives you a close-up look at the personality of these new works; pour yourself some hot coffee and take a look! She also just posted a new print of one of these recent paintings, Trio, which is moderately sized- 8x16" plus a 1" colored border for mounting purposes- and moderately priced at $35. Order before the 16th of this month and not only is shipping guaranteed before Christmas for US orders, but the shipping on all print orders before that date is free. High quality signed archival canvas prints make excellent gifts, by the way.
Fine Art Prints Make Excellent Gifts- With Free Shipping Until December 16th!
You may be wondering exactly what to get for your artist or art fan friend or family member. A nice original painting by one of their favorite artists would be a spectacular gift, but let's face it, that's probably not in most of your budgets. This is one of the reasons why we've invested in a high quality fine art printer and begun expanding our print catalog this fall- when done right, a fine art print made on archival canvas, signed by the artist and framed or presented the right way, can have a presence on a wall that compares to that of the original, but at a fraction of the price.
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We added a new one to the catalog today with a special price for the holidays. Michele Wortman's newest painting, Red Lotuses, is being offered as a moderately sized print at the special price of $25 until the 25th of December. It combines her modern minimalist aesthetic with a splash of bold color, and will pop out from any wall. The print is 9x12" plus a 1" colored border for mounting purposes. We do our own color matching and have gotten near-perfect print results on this one, and I'm proud to add it to the Hyperspace catalog.
We recommend looking over our entire print catalog, since we have prints of all sizes, styles and price ranges to choose from. We've included a choice sampling of some of them in this bulletin in case you want to take a closer look. Best of all, we are offering FREE SHIPPING on all print orders placed in the US before December 16th, and all orders received by then are guaranteed for delivery before Christmas.
In case you are wondering how to frame or present your gift, you have a few options. Prints come rolled up safely in a cardboard tube and can simply be wrapped and given in that form, allowing the recipient to frame it to their taste. You can also find a ready-to-use frame at your local hobby store, which sometimes works really well, especially on the standard sizes such as the 9x12" Red Lotuses. Simply buying canvas stretcher bars and stretching the canvas also makes for a great presentation, but we only recommend this if you have some experience stretching canvas. Last but not least, you can talk to your local frame shop about more deluxe options.
Whatever your presentation may be, fine art reproductions can bring a lot of excitement at gift-giving time... drop by our print gallery to see what we've got.
New Limited Print Offer Makes a Perfect Holiday Gift!
I've been looking forward every month to each limited print offer that we've been featuring, since it's been an opportunity for me to really see what you all respond to. We've been featuring a variety of classic and newer paintings of mine in a series of moderately sized and priced archival signed reproductions that are offered for a few days only and then taken down from the catalog forever, and the response has been very encouraging.
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This week I'm putting up one of my classic images, PodCoil II, from 1999. This was one of my early experiments with building clay models to get my lighting and texture more realistic, and still stands out as one of my more iconic images from that period. The print is 11x14" plus a 1" colored border for mounting purposes, and has been carefully color matched for maximum impact. Signed, archival for 125 years, $50. Available only until December 7, then it's being taken out of the catalog forever.
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My partner Michele's latest print, Star Of Bethlehem, is still available and makes a stunning gift for anyone with a modern sense of aesthetic. Due to the unexpected response, she's extended her special holiday pricing until next Wednesday as well; it's 6 images that work as a single reproduction, 20x24", signed on archival canvas, $75. You can read about its special symbolism on her Instagram profile, or check it out at the Hyperspace print gallery where it's listed next to my new limited print.
We are very excited about the high quality of prints we are getting now that we are producing them in-house, and these two new prints are great examples of the kind of gifts (including gifts to yourself!) that quality fine art reproductions can make. Drop by the Hyperspace print gallery to see what else we have available.
Today We Start Rolling Out Some Limited Holiday Deals!
As we close out November and the dust settles from all that Black Friday chaos, we wanted to offer a few great gift options for the artist or art fan in your life which you can shop for from the safety of your living room. Many of you are likely already familiar with a lot of the books, DVDs, art prints and other art related items that we carry at tattooeducation.com and hyperspacestudios.com, and we encourage you to take a quick browse through the online catalogs at both websites to see what we have available. Today, though, we are offering some single day promotions that you may want to take advantage of.
For starters, we've had many of you ask what is the best way to gift someone with a subscription to Reinventing The Tattoo, my comprehensive electronic educational package for tattoo artists. Reinventing is far more than just an electronic edition of a book, but also contains a great deal of video and other multimedia material and is constantly growing- later this month, for example, I'll be adding three new Photoshop video tutorials that relate directly to things that tattoo artists might need to do with their images. Reinventing is the most detailed educational package available in the tattoo industry today, and has been read by thousands of artists worldwide across over 20 years; it can now be offered to a friend or coworker through a gift certificate. Order before December 16 and we'll mail the recipient a shiny card with instructions for logging in… and better yet, order before midnight tomorrow night (11/29) and get $50 off!
In addition, Michele wanted to celebrate the holiday season by offering a special deal on prints of her latest painting. Star Of Bethlehem is actually six small pieces that were painted as one, and then separated into six complimentary compositions. All of them are grouped onto a single print on archival artist's canvas, 20x24". This stunning reproduction is being added permanently to the Hyperspace print catalog, but for today’s special she has reduced the price to $75. Her carefully balanced subtle color schemes go well with just about any decor, making her prints ideal gifts.
Last but not least, don't forget that we have a featured item this week, Keith Ciaramello's ‘Keep It Real 3’ DVD. He offers an insightful glimpse into pet portraiture, which has recently become a popular- and sometimes surprisingly striking- tattoo motif. In Keith's approach you can see how his foundation in painting and other mediums translates into his painterly approach to handling subtle realistic color on skin. Anyone who orders our Featured Item gets free shipping on their whole order anywhere inside the US, so if you are planning on picking up some books or other heavy items, keep this in mind!
Share Your Tattoo Story at the Chicago Field Museum Tattoo Exhibit!
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Like so many artists in the tattoo field, I began my career with the assumption that I would always be working in the shadows, having dedicated myself to a fringe art form with only borderline social acceptability. 28 years ago when I started my apprenticeship there was only one convention, one magazine, a smattering of low budget books and documentaries, and not much more. So I have been continually amazed at the progression of our art form into a solid bastion of mainstream culture complete with a whole list of TV shows, conventions and other world-class events, not to mention a whole branch of publishing in many media dedicated solely to the tattoo art form.
The latest accomplishment our industry had made is none other than a full-scale exhibition on tattooing that is traveling through a number of mainstream museums and bringing in record crowds- first in Paris, then in Toronto, and now at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, which happens to be the very same museum that I went to as a kid to look at dinosaurs.The exhibit includes ancient tattoo artifacts, stunning photos and films of tattooing from cultures around the world, along with a bunch of original art by artists who you've probably heard of. The centerpieces of the show are a group of silicone body casts that have been tattooed by a number of hand-picked artists to showcase some of the more established genres within tattooing, everything from tribal to traditional American to geometric to fine line black and grey, plus a couple biomech pieces. I was invited to produce a backpiece for the exhibit, which was both an honor and a real task, with as much work invested into the piece as a real backpiece on a human.
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You can be a part of this exhibit too! The museum put together a website specifically for the exhibit at www.fieldmuseum.org/tattoo/. At this page you can get instructions on how to use your Instagram or Twitter account to post your own tattoo story, which is then displayed on a big screen on the wall of the exhibit room. Many of the stories are fascinating, and I believe that the participation of tattoo collectors brings a whole extra dimension to the exhibit. If you are in the Chicago area, this exhibit is a must-go destination... There simply has never been anything like it before. This is not a quick, pop-culture glimpse at tattooing, but instead is an incredibly well researched, heavy-duty legitimate museum exhibit about our art form. In the shadows no more!
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I also wanted to mention that at TattooEducation.com we are now offering a featured item every week that will get you free shipping on your entire order. This week we are featuring Mario Rosena's Shoot It Right, which is an extremely helpful (and reasonably priced) tutorial on photographing fresh tattoos, filmed by a veteran extreme sports photographer who also happens to be an excellent tattooer. If you buy Shoot It Right alongside other items that have high shipping fees, you could save a lot on shipping costs. Stay tuned to see what featured items we have up next.
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New 2016 Bloom Project Video, plus November's Limited Print
This past weekend, Michele Wortman celebrated her 18th year of tattooing by putting together a Bloom Project video portfolio showing some of her most epic work. Michele has been a quiet but persistent influence on tattooing for much of this time, pushing for a softer, more feminine approach with a minimal use of black outlines and an emphasis on the overall look of each person's collection, with all work being balanced, even on collectors who are not aiming for a full bodysuit. She has referred to these unified collections as "bodysets", and this new video showcases this look beautifully. Drop by our YouTube channel, TattooTelevision, to take a look, or just click the screen shot in this newsletter. You can see more of her colorful work at www.MicheleWortman.com.
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I also wanted to mention the November limited print. This one is called Construction II, and is part of the collection of original paintings that I currently have on display at the Off The Map Gallery in Easthampton, Massachusetts. As with all the limited prints, this one is smallish and priced affordable- it's 10x15" plus a 1" colored border for mounting purposes. Prints are archival for 125 years and signed/dated. We are making the prints in-house so I have final say over the color matching. This print will be offered until midnight EST this coming Sunday, November 6. Drop by the Prints gallery at Hyperspace Studios to see the full range of creative reproductions that we have available.
Surface & Space Exhibition Now In Massachusetts!
As some of you may know, I had my first major art gallery appearance in many years this past July at Sacred Gallery New York, sharing the room with fellow artist Adam France in our joint exhibition Surface & Space. For anyone who was not able to make it, most of the pieces are now on display at the brand new Off The Map Gallery in Easthampton, Massachusetts, attached to the gigantic new Off The Map tattoo studios. We will be having an opening reception this coming Friday October 8, in conjunction with the local Artwalk event. For those of you already in the area or visiting town for a tattoo or any other reason, this should be a fun party; Adam and I can't be there in person, but will be attending via Skype and will be taking questions from gallery guests. It's a chance to see these pieces in person before they are shipped off to their new homes. A few of the originals are still available, plus I am offering a limited edition print of one of the pieces, Surface 1, which will only be available until this coming Sunday, October 9 at midnight.
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I also wanted to remind you of the Paradise Tattoo Gathering later this month, October 20-23, also in Massachusetts in the beautiful alpine setting of the Jiminy Peak resort. The event features a whole list of seminars by a variety of artists, including two courses by me: the first one, Coverup: The Next Level, is a follow-up on the coverup seminar I held last fall at the WorldWide Tattoo Conference in Portland, Oregon. This time though I'm featuring all new material, including work by a variety of different artists, plus I'm asking participants to bring photos of their own coverup challenges to discuss on the big screen. The other class, Flow & Fit: A Hands-On Workshop, is a series of short lectures on the theory behind making attractive work that fits the human form, with exercises between each lecture so that participants can put that theory into practice while it's fresh on their minds.
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We are also offering a package deal- sign up for both courses and you can get a subscription to Reinventing The Tattoo for 50% off! If you are already a member, you can apply this offer toward a gift subscription, or toward renewing your own membership. We also carry weekend and day passes to the Paradise Tattoo Gathering, which are needed in order to attend any seminars.
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October's Limited Edition Print Available Just This Week!
Last month, we celebrated the new large format fine art printer in our office by offering a limited run print of one of my classic images. I'm continuing that tradition this month by presenting one of my more recent paintings as a limited edition canvas fine art print, which will be available in our online store for this week only. "Surface 1" was one of the early experiments in my current Surface/Volume series where I'm exploring ways to make surfaces express depth and dimension. It's a piece that has had a strong response from my peers, so I thought it would be fun to offer it as a life sized signed archival canvas print at a reasonable price. This print is 12x12" with a 1" colored border for mounting purposes, and we are pricing it at $50. We've done the color matching and printing ourselves, so it's a very close match with the original.
This is another print that we are offering for a limited time only, until midnight Sunday October 9th. Drop by the online store at Hyperspace Studios to see it, and the other new prints that we have in our catalog.
New Art Contest at @biomech_collective!
We are excited to announce the next in the series of art contests that we are hosting at the @biomech_collective Instagram page. These six contests are aimed at creating new art material for the upcoming Biomech Encyclopedia book project, which we hope to have ready for distribution in the spring. Already we have had some great submissions from various artists for the Architectural Biomech and Steampunk Biomech contests, and have just kicked off the third contest: Geometric Biomech.
Geometry: It's everywhere, hinting at the codes of creation! There are countless creative ways that geometry could be combined with biomech, and we are curious to see how you all do it. This is a chance to mix and match tattoo styles in ways never attempted! Imagine an organic environment peeling away to reveal complex and flawless otherworldly mathematical forms. Robotic elements with geometric motifs mapped over their surfaces... where else can this go?
We are looking for drawings, paintings or work in other mediums, anything besides actual tattoos. Winners will be published in the upcoming Biomech Encyclopedia. This means that there is a chance that some of these images will be used by other artists for inspiration- in other words, you don't want to submit designs for actual tattoos that you have done or plan on doing. Winners will be judged based on:
-Tattooability
-Originality
-Clever incorporation of geometric and biomech elements
-Designs are made to flow nicely on the human body
-Overall composition and execution
Entries can be done solo or in collaboration; we encourage collaborations because it's fun and results in surprising things. You've got two weeks, and then it will be time for the next theme, which will be announced on October 12. These coming months will consist of nonstop art contests at @biomech_collective, and we hope you'll be involved! Just remember to tag #categorycrunch with each submission so that we can see it.
I also wanted to remind you of the two seminars that I'll be offering at the Paradise Tattoo Gathering next month on October 21 and 22. First comes Coverup: The Next Level, which is built around a recent coverup tutorial that I made for Reinventing The Tattoo but goes much further, with many new examples of photos and video material from this past year's coverup projects. Participants will be asked to bring along photos of their own coverup challenges that we can discuss in detail and find the best solutions for. Then, on October 22, I'll be teaching a class called Flow & Fit: A Hands-On Workshop, where we will go into depth about theory on making graceful, powerful compositions on the human body, which will include several short exercises which will be evaluated in the class context. You can read about both courses at TattooEducation.com, where we are also offering a deal for anyone who wants to take both classes- buy both tickets and you can get a subscription to Reinventing The Tattoo at 50% off! If you are already a member, you can apply this special offer towards a gift subscription, or toward renewing your own subscription so that you don't miss all the cutting edge new material that is being regularly added to the curriculum.
Two Guy Aitchison Seminars You Can Catch In October!
It's been almost a year since the last time I've given a seminar, which was at the WorldWide Tattoo Conference in Portland, Oregon, which gave me the opportunity to go into the subject of coverup tattooing, from a fresh updated perspective. This coming October, I'll be teaching two different classes at the Paradise Tattoo Gathering at Jiminy Peak, Massachusetts. The first one, Coverup: The Next Level is a followup on the coverup theme, since I believe it is one of the most important skills that a tattooist can have. This time through I'll be teaching in a smaller classroom, and I'll be asking participants to bring me photos of their own coverup challenges, for us to discuss on the big screen, so that everyone attending will have some take-home things that they can immediately put into practice.
In the second class, Flow & Fit: A Hands- On Workshop, I'll be going into some of the core design theory from the Reinventing The Tattoo curriculum. The way that a tattoo design sits on the human form is at the very foundation of how to make an attractive tattoo. In this class we'll learn about the most important muscle groups, and the unique design opportunities found in every body type. There will be a series of short drawing exercises which we will review together in the classroom, giving everyone a chance to put some of the theory into practice so they'll have some new design tools to take back to the studio and put into everyday use.
As a special exclusively for Paradise Tattoo Gathering guests, we are offering a $100.00 discount off a one year subscription to Reinventing The Tattoo for anyone who purchases tickets to both seminars. For attending artists who are already Reinventing subscribers, you can apply that credit to a gift subscription for your apprentice or coworker, or towards renewing your own subscription when the time arrives. Either way, we'd like to invite you to attend these two courses at the beautiful alpine resort setting that Jiminy Peak has to offer. We also carry the tickets to the Paradise Tattoo Gathering event, which are required for all seminar guests, and give you access to the convention floor and other amenities.
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Huge Update in the Guy Aitchison Tattoo Galleries!
It's been a while since I've had the chance to go through my tattoo photos and prep them for my online galleries. Too long, in fact... so when our friend Durb Morrison asked me to do an interview for Tattoo Magazine, it gave me the excuse to sit down and go through all these photos, pick my favorites, and do the necessary cropping and cleanup necessary before posting them in my galleries at HyperspaceStudios.com and GuyAitchison.com. You may have seen a lot of these pieces posted on social media, but not in this kind of detail- the galleries at our websites feature large, high resolution images so you can really see the detail work in these large pieces. It's a big body of work that I feel pretty excited about, drop by either site to check it all out!
I also wanted to remind you of the print gallery we have at Hyperspace Studios, featuring high quality archival canvas reproductions of some of our favorite paintings. We've recently acquired a large format printer and are adding new images to the catalog on a weekly basis. Drop by the print gallery to see what we've got... all reproductions are archival for 125 years, signed by the artists and perfect for your home or tattoo studio.
Reinventing The Tattoo Guest Writer Phil Garcia!
One of the most exciting things about the new electronic edition of my educational package Reinventing The Tattoo is the participation of a variety of guest writers who all excel at different styles and subjects in tattooing. So far this year we have added chapters by Russ Abbott, Nick Baxter, Megan Jean Morris, Halo Jankowski and Don McDonald on subjects ranging from color theory to client relations to large format stenciling. These writers are allowing us to expand the Reinventing curriculum to encompass the interests of the entire tattoo industry, making it potentially useful to almost anyone, regardless of style or level of experience.
So we are particularly jazzed about adding the chapter by Phil Garcia, who many of you know as being the artist who has completely redefined the rose tattoo and brought it to a new artistic level. Phil's roses are not only realistic, but perfectly proportioned to the body part, bold and clear, with just the right exaggerations to make it read nicely on the skin and hold up to aging. In his new chapter, Attention To Detail, Phil spells out his process in a concise step-by-step format with in-depth discussion of some of the things that he considers to be the most important aspects of his technique.
There are several more guest contributions in the works at this moment, which Reinventing The Tattoo subscribers can look forward to seeing added to the content over coming months, along with upcoming expansions to the coverup chapters along with countless other improvements. Reinventing is not just an e-book, but is a dynamic educational experience that is continually evolving to fit the needs of today's tattoo professional. You can take a look at our new video promotion to see the Reinventing The Tattoo electronic edition in action.
More New Prints... Plus The Next Biomech Contest!
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We are pretty excited about our new printer, after last month's limited run produced such great color results. So we have added a few more classic Aitchison images to the print catalog in a variety of moderately priced sizes. These three paintings are all featured in the book Organica, and were chosen for their strong graphic impact which translates beautifully to canvas prints. One of them, Lightform 4, had previously been available as a high quality archival print on watercolor paper, which is still available; but it is now also being offered in a larger size on artist's canvas. All three images have been carefully color matched by the artist to look as close as possible to the originals, and are archival for 125 years. We also wanted to bring attention to Michele Wortman's hypnotic new print, Potential, which is available in two different sizes which can fit beautifully in any space. The print catalog will continue to expand over coming months, so stay tuned!
We are also kicking off a new contest today at the @Biomech_Collective on Instagram. If you have any interest in abstract tattoo design, drop by the @biomech_Collective profile and see the results of our last contest, Architectural Mech, which concluded last night at midnight. This current series of six contests is unique in that, rather than choosing three winners and ranking them 1-3, we are simply looking for the highest quality images, which will then be included in the upcoming Biomech Encyclopedia book project with full credit given to the artists. This is your chance to be a part of this epic project and to show the community what can come from your unique vision. Drop by the contest page at Tattoo Education to read more! Entries are due by September 27, 2016.
Last but not least, we have produced a video ad for the new electronic edition of Reinventing The Tattoo. If you are curious about this unparalleled educational experience, take 2 1/2 minutes of your time to check out the video, which should give you a good idea of what we have to offer and what you can hope to gain by becoming a subscriber.
New Fine Art Prints Available Now!
For many years Michele and I have carried fine art giclee prints of some of our favorite paintings. This year, though, we finally decided to take the plunge and purchase our own large format fine art printer. You can look forward to seeing many new high quality archival prints on canvas, watercolor and gloss paper over coming months, but we wanted to start you out with a couple new editions.
The new permanent addition to our catalog is Michele Wortman's recent painting Potential, which celebrates birth, renewal, and the vast palette of experience that life has to offer. We are carrying it in two sizes, one of them original size and the other a slightly smaller version which may work better in some interior settings. Prints are signed by the artist and, according to the printer manufacturer, archival for 125 years! This is one of Michele's favorite new pieces and she is excited to be able to offer it as a fine art print.
I'm trying something a little different this month. I've got many, many images that I'd like to present as prints, but I don't necessarily want a catalog a mile long. So this month I'm offering a limited edition print of a painting that I did in 1996, but still feels relevant today in terms of how it fits into my current body of work. Mind Tree IV was one of my most successful lighting exercises at that time, when I was trying to figure out realistic lighting for both painting and tattooing purposes, and can be found in my art book Organica. I'm carrying it as an affordable, moderate sized print, but it will only be available until midnight on Wednesday, September 7, at which time it will be removed from the catalog. All prints are signed and dated.
Thanks, and we'll keep you posted as we roll out more new ones!
Starting today: New Contest at the Biomech Collective!
For those of you who follow the @biomech_collective Instagram feed, you may already be familiar with the contests that we've hosted there in the past, which were mainly aimed at the idea of pushing the abstract visual language into novel places and creating new shapes, textures and unexpected combinations. These contests have gone extremely well and have produced some incredible art. We are now preparing to kick off a series of 6 contests, each 2 weeks long, aimed at creating new material for the upcoming Biomech Encyclopedia book project. Winners will earn a prominent place in the book alongside material drawn by some of the leading artists in the field.
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For this first contest, we are wanting to see Architectural Mech. That is, and abstract/biomech design work that is inspired in some way by architectural themes and motifs. We have already posted some architecture imagery at the @biomech_collective and are hoping that you all will post more- just tag your images #categorycrush and people can check them out. These images are meant for inspiration and are in no way meant to set limitations on what you can do. Winners will be judged based on:
- tattooability
- originality
- clever incorporation of architectural elements
- architecture is made to flow nicely on the human body
- overall composition and execution
Entries can be done solo or in collaboration; we encourage collaborations because it's fun and results in surprising things. You've got two weeks, and then it'll be time for the next theme. This next three months will consist of nonstop art contests at @biomech_collective, and we hope you'll be involved! You can read up on the rules and guidelines at the @biomech_collective contest page at TattooEducation.com.
Thanks, and we'll see you in the Instasphere!
New Ask Guy Critique on Newsstands Now!
The newest Ask Guy critique is now live! This month's critique is of an illustrative piece, which provided ample opportunity to focus the discussion on the topic of linework, and how to use linework to your advantage to make your designs as clear and readable as possible. I use Photoshop in my critiques in order to clearly illustrate exactly what I'm talking about. You can find it in this month's Tattoo Magazine, Issue #321, on newsstands now, or you can check it out at the Ask Guy Archive along with past columns featuring not only tattoo critiques but also a variety of questions on all kinds of tattoo related topics.
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Several of these critiques were done specifically to illustrate points that I discuss in my electronic educational package, Reinventing The Tattoo. If you are a Reinventing subscriber, check out Chapters 2.2, 2.3 and 2.6 to see how they've been rewritten and integrated into the text, and take the time to review the important topics discussed here- Positive/Negative relationships, Contrast, and Lines/Edges. If you are not a subscriber, please take a moment to drop by www.ReinventingTheTattoo.com to see what it's all about.
This Thursday in New York: Guy Aitchison's First Major Gallery Appearance in 20 Years!
It's been 20 years since Michele and I shared a major gallery exhibition in California, and although I do think of myself as a serious painter, I've only shown a few scattered paintings in group shows in the years since then. That's why I'm so excited about Surface & Space, the show that I'll be sharing with my colleague Adam France, coming up in New York tomorrow, Thursday July 14 from 8:00-11:00pm at Sacred Gallery, 424 Broadway, 2nd Floor. We've timed the opening for the night before the Empire State Tattoo Expo, so if you plan on being at that convention and are arriving beforehand, hop a cab and drop by!
I've been working on a solid body of work over the past year or so, which will be represented not only on the body of paintings there, but also in several large backpiece tattoos that will be walking around in the room, along with a sculptural piece that I built and Adam painted, plus other collaborations. He's got a great new grouping of paintings there as well. I've just seen a few shots of some of the walls, and can't wait to see it in person tomorrow night. Whether you are already in the New York area or are there for the convention, I hope to see you at Sacred Gallery for the opening! and if you can't make it but are curious about the paintings, you can contact the gallery for more specific information about them.
New Ask Guy Critique Column on Newsstands Now!
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Every month, I'm given the chance to do a critique of another tattooist's work for Tattoo Magazine, which allows me to go very in-depth in critiquing a single major tattoo piece. I use Photoshop to make an enhanced version of the original piece, making it much easier for readers to visualize what I'm talking about. This month, my column features a black and grey piece by artist Damion Cressy, and I had a lot of fun demonstrating different approaches to using positive/negative relationships to create the right mood while still keeping the piece clear and readable. You can see this month's critique in Tattoo Magazine Issue #320, on newsstands now! You can also check it out, along with all my past Ask Guy columns, in the Ask Guy archive at www.tattooeducation.com.
I also wanted to remind you that the electronic edition of Reinventing The Tattoo now has a comprehensive guide to coverup tattooing added to it. This includes a detailed video, over an hour and 45 minutes long, which uses both step-by-step photos and closeup video to demonstrate a variety of coverup tricks that any tattooist can benefit from learning. In addition to the video we've got chapters showing additional coverup examples, along with a discussion of the laser- including a useful laser FAQ that you can share with your clientele- and some examples of scar coverup projects. All this material is included alongside the core Reinventing curriculum, which you can read about in the Reinventing description page. Subscribers will be treated to new material being added regularly, not only by myself but by a variety of renowned artists from all corners of the tattoo industry. For professionals only, or apprentices working with experienced professionals.
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Gallery Opening - "Surface & Space"
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So I want to mention this since it's coming right up... I haven't had a serious gallery appearance in almost two decades so I'm pretty psyched about this! We've timed the opening to be the night before the #empirestatetattooexpo in mid July, so be sure to fly in a night early to catch this! I'll be sharing this gallery show with my bio brother @adamfrance and we've both been jamming away at producing a new body of work that will include a lot of new paintings, some major tattoo pieces and a number of sculptural works. There will be a couple collaborations as well. Come drop by @sacredgallerynyc and join us on opening night! #tattoo #art #tattooart #abstract#psychedelic #visionaryart #gallery#opening
New Tutorial Available- Coverup: A Fresh Look
The first seminar I ever gave, over 20 years ago, was on the subject of coverup tattooing. As the tattoo art form continues to evolve and grow in popularity, knowing what to do about unwanted tattoos is becoming more and more crucial for tattoo artists. Despite the enormous artistic growth in tattooing over the past two decades, there still seems to be a fundamental gap in understanding what coverup tattooing is all about and how to avoid making dark, dense, obvious coverups.
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So I've been gathering photos and video clips over the past five years or so which I've just finished crunching into a comprehensive tutorial. For subscribers to Reinventing The Tattoo, it comes free with your subscription as a part of the curriculum. Simply log on and check the Table Of Contents, and you'll find it in Part 8. It includes chapters on several different types of coverup projects from small, single-pass pieces to large, epic transformations, and everything in between. It also goes into detail about the laser, showing several sample projects and discussing in detail the realities of the laser, including a lengthy FAQ that you can share with your clients when talking about the possibility of laser treatments. There is also a chapter on scar coverups, with examples of surgical scars, burn scars, electrical burns and other types of scarring, with strategies for effectively tattooing over even the trickiest skin.
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In addition, the tutorial includes a recent video production of mine. Coverup: A Fresh Look was filmed at the 2015 Worldwide Tattoo Conference, and was designed to go over the most crucial theory behind what makes coverups either work or not work, and shows many examples in both photo and video form, alongside a detailed discussion of each example. The live format also allowed for some insightful audience questions to round out the program. This video comes free as part of your Reinventing subscription, or can be purchased separately as a DVD for non-subscribers.
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If you are not yet a Reinventing The Tattoo member, it's a subscription-based educational package that gives you access to the entire Reinventing curriculum, which comes in a combination of e-book and video format and covers everything from the fundamentals of good tattoo design to working with references, using digital tools, expanding your skills through painting and other mediums, plus exhaustive chapters on tattooing technique. Since the electronic edition was released in October we've been steadily expanding the curriculum with guest chapters by Russ Abbott, Nick Baxter, Megan Jean Morris, Don McDonald and Halo Jankowski, plus new chapters by me about rotary machines and needle cartridges. We have a chapter in the works from realism maestro Phil Garcia, plus a number of other guest chapters that we'll be adding throughout the year by some of the industry's biggest names. The coverup chapters are just one of the many things that we've added this year to this expanding, high-power educational package. Drop by ReinventingTheTattoo.com if you want to read more about it.
New Ask Guy Column Addresses Issues of Design Strength
I've always enjoyed doing critiques of other artists' work, since critiquing is often one of the most direct ways to find the most obvious ways for an artist to improve. In my last critique column for Tattoo Magazine, I went a step further and did a critique that is specifically aimed at illustrating one of the key concepts in making a strong, readable tattoo design: Positive/Negative relationships. When I talk about pos/neg relationships, I'm addressing the idea of how the dark and light values in a piece are distributed in order to get the most clarity. It's a concept that I think many artists could benefit from, since it can affect many aspects of a tattoo ranging from across-the-street readability to its long term aging prospects. The piece that I critiqued for the purpose is nicely drawn, but by thinking more specifically about its pos/neg situation, there are ways to make it pop much more strongly. You can read more in the current issue of Tattoo Magazine, on newsstands now, or you can check it out in the Ask Guy archive at TattooEducation.com.
Speaking of pos/neg relationships, that's a topic that I cover in detail in my educational app, Reinventing The Tattoo, which will be available at its special introductory rate for just another few weeks. The beginning chapters of Reinventing dive deeply into fundamental design concepts ranging fro flow/fit to pos/neg relationships, contrast, color, outlining, and the use of other graphic tricks to give your work visual clarity and make it dynamic. The later chapters then get into very specific technical territory, making Reinventing The Tattoo the most comprehensive educational package available in the tattoo industry. You can read more about it at ReinventingTheTattoo.com. More material is about to be added, including a massive section on coverup tattooing. Now is your chance to subscribe and get all this material for a discount rate; introductory pricing ends soon.
Collaborative Contest, Plus New Ask Guy Critique!
Over the course of this past Fall we hosted two fun contests through the @Biomech_Collective Instagram feed. Well, we thought there was no better way to start the year than to get another contest rolling, especially since this is usually the slowest tattoo month of the year. Let's take advantage of that down time and do something new and fun!
The purpose of the first two contests was to inspire artists to look outside their normal boxes and find new things to add to their artistic vocabularies. With this being the first week of the New Year, the idea of novelty is especially a strong theme. So I'd like to announce The Novelty Effect, a collaborative contest aimed specifically at the idea of producing new visual language. With good collaborations, participating artists often find that it's almost like a third artist is in the room, a person who only exists when the two participants are working together. In particular, I've found that the first steps of the process can produce some exciting things, when the artists begin working over sketches started by each other, but taking the other artist's ideas and redrawing them in their own hand. There may be no better way to step outside your own artistic box.
- Entries must consist of TWO artists using any medium
- Entries will be judged PRIMARILY on their use and generation of novel breakthrough concepts, including:
- New shapes
- New textures or novel detailing
- Unexpected/unprecedented combinations of elements
- But also:
- Overall composition
- Cohesion of the two artists' styles into a single unified look
- Challenge level (shipping analog art back and forth is more difficult than emailing digital files)
-Only new pieces will qualify
- Contestants must repost the contest graphic in this email at their profiles in order to qualify
- Entries must be complete and submitted by January 31st, 2016- simply post and tag #Biomech_Novelty
Prizes will include art books, collaborative art prints, subscriptions to Guy's educational package Reinventing The Tattoo, plus some original collaborative art that will be announced soon. You can find out more details at www.tattooeducation.com/contest/. We can't wait to see what you all produce!
I also wanted to mention that we've just posted a new Ask Guy critique at the Tattoo Education Ask Guy archive. This time I'm looking at the work of Irish artist Colin Byrne, whose work I've critiqued in the past; he already has a pretty good idea of what makes a good tattoo, so it was fun to take it the next step in pushing the strength and clarity of his work a step further. You can find it now in Tattoo Magazine issue #317, available on newsstands, or just drop by TattooEducation.com and check out the Ask Guy archive, which is filled with critiques and other questions and answers. You can submit questions for the @tattooeducation Instagram feed at AskGuy@GuyAItchison.com.
New Ask Guy Critique Just Posted!
I'm always excited to do critiques of other artists' work, since I've personally gained so much from hearing feedback from other artists through the years. Every month, Tattoo Magazine has been giving me a couple pages to use for critiquing, which I do using Photoshop simulations of possible things that the artist could try in future projects. It's been a fun and effective way of showing up-and-coming artists ways to take their work to the next level.
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This month I'm critiquing Oliver Wong, who works in the Bay Area but has apprenticed in part with the great Just Shao of Shanghai, China. I recently had a chance to do a collaborative tattoo project with Just and was blown away by his skills and vision. His style is a fusion of realism and a stylized graphic approach, so we see a lot of that influence in the work that his apprentice Oliver submitted for critique. It's a style that involves limited use of outlines, relying on strong shading for structure instead, which is an approach that introduces some new challenges that can make it trickier to make a piece appear strong and clear. You can see my detailed critique in the pages of Tattoo Magazine #316, on newsstands now, or read it at the Ask Guy archive at GuyAitchison.com.
I also wanted to mention that we've got tons of great gift ideas and are guaranteeing shipping in time for Christmas on al U.S. orders received by Dec. 16th. This includes the new Body Sketch book, which is a perfect gift for any tattoo artist; Sketched Out, great inspiration for both artists and collectors; The Coloring Book Project, Volume 2, which is perfect for the kid in all of us; and Jeff Ensminger's useful and inspirational book The Rose, which provides a multifaceted approach to drawing one of tattooing's most classic icons. Drop by the store at Tattoo Education and see what else we have available for your holiday shipping!
New Ask Guy Critique Now Available For Viewing!
It's about that time again, where we are posting the latest Ask Guy critique at the Ask Guy archive at TattooEducation.com. I'm always excited to do a critique, since there's generally such a positive response from everyone. I'm especially grateful to the individuals who are willing to come forward and have their work critiqued publicly. In this latest column I'm looking at the work of Brazilian tattooist Breno Bitarello, who recently came through Hyperspace Studios here and got his sleeve worked on. Much of what Breno is doing is in the abstract/organic end of the spectrum, which is of course one of my own specialties. So I have the dual challenge here of giving him a solid critique while still encouraging the things that he does that are different from my own work. You can check out the latest column at the Ask Guy archive, and send me your own work if you dare at AskGuy@GuyAitchison.com.
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And for those interested in the realism end of the artistic spectrum, I wanted to mention our associate Dax McClellan's Realistic Portrait System course, which will be starting a new round in a few weeks. Dax uses a unique instructional method that involves a timed release of teaching material including exercises and projects, coupled with feedback from instructors, a system which has demonstrated proven results. For those who join Dax's mailing list before Thursday, he's offering a free mini-tutorial which will arrive in the form in a series of emails sharing topics ranging from motivation to technical secrets. He's made a short video describing what the course has to offer and how it could help you... sign up now to see what it's all about!
Announcing The Beta Phase of the Reinventing The Tattoo Electronic Edition!
Ever since the second edition of my flagship educational package Reinventing The Tattoo was released, I've daydreamed about making an electronic edition which could be updated to keep up with the rapid pace of change in our industry. It's been a long time in the making, but we now have the beta edition of the Reinventing e-book available, and I couldn't be more excited! For starters, it's given me a chance to go back through the entire text and rewrite parts of it to reflect our current understandings of tattooing, plus it was a chance to get the Photoshop chapters current and talk about the changes happening with equipment. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. This new edition is subscription based, with the goal of adding new content regularly so that your Reinventing experience is constantly evolving and can be customized to your path as a developing artist. The current version offers:
> Updated chapters from the original book
> Instant access to all supporting video material
> New chapters from guest writers Nick Baxter, Russ Abbott and Megan Jean Morris
> Handy format that adapts to any device and works well on your phone
> Access to new forums focused on critiquing
As we get into full swing over coming months, we will continue to refine and build the curriculum and the interface to include such things as:
> Text or email notifications of new material
> Smoother and more intuitive interface
> Special version focused on apprenticeships
> New tutorials including an acrylic painting workshop and an updated look at coverup tattooing
> Additional guest chapters from many of your favorite artists!
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During the beta phase, we are offering a special one-time discount to subscribers with the understanding that you will be helping us to make the Reinventing educational experience as perfect as possible. That includes not only helping us find small glitches in the format, but also to give us your suggestions about what you'd like to see added to the experience. There's already more to offer than the classic book/DVD package (which is now out of print) ever had, so hop on board and be part of the group of professionals that helps us make the transition into the new dynamic electronic format! Special pricing will only be in effect for a few more weeks. You can subscribe now at the Tattoo Education online store.
The Portland Worldwide Tattoo Conference is just weeks away!
The Worldwide Tattoo Conference has always been one of the more unique events in tattooing, with the entire focus being on educational seminars rather than squeezing them in around a lot of tattooing and contests. I've enjoyed teaching at these events because the audience tends to be made almost entirely of intelligent, open-minded artists who are there to learn and network. So I'm psyched about this upcoming WWTC in Portland, Oregon October 19, 20 and 21.
My class this year will be called Coverup: A Fresh Look, and will be a solid two hours of nuts-and-bolts technical guidance about the most up-to-date methods for hiding old tattoos without making a dense new piece. This will include plenty of closeup video footage of the needle at work, along with enough time at the end of the session to answer audience questions. I haven't done a coverup seminar in a very long time, so I'm amped to talk about all the things that I've learned about the subject in recent years.
Tickets for the WWTC include all seminars and discussion panels, and the lineup this year is solid gold. I'll be teaching alongside some of my favorite tattooists in the industry including Nick Baxter, Jeff Gogue, Nikko Hurtado, Adrian Lee, Alex De Pase and Ralf Nonnweiler... Even the great Horiyoshi III will be skyping in!
Tickets are available now at TattooEducation.com. Airline tickets are reasonably priced right now- why not treat yourself and get a brainful of knowledge and inspiration? Thanks, and I hope to see you there!
Coming Soon: The Portland Worldwide Tattoo Conference!
The Worldwide Tattoo Conference has always been one of the more unique events in tattooing, with the entire focus being on educational seminars rather than squeezing them in around a lot of tattooing and contests. I've enjoyed teaching at these events because the audience tends to be made almost entirely of intelligent, open-minded artists who are there to learn and network. So I'm psyched about this upcoming WWTC in Portland, Oregon October 19, 20 and 21. I'll be teaching alongside some of my favorite tattooists in the industry including Nick Baxter, Jeff Gogue, Nikko Hurtado, Adrian Lee, Alex De Pase and Ralf Nonnweiler... Even the great Horiyoshi III will be skyping in!
Here's a short interview that I just finished with the WWTC promoters:
WWTC: How do you feel the new wave of educational seminars have affected the tattoo at large?
G: I think it's clear that the high level the tattoo art form has reached has a lot to do with the sharing of information that's been happening in the tattoo community, a tradition which began at the conventions and still remains centered at tattoo related events.
WWTC: What do you love the most about Tattooing?
G: It's hard to define what I think makes tattooing so great... I was drawn to it as if to a powerful magnet at a young age and the interest only deepens as I spend more time with it. I think that some people are just fortunate enough to find that thing which fits them perfectly, and I am certainly one of those people.
WWTC: Do you feel anyone can be a great tattooer like you? What are the essential ingredients to being a great tattooer?
G: If tattooing fits you perfectly then you'll create work that fits others just as well. It will take time, dedication and hard work to find your groove. Remember that what you do matters, and that you are affecting the lives of others. Finish every tattoo as if it were on your own skin, with care and attention to detail. Your clients will notice the difference.
WWTC: What will people learn from you at the WWTC?
G: This October I'm focusing specifically on coverup tattooing, taking an updated look at the possibilities and limitations, with plenty of step-by-step photos and up close video footage of the machine in action. I'll be getting into great technical detail about my very nuanced approach to hiding old work without making a new piece that's obviously a coverup.
You can get more information, and order tickets, at the Products page at TattooEducation.com. I hope to see you there!
Reference Photo Art Contest Happening This Month!
As some of you may already know, I co-host the @Biomech_Collective Instagram page along with my friend Kurt Windish. This month we're holding a contest there inspired by all the great reference photos that have been popping up in the #biomech_collective hashtag feed. It's important to get people involved in the genre, enthusiasts as well as artists. While the weather is prime we would like to encourage everyone to get out and explore the microcosmos! We will be holding a two-part contest, as such:
Part 1 (Photo Reference Contest)
Post reference material that is in any way relevant to biomech design, tagging @biomech_collective and #biomech_reference . Mechanical, organic, natural, or industrial... good lighting is important. Remixes of other artists' work or photos will not be eligible; we want original creative photos. But almost anything else is fair game!
Part 2 (Art From Reference Contest)
Make a piece of abstract art based on one of the many references posted by contestants from Part 1 of the contest. All photos from the #biomech_reference feed are available to use for your art reference, including combinations of multiple images. Post your artwork on your Instagram profile, tagging @biomech_collective and #biomech_reference .
Judging for part 1 happens August 5, and for part 2 on August 21. Prizes will include shirts, art prints, critiques, original art and the grand prize package including an Inkjecta Flite V2 tattoo machine! If interested, please read the full list of rules at TattooEducation.com/contest/, where we also have listed all of the prize packages we'll be offering.
Now In Stock: The Much-Anticipated Force In The Flesh 2!
OK, so there are a lot of Star Wars nerds in the tattoo industry. Don't ask me how or why that happens to be the case, but I'm personally guilty of being one of them, having ridden my bike countless times through dangerous traffic to see The Empire Strikes Back as a teenager. The Star Wars films, to me, were not only a great cinematic adventure but also an example of what a crew of creative people could do if they set their minds to it... and a reminder that the instructions that come in a model kit are really just suggestions. If you want to use the parts of a battleship to make a star cruiser, all the more power to you.
So it was fun to be invited to submit work to the original Force In The Flesh Star Wars Tattoo Art project a few years back. Star Wars fans in the tattoo industry were still just starting to emerge from the woodwork, so it felt like being part of an exclusive club. SW tattoos are way more common now, and with so many incredible artists doing their take on the theme, it was inevitable that a follow-up book project, The Force In The Flesh 2, would need to be published. Force 2 has just rolled off the press and it is indeed a powerhouse book, far thicker and more visually rich than its predecessor. As a tattoo book goes, it not only celebrates the Star Wars story in a graphically dazzling way but shows the incredible capability of the tattoo art form today.
We still have a handful of the first edition in stock, but they are going fast- literally, I can hold them all in one hand. If you are interested in a copy of Force 1, now is your chance. But the new edition is a bigger, thicker volume with a dizzying array of Star Wars tattoo work from a broad variety of artists working in different styles, everything from traditional to realism and everything in between. It'll make a great addition to your art book collection or waiting room library... and we have them in stock now at our online store.
I also wanted to mention that I have a new painting listed at eBay. This one was just completed the other night, and is a 12x12" acrylic spatial study from a series that I'm presently working on. I've got it framed and ready to hang... drop by our eBay store to take a look at the listing.
Wacom Weekend Coming Right Up... And New Aitchison Painting on eBay!
With our Wacom Weekend digital workshop coming up in only a few weeks, Russ Abbott and I are busy preparing the material for our classes that we'll be teaching there. This is a big deal for us, with it being both of our first effort at presenting this kind of fundamental computer graphic education for tattoo artists. We both have used digital art tools for many years and feel that it's given us an important advantage in our tattoo workflow, so having this chance to share our experience is a big deal, made possible by the backing we're getting from Wacom Inc, maker of popular graphics tablets, and the Hell City Tattoo Fest, where we'll be holding these classes on May 1 and 2 at the Downtown Hyatt Regency in Columbus, Ohio.
I speak to a lot of artists about their struggles and it seems that getting past the basic digital hurdles is one of the big ones. It's something that took me many years of trial and error to get past, since there were so few tattooists using computers back in those early days. Now it's a different story, and we've designed our weekend curriculum to help tattooists with both beginning and advanced levels of digital experience, with everything from Photoshop 101 to detailed digital tattoo design. We'll have Wacom Cintiq tablets on hand to make sure that all participants get hands-on time with the equipment under our close instruction. If you've ever wanted to know more about using computers to expand your tattoo vocabulary, I can't think of a better opportunity than this one. You can get tickets now at the online store of our sister site, www.tattooeducation.com.
I also wanted to mention that I've just listed a new acrylic painting on eBay, fresh off the easel from two weeks ago. It's one of my painterly realist texture studies, which I filmed the painting process of for a tutorial I just taught at the Paradise Artist Retreat in New Mexico last week. It comes in a handmade gloss black frame, signed and dated, ready to adorn your workstation or art room wall. It's listed now at our eBay store.
Latest Ask Guy and Bloom Features, Plus New eBay Art Listings!
We've decided to start the spring by listing some of our classic paintings on eBay to help fund our new studio expansion in Hyperspace. We're starting with one of Michele's mixed media abstract canvas photo paintings, as seen in her book Moments of Epiphany, along with a recent small acrylic painting of mine. Drop by our eBay store to take a look at the auction, and help support the construction of our new studio by buying art.
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This month's Tattoo Magazine, #304, is the second issue where both Michele and I have features. I've got another Ask Guy column, this one continuing in my series of detailed critiques. This time I'm taking a close look at an artist who is working in a fairly traditional style but looking for ways to take it to the next level- check it out in the magazine or you can read it at the Ask Guy archive at www.tattooeducation.com. Tattoo Magazine also features Michele's client Lisa Daniels as she discusses her collection with great pictures showing her ink. It's part of an ongoing series of articles focusing on Michele's Bloom Project, which highlights the women she's tattooed through the years, all in her carefully balanced feminine floral style.
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Also related to the Bloom Project, Michele has just posted a new video featuring longtime client Kristen Blinne, with a short interview discussing Kristen's journey of collecting and talking about not only her larger vision but the vision of the Bloom Project overall. It's a short but sweet video showing her collection up close. We've got it posted at our YouTube channel, Tattoo Television, where you can see a variety of client features and artist interviews that Michele and I have produced.
Coming Soon: The Paradise Artist Retreat!
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Two years ago, Michele and I were involved in organizing the Paradise Artist Retreat at the Tamaya Resort in New Mexico. We had invited renowned visionary artists Alex and Allyson Grey as feature artists there, and the workshops they hosted were extremely well received. Other workshops, including Shawn Barber's late night Ala Prima session, left a lasting impression on the artists who attended. It was a beautiful experience, with a great core group of artists taking over this quiet desert mountain resort, getting rejuvenated after the long winter and going home inspired and ready to start the spring season. It was definitely one of the highlights of our year: high-energy inspirational workshops followed by drinks by the fire, under the stars.
So we're psyched that the next Paradise Artist Retreat is coming right up. This year I'll be hosting a hands-on painting workshop, where I'll be showing you my methods for creating convincing 3D effects on canvas. It'll involve both an early evening instructional session and a late night hands-on art jam. This will be my first workshop of its kind and I've got plans for it that I hope will make it both useful and memorable for everyone. Tuition is included in the weekend ticket price, along with workshops and seminars by an incredible roster of instructors including Jeff Gogue, Chet Zar, Nick Baxter, Tony Moore, Gabe Leonard and my sister Hannah Aitchison. Tickets are available now at the Tattoo Education online store, including tickets with special group rates. There are only 20 spots left, so now is your chance! We also offer tickets for the LiveStream edition- if you can't make it in person but want to take part in the experience online, you can stream the whole thing in HD to your home or studio.
Hot Off The Presses: Tattoo Prodigies 2!
Tattoo Prodigies 2 has been 2 years in the making, and it's finally here! This is a high quality, hardbound coffee table book that is 10 inches wide by 13 inches tall and about 2 inches thick. This book is a monster, weighing in at 9 pounds! All 600 pages are printed in full color and include 170 hand-picked tattoo artists with over 2,000 photos, 68 artist interviews plus a collaboration section in the back of the book.
Mike Devries, who published both Prodigies volumes under his Memento Publishing label, says of the project: "What amazes me the most, besides the awesome tattoos, is all the similarities in the interviews- the work ethic and determination, the passion for the art and the respect, amongst many other things." Tattoo Prodigies 2 has double the amount of artists, with over twice as many pages as the first Prodigies, yet it sells for the same price. In addition to its mind-boggling art, the book also features inspiring stories and interviews throughout, and a lot of the interview questions are not your typical questions you would get in most interviews- you'll have to read it to find out. Not only is this book eye candy for ink collectors and artists alike, the content is sure to motivate those seeking to advance and learn. Pick up your copy today and enjoy an inspiring journey!
New Ask Guy column on newsstands now!
In our last newsletter we talked about Michele Wortman's Bloom column in the Slinging Ink pages of the current issue of Tattoo Magazine, on newsstands now. What we didn't mention is that in the same issue is the latest Ask Guy column, featuring the fourth installment of my critique series. This month we're looking at work by an artist who has solid technical skills but is looking for ways to go further. As is often the case, the answer is as much about art and drawing as it is about tattooing technique, and I demonstrate these ideas by reworking some of his work in Photoshop to see how it could be improved.
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You can pick up a copy of Tattoo Magazine issue #307 to take a look, or check it out at the Ask Guy archive here at guyaitchison.com, where you can also read all the past columns I've written. The most recent ones have been critiques but before that I went into all kinds of subjects. If you are a tattooist who'd like a chance at being critiqued in my column, drop me a line at AskGuy@GuyAitchison.com.
New Ask Guy Critique Column, Plus A Few Great last-Minute Gifts!
So another edition of my Ask Guy column has hit the newsstands, this time another one centered around a critique of another artist's work. Art critiques have been a standard part of artists' educations since time immemorial, and are something that you'll encounter at art school quite frequently. Many of us in the tattoo industry haven't run across this practice very much, though, which can make it tricky to get honest feedback from others in the profession. I've been enjoying the critique format of the Ask Guy column and have had some very positive feedback. You can see the latest edition in Tattoo Magazine #305, which is available now and also includes a fun interview that I did with artist Adrian Dominic, plus a lot of other fun stuff. You can also check out the column in the Ask Guy archive here at www.guyaitchison.com.
Vibrant New Art Print From Guy, Plus Major Gallery Update!
When I completed my recent painting Radiant Flux, I had a lot of positive feedback, with a number of people asking me for prints. So it's finally been photographed properly and archival fine art canvas prints are rolling off the presses right now. They're a good mid size- 16x20"- with a wide border to allow for easy mounting. We are also offering it pre-stretched, so if you know of someone that this eye-catching image would be a perfect gift for, it can arrive stretched and ready to wrap in your favorite gaudy holiday wrapping paper. It's in the print gallery now at our online store, along with a broad catalog of other prints by both Michele and myself. We can guarantee shipping in time for Christmas on all US orders that come in by Dec.16.
We've also updated my New Paintings gallery with 17 new images from this past year. In addition to Radiant Flux, I've also added 16 organic studies that I did over the past 6 months. Anyone who follows me on Instagram has likely seen at least some of these, but the Hyperspace galleries give you the full collection of uncropped images at a much higher resolution.
Latest Ask Guy features new critique format, plus new critique video
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I've been enjoying writing my monthly Ask Guy column, which is published in Tattoo Magazine along with being available at TattooEducation.com and GuyAitchison.com. We are well into the second year of taking questions of all sorts from both artists and collectors, and have had many questions about improving overall tattooing. I think the best format for this is in doing critiques, which allow for an in-depth look into an artist's strengths and weaknesses. So for the time being I am switching to a critique format in the column, and the latest issue is the first example of this. The tattoos that I'm critiquing are not only discussed in detail but are also retouched in Photoshop to better describe how things could potentially improve. You can find it on newsstands now, or check it out in the Ask Guy archive.
I've also just completed a short video showing a critique that I gave a regular client of mine, where you can get a better sense of the critiquing process. The idea is to get productive dialogues going with other artists where you can help each other to identify your strengths and weaknesses to allow for more focused growth and advancement.
And before it ends, I wanted to mention the painting that I have on the auction block now at eBay, which will be over in another day or so. It's a small organic spiral piece, deep and crusty, and is both signed and framed. It's 7x9" and needs a good home with a tattooist or a serious collector.
New Skeletal Anthology Book, Plus Another Painting On eBay!
We've enjoyed all the great anthology books that have been released in the past few years by publishers such as Memento Publishing and Out Of Step Books, featuring work from diverse selections of artists, sometimes hundreds in a single volume. This would include books such as Tattoo Prodigies, Antennae of Inspiration and the more recent Cranial Visions, featuring a fun sampling of skull-and-bone themed work in every imaginable style and medium. Now comes a new release, Excavate, which presents a collection of macabre and thought-provoking skeletal art on skin, canvas, paper and sculpture by a list of artists too long to include here. It's over 400 pages, hardcover and laid out in a way that will keep you coming back and opening its pages, discovering something new each time. It's a great gift or a perfect addition to your studio or waiting room book collection, available now at our online store!
I also wanted to mention that I've listed another painting at eBay. This one is acrylic, 7x9", from 2009, and is signed and framed. It's an organic spiral from a period when I was exploring a crusty new direction with my texture and depth. Drop by our eBay store and check it out.
Portland Benefit Show, Upcoming Webinar, and Painting Auction
As we gear up for the big webcast event today and tomorrow, I wanted to mention something going on over in Portland, Oregon if you happen to be in the area. My friend Jeff Tarinelli was knocked off his bicycle and ended up with a bunch of pins and other hardware in his tattooing hand. Fortunately they did a good job and he's back to work, but with some pretty epic medical bills. So he and some friends are hosting a benefit art show at the True Measure Gallery, 3022 E. Burnside St in Portland. That's tomorrow, October 23, from 6-9 PM. I've got a few signed prints there, plus there are pieces from an assortment of other artists along with tattoo gift certificate raffles. Drop by if you can!
And of course there's the big webcast event, Evolution, where Russ Abbott and I are doing a massive collaborative leg sleeve project. Today's webcast can be viewed for free at www.TattooNOWtv.com. We are taking questions through the chat feature and will be talking about all aspects of the project except for the technical stuff. That comes tomorrow, on the 23rd, which will be for professionals only. Tickets are available now at the Tattoo Education online store. Remember that if you are in New England, you can attend this event in person as well.
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Finally, I wanted to mention a painting that I have posted on eBay this week, a medium sized (11x14") piece from the Organica collection. This is a bold, striking piece that will make an impression in your waiting room or workstation gallery, and part of an ever-shrinking collection of published works from my book Organica. The auction will be closing in a couple days.
Thanks, and I hope to hear from you today at our webcast!
Wacom now offering promotional discounts to the tattoo community!
In the days leading up to the big Guy Aitchison / Russ Abbott collaborative event, Evolution, we've established a partnership with the technology company Wacom. Many of us have long been using Wacom tablets for doing art and other activities at our computers, and a few of us in the tattoo industry have gone so far as to purchase one of their deluxe Cintiq tablets, which gives you a large touchscreen that you can draw on directly with a stylus. So it's exciting news that Wacom has developed a smaller and more portable version of this tablet, known as the Cintiq Companion, which can be disconnected from your computer and used on the fly anywhere. Needless to say, Russ and I are excited to give these new tablets a spin around the block this coming week.
Wacom has offered us two of the new Cintiq Companion tablets to give away as raffle prizes to anyone purchasing tickets to the collaborative webinar. If you have already purchased tickets, your name has already been entered in the raffle, and we will be drawing names on the 22nd and 23rd of this month to announce the two winners. On the 22nd, you can view the free all-day webcast at www.TattooNOWtv.com, where you can submit your questions for Russ and I to answer. We will be demonstrating the tablets, along with the new Abbott Color wheel. Then, on the 23rd, comes the paid part of the webinar, where we will be going deep into technical detail as we work on an epic leg sleeve project. Tickets are available now at tattoo education.com, and purchasing a ticket will automatically enter your name in the raffle.
In addition, Wacom is offering a promotional code for the tattoo community for a limited time. If you purchase one of their Companion tablets through the wacom.com e-store you can save $50, or $100 off one of their full size Cintiq tablets... Model DTHA1300L is only $999 with the promotional code, which is a great deal for a tablet this versatile. Just enter promotional code TATTOO_GRWEB during checkout and the discount will automatically be applied toward your purchase. This code is valid for two weeks only, so take advantage now!
Thanks, and I'll keep you posted!
New Ask Guy Now in the Newstands... Plus Another Organica Painting Listed at eBay!
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For my monthly Ask Guy column in Tattoo Magazine, I've gotten a great variety of questions ranging from artistic to professional to healing concerns, and I've been enjoying the diversity of conversation. This month, though, I'd like to touch on something a little different. We all know that tattooing can have an ugly side- as the artistic standards rise to amazing heights across the profession, the garbage being done on skin by untrained scratchers just looks worse and worse. These folks are also all too willing to tattoo minors, which we discuss in detail in this month's edition. But I believe that even situations like this one can be resolved in a positive way with a great tattoo. It's on newsstands now, or you can see it, along with all past columns, here at GuyAitchison.com.
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I've also just listed another original oil painting from my book Organica on eBay. We've already moved one of them, and will be listing a number of these originals over the coming months. All of them are framed, signed and dated. Drop by the eBay store now to see the current bid, and follow me on Instagram or Facebook for updates on the latest posted pieces.
Guy Aitchison Now Listing Original Paintings on eBay!
Now that I've been getting back in front of the easel and am cranking out some new paintings, I thought it might be time to go through some of my favorite unsold pieces and list a few of them on eBay. So I've selected 16 pieces, all featured in my hardcover art book Organica, and will be rolling them out once a week over the course of the summer. These are original pieces done in either oil or acrylic paint, with most of them mounted in handmade black wooden frames. You can follow me on Instagram or Facebook if you want to see announcements of new pieces being listed as they go up. The pieces being listed range in both size and price from very small and affordable to some pieces that are much more deluxe. You can take a look at the first auction right now and see what's been listed so far.
Thanks, and we'll be in touch soon!
Latest Ask Guy Column Now On Newsstands, Plus Gallery Update!
It's been a while since I've had a chance to update my galleries of paintings and tattoos... so you'll be happy to know that we've just added a variety of new pieces to both the New Tattoos and New Paintings galleries. Enjoy... and as always, you can check out my Instagram profile to see works in progress and other fun stuff.
There's also a new Ask Guy column on the newsstands in this month's Tattoo Magazine; this time the questioner wanted to know about the collaborative process, which I tried to go into in detail, including some progress shots of a piece I did with my sister Hannah. I've been privileged to be able to collaborate with many of the industry's most innovative artists, and it's a process that I can't recommend enough when it comes to learning, inspiration, and just plain old artistic fun. You can see the column in the Ask Guy archive here at www.guyaitchison.com.
Thanks, and we'll be in touch soon!
Guy Aitchison
www.hyperspacestudios.com
www.tattooeducation.com
www.guyaitchison.com
Hot Off The Presses- Two New Guy Aitchison Prints
It's been a while since I've added new art prints to our catalog, so I'm excited to announce these two new medium-sized affordable giclee prints, based on two paintings that I completed for themed art shows over the past two months. Zero Hour is about my experience of time- there's just never enough of it for all the competing priorities and onrushing deadlines... but I had a lot of fun with it. And Perennial is about rebirth- a continuous process of gaining new strength and insight from the decaying mulch of the past.
I want to thank Miki Vialetto and Adrian Lee for inviting me to be in the shows that inspired these works. This is subject matter I can really relate to, and both were fun projects. I've got the signed, gloss-finish archival canvas prints available now at our online store.
Thanks, and I'll be in touch soon!
Finally Available: Guy Aitchison's Technique DVD
For a decade and a half now I’ve been perfecting my Reinventing The Tattoo curriculum, which teaches some of the fundamentals of artistic design in a way that can be applied toward making your tattoo work stronger, more dynamic, and more unique. It aims to balance understanding of artistic essentials with cutting-edge technical knowledge to give students a broad base of understanding toward being better artists across the board.
I’d like to announce the release of the latest installment in the Reinventing series, Technique. It’s a four disk set that shows you closeup footage of the machine in action as I work through five different projects, presented in a concentrated format. The first two disks are a special edition cut of my Guy’s Bag Of Tricks webinar, showing a project being done from start to finish as I answer a variety of questions from the audience. The other two disks, Tightening 1 and 2, go into detail about finishing techniques, showing four projects up close, with a voiceover describing every move in detail as I demonstrate line building, detailing, smoothing and other development.
This four disk set is about as technical as it gets. It’s a natural follow-up from the material I teach in the original Reinventing The Tattoo book and DVD set, but is also made to serve as a stand-alone educational experience whether you’ve read the original book or not. It’s intended for professional tattooists only, or apprentices working under the guidance of a professional. Available now at our online store!
Thanks, and we'll be in touch soon!
The Latest Ask Guy Column: What About My Sore, Tired Back?
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Two Upcoming Seminars, Now Available As One Great Ticket!
After the great successes of the seminars we produced from Jeff Gogue's Off The Map location in Oregon, I'm excited about the two upcoming classes I'll be offering in the beginning of April. These are classes for professional tattooists only, or for apprentices of professionals, and go into great detail about both design and technique, a balance which I think is essential for doing top quality tattoo work.
On April 8 and 9 comes the first seminar, Reinventing The Tattoo, which is based on the long-format classes that I've given in the past; but this time I'll be offering it for both live and online participants. I'm offering a total of 30 tickets, since each student will have their work critiqued on the big screen, and will be given exercises that I'll be grading live as well. It's an immersive, interactive 2 day experience that gets right down to the artistic fundamentals important in good tattoo design, along with a lot of technical detail. I'll be answering questions from participants, both live and online- the webinar format can be just as rewarding as being there in person. Tickets are available at the Tattoo Education online store.
The weekend after that is the Hell City Tattoo Fest, where I'll be giving my other seminar, Structure, from 6-8pm on Saturday, April 12. Here I'll be focusing on ways to make your work stronger and more readable, both from across the room or across the decades. This is something that can be achieved in any style of work, including elements that are meant to be softer or lower contrast, and I'd like to share the things I've learned in the course of 25 years of experimentation. You can get tickets for this at our online store, or just drop by the Hyperspace Studios booth, where I'll be tattooing, signing my new prints and selling my new professionals-only DVD set.
For those looking to get the full spectrum experience I'm now offering a combination ticket where you'll get a $50 savings for enrolling in both classes, which cover different aspects of tattooing. I scheduled the Reinventing class to give artists time to travel to the convention, making it easier to attend both, whether it be live or online. You can find the combination ticket in our catalog as well.
Thanks, and I hope to see you there!
Coming in April: Reinventing The Tattoo Immersive Webinar!
For a decade and a half now I've been perfecting my Reinventing The Tattoo curriculum, which teaches some of the fundamentals of artistic design in a way that can be applied toward making your tattoo work stronger, more dynamic, and more unique. It's an educational program that has been attended by many artists who are now among the industry's top artists and educators. So I'm psyched to offer this first installment of Reinventing The Tattoo in interactive webinar format. That means that you can attend it online from anywhere in the world but still participate in the critiques, exercises and discussion. I'm offering a limit of 30 tickets so that everyone's work gets enough time on-screen, where I not only critique it but also use Photoshop to demonstrate ways of improving it. It can also be attended in person at a hotel near us in Marion, Illinois, but many webinar participants have found that the closeup, high definition experience they get on their computers is almost better than being there in person.
It starts on April 8, where I'll begin by going over the Reinventing fundamentals: Flow and fit, positive/negative relationships, contrast, priority and reserve, lines and edges, depth, and lighting effects. We follow that by doing an on-screen critique of each participant's work, applying the concepts that were demonstrated at the beginning of the day. At the end of the session I'll be handing out exercises for everyone to work on that night. Then, on April 9 we'll go over everyone's exercises so we can see how all the important fundamentals have been applied, and then follow up with a group of closeup video clips that demonstrate my latest understandings about technique. The Reinventing The Tattoo webinar is both immersive and interactive; wherever you live you can a part of this concentrated learning experience. Tickets are available now at the www.tattooeducation.com online store!
Coming up in April: Guy Aitchison Seminar at the Hell City Tattoo Fest!
With the tattoo art form spreading into every conceivable artistic style, it's important to take a step back every now and then and ask: What does this need to succeed as a tattoo? The question of longevity is the obvious issue, but the larger underlying importance of giving your work strength and clarity is not just about durability across time, but readability across the room.
In Guy Aitchison's new seminar, Structure, he demonstrates ways of strengthening your work, both in design and execution. It starts with a well balanced composition, with good flow and fit and strategic use of dark and light, which is then applied to skin using a variety of different ways, some which are shown in closeup video clips. Structure reflects Guy's most recent understandings of making your work strong and dynamic... if you're attending the Hell City Tattoo Fest this coming April 11-13, be sure to take advantage of this opportunity! It's happening in the prime slot on Saturday evening from 6-8pm in the Hell City Seminar Room. You can sign up at the Hyperspace Studios booth on the convention floor, or prepay at the Tattoo Education online store.
New Ask Guy Column: How Do I Educate Myself As A Collector?
I've really been enjoying the broad variety of questions I've been getting from both clients and artists for my monthly Ask Guy column that I publish through Tattoo Magazine. This month's question was pretty broad though, being from a collector who wanted to get a better education about art so they could make more informed decisions about getting tattooed. Many collectors arrive at this point, where they are starting to get larger work and to recognize that they have particular tastes and needs as a collector. I've tried to narrow my answer down to the essentials so that someone who has very little experience with art history can get more perspective on what makes a good tattoo and, more importantly, how to find the right tattoo for each particular collector's needs. Look for it in Tattoo Magazine #296, on newsstands now... or you can take a look at the column at www.guyaitchison.com, along with an extensive archive of past columns and other material. Don't forget to submit your own questions, they are what keep this column rolling!
New Ask Guy Column: How Do I Break Into The Tattoo Business?
The Ask Guy column that I write for Tattoo Magazine has given me a lot to think about- questions come from such a wide range of people and from so many different perspectives, it's really kept me guessing from one month to the next. But one question seems to be a constant, and in fact I remember asking it myself, almost three decades ago: How do I break into the tattoo industry? How can I be a part of this great thing, and go about it the right way so I don't end up burning bridges or getting off on the wrong foot?
It's been asked many times in my Ask Guy inbox, so this month I chose three different versions of the same question: One from an art student, one from an ex-con, and one from somebody who is so eager to get started that they are considering attending one of those kind of dubious tattoo schools. I tried to come up with an answer that will be helpful to everyone. The tattoo industry is a thing that those who are a part of it love and feel protective toward... but there is always room for new people if they have the right attitude and approach it the right way. Go ahead and take a look at Issue #295 of Tattoo Magazine, or check it out in the Ask Guy archive here at www.guyaitchison.com. And don't forget to submit your own questions, I'd love to hear from you!
New Tattoo Coloring Book In Stock Now!
One of the big surprise hit items that we've carried in the past few years was The Coloring Book Project by Memento Publishing, which features line drawings by a wide variety of artists touching on a broad range of tattoo themes. it's a fun book, great for kids, apprentices and adults, and can be very inspiring for artists looking to develop their artistic styles. Now comes the second edition of the Coloring Book project, this time bigger and better with more pages and a lot of new artists featured. Both books are collections with work by an incredible variety of tattooists, some names you are familiar with and others you'll be encountering for the first time. We are also offering both books together at a package price... available now at our online store!
I'd also like to remind you all about the upcoming 3-day seminar marathon that Jeff Gogue and I will be holding at the Grant's Pass, Oregon Off The Map Tattoo location. These seminars can be attended in person at the shop, but for most of you the best option is to enjoy them via live webcast from the comfort of your home or studio where you can submit your questions via the chat feature. The first workshop on February 9 will be webcast free to the public from www.tattooNOWtv.com, and will feature Jeff and I doing a large collaborative sleeve project that will include both traditional Japanese elements and some more modern techniques and effects. This will be an unprecedented opportunity for you to sit in on a unique project.
The other two seminars are available to professional artists only. On Feb. 10 will be my class, Structure, where I'll be doing a large calf piece with both illustrative and abstract elements and a number of different effects, all with the emphasis on giving the piece strength and flow. Finally, on Feb. 11 Jeff will be tattooing my hand in a seminar called Size Doesn't Matter, which will give him a chance to demonstrate how he handles a complete project from start to finish. For obvious reasons, I'm pretty psyched about that one. Tickets are available now!
Thanks, and we hope to see you there!
Announcing the Aitchison / Gogue seminar intensive!
Last year's live webinar, Guy's Bag Of Tricks, had such a great response that I've been psyched to line up the 2014 online seminar schedule. The first one, coming up in less than a month, is particularly exciting for a number of reasons. I'll be visiting Grant's Pass, Oregon to do a brief guest spot at the Off The Map location there for three days of seminars with the legendary Jeff Gogue, featured last month in Hypercast 6: The Japanese-American Connection.
On February 9 is the first class, and it will be webcast live for free to the public at www.tattooNOWtv.com. This seminar won't be going into deep technical detail, as it will be available to the public, but will cover all kinds of other things pertaining to how Jeff and I design and execute large tattoo work. It'll be a collaborative project where we will be working together on a sleeve project that fuses traditional Japanese elements alongside cutting-edge techniques. We'll be taking audience questions, so mark that day in your calendar- it'll be a rare glimpse inside a high-energy creative process.
Then on February 10 I'll be giving a seminar, Structure, where I do a large calf piece that will include both abstract and representational elements and employ a whole range of techniques. This one will get quite nuts-and-bolts technical about all stages of the process, and I'll be taking audience questions as well.
Finally, on the 11th Jeff will be giving a seminar where he will be tattooing my hand. This project will be smaller but provides an opportunity for Jeff to demonstrate his magic on a small and personal scale. For obvious reasons I'm pretty psyched about this one but I think it will be an amazing learning opportunity for all of you as well. So tune in to the free webcast on February 9, and be sure to sign up in advance for webinar tickets for the 10th and 11th. There is also limited seating available for anyone wanting to attend the seminar in person at Off The Map Tattoo- be sure to get your tickets now at the Tattoo Education online store!
Thanks, and we hope to see you there!
TattooTelevision upgrade, and Sunday night movie screening!
We've been working hard over the winter to complete a bunch of video projects, and thought that a great way to kick off the New Year would be to upgrade our YouTube channel, TattooTelevision, with some new material, new channels and a freshly reorganized front page. We now have a channel just for our Hypercasts, another for Michele's Bodyset Portraits, and others for Educational Videos, Hyperspace Videos and Music Videos.
This includes two new uploads: Check out our latest, What Is Hyperspace Studios? It's a quick statement by Michele and I about what we do, and what inspires and motivates us. Also take a look at Goddess Bodyset, the latest Bodyset Portrait by Michele featuring her client Charity. We'll be uploading more new material over coming days, so stay tuned!
Also, coming tomorrow night via live webcast will be a long night of entertainment and fascinating discussion as Jeff Gogue screens his new film, Tattoo As I See It, starting at 8 pm Eastern time. This will be followed by a Skype interview session with Jeff- he's a great interview subject, as we discovered in our latest Hypercast, The Japanese-American Connection. After the interview, from 10-11:30pm Eastern time will be a variety of guests beaming in including Watson Atkinson, Deano Cook, Marisa Kakoulas and Tom Strom. Finally, starting at 11:30, will be a screening of our documentary film Innerstate, featuring 40 of your favorite tattoo artists working on fine art projects. This whole evening of webcasting is free- just tune in to www.tattooNOWtv.com tomorrow starting at 8 pm and enjoy. If you're working that night, play it for the whole shop!
Thanks, and we'll be in touch soon!
New Ask Guy column, plus improved Hypercast page with new episodes!
We hope you all had a great New Year celebration. We had a great time rounding off the year with Hypercast Episode 7: Tattooing Past, Present and Future where we interviewed Tattoo Archive historian Chuck Eldridge, along with convention personality Chris Longo and upstart UK tattooer Bez. We'll be posting the edited version soon- but in the meantime we wanted to bring your attention to two previous episodes that we've posted recently.
There's the Collab show, featuring Litos, Don McDonald, Ty McEwen and my sister Hannah Aitchison, talking about collaborative projects in various mediums. Then there's the edit I just completed of The Japanese - American Connection with Jeff Gogue, discussing tattoo style and the interesting territory between Japanese and Western tattooing. Both episodes are filled with great visual material along with some compelling conversation about tattooing and fine art in the tattoo world.
Hypercasts are long-format interview shows, an hour or so per episode, allowing us to really get into depth with our interview subjects. We've just cleaned up the Hypercast page at www.hyperspacestudios.com, putting all the completed episodes in easy reach. These are perfect for playing at the tattoo shop, intended for both artists and collectors.
I also wanted to mention that the latest Ask Guy column is now on the newsstands in the February 2014 issue of Tattoo Magazine. This month I answer two questions related to style and career, always interesting subjects. Pick up a copy, or you can take a look at the column in the Ask Guy archive here at www.guyaitchison.com.
Thanks, and we'll be in touch soon!
Check out the latest Ask Guy column: What causes bad healing?
Once again we are proud to present you with the latest installment of the Ask Guy column, where I'm taking questions from both artists and collectors on all kinds of topics related to tattooing, and appears in this month's issue of Tattoo Magazine, on newsstands now. This month I've taken two questions related to bad healing: What causes it, how to prevent it, what to do when it happens? It's meant to be helpful for both artists and collectors. You can also check it out here at GuyAitchison.com.
I also wanted to remind you that it's still not too late- we are guaranteeing shipping in time for Christmas on all orders received by December 17th. Take a look at our catalog and see if we can help you finish your shopping.
Thanks, and have a great holiday!
Great Gift Ideas from GuyAitchison.com!
Hyperspace Studios Seeking an Apprentice!
Latest Hypercast with Russ Abbott now on Youtube, and new Ask Guy on newsstands!
Last week's Hypercast with Russ Abbott, Teresa Sharpe and Kelly Doty ended up being an epic conversation, stretching to close to two hours and covering a broad range of topics, including audience questions and some tattoo critiques. This time, just for fun Michele and I submitted works for critique as well. It goes to show that no matter how experienced you are there are many things that you can learn and improve.
This was our third Hypercast, where we are interviewing some of the industry's top talents and talking about the state of the tattoo art world, with this episode focusing on illustrative tattooing. Russ Abbott is one of the style's leading proponents and has released a number of top quality educational items, including Iron Clad: Built To Last, a DVD about technique, and Ornamental Archive, a reference book about flowing ornamental motifs that can be used in combination with other graphic elements in a tattoo. You can check out the edited version of Hypercast 3 at our YouTube channel, Tattoo Television.
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I also wanted to mention that installment #6 of my Ask Guy column in Tattoo Magazine is now on the newsstands. This month I cover two topics: Acne scarring, which is something I have dealt with personally, and dealing with clients who seem to need too want changes in a design, a delicate situation to encounter as a tattooist. You can pick up a copy at the newsstands now, check it out here at GuyAitchison.com, or send me your own questions at the Ask Guy link here.
Thanks, and we'll be in touch soon!
Hypercast #3 Featuring Russ Abbott, Tonight!
October 27, 2013
Hypercast #3 Featuring Russ Abbott, Tonight!
So far Michele and I have hosted two Hypercasts, the first one featuring Durb Morrison of Hell City fame, the second one with legendary realist Nikko Hurtado. Tonight we interview Russ Abbott, known for his strong illustrative sensibility which combines a solid traditional foundation with more modern techniques and approaches. We'll be interviewing him about his new book, Ornamental Archive, and his upcoming DVD release. We'll also have special guests joining us including Theresa Sharpe, winner of last season's Best Ink, to join us in our discussion, in taking live questions from viewers, and in critiquing a few tattoos toward the end of the show.
Hypercasts are a long format interview show, focusing on topics related to fine art in the tattoo world. They are available for free through TattooNOWtv- all you need is a computer an a good web connection. We also archive all episodes- you can see both the Durb Morrison episode and the Nikko Hurtado episode at our YouTube channel, Tattoo Television. And if you are in the LA area, definitely take a look at the Nikko episode, where he discusses his current gallery show at the Copro Gallery.
Thanks, and we hope you can join us for tonight's Hypercast!
Nikko Hurtado Webcast Tonight
October 16, 2013
Michele and I are excited about the results of our first Hypercast that we hosted two weeks ago, with guests Durb Morrison and Mike Cole. We interviewed them and discussed the crossover of fine art and tattooing, and how second mediums can enhance a tattooist's career. We then wrapped things up with a few audience questions and tattoo critiques. It's on archive permanently now for you to check out any time you want.
The second episode broadcasts tonight, Wednesday October 16. This week we are interviewing Nikko Hurtado, whose reputation has exploded lately as the public has discovered his almost unbelievable realism skills in both tattoo and oil paint. His Tattooing De Los Muertos DVD has been a bestseller at our store since its release. We've known Nikko since his very first paintings and have stood back in awe as he has embraced this classic medium and mastered it in just a few short years. He currently has a solo exhibition of new work showing at the Copro Nason gallery in Los Angeles. We'll be talking with him about galleries, painting, tattooing, the industry, and where realism is going next. You can tune in at TattooNOWtv tonight at 11:00pm Central time, or you can watch an archived cut of the show starting this Friday at our YouTube channel, Tattoo Television.
Speaking of YouTube, Michele has just completed another short client portrait video starring her client Sabrina, who has collected half sleeves and an upper backpiece from her. It's a great little video documenting Sabrina's journey from having a small flash tattoo to collecting larger work, lasering and covering the old piece, and then bringing it all together into a single unified look. Come check out the video, Woodland Window, at Tattoo Television.
Thanks, and we'll be in touch soon!
Webcast interview
October 4, 2013
Michele and I have been talking about doing a webcast interview show for a long time. We have such an amazing community of fellow artists and original thinkers around us, it has always felt like something that we needed to do. We've finally had our first episode, which some of you were able to catch this past Wednesday night at tattooNOWtv. It was a great show featuring an interview with Hell City's Durb Morrison, who has always put a high emphasis on the fine art aspect of tattooing, both in his studio and his convention, which is the best attended tattoo show in America. We also had special guest Mike Cole, who is not only an incredible tattooist but is doing a lot of mind-blowing paintings as well. Finally we wrapped up the show with some audience questions and tattoo critiques.
It was a great first episode, which you can check out now at our youtube channel. Stay tuned for our next episode on Wednesday, Oct.16 at 11pm Central time. Our guest will be world renowned realist Nikko Hurtado, and we'll be talking with him about the epic solo painting show that he's working on now. Tune in and submit your questions for Nikko, Michele or me through the tattooNOWtv chat. Or go ahead and submit tattoo photos now for critiquing on the air.
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Also this week we have a new installment of my column, Ask Guy, in Tattoo Magazine. This issue focuses on various kinds of scars and how best to cover them with tattoos. Scarring can be a challenging obstacle for both clients and artists, but there are answers to these puzzles. Check out this month's article either at the newsstand or here at guyaitchison.com, and don't be shy about submitting your own questions- you are the ones that make this column possible, after all.
Thanks, and we'll be in touch soon!
Upgraded Site & Webcast Interview
October 2, 2013
Greetings, we are excited to announce the new Hyperspace Studios website!
Multimedia artists Guy Aitchison and Michele Wortman have maintained hyperspacestudios.com since 1996, and it has gone through many changes and additions during that period. This time, the site has been rebuilt from scratch, featuring a streamlined interface that navigates easily so you can enjoy the wide variety of creative content that we have here.
Check out our brand new and updated galleries, featuring work in a variety of mediums by both Guy and Michele,
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our archive of magazine articles and features going from present day back to 1989, with engaging interviews and photos that you won't find in any other galleries,
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Our video vault, hosting short documentary and music video work produced by Michele and Guy,
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Concise new interface for Reinventing The Tattoo owners to access the book's online features, including the newly updated member forums,
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Plus the Hyperspace Studios online store, where we carry books and DVDs about tattooing and related art subjects, along with high-quality art prints, wearable items, and a bunch of other fun stuff.
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This update has been long in the making, and we hope you enjoy navigating through the new site! To celebrate this big upgrade, we are hosting our first webcast interview program tonight at 11:00pm central time at www.tattoonowtv.com. Tune in and send in your questions if you want and we'll answer them on the air. If you can't tune in tonight the program will be available as a podcast starting next week.
Thanks, and we'll be in touch soon!
www.tattooeducation.com
www.hyperspacestudios.com
www.guyaitchison.com
www.protonpress.com
Flight and Flowers Bodyset by Michele Wortman
September 19, 2013
Greetings from Hyperspace Studios!
Michele and I are blessed to have some pretty extraordinary clients. Recently, one of Michele's collectors was featured on the cover of Tattoo magazine, which may still have a few copies left on the newsstands. They celebrated by producing a short video, Flight And Flowers, describing Jen's perspective on her tattoo experience and offering a peek into one of their marathon two-day sessions. Check it out- it's a great example of Michele's unique vision and what the intent is behind so much of her work.
While you're at it, take a look at the Hyperspace Studios Youtube channel, Tattoo Television. We've got a variety of short documentaries showing events and projects we've done, and are in the process of putting together more short client videos like the one about Jen. We've also got a collection of music videos that I produced for Michele's music project Sunchannel, such as the punchy Groovebot or the dreamy Blue Moon. Come enjoy our videos, subscribe to our channel, and stay tuned for more!
Thanks, and we'll be in touch soon-
Guy Aitchison
Thursday Night: Join us in a virtual panel webcast!
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Greetings from Tattoo Education!
Although we couldn't personally make it to this year's Paradise Tattoo Gathering in Keystone Colorado, tomorrow night I'll be joining the festivities live via Skype in a webcast panel discussion. This will be taking place during the event's welcoming party, starting 9pm Mountain Time, and going for around an hour. A handful of other attending artists will be joining the discussion as well, and we'll be taking questions from viewers through the webcast's chat.
The evening's discussion is inspired by a controversy that has sprung up recently: Are webinars good for the tattoo industry, or does it spread trade secrets too easily? This has echoes from past debates about tattoo education in general which have caused the industry to continually rethink and upgrade its standards. It promises to be a lively, and hopefully productive, talk about this important current topic.
Come join us if you can at 9:00 Mountain Time at www.tattoonowtv.com, and be a part of this conversation! No special software is required- you can do everything through your web browser.
Thanks, and we'll be in touch soon-
Guy Aitchison
Michele's Client on the Cover of Tattoo Magazine
August 30, 2013
Greetings from Hyperspace Studios!
Tattoo Magazine is the world's longest-running tattoo publication, and throughout our careers Michele and I have regularly appeared within its pages. This month one of Michele's longtime clients, Jenn Dawson, is gracing the magazine's cover and has a nice feature article showcasing her artwork from Michele. Her unified bodyset tattoo has been in progress for years, and her article is a celebration of careful planning and work, a great example of what a feminine unified overall look can potentially be. It's available now at your local newsstand, and you can see more of Michele's distinctive tattoo work, as well as other art, at www.michelewortman.
In this month's issue is also the latest installment of my Ask Guy column, where I'm taking questions of all sorts from both artists and collectors. In this installment comes the question: When is a laser necessary for a coverup project? I go into detail based on my experiences as both an artist and collector who has had a considerable amount of lasering and coverup work done. Take a look in this month's Tattoo Magazine, or come check out the online version at either TattooEducation.com or GuyAitchison.com. And don't hesitate to hit me with your toughest questions.
Have a great Labor Day weekend, and we'll be in touch soon!
Guy AItchison
New Art Prints Added to the Catalog
Greetings from GuyAitchison.com!
It's been a while since I've released any new fine art prints, so I'm excited to announce these two, which are some of my most recent works. The first one, Inner Works, was painted during the Innerstate live painting event in 2009, and now hangs behind my tattoo station here at Hyperspace Studios. The other one is, Expansion, from the past two years, a period where I've had little opportunity to paint.
All prints are on archival canvas with a border for mounting purposes, and are signed and dated. They're an affordable alternative to owning an original, and with the right light and mounting can look stunning. Check out our online store to see more detailed descriptions of these pieces.
I'd also like to invite you to come take a look at my Instagram page, where I share images of works in progress and other fun behind-the-scenes stuff that you won't see in our websites or blogs.
Thanks, and I hope to see you there!
Ask Guy Column in Tattoo Magazine
May 24, 2013
Some of you are already familiar with the Ask Guy page at my educational site, TattooEducation.com, where I'm taking questions from both artists and tattoo enthusiasts on a whole range of subjects related to tattooing. Because it's available to the public I've been steering clear of nuts-and-bolts technical stuff, with more of an emphasis on understanding design in a way that can be beneficial to both artists and collectors. So far we've gone over a whole range of material, but in the past few months I've expanded this into an illustrated column that is syndicated in Tattoo Magazine, the largest and longest-running tattoo publication in print.
It's been a great opportunity to share information with the public, and I've enjoyed the challenge of addressing these subjects. It's a reminder of how complex of a subject art can be, and the task of coming up with simple answers has caused me to have to think more thoroughly about design matters that I'd taken for granted for a long time. Please take a moment to check out the newest column, along with the two previous ones. Or drop by your local newsstand and pick up a copy of the July 2013 Tattoo Magazine, where you'll find it in the Slinging Ink pages.
I've now got a version of the Ask Guy column here at www.GuyAitchison.com. This may be your first visit here- it's only been live for a few weeks. It's a site where I'm focusing on a particular side of the art that I do, with hand-picked galleries and an archive of magazine features going back to 1989, among other things. You can submit questions to the column from either GuyAitchison.com or from TattooEducation.com. Either way, check it out and tell me what you think.
Thanks, and I'll be in touch soon!
Welcome to my new website!
GuyAitchison.com has been a long time coming. For 18 years now I've shared www.hyperspacestudios.com with my wife, artist Michele Wortman. But GuyAitchison.com gives me a more suitable place to blog about new art projects, tell you about my travel plans, and keep galleries of hand-picked work, both new and from my archives, which I feel best represents what I am about as an artist. We've also got an archive of magazine articles here, hundreds of pages of them, going back as far as 1989 and showing all kinds of cool stuff through the years.
There's also a page here for my Ask Guy column, as seen monthly in Tattoo Magazine, where I'm addressing questions from both artists and collectors. The magazine column is new but we've got Ask Guy content going back a couple years and covering some pretty interesting ground. Check it out, and if you want, submit a question of your own.
I also wanted to mention the upcoming Worldwide Tattoo Conference, coming June 4-5 in Boston, Mass. This will be the second WWTC I've attended- the last one, in the suburbs of Chicago, proved to be a concentrated, high-powered educational event. I'll be teaching a class on tightening up your tattoo technique; there will also be classes taught by Jeff Gogue, Nikko Hurtado, Alex De Pase, Nick Baxter and Bob Tyrrell. Tickets for this incredible event are available now.
Thanks, and I will be keeping you posted!
The Very First Guy Aitchison Online Seminar
November 24, 2012
Greetings from Tattoo Education!
Although I have taught many seminars through the years at conventions and other events, it's taken me up until now to finally take advantage of the internet for teaching purposes. So I'm psyched to announce the very first Guy Aitchison online seminar- Guy's Bag Of Tricks: A Full-Spectrum Mini Webinar.
In this seminar I'll be performing a 4-hour arm tattoo, starting with a freehand marker drawing based on a sketchbook study, then moving through all the technical steps, including the use of some of my best tricks and effects. All this will be webcast in closeup detail, including a live voiceover. You can submit questions through the Chat feature which I'll be answering in realtime. It's a great chance to learn about depth, lighting, flow and other design fundamentals, along with the nuts-and-bolts aspects of applying the piece to get a crisp, painterly look in your results. Experience all this for the introductory price of only $199... or sign up before the New Year and get the special Early Bird price of $149! Links and codes will be emailed to all participants 24 hours before the event.
We are also carrying tickets to a spectrum of other online classes including TattooNow's Building A Great Tattoo Business on Dec.2, Tattoo Photography From A-Z with Bill DeMichelle on March 10th, Stefano Alcantara's Realistic Tattooing on March 3, Black and Gray Tattooing with Big Gus on July 7, and Russ Abbott: The Tattooist's Palette, on July 28. We expect this online curriculum to continue growing in the future.
Thanks, and we'll be in touch soon!
Guy Aitchison