ANOTHER GROOVY POLL

C’mon, couch huggers! Time to tell us what you think. Cast your vote and all your worries will melt away. And while you’re at it… click on the POLLS button (on the right) and find other places to voice your opinions.

LETTER FROM DARCY

Hello Bob & Mary!

Congratulations on your new venture. Tattoo Road Trip is looking great! Best of luck with it, and keep up the great work. Enclosed are a few photos of some of my more recent work. For the Gallery, perhaps? Anyway, they’re yours. Just wanted to show some love.

—Darcy Nutt

Chalice Tattoo Studio

Boise, Idaho

Be sure to click on images to enlarge.

GALLERY—SAILOR JERRY SWALLOW

“The old guys can’t draw,” is what the newcomers to the industry say. “Their pinups only had three toes. Those old-time tattoo artists didn’t know what they were doing.” Well, actually they did. When the waiting line was one hundred and fifty impatient sailors, Sailor Jerry Collins, for example, saved time by “suggesting” fingers and toes, rather than drawing in every line.

Here’s work by another great sailor, Sailor Jerry Swallow. This wonderful portrait hangs in my office. Don’t tell me that the “old guys” can’t draw.

—Bob Baxter

LETTER FROM GRANTS PASS

Jeff Gogué

Hi J.B.,

I just thought I’d let you know that Bob Baxter, former editor-in-chief of Skin&Ink magazine, was interviewed today by The Miami Herald for a feature on tattooing. Bob used Jeff as his prime example of the phenomenal success of tattoo artists.

Bob and I are launching a new website, http://www.tattooroadtrip.com, which we hope will become the most definitive tattoo art e-zine in the industry. Please take a minute and check it out. If you like what you see, I hope you’ll share the site with your email contacts.

Please give Jeff and his family our fondest regards,

—Mary

Hi Mary,

That is so awesome! I will pass that along. The e-zine is great…you guys are doing a great job!

Thanks for sharing that with us, Mary 🙂. You guys take care—and the best of luck with your project!

—J.B. Palasini

Gogué Art

Grants Pass, Oregon

LETTERS

Dear Tattoo Road Trip:

My dad always said to me—as he scratched his head, while looking at my tattoos—“I thought I bought you plenty of coloring books and crayons, when you were a kid. And still you color on yourself. But I still love you.” So, maybe now I can get one. But it won’t stop me from my love of ink.”

—Greektooth

Tattoos are like good friends. You get to choose them, you always have them and they make you feel good about yourself.

—Destiny Design

Great blog, Bob. Enjoyed the read and the pics. Keep it up. Aloha from Kauai.

—Culture Tattoo

Thanks , Bob. The site looks great. Hope things are doing well for you, and I hope to see you soon somewhere on the road.

—Mario Barth

Very cool articles on Baxter’s Blog. The first is on Colin Dale and Makonde and traditional tattooing, the second on tattoos on the rez, the latter of which is something I’m really interested in. Not so much the Northwest styles, but the more abstract blackwork of the Northeast. My right half-sleeve and chest-piece was inspired by an Algonquin tattoo design that I came across years ago. It’s not a copy, of course, but the big black plates and the (vaguely) triangular designs are something that really speak to me, and I just love the way it looks.

—The Grumpy German

CAPT. DON’S CHARLIE WAGNER SONG

Charlie Wagner

CAPT. DON LESLIE

World-famous tattoo artist, sword swallower, fire eater and out-and-out champion sideshow performer, the late Capt. Don Leslie was also a gifted songwriter and singer. Here’s the words to one of the Captain’s tunes from his rare, out-of-print recording, “Present Tattoo Songs.”

WAGNER’S TATTOOED LADY

Words and Music by Captain Don Leslie

I first met her on the Bow’ry at a place called Chatham Square.

It was not her eyes that drew me near, her lips or pretty hair.

It was not her dress of velvet or her patent leather shoes,

But on her hide she wore with pride Charlie Wagner’s tattoos.

Chorus:

Well, red roses she wore on her breast; what a sight!

Oh the color so vivid, so vivid and bright!

And the blues notes danced ’round about her pretty blouse.

Some say it was a waltz, like Johann Strauss.

I swear on my child and the gold in my teeth

That the memory of that tattooed queen still lingers sweet.

Talented Tunesmith, Capt. Don Leslie

Oh, she came down to Charlie there at Chatham Square

To get tattooed by the master there.

Well, I left the Bowery in ’42,

Stopped my gamblin’ and runnin’ hooch,

But I always dreamed of that tattooed queen

And Charlie Wagner’s Fascinating tattoo machines.

Many years have gone by since those World War days,

And Professor Wagner has since passed away.

Oh, they tore down his shop down in Chatham Square.

Time and history and so unfair.

Chorus:

I’ve seen beautiful designs like “Duel in the Sun,”

“Rock of Ages,” battleships and military guns.

Well, they all have their place, like a heart with “Mom,”

But Charlie Wagner’s tattooed lady’s still Number One.

They preachers all say, “There’s a land so fair.”

Some folks call it “heaven” or the “golden stair.”

Well, some call it “paradise,” and I really do not care,

For I’d rather be down in Chatham Square.

And, to the right of the throne, are a chosen few:

Picasso, Rembrandt and Michelangelo too.

Hey, let me name them all for you,

And don’t you forget Professor Wagner too.

Some painted on canvas and some on chapel walls.

Their art’s worth millions for fame and all.

But Charlie Wagner’s the king of this man’s dreams,

For he painted the beautiful tattooed queen.

Chorus:

Charlie Wagner, you’re the greatest and there ain’t no doubt.

HEAR CAPT. DON LIVE!

GALLERY—PACIFIC SOUL TATTOO

The diskette from Pacific Soul Tattoo in Honolulu, Hawaii has some images worth sharing. The envelope and business cards in the envelope say “Paulo,” but the diskette is labeled “Matt Cox Pics.” Confusing, however, I think Matt used Paulo’s business card, but the images are Matt’s. Do I see some Aaron Bell influence here? In any case, good stuff. Keep them cards and letters coming, y’all.

MINI-GALLERY—WALTER BIANCO

This artist wins the prize for sending tattoo photos from the farthest distance to our mailbox, namely, Italy. But that’s not why we’re publishing his photos. We love the guy wearing the crown/cap thingy. And the cover-up of the dragon is very clever the way that it  incorporates the old, faded artwork in the design. The artist’s name is Walter Bianco from Wild Brain Tattoo Studio in Torino.

HOME SWEET HOME

The broken-down mower, the hen house, the garage and our house.

We’ve had several requests to show and tell what Hood River is like. Well, it’s one of the world’s top windsurfing and kite-boarding Meccas. The Columbia River Gorge has lots of wind and water… and surfers travel from all over the globe to test their skills here. The town of Hood River has Mt. Hood on the south and Mt. Adams on the north, both snow-covered most of the year. In between are dozens and dozens and dozens of orchards (cherries,  apples, pears and blackberries, gooseberries, huckleberries) plus umpteen different vineyards, wineries and a couple of breweries. All this and salmon fishing, too. The area is surrounded by forests, the Bonneville Dam is twenty minutes west and Portland is about forty minutes past that. Washington state is across the river. We have ring-necked pheasants and deer and raccoons and quail in the yard… and we raise chickens. The eggs, by the way, are for sale by the dozen.

—Bob Baxter and Mary Gardner

WIN SOMETHING COOL!

Want to win a copy of Black 13 Tattoo’s super fun coloring book? Easy. Simply Leave a Comment (at the bottom of this page). We’ll pick our favorite, print it on the Blog… and the book will be in the mail to the winner.

—Editor

Tattoo by Josh Woods, Black 13, Nashville, Tennessee