Tattoo Life July/August 2024

Cover girl: Anaïs Chabane

Parisian by birth, Anaïs Chabane lives in Los Angeles where she chose to move partly for love, partly to pursue her ambitions as a tattooist. She loves the Ornamental style and sees tattoo as a jewel to adorn the body of the wearer. At the same time she loves the good life, travel, and splendid luxurious places… that girly world represented by Barbie who is also a major inspiration for our bubbly, hot pink cover girl.

Chat at the top with Alan Padilla

A great tattooer predominantly in Black and Grey. What’s more, Alan Padilla is a man with a vision of his own. Whether he’s dealing with ink, painting, wine or Mexican traditions, it’s all art in the variegated universe of the owner of The Artistry in San Pedro (an elegant wine bar connected to a tattoo shop and painting exhibitions) and organizer of the Mexican tattoo convention Viva La Tinta in Guadalajara.

Curt Baer: Traditional American History

Curt Baer has twenty-two years of solid experience in the tattoo industry and a total respect for the Traditional American style. Mr. Baer talks to you about the ‘Alien Cowboys’ who are slowly but surely becoming a sort of hallmark of his tattoo style. His favourite tattoo image is a panther head, followed closely by the classic cowboy skull.

Sou TTT: Flowing between lines of black flowers

Her name is Sou, she was born in Korea and spends half of the year in Seoul and the other months she travels to various countries to do guest work, mainly London and soon New York where she will be settling down. Her work is feminine and elegant, she likes to create tattoos to harmonize naturally with the skin and look beautiful in her black ornamental style. 

The powerful women’s faces of Sampaguita Jay

Born in Paris, Sampaguita Jay lives in the Bayonne region of France, a place she and her partner Tom fell in love with and where they chose to open the place where they work, the Bakunawa Tattoo Shop. She focused on feminine faces that she presents in very strong but also gentle images. Tattooing for her is not just a tattoo but an experience that you will keep for life on your skin but also in your memory!

Portfolio: the models of Mark Smitty Neal

His name is linked with music and art scene which raged in New York at the end of the Eighties and over the past eight years has made a name for himself as photographer at live concerts, taking pictures of legendary icons. Besides this, Smitty has also worked hard to earn his stripes in fashion and beauty photography, and shootings to tattoo models are the focus of the portfolio of this issue of Tattoo Life. 

Welcome to Imago tattoo, Montreal

We are in the famous Mont Royal district in the centre of Montreal, to visit Imago Tattoo, a multi-storey building with a cosy atmosphere both for customers and those who work there, with a spacious lounge area at the entrance, a number of work stations for the tattooists and even a terrace where they can have summer barbeques with co-workers. A busy, cheerful shop, where visitors are welcomed by the founder, Safwan, who says: what we do here is sacred. 

From marble to skin: the metamorphoses of Fabio Viale

Marble like skin: its porous surface absorbing the colour of the tattoo which artist Fabio Vale uses for his monumental classical sculptures, where the purity of the white marble exalts the symbols connected with life and death of Russian criminal tattoo.

Tattoo Mix: A selection of the best in every style… and much more!