The second Fredericksburg Tattoo Invitational kicks off this weekend, Friday through Sunday, at the Fredericksburg Convention Center (2371 Carl D Silver Pkwy.). Hosted by local studio Black Horse Tattoo, the event will bring together more than 100 tattoo and piercing artists from all over the world who will display their artistic talents on skin. There will be contests and live tattooing across a variety of styles and techniques, plus airbrush face painting for the kids.
Photojournalist and noted tattoo fan Jeff Kearney paid a visit to several local studios to talk to the artists about their craft and what we can expect this weekend.
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Black Horse Tattoo Studio, 1 Towne Center Blvd. Suite 5500, Fredericksburg
—Emiliano Gabaldon
“I’ve owned Black Horse Tattoo Studio now for coming up on five and a half years. This month I will be in my 37th year —I started my apprenticeship when I was 15, so it’s kind of been a while. I apprenticed out of Emporium Design in Denver, Colorado.
“Over the past almost 40 years I have worked all over the world. I worked with Hank Schiffmacher, aka Hanky Panky in Amsterdam, for five years. I used to run a little shop called Heart and Huntington in Las Vegas. I did that for about six years, and then after that I went over and ran shops for Mario Barth Starlight Tattoo.
“We have five artists here at Black Horse and we’ll all be tattooing at the convention. You can check out the list of artists that will be there and if you want to get a tattoo by one of them, definitely reach out to one and go for it.
It’s open to the public. Bring the kids. There’s going to be airbrush artists for the kids and face painting and everything else.”
Black Horse Tattoo Studio features tattoo artists Emiliano Gabaldon, Shayla Davidson, Ashlee Hawkins, Eddie Cook-Hernandez and Blaine Boldur.
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Lost Tribes Tattoo, 10363 Courthouse Rd., Spotsylvania
“I’ve been tattooing for 15 years. I opened up Lost Tribes about eight years ago. I specialize in color realism, I also do black and gray realism, but I always love a challenge, so I do a little bit of everything.
I did my apprenticeship in Jacksonville, North Carolina, under a guy named Michael Knox. He owns Ink Slingers Tattoos. He’s been around for a long time, he’s an old school tattoo artist.
“At the convention, we have a four-man booth, so it’s going to be four artists: Monsta, OG Ree, Picasso, and also Hogo.
We’re the only minority shop in multiple counties, so I’m kind of proud of that. A lot of people hear that and it kind of warms their hearts. When I opened up this shop, I didn’t realize I was going to be the only minority shop in town.
I’m excited for this year’s expo. Last year, we had a lot of fun. It was kind of new to the town, so we didn’t get a lot of people. But I think this year, more people are aware, so I think the turnout is going to be great.”
Lost Tribes Tattoos features tattoo artists Ricky Butler, Ree, Monsta, Hogo and Picasso.
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Ink the Void Tattoos, 102 George St., Fredericksburg
—Kris Smith
“We’ve had the shop about seven or eight years. This building has always been an art studio. Back in the day, it was a press.”
“I believe historically it was a news press and before that it was the sign painter. So a lot of the historic signs that you see in the museum and things like that were painted in this building,” adds artist Rylee Gregory.
“And then it became a tattoo shop and it has been a tattoo shop for… 20 plus years,” says Smith.
“We took it over actually from a friend. Greg (Harmon) has tattooed for 16 years.He was friends with the owner previous and then we took the building over. Greg has always been the main artist here.
He apprenticed Rylee and I. Jay (Ortega) wanted to apprentice under us, under him and we just didn’t have the space and they can only hold two apprentices. So he went to The Anvil Tattoo and they did a great job with him. Now he’s here. No ill amongst us and other tattoo shops. Always a good thing here.
The shop will be closed during the convention. Rylee, Jay, Greg and Morgan (Buenos) will be tattooing.
We are just making sure that we’re part of Fredericksburg. The community, the people, they know we’re here… We’ve all done a lot. We live down here. We work down here. So, you know, we have ties in Fredericksburg, friends, family.”
Ink the Void Tattoos features artists Kris Smith, Greg Harmon, Rylee Gregory, Morgan Buenos and Jay Ortega.
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Fredericksburg Tattoo Works, 348 Warrenton Rd., Fredericksburg
—Kelley Drake
“I grew up here in the Fredericksburg area. Went to college in Maryland and came back home looking for a job in the arts. I’ve been tattooing around the area for 20 years now. My business partner and fellow artist Greg Howell have had this shop together for 4 years now.
We will all be there at the convention taking turns, rotating through three days. I would say if people are new to this, it’s good to check out the (convention) website and see which artists are going to be in town. The great thing about conventions is that you may be able to get tattooed by an artist that lives on the other side of the country that you might not otherwise have ever had the opportunity to see.”
Fredericksburg Tattoo Works features artists Kelley Drake, Greg Howell, Natalie Whay, Quinten Jackson, Becca Potter, Sierra Saint Germain and Bellie Peters.
