Jay Brown: Coeur d’Alene’s Blue Rose Tattoo – An Interview with Robert McNeill (Part III)
By Jay Brown In Northern Idaho there is the lake town of Coeur d’Alene, actually more of a city than a town. In the sea of tattooing these days, some of the old timers really shine through as great tattooers as well as incredible artists, one of those is Robert McNeill. I recently got a chance to stop in to see him at his studio on 4th Street right in the heart of downtown Coeur d’Alene. Blue Rose Tattoo is a clean, comfortable shop, with lots of incredible artwork adorning the walls, all of which is either Japanese or American Traditional tattoo designs, all painted by Robert. And speaking of painting, Robert is incredible at that, pin-ups I think being one of his strong points, but he can do anything, all in all Robert is one of those artists that can create on skin as well as he can on paper or canvas. So after we were done with the hellos and the pleasantries, we got down to the interview, which wound up being 43 minutes long, so I am gonna edit things, cause I don’t have enough pictures to go with that many pages, and that’s a lot of pages so we’re gonna trim it down a bit, although it was a great interview all the way through, but we’re not writing a book, but I digress… Yes, so the interview. I hope you enjoy… [Editor's Note: Jay's interview, due to its length, will be broken into three weekly installments, this is Part III of III.]
Jay Brown: Coeur d’Alene’s Blue Rose Tattoo – An Interview with Robert McNeill (Part II)
By Jay Brown In Northern Idaho there is the lake town of Coeur d’Alene, actually more of a city than a town. In the sea of tattooing these days, some of the old timers really shine through as great tattooers as well as incredible artists, one of those is Robert McNeill. I recently got a chance to stop in to see him at his studio on 4th Street right in the heart of downtown Coeur d’Alene. Blue Rose Tattoo is a clean, comfortable shop, with lots of incredible artwork adorning the walls, all of which is either Japanese or American Traditional tattoo designs, all painted by Robert. And speaking of painting, Robert is incredible at that, pin-ups I think being one of his strong points, but he can do anything, all in all Robert is one of those artists that can create on skin as well as he can on paper or canvas. So after we were done with the hellos and the pleasantries, we got down to the interview, which wound up being 43 minutes long, so I am gonna edit things, cause I don’t have enough pictures to go with that many pages, and that’s a lot of pages so we’re gonna trim it down a bit, although it was a great interview all the way through, but we’re not writing a book, but I digress… Yes, so the interview. I hope you enjoy…[Editor's Note: Jay's interview, due to its length, will be broken into three weekly installments, this is Part II of III.]
Jay Brown: Coeur d’Alene’s Blue Rose Tattoo – An Interview with Robert McNeill (Part I)
By Jay Brown In Northern Idaho there is the lake town of Coeur d’Alene, actually more of a city than a town. In the sea of tattooing these days, some of the old timers really shine through as great tattooers as well as incredible artists, one of those is Robert McNeill. I recently got a chance to stop in to see him at his studio on 4th Street right in the heart of downtown Coeur d’Alene. Blue Rose Tattoo is a clean, comfortable shop, with lots of incredible artwork adorning the walls, all of which is either Japanese or American Traditional tattoo designs, all painted by Robert. And speaking of painting, Robert is incredible at that, pin-ups I think being one of his strong points, but he can do anything, all in all Robert is one of those artists that can create on skin as well as he can on paper or canvas. So after we were done with the hellos and the pleasantries, we got down to the interview, which wound up being 43 minutes long, so I am gonna edit things, cause I don’t have enough pictures to go with that many pages, and that’s a lot of pages so we’re gonna trim it down a bit, although it was a great interview all the way through, but we’re not writing a book, but I digress… Yes, so the interview. I hope you enjoy… [Editor's Note: Jay's interview, due to its length, will be broken into three weekly installments, this is Part I of III.] (more…)
Jay Brown Provides Inside Look at The Northwest Tattoo Museum
By Jay Brown
The Northwest Tattoo Museum is a project that was started almost two years ago when in a conversation it was suggested that there needs to be a tattoo museum in the Northwestern US. In answer to this call myself (a longtime tattoo artist of 24 years at the time) and avid hoarder of everything tattoo, and my fiancé Jennifer DeRose, who is an anthropologist/archaeologist decided to take on the challenge. I then dug out my collection of tattoo machines, old flash and other stuff I had piled up over the years while Jennifer started building the database for the museum’s collection… (more…)
Jay Brown: ‘Coil Guys For Life’ Book Review
By Jay Brown Coil Guys For Life, Handmade Tattoo Machines and Their Builders, by Dano Collins is a compilation of 34 tattoo machine builders and their stories, or bios if you prefer, their art, their tattooing and of course their tattoo machines. This hardbound book covers a wide array of machine builders from the old-schoolers to the new generation of machine builders. This book contains a broad spectrum of builds from practical, to absolutely wild, to fine art. Every page shows great work from these fine craftsmen of the electric coil-type tattooing machine… (more…)
Jay Brown: Fred Marquand – The Story of an Unknown Northwest Tattooer
By Jay Brown
Fred Marquand is not a name that you first associate with old-school tattooers. Most think of Waters, Zeis, Jensen, Rogers, Wagner, Barber, Moore, Tuttle, Bowery Stan Moscowitz and his brother Walter (their father was a tattooist as well), Crazy Philadelphia Eddie and the like, but the name Marquand doesn’t come up in many conversations… (more…)
For the Record: The Coney Island of the West
Courtesy of Tattoo Archive: The Pike, often known as the “Coney Island of the West”, was a large amusement park located on the waterfront in Long Beach, California. It all started with a pier that was built in 1893 that grew into a major amusement area. It is unknown when or where the first tattooist set-up shop at the Pike, but it was probably in the corner of one of those small arcades that lined the, “Walk of a Thousand Lights…”
For the Record: Doc Webb (UDT)
Courtesy of Tattoo Archive: Before Doc Webb came into the tattoo world he worked as a commercial artist for the Fox West Coast Theaters. He also worked in Seattle, Washington at local arcades making signs. While working at these arcades Doc Webb met tattooist Bob Kelton. As fate would have it before too long Doc Webb had a tattoo machine in his hands and he spent the next 40 plus years working as a tattooist. Doc Webb operated shops in Vallejo, California and in San Diego, California. In fact, he spent his entire tattoo career around the military and the Underwater Demolition Teams (UDT) flash sheet seen here is a classic example of Doc Webb’s tattooing style.
Amsterdam Tattoo Museum Opens on November 5th, 2011
Dear Tattoo Friends,
November 5th is the big day: The opening of the Amsterdam Tattoo Museum.
The evening is for the public on Museumnacht (museum night, tickets: www.n8.nl)… [More info on expanded page]
Thanks for your support!
