Here are some tattoos highlighting what I've done this month. Surprisingly This being the slow season, I've been RIDICULOUSLY busy lately. Mainly working on my regulars and out of towners. In between work and preparing for Christmas, I've been working on some projects for a split set of flash with Mr. Josh Howard, An INCREDIBLE tattooer who works at the Chicago tattoo company, Chicago's oldest and most respected tattoo shop.If you live in or around Chitown I highly recommend seeing Josh for a tattoo. He's has been an inspiration to me.
Hope to see you all soon!

*Link To Josh Howard's Face book page*

Election day.

Anti-establishment "Paranoia porn" flash, just in time for election day...

Those of you "in the know" will find dozens of nods and tips of the hat to topics that consume the minds of many people considered by the establishment to be on the "fringe" of politics and philosophical thinking. From Satanic bloodlines, The Illuminati, Reptilians, FEMA camps, bio-terror, nightmare eugenicists, the military industrial complex, tyrannical police oppression, Radical revolutionary figures and freedom fighters, anti fascism and populism, It's ALL in there. I made sure that almost everything relates to something else in some manner. I really researched my ass off for this project.Like, weeks and weeks of reading and watching movies and thinking....Some of the sheets can be flipped over on a light table so you can see both an explanation as well as the image together. I will be printing sets shortly.
Enjoy!

-Murray

I keep making them and they keep coming back.

I'm real lucky to have such loyal clients. I really try and take care of them as much as I can.This tattoo is on a client named Chris. I think he's FINALLY out of neck space, so now we can concentrate on the possible back piece that he wants to do. A neck sleeve was a good warm up for that I think.haha! I wanted to sort of underscore the anger of the girl with this addition. So I added some extra roses with with daggers placed in them over his shoulders and ever so slightly onto his back to give it that "stabbed in the back over and over" feel. Ultimately the tattoo shouldn't need any explanation. Good tattoos explain themselves I feel. But I drank coffee and now I'm feeling long winded.ha!

Recently over the last month or two since I completed My Japanese biker paintings, I've thrown myself none stop into a 10 sheet flash set which has taken up a lot of my free time when I'm not at the shop tattooing. There are two more sheets to go and I will post them here after they are all completed. After this I have a few more paintings to do then hopefully I'll take December off from painting to let my head relax and spend more time with the family etc. I try really hard not to stagnate and I've gotten myself to the point that if I'm not tattooing or haven't painted in a few weeks I have anxiety. I guess I really just enjoy making things. It is very satisfying that's for sure.

Painting is the virtue of an effective tattooer.

-Murray

Finished Neck.

I just finished this candle up on a client from New York named Chris. Along with the candle, the eye, wolf , and rose with angry girl head where done by me. The SPECTACULAR chest piece was tattooed by an artist named Orrin Hurley. I feel super lucky to have been able to have my tattoos next to his.Seriously look him up if you live in New York. The dude does bulletproof tattoos.

-Murray

Some tattoos and a painting I did recently.

The black and gray skull and roses is from a flash set project that I'm working on right now. Lucky me!Someone dig's my stuff! The split dragon sheet was done with Eric Doyle at Jinx Proof tattoo in DC on of the most talented people I've ever made art with. Such an inspiration to me.
Thanks for looking guys!

-Murray

Finished this one up a couple of weeks ago while on a trip to New york state to tattoo some friends.It's based off something I painted.
Good times.

-Murray

Chris Clark Interveiw in local paper

The middle town Press came down to the shop and filmed me tattooing one of my clients and friend Chris Clark a few weeks ago. Pretty cool little write up went along with it....He's been tattooed all over the place by some of the best tattooers in the craft. Some of the comments left by the civilians will have you in an uproar of laughter.

Enjoy!

-Murray

Tattoo Video

New flash set now available-

5 Japanese biker half sleeves and chest panel sheets. Plus 1 bonus sheet that Derek Martinez and I made. 11x14, all on heavy card stock.
60 bucks. includes shipping.
Paypal is murrayftw@gmail.com
Please include your mailing info and contact address. I'm only making 30 of these so act now.

Thank you for your on going support!

Newburgh NY guest spot.

I just got back from a guest spot in NY at millennium tattoo.
Shop was awesome. The people were awesome the tattooers were awesome.Best of all the CUSTOMERS were awesome! I had such a good time with those guys I can't wait to go back.
Here are a few tattoos I did.


-Murray

Split flash sheet with and tattoo by my good friend Derek Martinez of Electric 13 tattoo in Austin TX

I haven't seen Derek in a few years but he is one of my best most trusted friends. It was really awesome having him at the shop this past few days. We got to together last night and kicked out a flash sheet for old times. Derek doing the bottom half of the sheet and myself doing the top half.

If you are smart you will get tattooed by Derek. He is one skilled tattooer.

I've also included a tattoo that Derek did on me as part of my grim reaper/death torso project that I'm having all my friends tattoo on me.yes!!!

-Murray

I made this for Xam over in England as part of a trade we're doing.One more to go on this set.

Designs by June Kolentus.

My little girls love to draw.So I thought I'd make a flash sheet for the wall of the shop based on my daughter June's marker drawing. She was excited to hear that I was repainting one of her very own creations.
The pricing stickers where her idea. Such an Industrious little girl.
Being a dad is awesome!

Japanese Biker Tattoos

I've been fascinated with the Japanese folk tattooing style for a long time. Bold simple tough. I just have a special place in my heart reserved for it over the classic Japanese and the new school Japanese genres. These were essentially my own Americanized version of style.
They were very fun to do. I mixed colored pencil and paint to give it that 80's edge.

-Murray

Blacklight ready

I'm trying to infuse and graft some new influences into some of my paintings. My love of classic black light posters, 70's and 80's tattoo art and album covers from the same period has pushed me in this direction.I can no longer suppress the urge to adapt elements from the "far out" areas of that period. The high contrast imagry and wild brain numbing colors is just so pleasing to the eye and aids in conveying ideas to viewers with modern sensibilities....Kind of a bad picture unfortunately but you get the idea.

-Murray

New this week...

tattin' my days away...


-Murray

unholy warriors

More and more time spent alone painting....
20"x 30".
-Murray

Practice...

I made this the other night while trying to "learn the language" of Bob Roberts one of my favorite tattooers. These designs are from his acetate book. Excellent examples of 80's punk rock tattoos.

Faster then a cat can blink his eye my boy!

I made a quick trip to New York City this week with Chris Smith and Mr. Bill Waverly. First up we went over to the Japan society to see a VAST exhibit of original Kuniyoshi ukiyo-e prints. The exhibit was extraordinary to see. The kuniyoshi exhibit mainly covered more of the mythological subjects of Japanese folk lore. So seeing room upon room of monsters ghosts and warriors fighting Korean tigers really blew our minds. It was AWESOME.

Next we went over to Brooklyn to get tattooed by Mr. Bert Krak.We hung out and had lunch with the gang. All of whom were extremely welcoming and hospitable. While I was getting tattooed local tattooer Steve Delgado stopped by and regaled us with some hilarious anecdotes. Seriously I had to stop and laugh a few times. Bert's tattoo was fast, virtually painless and clean as a whistle. and I mean CLEAN guys. It's one of my favorite tattoos.

Most of the paintings on the wall are original and had painted so the shop almost doubles as a mini folk art museum however all of the imagery is still in service being tattooed every day.Ironically The bathroom has some of the coolest hand painted flash sheets I've ever seen. If you are ever in the neighborhood, stopping by the shop is a must! And everyone interested in tattooing or who is themselves a tattooer should definitely stop by and get something tattooed. In my opinion, It's probably one of the best tattoo shops in the country and the amount of knowledge and experience as well as sheer talent there is astounding. I highly recommend them.

After Bert finished up my my tattoo Steve Delgado invited us over to The shop of the oldest tattooer still working in NYC's Mr. Tony Polito. Tony has been tattooing for a total of 52 years and 30 years at the location we visited. He comes from a time in tattooing TOTALLY alien to the one most of us are familiar with now. The shop is the oldest of old school to its core. We sat and talked and watched Tony and Steve belt out walk-in after walk-in after walk-in. Two old dudes just blasting out tattoos non-stop. Let me tell you it was WILD to watch. I have never seen anything like it. Tony told us stories while he drew on designs and even showed us some of his old flash in between tattoos including an old doc king flash sheet that was just amazing to hold.

All in all this was one of the best trips I've ever had. Every stop on it more wild and cool then the last.It changed a lot of how I view things and I feel a renewed sense of determination now regarding my own work.

-Murray