Art to the painter requires a piece of that artist’s emotions. When a tattoo artist does a piece of work the same emotion goes into it except that they may never see that piece of art again.
“Sometimes when they walk out of the shop, I am kind of sad. Every piece has some emotional attachment,” said local artist Kevin Almeyda, 24. “I’ll sometimes ask them to come back in two weeks so I can photograph the tat, and I never see them again. I’ve actually had someone ask me to sign the tattoo before. I can’t say I’m not guilty.”
Among the many new tattoo shops opening up in the Bakersfield area is Pretty in Ink, which is owned by artist Nick Manning, 34. Manning’s shop offers not only a sterile clean and cool environment, it also offers the quality artist work that even Hurley couldn’t pass up. Almeyda, who works with Manning, was recently signed for a line of shirts for Hurley in Spring 2009. Originally, he made the paintings for the shirts on canvas, but they were replicated for the t-shirts.
“I had some friends that were sponsored by Hurley. They pulled me in that way,” said Almeyda. “I’ve only been painting for about two years, but I’ve been creating art forever.”
He has been doing tattoo work for six years and picked up painting to help further improve his use of the color palette but has since seen an improvement in his ideas.
“I try not to get a big head about things,” said Almeyda. “I know lots of people that are doing the same kind of stuff: bands with warp tour, other artists. It’s not a big deal; It’s just something cool that I’m doing.”
The shop opened for business on July 18, and, despite the fact that competition and color palette for tattoos is expanding, Manning has found that it’s not only the art that will keep people coming back. It took Manning nearly five months to complete his renovations and to pass the health code regulations to finally open his doors for business. He explained that it’s hard to get the name out in Bakersfield, but hopes that Almeyda, who recently moved from Riverside, will help get the name out for the shop.
“There’s always going to be competition with good quality work,” said Manning. “It’s all about customer service, no one wants to come back to a jerk.”
According to Manning, due to the progress in colors and everything in art, everyone’s looking for the best artist. He doesn’t feel that it has necessarily become a trend. Rather, it’s a new way of expressing yourself.
“Tattoos are so clean now,” he said. “Everyone’s getting them nowadays; it’s more acceptable. It doesn’t look like an old biker tattoo.”
Tattoo pieces aren’t necessarily a trend but rather a cycle, Almeyda explained.
“It’s weird how things go in cycles,” he said. “A couple years ago, people were all getting stars, then birds, then it was a lot of Hawaiian stuff. More recently, a lot of people are getting trees. It’s constantly changing.”
In regards to acclimating to Bakersfield, Almeyda has seen interesting differences in the tattoo culture.
“People here in Bakersfield are more into traditional pieces,” he said. “In Riverside, the women like floral pieces and the guys like the Japanese. Now, in San Diego, they’re into the bizarre.”