Bender, Eben.

These are a couple of really fun tattoos. Eben Bender is a multi-talented man, and this all started with the idea of doing a "Tug Life" tattoo. In the end, we left out the lettering, and we opted for the straight design. He got a train to fill out the stomach shortly after.
Thanks Eben, that ruled.
Even if it doesn't say it, these tattoos ARE tug life. That is one Gangsta stomach.

Jeremy Riley vs. Ronan Boyle

Here's a painting I did for Ronan Boyle in February. He got the panel prepared for me, and I ruined it. It was up for the ArtWalk around the Olympics here, and hosted by Grace Gallery.
The paintings are 6 feet by 4 feet.

Here's the process, from the blank to the finished product. It wasn't exactly fun, but it was done in three days, with a combined total of 40 hours. No sleep. Thanks Ronan,  I'm okay with it.
Next time Watercolor. I am not down with acrylic.

Belmont Barbershop featured in Vancouver Magazine.

Our neighbor and friend has been getting press for his store, and rightly so,
his Barbershop and Haberdashery are pretty amazing.

Vancouver Magazine Article
Issue on newstands now.

The Belmont Barbershop
Mr.Lee's General Store


We would like to say thanks for all the support to the boys at Belmont and Mr.Lee's,
and to Dustin himself.

Here's a couple of tattoos done on Dustin:

Two weeks and Five years later.

 

These photos are a bit better.
Two weeks, huh?

This customer of mine showed up out of the blue with an outline I had done almost six years ago. He wanted to finish it in two weeks. Only problem was it was his entire front of his torso, and I think I outlined it with a 7 mag. (what was i thinking???) It was a struggle to get it completed, and in two hour sessions, it made it even harder. Thanks to my patient customers who didn't mind the musical chairs, (I'm still working that out), and the feeling of completion feels good in this job, which sometimes I never feel satisfied.
That being said, there's another three hours minimum I would have liked to have done, but see ya in five years I told him. You might also notice the varying levels of healing. That wasn't ideal, but I wait on him to e-mail me some photos later.

Welcome To T-U

This was just a blog I started for myself, but I'm not so much into that, so I'll just start over if it's all the same to you.

Welcome to the Tattoo Union blog. 

Tattoo Union is located in the Lee Building, at the corner of Main and Broadway, in the Uptown/ Mt.Pleasant area of East Vancouver. We opened in April 2008, and have had an amazing time building it to where it is now. Thank you to everyone, who has come by.

We are open 6 days a week, and take care of customers as efficiently as possible in the most researched of ways. We spend hours on drawings at no charge.

As I am not too good with technology, and I am trying to get better, will probably just focus on what I need to, which is tattooing, drawing, painting, and being an awesome dad and good friend. I'll let the others at the shop post, and we’ll all try to keep you posted on the daily life in the shop. It’s fun here, in this growing mini-metropolis of Vancouver, and we have a nice little corner of the city. 

We happen to be home to the nicest customers in the city. Our customers bring very great ideas to the table, and mixed with our blend of creativity makes for a pretty crazy combination.

Feel free to come by the shop if you have any ideas for tattoos, from the smallest letters to complete coverage, we do it all. You can also send e-mails to the artists if you have any questions regarding hours, or directions.

Thanks for reading to here.

 

Life's a snail.

Do you ever feel like a snail, and that life is running at a real fast pace around you while you just chug along? Not me. I feel like I am that fast pace, and that life is that snail, neglecting to keep up.

I have been so beyond busy since the opening at the new shop, (which is still nameless), that lately I have definitely had that crazy, crazy feeling like I'm running on London time, while everyone else is living west coast using some sort of Sleepy-Pacific time. 

I'm not trying to say I'm doing anything different it's just, there is no 9 to 5 for us. And I wouldn't change that either. The only thing I could ask for right now, in this hectic schedule, is more time with my son. At the drop of a hat I am there,  but he does notice I work a lot.

When your little three year old looks at you and says, " Daddy, I miss you.", that is rough.

Well he's sleeping right now, I can go back to drawing.

New View, Different Angle.

Well, I have to say the neighborhood has changed.

It's really strange when you look back.

Someone important to me once said, "You can look into the past, just don't stare."

Also working down the street all those years made it very easy to come back to this area. I love it. It's old.
I used to live in the Santa Rosa building (where the Belmont Barbershop is now located), and that was at the beginning of my apprenticeship. When I lived there I used to stare out the kitchen window at the giant billboard on top of the Lee building. For a about a year it posed as hope that one day I could get new jeans too. (Gap ad) Or maybe it was something a little deeper.

I think I was just looking at the future.

  

 

Well, after three weeks open, I have realized that this is a real nice space. The room is good, lighting is nice, and there's no guy trying to sell me used denim short shorts. Thank god for the buzzer.

 

 

First posting....

To start, I began tattooing at about age 20, eight years ago, in the very area I am setting up in now. The Mount Pleasant, or Uptown area. I began my career at Funhouse Tattoos in 1999. At that time it was located at 15 east Broadway, between Quebec and Ontario, a block and a half from Main street. This is partially why I chose this building. I had a weird attraction to the place even a long time ago. To be able to set up in it is an honor. So here I am, setting up my own space. It has been open just two short weeks, and already it has a life of it's own. The space is in the second floor of the Lee building, in unit 206.