LA Ink: Episode 7
One of my biggest problems with this show (and any tattoo reality show for that matter) is it’s attempt to pass fabrication as reality. No artist has a 5 minute turn around time for the preliminary drawing of a good portrait. The fact is since all of the tattoos on the show are prearranged the artist already has them drawn up. Now Alana gets customers who scoff when she tells them she can have a custom piece ready for them in a few days. Thanks “reality.”
Later in the episode Kat talks about being a business woman in regards to giving Pixie adequate time off to recover from surgery. You are not a business woman. You don’t even own your shop, TLC does. You’re not the boss of these artists, they’re independent contractors who can come and go as they please, and they certainly could take a hike at any time to go back to their own shops and get to do decent size pieces again. She has a trailer behind the shop for when they’re not filming, a freaking trailer like a movie set.
Corey does a really good tattoo in this episode, a black and white portrait from a painting. Unfortunately he cops out and does the piece in black and grey even though it obviously would’ve been better in color. The color in the original painting was pretty minimal (though crucial) so it’s fairly clear he’s avoiding it just because color work is difficult for him. I’m glad in this episode they show him as being interdisciplinary. A lot of the best artists are also painters, do airbrushing, screen-printing or another form of art that directly contributes to their tattoo style. It takes a lot of work to get good, and it’s not just work doing tattoos. Good artists practice drawing on their own time, even if it’s just sitting in a room with some friends painting a goth chick. Whatever else I might say about Corey’s work, the man has great drawing skills, and he doesn’t get them by tattooing alone.
Kat does a fairly decent Angus Young portrait, though I’d like to see someone do an Angus portrait using something other than the iconic Highway to Hell cover. I’ve seen this tattoo done better countless times.
Kim gets stuck tattooing a girl I suspect is really a crazy street person. Could we go maybe two episodes without having to listen to someone’s crappy music placement? How much did her publicist pay for her to sing that song on camera?
Hannah does a floral tattoo, in which we see she uses barrier bags (thank you thank you thank you) and has a great pencil case. It’s white canvas with an old school sparrow on it. I’d love to know where it came from. Speaking of barriers, why on earth does Kat talk on her cell phone with her gloves on? Phones are one of the nastiest carriers of germs in your day to day life. Gross.
At the end of the episode they have a fund raiser for Pixie’s surgery. Kat puts some dude in his place who acts aghast that a woman might ride a motorcycle. Sadly absent is any mention of where the rest of the proceeds from this fundraiser went, or talk of Brandon Bond (who donated a significant amount of stuff for auction) and his crew who helped pull the whole thing off. The remaining proceeds were given to Pit Bull rescue charities, something both he and Pixie are actively involved with. Brandon has some great behind the scenes videos where you can see just how “real” LA Ink is. You can find out more about his work and the episode on his website, complete with YouTube videos.
I’ve deleted the comment of the previous poster because of her rude affinity for profanity. But I’ll still respond to her accusations I know nothing about tattoos because I work for an insurance company and should go “back to filing claims.”
First of all I don’t file claims, I’m a designer who is entrusted with a multi-billion dollar website, which means I probably have some pretty keen aesthetic sensibilities. Not to mention I’m a classically trained illustrator so I know more about drawing than the hacks on these shows.
Secondly, if you’d bothered looking anywhere else on my site you’d see that my girlfriend, who I live with, is a tattoo artist. As such I have 1. more tattoos than the average “collector” 2. have unique insight into the industry as a one time would be apprentice (this is how we met) and 3. I watch the show with her and listen to her frustrations and critiques, which then manifest itself in the form of me ranting on my blog.
This makes my opinion more qualified than yours, oh random anonymous internet poster.
Whats up with all the negativity and criticism. You type a whole essay on all the things they do that irritate you. And you probably don’t even tattoo yourself. In case you hadn’t noticed, the show only go’s on for an 1 hour, so i dont think you could fit 5 days in there, k hun.
The’re all successful at what they do, and they dont go around bragging how good they r. They do it because it’s their lives. So i dont see why u should act all high and mighty, talking about this and that.
And, about ur girlfriend, ,it wouldn’t surprise me if she rubbed some of her jealousy on u. Y else would u or her feel like u have anything to complain about?
I can’t stand people like u whodo nothing but watch other people and waste all ur time on a group of successful, happy people youv’e never met.
L.A. ink rules, and if i were u i’d just stop watching it, bring a camera to ur girl’s shop, and make ur own damn show so u could watch over and over again with nothing to say.
yo if you have THAT big of a problem dont watch the show. theres not a 5 minute turnaround in real life? really? REALLY!? fuck, i think everyone realizes that. that could take up the length of a whole episode. now how does that work? it wouldnt. dumbass. corey copped out?! you kidding?! YOU DO A MOTHER FUCKING TATTOO ON SOMEONE. jesus your dumb.
bahahahahahaha.
and you think you know more about drawing than them? really? wow. you fucking correct a mistake you make on the computer with a click. they dont correct mistakes. THEY DONT MAKE THEM. your a fucking loser, go draw a fucking fire and jump into it.