I don’t have a tattoo or plan to get one but I do admire good ones when I see them. Today I was on a street with several tattoo shops and as I waited in traffic this question popped into my mind.
Let’s say you had seen the work of a local tattoo artist and really liked it. You set up a consultation and when you sit down with the artist you notice they don’t have any visible tattoos. You ask and they don’t have any tattoos at all, anywhere.
Would that affect whether you have them do the work?
No, although it would be unusual. But the tattoos on a person’s skin aren’t generally his work (at least, not the good stuff; there might be a few beginner tatts he did on himself while learning, often around the knees and sometimes covered with newer ink). I want to see his portfolio, AFTER I’ve gotten his name from a few people whose tatts I like. His portfolio should have pictures of tattoos he’s actually done, and those will let me know if he and I share taste and style, as well as getting some idea of his ability.
For me the answer is - not in the least. Both my tattoos were done by the same guy; I don’t think he had any when he did the first one and might only have 2 or 3 now (18 years later) but I had seen his work on many people and knew it was good. Not an issue at all.
It’s unusual, but like **WhyNot **said, an artist doesn’t typically do his own tats. I wouldn’t have a problem with an uninked artist working on me if he/she came highly recommended and I liked their work.
I guess I was thinking that it might take a little of the “mojo” of the experience away if the person tattooing me wasn’t committed enough to tattooing to actually get one.
What if they came right out and said “I don’t mind tattooing you but I would never get one.”
And thier portfolio of prior work is spectacular. Would that lessen the experience?
I wasn’t really thinking in terms of whether the lack of ink on them was related to thier abilities.
I would be mildly surprised but it wouldn’t be a deal-breaker.
No tattoos but I do have a belly piercing.
Heavily tattooed here, and while I’d be curious about an artist who was in the culture without actually being in the culture, as it were, if they were talented it would just make the experience that much more interesting. (I’ve been tattooed by a woman who was 9 months pregnant-- that was interesting!)
Still not an issue for me. I mostly didn’t see the tattooist while he was working anyhow and I didn’t have any preconceived vision of what the experience would be like so whether he had tattoos or not wasn’t really a factor in how I preceived it.
Maybe he’s the best in town and no one else does good enough work to suit him. 
I have three tattoos; it would not bother me to be worked on by a non-tattooed, talented artist.
I think it’s comparable to having a male gynocolgist: ya don’t have to have it, just be good at what you do.
This is like that logic puzzle, where there is a barber with a clean shop and neat short hair, and a second barber with long shaggy hair and hair all over the floor. Which one ought you patronize?
I have 5 tattoos and plan to get more. The guy who did my largest and favorite tattoo didn’t have a single tattoo on him and didn’t plan to. Mainly because he had a really low pain threshold and couldn’t do it. He had a fantastic portfolio and perfectly captured the idea I’d had so I didn’t mind at all. He was also the fastest tattoo artist I ever visited.
I suppose there’s something to be said for knowing what the experience is before you do it to someone else. But hey, the doctor who delivered my baby is a man and he did just fine
Yes. If I ever get a tat, I want a fat, sixty something bearded biker type, with tattoo sleeves, working in the back of a tavern in the docks, smoking a cheap cigar, unable to spell properly even the word “cat” and so drunk that he can barely stand upright.
No, I’m not being sarcastic here. I don’t just want the tattoo, I want a goddamn story with it.
That’s the mistake I made the first time, EXACTLY. I went into a tattoo shop, there was a guy, probably about 25. His area was a mess, he was working on someone and had a few people in line. Then there was the other guy, his area was spotless, everything in it’s place, he looked at the 25 year old guy and said “I’m getting outta here, there’s nothing to do” He did my first tattoo, that was a mistake. But I learned from it. I didn’t know at the time that one person could be better then another, (it wasn’t free hand, and the design looked good on paper). Now I’ve actually walked out of places when I didn’t like their portfolio.
Oh, and getting work done by someone without any work. Nope, wouldn’t bother me, not even a little bit. Oh, and I probably wouldn’t raise an eyebrow either. I’d just assume their tattoos are under there clothing where I can’t see them.
It depends. The guy would have to be someone special/unique. I know, for example, a guy that does portraits…and that’s it. He is one of the top guys doing purely portraits. No shop. No permanent home. He will be in this area for a few months. He is booked a year in advance.
I’d be suspicious of anyone not showing a lot of work or designs, but keep in mind many designs in shops are bought and not originals. Also, if the guy’s specialty is purely custom work, he might opt to make it his ‘thing’, and not work off designs that are bought/downloaded or handed down somehow.
So, I’d have to understand the nuances of the story/guy/place/etc.
I’m heavily tattooed, and having a non-tattooed person work on me wouldn’t bother me a bit as long as the guy had a portfolio that hooked me in.
There’s a really famous tattooist, or tattoo artist, named Anil Gupta, who doesn’t have any ink on him (or didn’t the last time I saw him).
If he or she was a great artist with a great portfolio, nope, wouldn’t care at all. I don’t care whether anybody has tattoos or not.
My boyfriend’s intricate tattoo was done by the artist who thought himself the most qualified in the shop to render it. Some artists are better at certain types of art than others and it didn’t matter how many tatts he had on, but that he felt he could do my bf’s celtic dragon well.