MY HIGH VOLTAGE TATTOO EXPERIENCE PART ONE! ⚡⚡⚡

2015

I'd just moved out to LA. 

It was a whim.

I didn't know how long I'd stay or even if I'd be allowed to stay.

Got on that plane and flew over.

I wasn't in a good headspace.
Everything was muddled and I just needed something new. 

<I wrote on this earlier this year and you can find the links below!>

I'd been a fan of Kat Von D for the longest time. I used to fall asleep dreaming of going to her shop and maybe one day getting a tattoo there. I'd written to one of the artists to book an appointment months earlier, almost a year, but hadn't gotten anything back, so I was a bit defeated. I figured I'd visit anyway, take a few snaps and see if I could get on a waiting list or something.
I headed down to West Hollywood for midday when they open. At the time, they were working out of Kat's store next door, Wonderland, rather than the High Voltage shop due to fire damage. The aesthetic of the shop. Artwork littered the walls, Merch hung high and the vibe of the shop was alternative and open.
I met a young guy at the counter, named Ashton and I asked him if I could get tattooed anytime soon. He called one of the artists over and I was introduced to the talented Mr Dennis Halbritter. He asked me what I had in mind and I told him that I wanted to get some lyrics to fill the bit of free space below my knee and finish off my shin, and I showed him the text I wanted. After reading through for a moment he asked me what kind of lettering and I said I was thinking about script. He was into the idea and I asked him, "How long will I have to wait to be tattooed by you?" And he's like "Um, a half hour? I'll sketch this out and set up." I was floored. I didn't think walk-ins happened at this shop.

Dennis sketched something out and showed it to me. I loved how the letting fit the space perfectly. It was made to go there. Nothing else would do.  He put the stencil on and set to work. He had a gentle touch and carefully went over each letter, making sure that it was in there. The entire tattoo took about an hour. As soon as I saw the finished tattoo, I knew that I had to book in with him again because I wouldn't have another chance like this.
I showed him The Smashing Pumpkins tattoo I have on my upper left arm. It was in badly need of being finished and looked choppy as I'd run out of time when I was getting it done. He said he could fix it up with a re-outline and adding some bold colour to the tattoo. The lettering was a bit wonky, which is kind of what I wanted, but I wanted the mercury vial from the Ava Adore song to be amazing. I knew I could add some grey-black shading around the rest of the tattoo to cover up the lettering if I ever wanted to do that. 
He made time for me the next day and did up the touch up on the tattoo. 

He did a fucking amazing job adding bright, bold colour to the tattoo and adding some bits of white highlight. It was better than I ever thought it would be. I'm actually thinking about getting the lettering covered up now...I might even head all the way to Detroit just to have him do it. Dennis is an amazing artist and I recommend him to anyone who's wanting these style tattoos! 

On the next Tattoo Talk Thursdays where I talk about the second experience at High Voltage, I'll share the amazing portrait work I got there and some of the other pieces.

LINKS 

High Voltage: http://www.highvoltagetattoo.com/#artists-front 

Dennis's Social Media -->  https://www.instagram.com/dhalbritter/

He doesn't live in LA anymore,  he's living in Detroit, but he's still tattooing out there! Hit him

up with any questions.

My Year of Learning: From Homeless to A Place of Peace Pts 1-2
https://thespacebetweenloveandlies.blogspot.com/2016/09/my-year-of-learning-2015-from.html
https://thespacebetweenloveandlies.blogspot.com/2016/09/my-year-of-learning-2015-from_7.html

https://thespacebetweenloveandlies.blogspot.com/2016/09/my-year-of-learning-2015-from_12.html

https://thespacebetweenloveandlies.blogspot.com/2016/09/my-year-of-learning-2015-from_23.html