Hope Gallery Tattoo: Facial Tattoos & More

The last two tattoos of 2019 are nothing short of epic. I'm already looking forward to new ink in the new year. 2020. I can't believe that. I had a hard enough time handling 2010, nevermind this shit. But that's a blog for New Year's Eve. This is about tattoos. I knew I was going to New Haven and that's where my tattoo idol, Joe Capobianco's shop, Hope Gallery Tattoo is. Now I've been a fan and admirer of his work for years now but never have gotten tattooed by him. I've always wanted to, but I just put it off, thinking it would be too difficult to try to get a spot and I'd end up disappointed. I also didn't want to meet a tattoo idol and be disappointed if he was a dick to me. Something in me yesterday told me to try and get a walk-in spot there. I didn't even think they did walk-ins, but at the very least I could book a spot for the new year and pay a deposit. 

I got there just as the shop opened and to my great surprise, they did have a walk-in spot available, I just had to wait about a half-hour for the artist to show up. I was totally cool with that. I was wondering if Joe was going to be at the shop that day since he's a busy guy when he walks out. I almost fall off the barstool. He asked me what I was going to be getting done today. I can't believe I managed to keep my cool as I told him. He told me sweet and headed off to tattoo his client that had just arrived. I was in awe. He was so fucking chill.
I was anxious and excited to see who'd be tattooing me. I didn't look at portfolios, which is something I usually never do. Based on the shop reputation, I knew I'd not get a shitty piece or be dissatisfied in any way when I left. My artist popped in and introduced himself as Shane and when we shook hands I could see that he had some pretty colourful work on him. I had a good feeling after seeing some of the pieces he had and the style. It was something I was into as well. We talked about what I wanted to get done and I told him he could pretty much do whatever he wanted. I didn't have set styles in mind. I usually do. I had a few ideas for the text piece, but when I got into the shop, I wanted to just go with what felt right. Let go of some of the control. He was down with the idea and headed back to sketch up some different versions of what we'd discussed. I waited, watching the traffic going by, not really processing where I was. He came out about a half-hour later with some sizes and samples. We needed to fit the text into an odd little triangle space on my leg. We wanted it to look good for now, but also be able to stand up over time. Settled on size and font he made stencils while I filled out paperwork. He took a picture of my ID and I did the rest. I was actually kind of nervous about this. It was my first time being tattooed with my new ID reflecting my new name and the gender I'm transitioning to. I was hoping there wouldn't be any awkward questions or any kind of upset.

I wanted to do the facial tattoo first since it was smaller and kinda easier to get out of the way. Now, smaller tattoos don't always mean that they're not easier to do. In fact, small and simple tattoos can be the hardest to do; they leave no room for error or places to hide any mistakes an artist may make. Aligned perfectly underneath my Deutschland tattoo on my temple, Shane set to work tattooing me. I wasn't really concerned about a mistake being made while he was tattooing my face. It is a big deal getting any sort of really visible tattoo, especially the face. You really can't hide that. Could I regret this later? Maybe, but I doubt I'll regret having my face tattooed. I've had the other ones for 4 years now I think and I've never once said, "Well fuck me, I really made a mistake here." And I have said that about some of the tattoos that I have. I think everyone has a moment of regret with tattoos they got when they were younger, you know? You just don't know. You're still growing and changing, figuring out who you are as a person. Have I lasered any? No. Will I? I don't think so. Have I covered any? Yes, just one. Do I have plans to cover other pieces? Not really? I want to work other pieces into other pieces, but that's about it. Like I want to make them more, uh, flowy? I don't really know how to express the concept here, but yeah. In time it will be one big display of art across my entire body. I like that.
We made great conversation. Turns out he knows many of the areas I've been hanging around in lately, having tattooed in Northampton where I go to the dispensary. And his girlfriend is from the area I'm currently staying in. Talk about a small world. We chatted on social topics, social media, art, tattoos and travel. He asked me about trans things, not having a lot of experience with people like me. He was nothing short of professional. He asked how the surgery would affect the tattoos that I have and I was totally open about it. I had thought about transitioning when I was getting tattooed, but I didn't feel I was at a place where I could be me out in the open. I didn't think society was at a place where I could feel comfortable transitioning. I told him that I want to cover up the bottom of the chest piece that I have under the cool text with a plague doctor scene and to hide the surgical scars once they've healed so everything was all good with me. It was nice chatting with an artist who's not up their own hole, you know? I'm really looking forward to having Shane tattoo me again in the future. I don't know what it will be, but I'm sure I want to work with him again.

We're finishing up the leg piece when Joe pops in to see what we're up to. He commented that he loved the ice-cream truck on the back of my leg and asks where I got it. I told him Davinci Tattoo in Stockholm and he said he knew a couple of guys in Sweden, but didn't know the shop. He commented I had some really nice work on me and internally I'm fanboying so hard. I'm too shy to ask for an autograph, I feel like that would be a bit much, I dunno why. He's just so down to Earth. You meet some people and they let their success and celebrity go to their head, not this guy. I can't wait to make the trip to New Haven to be tattooed by him. He's actually really affordable and more accessible than people think. I was surprised to hear this, but also really pleased.

I love the way Shane had the idea to turn the lettering into a pyramid to fit the space. I wanted something creative and he delivered. He gave me about 6-7 different fonts to choose from. I gave a very vague idea of how I wanted the text and he ran with it. He saw the other work on my leg and went from there. Sometimes it can be a pain trying to angle a stencil around existing tattoos, but this was spot on. I really like how the linework starts out thicker and gets thinner as you go down. Really nice touch with that. I didn't have a hard time choosing the font. As soon as I saw the kinda edgy-goth, almost graffiti-like font, I knew I had to have that one. I don't have any other script pieces like that. I thought it would be a great contrast and addition to what I already have on me.

I leave the shop with two epic pieces and thoughts about upcoming things I want to tattoo. The last year I took kind of a break from tattoos, I got a few, but it wasn't like it had been in previous years. I dunno why, I have tonnes of ideas that are great, I just didn't get around to them. Laziness. As the years have gone by, I've started to run out of places to tattoo on my body, so I'm needed to be a little more selective about the things that I tattoo. 

I still can't fucking believe that I got a walk-in spot. Like I'm looking at the photos and the tattoos and I'm just like, "holy shit, this happened to me." I usually never get walk-in appointments. I did get one my first trip to High Voltage Tattoo & True Tattoo, so maybe I do have a spot of good luck when it comes to tattooing. 

CONTACT / SHOP

https://hopegallerytattoo.com/

SHANE'S WORK 

Instagram: @Shanebakertattoo

Email: Shanebakertattoo@gmail.com 

Web: www.hopegallerytattoo.com