Despite our struggles with the onslaught of snow as of recent, Natan has been pulling consistently long days working on some big new pieces he has in progress. Check ‘em all out below:

First up is this in-progress shot of a Kali backpiece that Natan has been working on. The latest session on this involved adding in the tibetan flames as a border around the piece and to accent the natural curvature of his client’s anatomy. More photos of this one to come as she heals up and makes it back for more work.

Kali Backpiece (In Progress)

Next is the latest progress shot from another long-term project of Natan’s. Our buddy Mike has been in and out of the shop every other week or so, plugging away at getting his full back completed. As you can see, they’re just about in the home stretch and should have a finished photo up here fairly soon.

Phoenix (In Progress)

On a slightly smaller scale is this St. Michael piece that Natan completed a couple of months ago. Natan’s been getting a fair amount of religious work coming in lately and it’s always interesting to see his take on a particular piece. This one below was rendered out with some soft, muted, painterly tones.

St. Michael

Last up is this piece based on the Alex Grey drawing “The Seer”. If you’re familiar with the work of Alex Grey (or if you take a cursory glance at some of his pieces online) you know how incredibly detailed and intricate everything by him is, making it all fairly challenging for translating into a tattoo. Natan was able to figure out a system to tackle this complicated one here, grounding it in a strong and bold tradition of tattooing while maintaining all of the nuances which give the original drawing it’s power and effect.

Alex Grey (The Seer)

Natan is at Witch City Ink (Salem, MA) Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, and Lightwave Tattoos (Saugus, MA) Thursdays and Fridays. Give us a call and book up your time with him today!

Here’s a couple of pieces that I’ve been working on lately, for your viewing pleasure.

First up is this folksy, guitar-playing skeleton with some desert flowers on my buddy, Jake. Just gotta finish up the rose on the other side and then maybe we’ll think about some background stuff…

Folk Skeleton

Secondly, I lined out this big new viking-skull-with-bats piece on constant client, Trevor. Should be a fun one to color in and I’ve got a large watercolor painting of this I’m working on as well…

Viking Skull

Alright, that’s about all the new stuff worth mentioning for now, couple of new smaller pieces in the portfolio section as well. Hope all’s well out there in internet land, we’ve still got snowball fights and high-fives if you need ‘em,

_micah
lightwave tattoos
lightwavetattoos@gmail.com
781 233 1780

Mr. Jay Ski, known far and wide for his bold traditional fare, broke out his toolbox of old-school tricks for a couple of little one-sitting pieces in the last week or so. First, is this classic sleepy-looking but secretly dangerous, tiger. Classic! (Check your tattoo history book for Bob Roberts, Bob Shaw, Zeke Owens, Col. Todd Shaw, etc. to fully understand this particular brand of deceptive tiger).

Tiger

Next up is a sweet tat, as your mom might call it, of a demon face. When I queried Jay as to what his client had asked for, he simply replied “A demon face!”. So there you have it.

Demon (Face)

Now, I know what you’re thinking, as sweet as that demon face is, how cool would a full, complete, epic demon backpiece be? Pretty cool. Call Jay!

_lightwave tattoos
184 Broadway, Rte. 1 North, Saugus MA
781 233 1780

Are you searching for the perfect holiday gift? This season, give your friends and family the gift that will last forever, a tattoo gift certificate! Yes, that’s right, Lightwave Tattoos offers gift certificates, in any amount, for everyone on your gift list.

Visit us in the studio and finish up the rest of your shopping in one place, Lightwave Tattoos.

Registration for the 2011 Boston Tattoo Convention is now open! Click on the following image or link or head on over to our registration page to download a copy of the form and book your book today.

BTC 2011 Registration Form

Check out the portfolio section for new work from Jayski. More to come from the rest of the crew.

flaming candle

Yesterday, Natan Alexander gave a thorough and informative guided tour through the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston’s “Under the Skin: Tattoos in Japanese Prints” exhibition. The show will remain open through January 2nd, 2011, so if you missed Natan’s speech the other day, make sure to go and check out all the amazing artwork while you can!

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
“Under the Skin: Tattoos in Japanese Prints”
Showing through January 2nd, 2011
465 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA
www.mfa.org

Join us this coming Saturday (October 16th) at 12 p.m. for a tour and discussion of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston’s “Under the Skin” exhibition with tattoo artist Natan Alexander.

Come and learn about the ways in which traditional Japanese arts, such as wood block prints, have shaped and influenced the arts practiced in modern tattoo studios throughout the world. Natan will be sharing highlights from the exhibition as well as answering questions related to modern day tattooing, design and symbolism.

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Gallery Talk: Japanese Art and Contemporary Tattoos
Saturday, October 16th
12 — 1 pm
Sharf Visitor Center
465 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
www.mfa.org
http://www.mfa.org/calendar/event.asp?eventkey=44356&date=10/16/2010

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston notes, in reference to the event:
Led by local tattoo artist Natan Alexander, explore the exhibition “Under the Skin: Tattoos in Japanese Prints” and discuss the history and tradition of Japanese Art and its influence on today’s popular tattoo designs.

Free with Museum admission.

Last weekend we all packed up our kits, locked the doors, changed the voicemails, and headed down to the 2010 Boston Tattoo Convention. Produced by Witch City Ink and Lightwave Tattoos owner/artist, Natan Alexander, and managed by Witch City Ink apprentice, Micah R. O. Litant, this year’s show marked our 9th consecutive convention and our first major move as we relocated up to the Back Bay Sheraton Hotel and expanded to a full four days.

Each year, we welcome hundreds of artists from around the country and world, a wide array of vendors, performers, entertainers, and the general public to join us for a celebration and exhibition of the art-form of tattooing. With live tattooing (including traditional tebori hand-poke methods by Horimyo), shopping, burlesque performers, mixed martial arts demonstrations, our annual art gallery, and daily tattoo contests, we had a packed schedule for the entirety of the Labor Day weekend.

Stay tuned as we post all of our coverage from the show on our website, our facebook, twitter, and myspace and join us next year over Labor Day Weekend 2011, back at the Sheraton Hotel, for our 10th Annual Boston Tattoo Convention!

Thank you to all of the artists, vendors, and tattoo fans who showed up, supported the show, and helped us show Boston all that tattooing has to offer. We’ll see you all next year!

Follow this link to take a look at the video interview that Mike Hsu, from WAAF, recently conducted with Natan. Tattooing for two decades and contributing heavily to the legalization of tattooing in Massachusetts in the first place, Natan has an experienced and interesting take on the whole industry and art form.

Listen in to hear what he has to say about the right way to go about finding, an artist, getting a tattoo, and how we’ve been working to make this year’s Boston Tattoo Convention the best one yet!

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid8631012001?bclid=1699210833&bctid=597288060001

After you take a look at the video, make sure to check out our upcoming international tattoo convention in Boston, http://www.bostontattooconvention.com, and join us down at the Back Bay Sheraton Hotel over Labor Day Weekend (September 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th). See you in Boston!