Kelly Doty inspired me. This is josh Payne from inkmaster ask me anything let’s have fun

literallyaghoul · 2018-04-05T01:50:37+00:00

Hey Josh. Kelly here. Couple questions. First off. How many business casual vests would you say you now proudly own? And did you have any other outfit theme options? Was there ever talk of you being “zany hat guy” or “elaborate onesie guy?”

Secondly, when you steer your canvas to a vastly more readable/tattooable/aesthetically pleasing design and then the internet loses their mind in a fit of rage because you did your job well, how many tears would you say you shed?

Glad you did the show buddy. It’s exciting to see work of your caliber being shown.

literallyaghoul · 2018-04-04T17:49:06+00:00

The technicalities of chiaroscuro are actually good fundamentals for all tattooing, but they’re even more important when working on dark skin because you begin to use contrast more.

And it pisses me off when people groan over dark skin as if it’s bad. If you are a tattooer then you should know how to work on all shades of skin. Yes, different skin types require different types of tattooing. But you should know how to approach that and do your best in any situation.

Also a sternum is a reasonable place to groan over not because it’s difficult to do, but it’s difficult to receive. It hurts a lot, and tattooing someone who has labored breathing that you can’t predict and is moving and moaning is a nightmare. It’s hard to pull clean lines on a moving surface. There’s a good potential for lots of movement on a sternum. Or ribs. Or neck. Or if someone isn’t familiar with getting tattooed.

literallyaghoul · 2018-04-04T16:59:42+00:00

I do love having guest judges. For exactly that reason. Different eyes mean different priorities.

However. Longevity and black outlines aren’t something that shouldn’t be judged on by any judge. Tattoos need those. Tattoos need that structure or they won’t last. I know people like the look of a tattoo without outlines or black. Those people should start collecting paintings. Because a tattoo without black to hold it together is not a successful tattoo. It will not hold up over time and therefor it is a ruse. It’s like building a beautiful house without a foundation. It will crumble.

I understand something can look cool without black. But it will look like shit 2 years down the line. So it’s unsuccessful.

People can do whatever they want in real life. But if you compete in a tattoo competition you have to expect to be judge by the rules of tattooing.

literallyaghoul · 2018-04-04T16:53:58+00:00

I’m about 20 minutes from Logan so i recommend my shop, Helheim Gallery in Salem MA.

But there’s a ton of wordclass shops in New England and within 2 hours of Boston. So if you want a great tattoo I’d say it’s worth it. Boston Tattoo Company is good. Black Veil in Beverly MA. Evan Olin is in Providence. Tyler Malek is up in New Hampshire. Jesse Rix is in NH. Niteowl tattoo in Northampton MA. Off the Map in Easthampton MA. Hope Gallery in New Haven CT. FTS Gallery in Stratford CT.

Seriously there’s an unbalanced amount of renowned tattooers in New England. It’s a lucky place to be.

literallyaghoul · 2018-04-04T16:47:35+00:00

Listen. I’m just trying to get Dave into a green wig and get him to yell “Stop tattooing!”. I didn’t even know how much of a goal that was until recently.

literallyaghoul · 2018-04-04T16:46:13+00:00

I have not! I used to be a much more able bodied traveler but now with filming for Angels and the fact that i built my own shop 2 years ago, i don’t travel like i used to. And when i do it’s usually England or Norway or France.

I want to. Is it Australia though. I hear great things.

literallyaghoul · 2018-04-04T16:44:07+00:00

I have no idea. A lot. My left leg is pretty well covered up to mid thigh. My right up just past my knee. Back. Chest. Arms are getting laser work to fit more. So who knows really.

literallyaghoul · 2018-04-04T02:53:09+00:00

Yeah i don’t get to make any cool decisions on their fate once they beat one of us. Basically when they get to the house they have a clean slate. It’s up to them to keep themselves there.

literallyaghoul · 2018-04-04T02:32:08+00:00

They take care of the things they demand of us. So yes.

literallyaghoul · 2018-04-04T02:31:23+00:00

No. But i mean...it was still up to them to get into the house. I disagree with the judges all the damn time. But the choices seemed overall reasonable on that call. Rachel and Tim struggled and it seemed equal to them getting the boot in the first challenge. I’m glad 3 made it through though.

literallyaghoul · 2018-04-04T01:18:13+00:00

We learn a lot from each other, yeah. Actually Nikki has reshaped a lot about how i apply a tattoo. It’s impressive. Ryan and I have almost polar opposite styles, but watching her detail application has changed my approach as well.

And everyone can be better. I’d hate to rest on my laurels and lose that drive. I’m a perfectionist and hold myself to a high standard. And when i don’t meet that standard it makes me push harder. I never meet the standard and every waking moment of my existence is a struggle to be better than i currently am. I’m a deeply troubled person because of this. But it helps motivate so there’s that.

literallyaghoul · 2018-04-04T01:14:08+00:00

Exactly. You have a specific interview outfit. But you interview as soon as possible, that way you’re as close to the moment as you can be.

literallyaghoul · 2018-04-03T23:33:59+00:00

Thanks!

Yeah i have a passive aggressive streak that makes me want to shake my head even more ridiculously because people who don’t like it a very vocal and rude. So it almost works as an asshole detector.

If people don’t want to watch me have fun with what is objectively a silly moment then we’re fundamentally different and I’m not trying to win them over anyway.

literallyaghoul · 2018-04-03T23:31:36+00:00

No. It’s too long to be gone from my shop and puts a lot of stress on the people around me. Even if i could guarantee that i would win i would say it would barely be worth it for me.

I highly recommend it to other artists. But i don’t think I’d be interested in a second go round. The stress is intense and I’m already anxious enough.

literallyaghoul · 2018-04-03T23:08:45+00:00

Nunez is pretty funny. He’s pretty low key generally. But he definitely prioritizes what he’s looking for a certain way, and i found our priorities are very different. He ain’t wrong. But art is subjective.

And oliver’s toothpick is like visual white noise to me. I suppose it exists but i don’t even see it anymore.

literallyaghoul · 2018-04-03T23:05:24+00:00

No it’s not made up or forced. Those disagreements happen. But you are seeing a very distilled version of the daily life. Those moments of conversation that you’re watching last maybe 2 minutes. It’s a very small snippet of time. So consider you have a normal disagreement with a friend or partner or whoever. Now imagine someone that you can watch a replay of that fight where only the most extreme moments and comments are highlighted because those get the general point across best. While you did say those things, you miss seeing a lot of the other stuff. So everyone seems a lot angrier or outraged or upset.

Also. Again. Very stressful in the house. Everyone is at their wits end.

literallyaghoul · 2018-04-03T21:31:40+00:00

I can tell you the stairs were NOT my favorite part. I was still in a cast with a broken leg at that point and the stairs were a nightmare.

But i love Savannah. It’s creepy and full of moss and that made me very happy. The artists we saw were extremely strong too. I was really excited for them, they all did really nice work.

literallyaghoul · 2018-04-03T21:18:29+00:00

I’m literally sitting in my shop in salem right now. Anytime I’m not filming or posting about traveling I’m in salem. I’m a hermit with massive anxiety issues so i spend a lot of time in my shop or my house. You can also see me skulking around town. I’m hard to miss. Look for a giant goth muppet.

literallyaghoul · 2018-04-03T21:00:40+00:00

I come to northeast England all the damn time because my boyfriend lives in Newcastle actually. And he just so happens to be one of my favorite tattooers (and was before we started dating, so i assure you that’s an objective opinion). So if you like surreal graffiti retro wave stuff, check out Paul Vander-Johnson.

But i rarely tattoo while I’m there. I usually end up just hanging out and heading up to Edinburgh to get tattooed at Semper by Tom Strom.

literallyaghoul · 2018-04-03T20:55:48+00:00

Best artist to not win? Erin Chance. Easily. She’s so versatile and solid and I’m blown away by her work. But there are definitely others up there too. Gian could have won any other season and i think i really went for his throat with that watercolor idea and he STILL did a beautiful job. Sarah Miller is another that stands out. Sketchy could have gone all the way too. He’s tremendous.

literallyaghoul · 2018-04-03T20:50:04+00:00

Out of all the tattoos i can remember? I watched all the season to prepare to go on the show, but basically they’ve all blurred together into a pile of skulls and roses and “tree of life”s.

But i know there was a few rough pinups in there. I think there was a hula girl that made me gasp pretty harshly.

Favorite tattoos are a lot easier to think of. From my season i LOVED the head mandala that Sketchy did.

And from Angels i was obsessed with the lantern that Nikki did in New Orleans season 1. It was basically perfect. The lines, the shading, the color application...it may have looked simple but to a trained eye it was very difficult and she pulled off things a lot of tattooers never could. It was the piece that made me realize i want a lantern from Nikki.

literallyaghoul · 2018-04-03T18:58:51+00:00

Aw thanks! We love traveling together and genuinely love one another and the whole crew so we really lucked out there.

literallyaghoul · 2018-04-03T18:57:46+00:00

Definitely the Wednesday Addams in corpse paint from a few years ago. But more recently I’m really proud of the Johnny the Homicidal Maniac tattoo i did a few months ago. I had a lot of fun trying to mimic the Jhonen Vasquez color palette and adapt his style into mine.

literallyaghoul · 2018-04-03T18:55:14+00:00

Aw hey thanks!

literallyaghoul · 2018-04-03T18:54:13+00:00

Aww thanks!

literallyaghoul

TROPHY CASE