The Art Of Shawn Barber, featured on LA Ink
When i pick up my Tivo remote, the one program that i always hope will be waiting for me is LA Ink, (the reality show on TLC set in Kat Von D’s High Voltage Tattoo shop.) On a recent episode, one of the artists in the shop, Kim Saigh, was visited by painter and tattoo artist Shawn Barber, who has published an incredible book of his Tattoed Portraits Series of paintings called Forever And Ever.
For any fan of tattoos, this is a stunning book, filled with mind blowing portraits of tattoo artists and their ink.
nude portrait of Kat Von D by Shawn Barber
portrait of LA Ink's Corey Miller
LA Ink's Kim Saigh by Shawn Barber
The title of his book, Forever And Ever, evokes the permanence of tattoos, and the idea that when you get a tattoo, for the rest of your life, when you look at it, it will bring back the memory of whatever inspired the tattoo, what it represents, who was with you, and what was going on in your life when you got it. It is a time capsule on your skin.
His work is not limited to images of tattoos. He also has a series with dolls, as well as many other subjects. His website is full of enthralling images to get lost in, and his blog, which talks a lot about Kim Saigh and the ink they put on eachother with tons of rich photos, inspired the look of my blog.
Shawn inking Kim
Kim inking Shawn on TLC's L.A. Ink