Character Study Ernie Gosnell @ Seattle Tattoo Convention
posted by August 11 at 10:15 AM
onI left home when I was thirteen and first started tattooing in 1963 at a place called Buddy's in Atlanta; my friend’s dad owned the joint. Around that time I learned how to paint signs and that's mainly what I did back then, painting signs and pin striping hotrods. I roadied with a lot of rock and roll bands back in that day too.
Did you practice tattooing on those guys?
Yeah, I tattooed some of them. It was just a wild life, I was a young kid running around and was attracted to the tattoos because back then only hoodlums had them. Not too many bikers, mainly hoodlums.
Do you still paint signs and have your own tattoo shop?
Yeah, I still paint a lot but the demand for hand-painted signs just isn’t what it used to be. Most people just order stickers or velum for signs now. I paint for fun these days but I sell my paintings at conventions and do shows. I have some paintings down at my shop Lucky Devil on Rainier Avenue South. I had a shop in New Orleans for years too, but now just here. The shop on Rainier has some really cool stuff, man. Come by sometime. I bet you will dig the place.
To check out more photos from the convention go here
http://braydenolson.com/seattletatcon