Born and raised in Orange County, California, the artist known as Noah has emerged as one of the hottest talents to hit the fine art market and custom art scene. Noah first earned local recognition in the early 1990s for setting up his easel in neighborhood coffee shops around Costa Mesa and painting portraits of famous celebrities for throngs of fascinated patrons. His portraiture caught the eye of collectors like Nicole Kidman, Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Craig T. Nelson, ZZ Top and the Black Crowes.inline_mediumwraptextright31087212/featuredartists/0807_lrap_the_artist_known_as_noah0807_lrap_07_z+artist_noah+angel_laying_down.jpeg.jpgTrue

Self-proclaimed to be a third-generation tattoo artist, Franco will break down his generation classification. Ed Hardy, first-generation America, second generation with Jack Rudy, and third generation with the likes of himself and other newer artists who have been tattooing long before the tattooing fanaticism occurred. The reasoning behind the protection of the mysterious taboo trade of previous generations of artists is understood with perfect sense by Franco. Some may attempt to call his thought process hypocritical, but 15 years ago Franco never went to any shop and “bugged” anyone, he took it upon himself to perfect his trade skills on his own. Franco never wanted to be in a shop until he felt he was decent enough to do work. He never felt good enough about anything in his life, including his art and tattoo art skills. Only through humility-filled hard work did Franco come to believe he was talented enough to do professional work. Unfortunately the public doesn’t know that one doesn’t have to be good to do tattoo work; one may have a nice location and appearance of being established, but the work being just plain garbage is often the true reality.inline_mediumwraptextright26870308/featuredartists/0903_lrap_franco_vescovi_featured_artistrap_0903_07_z+franco_vescovi+hard_at_work.jpeg.jpgTrue

Featured Artist
Genaro David Gallegos, better know as "El Stomper", was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico in 1978. In the land of Mariachi, Tequila, and the home of the great muralist Jose Clemente, Orozco houses a new kind of artist.inline_mediumwraptextright26865139/featuredartists/0907_lrap_tattoo_artist_genaro_david_gallegos0907_lrap_01_z+tattoo_artist_genaro_david_gallegos+el_stomper.jpeg.jpgTrue

In this interview, we wanted to find out what a tattoo artist wanted to know about another tattoo artist, so we had "Espi" and his cousin Carlos Espinoza sit down with Nikko Hurtado and his wife, Joanne, to pick Nikko's brain about his work and his way of tattooing. Espi's experience in tattooing has given him so much throughout the years, and one of the most valuable things is meeting great people like Nikko. Espi first met Nikko at the Expo Tautaje in Mexico, and he couldn't figure out what had impacted him more... his art or his insight.inline_mediumwraptextright25547084/featuredartists/lrap_0809_nikko_hurtado_tattoo_artistlrap_0809_01_z+nikko_hurtado+painted_face.jpeg.jpgTrue

With the "Day of the Dead" theme going strong some people jump in the bandwagon to take advantage of what's hot rather than truly understanding the meaning behind the Day of the Dead holiday. Kiki Platas is one of the few exceptions to that theory. We met with Kiki a few years back when he invited us to his Tattoo Convention in Tijuana, Baja California. Kiki's Day of the Dead artwork has been collected for many years before it went mainstream and before it started popping up on clothing, accessories and purses. Kiki is truly one of the best artists to come out of Mexico and is well respected in the art community. Kiki's unique way of expressing his artwork has taken him all over the world showing off his skills both in flesh and on paper. Kiki is back in the United States and is ready to take on what's next with the support of his family, friends, and fans. We sit down and ask Kiki a few personal questions about his work and life and this is what he had to say.inline_mediumwraptextright25531832/featuredartists/0911_lrap_kiki_platas_tattoo_artist0911_lrap_01_z+kiki_platas_tattoo_artist+working.jpeg.jpgTrue

Adrian Castrejon is better known as Spider to his friends, customers, and his fellow artist. At a young age, Spider taught himself how to draw. His older brother who drew a lot of pencil sketches of faces and comics, influenced Spider so much that he started to do lifelike sketches of faces, eyeballs and lips. Spider spent countless hours perfecting his skills after school and during the weekends. At the age of 20, while Spider walked home from work, he saw Elizer airbrushing a mural on a lowrider and from there he was hooked on that form of artwork. After watching Elizer for a few months, Spider decided to purchase an airbrush kit. Soon he started to airbrush many car club cars in Orange County, California. After working a few years in different shops, one day he saw his homeboy with a new tattoo and was amazed by the reality of it. At that moment Spider knew that he wanted to take his artwork to another level. So he hit up a few tattoo shops where one finally gave him a chance to see how tattooing was done. After learning a few tricks of the trade, he purchased his first tattoo machine and started tattooing at home. After building his tattoo portfolio, he hooked up with Steve Soto from Goodfellas Tattoo and started working with him full time. Now Spider keeps busy by doing custom tattoo work on his clients and collectors from around the world. If you would like to check out more of his work or make an appointment to get inked, hit him up at www.myspace.com/spidersart or call Goodfellas Tattoo in the city of Orange at 714-637-8282.

Born in Hidalgo, Estado de Mexico, Alan Padilla moved to the United States to join his dad and his sister in the City of Commerce, California. Alan started drawing when he was a young man. He acquired his talent from his mom who was a painter and his dad who worked as an architect. Alan was encouraged by one of his neighbors to start tattooing. His neighbor helped him purchase a tattoo machine and Alan started tattooing in his neighborhood. He soon started working at various tattoo shops and perfected his craft. Alan's success was built with hard work and practice. Now, Alan's tattoo art is some of the best from Cali and he has many collectors stopping at his shop to get tattooed. Alan's shop, Ink Addicts, is located in San Pedro, California. The shop is fixed up like a gallery with artwork from artists known worldwide. When Alan is not tattooing or painting on canvas, he draws on seashells. Alan learned to use the seashell's contours, pits, spikes and lines to bring his drawings to life and give them a three-dimensional effect.

Fleshart
The evening started with a stretch limo parked in front of Canvas LA gallery located in Hollywood. The gallery is known for hosting tattoo related themes. The gallery was adorned with masterpieces. The first room displayed the collection of The Namakubi (drawings of severed heads) that were drawn by Horiyoshi III using Sumi ink and blood from his dialysis. The second part of the gallery housed over 30 original drawings of Heroes of the Suikoden. The gallery also had walking masterpieces that were on display on a stage and were later seen walking around the gallery and taking pictures with the spectators. At the far end of the gallery, Horiyoshi III's son Kazu was tattooing while his fans watched him work his magic. The gallery also featured the new Horiyoshi III clothing line founded by Steve Suk. Horiyoshi would like to thank all the people that attended and supported the event. For more info, visit www.horiyoshi-thethird.com.

When it comes to black and gray tattoos there are thousands of practitioners but only a handful who could ever be considered teachers--let alone masters of the art. In the same breath, the hype of television has given a false sense of award to those who might be great at their craft, but nothing comes close to the pioneers who helped construct the industry that has given them their fame. While the aforementioned statement doesn't take away or discredit those who have cashed in on the fame, the bottom line is that behind any industry, great powerhouse, or large corporation, is the minence grise who has put forth the money, the dedication, and the sweat to help create a brand or industry that is now bejeweled in the eyes of mainstream America.

Pedro Alvarez's style of artwork is known worldwide as Neoazteca. Neoazteca is a mixture of modern art and the pre-Hispanic culture. Pedro creates his artwork by following the specific rules of the pre-Hispanic people of Mexico. The end product of his artwork joins the human spirit with the universe where they become one in harmony. Pedro's creations join different worlds of art, his paintings show the way bodies have been modified and tattooed since the beginning of man, and his tattoo work is collected from people all over the world. We asked Pedro a few questions about his style of work and his beliefs of the pre-Hispanic culture and this is what he had to say.

Texas born and Texas made, David Ibarra is better known to his homies and clients by the name of "Bigg Shadow." Shadow is well known for his ability to take on any project in any type of medium from airbrushing to tattooing and window etching. We met Shadow a few years back and were blown away by his murals that portrayed the streets and the Chicano culture. Shadow's able to show us the beauty of the hood and where he came from by sharing his skills, mostly in the rolling canvases of the award-winning lowrider cars that travel around the nation.inline_mediumwraptextright26730790/featuredartists/lrap_0809_bigg_shadow_david_ibarralrap_0809_03+david_bigg_shadow_ibarra+tools_of_the_trade.jpgTrue

Krazy Kay was born and raised in Shizuoka, Japan, where he's the owner of Lowrider Tattoo Japan. Kay has been tattooing for a few years and has some special awards under his belt, including Best Black and Gray, and Best Back Piece at the Los Angeles Tattoo Convention. Kay's travels to the States have given him the chance to get tattooed by such artists as Pint, Jose Lopez and Mark Mohoney, who's in charge of the face skull tattoo that adorns his right side. Kay's Chicano style of tattooing has earned him respect as well as lots of clients in Japan. Besides his knowledge of tattoos, Kay's also a great sketch artist and does well with oil paints. If you want to see more of Kay's work, visit his website at www.myspace.com/lowridertattoo.

Born in Durango, Mexico, Goethe Silva Mier is better known in the tattoo industry by just his first name Goethe. His tattoos are rich in culture and history, and full of passion. His passion for the prehispanic culture, especially the Maya and the Aztec civilizations, is evident in his work. Goethe's tattoos are not just flesh art masterpieces that adorn the bodies of thousands of people, they are a way for him to teach the world about culture and history with every piece he creates. Some of his pieces portray the beauty of Xochipilli, the Aztec god of flowers, and some disturbing scenarios like of the unknown world of Mictlantecuhtli, the lord of the underworld.

Which consists of himself, "Humo" and "Mibe." Tekpatl means "perdanal" or "strong as a rock." They took the name from a novel called Tlacaele written by the great writer Antonio Velasco Pina. The character "Tekpatl" was the best artist within the Aztecs, but was not recognized by other artists due to their fear of what he was capable of creating and was banished.

Reynaldo Alegandro Martinez Mojica AKA "El Peque" started his crew, VRS ("Verdadera Realidad Social"), back in the day while growing up in the street of Rivera in the barrio of Las Juntas in the city of Tlaquepaque, Jalisco, Mexico. Peque ("little") got his name for obvious reasons, being the youngest of 13 children. His brother, who now lives in Los Angeles, California, gave him that name and it's stuck with him.

Ivan J. "Chocky" Figueroa is a tapatio from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, who's mixing his culture with the cartoonist style of tattooing, calling it "Comic Mexicano." Chocky's attraction to tattoos began back in '92 when he lived in Tijuana. His inspiration to start tattooing came from the homies who had their bodies tattooed and the various tattoo magazines that he used to flip through. Chocky was amazed by the quality of the tattoos that he saw, and he soon picked up a homemade tattoo gun and started to do tattoos and sharpen his skills.

Ivan J. "Chocky" Figueroa is a tapatio from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, who's mixing his culture with the cartoonist style of tattooing, calling it "Comic Mexicano." Chocky's attraction to tattoos began back in '92 when he lived in Tijuana. His inspiration to start tattooing came from the homies who had their bodies tattooed and the various tattoo magazines that he used to flip through. Chocky was amazed by the quality of the tattoos that he saw, and he soon picked up a homemade tattoo gun and started to do tattoos and sharpen his skills.

Alex has moved up the artistic ladder since the last time we did a write-up on him. Alex has been doing work for Snoop Dogg and Silver Star Casting Company, as well as Latin Assassin Clothing in collaboration with Sen Dog from Cypress Hill. He's also working with a new clothing line called Vato Original as well as Mister Kei's clothing line, Homies Japan. You can check out more of his work at www.myspace.com/sinlessfactories.

LRA: This is an old question but here it goes. What advice would you give to an artist just starting out?Zodak: Practice, patience and focus on trying to do your best at the present time. Good will follow, doors will open. Everybody has a different view of what they feel is the way, but what works for me was naturally invested in me. The passion for creativity and the fascination with progress, and to be able to inspire another human being so that he or she can someday enjoy it the way that I do, is a gift in itself.

Born in East Los Angeles 30 years ago, "Pint" and his family ended up settling in the city of Lynwood, California. Pint's interest in art was sparked when he was just six years old by a man who was putting up drywall in his house and who used to draw on the drywall during his lunch breaks. Pint was really inspired by this worker and he would sit down and ask his new friend to draw different things like Mr. T, Heman and things of that nature. Pint always wondered why this artist would draw on the drywall since they would have to paint over his masterpieces with a fresh coat of paint.