Stipple Work by Steve

“Stippling is the creation of a pattern simulating varying degrees of solidity or shading by using small dots. Such a pattern may occur in nature and these effects are frequently emulated by artists.

[…] This is similar to – but distinct – from pointillism, which uses dots of different colours to simulate blended colors.”

And stippling is one of Steve's favorite things these days. Check out this half-sleeve below. Like it? Want something in this style? Give the shop a call, and we'll get you in for a consult! 978.744.9393

Black and Grey Angel by Sharonn

Who wouldn't want a babe of an angel tattooed on their arm? This is a nice tattoo to look at (and the client is a gorgeous lady herself). Done by Sharonn, and more proof that black and grey is her specialty.

Sharonn is almost entirely booked out until December, and her weekends until the end of January, but we can get you in for a consultation session much sooner than that. Give us a call at 978.744.9393 or send an email to witchcityink@gmail.com.

Steve in Inked Magazine, and a Few BTC Pics!

It's officially October, which means Salem is becoming busier by the day. Our weekends in particular are filling up fast, and our schedules are full of wonderful clients traveling to Salem for the Halloween festivities — we even have some returning from previous years of visits, which makes us feel pretty damn special. If you'd like to be tattooed by one of our lovely artists this month, we recommend giving us a call to book your appointment as soon as possible! 978.744.9393

In other news, we recently had the October 2012 issue of Inked Magazine delivered to the shop. We opened it up to find none other than our own Mr. Gillespie. Note: This piece has since been finished, and had color added.

We've also been going through a ton of photos from the Boston Tattoo Convention recently, and have found some of our artists and clients! You can see more photos from the show right here


Jenny during a quiet moment at one of our booths.
Photo by Iggy Barskov.


Jenny in another moment of focus! By the way, have you checked out her work yet?
Photo by Tong Mangklarat.


Natan with the winner of the Miss Boston Ink Beauty Contest.
Photo by Iggy Barskov.


We were very fortunate to have a lot of our clients at the show. John is the proud owner of this back piece by Sharonn.
Photo by Arthur Newberg.

Lastly, Sharonn has been fancying up the shop window for the holiday. Here's a peek! Fun fact: She painted this skull herself!

Where the Buffalo Roam

Okay, it's been a while since we've made a blog post. Did you know that we put on the Boston Tattoo Convention each year? This means that the Witch City Ink website gets a little quiet in the summer, as we're preparing for the convention. However, our artists have been constantly busy tattooing (and sometimes even taking pictures, when we gently nudge them into doing so), and we have plenty to share from the last couple of months.

And yes, we certainly DO have photos of our artists from the BTC, which we'll be posting in the near future!

For now, here are two pieces that Sharonn completed yesterday. First up, a Gaia back piece. Who's Gaia, you ask? As always, wikipedia has a very thorough answer.

Sharonn also finished up this really cool buffalo. We wish more people requested tattoos in this style!

As usual, all of our artists' time is being booked quickly, especially with October right around the corner, and especially for weekends. Be sure to get in touch with us soon to get your next appointment in! 978.744.9393

New from Sharonn: Colorful Flowers & Lettering

We like to share a background story when we can, but for some of our clients, their excitement and stories are so personal, that we prefer to keep them between the client and artist. Kate has quickly become one of our favorite clients — her joy is contagious! Sharonn recently completed this back tattoo for her, which is full of personal symbolism, and was coincidentally finished on the summer solstice. Thanks, Kate!

New from Sharonn: Dragon and Knight

We usually post Japanese-style dragons here, but we’ve had a lot of medieval-style ones these days as well. Interestingly, dragons tend to be more symbolically positive in Asian cultures than elsewhere. For example, typically in Asian cultures, dragons represent nature, wisdom, religion, and the universe. But in many western stories and myths, how often do we see dragons depicted as evil and dangerous creatures, that are eventually slain by a hero? Even in the Slavic myth, the dragon is so vile that Mother Earth wishes not to have it within her womb, and thus the dragon is forced to remain above ground for all eternity.

We personally think that dragons are beautiful and strong creatures. And just plain cool.

This next photo is actually a rather small section of a client’s back that Sharonn is working on. As you can see, she is currently working on the Holy Grail, and in the foreground we have a gentleman from the Knights Templar. Templar Knights were among the most skilled fighting units of the Crusades. Non-combatant members of the order managed a large economic infrastructure throughout Christendom, innovating financial techniques that were an early form of banking, and building fortifications across Europe and the holy land.

And that concludes today’s edition of the more you know.

Sharonn does have time in her schedule next week for consults and possibly smaller tattoos (as well as continuations on existing pieces). If you’d like to book time with her, give us a call here at the shop, and we’ll talk about scheduling! 978.744.9393

New from Natan: Song Sparrows

The song sparrow is one of the most familiar North American sparrows. Now, there are many different regional species of sparrows but this is the one you should suspect if you see a streaky sparrow in an open, shrubby, or wet area. And if you catch one singing what is described as a “stuttering, clattering song,” then you have probably just encountered the song sparrow.

Natan brought two of them to life yesterday on K’s forearm. Take a look! We highly recommend clicking the image to see a larger version.

Natan has very limited July openings left, but as always, we can fit you in for a consult much sooner to get the ball rolling! 978.744.9393

New Work from Steve

Steve continues to be busy, and is currently booked out for about 3 weeks, with scattered openings on certain days. Here are a couple of pictures that we snagged from him.

Celtic continues to be popular around these parts, and Steve’s attention to detail makes him fantastic at all of the interwoven intricacies.

And he was really excited about the start of this Alice in Wonderland piece. While researching references for it, he came across this dodo, and tattooing it on someone is now on his tattoo bucket list. That’s a hint to all you readers! *wink-wink*

Things are busy busy busy here, especially with the Boston Tattoo Convention fast approaching, so get in touch with us soon to set up your next appointment! 978.744.9393

By Natan: Phoenix.. Completed!

Ahh, the sweet, sweet feeling of completion. This tattoo by Natan has been ongoing, but now we can finally and proudly show off the finished product. And because we know you want to learn a little more about the phoenix mythology..

The phoenix is said to have a 500 to 1000 year life-cycle, near the end of which it builds itself a nest of twigs that then ignites; both nest and bird burn and are reduced to ashes, from which a new, young phoenix or phoenix egg arises, reborn anew to live again. The new phoenix is destined to live as long as its old self. In some stories, the new phoenix embalms the ashes of its old self in an egg made of myrrh and deposits it in the Egyptian city of Heliopolis (which means “sun city” in Greek).

Natan is currently booked into July, so if you’d like to be tattooed by him, we recommend scheduling a consult and getting the process started soon! 978.744.9393

And Witch City Ink is still seeking an experienced tattooer for our team! Check out this post for more information.

New from Steve: Animals, Animals, Animals

Truth time: These tattoos were not easy ones. They’re a great idea — animals within animals (but not in a creepy everything-devouring-everything sort of way). But there is a LOT of time-consuming detail within each one. Actually, there was initially supposed to be three outlines done in this sitting, but time unfortunately ran out, so a flounder will be placed on the inner bicep when the client comes in for her next session.

And guess what else? The turtle is actually a coverup. The lines alone are a good start, so the tattoo below should be completely hidden once the color is put in! More pics will be on the way as these pieces progress.