Polynesian tribal tattooing in Portland Oregon

Anne

I met Jeff in 2002 when he was a visiting guest artist at the Slave to the Needle studio in Seattle, he did an Adinkra Tribal tattoo that I brought in the design to do, and did a beautiful job on it and we had a fun session, talking about his skydiving hobby. I saw his work online from his studio in Portland, and knowing I had stumbled across some serious talent, kept in touch over the years for the possibility of future ink. A true artist's talent isn't seen in the designs that they are provided with, but rather in the designs they are given the opportunity to create. This was a talent I didn't want to miss. In addition, his passion for the skydiving had piqued my interest in trying it, and apparently my nerve, and Jeff was gracious enough to meet up with me for a run to the drop zone, where I proceeded to jump tandem twice at 13000 feet that day, a truly amazing experience, not something you forget.

Over time I checked in with Jeff periodically, and earlier this year was looking to have something designed by him, and found him in Peru instead of Portland, a tad farther south than I expected! I begged and pleaded with this most patient man, hoping for a drawing if we could make it work since he was traveling. He let me know he'd be back in the Northwest soon and I was thrilled to learn I could possibly get it not only designed, but inked by him as well.

I love handing off art to the artist. I find when you give the talented ones the concept, they take it and run much farther and faster and better than you could have ever imagined, and Jeff did this with my idea. Knowing this piece was also to memorialize a dear friend of mine who passed, he was careful and considerate with his image, asking questions throughout the process, incorporating my ideas and adding his own, with a beautiful, breathtaking outcome. I don't consider myself a high maintenance client, but I do ask lots of questions, so I can take some patience to work with, and Jeff is not only patient, but a very considerate soul to work with. His warm and genuine way makes you trust him immediately, his openness makes him easy to talk to. You meet him, you feel like you have an instant and trusted friend. As with most artists, he takes great pride in his work, so he wants you the recipient to be happy with it.

The finished design turned out so beautiful, and personal, and so well done, it couldn't have turned out better. He truly captured something that I could only try to verbalize, and made it so much better. I will be back for more ink, and would recommend Jeff to anyone who wants artistic, original, mindful, beautiful work done. You will not be disappointed.

Brook

I live in an area that is literally INUNDATED with tattoo studios and tattoo artists. When I saved up some money and was ready to begin my hunt for the "perfect" artist for me, I asked a couple people who had tattoos that I liked where they got them, and thus ensued my search. I stopped into 2 shops before I went to Jeff's studio. I was looking for a feel in the studio, a comforting/accepting feel and art driven vibe and most importantly an artist I connected with.  It's permanent, a monstrous commitment and I held high standards for an artist. When I found Jeff's website ,I set up a consultation meeting. I started flipping the pages of the artists books. THE MOMENT I saw Jeff's work, I knew. I had not seen art that I connected with at any level until I saw his stuff. His lines were sharp, and his designs were seriously mind blowing! I took his book to the desk and said, "who's this guy"? Lucky for me, he was in the back and had time to chat me up right then. I got bad news, as he was leaving the country in a month and likely had no openings. To say the least I was disappointed and went straight home to make my case via email as to why I needed him to work on me before he left the country! It worked, he was quick to respond via email and set up an appointment to talk about the design.

  Jeff was on time, extremely present in the meeting and had an openness about life, his current struggles and his view on tattoos and art that made both my husband and I feel like we had known him, could trust him.  He measured, took my requests graciously and set up an appointment for ink with ease.  For my scheduled appointment, again he was on time, a huge bonus to me because it's sometimes rare in the industry as you have no idea how many breaks your clients will need and how your day will play out. I wasn't surprised when I saw the final design was perfect for me. I had given little direction because what I liked were his designs, the way his brain put the picture on paper and I didn't want to get in the way of that. He was gentle, worked quickly and held interesting conversation. It was perfect....I now had my roots and I walked out of the door a new person, with a new friend. Its weird, I know but I was more confident in who I was, the tat had a big impact on me

In a strange turn of events, my family was open and able to dog sit for Jeff's pooch, Goji while he traveled South America for 10 months, in exchange for some more tattoo work. Seeing him and his pooch together was another justification that he is a good guy! His dog adores him and vice verse. He shared his travels with us the whole time he was gone and when time got close to him coming home, we started talking about more ink. He had barely gotten home, gotten settled back in and was again, quick to set up time for both my husband and myself to come in for more consultations and design ideas. I had a request that was a not what I would call his "style" of work, but he accepted the challenge graciously. He was honest about my outlandish design requests, what would work and what would look fake, cartoonish, too big, too small or just not right.

He knows the trade and the body well, with an amazing ability to fit your wants into art that flows with the natural curves of YOUR body. Jeff is easy to communicate with, share ideas with and give honest feedback. He is quick to respond via emails, values your time and is a helluva tattoo artist!

Steve

My first tattoo is something I had wanted for years.  The struggle I had was I wanted something with meaning but I didn't really know what I wanted.  Over the years, I have been in tons of tattoo shops and never really found any one style or one piece that symbolized what I desired.  I stumbled Jeff's website still in search of what would fit me and being honest, I contacted him with low expectations as I had been looking at pictures, designs, and tattoos for years and never really found anything that I would like permanently on my body.  As I was looking through portfolios, I saw Jeff’s work and it instantly had a different look than anything I had seen before.  Every tattoo in his book looked as if it belonged there; it was not only on the body, but part of it.  His work, designs and artistry style instantly stood out.

We set up the consult, but I still had the one issue, I knew I loved Jeff’s work, but to describe what I wanted or liked/did not like was hard for me.  The only thing I knew for sure was I wanted to have my boys initials worked into the tattoo.  I brought in some examples that I had found online, but told him “I like this part, but not that part” kind of thing and outside of that, I gave him very little direction.  Jeff was very patient and willing to make sure we were on the same page with what I liked.  Feeling like I was not clear on what I wanted (because I wasn't even sure), I picked up Jeff’s portfolio book and after looking through his work again, thought to myself, “this shit is amazing, I just need to let him do his thing”.  Jeff took the tracing of my body and we walked out, my wife even stated “You didn't give him much to work with”, my response, “it will be perfect”.

Jeff quickly went to work, contacted me after he had finished his first drawing and I went in to see it and made no changes,  immediately seeing his drawing after years of searching…that  was it, I had no hesitation, not a single change I would make.  We quickly set up and appointment and got started shortly after with the first session of two.  Jeff’s pride in his work is the same approach he takes through every step, he is on time for appointments, always got back quickly and not only met every expectation of mine, but exceeded it.  Jeff is very professional and holds himself and his work to one standard, nothing less than perfect, and it showed in every step of the process  With the love I had for my first piece, I knew pretty quickly I wanted to add to it down my arm and onto my back  a little.  Again, same experience, little direction and this time I added my wife’s initials.  Another 2 sessions without a hitch!
Not only is he a great artist Jeff is also a great person and it makes the entire tattoo experience that much better.

Erika

I first met Jeff when we had a consultation about tattooing an Aubrey Beardsley illustration on my leg, I was told by other artists in the shop that he was the best person in the shop for both black work and fancy nouveau line work and his portfolio backed up their claims. He reproduced Beardsley's illustration with technical magnificence, and during the tattooing process I learned so many details that go into creating a fabulous tattoo... Jeff cautioned about making the design too small as to not eventually loose the detail, he made recommendations of how to create a lovely frame to accentuate both the art and the form of my leg, and through the many questions I asked during the tattooing process, I learned that he worked only with certain inks that he had found to hold up better in the skin.

Ignoring the fact that Jeff was (and is) a phenomenal artist who specializes in tribal and black work, I approached him about designing the most ridiculous cartoon-storybook-rainbow-COLORFUL sleeve tattoo imaginable, with the central piece being the image of my daughter's favorite stuffed animal- a plaid giraffe! He did a photo shoot with the stuffed giraffe - Roosevelt, and I brought in a stack of bookmarked storybooks and printouts of other characters and ideas to work with. Jeff took my giant stack of reference material and returned to our next appointment with the most magical full storybook land illustration of creatures, mushrooms, crystals, rainbows, and more, all surrounding Miss Roosevelt the Plaid Giraffe! I cannot begin to describe how amazing, how bright the colors, how he took care to pair colors as to make them pop, to add the tiniest details. I have received so many compliments on my work from both tattoo enthusiasts and non-enthusiasts alike. I remember during the consultation Jeff explaining that we could "have a big mishmash of random illustrations and cartoons OR have a cohesive piece of artwork that flows together." I am SO thankful for his artistic guidance.

I have seen in my own interactions as well as his interactions with friends I have sent to work with him, a reverence for the permanence of his art form. Jeff truly wants to ensure that the tattoo will still look good and be appreciated as amazing artwork years after it is done. He works with the artwork to accentuate the body and takes care in every curve or dot!

Portland is truly blessed to have such an amazing, versatile, conscious artist!