Cardinal Tattoo's resident realism artist, Will, completed this awesome portrait of Heath Ledger as the Joker from the Dark Knight series of Batman films. Regarded by many as the best portrayal of the character ever, we feel like Will did this 10 hour piece justice. If you're in the greater Nashville or Hendersonville areas an are interested in black and grey or color portraiture or realism, Cardinal Tattoo is the place for you!
Lighthouse Tattoo has always gladly accepted cash and card as forms of payment so that we can provide our customers with the easiest, most convenient payment process possible. Now, with the advent of Apple Pay, we have once again evolved our practices to be as inclusive as possible. We hope to incorporate more NFC technology into our repertoire as it becomes more widely available.
The imagery of angels and demons is iconic, and for a good reason. The duality of good and evil that lives within each of us is something that plays a huge role in our daily lives, and is an endlessly fascinating subject to approach artistically. At Lighthouse Tattoo, we are constantly asked to do tattoos featuring these figureheads of their respective ideologies, and we gladly oblige.
Karen made this beautiful compass for Brandon, a long-time customer of Lighthouse Tattoo and an all-around great dude. Compasses are a fairly common subject for tattoos, therefore it can be hard to make one that is distinctly unique to the wearer. Karen did an excellent job making this design and catering it to Brandon’s individual tastes. The relationship we share with our customers helps us to do stunning work like this each day. If you’re looking for a tattoo artist in the Nashville area, why not give us a try? We’d love to meet you!
With the impending arrival of the summer season, everyone is getting ready to show some skin and get in the water. People are also getting inspired to get their next tattoo or piercing to accent their beachy summer look. Before you decide to rush off to the closest tattoo shop or piercing parlor, keep in mind just a few things.
Piercings should heal for at least one month before entering the water!
- Lake and ocean water are dirty enough to cause pretty intense infections in deep puncture wounds and pool water contains tons of harsh chemicals that will severely irritate any piercing it comes into contact with. Saltwater pools are off limits for this time frame, as well.
Fresh piercings should have very limited sun exposure!
- UVA and UVB rays can cause an excess of damage around a piercing that is already working hard to heal. Sunburns can cause great amounts of irritation and flaking off of skin around a fresh piercing, compromising the piercing itself and increasing risk of rejection.
Sunscreen should NEVER come into contact with a healing piercing
- The chemicals in sunscreen are extremely abrasive on broken skin, and the sticky texture causes debris and germs to easily stick to and infiltrate a fresh piercing.
Tattoos must heal for at least three weeks before entering water
- Submerging a tattoo in water before it is properly healed can cause infection in the early healing stages. In the later stages, it can cause the fresh skin that grows over a new tattoo to swell up and slide off the body. It’s very painful, very itchy, and can reopen the tattoo to the possibility of infection.
Tattoos should not come into contact with direct sunlight
- Getting tattooed causes the same type and amount of damage as a severe sunburn. Adding more of that same type of damage on top of a concentrated area can have painful effects that cause your tattoo to heal very poorly and much more slowly.
Sunscreen should NEVER go onto a fresh tattoo
- For the same reasons as it should not go on a fresh piercing. sunscreen should not touch a new tattoo for at least three weeks after getting it.
Sunscreen SHOULD be applied to healed tattoos before sun exposure
- To preserve the colors and not subject the tattoo to sun bleaching, sunscreen should always be applied over healed tattoos when covering them with clothing is not possible. For color tattoos, this will keep lighter tones (yellow, orange, pink) from fading into obscurity. For black and grey pieces, this keeps the black values as dark and rich as possible while preserving small, light details.
Look into the portfolio of every tattoo artist and piercer you will be working with
- This is more of a general rule that should always be followed, but is easily forgotten during vacations. The temptation to get a tattoo or piercing to commemorate a trip can be overwhelming, but use discretion in what you get and from whom you get it. A lot of shops in tourist-flooded areas don’t perform as immaculate work on out-of-towners because they know the likelihood that those people will return to complain or ask for a touch-up/repierce is very low.
Be careful out there this summer and most importantly…make good decisions! Stay safe and have fun, everyone.
Here at Lighthouse tattoo we are obviously huge nerds. We also love doing flash specials! So in honor of the new Detective Pikachu movie premiering tonight our two lovely artists Tasha and Victoria have done a pokemon flash sheet. Designs will range from $30 to $250 depending on which artist does it and the size and placement. Call the shop today to set up an appointment to get one of these adorable designs!
Lighthouse tattoo is located 40 minutes East from Nashville, TN in the small city of Lebanon. Call us at (615)784-4500 today to inquire about scheduling.
Our artist Tasha Grey has designed some amazing flash inspired by the makeup mogul Jeffree Star. Our artists are always coming out with new original flash sheets. In the past 20 or so years Flash Art has seen a steady decline. People are switching more and more to fully custom work. However sometimes it is just hard to think of an idea and flash is also just a great way to showcase an artist’s style.
To check out the flash we have available or to set up an appointment for something similar, swing by the shop any time!
Lighthouse Tattoo prides itself on being able to offer not only pristine quality work for our clients, but also custom drawn work for anyone who comes through the door and doesn’t just want the same exact tattoo they found online. Sometimes, people aren’t in love with the artwork they receive and elect to just go with the picture they brought in but hey, everyone has different tastes. The point is, we like to be able to offer people more than what they ask for and not only meet expectations, but exceed them. That’s why our artists spend countless hours every week designing and refining fully custom pieces for our appointments. Incidentally, it is also why most artists take a deposit for setting appointments. If they’re putting in extra hours of work on the front end, they want to know you’re as serious about getting the tattoo as they are about doing it.
If you’re serious about getting beautiful, custom work in the greater Nashville area, call or come by Lighthouse Tattoo. We are located at 328 North Cumberland Street in downtown Lebanon, Tennessee.
IT’S FINALLY HERE PEOPLE!! That’s right. Game of Thrones Season 8. The last season. The finale. The end of an era.
The final season premieres tonight and we are pumped and ready. We are so pumped in fact, that our two apprentices have decided to do Game of Thrones inspired flash available this week only from Tuesday, April 16th until Saturday, April 20th. Each of these will be done for one flat rate including the color, so just swing by the shop to inquire on pricing and set up an appointment!
Call the shop to see which location will be doing what sheet, as it will change daily as both apprentices swap out sometimes. But both Tuesday and Saturday both girls will be at Cardinal Tattoo on the square in Gallatin, TN.
If you know us, you know our fearless leader Will. His work speaks for itself and has been the flagship that has taken Lighthouse Tattoo to its current heights. His work is in such high demand that he has decided to change the way he charges to accommodate such a broad clientele. His new rates will take effect for all appointments made after July 1st. They are as such:
All day appointments based on an 8-hour day will be $800.
Black and grey portraits, Will’s preferred genre, will be a flat rate of $600, portraits routinely take more than six hours, but Will likes them and we like to keep him happy! Color portraits will be done at the $800 all-day rate.
Smaller-scale work will be done at the rate of $160 per hour.
Existing clients will be ‘grandfathered’ in at the old rate for a limited time and they will take precedence with regard to booking. We strongly encourage any clients who are working on larger-scale work to go ahead and book the necessary appointments to finish what you’ve started in order to take advantage of this policy! We hope to see you soon!
To celebrate the release of Detective Pikachu (or just to get to do Pokemon tattoos), Lighthouse Tattoo will be holding a flash special for Pokemon-related pieces designed by our artists! Each piece will be available at a flat rate from May 10th to May 18, 2019, and will include color in the price. We will release some teaser designs as the day approached but trust us…you’ll want to book in advance for this one.
In 1918 New Orleans was plagued by a serial killer known only as the Axeman. He murdered 6 people and injured 6 others. Don’t let his character in American Horror Story fool you into thinking he is a myth, it is based off of a real man who was never caught. In the video above, actor Danny Huston reads a letter the real Axeman wrote to the people of New Orleans warning them that on March 19th he would spare anyone whom was playing Jazz music. That night Jazz bars were in full swing and every home had music pouring out. No one got the axe.
So to commemorate the biggest jazz party in history, on March 19th Lighthouse Tattoo will be hosting a flash special. Each tattoo will be $30 and be available until Saturday, March 23rd. Swing by the shop to set up an appointment!
Lighthouse Tattoo is hosting a St. Patrick’s Day party on Saturday, March 16th, starting at 7pm. This is an 18 and up, BYOB (no drugs) event. Everyone’s invited and feel free to bring a date/friend/ or both, admission if free. We will have free food and beer for those interested in the best things in life. We have hired the pyroclastic stylings of the fire dancers from Magnificent Light Entertainment, a bagpiper (we know it’s Scottish and St. Patty’d Day is Irish, but who’s going to pass up a good chance at listening to the ‘pipes’?), we will have a DJ, karaoke, a giant Twister game, an Irish-themed costume contest, and a team drinking contest for a substantial cash prize.
Rules for the drinking contest: Teams of four; each team must have at least one woman; three drinkers will finish 20 oz. beers in succession before the anchor drinks a 34 oz. ‘boot’ (a la Beerfest). Teams will be eliminated single-elimination tournament style. Each team member must pay $10 to enter, winner takes all!
Rules for the costume contest: Contestants must have a recognizably Irish theme or gimmick. Contestants will be judged on originality, humor, sex appeal, authenticity, and overall investment (if your costume cost $600 or you spent three months making it, you’ll score higher), judges will be independent Models of Mass Destruction provided by Mass Destruction Clothing. First place winner will receive a tattoo gift certificate to Cardinal or Lighthouse Tattoo. Consolation prizes will be offered if costumes are worth a damn. Show up to win people!
Parking will be available across the street, and please, don’t bring your drugs onto our property, if you smell like weed, we won’t let you in. If you are under 21 and we catch you drinking, you will be beaten by bikers, no bullshit. If you get into a fight or are caught stealing you will be permanently banned from both shops, and you will probably be beaten by bikers.
See the video? Body odor is the guy with the knife. We’re the guy with the guitar. Don’t push it.
Seriously, at Lighthouse Tattoo we spend our lives in close proximity with people. We need those people to be clean in order to avoid getting an infection. If you come into our establishment and it is readily apparent that you have difficulty keeping up with your personal hygiene, you will be refused service.
If you are getting an oral piercing, brush
If you are getting a genital piercing, wash. Thoroughly.
If you are getting a tattoo, make sure you can be close to someone without giving off any offensive odors for the duration of the tattoo (wash your body, and lay of the Taco Bell). Failure to do so may result in the loss of your deposit and prohibition from Lighthouse Tattoo. We may also post photos of you on this website, Stinky.
This has been a Public Service Announcement from Lighthouse Tattoo.
Our artist Tasha Grey has had a spot open up for this upcoming Friday, February 15th, at 12pm! She has some completely original custom made dagger designs all ready to go! These tattoos will be within 7 and 10 inches and are only $300!! Normally they would go for much more, but Tasha has been wanting to add some more custom work for her portfolio.
They can be done in black and grey or full color as shown above. Just call the shop or swing by if you’re interested! A Friday spot will go quickly especially since we’re hitting tax season now.
Cardinal and Lighthouse Tattoo attended the Harry Potter-themed tattoo convention Literary Ink recently and had a blast! Much appreciation goes out to all those who made the drive to support their local tattoo establishment. Will, Rose, and Victoria all got tattooed. Will got invited to do a guest spot at Juan Salgado’s shop in Puerto Rico (curious? Google it!) and Tasha got invited to do a guest spot at Kelly Doty’s shop Helheim Gallery in Salem, Mass. (don’t know who Kelly Doty is? climb out from under your rock once in a while!) Will got to share drinks with one of his tattoo idols, Mr. Joe Capobianco!
Of course, there were tattoo contests as well…
This show did things a bit differently though, all of the contests were Harry Potter or Wizarding World themed. Rose entered the Best Fantastic Beast category and won, with a portrait of the inimitable Danny Devito! It was a joke from the start though, so Will made the executive decision to give the award to someone who he felt did a great tattoo that was actually part of that category (not that Danny Devito isn’t a fantastic beast, but still) Miss Austin West. This left us empty-handed though, until Will won another award for Best Portrait for a Severus Snape he did at the show!
All in all we had a great time, made some new friends and got a chance to catch up with some old ones, what more could you ask for?! We are certainly looking forward to next year!
When you think of holidays and February, Valentine’s Day is probably the only thing that comes to mind. Right? Well what if I told you there’s another holiday that is more special and more amazing then Valentine’s Day?
This Saturday, February 9th, is International Pizza Day. No one loves pizza more then our apprentice so she has decided to celebrate the only way she knows how. A FLASH SPECIAL!!
So if you were wanting some low cost fun this Saturday as you’re out and about in Lebanon, why not come get a new tattoo? These designs will only be available this Saturday.
They will be Walk Ins only, so try and come by as soon as we open to reserve a spot! She won’t be going home until she’s done! (It’s also her birthday, so try and be nice. She’s doing this special because she loves tattoos. If this event goes well, she’ll do it every year.)
Each of these designs is only $25 plus however much you decide to tip our lovely hardworking apprentice and will be cash only. Change will be limited, but we will do our best to have some available.
They are all around palm sized, but some designs will be a little larger to get the detail.
The season is almost upon us, folks! All your hard work is about to be paid off in a substantial chunk and you’re about to have a lot of expendable income. That being said, this is the busiest time of year for luxury industries like the tattoo industry. Full pockets tend to mean a hole is getting burned into them and people want to buy themselves the big, pricey gifts they can’t quite swing the rest of the year. Here is our definitive guide to getting the work you want done before those first rays of summer sun hit:
Book Your Appointments In Advance!
You will be fighting for time slots with hundreds of other people who want pieces ranging from small lettering tattoos to full leg sleeves and backpieces, so try and leave your deposit as early as possible to secure your time slot! If you’re one of the ones wanting a huge project completed in 2019 maybe reserve multiple appointments a few weeks apart so you can get worked on regularly without having to wait.
If You Want A Weekend, Get It Early!
Fridays and Saturdays book up faster than any other days of the week for us. The weekend is a much easier time for most people to come in as they are already off work and don’t have to interfere with their own schedules to get tattooed those days. It is not an exaggeration to say that our Saturdays could end up booking two months out by the time tax season is in full swing.
Budget And Find Ideas Now!
Come in with a clear, concise idea of what you want when you set your appointment. Do you want a totally custom piece? Do you want the artist to have freedom to do their own illustration on you, or are you dead set on a specific design? Do you want color or black and grey? Do you have an overall budget you want to stick with for your piece? You’ve got all the time in the world to daydream about your new tattoo for now, so gather your ideas.
Find An Artist You Want To Work With And Check Their Availability!
If you’ve heard around town that an artist is good, other people have, too. That means they will be booking further in advance than other artists with fewer customers already walking around the area. Look at their portfolios, compare their work with your idea, and make sure they’re the perfect fit for your project. Once you’re certain, swing by and talk to them or their scheduling assistant. It is a good idea to use this consultation as time to leave a deposit for your appointment.
Be Certain You Have Time When You’ve Booked Your Artist!
A lot of people get excited and jump the gun on setting an appointment when they know it’s about to get busy. Sometimes they book for a day when they know they usually aren’t off work then (surprise!) can’t get the day off for their tattoo appointment. Some people set up an appointment so far out that they forget they even have it, then plan vacations or other events over top of the tattoo. Be very conscious of when you are getting tattooed and plan your schedule around that. Why? Well, your artist is planning their entire schedule around it already. The moment you reserve an appointment time, it is denied to anyone else wanting it. If you keep that space closed off to anyone else until the very last minute, your artist loses any money they could have made during that time if you’d given them advance notice. Also you run a very high risk of losing your deposit if you don’t show up for your deposit or reschedule without proper notice. We know you’re stoked and so are we, but please, be mindful of your schedule when making your appointments.
Bring Cash To Your Appointment!
Tattooers tend to get paid out in cash at the end of the night for the work they’ve done. During tax season, when a lot of people are getting high-ticket tattoos, they can end up owed hundreds of dollars from the till if very many people don’t pay them in cash. That means that, though there is money in an account somewhere waiting for them, they’re still short for a while. That can affect their ability to pay rent, bills, car payments, etc. Be mindful of your artist’s well being because they are certainly thinking about yours!
Get Price Quotes In Person!
Give yourself an opportunity to get the most accurate price you can on a tattoo. No matter how great you are at describing a tattoo over the phone, your artist will need to see it in person to give you an accurate estimate. People abuse the “describe-it-over-the-phone” privilege to try and trap artists into agreeing to do a large, detailed tattoo for far less than it’s worth by wording their ideas creatively. Get an accurate estimate and know what you’ll be paying.
Give Your Artist Time To Edit The Design!
If you are getting a tattoo done and it requires any amount of design work on the artist’s end, ask them if you can see the line drawing ahead of time. Set up a date and time to come view the design that allows the artist to make any necessary changes, and be open about your feelings on the tattoo. It is better to be specific a week before your appointment than try and make large design changes the day of.
Take care of yourself and be mindful of the piece or work that is going on your body. Tax season is exciting, but don’t let opportunities pass you by! If you’re in the Lebanon or greater Nashville area this tax season, consider getting your tattoo work done at Lighthouse Tattoo! We offer a clean, friendly facility with award-winning artists who would love to work with you.
Lately we have noticed an increase in popularity for the horizontal tongue piercing, also known as the Snake Eyes Piercing. We decided to make a post here to discuss that piercing and why we are one of many shops that do not perform it.
The APP (Association of Professional Piercers) has deemed the Snake Eyes piercing unsafe, and for professional shops, they are the ultimate authority on what we should and shouldn’t do. The reason they’ve deemed that piercing so dangerous is because the tongue is comprised of two separate muscles which the piercing fuses together,causing a couple of different issues: it restricts movement between these two muscles and it kills nerves in them. Due to the lack of range of motion plus localized nerve damage caused by the Snake Eyes, there is a possibility of gaining a speech impediment from the piercing over time.
As an additional detriment to your dental health, the piercing will eventually chip your teeth, wear down your enamel, and cause gum erosion faster than other oral piercings. This is due to the piercing’s proximity to the end of the tongue…just think about how often the tip of your tongue touches the back of your teeth. It’s basically every time you talk.
These are some of our reasons for not offering this piercing. We care about our clients and we care about their health after they come to us, so at Lighthouse Tattoo we will not do anything that could cause someone harm in the future. As a premier shop in the Nashville area, we strive to maintain a reputation of care and discretion. That means that even if it costs us some business, we won’t aid someone in making a bad choice, whether its a trendy tongue piercing or your girlfriends name tattooed on your neck.
Lighthouse Tattoo will be closed from January 31st to February 4th to attend Literary Ink, a Harry Potter-themed tattoo convention in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Those of you who are able should consider making the drive and experiencing the biggest tattoo convention to come to Tennessee in years! Saturday is the big day to attend, with the most stuff going on including live entertainment and unique vendors.
Lighthouse Tattoo will re-open for normal business hours on Tuesday, February 5th.