Chola Tattoo

Chola[edit]

Chola style is often associated with wearing some combination of a long white T-shirt or tanktops, sometimes worn under plaid shirts, baggy jeans, flat black shoes, long hair, spiked bangs, dark or heavy eyeliner, and dark lipstick and lip liner.[1] Chola style has been identified as exhibiting "a radically criminalized femininity, situating them in the purview of official and unofficial policing as well as legal and extralegal sanctions." Chola style is perceived with less menace than cholo style, although it has been described as more directly challenging to the gendered expectations placed on women.[1] - From Wikipedia.

All we know is there’s an entire subculture of black and grey tattooers of Latin American heritage (Re: Mexicans) that have been producing their own style of badass artwork for decades. We personally love the style and the culture, we’d liken it to Rockabilly here in the South, it’s a style full of history that runs deep. A style you can take as far as you want, with the tiniest of details and slight nuance, we admire this artwork and seek to emulate it respectfully when requested to do so. Con Safos ~Lighthouse Tattoo

Dark Art

Jason’s woman with a skull face piece has healed beautifully and we’d like to celebrate here on our website for all to see! Swing by Lighthouse Tattoo if this strikes you as the sort of thing you’d like to pursue!

Religious Tattoos

You have to be selective about where you go to get tattooed, it’s common sense. Obviously you want the best work right? The problem isn’t always so clear however, when you start talking about ideas and the deep meanings some of these pieces contain. You wouldn’t want to get a Black Lives Matter tattoo from a racist, and you wouldn’t want to get a Second Amendment tattoo from a gun abolitionist, so why get a religious tattoo from someone who doesn’t believe?

Lighthouse Tattoo has strict policies prohibiting discrimination against anyone for their religious beliefs. But not every tattoo establishment has the same policy. There are tons of tattoo shops where law enforcement officers are only tolerated, not welcomed, and there are plenty of places where Christians in particular or believers in general are looked down on. If you want to get tattooed by someone who understands what it means to need grace; who values something greater than what this physical world has to offer; and who stands up and proudly confesses their belief, then Lighthouse Tattoo is your place.

If you don’t believe in a higher power, or you just don’t know what you believe in, you’re welcome here too. We all have our own journey to undertake and we respect that.

Sunken Ship

This enormous piece on Brad’s back was done by Will Wood over three five-hour sittings. A SCUBA diver in his own right, Brad wanted a scene of divers exploring a sunken ship to finish off his back. Will still needs to add the divers and some background, but we wanted to go ahead and share this impressive piece here.

On another note, Brad used to get tattooed by an old friend, Tim Booth (many will know him by Timba) who passed away unexpectedly a few years ago. For Brad to trust Will with finishing his body of work, something Timba and Brad had been working on for almost 20 years, is one of the most meaningful and fulfilling things Will has done in his 17 year career. RIP brother and thank you for trusting us Brad.

Plague Doctor

With Covid-19 pretty much wrecking the entire world over the last year it’s a wonder we haven’t done more of these Plague Doctors. Performed by Matt Steele, the simplicity and straightforward nature of the artwork is intense, without being overwhelming. Way to go Matt!

Greek Philosophy/Mythology Sleeve

Steven came to Lighthouse Tattoo as a referral from another great client of ours, Nick, who had gotten quite a bit of impressive work from Will himself. A few months later and this sleeve dedicated to Steven’s love of ancient Greek culture was complete.

(We have to apologize for some of the photo quality, as a couple of the shots pale in comparison to the actual work when viewed in person, but hey, we’re tattooers, not photographers, what’re ya gonna do?

The sleeve begins with portraits of the Greek philosophers Socrates and Thales of Miletus; descending through an Ouroborus on his elbow (not pictured) on to a depiction of Altas (his son’s namesake) on the top of his forearm. His bicep is covered with the sculpture of Perseus with the head of Medusa, completing the piece.

Steven’s not finished there however, as he has plans for building his body of work with copies of some of the greatest Renaissance and contemporary artwork in the world. Such a joy to work with a fellow connoisseur! See you again real soon Steven!

Lion Leg!

Our resident realism artist, founder, and fearless leader Will completed this lion portrait the height of an entire calf in under five hours a few weeks ago. His work has been the stuff of legend for some time, but we still stand in awe when pieces this good and large are completed so quickly. His ability to perform excellent work efficiently has made it possible for Lighthouse Tattoo to offer some of the best artwork around at affordable (not cheap!) prices. That’s also what keeps him busy, so please, if you’re interested in getting tattooed by one of the very best artists around, schedule your appointment with Will early!

Blackwork Tattoos

While on his apprentice journey here at Lighthouse Tattoo, Matt Steele has taken a liking to developing his skills at performing blackwork tattoos. A growing trend in the culture, Blackwork uses the simplicity of line and negative space to create a delicate balance of style and mass. It’s easy to see why such a striking style is taking the country by storm!

Know the Difference Between Elite and Bush League

Bush League: Not of the highest quality or sophistication; second-rate. Simple as that. You have a choice to make and Lighthouse Tattoo has made it easy for you with competitive pricing and custom, high-quality artwork. Don’t put something second best on your body forever. We have the best artists around, hands down. All it takes is one visit to our online portfolios or swing by the shop and see for yourself.

Now, we don’t mean to disparage our associates in the business, that happens too much in this business and that’s not what we’re trying to do. Bright Ideas does excellent quality, professional work and we recommend them to people if we’re too busy to get to them all the time.

But we’re the best.

We mean it.

No joke.

See for yourself: More than 60 years of combined experience; more awards for out-of-the-ordinary, time-tested quality artwork, from across the nation, than you can shake a pointy stick at; the best accessibility, open seven days a week, 10 hours a day; great customer service (unless you’re a jerk, we don’t like those); and we throw great parties. Plus, the goldfish are pretty awesome.

We’ll stand in comparison to any shop in the state. See it to believe it.

Lighthouse Tattoo

Our Professional Advice

It’s not at all unusual or strange for people to walk into Lighthouse Tattoo, stick a cell phone in our face and ask us ‘how much for this?’. It often helps things move along really quickly and efficiently. People know what they want and can show us without being vague because of internet technology.

However.

Also due to internet technology people are being exposed to pretty advanced forms of body modification without taking the steps to educate themselves on the unintended consequences of pursuing such extreme artforms. It makes for a slippery slope of inexperienced tattoo and piercing collectors skipping very important educational and experiential steps and finding themselves in the realm of extreme body mod with no one to help them avoid some major pitfalls.

No one except us, that is.

Lighthouse Tattoo has strict policies against performing tattoos or piercings on individuals who either do not understand or do not care that they could be unduly harming themselves through the process. Prohibited practices include: Hand, neck, and face tattoos on people who haven’t weathered the crucible of experience with regard to tattoo and public perception (people who are convicted felons and the independently wealthy are excluded from this group, as making a dicey tattoo choice is less likely to negatively affect them); Smiley piercings or any other piercing deemed unsafe by the Association of Professional Piercers; sexually suggestive piercings on minors (no genital or nipple piercing under 18; no tongue piercing under 16); finger tattoos are included in this, especially delicate or intricate work on fingers or pieces that are too small to hold up well over time. We also won’t do any ‘hate’ tattoos or gang affiliation tattoos, including confederate battle flags or racial pride tattoos of any kind.

We don’t do these things for good reason and you would be well served to listen to us, we’re professionals, after all.

If, in your infinite wisdom, you should decide not to listen to our more than 50 years of combined, award-winning tattoo experience, well, please don’t come into our shop. We won’t get along at all.

We ask two questions of ourselves before tattooing anyone: does this person know what they’re asking us for? and will it cause them undue harm? The first question is because some people approaching with ideas without fully understanding the symbolism being used, something that can result in a very unintended message being displayed, a real nightmare scenario. The second question is more nuanced. The idea being that getting your first tattoo will almost certainly create some sort of negative reactive somewhere in your life by some ignorant asshole or another. Most of us know that however, and we have all agreed not to let those people have power over our lives. The trouble comes when people take this too far, or too far too quickly and set themselves up for a level of difficulty that we at Lighthouse Tattoo don’t feel comfortable participating in.

Like the 19 year old girl who want her first tattoo to be a lotus flower ON HER FACE. No joke.

Or every burgeoning Soundcloud rapper who thinks they have to have face tattoos to ‘hit it big’.

Or anyone, no matter the age, who doesn’t understand that you can cause yourself a lot of harm by claiming so much ‘ownership’ over yourself that you completely disregard social mores and end up almost entirely unemployable.

Uh-uh, not gon’ do it.

We’re not judging you, we just understand that some people definitely will. We also understand that without a certain amount of experience navigating life with a significant amount of tattoo coverage you can’t possibly understand what it’s like. Talk about cultural appropriation!

Tattoos are awesome. We love them too. While they can hurt, they shouldn’t harm. We feel that tattoo regret is the single largest problem facing this lifestyle today and we don’t want to contribute to the problem. If you can’t understand this or don’t care how we feel, please go somewhere else.

If you understand what’s being said in this post and can appreciate that we won’t tattoo something on you unless it’s appropriate and won’t cause you harm, we welcome you into our growing family. Here’s to seeing you soon!

On Cover Ups

The photos pictured above are a cover-up of another tattoo. We published these shots in order to show that cover-ups don’t need to be overly dark blobs to cover some old regret. The most successful cover-ups are the ones who utilize the concepts of focus; color temperature; and contrast to camouflage the tattoo underneath. Now proud new owner of this Egyptian god Ra tattoo couldn’t be happier.

Lighthouse Tattoo is home to some of the best cover-up artists around, having dealt with so many unfortunate souls who have crossed paths with unsavory artists who would rather mutilate their unsuspecting customers for a few dollars rather than just tell them they’re not able to properly perform the tattoo of their choice.

Don’t be fooled by cheap imitations! Lighthouse Tattoo is the real deal! Visit us at 328 N. Cumberland St two blocks off the Lebanon, TN square across from David’s Pizza.

Gotta Love That Lovecraft!

Here’s the results of the second session, and that session healed, respectively, of this H.P. Lovecraft-inspired work done by our resident maestro of the macabre, Will Wood.

Interested in some dark art tattoos? Contact Lighthouse Tattoo at info@lighthousetattoo.net, by calling 615 784-4500, or swing by the shop in person to speak with an artist between the hours of noon and 10pm at 328 N. Cumberland St. in Lebanon, TN.

People are Strange

The Doors song People are Strange says it all:

‘People are strange when you're a stranger
Faces look ugly when you're alone
Women seem wicked when you're unwanted
Streets are uneven when you're down…’

Jason brought this idea to bear when contemplating the overall feel of the sleeve he was planning: The dark and foreboding sensation we all feel when faced with unfamiliar new places, and faces. For some it’s exciting, many people love to travel and make new friends. For others, the anxiety the unfamiliar poses is almost unbearable, and the longer we avoid these very situations we fear, the worse the anxiety becomes.

An homage to the way we must challenge ourselves in order to grow and an acknowledgement of the Jung-ian description of the monster within we must all embrace in order to fully realize our potential, this piece promises to challenge it’s owner, the artist, and the viewer at once.

All Done!

Having added the most recent ‘hear no’ piece to his ‘see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil’ composition, Jason gets to realize the satisfaction of having a vision of his completed. The tone set by the piece is indeed a dark one, but the level of detail and density of the work create an exciting starting point for his sleeve of the macabre. The darkness within ourselves and each other being something we must all consider and come to terms with before realizing how much good we can be capable of and how choosing that goodness isn’t always easy.

This photo was actually taken a couple of weeks after the tattoo was finished, as Jason came in to get the next installment of his Darkness Within sleeve started. Stay logged in to LighthouseTattoo.net for further updates on this challenging (in many ways) piece!

A Tribute to Robin Williams

Though some may not recognize him from this photo (certainly not due to the quality fo this fabulous tattoo, but the age of the man at the time the photo was taken), you will definitely be familiar with some of his characters: Mork from Ork; Mrs. Doubtfire; Peter Pan from Hook; the Fisher King; and many, many more.

Robin Williams is like so many of us who struggle to put on a brave face when dealing with adversity. But unlike so many of he, he succeeded in bring joy to huge swaths of the world. Films like Jack and What Dreams May Come lifted us up and brought us to tears, while Good Morning Vietnam made laughter give way to anger. His fans all have their favorite and Will chose to share his with us- “Mork on Happy Days, gotta be the best. I loved Mork as a kid, still do.”

What’s your favorite Robin Williams incarnation? The Genie from Aladdin? His standup years? His relationship with Christopher Reeves?

Rest in Peace Robin, Nanu-Nanu.

A Word on Walk-ins...

Well, it’s tax refund season again.

Annnd stimulus check time…

Plus Matt finally hit his stride tattooing a few months ago.

In short, just like every other tattoo shop in the country, we’ve been busy. We get calls from clients wanting to know our walk-in availability daily. As hard as we’ve tried, we still get frustration from people who are either ignorant, too impatient, or generally rude regarding how walk-ins are supposed to work. We will take a bit of time to explain the way we and a lot of shops do things here:

  1. The actual definition of a walk-in tattoo varies somewhat depending on who you ask. Some people think that a walk-in means that you can get tattooed right when you walk in. That’s usually not the case. The term Walk-in refers to any tattoo client who doesn’t have an appointment who wants to get tattooed that day. As such, if we have walk-in availability, it might not be for hours, but we can still get you in sometime that day, so that would be considered a walk-in.

  2. Walk-in tattoos differ in complexity from tattoo appointment tattoos. Walk-ins tend to be simple, relatively quick affairs that can be done in a single, usually less than a couple of hours long session. Most tattoo shops, especially during this time, won’t have any availability longer than that any way, and then, usually only in a case where someone failed to show up for their appointment.

  3. Call-ins are not walk-ins: This is probably the biggest point of contention we have with people (re: jackasses). People who call and ask if we have availability for walk-ins are told the same thing no matter what: YES. The reason we do this is several-fold. First, we have no idea what is going to happen during the day. People miss their appointments; tap out early; sometimes the artists overestimate the time needed to do a piece; sometimes artists are willing to stay late to accomodate people; tons of things can happen during the course of the day to change our availability. Some days are busy with lots of walk-in business, some days involve only tattooing our scheduled appointments and going home. Our boss tells us to tell everyone the same thing when they ask about walk-ins: Tell them to come in.

    It’s simple mathematics: If we tell everyone to come in, only some of those people actually show up. Of the people that do show up, we can get some in, others will need an appointment Of the ones who need appointments, some will set an appointment and other will not. Of the ones who do not set an appointment, some will get angry and leave us a one star review on Google, which we will hilariously clown via this website due to that person’s rote ignorance.

    If you get angry with us for telling you to come in and what you want requires us to schedule you an appointment in order to give you the best possible outcome, simply put, you’re a moron. You’ll also get barred from coming back to the shop. Ever.

    Will threw three young ladies out yesterday because they all wanted to get tattooed as walk-ins, it took them over an hour to get here between the time they called and the time they arrived, and we were only going to be able to get two of them in that day for sure. The young ladies immediately expressed their displeasure about the situation, instead of thanking us for taking the time to take care of them. While Matt was drawing up the first piece another one of their group was calling other tattoo shops from our lobby. I’ll explain why this is a terrible mistake: It was obvious to us that if those girls found a shop that said they could all get tattooed that day they would leave, after having Matt already begin work for them, and go get tattooed together, without offering to pay Matt for his time. It’s happened before. WIll asked the girls to leave. They asked why and he couldn’t find the patience to explain to the girls the offensive nature of their actions and for those of you who don’t know Will, his bullshit tolerance has gone entirely to hell. The conversation wasn’t going to go well, so Will asked them to leave, again. They didn’t move. It was getting tense. This author can’t remember the next exchange but Will rather loudly expressed his distaste for these ladies and politely asked them to leave the fucking shop. Some people’s kids.

    This amusing anecdote hopefully serves to explain that we have very little control over what other people are doing; when we are busy; what happens between the time you call and the time you came in; and any of a million other things that can impact when we can take walk-ins and when we can’t. Our solemn promise to you is that we will do our best to get everyone in that we can. Really. It’s also our contention that not everyone who calls or comes through the door is a good client and if you choose to mistreat us you’ll be asked to leave and not return. If you don’t understand these things you’re probably part of the problem.

    To the rest of you who have cooperated so beautifully with us during this busiest of tattooing seasons: Thank you, we love you, and once it slows down a bit we will be announcing a big party to show our appreciation for you!

Those of us at Lighthouse Tattoo are doing our best to serve you. Please be patient with us and we promise not to let you down! Please remember the Golden Rule: Treat others the way you want to be treated, and we’ll get along just fine!

Old Blue Eyes and a Bombshell Blonde

Jennifer came to Lighthouse Tattoo for a portrait of Marilyn Monroe a few months ago. She has no intention of getting more than that singular piece. Six hours after she sat down to get started, she’d decided she wanted more. This portrait of Frank Sinatra is fresh, showing some of the changes that occur during the healing process when compared to the months-healed Marilyn Monroe. Jennifer has already decided on another tattoo from Will, a portrait of the late, great Dean Martin! Stay logged in to Lighthousetattoo.net for updates on this evolving artwork.

Slightly Inspired

This slightly H.P. Lovecraft-inspired skull was born after a late-night viewing of ‘The Lighthouse’. What can we say? Will loves watching movies and he easily finds inspiration when you bring up anything skull-rific! This session got cut a bit short, so stay tuned to see how the finished product unfolds… we expect great things from it.

If you’re interested in all things Lovecraft, feel free to swing by Lighthouse Tattoo between the hours of noon and 10pm seven days a week and let us help you realize your dreams…or nightmares!