tattoo Archives - Matt Hodel Tattoo

The Japanese Tattoo In 1997 and 1998 I visited Japan to tattoo and learn. It was a trip that shaped the rest of my career. I brought home 2 suitcases of books that I purchased while traveling. From these books and my experience in Japan, my love for the Japanese tattoo was born. Over my…

Becoming Heavily Tattooed. Swapping stories about getting your first tattoo is fun. It’s a lot like bagging about fishing tales or near death experiences. Your nerves overestimated the environment and the adjectives don’t quite capture the maximum effect your trying to articulate. There is a feeling that the only way someone else can understand is…

The common tattooist in the marketplace relies heavily on Instagram and Facebook. While the tools of social media have simplified the process to get your name out into the market, they are not without their draw backs. Let us think of Instagram as a link in the chain for driving new clients to a contact…

The common business model for tattooing is the Street Shop. It was originally an Apprentice based program for all new hires. The single new hire relied on the mentorship of the owner to be trained from the ground up. In return, the novice artist paid him back with a 50 percent stake of all labor…

Humans have had rituals for years. Rituals mark the end or a beginning. It is a time to put your mind and body at one and to be consciously in the moment. Examples would be graduating from college, getting married or how we prepare our morning coffee. The Masons are famous for there secretive rituals. …

Putting the extra into your hard work is what makes you rise to the top. Nothing will be given to you. What is amazing is how many people will come to help you once you have started to help yourself. I have found that staying in motion is the key to advancing my career. This…

In 1995 there were 14 tattoo shops from O’fallon, Illinois to O’fallon, Missouri. In 1998 there were 40. With each shop averaging 3 artists working in house, that would equal 78 new jobs for tattoo artists in three years. That is almost a 300% increase in the industry. As impressive as those numbers are, where…

Emotionally driven tattoos When a loved one passes away, the feelings of helplessness washes over us. The desire to “do something” gnaws at our heartstrings. Tattooing has always been the ultimate act. The one thing you can do that truly lasts a lifetime. Just getting a tattoo is a statement within itself so it is…

Measuring success. What is your barometer for success? What are your benchmarks to get there? Have you been making progress? As self employed practitioners of the tattoo arts, we enjoy a rebellious reaction to those outside our craft. We boast of travel and freedom while we enjoy a walk of life that few will understand.…

Sometimes I feel so swamped drawing new tattoos for clients that I forget how much I have done. They say if you wanna have self esteem, do something to be esteemed about! I’m posting this as a reminder to lift my head from the grind and appreciate what I do and who I have met.…

www.blurb.com I love Blurb. I just got done making another portfolio. In the past I have used Adobe InDesign to layout my books. Doing it this way gives me a lot of control of the layout. Today I decided to use their HTML book making option. I was surprised at how much control I really…

Being successful isn’t out of your reach. I use an app called flip book. It searches the internet for me and brings back topics I’m interested in. Today, the blog I reposted below came across my feed. I was thinking, “I wish I would have read stuff like this years ago!” Instantly I realized I…

2015 was an awesome riding season. We really pushed my dyna to its limits. Traveling through 9 states we cover a few thousand miles of back roads. We did our best to stay off the interstates and the rewards were plentiful. I finally used my warranty I got from Docs. It expires in two weeks.…

This is Tom. Guess what Tom does? Mechanics and Gearheads will recognize his tattoos instantly. That’s Tom’s tribe. If Tom got stuck in some shitty dinner party with a bunch of stuck up assholes, he would stick out like a sore thumb. But if another guest recognized Tom’s tattoos and showed him his arms…

Sketch Book Pro https://www.sketchbook.com/ This is the starter kit drawing program for the intimidated and computer inept artist. I have shown this program to tattoo artists around the country. Artists that had never drawn digitally took to Sketchbook very quickly. Sketchbook is a stripped down drawing program. It is very intuitive for a traditional artist…

When Nathan was ask what he wanted to be when he grew up, he said “A professional baseball player”. His fourth grade teacher told him to pick something real. I think this pushed him harder. She was right that he wouldn’t become a Ballplayer. My brother ended up spending 9 years with the Arizona Cardinals,…

Sketches from old conventions.

Grant Wyatt stopped by today. I haven’t seen him in over a decade. He is living life to the fullest in Vietnam. A Missionary, he and his family give hope to those we only see on TV. Acting as a liaison, he helps direct the support given to smaller villages in rural Vietnam. How…

Jacob Doty Age: 22 Hometown: Billings, Montana Occupation: St. Louis Blues, Chicago Wolves Position: Foward “Why I got this tattoo is because I live away from home a lot and wanted something to always remind me of home. Remind me where I came from and never to forget my roots.” If…

It’s easy to forget how much time has passed by while an idea has remained hidden from the world, locked in your brain. Something that you’ve been telling yourself you’ll “get to at some point,” or that “will be really great one day.” [wr_divider div_margin_top=”0″ div_margin_left=”0″ div_margin_bottom=”25″ div_margin_right=”0″ div_border_width=”2″ div_border_style=”solid” div_border_color=”#E0DEDE” divider_width=”100″ disabled_el=”no” ][/wr_divider] Knock…

A recurring theme in my life in the last few years has been encouraging others to see the opportunities all around them. To not get so hung up on boundaries, but to focus on the potential adventure. The following article captures concisely the process and value of recognizing the infinite opportunities around us. Please share…

“When you are in competition with others, you get bitter. When you are in competition with yourself you get better.” Competition is healthy. Like most traits, using competition in the wrong way can be self destructive. Using other’s successes as your barometer isn’t reliable. Sometimes I can get jealous of other people’s success and forget…

It has been almost two and a half years since I made the digital switch. Here are a few drawing from the early days. It didn’t take much time to get used to drawing on my Cintiq. I wonder how many trees I have saved? Matt Hodel www.matthodeltattoo.com

The Koi Fish There is meaning. It’s whatever meaning you give it. Sometimes just the experience of getting a tattoo is the meaning. Don’t think so hard. On this friday I FlashBack to five Koi fish on five different clients. Every client is unique. How I chose to draw a tattoo is very much a…

The majority of my career has been the equivalent of processing fish. People lined up to get tattooed and I tried to get through the day as efficiently as possible without losing quality. I don’t regret the early years of 8-10 tattoos a day. Without those formative years and work in a short time frame,…