Markbinnit's Blog

Watch “SUCK MY INK 070212.mov” on YouTube

markbinnit — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 11:10:58 +0000

Here’s a short documentary about myself and my studio made by Olimata Jeng. It’s her first film and I think it’s turned out great. Check it out and I hope you enjoy it.

Script and Roses!

markbinnit — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:18:12 +0000

This piece has two of my favorite elements in it, sript lettering and black and grey roses. I come from a background of graffiti writing and I am a trained sign writer so lettering has always attracted me. I love big bold statements like this and I always enjoy tattooing pieces like this.

Script lettering is very popular at the moment so I am tending to see a lot of it around. Some good, some bad! The worst stuff I see is when it is copied directly from a computer font…It tend to look a bit lifeless and dull.A bit like a potato print. It needs to be drawn by hand to create a good flow with decoration to give it that extra little something.

It takes a good while to master a strong script style but it’s worth the effort and time so that lettering can look so much more than just words scrawlled onto the skin!!!

Cougar v’s Cobra!

markbinnit — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:58:56 +0000

I haven’t got too much to say about this piece on Ken except that it was great fun to do and I’m very pleased with the outcome. A guy asked him to cover up his arms in the pub a while ago because the cougar look too real and it was creeping him out..I don’t know about that but I think it does the job!

Hand drawn custom tattoos!

markbinnit — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:41:43 +0000

I started this idea of covering the walls with my drawings and stencils a few months back. It’s nice to have a record of your work and it’s better than throwing all this stuff out.
The main reason though is, I’d to give as much visual imagery for clients to look at.
Hopefully, over the next few years I’ll be able to completely cover the whole working area so I’ll add more photos as it fills up and keep you all posted.

Black & Grey Roses!

markbinnit — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 19:12:19 +0000

I really enjoyed tattooing this piece. Especially as I only booked it the day before to fill cancellation.

Love me, love me not?

markbinnit — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 19:03:58 +0000

I’be tattooed s few pairs of hands lately but these are my favorites. Especially with Valentine’s day just around the corner.

Aldo the Apache!

markbinnit — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 18:55:05 +0000

Aldo the Apache done on Harvey. It was a bit tricky getting the width of the face correct over the arc of the foot. It took a little redrawing but I think I cracked it.
I loved Inglorious Basterds, especially Brad Pitt’s character. It was fun trying to get his hanging scar just right.

The Gypsy Gentlemen

markbinnit — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 13:06:51 +0000

http://gypsygentlemen.com I’d really like to push this show. It has to be the most informative tattoo tv to date. Great history and a real insight into the minds of great tattooers and how much work they put into plying their craft.
It’s independently created based on donations, so if you enjoy it please help them out.
Keep an eye out in episode 1 for a really talented tattooer by the name of Thomas Hooper. He worked for me very early on in his career and it makes me very proud to see how he has grown into the master of his craft and a very respected tattooer.

Shopping around!

markbinnit — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 12:12:32 +0000

I don’t think that at anytime in my eighteen years of tattooing there has been so many shops to choose from.
Just recently my wife decided to take an internet tour of all the local shops online.
The one thing she noticed straight away was the lack of portfolios there were on all these sites and the claims they were making without a photographic record of their work to back them up.
One shop in particular claims that after their phenomenal two years of experience. They are now regarded as the best studio in East Sussex. The guy that runs this sham came and asked me for an apprenticeship. Which I declined! A year later he opened up the afore mentioned shop and proceeded to scratch away creating more cover up work for the better studios.
Another problem locally is a non-tattooer business man opening up what I can only call a tattoo shop chain. This joker has at least three shops now and employs anyone with a tattoo machine, including more than one failed apprentice of mine. It’s an easy way in for the eBay wannabe to get the opportunity to ply their lack of skills on the unsuspecting public.
It wouldn’t be professional of me to name names here however much I’d like to. Or to blow my own trumpet! All I’m trying to do is to stress the idea that whatever tattoo you are looking for, shopping around and doing research before committing to a particular tattooer is of the up most importance! The thing to remember is that owning a shop doesn’t make someone a good tattooer. It just makes them someone that owns a shop.
Also, listening to the so called advice of others usually has no bearing in choice either. Because your mates say, go to this guy, he’s really cheap or he’s an alright bloke should ring alarm bells instantly.
I’m not saying that everyone should get tattooed at my shop. There are a lot of great tattooers in the East Sussex area. A lot of them are good friends of mine and have tattooed me. What I’m saying is, don’t believe the hype! Take some time and look at the experience and portfolio of the tattooer you are considering getting tattooed by. A good strong portfolio is key here and their ability to transform your ideas into a workable design you’ll be proud to look at in the mirror for the rest of your life.
This blog is only my thoughts and observations but I also hope that in some way it will be helpful for you all in making the right choices in your tattoo collection.
Like I’ve said earlier. We are now working in an over saturated market. There are a lot of great tattooers out there but there are even more fools. So my advice is take your time and make the right choices based on skills not bullshit.
Most of all, have fun and maybe I’ll see some of you soon.

Scorpion!!!

markbinnit — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:04:14 +0000

I really enjoyed this piece. There’s something about critters crawling on people. I must have watched too many Indiana Jones movies.