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O.C. Inkhouse Tattoo Studios Grand Opening Art Gallery
Artwork from OC INKHOUSE Tattoo Studios Grand Opening
As it is California has about as many tattoo studios as Kat Von D has tattoos. To many to count. Yet only a hand full actually stand out like a sore thumb and offer a talent really worth paying for. So how do you mark your entrance into the tattoo World in Cali? By throwing one mammoth party. And this is exactly what the O.C. Inkhouse situated in the city of Lake Forest in Orange County decided to do. There was no inkling as to how good this opening would be which in turn just added to its success. The line up sounded trustworthy as to who would attend yet no one expected to see all the greatest faces in the tattoo industry accompanied by their art work.
Artwork by Big Gus / OC Inkhouse
To start off with arriving at the studio it was tightly packed with people, a tour bus lined up out front, a generous taco stand inside and some faces that made you double take when seeing them. Some names to those faces were the likes of Pink, Fieldy from the band Korn, and former NBA star Dennis Rodman. The studio itself has been tastefully decorated with a tattoo machine giving the appearance of being sunken in to the front desk, dollar bills scattered and stuck to the ground. Also every artist beholds their own room which is graffitied or muraled up personifying it and reflecting part of their personality.
Artwork by Franco Vescovi / OC Inkhouse
So here's the history behind the O.C. Inkhouse. Owned by partners Franco Vescovi and Sean Rennels, this well renown shop has had to work hard to be recognized in the industry, its not been an easy ride. They've been in business for a astonishing 7 years already, which is a rather long time considering Franco is a mere 32 years old. Franco alone is a greatly respected tattoo artist dedicating his time to traditional black and grey fine line tattooing style that is the heart and soul of the West Coast tattoo lifestyle. His ink has etched its way in the skin of the likes of Travis Barker and Dennis Rodman and also an uncountable amount of clients. Not only that, but Franco has created some of the most recognized and well worn logos for brands such as FAMOUS and SILVER STAR.
He started inking at the age of 17 and decided to open the studio at 25. So this really was a re-opening of a successful tattoo studio that had formerly out grown its skin. Ingeniously he used all of his best contacts in the industry for one memorable party that was open to everyone. Franco admits that the turn out was staggering, "I've tattooed for 15 years and I am only 32 so growing up in the industry I’ve learned along the way, many of the artists I look up to attended my studio and also helped out, it was exciting and hard to believe that it turned out this way."
Artwork by Chuey Quintanar / Tattooland Tattoos
The atmosphere was comfortable with the "A" list artists mingling with the modest fans. Appearances by O.G. Abel, Tattoo Tony, Jose Lopez, Steve Soto, Boog seemed a healthy enough turn out yet there were many more artists then met the eye. Apart from the great vibe, free tacos, drink, DJ Arkane at the reception there were finer things to be appreciated. A gallery courtesy of the attending artists kept everyone memorized all through the night. Some of the most stunning pieces were lent to the studio in recognition of it's opening. Noah, Big Gus, Mister Cartoon, Micheal Godard, Jack Rudy, Fonzy, O.G Abel, Chuey... not forgetting photography from the likes of Estevan Oriol and Edgar Hoill.
Artwork by Fonzy
Even though the gallery has now ended taking a trip to the Inkhouse is much in order. With the likes of Big Gus, Mario, Luke Morse, Sean Rennels and of course Franco himself tattooing there the quality and selection are hard to knock. As they say “you think it, we ink it!” A mention of a summer party has been talked about so go ahead and check out more of the Inkhouse artist's at: myspace.com/eltoroinkhouse
Exclusive BrownPride.com feature written by Alicia en Califas and photography by Sal Rojas.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS OF TATTOOS and TATTOO STUDIOS
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