Halloween Party!!!

On Saturday, October 18th, starting at 8pm, Lighthouse Tattoo will be hosting our annual Halloween Party! Those of you who know, know. For those of you who haven’t had the privilege of attending: This free event is open to the public (so bring friends); is BYOB (do your dope at home or in the car, wherever, just not here, please and thank you); is a costume party replete with costume contests and prizes (check out the flier); and is likely the most fun thing you’ll do all day.

Hell Awaits

This third installment of a Heaven/Hell/Salvation backpiece offers a vision on what’s waiting in Hell. This large piece was rendered in a single 7,5 hour sitting by resident realism artist Will Wood, who is widely regarded as the best in the business, at least in middle Tennessee. To see more of his work or possibly schedule an appointment with him, simply click on his name under the Artists tab on this website or the Set an Appointment tab and mention his name.

Jason Voorhees Can't Swim

Come on dude. You’re telling me one of the greatest silent psychos of all time was created because no one in 1980 figured you needed a safety declaration that little Jason here wasn’t a strong swimmer? Those were different times for sure. Well, here’s one for helicopter parenting.

Jason, really only evil because he seems to have such a problem with cheap drugs and free sex, has been a registered Republican since his introduction in the 1980 Friday the 13th film. But we didn’t really fall in love with him until part 3, when he got that hockey mask. Jason’s come a long way since then, as have the rest of us. He went to Manhattan, then space, fought Freddy, and even stopped killing the black guy first. But the poor bastard never did learn how to swim.

Michael Myers

Silent psychos are one of the things that make horror movies great. They add a sense of mystery to a recipe so straightforward- run, hide. But why? What made this psycho so psycho? Maybe we’ll never know. To the best of our knowledge, Michael Myers comes second only to Leatherface in the genre of franchise horror silent psycho killers. Try saying that three times fast.

In honor of our upcoming Halloween Party on October 18th, we thought we’d share a few horror-inspired pieces with you. Enjoy!

Cast Down

Will Wood is simply one of the very best tattoo artists in the Southeastern United States. With over 20 years of experience, his black and grey realism is regarded, even by his haters, as world class. This tattoo would be a great example of that skill, except it wasn’t done by Will.

Amanda Gibbs has been apprenticing at Lighthouse Tattoo for about 2 years now. Between her own lifelong passion for pursuing visual art and Will’s undeniable expertise in the medium of tattoo, this depiction of the archangel Gabriel casting Satan out of Heaven is the culmination of that time, passion, and expertise. We expect great things from Amanda, great things indeed.

and she smells better than Will, too!

Jesus Christ

We love the Lord. Well, some of us do. While not what you’d call a Christian tattoo shop, our owner Will is a Christian, though not a very good one, and if you want to talk to him about matters of faith, be our guest! Be forewarned, it can turn into an all-day conversation.

That being said we feel the need to address an issue we’ve become aware of: Lighthouse Tattoo does not perform Satanic tattoos.

Take a breath. We do demons and depictions of evil monsters all the time, we love it. We do logos for metal bands that have satanic themes, no sweat. We also don’t have a problem tattooing secular satanic imagery such as that Church of Satan statue of Baphomet since it’s largely an atheist organization that promotes ideals of religious freedom, freedom even FROM religion, in a hilariously cheeky fashion. We do tattoos from many other religions as well.

HOWEVER. If you actually worship Satan and want a tattoo dedicated to such, we have only this to say: Please reconsider. Lighthouse Tattoo has a relatively simple ‘No Hate’ policy when it comes to what we will and won’t do and the religious depiction of Satan is that of hate personified, in any positive light.

If this seems like splitting hairs to you, or you’re willing to lie to try to sneak one past us, Lighthouse Tattoo probably isn’t the place for you.

That being said, Jesus loves you. Even if you’re weird. Even if you’re trans/short/fat/ugly/dumb/rich/poor/atheist yada, yada, yada, you get the idea. You matter; it matters, and we’d all be a bit better off if we slowed down long enough to see the value in that value. All the best ~Lighthouse

An Introduction

Our latest addition to Lighthouse Tattoo is young Vanessa. These hotrod flames around a wrist are one of her early forays into wraparound tattoos and we’re quite pleased with her progress over these last few months. We have no idea what the pirate duck is about, but we like it, so we kept it in for your enjoyment. Vanessa is currently accepting new clients and she focuses primarily on Traditional American-style tattoos. If this seems up your alley and you’d like to save some money by getting a tattoo from this young tatter tot, you can contact Lighthouse Tattoo by calling 615-784-4500 or fill out the submission form on our ‘set an appointment’ tab on this website.

Wyatt Earp

This is a poor cellphone photo of a really fun tattoo that our artist Will Wood performed while doing an out-of-town guest spot. We’ll be sure to get you a healed photo ASAP.

Tombstone is a singularly great stylized western film starring Kurt Russell as Wyatt Earp, depicting the Texas law man and the historic gunfight with the Cowboys at the OK Corral. Decades later and people still love the film, so much so, that another Wyatt Earp film starring Kevin Costner has been completely overshadowed. To his credit, Russell’s performance didn’t wither when compared to a uniquely great portrayal of John ‘Doc’ Holliday by the late Val Kilmer. We love the movie, we love the tattoo, we hope you do too!

Greek Mythology Leg Sleeve WIP

We’re not sure if you can tell from the photo, but this tattoo is an ankle-to-knee monster. This WIP (Work-In-Progress) is going on one of our favorite and most prolific clients. What can we say, we love the guy. After two full sleeves and full torso of work from our awarding-winning realism artist (and the fucking best around) Will Wood, he’s finally moving on to his legs.

This piece, in keeping with a Greco-Roman mythology theme, is based on the story of the Gorgon Medusa, one of the most favored stories completing with the likes of the Labors of Hercules and the stories of Perseus. We wanted to give you a little taste, rest assured we’ll be keeping you updated on this magnificent body of work!

Tiny Tattoo Tuesdays

With the increased costs of medical supplies since Covid and the corresponding jump in inflation, the price of tattooing has continued to rise at a time when wages aren’t keeping up with the cost of living. That giant sucking sound your bank account makes every time you go to pay rent is a stark reminder of that. The average home price in the U.S. has risen 45-50% in the last four years. Simply put, if your pay hasn’t doubled in the same time frame, you’re fucked. We think that’s wrong.

So here’s what we’re doing about it: To coincide with our on-going $300 for 5 hour sessions, on TUESDAYS of the next couple of weeks, Lighthouse Tattoo will be offering tiny tattoos at half-price, even below our normal minimum.

Normally we have an $80 minimum to cover our expenses, but a lot of you have come in asking for really small pieces and at times we’ve gone below our base price to take care of you, but we need to concentrate those small pieces into a single day in order to make it cost-effective for us. This should make the practice sustainable and thus, you can get tiny tattoo for as little as $40. We think this is the lowest price for any tattoo anywhere within miles.

What’s a tiny tattoo you ask? Some examples of recent requests: A single-line cross on a wrist, a little, single-lined red heart, ‘let them’ in single-line cursive, a linework butterfly/angel wings/sun/moon. We’re not trying to get rich doing these tattoos, we feel that they are as legitimate as any other tattoo requests, and we think it’s not fair to force people to pay that minimum is we can help it. With your help, we can change the way things are done.

So call us now and set up your appointment to get your tiny tattoo starting this Tuesday, September 17th! We look forward to seeing you!

An Update

A few weeks ago, in an attempt to combat a ferocious economy and offer some relief to the tattoo crowd, Lighthouse Tattoo started a sale of $300 for a 5-hour session. We told you we would continue this sale as long as heavy participation allowed us to remain profitable and to your credit, it’s been a fine success. With this is mind, we will be continuing the $300/5hr sale for the month of September. Please remember that we need your active participation to keep this sale alive, so get that tattoo you’ve been waiting for, share this post with your friends, and live a little in a world that seems so intent on keeping us all down!

Guard Your Heart, WIP

Breakups are never easy, even when they’re necessary. When your ex is so screwed up they decide to take you with them into some rabbit hole to Hell, well that’s a trope we’re all too familiar with. The psycho ex is the thing of high Hollywood drama, after all. That combination of Fatal Attraction and Pacific Heights where it seems that same ex has nothing better to do than try to destroy your life? well that’s the inspiration for this tattoo.

Guard Your Heart is about the evil that our lost loves can render upon us once our apparent usefulness has come to an end. Far too many of us know this feeling. The stalker, the midnight caller, the cyber vigilante dm’ing your every new prospectful lover, someone who refuses to relinquish a codependency they’d grown all too accustomed to.

That’s the road to Hell they say is paved with good intentions. Staying in a relationship for fear of retaliation is a pretty damn good sign to get out of it in the first place, but all too many folks stick around out of a pronounced sense of responsibility for their partner, dysfunctional though the relationship may be.

So, kids, remember to guard your heart. You’ll be happy you did.

Praying Hands and Dove Tattoo

Prayer is something a lot of people have gotten away from. Maybe they feel like it’s pointless, maybe they think they just don’t have the time. Still other’s will say God’s not listening.

Then those same people will wonder why things don’t go their way.

Look, I’m not saying that people who pray get everything they want but I WILL tell you this: The mindset of a prayerful person lends them to a sense of awe and gratitude that will serve them far better than anything a nihilist worldview has to offer. Prayer isn’t begging, it isn’t asking for favors, it’s a conscious display of faith; a way of communing with a higher power; and a way of reminding ourselves of what’s really important in our lives, a centering exercise that even the most jaded could benefit from. That’s the Truth.

So maybe give it a shot. It can start with something as little as taking the time to get your thoughts together before beginning a hectic day, or a few minutes spent re-grouping after lunch, a simple practice of mindfulness. It can become the thing that holds you together in the darkest of times.

Let us pray.

Realistic Lion Tattoo

This large realistic lion thigh piece was performed by artist Will Wood in a single 7 hour session. It’s large and delicately detailed, without seeming bulky or dark, striking a wonderful balance of beauty and power. We’ll post some healed photos soon!

Dragon Backpiece WIP

What can we say, except it’s a giant fantasy-style dragon backpiece tattoo that we’re working on? I mean, that kinda covers it.

This is the result of the second session and we hope it gives you some insight into how larger pieces like this are executed. We’ll be posting regular updates on this piece over the coming weeks as Will begins revving up his winter larger-scale tattoo projects. Why start your large-scale projects in the fall, you ask? So they can be completed in time for Spring without hindering your outdoor activities like swimming or boating. Some folks just can’t wait, like this young lady, and we’re happy to accommodate, but it’s best to do the lion’s share (or in this case, dragon’s share) of the work when the sun is lower on the horizon.

Xenomorph WIP

WIP simply means Work-In-Progress. While this piece may look finished to many, there’s still more to do involving adding highlights and backgrounds. Due to the sensitive nature of the placement of this tattoo on the inner bicep, Will chose to break this piece into 2 sessions to keep his client alive. You see, at Lighthouse Tattoo, we only accept clients who are currently living.

Jokes aside, pain management is a very real part of the process when it comes to tattoo and it’s something we take seriously. Advancements in the technology of tattoo machines, pigments, numbing creams, even stencil application help to create a more tolerable, if not downright comfortable experience. Aside from the obvious reduction of the ‘squirm factor’, it’s our fervently held belief that clients who enjoy the experience of getting their tattoo will repeat that experience and that’s great for all parties involved. But your grandma may hate it.

Not that all grandmas hate tattoos, some are quite fond of them, but as demographics go, of the people who dislike tattoos, grandmas are pretty high in the list. Doesn’t mean we don’t still love you Granny, we just wish you’d quit making that face at us at Thanksgiving.