One and DONE! Last weekend at the Fifth Annual Carolina Tattoo and Art Gallery we entered a single contest with Tasha’s Ice Cube portrait and brought home an award for most realistic black and grey!!! Not too shabby at all!!

We also have to say that the awards at the show were SUPER COOL! There is a local distillery in Lenoir and the trophies were made from old whiskey barrels that still smell like the alcohol that aged in them. That’s a great touch by the hosts of the convention, Dragon’s Den Tattoo Company. The tattoo that won was her portrait of Ice Cube.

Another highlight from the show was Tasha had the unbelievable opportunity to be coached by the one and only Jime Litwalk (you may have seen him on Ink Masters Season 3 where he placed second in the finale). To have had the opportunity to learn from such a prolific figure in the industry is quite a moment. We can’t say enough about his talent, how he has honed his craft and how gracious he was.

Tasha also got tattooed at the show, by Will. Her new piece is a black and grey portrait of Livio Scarpella’s Veiled Souls from his series “Ghost Underground” which depicts ghostly souls both peaceful and in anguish. The photos above are of the tattoo and the reference photo that was used.

Once again, we would like to say thank you to Lenoir, North Carolina and the Carolina Tattoo and Art Gathering for being such gracious hosts. The scenery was beautiful, the food was amazing and we walked away from the convention with new friends that are genuine, kind and amazingly talented. Overall, it was a great weekend.