At the Richmond Tattoo Show last year, I was told to check out a portfolio from a guy by the name of Timmy B. He wasn't at his booth, but I looked through photos of his work --I was impressed, to say the least. As he approached the booth, I was shocked to see someone under the age of forty standing before me. At only twenty-three years old, Timmy has become the talk of the east coast over the past few years. This could be credited to his relentless travel schedule, but I think with work like his it was just a matter of time before his name was on the tip of everyone's tongue.
TattooSnob:Let's run through the basics before we start. Tell us a little bit
about yourself?
Timmy B: My name is Timmy B, although some internet folks may know me better as Timmy Nitemare, long story, but I'm ok with that. I'm currently working at Cherry Bomb Tattoos in New Port Richey, FL alongside an awesome realism tattooer named Billy Toler. I've been tattooing about 5 years now and have to say the experiences I've had are unbelievable. One of the more recent being that I am now sponsored by Eternal Inks and that is a huge accomplishment for me, so I have to say thanks so much again for picking me up. I am beyond grateful for the people I've met and get to call my friends, I love what I'm doing and wouldn't trade it for the world.
TS:I'm sure people make comments about your age on at least a semi-regular basis--but seriously, how are you such an amazing tattooer at only 23? Any idea where you feel like you'll be at 33?
TB: I do get the age thing a lot, being 23 has its perks but it also can have its downfalls. Certain people judge a lot on age and assume someone who's as young as I am must know nothing about tattooing. I usually leave my age out of things and let the work speak for itself but hey, you can't win em all. All I can say is that I'm just trying to better myself and experiment with style all the time and I hope I can keep doing it until I'm 33. I'm just grateful I have the opportunity to do what I do and really hope to continue learning for as long as possible.
TS:How would you describe your work? Your portfolio shows you feel comfortable with a number of different styles.
TB: I hate this question, haha, My style I guess is something along the lines of Illustrative realism with a lot of Traditional or neo traditional feeling and influence. I've dabbled into a lot of styles and I am comfortable doing a lot, my primary focus is really to just give someone a solid tattoo that won't fall apart in 5 years. Only time will tell I guess so 5 years from now if you see my style completely change, you'll know why....
TS:I know you've done quite a bit of traveling in the past, do you plan to continue that in 2010?
Timmy: I was going to try and settle down a bit for 2010, but that definitely didn't happen. I'm doing a lot of shows this year that span all over the country as well as a few guest spots, and there is also a Europe trip along the way which is pretty exciting. I would list the shows and guest spots but that would pretty much take forever so I'll spare you the reading..haha.
TS:Are there any cities or shops that have become favorites because of your trips?
TB: I Love Chicago, Denver was great, one of my absolute favorites would definitely be Austin Texas, I always have a blast out there and a lot of my good friends work out there. As far as shops, No Surrender in Texas was amazing, thank you Mr. Zach Ross, and Ink and Dagger in Decatur GA is always interesting, And as we all know that the infamous and famous Russ Abbott is the owner, and he's my favorite teddy bear. This question is to hard though, I always have a blast on my guest spots and every shop I go to is always filled with great and talented people so I can list them all. But you know who you are, thanks everyone.
TS:In terms of conventions, do you enjoy working them or do you only
attend a select few?
TB: I love working conventions, Its like seeing your family on a holiday, you get the chance to see a ton of great people and your best friends all put into one place for the 3 or 4 days and just do good tattoos and party. I always look forward to shows and the whole convention circuit, if you go to a show and don't have fun, something is seriously wrong...
TS:I hear you're on Team Cool Kids, can you explain what that's all
about? Who else is on the team?
TB: We can all thank Mr. Tanane Whitfield for Team Cool Kids as he is the driving force behind it all. I'll try and give you the short version of what its about. Tanane called me up and asked me to start a crew with him, keep in mind I had never even met Tanane at this point, so this phone conversation was pretty funny. But anyway, He said he wanted to start a crew of solid up and coming young tattooers who could pretty much try and defy and recreate the stereotype of tattoo artists. We want to issue a new generation of tattooers who are willing to help people and not be competitive just to show that this industry does not have to be a cut throat industry, we want to show future tattooers that we can all be friends and accept each other and every style along the way. We also plan to start being more active for charities and other groups in society to try and make the world see that tattooing is an art form and we can help and contribute in good ways. As far as who is in it, there is a solid list and I'll give you a few examples, Obviously Tanane Whitfield, Myself, Taylor Cort, Kyle Cotterman,Myke Chambers, Dennis Duarte, Pepper, Drewski, Scott Olive, Nora, Steve Martin, Short, and Brando.
TS:Who was the last artist that tattooed you?
TB: Mr. Bryan Reynolds, I love him, so we got matching tattoos on the side of our fingers....
TS:Do you have a list of artists that you want to be tattooed by?
TB: Oh hell yeah, Just to name a few, Jeff Ensminger, ( My hero ), Russ Abbott-again...Myke Chambers, Dustin Golden, Nick Baxter, Bryan Reynolds-again, and I dont know there are a shit ton so thats a few for now.
TS:Any last words?
B]TB: Check out
Myspace.com/TimmyNightmare
NightOwl.com
Eternal Tattoo Supply
NightOwl.com
TattooNow
TattooSnob:Let's run through the basics before we start. Tell us a little bit
about yourself?
Timmy B: My name is Timmy B, although some internet folks may know me better as Timmy Nitemare, long story, but I'm ok with that. I'm currently working at Cherry Bomb Tattoos in New Port Richey, FL alongside an awesome realism tattooer named Billy Toler. I've been tattooing about 5 years now and have to say the experiences I've had are unbelievable. One of the more recent being that I am now sponsored by Eternal Inks and that is a huge accomplishment for me, so I have to say thanks so much again for picking me up. I am beyond grateful for the people I've met and get to call my friends, I love what I'm doing and wouldn't trade it for the world.
TS:I'm sure people make comments about your age on at least a semi-regular basis--but seriously, how are you such an amazing tattooer at only 23? Any idea where you feel like you'll be at 33?
TB: I do get the age thing a lot, being 23 has its perks but it also can have its downfalls. Certain people judge a lot on age and assume someone who's as young as I am must know nothing about tattooing. I usually leave my age out of things and let the work speak for itself but hey, you can't win em all. All I can say is that I'm just trying to better myself and experiment with style all the time and I hope I can keep doing it until I'm 33. I'm just grateful I have the opportunity to do what I do and really hope to continue learning for as long as possible.
TS:How would you describe your work? Your portfolio shows you feel comfortable with a number of different styles.
TB: I hate this question, haha, My style I guess is something along the lines of Illustrative realism with a lot of Traditional or neo traditional feeling and influence. I've dabbled into a lot of styles and I am comfortable doing a lot, my primary focus is really to just give someone a solid tattoo that won't fall apart in 5 years. Only time will tell I guess so 5 years from now if you see my style completely change, you'll know why....
TS:I know you've done quite a bit of traveling in the past, do you plan to continue that in 2010?
Timmy: I was going to try and settle down a bit for 2010, but that definitely didn't happen. I'm doing a lot of shows this year that span all over the country as well as a few guest spots, and there is also a Europe trip along the way which is pretty exciting. I would list the shows and guest spots but that would pretty much take forever so I'll spare you the reading..haha.
TS:Are there any cities or shops that have become favorites because of your trips?
TB: I Love Chicago, Denver was great, one of my absolute favorites would definitely be Austin Texas, I always have a blast out there and a lot of my good friends work out there. As far as shops, No Surrender in Texas was amazing, thank you Mr. Zach Ross, and Ink and Dagger in Decatur GA is always interesting, And as we all know that the infamous and famous Russ Abbott is the owner, and he's my favorite teddy bear. This question is to hard though, I always have a blast on my guest spots and every shop I go to is always filled with great and talented people so I can list them all. But you know who you are, thanks everyone.
TS:In terms of conventions, do you enjoy working them or do you only
attend a select few?
TB: I love working conventions, Its like seeing your family on a holiday, you get the chance to see a ton of great people and your best friends all put into one place for the 3 or 4 days and just do good tattoos and party. I always look forward to shows and the whole convention circuit, if you go to a show and don't have fun, something is seriously wrong...
TS:I hear you're on Team Cool Kids, can you explain what that's all
about? Who else is on the team?
TB: We can all thank Mr. Tanane Whitfield for Team Cool Kids as he is the driving force behind it all. I'll try and give you the short version of what its about. Tanane called me up and asked me to start a crew with him, keep in mind I had never even met Tanane at this point, so this phone conversation was pretty funny. But anyway, He said he wanted to start a crew of solid up and coming young tattooers who could pretty much try and defy and recreate the stereotype of tattoo artists. We want to issue a new generation of tattooers who are willing to help people and not be competitive just to show that this industry does not have to be a cut throat industry, we want to show future tattooers that we can all be friends and accept each other and every style along the way. We also plan to start being more active for charities and other groups in society to try and make the world see that tattooing is an art form and we can help and contribute in good ways. As far as who is in it, there is a solid list and I'll give you a few examples, Obviously Tanane Whitfield, Myself, Taylor Cort, Kyle Cotterman,Myke Chambers, Dennis Duarte, Pepper, Drewski, Scott Olive, Nora, Steve Martin, Short, and Brando.
TS:Who was the last artist that tattooed you?
TB: Mr. Bryan Reynolds, I love him, so we got matching tattoos on the side of our fingers....
TS:Do you have a list of artists that you want to be tattooed by?
TB: Oh hell yeah, Just to name a few, Jeff Ensminger, ( My hero ), Russ Abbott-again...Myke Chambers, Dustin Golden, Nick Baxter, Bryan Reynolds-again, and I dont know there are a shit ton so thats a few for now.
TS:Any last words?
B]TB: Check out
Myspace.com/TimmyNightmare
NightOwl.com
Eternal Tattoo Supply
NightOwl.com
TattooNow