Residents of Austin, Texas strive to keep the city “weird,” much like those who live in Portland and take pride in their culturally diverse arts scene. Austin is considered to be the live music capital of the world with its annual spring multi-media conference known as South by South West, and for that it attracts a multitude of foreign artists and musicians with a dramatic thirst for some new ink. With that said, here are some of the best Austin tattoo shops.
Known to locals as Rez Tattoo, Resurrection Tattoo is a no frills ink establishment that offers nothing but the highest quality work without the run-around. While much of the work is influenced by American traditional style tattooing, the artists play with modern themes and cultural fusions to produce work as unique as the city of Austin and its inhabitants. The shop is located on Lamar Boulevard and is open daily. Just look for the ironic neon butterfly sign that says “TATTOO.”
Affinity Tattoo and Piercing
Affinity Tattoo and Piercing is a local Austin favorite, and perhaps much of it is due to its location on the well known and culturally diverse 6th Street. The shop takes pride in all tattoo styles ranging from realism and portraits, to black and grey, to flash and traditional ink. The staff is complete with experienced artists including Luis Renova, Josh Kendrick, Leslie Karin, Matt Morren, Barry Barthelemy, and more. The shop also specializes in high quality body piercing, which is advertised in detail on their website’s homepage.
Gully Cat Tattoo
Gully Cat Tattoo is an Austin shop that was founded in 2003 by Mike Terrell and embodies the weirdness of ATX. It is recognized as an extremely unique and stress-free shop and is located in a small green house on South 1st Street. The shop’s prized artists include owner Mike Terrell, Nikki, Jason Jones, and Aaron Dor Dixon. Mike Terrell even builds his own tattoo machines and sells them as part of the shop’s merch collection. Gully Cat Tattoo is open seven days a week until 7pm.
