Guy Aitchison Journal

September 9, 2026

Laying out a new big one

Laying out a new big one. Some Guy stuff. This is a low contrast print of my color sketch with some carbon transfer paper behind it. The canvas has a Masonite backing so I’m able to trace against a nice firm surface. I put excessive amounts

September 9, 2026

A couple pretty intense days working on Zack, including a bit of coverup/rework

A couple pretty intense days working on Zack, including a bit of coverup/rework. Honestly, a tattoo like this is a hell of a thing to sit for, I’m always amazed and humbled by my clients’ abilities to endure this level of sitting. This was

September 9, 2026

A fun collab that @griff_tattoo and I started on Gabe recently

September 9, 2026

Big. Pink. Canvas. Laid out using graphite paper and ball point pen. I picked up the pink underpainting thing…

Big. Pink. Canvas. Laid out using graphite paper and ball point pen. I picked up the pink underpainting thing from some art students earlier this year while teaching a class at SIUE. Sometimes when I teach I think I learn as much as the stu

August 19, 2026

Here’s what we got done after two days on John’s coverup sleeve

Here’s what we got done after two days on John’s coverup sleeve. Had some pretty dense old stuff to contend with here and I’m stoked at how much structure and flow we were able to give this without going too dark. Check my posts from this p

August 11, 2026

Finally wrapped up this piece that’s been on my easel a year

Finally wrapped up this piece that’s been on my easel a year. Ruins, 36x48”, oil on panel. This is not my first painting of ruins- check out the pinned reel if you want a little backstory. At any rate, there are prints if you’re interested,

July 13, 2026

Doing final color matching on this one. Thanks to all who purchased these, they are still available at the link in my bi

Doing final color matching on this one. Thanks to all who purchased these, they are still available at the link in my bio.

July 3, 2026

Some coverup action today on Paul. I’ll post before tomorrow along with whatever else we get done. Always a blast. Worki

Some coverup action today on Paul. I’ll post before tomorrow along with whatever else we get done. Always a blast. Working with @cheyenne_tattooequipment @rawpigments @monsterkreations

June 13, 2026

Today is the Artists&Makers gathering at @mandala.gardens in Marion, going on till 9

Today is the Artists&Makers gathering at @mandala.gardens in Marion, going on till 9. Live electronic music and lots of artists sitting around with easels etc doing their thing. If you are a creative in the SI region, grab a project and com

June 13, 2026

Thank you to everyone who ordered prints and originals this past week

Thank you to everyone who ordered prints and originals this past week. If your order included an @adamfrance collab print, those have been sent to Ohio for his signatures and will be ready to ship out in 5-7 days. Everything else I’m proces

June 8, 2026

Final few hours to pick up the France/Aitchison collab print!

Final few hours to pick up the France/Aitchison collab print! Help Adam out with his unfortunate medical situation while also collecting this rad signed print. Link in my bio @guyaitchisonart …Scroll down to the Guy Aitchison Prints link an

June 2, 2026

About to start on Eric’s sleeve

May 31, 2026

Had a great time guest teaching my wet-on-wet plein air painting method at SIUE with John Denhouter’s amazing…

Had a great time guest teaching my wet-on-wet plein air painting method at SIUE with John Denhouter’s amazing students. This is a thing I do that may not seem parallel to my biomech tattoo practice but they’re actually very symbiotic indeed

May 30, 2026

Just had a killer session collaborating for two days with @donmcdonaldtattoo on @cruciblefabricationllc doing…

Just had a killer session collaborating for two days with @donmcdonaldtattoo on @cruciblefabricationllc doing our third and fourth sessions on his back. Super stoked at our progress! @cheyenne_tattooequipment @rawpigments @monsterkreations

May 24, 2026

Something a little different for me. I’m teaching a plein air workshop at SIUE in Edwardsville IL this Tuesday, and afte

Something a little different for me. I’m teaching a plein air workshop at SIUE in Edwardsville IL this Tuesday, and after the class I’ll be doing a talk at the campus that’s open to the public. I’ll be showing not only my landscapes but all

May 20, 2026

So I have this horrible tattoo. It's actually already a coverup, and sort of …

So I have this horrible tattoo. It's actually already a coverup, and sort of an unfinished jailhouse coverup, if you can imagine that. It's got big areas that aren't shaded or anything, just outlin…

May 20, 2026

Ask Guy, June 2013: What about this scar?

May 20, 2026

This month I'm taking a look at work by Rusty Dornhecker of Red Tree Gallery …

This month I'm taking a look at work by Rusty Dornhecker of Red Tree Gallery in Columbus, Ohio. Rusty was a tattooist around 20 years ago, but (he feels) under the wrong circumstances and the wrong…

May 20, 2026

This month I'm critiquing Oliver Wong, who works in the Bay Area but has appr…

This month I'm critiquing Oliver Wong, who works in the Bay Area but has apprenticed in part with the great Just Shao of Shanghai, China. I recently had a chance to do a collaborative tattoo projec…

May 20, 2026

The work we're looking at today is by Mason of Blue Tattoo Cafe in San Diego,…

The work we're looking at today is by Mason of Blue Tattoo Cafe in San Diego, CA. He says: "Being a self taught artist of three years and a shop owner, I never pass on the opportunity to have anoth…

May 20, 2026

Lines and Edges: A Critique Example The tattoo that I'm critiquing for the Li…

Lines and Edges: A Critique Example The tattoo that I'm critiquing for the Lines & Edges example is by Cecelia, who was asked by her client to do a "Mother Nature" type piece that represents the pr…

May 20, 2026

We are well into the second year of taking questions of all sorts from both a…

We are well into the second year of taking questions of all sorts from both artists and collectors, and have had many questions about improving overall tattooing. I think the best format for this i…

May 20, 2026

Welcome to this month's edition of Ask Guy, where I've been taking your most …

Welcome to this month's edition of Ask Guy, where I've been taking your most challenging questions over the past several years, and trying to make sense of them. For this past year the column has b…

May 20, 2026

Many of you have been asking about collaborations, since multiple artist tatt…

Many of you have been asking about collaborations, since multiple artist tattooing has become a popular and successful experience for many tattooers. There have been a lot of high-profile collabora…