The Evergreen Tattoo Invitational is an annual event that showcases talented tattoo artists from around the country and locally. The event ran from March 15 to 17 and was held at the Lane Events Center.
Mark Mullins began his tattoo apprenticeship three years ago in January 2021. He currently works at Parlor Tattoo located at 1097 Willamette Street.
“I always drew and painted as a kid, but learning how to draw and paint to make tattoos work is a whole different animal,” Mullins said.
Mullins moved from Pennsylvania to Eugene seven years ago. He worked in an office before he decided to save enough money to go to tattoo school and get certified in the state of Oregon.
“It was a tough jump from making money to not making money to making money again,” Mullins said.
Oregon tattooing and apprenticeship laws are stricter than in Mullins’ home state. This requires artists to complete an educational program during their apprenticeship before they can be certified.
These educational programs can often miss the mark for the skills artists hope to acquire. Mullins said there are pros and cons to Oregon’s tattoo school system, and a lot of it is based on the teacher. On the one hand, it can help train artists in business and safety practices, but many tattoo schools use the system.
“Some people are just ignored when they’re doing an apprenticeship. They give people thousands of dollars and they don’t get any instructions,” Mullins said. “During my apprenticeship I was like food to wolves. It was sink or swim and I swam.
Mullins has a variety of styles in his flash sheets and portfolio, but he has his favorites for drawing.
“I like to tattoo traditional images and cubism. Weird tattoos that make you scratch your head and roll your eyes a little,” he said.
Parlor Tattoo has a reputation as a safe and reliable tattoo shop. The store has been open in Eugene since 1996.
“Come to The Parlor Tattoo for a good time. And a tattoo you won’t hate when you’re 50,” Mullins said.
Kira X. Maddox started tattooing less than a year ago. She currently works at Out of Step Tattoo & Gallery where she has spent the last four months tattooing and the six months before that as an apprentice.
“Art has always been a major part of who I am and what I’ve done,” Maddox said. “I think a lot of us have been told, you know, never turn your hobbies into a job because you’ll start to resent them, but then you realize you never have time to do what you really love to do.”
Maddox was already creating art and began tattooing by taking custom tattoo designs. It didn’t take long for her to decide to cut out the middleman and start tattooing her designs herself.
“They come back to me with a tattoo done and I’m like, ‘I would do it differently,'” she said.
Maddox finds it difficult to box the works she makes.
“It’s kind of a darker mythological illustration,” she said. “I was this kid that I loved as mythology. I loved dragons, dinosaurs and animals. So that was a big inspiration for what I like to draw.”
Maddox said he hopes to continue tattooing for a long time and use what he’s learned to continue expanding his style.
“I’m constantly pulling from different styles and allowing myself to be open to branching out rather than just sticking to one,” she said.
These two artists are a few among the long list of talented tattoo artists at the Evergreen Tattoo Invitational. Be sure to check them out at their respective stores, websites, and Instagram below.
The Parlor Tattoo: 1097 Willamette St.
Website: https://www.theparlourtattoo.com/
Mullins’ Instagram: @discomark_
Out of Step Tattoo & Gallery: 1022 Willamette St
Website: https://www.oostattoo.com/
Maddox’s Instagram: @kirax.art
