Bart Willis tattooing at the original South Side Tattoo in Austin, Texas c. 1999. This was a one minute spot made for KLRU tv.
I have become quite selective about the artist I choose to ink me, and after months of research, I had decided I wanted to have Bart “Bartattoo” Willis do the final piece.
See how a Native American tribe is recapturing their heritage one tattoo at a time. Haida Gwaii tattoos by Bart Willis, Southside Tattoo
Tattooing may not seem as traditional as other forms of coastal artwork but, in fact, it goes back generations among ancient coastal peoples. Jones says that the practice among the Haida faded out a century or so ago with the arrival of missionaries who frowned on the practice.
Tattoo artist Bart Willis has a couple of distinct fan bases for his work.
brandonshare sat down with co-owner of Southside Tattoos, Bart Willis to find out more about the shop and his unique style of Pacific Fusion tattooing he’s developed over the years while working in Austin and spending his summers up in British Columbia, Canada.
In part I, Bart tells us how he got started and about the tattoo scene in Austin.
In part II, Bart goes deeper into his inspiration behind his Pacific Fusion style and his experience living with the Native Tribes up in Northern BC.
