Since I started this website (more than two years ago) I’ve had the opportunity to get to know the work of thousands of tattoo artists around the world, and I have even had the opportunity to meet some of them in the flesh. As time went by, I’ve come up with a list of the best tattoo artist in the world, as far as I’m concerned. This is an ambiguous list and the names are not in any particular order because “the best artist” will vary according to our personal taste.
On this list you will find none other than David Hale, who not only has surprised me dozens of times with his immaculate art and fantastic creativity, but has also stunned us with his personal life story and vision with respect to the art of tattooing.
Who is David Hale?
David Hale is a young artist, illustrator and tattoo artist who majored in Arts at Georgia University (2006), and who also works at Love Hawk studio. His studio is located in Athens city, in Georgia (a few kilometers North to Atlanta). His art follows old school and tribal principles, as well as art nouveau. The end product is an exquisite combination of the most traditional of art along with world-class quality.
His themes center on North American folklore and the region’s fauna, abundant with birds of prey, grizzly bears, among others; He also sometimes sketches other kinds of birds such as roosters or ducks or even animals from other regions of the worlds, such as elephants.
What makes him so special
His art is evidently top-notch quality, but there are two other things that make me view David Hale as one of the best tattoo artists of our generation.
First, the inspiration and dedication invested with each client. David Hale is a tattooist that gets inspired from spiritual sources and he firmly believes that his masterpieces only reflect a tiny portion of the tattoo bearer’s soul. This makes him commit to such extents that every single task becomes so unique that no single feature will be similarly reproduced in any other tattoo.
Secondly, his Gratitude Designs, which is a project started by himself. Every month David posts between 12 and 15 designs on his webpage (which you can sign up here). Any interested person can apply to get any of these Gratitude Designs. These are designs that pay tribute to everything David is grateful for to life. And funnily enough, this is the only way you can get a tattoo made by him, since he currently doesn’t take any clients, but only the ones interested in the designs put up on his webpage month by month.
But that’s not all. David Hale also considers tattoos should be more affordable and that is why he applies the “pay what you see fitting” policy. Prior to any appointment a $100 non-refundable deposit is required. Beyond this deposit any monetary contribution is entirely up to the client. And it’s just enough with seeing his tattoo work that it’s clear such exquisite designs are worth much more than $100.
The only con, so to speak, is that David Hale is a very famous tattoo artist and as such, it is extremely difficult to get in touch with him, but well, if you liked his art you may be able to become one of this incredible master’s clients. If you liked his art we invite you to take a look at others of his of his works of art here.
Other useful data
- David Hale does not accept appointments and doesn’t make personalized designs.
- He doesn’t authorize other tattooist to use his works of art (out of respect for his clients and his work)
- He does accept illustration jobs or likewise (but not tattoos)
To know more go to:
His official website: http://davidhale.org/
The studio website: http://lovehawk.com/