Name: Johnny Bolger
Years Tattooing: 9
Favorite Style: Traditional

I started tattooing when I was nineteen and in the past seven years have been inspired and influenced primarily by the traditional style of tattooing. In my early years, after my apprenticeship, I had the good fortune to work under Danise Wolfe at Lucky 7 Tattoo Studio in Illinois. After leaving Lucky 7 I moved to California where I met Brian Everett at a tattoo convention in Reno. Again good fortune found me and I landed a job working with Everett at Route 66 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

I have been certified in PDTT(preventing disease transmission in tattooing) since April 1997, and I am also a member of the APT(Alliance of Professional Tattooists),www.safe-tattoos.com. To this day, I still travel the country taking seminars both on tattooing and disease prevention. Some of my Tattoo art has been featured in numerous magazines, including the cover of TATTOO MAGAZINE'S July 2002 issue, www.tattoomag.com.

I enjoy going to tattoo conventions and getting constructive criticism and guidance from well known tattooers to further myself. For instance, Juan Puente at Spotlight Tattoo, www.spotlighttattoo.com, has been a big help to me and many others in this craft. I feel it's important to be versatile as a tattoo artist—trying to perfect a variety of different tattoo styles and art keeps me fresh and growing.

Now, seven years after my apprenticeship, I'm back in the Chicagoland area tattooing under Lunchbox Tattoo. When I'm not tattooing I'm sharpening my skills in both tattooing and painting—either that or training for mastery in the art of jiu jitsu.