Four hands with four very different languages.
Blackthorn keeps only four chairs and no rotating guest roster, so the person who designs your tattoo is the person who puts it in your skin. Read the specialisms, then book the hand that fits the idea.
01
Mara Vance
Founder · Blackwork, Ornamental & Geometric
Mara opened Blackthorn in 2014 after eight years in Seattle shops, and the studio's whole philosophy comes from her bench: draw to the body, not to the paper. Her work is built on solid black fills, ornamental linework and geometry that follows the muscle underneath it, so a mandala on a shoulder doesn't distort when you move.
She books large-scale pieces — half and full sleeves, back panels, sternum work — and prefers two or three sessions so nothing is rushed. Expect a detailed drawing session, a hard conversation about size, and a piece that looks deliberate at fifty.
Book with Mara02
Diego Salazar
Neo-Traditional · Colour · Cover-Ups
Diego trained in Guadalajara and Portland, and he is the artist people are sent to when the brief is "I want colour that still looks like colour in ten years." His neo-traditional work uses heavy outlines, a tight jewel palette and layered shading that gives a piece depth without muddying it.
He's also the studio's cover-up specialist. If you have old, blown-out or half-removed work, he'll photograph it, work out what can be hidden and what has to be designed around, and quote honestly — including telling you when a cover-up isn't realistic and a few laser sessions will give a better result.
Book with Diego
03
Rue Okafor
Fine Line · Micro-Realism · Script
Rue works at the scale most artists avoid: single-needle script, botanical detail, tiny portraiture, the small memorial pieces people carry for decades. Her rule is that fine line is only good line if it's still readable when it's healed, so she'll often argue for slightly heavier lines than a reference photo suggests.
She's the studio's most patient consult — bring your reference Pinterest board and a rough idea of placement and she'll draw three options before you commit. Ideal for first tattoos, wrist and ankle pieces, and anything delicate.
Book with Rue04
Gus Lindqvist
American Traditional · Flash · Walk-Ins
Gus does the classics properly: bold black outline, limited palette, no gradients pretending to be shading. Roses, daggers, swallows, anchors, panthers — drawn fresh each time rather than copied from a sheet circulating online since 2009.
He keeps a fresh flash sheet on the wall every month and holds open walk-in hours on Fridays, first come first served. Best value chair in the studio if you want a small, solid, properly-executed traditional piece without the six-week wait.
Book with Gus
Guest chairs & apprenticeships.
We open one guest chair each quarter to travelling artists whose books overlap with ours, and we take one apprentice every eighteen months. There is no fee to guest — we split on the tattoo, you get a clean private station and the studio promotes your dates.
- Oregon tattoo licence and current bloodborne-pathogen certification required.
- Send a portfolio link, your preferred dates and the styles you actually want to tattoo.
- Apprenticeships start with six months of hygiene, setup and drawing before skin.
Not sure whose chair you want?
Send us the idea and three reference images. We'll match you to the right artist and reply within one working day.
