Ridgewood High School
West Lafayette, OHIO
Graduated: 1991
Student status: Alumni
Degree: High School Diploma
Major: Art
Clubs: Skateboarding in Corn Fields
1990 to 1991
Newark High School
Newark, OHIO
Graduated: 1991
Student status: Alumni
Degree: High School Diploma
Major: Art
Clubs: Newark Wrecking Crew
1988 to 1991
Newark Catholic High School
Newark, OHIO
Graduated: 1991
Student status: Alumni
Degree: High School Diploma
Major: Art and Jeebus
Clubs: Anti-Catholic League
Artist who dabbles with many mediums and styles. Tattooing for over 18 years now. Check out more of my fine art and tattooing @ durbster.com. I also organize the Hell City Tattoo Festival check it out @ hellcity.com!!
Durb Having my first cup of xmas gift coffee. It's civet coffee, one of the most expensive coffees in the world, made f (cont) http://tl.gd/1blkkPosted 7 hours ago from Twitter view more
I was born in Newark, Ohio on December 28th, 1972 and completed high school in 1991. Surviving a childhood that seemed doomed by circumstances, I saturated myself in art and went on to excel in art classes in high school with dreams of attending art college one day. At the tender age of 14 a few of us punk kids decided to bust into mom's sewing kit, get some thread and ink, and tattoo each other. This moment fueled my fire for skin art, which made my interest quickly grew for tattoos at that moment. I was then slowly introduced into the world of tattooing and fine art through a family member, and abandoned the college dream to focus intensely on the art of tattooing. I began using professional equipment at the age of 17, which was the beginning of my actual tattoo career. I was mainly self-educated from the start, having a bunch of crazy punk rock friends that would allow me to tattoo them while at the same time allowing me to learn rapidly.
At the age of 18, I was invited to work in a professional tattoo studio straight out of high school with Tim Miller in Columbus, Oh. Which is what originally brought me to Columbus, Ohio. I worked in Columbus for a year before I decided to travel the country tattooing with a fellow tattoo artist, eventually settling down in Palms Springs then moving to Anaheim, then to Huntington Beach, California. I later met the infamous Sailor Moses (R.I.P.) while traveling the country, and worked his booth at Sturgis in 1993. He gave me the invitation to move to Biloxi, MS to learn more from him, which is where my understanding of tattooing really took off. In 1994 I moved back to Columbus to be near family and friends, and opened my first tattoo studio, Stained Skin, which went on to become a staple in the tattoo industry. In 1999 I opened my second studio in my hometown of Newark, Ohio called Second Skin. My studios have always had an incredible amount of intensely talented tattoo artists working there over the years, which gave me the opportunity to constantly grow and expand, meet new artists, and learn new techniques.
I have sold & passed the torches of both Stained Skin Studios on to focus on the Hell City Tattoo Festival. Along with tattooing constantly, I organize and promote the Hell City Tattoo Festival in Columbus, Ohio, which has grown to become one of the industry's favorite tattoo conventions. The Hell City Tattoo Festival features close to 200 of the world’s best tattoo artists, dozens of unique vendors, and fun for everyone. Bring the little devils over to Heck City to get their faces painted or get a temporary tattoo! The Hell City Tattoo Fest is a family friendly environment, encouraging everyone to come and take a peek inside the amazing world of tattooing at the highest caliber. The Hell City Tattoo Festival is much more than your typical tattoo convention. Hell City is a one of a kind because we include many other activities that you won’t see at any other tattoo conventions. If you have ever been to Hell City before, you have seen the massive crowds, the line that gathers before the gates even open looks more like the line to get into a sold out rock concert. Once inside, all that is Hell City will amaze your eyes, ears and skin. My intense focus on this fest has brought it to the forefront of modern day tattoo conventions! It’s simply “One Hell Of a Good Time”!
Early in my career I began receiving dozens of awards for my work and started to get my tattooing published in every major national and international tattoo magazine in 1994 and continue today, check out my press section to see more. I currently work full time out of my private studio as well as tattooing on the road, and conventions around the world. When I'm not tattooing or organizing Hell City I find time to paint, skateboard, snowboard, play video games and hang out with family and friends. I enjoy other mediums of art outside of tattooing, including oil and acrylic painting, wood and metal sculpture, and watercolor.
Thanks for the Add Durb, And thanks for Hell City!!!And all you do for the Tattoo Community, Looking forward to seeing what you have in store for the Future!
It was nice to finally meet you last night at Ryan's opening reception. I work with Donny Manco, and he has always spoken wonderful things about you. Thanks for the kind words on my paintings, it's an honor coming from you.
hey durb it was good seeing you the other day at chris house. your leg looks pretty sick . if you not too busy , i would like to get tattoo'd again sometime. if you get a chance, drop me a hit and let me know if you have any openings .
Thanks again for allowing us to do your after party, it was a blast. I will definately be in attendance next year so let me know if ya need me to put together another event for ya. Thanks.
Are you still tattooing? Do you charge by the hour or per project? I have a partial cover up I want done on my right arm. It would be a 3/4 sleeve and I know exactly what I want. Let me know what's up and I can get some images to you.
a man hit me up.we will get together and chat about the chair,shelves etc. get ahold of me before u go back out of town. i'm ready for another tatty!!!!!
