Local Tattooers: Nick Phillips

Photo Courtesy of Nick Phillips

Art

Salt Lake City has fostered a steadfast tattooing scene for a couple decades now. It seems like no matter where you go within the city limits or beyond, there is an established shop to be found with committed, knowledgable, skilled and wise people on the tattoo machine. So you may have time to plan your next custom piece or esoteric flash once the heat dies down, SLUG has compiled images of tattooers’ work and their thoughts on their craft. Since it’s impossible to include everyone involved in local tattooing in one issue of SLUG, we’re mixing it up with a range of tattooers from different shops with a range of professional backgrounds, experience, etc. to depict a segment of the current local-tattooing mosaic of SLC/Utah.

Instagram: @nickphillipstattoos

Shop: Loyalty Tattoos • 293 State St. • 801.773.1634 • @loyaltytattoos

Years tattooing: 18 years.

Where you apprenticed and for how long: Boulevard Tattoos in Ogden for a short while, followed by the school of hard knocks (mostly self-taught) for the next 17.5 years.

What styles of tattooing do you favor/specialize in: Traditional, mostly, but I do a bit of it all.

Favorite subject matter: I’d tattoo knights, robots, wizards and dragons all day if I could.

Favorite flash: The Percy Waters “Blueprint” sheets, I get mesmerized every time I see them.

Favorite custom piece you’ve done: Probably a recent back piece of a knight–Fudo Myo-o mashup. I love watching it come to life as you chip away at it.

Tattooer you admire: Kenny Brown and James Cumberland have been two tattooers that keep me trying to hone my art skills.

Other visual art you make: I do a bit of watercoloring and have dabbled in some coquille paper.

Tattooing guilty pleasure: Cute little flowers. What can I say, they are … well, cute.

Nerdiest thing you know about tattooing: Everything about tattooing is nerdy … nerrrrds!

Best tattooing tunes to play in the shop: It changes a lot, but currently, Om. It’s weird, it’s mellow, and it’s a conversation starter.

Shoutouts: Dean Bodily and Nate Drew. Two amazing Salt Lake artists who don’t get enough attention because they don’t mess around with the interwebz that much.

Find a selection of Phillips’ work below: