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Aaron Riddle

@aaronriddletattoos

45.9K

followers

4127

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Desert Psychedelic
1619 E McDowell Rd Unit E
Phoenix AZ
@blackclaw
@desert_psychedelic
AZ’s WORST TATTOOER
Appts: [email protected]

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Figured I’d post this up for people asking! All appointments are done through email and email only. Email is aaronriddle138@gmail.com

As Instagram shifts from being a tool for marketing into a digital online portfolio I figured I’ll get the nitty gritty out of the way here.

A lot of tattooers tell me I need to raise my prices and maybe I will at some point in the future but for now these are the prices I offer that help support my family. When you get tattooed by me you’re helping to support a network of family members. My family comes first in my life above all else and each tattoo helps to raise my child, take care of the elderly and disabled in our family, as well as providing a world class education for my son.

When you get tattooed by me you’re directly supporting your community. You’re supporting a disappearing artisan class that is in direct opposition to the crippling weight of automation in our country. When you get tattooed by me you’re supporting local business and as someone who ONLY shops local that money goes to supporting local business.

As the world shifts and evolves into corporate, private equity controlled wage slaves, tattooing offers a unique experience that is found nowhere else in modern society.

When you get tattooed by me you’re supporting outsider culture. You’re supporting one of the oldest professions on earth. Tattooing for me isn’t about living a fast lifestyle but rather connecting to the heart and soul of our culture and bringing out what we all truly desire: freedom, love, and self expression.

My books never close and all bodies accepted. taken in 16th Street and Mcdowell Rd by @aaronriddletattoos

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a year ago

Swipe to see the difference between a professional camera and cell phone pic. Being at @darkwave_studios has been incredible. They made me realize the importance of properly showcasing our tattoos and I gotta say I’m speechless seeing this photographed by an actual photographer. It’s a game changer.

My client Jaime @jamiemorganfitch sat so tough for this piece. She was super cool and all she asked for was a skull and chainmail. I LOVE skulls and chainmail. For some reason I was sitting at the airport working on this piece and I realized it’s been far too long since I’ve done the red treatment on any of my work. My god was I stoked to bring it back. Very soul fulfilling work. Photography by the incredible @frontier.creative taken in Rapid City, South Dakota by @aaronriddletattoos

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2 years ago

Nothing better than blood and vampires. Team Edward all the way. Done with the best @chromatattooink @lunapigment and @blackclaw cartridges #aaronriddletattoos #neotraditionaltattoos #blackclawneedle #tattoosnob #arizonatattooartist #phoenixtattooartist #desertpsychedelic taken in 16th Street and Mcdowell Rd by @aaronriddletattoos

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a year ago

My brother from another mother is coming next week to guest with us at @cloventattoo the 20th and 21st. He has time to tattoo! We’re also looking for a client to get a collaboration piece from him and myself. If you’re interested email him or myself asap! Don’t sleep on this opportunity! taken in Cloven Tattoo by @aaronriddletattoos

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2 days ago

I’m wide open for the @richmondtattooconvention on the 23/24/25th of October. Shoot me a DM or email aaronriddle138@gmail.com I’m offering discounted rates on all skulls/lady faces/bio-mech tattooing. by @aaronriddletattoos

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3 days ago

White on black coverup going exceedingly well for my dude David. He’s coming out from San Diego. A lot of the white has two layers already with today being the second layer. The next session will see us focusing on relining and bolding out a lot of the black lines we currently have. This will help tie everything in together and then from there we can do deeper grey shading on top of the white that is already there.

It’s a really fun process watching everything build up. The white I used for this session was @lunapigment Magick White or something to that effect. Everything you see here was freshly tattooed with Luna as I’ve been on the hunt for the best powder pigment white on the market.

So far ive found that @waverlycolorco @lunapigment @elblancoink and @chromatattooink have the best white pigment available. They’re all more or less the same high quality hand made powder pigments. They’re also easier to use than any of the standard private equity pigment brands like Eternal or whatever plastic filled garbage flooding the market.

As always support Tattooers that support tattooing. Stop buying from companies owned by private equity firms. by @aaronriddletattoos

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6 days ago

@mello.maus came all the way from Kansas to get this tattoo. He’s a young tattooer that gives me hope for the future of our craft. Every time I meet a tattooer like him it makes me remember the magic I first felt getting tattooed and hanging out in shops when I was the same age. Give him a follow because he’s already great but there’s no doubt he’s going to be someone worth watching in the future.

Noah gave me some simple prompts. He wanted something involving a house cat with maybe magic or biomech/fantasy elements. I didn’t know he was a tattooer but I thought about the Monmon cats and wondered if I could take something similar and make it biomech.

I really like the marriage of illustrative “neotrad” and biomech and I thought what better than to give it a shot. I’m very happy with the results and this was an easy way to end the day.

Give Noah a follow and support Tattooers like him who are just starting out on his journey. Done with the best @blackclaw carts and @sombragrays and as always made with my trusty @ruethlessirons Saber by @aaronriddletattoos

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7 days ago

Mostly healed and settled on my boy Rian. The blessed dew talisman being held by a gauntlet loosely inspired by the fire prelate gauntlet which by all means is the coolest looking gauntlet in the game. Oh this is an Elden Ring tattoo if you didn’t know. Elden Ring changed my life. I feel like I’m a better father, husband, friend, and tattooer because of this game. Everything about Elden Ring has been a net positive in my life including all the people I’ve been able to share stories, strategies, characters and gameplay with in person or through text. You know who you all are.

Gonna tag my guy @flawlesselden because he’s quite literally an absolute legend and I hope he sees this.

@blackclaw @ruethlessirons @chromatattooink taken in 16th Street and Mcdowell Rd by @aaronriddletattoos

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9 days ago

I was lucky enough to be on the road for the last eight days. I drove a few thousand miles, got tattooed, saw some friends and tried to pack as much as I could into it. I wish I could’ve seen everyone back home. I’m very grateful for the life I get to live, my friendships, and the chance to just go. I can’t wait to do it again.

Life rules when you remember it’s all yours for the taking ❤️ taken in Everywhere by @aaronriddletattoos

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10 days ago

Healed and settled on my accountant @stansberryeddy He’s an amazing accountant and specializes in tattooer based accounting and bookkeeping. Instead of paying some tattoo grifter money to show you how to keep your books hit up Eddy because he’s an actual accountant and does this professionally.

I loved getting to do this Tiger for him. Made entirely with pigments from @chromatattooink and carts from @blackclaw I also use my Saber from @ruethlessirons It’s the best rotary pen machine I’ve ever used. by @aaronriddletattoos

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11 days ago

My goal with tattooing is to convey emotions. Strength, power, resiliency. It’s hard to really describe the process but I genuinely try and tap into those feelings when I tattoo. I think it’s a way for me to cope with and process my own emotions. I think all of us are doing this in some way or another. It’s easy to get caught up in the whole “well I’m just a trad tatter I don’t give a shit about that blah blah blah” but those feelings also come through as well. It comes through as laziness.

My friend Andy told me how it’s easy for him to look at someone’s tattoos and see that the energy almost always match how that tattooer looks in real life. He said my tattoos look the way I dress and present myself. I really dig that. But even more so because Andy is a tattooers tattooer. He’s a man’s man. He’s a no nonsense type of guy but he can still intuitively tap into this energy and it changed how I view the world of tattooing as well as my own work.

When I do pieces like this I feel a sense of catharsis. There’s great conversations happening in the room while my own internal emotions are also being processed. It’s sort of like the alchemical transmutation of “lead into gold” that Manly P Hall talks about so much. In that sense tattooing is a spiritual dharma and we’re all just walking each other home.

In a nutshell this is why it’s fucking whack to steal from other tattooers. You don’t embody those emotions. You don’t embody that alchemical transmutation. That’s why following your own path is the only path that works FOR YOU. This doesn’t mean that you can’t work within the parameters of a style or try to pay homage to your hero’s but at the end of the day the energy we put into our tattoos is the energy our clients will wear for the rest of their lives. So choose wisely.

Tools:

@blackclaw straight 9, hella tite 4, 13 curved mag

@sombragrays for all the wash

@chromatattooink extreme jet black

@ruethlessirons Saber rotary pen. taken in 16th Street and Mcdowell Rd by @aaronriddletattoos

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12 days ago

Finished a piece I started forever ago with on my friend Jess. Sending this back to Portland! Done with @blackclaw @ruethlessirons @sombragrays @chromatattooink taken in 16th Street and Mcdowell Rd by @aaronriddletattoos

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12 days ago