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Monica Amneus | Custom Tattoos | Portland, Oregon(@ismonkah)'s profile avatar HD Profile

Monica Amneus | Custom Tattoos | Portland, Oregon

@ismonkah

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☀️ Custom tattoos, cover-ups, and blast-overs in sunny Portland, Oregon ☀️
🔥co-owner of @hotdamntattoo 😈
🍀Booking March
♥️@awwwsin 💞
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👻 Today marks 9 years tattooing 👻 I am so eternally grateful for what tattooing has given me. I truly don’t know where I would be without it. The community, independence, and life it’s given me is more than anything could have ever dreamed of, and I will continue to give back to tattooing each and every day. It’s a special type of magic we perform. It’s sacred and special and it’s a privilege to be able to be a part of it. Thank you to everyone who has allowed me to make tattoos, who has taught me how to tattoo, who has inspired and motivated me to keep creating. I love my shop, I love my friends, I love tattoo 🕉️ Swipe to see my first tattoo, and 9 years healed 🖤 taken in Portland, Oregon by @ismonkah
39
5 months ago
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It’s been a few years since I put this PSA out and you guys really can’t get it together. I’m really tired of receiving healed photos like this, and I need to say something, because clearly, so many of you don’t know how to heal your fruit tattoos. You have to keep them refrigerated or they’re going to go bad. It’s not my responsibility to fix your moldy tattoos because you couldn’t be bothered to follow basic aftercare. Look at all these disgusting rotten tattoos, you don’t want to end up like this. My recommendation is to turn your a/c down to about 40 degrees, and spritz your tattoo with a mixture of 3 parts water, 1 part white vinegar every day. Just following this extremely basic process will keep your fruit tattoos looking fresh for as long as possible. The first photo is a perfect example of someone who did NOT listen and, as a result of their negligence, they have WORMS. Before you know it, your tattoo will decompose and turn into color realism and you’ll have no choice but to replace it with a brand new blastover. taken in Montavilla Farmers Market by @ismonkah
15
7 months ago
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At long last, here’s my submission to the @newrosetattoo sleeve art show that happened last night. It’s made entirely from beads that I hand-wove into this tapestry. I don’t use a loom, just a needle and thread and individually weave each bead onto the next. There are about 260 rows and 45 beads in each row, for a grand total about about 12,000 beads. It took about 60 hours to do. I start by designing a pattern on my iPad. This usually involves roughly painting in the shapes I want with blocks of color, then refining it by creating the grid. This type of beadwork is called a peyote stitch, and it has an offset brick pattern to it, so I’m not able to use pixel art or easily translate images into the grid, it all is hand done by me and the color drop tool in Procreate. I then have to keep my pattern open in front of me, and I have a guideline that I move down each row as I work so I can keep track of which bead goes where. It’s tedious work, but it’s the exact type of thing my brain loves to do. There’s also the bonus that it feels really nice to hold it, the tactile sensation of these tapestries is unmatched. It took me about a month of working on this to complete it. I was putting in at least an hour or two every day, with some days that I would spend 6-8 hours on it just to make sure it would be completed on time. I finished with a few days to spare, thanks to several seasons of various tv shows that kept me entertained while I worked. So if you haven’t seen me in a while, this is why. I was being bead girl inside. This is the biggest beaded project I’ve done, and it was so much fun. I’m gonna go back to smaller pouches and things for a while, but I’m already thinking of ideas for my next big project. As with all of my beadwork, this is not something I am going to be parting with, it will hang on my station wherever I go. If you see it, feel free to touch it. It’s extremely satisfying. taken in Alberta Arts District by @ismonkah
115
a year ago
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Flower flails, some healed, some fresh, some with some REALLY shiny outlines 😅. Such a fun gap filler. taken in Portland, Oregon by @ismonkah
3
a day ago
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A fond “see you later” to Beth. Beth came to me 4 years ago for a hand tattoo. She was so confident when she walked in and she sat down and told me about the tattoo she wanted and what it meant to her, and I asked what the rest of her arm looked like so I could design it to fit, she revealed that this would be her first big tattoo. I think she had 1 or 2 tiny linework tattoos, but she was set on her hand. I gave her my typical spiel about hand tattoos when you have no other tattoos, and despite that, she said no, it’s what she really wants. Beth was in a really transformative time of her life, she was ready to become who she always wanted to be. Who am I to say no to that? So we did the tattoo. Beth returned to me every 2-3 months for another tattoo for the last 4 years. She’s got her whole arm done and nearly her whole leg, mostly done by myself. We became friends, I saw her life completely change multiple times and I got to hear her work through all the feelings. She is always so incredibly thoughtful and always looking for meaning in everything. She is incredibly fun to work with because she’s so delighted by accidental symbolism and the design process. Now, in classic Beth style, she’s blowing her life up again to pursue happiness in Denver, and this is the tattoo we made to commemorate her time in Portland. She wanted a pigeon pinup on a blustery day, sitting on a suitcase with this specific protest frog sticker, and the logo for my shop on it, with love letters blowing around. And of course she only had one spot on the leg it could go. I had a lovely time designing it for her, we were delighted at the red shoes accidentally being a symbol from the wizard of oz, and she happily clicked her heels together before she left as she said “I can always come back”. Here’s a collection of the work I’ve done for Beth over the years. I’m so proud of her journey and she’s been so fun to know. I’m so lucky that this is my job and I get to be a part of someone discovering who they are. It’s an honor. Cheers to Beth in her new city. taken in Portland, Oregon by @ismonkah
15
4 days ago
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Katie wanted an otter holding a salmon with guts to fill this spot on her arm, and here’s what we did! Y’all know I always love drawing yucky stuff. Mold, guts, gore, I love it all👹 taken in Portland, Oregon by @ismonkah
6
5 days ago
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I did two baba yaga houses as coverups/blastovers the other day, complete coincidence. It just so happened both clients wanted one and neither told me before the appointment, so I got to be a witch architect and had a great time doing it. Here’s one of the two I did. I’m going to the @richmondtattooconvention in a couple of weeks as well. I didn’t get a chance to announce it but y’all found out anyway and I’m fully booked already, but if you’re at the show please come say hi! I will have stickers, shirts, and totes as well. I’ve started to get so exhausted by social media. I really can’t stand influencer culture and am so tired of all the constant ads we see all day every day. It makes me appreciate my friends and clients recommending things to me that they enjoy, so here’s a few things I’ve enjoyed recently - I got to see both Boy Harsher shows this weekend, and danced my butt off. The new album is pretty fun. I’ve been making quick work of the Dungeon Crawler Carl books thanks to so many of my clients that urged me to check it out. A little over-the-top but it’s a fun adventure. I have been going to Laverne’s a lot and eating the chicken nachos. They are delicious. I’m really looking forward to Wildwood coming out soon. And I’ve found a lot of really great artists recently. I’ll tag some in the comments so they don’t get too many notifications. I’m looking forward to a vacation in November. I’m also booking the end of March and into April right now, so start thinking about spring I guess! taken in Portland, Oregon by @ismonkah
5
7 days ago
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Amanda asked if I’d listen to a song they like and design a tattoo based on it, so I did. This is based on Dismantle Me by @thedistillers . I’ve been drawing a lot of bird claws recently too. It’s funny how patterns come up in tattooing. taken in Portland, Oregon by @ismonkah
1
11 days ago
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Can you believe that this is Miriam’s first tattoo! What a sick start to her collection. I love a good ol horror kewpie doll 😈 taken in Portland, Oregon by @ismonkah
3
13 days ago
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I had so much fun making this vase for Grace yesterday. I don’t get to do black and gray very often so it’s always a treat. It was also a treat to do a tattoo start to finish in a day! I feel like I’ve only got massive projects right now so it’s always just chipping away at something. This felt like a nice break from that. I’d love to do more floral vases in black and gray. Just putting that out there 😉 taken in Portland, Oregon by @ismonkah
6
15 days ago
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Happy October 1 everyone! I’m not gonna torture you guys with close-up shots of all my horror movie portraits like last year. Just know I am always looking for horror movie recommendations (I don’t watch trailers so if you see a new movie that you liked, tell me about it!!) and I always want to do tattoos of monsters and creatures and yucky things. Anyway, this coverup is for Erin. Figs really do make for the best coverups! taken in Portland, Oregon by @ismonkah
7
18 days ago
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A good dog named Buck Nasty 🖤 Thanks for coming in Pedro! taken in Portland, Oregon by @ismonkah
2
20 days ago
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