STRONGER THAN EVER

Monday, June 8th, 2009

Its Friday,  the 5th Ink and Iron Show is in full effect and Im still at the shop working my ass off….But its no worry, my boys Jun, Klown, Abbey, Manny, Ernie, and Mark aka Danger, are at the show doing what we do best.  I can’t wait for the next day to come so I can be with my boys.  

The first thing i did was pay my respects to one of my best friends and mentor, my Big Homie Brian Everett. He invited me to go see his low low, and let me tell you, it is out this world.  No wonder he got the Elegance Award!  We chilled out for a minute contemplating the beautiful car he had created while talking about old times and future plans.  Then it was time to go check on the boys.

As I made my way down to the booth I was amazed with the big crowd the family had going on. Everybody had a big smiles on their faces when I showed up…..They were happy to see me and I was more than delighted to see them…

Crowd after crowd took turns checking out the amazing portfolios the boys had on display. Beautiful girls stopped by the booth to take pictures…It was one good thing after the other. We were having the time of our lives and making sure our clients were too.

When I stepped outside, it was my pleasure to be greeted by my boy OG Abel and the homies Estevan Oriol and Willie T.  That really made my day, all of us set back a few beers and talked about all the things to come before heading back to the show…

After going for a walk around the convention, we came back to the booth to kick it for a while and chill with our friends from Japan. But the time had finally arrived, what the first competition we were waiting had finally come… Best Black and Grey…We made our way to the boiler room where the contest was taking place…  

There were so many contestants waiting to display their awesome work. The look on the competitors faces all seemed intimidated by one another. I could not believe the level of  tattoo quality on everybody. Collector after collector took stage, modeling their work, posing for minutes at a time for the cameras and judges. Our boys boys entered the stage with confidence and smiles…

After about an hour the verdict was finally announced……..Lowrider Tattoo, 1st Place for black and grey!

One goal down, we made our way back to the booth, preparing for anything else that was to come…

It was a pleasure to have the youngbloods holding it down for the shop, helping out with whatever they could, and representing to their finest. Artist Miguel Ochoa, the apprentices Adam V and Daniel, and our good friend Cory Mook... Hoping and helping  to bring something new to the table…

… It’s Sunday night so we do our last walk around the floor. I got to see my good friend Corey Miller…. We took a picture for the magazines. Don’t we look good? haha

Its always a big pleasure to see my big homie Bob Tyrrell.  One of my top inspirations of this industry.  The Usual Bob Tyrrell picture pose was a must for photo. A big shout out goes out to you.

The show is finally over, we were ready for a group picture to sum up everything up that went on. I must say none of this could ever be possible without the help from all these beautiful people.  I feel very privileged to have such an incredible family…    

Right before we left the building, My boy Mark gave a shot to compete for Best of Show. I  would have never thought we would get it considering the quality of work all the first place contestants had…..But incredibly… And to my surprise…

We did.

THAT was the icing on the cake. I want to thank EVERYBODY who made this possible, it really humbles me to know that so many people have my back, that they are willing to go hell and back with me, all to keep this strong family and tradition alive!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Your friend and artist,

Jose lopez

Tags: Add new tag, Best black and grey tattoos, best of show, INK N IRON tattoo convention, jose lopez, lowrider Family, lowridertattoostudios
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