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One thing’s for sure: Aron Dubois has an approach to art (and tattooing) that’s entirely his own.

Tattoo by Aron Dubois at Kaze Gallery in Denver, CO

Remember when a butterfly tattoo was a laughable thing? Those days are over, friends.

Tattoo by Fish at Think Tank Tattoo in Denver, CO

Las Vegas locals Jason Tritten and Jime Litwalk will be traveling for a few days at the end of July. From July 21st to the 24th, they’ll be in Denver, Colorado. From July 26th to the 30th, they’ll be tattooing at Olde Town Tattoo in Kearney, Nebraska.

If you’re interested in getting tattooed by either of them, reach out to them via Facebook (Jason Tritten, Jime Litwalk)

Tattoo by: Jime Litwalk at Hart & Huntington Tattoo in Las Vegas, NV

Trapped in that one square state that looks just like that other square state directly to its right? No worry guys, I got you covered for something to do.

Tomorrow, June 4th, join Th’ink Tank Tattoo from 8-11pm for free booze and art by Colorado tattoo artists at the 3rd annual Landlocked Art Show.

I’m not entirely sure why, but when I see this piece I instantly started humming “Hey There Delilah.” I think it’s because of the combination of the buildings in the background with the over glaring theme of love?

Don’t act like you don’t know the lyrics…

Tattoo by: Sandi Calistro at Kaze Gallery in Denver, CO

I’ve always wanted a tattoo that I can show people, and we all start instantly laughing at. Nothing mean, crude, or rude – just funny. My predicament is the things I find funny today, won’t be funny in five years.The tattoo below is one of the few exceptions.

I’m pretty confident this tattoo will be just as funny in five years as it is today. Hopefully whomever has this tattoo shows it off and gets a good chuckle.

Tattoo by: Paul McC at Big Easy Tattoo in Broomfield, CO

I don’t think anyone will ever get tired of well-executed rose tattoos. Do you?

Tattoo by: Shawn McDonald at Magnetic Tattoo in Loveland, CO

I don’t know what it is, but I can get lost in the eyes of gorgeous female portraits so easily. They don’t have to be ultra-realistic either, it happens with the semi-cartoon style ones too.

Am I the only one who feels this way? I feel dumb for saying it, but there’s just something about them…

Tattoo by: Curtis Burgess at Tribal Rites in Fort Collins, CO

Is Denver the next location for the Paradise Tattoo Gathering? The dates are up for 2011, but it doesn’t say where…

If you’re not familiar with the event, watch the video below. It’s a one of a kind event, and I can’t wait till I’m actually able to attend one myself.

I’ve posted work from Aron Dubois before, and after doing a little digging on his website I found something that really caught my attention: small hand-poked tattoos done for the sheer joy of it. Denver’s my hometown, and I couldn’t resist the urge to drop by the shop to get one to call my own after seeing some of the images he had posted online. Even better, Aron was willing to give me a little insight into these hand-poked pretties he’s dubbed “pomoes”.

What exactly is a “pomoe” and when did you first start doing them?

Aron Dubois: A pomoe is a half dollar-sized tattoo done by hand and by machine. The “po” part of the word comes from “poke”, and the “moe” part from “machine”.  I invented a name for them because I couldn’t think of anything else to call them. I began doing them in late August or September of last year.

You mentioned that each design is used once and then never done again. How many have you done so far? Are you strict about only using these pre-drawn designs?

Aron: Yes, every design is done once even though they’re picked off a flash sheet, and you can only get one.  I believe that everyone deserves a personal tattoo. I’ve only done a small handful thus far, but I am hoping to do many more.  I’m usually partial to my drawings only because I know I’ll have more fun doing them, however I’ve made a few exceptions.  I do these to break away from the usual tattoos I do on a regular basis, so I’m picky.

Tell me a bit about learning the technique of hand-poking tattoos. I feel like there’s a pretty good story behind this…

Aron: There’s this guy named Hobo Matt.  His face is tattooed, he smokes weed by the truckload, and he makes fantasy swords.  He rules.  In true anarchist train-hopping hobo fashion, he also knows how to throw down some sick ink… with a sewing needle.  He draws demons, dragons, and the occasional spider-eyed teddy bear, of which I liked most, so I requested that he do one on me under one condition: that he would teach me the fine craft of anarchist ink slingin’. He agreed.  After he completed my epic nightmarish teddy (taking two hours for a very small outline), I opted to tattoo him, as a thanks.  The hand-poke method takes a decade; it requires a lot of alcohol and patience, both of which were running low by the time we got around to it, so I cheated a little.  I used a tattoo machine along with the sewing needle to speed things up, and thus the “pomoe” was born… out of pure laziness.  Slightly inebriated, I decided it would be a good idea to wing it without pre-drawing it or using any kind of stencil to follow.  It was the first time I had ever approached a tattoo like that–ridiculous.  It actually came out alright considering I had no idea what I was doing.

I know it’s a hard choice, but do you have any that you would consider “favorites” that you’ve done?

Aron: They’re all my little children, so I couldn’t pick favorites.

My pomoe is pictured above–don’t bite my style, or I will cut off your legs. Interested in embracing your secret inner train-hopper with a pomoe of your own, or otherwise having some work done by Aron? He can be found at Sol Tribe Tattoo in Denver, CO.