Guy Aitchison is one of the most well-respected American tattoo artists of all time. Best known for his visionary look on tattoo art, he has helped a multitude of artists realize tattoo art is much more than following a black line and shading. In fact, he has influenced the tattoo industry in an amazing way by opening up the eyes of tattoo artists to the endless possibilities in terms of tattoo artistry. He is well known for his incredible spiritual tattoos, biomechanics tattoos and imagery tattoos.
Guy was born in 1968 and graduated from high school in 1985. Always interested in art, he initially became an art department apprentice at The Jacklich Corporation for one year. He then went on to painting record covers for a few years and was lucky enough to work with acts like Vinnie Moore, David Chastain, Apocrypha, Hexx, Skatenigs and other Shrapnel Records California-based bands. He did approximately 40 record covers during his stint there. In 1989, Guy became interested in tattoo art and started apprenticing at Bob Oslons Custom Tattooing in Chicago, Illinois. He apprenticed for two years before he opened his own tattoo studio in Chicago. It was called Guilty & Innocent Productions. However, in 1998 Guy chose to close his extremely popular tattoo shop. This move shocked many people in the area. However, those who knew him well understood he wanted to travel the country and focus on his painting more. Highly publicized, Guy Aitchison work has been published in popular magazines like Outlaw Biker Tattoo, Easyrider Tattoo, Skin Art, Skin & Ink, International Tattoo Art and more. However, his tattoos are not the only things which earn him artist acclaim and praise. His paintings have a following all their own and have been published in Art Alternatives and Savage magazines. Respected not only by fans but also by other tattoo artist greats, Guys work is also featured in several artists books, including world renowned tattoo artist Don Ed Hardys Eye Tattooed America fine art book.
In addition to tattooing and painting, Guy Aitchison travels the world speaking to hundreds of artists each year at conventions and festivals. His tattoo seminars draw thousands of artists, almost immediately after they are announced as being available. He reaches out to other artists through his desktop-published tattoo manuals as well (The Graphic Language for Tattooists and Special Effects for Tattooists). Guy speaks freely of his passion for both tattooing and painting and says they both compete with each other for the first place in his heart, with neither holding the spot for long over the other. He appreciates the dedication required when working as a tattoo artist, claiming the industry is a very critical one because it deals with commercial art. In fact, he realizes and stresses to other tattoo artists the implications a client can have from any given tattoo project. He addresses the fact tattoo artists must be much more flexible and willing to adjust to the clients requests and ideas. Thus, he enjoys the wildness of the process in which the artist can chase after obscure and specific personal notions.
In addition to being a famous tattoo artist in his own right, Guy has an extremely famous tattoo artist sister. His sister is Hannah Aitchison, one of the original cast members of Kat Von Ds famous reality television TLC show, LA Ink. Hannah currently works at High Voltage Tattoo shop in Los Angeles, where the LA Ink show is filmed. Her style is similar to Guys because she has an open mind when it comes to tattooing. While Hannah is more focused on details and the mechanics of tattooing, she shares with her brother the unlimited potential she utilize to think out of the box and create amazing tattoo art pieces on her clients. Another cast member, Kim Saigh, also worked with Guy in Chicago before coming to do LA Ink. Kim has mentioned more than once that Guy was one of the most influential artists shes ever worked with. She credits him for opening her eyes more in the tattoo artistry world and has said Guy made her want to constantly strive to be a better overall artist. Guy Aitchison thinks of himself as being an artist who is most often focusing on natural geometry and organic tattoos. With interests in science, science fiction, religion and architecture, he is able to excel at a wide array of tattoo designs. His work is highly respected by his fans and all other tattoo artists around the world. When he speaks, artists listen.
