I first met Lucky back in 2000 in Palma de Mallorca. He had just done the Madrid convention and my brother J had invited him and Chantal to come out to the island. Chino had just put me hip to learning traditional designs and in Spain at that time there was still little information available. Meeting Lucky was great! He was the real deal and had a great influence on me. Not only was he a solid traditional tattooer, but he was writing articles and he lived on the road. He shared bits of information with us, gave us some good advice, but it were the stories of traveling that really interested me. He had been just about everywhere already a couple of times! He had been tattooed by the monks in Thailand, worked in Australia, Japan, and even in Amsterdam with Hanky Fuckin’ Panky! Well, I was sold! The life of a traveling tattooer was for me!
Loika ship at Milano Tattoo Convention by Lucky Bastard
Shortly after I embarked on my own trip, although I stayed mostly between Europe and the States. Lucky and I crossed paths a few years after in Antwerpen and again it was a pleasure to work with him. We never really kept in contact through the years, but he had always remained an inspiration to me.
Tattoo on me, Palma de Mallorca 2000
When I called him to let him know about the brand new tattoo museum in Amsterdam he was very excited. He showed up a few days early to give us a hand with everything, stayed for a bit after the opening and was one of the first guest artists of the museum. We are very grateful to him for all his work and dedication he has shown for the cause. While he was just here in Milan I finally got a chance to interview him. Keep your eyes open for this article, but also check out the article he wrote on the museum opening in the latest issue of Tattoo Artist Magazine.
Lucky can be reached at:
745 West Chapman Avenue Orange, CA 92868
(714) 997-4389
finetattoowork@yahoo.com
or at the Amsterdam Tattoo Museum
