Aug

8

L.A. Ink Episode One Recap And Review + Pics!

Posted by admin

August 8, 2007 |

Last night, the first episode of L.A. Ink hit the TLC airwaves last night and then was repeated right away in the 11pm hour. Here is our rundown of the episode, ink by ink…..

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Welcome Home Kat Season 1. Ep1.

As the new show opens, we come to realize that the groundwork needs to be laid. Kat returns to her hometown of Los Angeles to open her new shop and needs to first assemble her crew. But before she gets into that, she heads to the home of actor/musician and fellow L.A. native Eric Balfour. Eric wants a tattoo that is L.A. related on his shoulder. We posted the video of this already, but just in case you have not seen it, check it below.

This is also our first stab at what we call our Ink-o-meter, which will rate this tattoo experience on three things.

Kat Von D - Skull Piece

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1.) Client Idea / Story - Balfour has a strong connection to L.A., and wanted an artist with similar L.A. connections to do this piece. Kat was the perfect choice. It is also an image he uses for his band, Born As Ghosts. 8/10

2.) Artist Interpretation - Kat takes the pics Eric had and really shows why she is such an amazing artist by nailing this one. She adds a few small touches as well that really make this one take off. 9 / 10

3. ) Finished Tattoo - This turned out amazing. The amount of detail made it very difficult and Kat pulled it off really really well. A great tat to kick off the new show. And c’mon, it made the dude get all teary eyed! 9 / 10

Overall 8.75/10

The show moves on now as Kat tries to assemble her team. First on the docket is Kat’s mentor and longtime artist Corey Miller. Kat has been tattooing out of Miller’s shop, Six Feet Under, while she waits for her shop to open and we get introduced to Miller next as he shows off his free-hand skills.

Corey Miller - Circle Of Life Dragon Piece

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1.) Client Idea / Story - Not alot of details on the story for this guy, but he does want a circle of life type theme, and brings Corey some pics of Dragon’s chasing their own tales and stuff. Due to the lack of explanation, I gotta rate this idea kinda low. 4/10

2.) Artist Interpretation - When Miller decides to free hand this one, I get a little nervous. I mean, in this day and age of stencils and all that good stuff, why would you want to or need to do a free hand? Of course, this is our introduction to Corey Miller, and he knocks it out of the park by adding some of his own touch, including a skull and some Asian artwork in the center of the piece to really make it pop. 9/10

3.) Finished Tattoo - I am not terribly impressed with this piece itself, probably because I feel it would have been better bigger. However, major props for it being a free hand piece and even more for Corey really turning a shaky idea into an excellent tattoo. 7.5 / 10

Overall Score 6.75 / 10

Up next, Kat heads to Chicago to try to persuade two female artists to join her team, first up is our introduction to Kim Saigh. Kat hits her shop and watches Kim do a calf piece.

Kim Saigh - Bittersweet Flower Piece

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1.) Client Idea / Story - Kim’s client is going through a divorce, and wants to get a tattoo of a bittersweet flower on the back of her calf. Kim comments that big life changes often bring on new ink and also talks a little about her own recent divorce. 8/10

2.) Artist Interpretation - We don’t get to see the pictures that Kim is given for this, but she makes it into an amazing piece. I am most impressed by both the use of color and the placement of this one, which is likely a specialty for an artist like Kim. 9/10

3.) Finished Tattoo - Kim really does an unreal job on this one. Not only does she take the idea and run with it but also uses color in a way that I have not seen from the other artists on Miami Ink at all. The placement is also just perfect for this flower and makes it an overall winner. 9.5/10

Overall Score 9/10

Still in Chicago, it is on to visit Hannah Aitchison for a peek at her shop and her work.

Hannah Aitchison - Pin Up Cook

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1.) Client Idea / Story - Hannah’s client wants to get a pin up girl with some specific features and for some specific reasons. The cook has the look of a 50’s housewife with the tagline that reads, “I Should Be In The Kitchen” as she cooks up some muffins. The idea being that the client has “made it” in the corporate world but still loves to cook. So this piece allows her to poke some fun at the old sexist idea that women only belong in the kitchen. A fun idea. 8.5/10

2.) Artist Interpretation - We get a good idea of how Hannah will handle this right away as she specializes in pin ups, she takes a fun idea and really brings life to it with her use of colors and even the details she brings to the piece with small things like the flavor of the cupcakes (orange icing). The client came to the right artist for this one. 9/10

3.) Finished Tattoo - The finished piece is really really great. The overall look is just what the client seemed to be shooting for and the detail and color really pop out in a great way. I cannot say I am crazy about the red lettering of the tagline or the size of the piece, but everything else seemed to turn out perfect. 9/10

Overall Score - 8.5/10

Kat heads back to L.A. now to check out the progress of the shop and is not happy. I gotta say that I think she acted a bit immature in this segment, whether it was justified or not I am not sure, even so, kinda made me laugh. She heads back to Six Feet Under to do the last tattoo of the episode.

Kat Von D - Downtown L.A. Piece

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1.) Client Idea / Story - This client is also an L.A. native who has her own clothing line based around Los Angeles. She gifts Kat with an L.A. Pride shirt and asks for a downtown landscape with a banner below that has a song lyric in it. The lyric is …… I am all is favor of loving where you are from, but this is a bit overboard. 6.5 / 10

2.) Artist Interpretation - Another example of a great client/ artist pairing given Kat’s already mentioned love of L.A. Kat takes the idea and really nails it with the amount of details to the buildings and shading throughout. 9/10

3.) Finished Tattoo - This turns out to be a big piece for a small girl and it is really well done by Kat. The cityscape is a great way for Kat to show off her work that is not a portrait, which is all we seemed to see on Miami Ink. Even so, I am not a big fan of the idea and size of this one, and some of the shading seems to be heading out of the general area of the piece. 7.5/10

Overall Score 7/10


Comments

19 Comments so far

  1. JJ Young on August 8, 2007 1:38 pm

    Fantastic recap of the show guys! I think it was a great start for her and I’m anxious to see where this show will be headed.
    JJ Young
    http://www..inkedtalk.com

  2. MB on August 8, 2007 4:50 pm

    Thought you might want to add this to your site. I’ll be posting the weekly promos every Wednesday.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcNDr2s6Uko

  3. Joe on August 8, 2007 5:16 pm

    Thanks MB, I will be sure to post it this week….

  4. Network Notables for August 9 : Content Quake on August 9, 2007 10:38 am

    [...] Reality Ink recaps the first episode of L.A. Ink, complete with ratings and [...]

  5. Tot on August 9, 2007 4:52 pm

    I love Kat Von D.. Aind im so happy that she is at home.. I will be tuned in every Tuesday to watch this show.. and hopefully i can appear on the show one day! :)

  6. gail lev on August 9, 2007 9:21 pm

    I think Kat has become an ego maniac. She’s ditched her husband, had some cosmetic surgery and lost her compass in life.
    She should have a little grattitide for Miami because without them, she would certainly not be here. I loved her art, but as a human being, the jury is out.

  7. admin on August 12, 2007 9:21 am

    It is pretty amazing that this episode blew away all the Miami Ink ratings for three seasons…

  8. mel on August 15, 2007 12:46 am

    Miami ink is a much better show without this ego maniac! and KAT lay off the eye shadow a bit honey, ya look terrible..and pay respects to the guys who got you hear…MIAMI INK!!!

  9. AQ on August 15, 2007 4:02 pm

    I loved the cook pin up.. even more i loved that girls hair.. if anyone has a full pic of that girl with the tattoo i would love to have it. Thanks. I loved the show to. Thats so cool to have a whole shop of almost girls.

  10. black on August 15, 2007 4:09 pm

    i think if you guys new her husband you would wonder why she was married to him in the first place.
    and she was always big headed. most tattoo artist are. tv just few it even more. lets face it hot girls sell more that hot guys , that is what tv is all about. they should kept her man around for drama. it would of been good .

  11. black on August 15, 2007 4:12 pm

    p.s. doesn’t she sound like a man ….kinda . it is weird.

  12. JAMES SMITH on August 16, 2007 6:40 pm

    I AM LOOKING FOR THE COREY MILLET TATTOO OF THE VIKING STANDING IN A BOAT..ANY HELP?

  13. Caitlyn on August 21, 2007 10:59 pm

    does anyone know the book the girl with the pinup said inspired her ?

  14. chelsea on August 22, 2007 3:32 am

    I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOVEEEEEEE THAT CITY TATTOO!!
    im head over heals in loove with it! :)

  15. Beverly Bartok on August 27, 2007 12:05 am

    Kat you rock girl. You will be much better in LA.
    Miami was not you. Because you have to much talent
    to deal with them in miami. All girls shop rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  16. Rabbit on August 28, 2007 1:40 pm

    Gil Elvgren was the pin up artist - it’s actually a direct copy of one of his girls … you should look into him most of his girls have quotes next to them that juxtapose nifty things. Hope that helps.

  17. Kat Fat on September 6, 2007 1:14 am

    Kat rocks hard. Love the show. Can’t wait for more action.
    Some funny stuff here: http://sendchris2space12.com/kat_von_d/

  18. kiz on August 12, 2008 10:50 pm

    i love you girl you are sweet as

  19. jackie on April 28, 2009 6:46 pm

    hi my name is jackie new zealand
    i love la ink i have all the dvd i love kat von do work and her tattoos i have 2 tattoos
    ps have a good day xxoo :)

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