07/06/2026
"The day you think you've learned everything is the day you stop growing as an artist."
Over the last two days I had the privilege of attending an intensive tattoo seminar hosted by Pengerzz Tattoos and Dean Gunther, focusing on Colour Realism and Black & Grey Realism.
Day one gave us the opportunity to watch a full-scale tattoo collaboration unfold in real time. Over the course of an 11-hour session, we were able to observe every stage of the process as David and Dean created this incredible large-scale leg piece from start to finish. Seeing artists of this calibre work together, explain their decision-making, discuss composition, contrast, colour theory, and problem solving was an invaluable experience.
What social media doesn't show you are the countless small decisions that go into creating a tattoo at this level. Watching the entire process unfold in real time gave us a much deeper understanding of technique, workflow, efficiency, and the importance of strong fundamentals.
Day two was all about application. We were given the opportunity to tattoo one of their designs ourselves, putting the techniques and methods we'd learned into practice under their guidance. Having direct feedback from artists operating at the highest level of the industry was something I will take forward into my own work.
One of the biggest lessons from the seminar was that there are no shortcuts to great tattooing. The artists who consistently produce world-class work are those who never stop refining their craft, improving their fundamentals, and pushing themselves to learn.
A huge thank you to Pengerzz Tattoos and Dean Gunther for sharing their knowledge, experience, and passion over these two days. The amount of information provided was incredible, and I've come away inspired, motivated, and equipped with new techniques that I'll be bringing back into the studio.
As artists, we should never stop learning. Growth comes from staying open-minded, investing in education, and surrounding yourself with people who challenge you to become better.
Now it's time to bring those lessons back to Mental 13 Ink and continue the journey.
