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TURTLE
Turtle got his first glimpse into the world of tattooing at the tender age of 6. As with many old families, Dad didn't approve and Mom, being an accomplished artist, approved of any artistic endeavors her children decided to follow.
At the age of 17 he began his journey as an apprentice. After a grueling 2 year apprenticeship, traveling by bus across Puerto Rico, No longer able to travel due to personal and financial reasons and losing contact with his mentor forced Turtle to figure our a lot of his techniques on his own.
Luckily, by looking over the shoulder of many of the artists he admired on the island such as Harry Seda, Daniel Cote, and Balo, along with artists in the U.S. including Wes Diffie, Doc, Matthew Amey, Paul Booth, and Joe Capobianco, Turtle acquired a knack for diversity which allows him to work in various styles. However, his love for traditional Japanese art and tattooing can be seen in many of his pieces of work, not only in tattoo, but in his paintings and drawings as well.
On July 17, 2001 Turtle moved to South Florida, where his new adventures place him in a studio in South Beach. While in South Florida he meets many artists that inspired him to be better and thrive for excellence. These artists included Miki Foged, Fabio, and the rest of the crew at Merlin's Art Attack (the studio where Miami Ink is currently located).
Moving out of South Florida following the death of his father, Turtle worked in Brevard County, Florida and later on International Drive in Orlando as well as other "touristy" environments.
On November 22, 2008 Turtle decided to team up with his friend and Martial Arts teacher Grandmaster Miguel Santos. Together they came up with the concept of an Arts Center where no one is a "Rock Star", and everyone is treated with respect.
Looking
for a more family orientated environment, where mainly locals are catered
to, Turtle chose to open his studio in Kissimmee Florida. Thus, Turtles
Tattooz at the Tattoo Dojo was born. See Turtle's Work In The "Portfolio" Section Of Our Website
DONNO Tattoo Artist
Part man, part myth, part legend, Donno fled his home state of New Jersey within hours of receiving his BFA in Photography from Stockton College.Under a cloud of mystery, he landed in Philadelphia, PA, home of cheese steaks, America, and the Eagles. He moved to West Philly, to be specific, and took up with a motley crew of fellow artists and musicians. There he found creative outlets photographing bands, creating poster art and album covers, and drawing a series of comics about West Philly life. In order to pay the bills, Donno became the manager of the world famous Video Library. It was there that he met both his wife, Judi, and his tattooing mentor, Web Blair. After serving a brutal 18 month apprenticeship- during which his suffering was to become legendary, even in Hell- Donno became a full time Tat-Bro at West Philly's Higher Ground Tattoo. Sadly, when Web, his mentor and the shop's owner, suffered a tragic death at the age of 29, Higher Ground closed its doors forever. Donno then tattooed for a few years at a North Philly street shop (coincidentally co-owned by Florida's own Inksmith and Rogers) called Popcorn's Tattoo Parlor. Here he not only honed his craft, but learned invaluable skills to maximize time and minimize waste. Also during his tenure there, his wife gave birth to their first son in 2003. Eventually Donno moved on to a shop just outside the city, and settled into a long term position at Tiny Tim's Boulevard Tattoos in Collingdale, PA. There he was afforded the luxury of working on much more custom work and larger pieces, and developed a following of loyal clientele, he also had the pleasure of working with some internationally renowned artists, from whom he learned a great deal. Donno has also traveled extensively, tattooing in guest spots and conventions from Memphis, TN to Helsinki, Finland and many points in between, working alongside many world famous artists, some of whom will actually even admit to this in public. After the birth of their second son in 2008, Donno and Judi made a plan to get out of the city, and recently were happy to find themselves residing in Kissimmee, FL. Within days of moving here, Donno met Turtle, who was opening a new tattoo shop. The two hit it off, Donno got a new gig, and the rest, as they say, is history...
...Except that most of it is still in the future. ERIK Web Master/ Marketing Genius/ Collectibles Master
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