In October of 2016 I got a floral arm piece at another shop that I was unhappy with.
I was referred to Anthony by my dad. My dad has been to Anthony several times for multiple tattoos and hasn't had one problem. After looking at his work, I decided to contact him sometime in May 2017 about fixing up my floral piece, as well as getting a smaller moth piece above my knee. It took a few weeks for us to finally set a date to simply consult in person.
After consulting in person, we scheduled an appointment for a date in June 2017 in which we decided we would do both my arm and the moth in one sitting. However, this was not the case as he claimed he wasn't feeling well my first session. Every session I've gone to with him has been during their opening hours so either 12 or 1pm. I was always his first client of the day. Later on, he posted a photo on Instagram of another tattoo he claimed to have done that day which led me to think he was dishonest. We had already set a price for what I wanted done and my arm wasn't complete so we opted to schedule another appointment in which we'd finally finish the arm as well as start and finish the moth. This time he had a tooth ache and we had to end early. I understand things like this happen and I was okay with the idea of leaving but it wasn't until weeks later that he finally got back to me about finishing my moth.
I already hated the idea of redoing my arm piece with a different artist but he surprised me in the way he fixed it up and made it look like a brand new tattoo. Although I was happy with my fixed floral piece, he left me with an unfinished outline of the moth in this next session. I texted his phone and even went as far as to messaging him on Instagram and commenting on his posts just so that he could he could see. Communication was always poor and I always felt as if customer service was simply not a priority to him.
Anyway, he proceeded to complete my outline as well as add some color in late August of 2017. I was hoping this would be the last time because I live in Pasadena and the drive was a bit much to keep making, only for the result to be little progress each time. We finally finished the moth, color and all, and about a month after it healed, I noticed that some of the fine lines in the moth were disappearing. The color was also very patchy. Again, I didn't want another artist to contribute to his tattoo so I contacted him and had the same problem. He was just not responding, and when he would respond, he wasn't very clear. I contacted him mid-
September and heard nothing back. I messaged him again in November on the 21st asking if we could touch up my moth tattoo as well as add a moon.
He agreed to a date and time for that same week, but then texted me hours later saying he actually wasn't available. We chose another date and time in which he actually forgot about our appointment. I drove to the shop and he was not there and even admitted to forgetting. He apologized and offered to "hook me up for free" the following day.
I showed up the next day and he fixed my moth, and added the moon. This last and most recent session felt rushed and I was just over the whole thing at this point. The moth design I chose was simple and the little details were what made it special. He went over certain details with harsher lines or color and didn't bother to fix them. Once the session was over, he asked me to pay the original price we initially agreed on, after already saying he would hook me up for the mistakes he made. I paid him and left the shop frustrated.
It sucks because I really wanted to like him. His work and prices were good but communication was just not there. In my opinion, if an artist doesn't want to tattoo a certain design then they should be honest upfront and in the beginning. Don't agree to something you're not going put effort into and only do when you have extra time, because that's what my whole experience felt like. read more