JTG Tattoo

Jason was born in Connecticut in 1978 and left this city as soon as he was able. He moved to Boston to attend the School of The Museum Of Fine Arts. After being given a tattoo starter kit and scarring some people up in his apartment in 1998, he decided it was something he’d like to pursue. He dropped out of school within the year to start an apprenticeship back in Connecticut at Studio Zee. His next stage in life was waiting tables and working as a youth minister at a local Pentecostal church. Before long an opportunity led him to Greensburg Pennsylvania at a shop called Animus. After two years he moved to Southern California and got a job on Venice Boulevard at a shop called Tabu Tattoo, then on to Newport Tattoo where he worked until he moved to San Francisco. While living in Huntington Beach he had an artistic awakening, possibly through his newfound appreciation of weed and mushrooms, or the influence of his new found hero Bukowski. He converted his garage into an art studio and began furiously painting. In San Francisco, he decided to take a break from tattooing and live off of the money he made from selling a painting. Eventually that money ran out and he got a job at Urban Outfitters, where, hungover during his shift, he threw up in front of the entrance and realized it was time to get back to tattooing. Cyclops Tattoo in the Mission District allowed him to sit in, so, he split his time between Cyclops and Cold Steel. During this time he had some feature articles published in Tattoo Flash Magazine and Skin Art, which boosted his popularity. From the stint at Cold Steel and working on his own, he realized how much nicer it is to work with other people. He managed to weasel his way into Idle Hand Tattoo, in the Lower Haight, which is now part of his extended family. In 2010 he sold his possessions and flew to Costa Rica, and for the next 2.5 years, he travelled South America, Japan, South East Asia, Australia, Europe and Nepal. After losing a fair amount of his mind and most of his hair he landed a job at Kings Avenue in NYC. Here, he met his future wife and decided to get out of the city, prompting a move to Costa Rica in 2013. He now lives and works in a surf town, far away from anything and everything. He runs the Good Life Tattoo shop with his business partner and has found, according to him, the good life. Even still, sometimes he loves it, sometimes he hates it. Jason travels throughout the year to work in various places, such as NYC, SF, Miami, Texas, Colorado, Amsterdam and Italy etc… On any given day you’ll find him writing, painting, tattooing, and having private conversations with Bill Murray: “Getting tattooed by Jason is like riding a horse through the hills of Tuscany, while drinking a glass of montelpecino and smoking a fine cigar.”