bonniegrrl | Shawn Barber's "Tattooed Portraits: 2" Art Show

While most folks think tattoo art is simply lowbrow, I have to wonder if they've ever seen artist Shawn Barber's work. His painted portraits of some of the most iconic and rock star-esque tattoo artists are hauntingly beautiful, and give plain-Jane Mona Lisa a run for her money.

If I had a gallery, I'd fill it with Shawn's work. But since I don't have the dough to keep Shawn rolling in paints, I'm glad Justin over at The Shooting Gallery does. This was the second installment of Shawn's "Tattooed Portraits" series. His first show was in March 2006, as you can check out here.

This time around he had more breathtaking portraits including one of everyone's favored Mistress of Ink -- Kat Von D. When we first got there a half hour after the show opened, you could easily slip from one painting to the next, lingering, chatting with people looking at the art, or congratulate Shawn on his latest work. But once the celebs started walking through, whether it was well-known tattoo artists (like Grime) and others often seen on Kat's reality show "Miami Ink," or even comedian Robin Williams, the crowd began to get grow. At this was even before Kat Von D made her rumored appearance. It got way too packed, so we headed out.

Show Highlights:

Saying hi to Shawn who was as always friendly and downright cool.
Seeing Justin all dressed up like a high roller.
Watching as usually calm hipsters lost it when they saw Robin Williams asking for photo after photo with the poor guy. He was always smiling and welcoming. A real Ace of a guy.
Kate spotting the Star Wars knuckles tats on the portrait of Craig Driscoll.

See all the photos I took of the event here:
"Tattooed Portraits 2" Art Show