Tattoo artist

How about an interview with Ellis Saul? Who's he? inquired Louise, somewhat dubiously.

a tattoo artist who has a little shop on door street he takes passport pictures too i noticed the place weeks ago what makes you think the story would be worth printing tattooing is a fascinating subject it is to you i doubt if our readers share your enthusiasm they will when they read my story countered penny early the next morning she presented herself at mr saul's place of business a denlight crack in the wall barely wide enough to accommodate a door pausing she stared at a sign which proclaimed that for a nominal sum mr saul would tattoo or photograph all comers in a glass frame were displayed many samples of tattooing bleeding hearts clasped hands sailing ships birds in flight and other artistic conceptions penny entered the shop the front end of the long narrow room was unoccupied but the sound of hammering led her to the rear a man of some sixty-odd years was engaged in making a new shelf as he saw her the hammer dropped from his hand good morning said penny in her friendliest tone are you mr saul that's me he replied regarding her curiously excuse me for bothering you apologized penny but i should like to interview you for my newspaper mr sol's intelligent but somewhat childlike eyes fixed her in a steady stare a reporter he said finally in a long suffering tone they wouldn't respect a man's privacy or anything else for that matter i reckon is one thing i am sure all reporters respect mr saul responded penny art from the samples of your work which i saw out front i am sure you are a great tattoo artist mr saul melted like a lump of butter on a hot stove penny had struck his weakest spot you flatter me he said a faint pattern of a smile etching his face i admit i'm good although maybe not quite the best in the business what do you want to know a story about the tattooing business in general and you in particular mr saul how do you do it how do you start who was the most famous person you ever tattooed what's your favorite design do you think a tattoo looks better on the arm or the chest what hold it young lady hold it you seem to be a living question mark mr saul motioned for penny to follow him to the front of the shop as he offered her a chair she took a quick glance at a row of dirty smeary bottles of chemicals on a shelf above her head now let's take your first question said mr saul seating himself opposite the girl i can't tell you how to tattoo that's a secret of the profession how much do you charge for one depends on how much a fellow's willing to pay take this town it's a cheap place nobody has any money the king of england paid fifty dollars for his tattoo and what do i get i'm lucky if it's a dollar and mostly hoodlums to work on you can't give a man much of a tattoo for a dollar do you ever remove tattoos mr saul that's against the law the man said briefly i didn't know that said penny in surprise Crooks can be identified by their tattoos.

Oh, it's easy for a fella to get one, but not so easy to take it off.

But it can be done, Penny persisted.

Ellis Saul, scenting business, immediately arose.

Be careful what you ride up, he warned as he left her.

there's been a lot of articles on tattooing but not one that gets it right it just ain't possible for a reporter to write a true story unless it's about a murder or a fire i'll be careful promised penny leaving the shop she walked slowly to her parked car the information obtained from the tattoo artist both excited and mystified her i don't believe mr saul could have been mistaken about the words which were incorporated in the design she thought and i am equally certain i wasn't mistaken about anchor joe's tattoo it had only the single word one mr saul's declaration that his customer was not the possessor of a tattooed anchor caused penny to wonder if the person could be joe However, the man was wanted by government agents, and it seemed reasonable to believe that he might seek to remove telltale markings.

I know what I'll do, she decided.

Nobody knows me.

If I decided I'm gonna be Jim Bob the Tattooist, I could be Jim Bob the Tattooist.

Yeah.

You know? There's no one here's gonna say, "No, you're not."

How about an interview with Ellis Saul? Who's he? inquired Louise, somewhat dubiously.

A tattoo artist who has a little shop on Door Street.

He takes passport pictures, too.

I noticed the place weeks ago.

There is one thing I am sure all reporters respect, Mr. Saul, responded Penny.

Art.

From the samples of your work, which I saw out front, I am sure you are a great tattoo artist.

Mr. Saul melted like a lump of butter on a hot stove.

Yeah.

And, uh, what is it, is it appropriate to tip your tattoo artist if they, if everyone's happy with the sleeve you've put on them? I mean,

yes and no. It's never expected, but, you know, it's always appreciated.

Mm-hmm.

That was something that required a sprint of a lot of different tattoos in very quick succession.

But all my tattoo artists were really chill about it because like I find that I don't think I've ever found a tattoo artist who isn't like There are many who aren't witches, but even the ones who aren't witches are like, yeah, okay, cool.

Let's do it.

Yeah.

Because it is a ritual of setting up, tearing down, you know, tattooing.

As long as you're not really messing with that, you know.

At least all the tattoo artists I've met have been pretty open-minded.

So how many, like, between...