Chef's pride.

Did these two tattoos playing off the ole skull and cross bones for brothers cooking up at Maverick's in Champlin, MN. Go visit them, and tell them I sent you.

ITA correction and new pics.

In the latest International Tattoo Art magazine, (Feb 08), there was a correction written about the few mistakes that were published earlier this year concerning yours truly. It was a super nice thing for them to do, and I appreciate it greatly. They also posted two new tattoos of mine, the bear half sleeve and Casey's seasonal leg vine thing. More importantly, both pieces were credited to me here in the new shop, and not to Connecticut.

Also, I keep getting questions about me tattooing in Connecticut, and I hate to let people down, but I have no plans to tattoo there anytime soon.
I have the Philly convention in April (which I think I'm fully booked for), and travel plans for Italy/CT in late May, earlier June, minus tattoo equipment. So, unless sometime late fall next year I head to CT, you might need to book a flight to Minneapolis if you need a tattoo by me this coming year.

Looking for christmas presents for people that don't suck? I have a bunch of stuff piling up in my workroom. Art prints, stenciled records, etc.
Contact me if you want something, I probably have it.

Die cut stickers are hot.

Here's the first die cut stickers I got made. die cut stickers are "not your normal style of peel-and-stick stickers, but rather, they are highly customized pieces of digitally cut vinyl". for real.
Black vinyl, 9 inches wide. 30 made, 20 left.
$2 gets one sent to your house. Perfect for cars, mirrors, pet store shop windows.

My mom is so happy, but I look like I'm 18.

After 6 years, the dredlocks finally came off. I had a lot of identity wrapped up in those things, but it is nice to have all that weight off of my head. Things like putting on a tee shirt, or showering, or jogging all just got amazingly easier. Here's a picture.

East Coast kids showing how it's done.

So Tyler and Dean came out for a visit this weekend, and both got some serious work done. Tyler did a 6.5 hour sit on the first day (the apocalyptic horses and more not pictured), and an almost 3 hour sit the very next day (the shrimp/woman piece). Dean rocked a 4.5 hour sit for a storm trooper on the first day, and did a 5+ hour sit the next day for a dirty-puking-bird piece. They both did awesome, and I was proud to show them off at the drag show saturday night, which is becoming a staple for our out of town visitors. The drag queens loved Tyler (who doesn't), and we handed out all of the business cards I had on me. Dean had phantom hands grabbing his butt all night. I didn't get even a little squeeze. oh well.
Sitting two days in a row for large tattoo work isn't easy, but they both said it was worth it. Awesome visit.

More dead things on stickers

New stickers ordered, these boar head black on red ones. 4.25 x 2.75 and only 500 of them.
The boar lost it's head from natural causes. If you are upset by the image, email Tyrant. He got an earful when I did the hammerhead shark stickers, from some nut claiming it made me less vegan. No sharks or boars were hurt in the drawing of the stickers.
And here's a crab with Japanese flames.

Love those birds.

Here's an Ibis I did this past Friday. It's only two days old in this picture, so it's still a little pink and healing looking, and some of the lightest areas will still soften up some. It was a memorial piece for Davis' father, as the Ibis is a native marsh bird admired in his home state of Florida.
"It is the last sign of wildlife to take shelter before a hurricane hits, giving warning that danger is imminent. As the storm passes the Ibis is the first to reappear, a sign that clear skies are approaching."

Happy Halloween!!

First of all, I'm ashamed to say that Meryl and I did nothing for Halloween this year. She pulled an all nighter last night (the 30th) correcting papers of her students, so tonight she put a bowl of candy out on the porch and went to bed. Living in uptown, my money is on the (twenty something year old) neighbors taking it before the kids even get their costumes on.
This was a surprise tattoo, and it was a lot of fun. Aparently, we'll be doing one on the other side of his wrist next week.
The wearer of said tattoo owns a company that makes vinyl stickers, and we're putting together some die cut dead bird stickers, so I'll be posting those up here soon for sure.
I hope that you did something awesome, it's not a holiday I like to miss. Send me pictures of your costume!

Yup, another Skull!

Here's one of the first fully rendered pieces I've done digitially in a while. You should click on it to see the full size.

The new old image.

The Science Logic came and spread their potty humor to Minneapolis last week. I spent one of the days tattooing the whole band, but I don't have access to the band files yet, all I have is this picture of Dan's arm. It was flattering to have him ask for the tree from my old sticker. We changed it a little so that it fit his arm better, was less "scraggly", and was a black and grey piece.
I also had done a shirt design for them that they got printed, I think it looks rad, and I'll have pictures of that up soon.
Thanks for coming out kids.

My name on Juxtapoz.com

Juxtapoz Magazine's Website wrote this blurb about the "I Want Your Skull" zine that I am a part of. Right now it's on the front page of juxtapoz.com, but in case you wait a long time before you check it out, here's the exact link.

"Last and dearest to our hearts is the third ever issue of I Want Your Skull Fanzine. If you've ever read the site or the zine then you know that I Want Your Skull is all about skulls in art (and interviewing artists who draw skulls). Ask yourself how many times you've idly drawn a skull and then realize that that number applies to pretty much everyone else ever. All those skull drawings out there means that I Want Your Skull is never short of something to talk about. The current issue features a full-color cover by Justin "Angryblue" Kramer, interviews with David Witt, Doktor A, and Angryblue as well as artwork from Shawn Hebrank, Kevin Mcnutt, Jerry Vigil, J. Statts, Tyler Kline, Jeff Finley, Mike Thompson, Eric Talbot, David Tevenal, Alex Barrera, Miss Pinny, Shaun Friend, Punchgut, The Pit, Scott Benson, R.M. Hanson, Nate Nolting, Ryan August, Marald Van Haasteren, Ed Syder, and Jim Altieri. And as if that wasn't enough you also get a 7" x 7", one-color serigraph of the cover art, a full-color greeting card with art by Shawn Hebrank, and a nice poly bag with a foil sticker by JJ Rudisill. Only 300 copies were made and they're all hand-numbered. You might as well go ahead and subtract the $20 from your bank statement ($26 if you're outside the US) because that money is as good as spent. You're not walking away from this one; not if you still want us to be friends."

A little rose for the lady.

Stephanie worked a full shift before coming and sitting for 5 hours, and had only eaten a bagel all day. And let it be said, few people I have ever tattooed have sat as well as she did. Also, did you notice it's on her ribs???
(Notice: It is not a competition to see who can come in the most overworked, sleep deprived, and starving, and then sit for the longest, roughest tattoo. We want to see you in your best shape. Plus, she already won.)

la Moustache and Watch

La Moustache, a 6.5 x 7 inch 3 color screen print on nice 10 x 10 paper.
Image and printing by me and meryl.
Super limited addition of 8, signed, numbered and titled.
Only 5 left for sale. $25
Want one? Email me at moustache(at)shawnhebrank.com


and here's a watch I painted with watercolor.

You Can Judge a City by the Quality of Its Drag Shows

It's true, and Minneapolis has one of the finest in the country.
Heather and Lori came for a few day visit from Massachusetts, and we hit the "Gay 90's" club on saturday night for their 3 hour show. It was amazing. I wish we had pictures from the night, but alas. We'll have to go again.
The next day we went to the shop and I gave Lori this drag queen pin up.
4 hours total, and she did great.
Thanks for visiting guys, we had fun.

I Want Your Skull

www.iwantyourskull.com puts out a super sexy zine based on images of skulls, from a variety of artists. This issue, both myself and the huggable Kevin McNutt (also of Identity Tattoo) have pieces showcased. On top of that, each zine comes with a few "extras", which includes a greeting card made by yours truely. (pictured above)
You can see more of the zine, and even order your own Here.

Keeping it dirty.

Here's the latest sketch I did for Fecalface.com's "Free Fridays".
I try to do it every week, but sometimes Thursday comes and goes without any warning. The topic this week was "Games", and although I don't play chess, it's less cliche than doing up some poker illustrations.
And I like the IDEA of playing chess.

I woke up, and it was Autumn.

"At the autumnal equinox (Sept. 23, 2007, 5:51 A.M. EDT), the sun appears to cross the celestial equator, from north to south; this marks the beginning of autumn in the Northern Hemisphere."

We've been rocking out to a lot of the Black Keys at work, and I play endless amounts of Tom Waits when I'm at home. That, mixed with the fact that it's getting chilly, and I'm blending some gritty, bluesy aesthetics into my work.
Here's Trauma T's arm. he gave me lots of freedom, and we're both happy with the results. He's a music producer here in the twin cities, and is planning much more work in the future.

Fall is Almost Here!

Saturday at 5 am is the offical start of fall, and man, it's nice. I've been loving some of the cold nights we've had out here in Minneapolis. I need to do a bunch of tattoos with branches, dead leaves, corn, pumpkins, bales of hay, whatever; if you're feeling it too, get at me!
The mockery of Steve Irwin's death that I did on Lee was finally published, barely missing the one year anniversary. Let this be a lesson (again) not to grab wild animals. Bad things happen.


Also, Matt Norman seems to think I rock, and asked me to do this up for his girlfriend. It's 8 inches tall, and in watercolor.
I hope she likes it!

Pictures/News

So, April 18th-20th, 2008 I'll be attending and working the Philidelphia Tattoo Convention. That will be my first time working on the east coast since the move, as I won't be working in CT this winter after all. If you want an appointment at the convention, email me soon. I'll be taking on limited projects only, though, since time and space is so limited.
New Identity Tattoo shirts coming out. Here's the test one as a sneak peak.

Here's the guys I work with hanging out in front of the shop. Kevin's on the left, and Todd (Lucky) on the right is the owner.

Ready for Halloween?

This gal was rad, getting a Halloween themed tattoo in August.

Also, I just booked a booth at a convention on the east coast for early next year.
Details coming soon!

A rainy Sunday morning

Last night was the Mischief Brew (erik petersen) show in the basement of the Belfry Center community space, and it was amazing. Then this morning we bumped into him at the Seward Cafe, and got to hang out for a few minutes before they took off to Nebraska. He took some of my stickers with him, and will hopefully be leaving them in towns around the midwest on his way back to Philly.

-I won the Fecalface.com Free Fridayz competition last week with this entry.

-And, the stickers arrived!!! Email me if you want some, and of course a few people on the East Coast will have a bunch to distribute, especially Tyrant.

Casey's visit.

So, Meryl's sister Casey was the first to visit us out here in Minneapolis, which means she wins.
We took her sailing on Lake Superior, which is huge, and we had a nice time.

The next day I finished up her leg tattoo, and started a new one on her other leg. I'm sure it could have been planned better so that we didn't have work-in-progresses all the time, but oh well. Also, she brought me out a lot of oil paint, and showed me the basics. Expect some of that soon, for sure.
Anyway, here's her leg.
It goes from spring on the bottom, and through the seasons, and then back to spring.

Diver and Mermaid

(updated) These pictures are from two days after the tattoo session. He sat like a rock, and I'm really pleased how it came out. It helped that he was willing to go a nice size, and I'm happy I was given so much freedom with the design. Thanks, man!

Brown bear

Did this whole black and grey bear in a little less than 3.5 hours on a fella who didn't move or complain once. He was also in a few days before getting a huge wolf on his back.

wingnut dishwasher's union

Pat the Bunny isn't doing Johnny Hobo gigs any more. Which is definetely one of the saddest things on this planet. Me and Dean
Whipple caught his second to last show ever, and it was rad. Luckily, though, Pat is on to other projects, and he has a new band.
Wingnut Dishwasher's Union.
Here's a little drawing I did for them. They have a myspace if you want to check them out.

Bittersweet...

In the latest issue of International Tattoo Art Magazine, (the one with Ozzy on the front), two of my tattoos were published. Unfortunately, only one of them was correctly identified as mine. Crazy thing is, last month, they posted some big, tribal tattoo, and said that I did it. What is going on over there at ITA????
Anyway, thanks to Bethany and Heather for coming to me and asking for custom tattoos, and having great ideas for me to work with.

Relentless Gallery Art Show went well, they had a great turnout, I met tons of rad people, and handed out lots of propaganda. I had three paintings up, none of them sold, but it was more important networking and getting my name out in minneapolis more. My favorite part of the show was seeing Roma di Luna, but they ran out of cd's before I got to them. damn.

New Sticker

Here's a preview of the newest sticker in production.
I ordered 500 of them today, and should have them within a few weeks.
They are 4.25 inches tall, perfect for bikes and whatnot.
I'll be sure to post about them again once I have them in my hands.

another week

Work's been fun, home's been good.
Finishing up my paintings so I can deliver them tomorrow for the relentless gallery show on Sunday.
Tomorrow is also the deadline for this weeks Sketch for Fecal Face, with the subject being "simplicity". This is what I came up with, Can't get much more simple than that.

Relentless Gallery

I have some new paintings in a show next Sunday, the 29th, in Uptown, Minneapolis.
Their website is
here
Above is the little graphic i did for their flyer and website.
It's an outdoor party, with lots of art and music. 11 artists, 10 bands, a stage, beer, food, etc, all for $5.
They have a noise permit, and say the show is from 10 am to 8 pm.
I'll post pictures of the paintings after the show is over, so I don't ruin the surprise.

Goldfish

Mabye it's unamerican, but I think goldfish are way hotter than koi fish.
Like that? That shit is funny. Unamerican. ha!
But really. Way hotter.

Scratch artist

Hyperspace Studios is asking for contributions from tattoo artists for a book called "Scratch Artist". The medium is those scratch boards, and the pun being a "scratch artist" is an insult for a tattooist that doesn't do quality work, or scratches people's skin with needles. I was quite amused.
Anyway, I did this piece for it, and am sending it off tomorrow.

Also, if you're on myspace and friends with my shop, Identity Tattoo, you must have received the message about Lucky doing $13 Friday the 13th tattoos. It was obscenely popular, and when I left at 8:15 tonight, the man was still going strong. I drew up a fun design I'll be offering the next time it comes around. Hope you all shattered your share of mirrors today.

Big Exposure

I was given an awesome little write up on a popular art/culture site, feedmecoolshit.com.
Right now it's on their homepage, if you just scroll down a little.
(notice they chose the dead cat image, haha. that one always gets attention.)

Check it out HERE.
You can also get to it with the "tattoo" link on their site.

Another week at f.f.

this past week's fecal face topic was jumping, here's what i did for it.
you can see the other entries over at their website, here.

actually, this week the competition is pretty weak. here's hoping i win.

New Ad

Here's the new ad for my shop. Things are going well, it's an awesome shop, and I'm thrilled to be here.
Anthony (tyrant) hooked me up with the lettering, and the ideas of the clouds. Thanks dude.