This year’s tattoo artist roster had nearly doubled, featuring some of the leading names in international tattooing as well as a few of the local legends. Returning international artists like Bob Tyrrell, who is considered to be the foremost portrait tattoo artist in the world, were completely booked throughout the convention. Bob is known to take six to eight hours plus on a piece and will almost always finish in one session. Laura Juan, another prominent and admired returning artist, was back with her exceptional tattoo style and splendid pin-ups. An additional artist whose return to the African shores was highly anticipated is Paul “King of Rock Tattoos” Booth. Known world-wide for his dark\evil style of epidermal art, he is one of the most popular tattoo artists on the planet. His skin art is exceptional and noticeably different. He relies solely on his gifted mind to create magnificent macabre images using no sketches or references. Paul’s extensive clientele list boasts some of the biggest stars as well as bands like Slayer, Pantera, and Slipknot to name a few. One artist that made a strong impression at the SIX convention was newcomer Dave Noellert from New Orleans. His finely crafted hand-made tattoo machines were a real treat plus he has a refined classic old-school custom tattoo style that will “knock your head off”.

Walking around the convention hall I immediately noticed that the local artists had stepped up their game over that past year in anticipation for this monumental tattoo gathering, from the style and grace of Tyler B. Murphy’s S.O.S Parlor stall to the refined techniques and distinctive approach of third generation tattoo artist Shaun Lindgren from Bayview Tattoos (now East Coast Kustoms), who is currently based and working out of London. Tattoo artists representing regions all over South Africa had various styles that were on par with most of the international artists.