Chris Garver
Encyclopedia
Chris Garver is a tattoo artist
featured on the TLC
reality television
show Miami Ink
. He is widely considered as one of the best tattoo artists in the world, with a two year long waiting list of clients.
Garver was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
where he attended The Pittsburgh High School for the Creative and Performing Arts
. He is the youngest of three brothers. Garver's mother was an artist and encouraged his interest in painting
and drawing
. He first experimented with tattooing at age 17, after selling his bass guitar in order to purchase tattoo equipment. Garver took one year of art school and apprenticed for six months, repairing old tattoos that needed touch-ups, before he started tattooing clients on his own.
In his early twenties, Garver moved to New York City
where he became a full-time professional tattoo artist.
A world traveler, Garver has tattooed clients in Asia, both Americas, and throughout Europe.
For a time he lived in Japan where he was tattooed by the famous Japanese Irezumi
artists Horiyoshi III
, Horitomo, and Horitoshi. He has also been tattooed by a Buddhist Monk
in Thailand; the image is said to be a Buddhist scriptural passage that can only be read by monks, and that translates as "to protect."
In addition to his art interests, Garver plays bass guitar
, travels the world, and enjoys listening to live bands. He is also said to be building tattoo machines, and is known for starring in Miami Ink.
Tattoo
A tattoo is made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification, and tattoos on other animals are most commonly used for identification purposes...
featured on the TLC
TLC (TV channel)
TLC is an American cable TV specialty channel which initially focused on educational content. Since 1991 TLC has been owned by Discovery Communications, the same company that operates the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and The Science Channel, as well as other learning-themed networks...
reality television
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
show Miami Ink
Miami Ink
Miami Ink is an American reality show on TLC that follows the events that took place at a tattoo shop in Miami Beach, Florida. The show premiered in July 2005 and has finished broadcasting its fourth season...
. He is widely considered as one of the best tattoo artists in the world, with a two year long waiting list of clients.
Garver was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
where he attended The Pittsburgh High School for the Creative and Performing Arts
Pittsburgh High School for the Creative and Performing Arts
Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts 6–12 is a magnet school located in the Cultural District of Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. CAPA is one of four 6th to 12th grade schools in the Pittsburgh Public Schools...
. He is the youngest of three brothers. Garver's mother was an artist and encouraged his interest in painting
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
and drawing
Drawing
Drawing is a form of visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium. Common instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes, wax color pencils, crayons, charcoal, chalk, pastels, markers, styluses, and various metals .An artist who...
. He first experimented with tattooing at age 17, after selling his bass guitar in order to purchase tattoo equipment. Garver took one year of art school and apprenticed for six months, repairing old tattoos that needed touch-ups, before he started tattooing clients on his own.
In his early twenties, Garver moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
where he became a full-time professional tattoo artist.
A world traveler, Garver has tattooed clients in Asia, both Americas, and throughout Europe.
For a time he lived in Japan where he was tattooed by the famous Japanese Irezumi
Irezumi
Irezumi is a Japanese word that refers to the insertion of ink under the skin to leave a permanent, usually decorative mark; a form of tattooing....
artists Horiyoshi III
Horiyoshi III
Horiyoshi III is a horishi tattoo artist, specializing in Japanese traditional full-body tattoos, or "suits," called Irezumi or Horimono.-Biography:Horiyoshi III was born Yoshihito Nakano in 1946....
, Horitomo, and Horitoshi. He has also been tattooed by a Buddhist Monk
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
in Thailand; the image is said to be a Buddhist scriptural passage that can only be read by monks, and that translates as "to protect."
In addition to his art interests, Garver plays bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, travels the world, and enjoys listening to live bands. He is also said to be building tattoo machines, and is known for starring in Miami Ink.
External links
- Biography at TLC Miami Ink Web site
- Chris Garver on Myspace
- Chris Garver on Love Hate Tattoos