Before tattooing, Bao was in school as an art major.

Legend says she appeared in the ocean riding a dragon to rescue people.

His first tattoo: Bao first got inked at 19, a Buddhist goddess that represents the Vietnamese immigrants that came over by boat. The tattoo artists at the shops listed are adhering to the governor’s guidelines and had not yet reopened to customer’s when these photos were taken.īao has run Hard Luck Tattoo in Lodi since 1999, two years after he first got into tattooing. While tattoo shops still aren’t open (as of press), the artist’s downtime gave us a chance to dig through their portfolios and pick their brains on their favorite styles, their own tattoos, and other little known facts about them.ĭISCLAIMER: The photos taken for this shoot are for artistic purposes only. Thanks to our dedicated readership, who clearly don’t shy away from body art themselves, we’ve got a list of the top four tattoo spots in the county-and some of the stand-out artists who rep them ( thanks to that little annual Best Of list we put together). But when it comes to adding something permanent to your body, choosing an artist shouldn’t be a decision made willy-nilly. Like many urban regions, San Joaquin County finds itself riddled with tattoo shops primed for getting some totally rad ink.

Rad a tat tattoo 1999