Blood, Sweat & Tears

My husband and I have had work done by several tattoo artists here. Work is great. I was recommended by a coworker who had fantastic work done by Dave. If you follow their page Dave often lists last minute openings. Each artist has a really different style which makes it great for those who like variety.  My husband and I have sessions to complete our work with Mike and we are complimented on his work often. Shop is super clean and everyone that works there is great.

TL;DR

Go here. Dave Scearce is an amazing artist and a genuinely nice guy. I've spent a lot of time in the shop this year and have seen the other artists' work as well. Lots of fantastic people there.

Prologue

When I was looking for a tattoo studio to custom craft a full color sleeve for me, I took my time searching. At the time I started the sleeve, I lived almost 2 hours away from BST Tattoo, but decided to go there anyways because I simply could not find a studio anywhere close to me that I trusted to tattoo a large and prominent part of my body.

The Search.

I started looking for tattoo studios in April of 2012. I had been thinking about a concept for about 3-4 years and was finally at the point in my life where I could spend the tine and money to get the full sleeve done that had been a goal for so long. I started looking up artists and shops in my local area and couldn't find an artist whose style I liked AND that I would trust with such a large piece. There were plenty of "tattoo mills" (pick a piece of flash off the wall and we'll do it wherever you want it) around and I was looking for custom work based on my images and concept. So I broadened the search. I started searching on <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Freddit.com%2Fr%2Ftattoos%2F&s=df40cbefb484426d3f7568f6b8801222214fd45a5b46b0d75ebf0b31c772e8e6" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://reddit.com/r/tatt…</a> and came upon a tattoo of a Corgie (<a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FJsEuM.jpg&s=065af14200aa1b840df3709dff61490c31a9ab7d1eafc1434dd2470f8e18e707" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://i.imgur.com/JsEuM…</a>) that Dave Scearce had done. I saw he was in Charlotte and that pretty much sealed the deal in my mind that i was at least going in for a consultation.

The Consultation

I gathered a few reference photos of sleeves similar to the style and content I was looking for and brought it in for a quick consultation with Dave. At this point, he didn't know me from "Adam" or how serious I was about getting the tattoo. He still took a few minutes to talk with me about my idea and to look at the photos I brought in. I showed him some of the ideas I found and some of my reference photos on my iPad. He looked at me and said (in the most serious tone you could imagine), "I can do a better sleeve for you than those."
Done. Deal sealed.
I loved his confidence in his craft and the fact that he was also excited about the concept (underwater scene). I talked to my significant other and a few days later put a deposit down to start this multi-session tattoo.

The Shop

The shop is VERY clean. I was amazed when I saw Dave wiping down the floor with alcohol in preparation to start my tattoo. They're NUTS about cleanliness and making sure you're safe. It definitely put me at ease for my first tattoo of significant size. The staff is friendly and the other artists are interested in each others' work. There's all sorts of neat artwork on the walls to look at when you're taking breaks from tattooing.

The Process

On my first visit I brought Dave a lot of images--way too many. Dave works well collaboratively with others and so we just started talking about what i wanted where and how it would fit together into a cohesive piece. After he got a broad idea of the things I wanted, we started printing out the photos (general rule of thumb - do your artist a favor and bring in the images already printed... don't rely on them to print them for you).
Then we got started.
Dave completely FREEHANDED everything onto my skin--no stencil or transfer. I was amazed at the process where he would refine the image from general shapes to fine lines. That process took a little bit for the size of a tattoo I was getting and we finally started tattooing. I was there for a total of over 30 hours in the chair. Dave and I talked... a LOT during that time, and I can say that I think we became friends. He genuinely took an interest in things that were going on in my life at the time. When we came upon a part where I didn't necessarily know what I wanted to fill the area of my arm, Dave would offer up suggestions of what he thought would work well. I wound up with quite a few things integrated into my sleeve that I would have never thought about and that weren't in the original plan, but it all works together wonderfully.

The Final Result

I'm completely ecstatic with my full color sleeve. I've had people tell me that it looks "painted on"  and that it's the "best executed sleeve" they've ever seen. I'm completely in awe at the raw artistic vision and talent that Dave has. I know I'm going to love this custom piece of artwork I have for the rest of my life. I've accomplished a life goal thanks to Blood, Sweat & Tears Tattoo. If you'd like to see my sleeve, click here: <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FQPyjy.jpg&s=4e93248a6d84bfb634b477751119093f7a924e6b81a7b14280397e88e54cebcf" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://i.imgur.com/QPyjy…</a>

Do yourself a favor and get your next tattoo from one of the fantastic artists at BST Tattoo. And while you're there, grab a t-shirt and a hoodie :)

I'll definitely be back in the future for more work.

Dave Scearce, the owner, is hands down the best there is.  I've been getting tattooed with Dave for about 6 years, and his work never ceases to amaze me. I can walk in with a rough idea of what I want , and Dave will take the time to listen and draw up something better than I imagined.  The shop is very clean and everyone is friendly and professional.
I wouldn't recommend going anywhere else.  You get what you pay for, and here you get quality art work by experienced artists.