What do Post Malone, Rihanna, David Beckham, Cardi B, Travis Barker and Popeye all have in common? They all have eye-catching tattoos, of course.
Celebrities — both real and cartoon — are continuing a practice stretching back 5,200 years, when the first evidence of tattooing was found on Otzi the Iceman, a frozen mummy found in the Tyrolean Alps, according to Smithsonian Magazine.
Here in Newton, Chris DeBarge is keeping up that ancient tradition alive at his store, Bird in Hand Tattoo, which is celebrating its fifth anniversary. The independent business at 425 Lexington Avenue in Auburndale has the distinction of being the city’s first tattoo parlor.
“It’s a great way to be immersed in art,” DeBarge said.
Examples of his versatile designs and other original art adorn the walls of his shop. DeBarge describes his style as “American traditional” with a classic, retro look. He often creates motifs of birds, pinup girls, dragons, hearts and daggers with black and red coloring.
On a recent weekday, clients Christopher Perez and Thea Koss sat or lay still as DeBarge and tattoo artist Erica Mason carefully drew on their bodies.
While it took Mason about five minutes to inscribe a short lyric from pop star Harry Styles’s song, “Fine Line,” onto Koss’s right arm, DeBarge spent approximately six hours methodically inking a Japanese-style dragon on Perez’s upper-left arm.
Perez, 26, remained stoic as he got his eighth tattoo, which will remain black and grey. He said he was inspired by what the creature represents: Wisdom and strength.
Uniting art and business
DeBarge started in the business more than 20 years ago. In the beginning, he drove to Albany, New York, every week for a year to train with a mentor. After he opened Bird in Hand, he trained Mason, who has worked full-time for him for a year and a half.
DeBarge could not open a tattoo parlor in Waltham, where he lives, because until a month ago, they were not allowed there. Five years ago, he said he picked Newton because “the location is great.”
Clients come in for many reasons — sometimes for new tattoos, other times to cover up or change old ones. “Doing coverups is a part of the trade,” said DeBarge. For example, some customers who got tattoos on a whim in their youth now want an updated look — especially if they inscribed the name of their ex on their body.
For coverups, DeBarge recommends getting laser treatment done beforehand to lighten the unwanted image before he adds in changes. “It’s more like camouflage,” DeBarge said. After he’s done, his clients seem relieved. “People are happy to have the old thing gone,” he said.
DeBarge has also inked tattoos over surgery scars, which he said helps people who feel self-conscious. “Now they just have a pretty tattoo and don’t think about the scar so much,” he said.
DeBarge and Mason will work on custom pieces with clients, but they are often asked to draw popular motifs including clocks, pocket watches, compasses, Roman numerals, the infinity symbol, and animals. “I do three tigers every week,” said DeBarge.
Asked which tattoo that he has created is his favorite, he said, “That changes every day,” since he never knows what people will request.