It seems like a no-brainer for a tattoo artist to also work on fine art or drawing, whether it’s in a public space or just at home. That kind of creative scenario is true of at least two people who are part of Lasting Dose Tattoo.
“I think fine art just opens the boundaries of what you can do,” said Joe C. Rock, who has been with Lasting Dose as a tattoo artist for six years. “With tattoos, you have to rein them in and have one that’s going last and look good, and you don’t want to take whimsical license when you do a tattoo. You want to do it straightforwardly, so it looks good for a long time. But, with painting and fine art, I can start splattering paint and be a little more loose and carefree.”
Mike Curatello, who owns Lasting Dose Tattoo and Art Collective, agrees.
“People like us need that outlet, to be able to paint the things we want to paint and not be confined to the parameters of a tattoo: really good outline, really good color, placement, stuff like that,” said Curatello, who has been tattooing for 25 years and doing fine art for at least 30.
“Tattooing has its rules, and I think for people like us, it’s nice to paint without those rules,” Curatello added.
Said Rock: “Tattooing comes from the soul, but I think painting comes from there a little more. It’s definitely a way to express yourself as opposed to tattooing, which is for someone else.”
Horse play
The Lasting Dose crew has been hosting Chinese-zodiac-themed shows at its own gallery, inside its Midtown shop, every year since 2016, and this year’s show, Year of the Horse, is at McKinley Arts and Culture Center through Feb. 12, featuring horse-themed artworks in various media.
“As tattooers, we draw and tattoo that imagery all the time, so it just seemed like a good fit for a group show, to give the artists kind of a direction,” Curatello said.
While this is not the first Lasting Dose show outside of their gallery shop—Rock said they put together an Art of Tattooers show last year at Sierra Arts Gallery—it is their first time at McKinley.
Along with Rock and Curatello, the show also includes Paolo Acuna, Chris Arredondo, Abigail Cacurak, Muriel Campbell, Brandon Collins, Megan Ellis, Daniel Herlihy, Anthony Ortega, Seth McCorkle, Tony Medellin, Metal Jeff Rogers, Darin Stockwell, Danny Superrad Hanson, Angie Terrell and Melissa Varney.
“Some of the artists work here, but some of them are from other shops,” Curatello said. “And some of them aren’t tattooers at all. They’re just friends of ours who have done the group shows with us over the years.”
As for their own pieces, Curatello uses paint and marker on a piece of fiberwood to capture an image of Bucephalus, Alexander the Great’s horse, who also is part of a Dungeons and Dragons campaign he’s a part of called Curse of Strahd.
Rock, who Reno art followers likely know from his popular public mural work, has a layered piece with two horse images that he describes as having “a contemporary art feel to it.” He also has a second piece with a horse rendered more in a graffiti style.
The other Horse artists are all over the map. They followed Curatello and Rock’s prompt—a horse or a “fire horse”— using watercolor, acrylic, drawing, oil and other media.
The organizers had some other requests as well.
“We did have restrictions because of the gallery,” Curatello said. “It’s a public space for all ages so, you know, no nudity, no violence, no drugs, stuff like that.”
Future plans
After the McKinley show closes, the Lasting Dose leaders are planning a full complement of shows for 2026 at their own space—which is pretty substantial since its expansion and redesign in 2020—including their annual Protect Your Decks skateboard-themed show in July and the Creep Show exhibition and costume party in October.
“We’re definitely trying harder to promote and put together more group shows and get more people involved, and get our game out there,” Curatello said. “You know, we’re not a huge gallery, but we care about what we do, and we want to bring in other people that also care about what they do.”
Added Rock: “We want to bring a fine art aesthetic to the tattoo-shop feel.”
Curatello quickly added, “Without it feeling too pretentious.”
Rock said not all tattoo artists who do fine art would be allowed in a “normal gallery.” “We do have a criteria, a certain level of artwork, to be in here, but we don’t want to be as elitist as some galleries would be,” he said. “If we enjoy your artwork, we don’t care if it’s illustration, line work, painting or whatever.”
Added Curatello: “If it’s cool, if it’s done well, then we’ll love it. We want to have people here who normally wouldn’t come in here or be a part of this world.”
Year of the Horse is showing through Thursday, Feb. 12, at Gallery West in the McKinley Arts and Culture Center, at 925 Riverside Drive, in Reno. Regular gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. An artists’ reception will take place from 5 to 7 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 29.
Lasting Dose Tattoo and Art Collective, including a dedicated gallery space, is located at 888 S. Virginia St. Hours are noon to 7 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday.