Jerry Cross

Professionally trained and OSHA certified tattooist, body piercer, and manager of a local tattoo studio since 2008.

Specializing in bright color floral and black & gray realism, his award winning work has appeared in several national magazines and has been published in a book featuring some of the top artists from around the world.

Timing is everything…while getting tattooed at a local shop which happened to be moving up their current apprentice into an artist position, he was lucky enough to land a part time apprenticeship where he was taught the basic sterile procedures and technical side of tattooing. “Leaving the security of my corporate job to start an art based career was very intimidating but has been the best decision of my life. Now I can’t see myself doing anything else.”

In the fall of 2008 I was offered a full time position at Inktown Tattoo in Lombard, IL. Moving from a busy street style flash shop into the slower pace of a custom shop allowed me to focus on better quality tattoos and really changed the direction of my work. Traveling to conventions, meeting new artists and making new friends in the industry along with the ability to view different artists work via the internet has really opened my eyes to what tattooing can be as an art form.

I feel very fortunate to have had my career begin at a time when there are so many amazing artists truly changing the perception of tattooing.