Shawn Conn grew up a farm boy in upstate NY. His father is a fiesty, Irishman, ex-marine. His mother a hippie, Wiccan. You can well imagine the duality created there. He has three equally talented brothers, one of which is Aaron Conn, front man for Junction 5. His interest in art began as soon as he was old enough to hold a pencil, spending hours indoors creating entire worlds of fantasy, complete with creatures of all shapes, sizes and demeanors. He went on to study art at the Rochester Institute of Technology, where he was introduced to the art of Caravaggio, Monet, Rauschenberg, Bacon & Pollock, among others, whose work planted the seeds for what eventually developed into the iconic, pop approach to his art.
After serving in the Army for 4 years, his reluctance to "get a real job" led him to a tattoo apprenticeship in 1991 under the tutelage of Todd “Bare” Barry. Almost from the start he began to amass awards & magazine coverage. His limitless talent, as well as his reputation for being a down to earth, modest tattooist has earned him a huge following with a 7 to 8 month wait for his services. He tattoos everything from the mundane to the off the wall, but is best known for his black & grey and his sick, twisted imagery.
All the while he has continued to paint and exhibits his paintings around the country. He’s also begun work on his own clothing line and a line of skateboards. He has been drawn to the evils of man as a subject matter, whether it be religion, politics, or just scary folks, but occasionally he will take a divergence to paint something that piques his interest. A large influence in his work has been the pop culture from growing up at the tail end of the atomic age and all of the wonderful images implanted in his brain by the great movies and television at that time.
Shawn presently works out of The Ultimate in Rochester, NY, (585) 424-1430. Call to get put on his waiting list, it’s worth the wait! Also check out his paintings and illustrations at shawnconnart.net and more tattoo work at grindertattoo.com and tattooartists.org.
Sick Drummer would like to thank Shawn for the design of the new SD Demon Grinder, which can be seen on our MySpace page. There will be T-shirts available with this design on them soon. Please be sure to check out all of Shawn's sick art and tattoo's. If you live in or near Rochester NY or are planning a visit, be sure to call him for an appointment! You won't be sorry…
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