I have a pretty mixed tattoo collection. I have some large black-and-gray pieces, some Neo-Traditional pop culture tattoos from shops I really like, and now a growing collection of American Traditional work. I don’t think tattoos need to match, and I don’t think you need to commit to one style forever. Get what you like. Find someone good at doing it. That’s pretty much my philosophy.
When I want American Traditional tattoos in Dallas, I usually go to Cody Hillman at Lucky You Tattoo. I found him through a friend who sent me his work on Instagram, got tattooed by him at his previous shop, and followed him to Lucky You when he moved. I’ve had four tattoos done by him now.
What keeps me coming back is the work. I like bold lines, saturated color, strong contrast, and tattoos that have some presence on the skin. That’s what I like about American Traditional in general. The style is straightforward, but when the linework and color are right, it doesn’t need much else. A good traditional tattoo can hold its own without being overloaded with detail.
I also don’t want to micromanage a tattoo. I’ll send over an idea, a reference, or sometimes just the general direction I’m thinking about, and then let the artist do their job. I know what I like, but I’m not interested in pretending I know more about designing a tattoo than the person whose work I sought out.
My favorite piece so far is a cardinal on my inner arm. It’s more personal than some of my other tattoos, so I cared about getting the idea right. I didn’t want to hand over a picture and have someone reproduce it exactly. I wanted the idea to be mine, but I wanted the tattoo to come from him. I gave him the concept and let him interpret it, and the finished piece feels more personal because of that.
What I Look For in a Tattoo Artist
After enough tattoos, I care less about finding the “perfect” shop and more about finding an artist whose work I genuinely like and whose judgment I trust. That’s true whether I’m getting American Traditional, black and gray, or something completely different.
I also want to be able to sit with someone for a few hours without the whole thing feeling weirdly formal. It’s a tattoo, not a root canal. Lucky You has that kind of atmosphere. My appointments are pretty chill. We talk about movies or TV, listen to music, and get on with the tattoo. Last time, one of my faves, Grateful Dead was playing.
I’m lucky that tattoos don’t bother me much, so I’m probably not the person to give you a useful pain review. What matters more to me is being comfortable in the chair and knowing the work is in good hands.
After getting tattooed at different shops and by different artists, I’ve become pretty simple about how I choose. I look at the work. I look at healed tattoos when I can. I make sure the artist actually does the style I want. Then I find someone whose work I’d be happy to wear permanently.
That’s how I ended up with a collection that doesn’t really match, but feels like me. And I like it that way.
Some tattoos are sentimental. Some are ridiculous. Some are big. Some are colorful. Some are black and gray. A few are there because I thought they looked cool.
I don’t need a better reason than that.
For American Traditional tattoos in Dallas, Lucky You is where I keep going back. I like the work, I trust the artist, and I don’t need to overthink it. When you find someone whose work you genuinely want on your body, that’s usually a good reason to stick around.
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