Meet the Artist of Skin City Tattoos

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I have been tattooing since 1991. I fell in love with the tattoo industry when I realized it was a form of art. At that point, I never looked back and set out to be the best I knew how. Since that day, I have been published and have won several awards for tattooing. I opened Skin City in 2000, with the hopes of giving people a good experience in a safe and friendly environment.

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Minnesota native Jason Solarz combines his love for the environment and the natural world with 12 years of expertise in tattooing. When he’s not at the shop he’s most likely to be found in the woods somewhere or rock hounding at the Oregon coast

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Kate began her career at Skin City as apprentice in 2014 after completing her bachelors in fine art. She earned her tattooing license in 2018 and has remained at Skin City. Kate found a love for art at a young age and set out to make that her career.

She has won several awards for her charcoal work while in college. Kate looks to bring her knowledge of charcoal to black and gray tattooing. However, welcomes all types of tattooing!

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Hi, I’m Ken. I’ve been doing some form of creative, artistic work for as long as I can remember. As a kid it was drawing with crayons, finger painting, playing with clay, and building things with my Grandpa or Dad.

As I became older, I refined my creative impulses into sketching, drafting, and painting. My teen years were heavily influenced by Southern California skate punk and car club culture. I became fascinated by the tattoos and art I saw in the skate and car magazines. At that time I didn’t think tattooing would be my life, instead I went to Cornell College to pursue a career in architecture. After some time I realized architecture was not what I wanted to do and left with a bachelors of fine art.

With my new degree, I had no idea what I would do. I managed to stumble into a job as a body piercer, which led me to tattooing. After doing my first tattoo, I was hooked. I’ve spent everyday since that day in 1998 trying to learn more about tattooing and becoming better at it.

This drive to learn more and become better has given me a wide range of skills to pull from and has exposed me a lot of different tattoo styles. I enjoy tattooing, whether it’s black and grey, color realism, new school, tribal, fine line or even just a simple name. I have to admit I have a special place in my heart for good, clean and solid Traditional American tattoos, these are the tattoos I grew up admiring and wanting to do.

Outside of tattooing, I still play with a lot of different creative endeavors. I enjoy painting tattoo flash, sign painting, painting miniatures, building furniture by hand, and leather working.

If I’m not involved with a project, I’ll watch some anime, play some video games, torment my teenage daughter with horrible dad jokes or relax with my wife, our rottweiler and our two fat cats

Danyel’s books are closed for new consults and tattoo appointments due to maternity leave. Return date will be after the new year.

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I go by Danyel or Danny. I’ve loved drawing ever since I was just a little one. After high school I extended my art practices at Portland Community College and knew that tattooing was going to be the way to fulfill my artistic passion. So here I am! I went through the apprenticeship program at Skin City with Joe as my mentor and so happy to continue on here. Being fresh to the industry, I am very open to taking on a variety of styles and am excited to collab with you!

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My name is Nikk, I have been enthralled by tattooing since I was in second grade. After going to college for Mechanical Engineering and Physics, I realized I wanted to follow my passion for art and tattooing. I finally began my journey to become a tattooer in 2020 when I started my apprenticeship at Skin City. Eventually, I would love to specialize in Traditional Japanese Irezumi, although I find beauty in all forms of tattooing. here

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    Hey, my name's Matt! I started my tattooing career as an apprentice at Skin City, with Kate as my mentor, and I'm stoked to be continuing it right here!

       I've been an artist as long as I can remember, I started with Stan Lee and John Buscema's "How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way" at 7 years old. That book hooked me, and I spent all the time I could drawing and learning from then on. In my teens I fell in love with tattooing and got my first tattoo at 16 in my hometown in Montana. It took me another 16 years to find my way into the industry, during which I spent time all over doing all kinds of jobs, in North Carolina, Okinawa Japan, Oahu Hawaii, and Texas before settling here in Portland. I never stopped creating art though and never lost my love for tattooing! My personal style leans into American Traditional or Neo Traditional, but I'm open to tattooing in whatever style works for your idea.

       Thanks for checking out my bio, send me an email or a DM on Instagram to talk about the next tattoo you want!

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Hi! I’m Serena. I started my tattoo journey at Skin City in 2023, and I’m excited to officially join the crew now. My focus is in American Traditional work, though I’m always down to explore something new.

When I’m not at the shop, I’m usually reading, chasing the sun, or trying to get out on the water.

Don’t hesitate to email me or book a consult if you have questions. I look forward to tattooing you!