Blaze Schwaller - owner, tattoo artist

I am a huge believer in the transformational quality of tattooing. I really love working with my clients to help them capture a moment on their skin.  The collaboration between the client and artist is very fulfilling for me.  It allows me to share my love for art with someone on a very personal and permanent level - I couldn't ask for anything more awesome to spend my time doing!

My favorite tattoos to work on are of animals, portraits, flowers and other natural settings.  I love capturing the archetypal essence of an idea for someone and translating it into an image that is beautiful and serves its purpose.  Sure, not all tattoos have deep meaning - but they do capture some aspect of our souls, and I love looking for that connection and making it apparent on the skin.

I opened Spirit Gallery Tattoo in July of 2007. The Gallery combines my love of painting and illustration with the transformational power of tattoos. I love portraiture, nature and wildlife tattoos, and enjoy story-telling and fantasy art. I continue to paint and study with artists who inspire me, and bring that inspiration into the tattoos I am honored to work on.

Early progress on a water to fire phoenix tattoo half sleeve.  The tail pours water into a puddle below, as the body and wings of the bird turn to fire.  Two hours in.  There will be rain falling behind with storm clouds, and much more fire to come!

Tattoo of a quetzal bird flying across the back, done in bright, beautiful colors.  Love the long tail and the cute bird mohawk!

More progress on the angel and woman cathedral backpiece.  Smoke was added with demon faces emerging from the billows of smoke.  One more session to finish the smoke and tighten up the edges. . . so excited!

Celtic knot tattoo on wrist done in browns and golds, very earthy.

portrait tattoo of Atticus Finch from "To Kill A Mockingbird." black and grey portrait tattoo on arm.

Portrait of a young sailor tattooed in black and grey on the thigh.

progress of a coverup of a rose on the shoulder.  Now a coral reef with fish.  Lots more to come!

Alice in Wonderland sleeve in the Garden.  First session, chrysanthemum and crocus flowers.  This sleeve will have several flowers winding around the arm, with Alice in Wonderland characters peering out from behind the petals and leaves.  So much fun to work on!  Coming next, the Caterpillar!

Progress on the oni mask backpiece with severed dragon head.  Probably only one more session to go to finish it up! 

tattoo of a bird nest with japanese lantern flowers hanging above, part of the still life backpiece.

Sycamore tree tattoo on ribs with colorful flower vine wrapped around the trunk.

Tattoo of Dali's Swans Reflecting Elephants on a thigh.

tattoo of a bluebird landing into a nest on the elbow.  Fairly swollen photo of this progress, but future sessions will make the arm into the tree, with totem animals carved into the bark.  More totem animal tattoos further on in this gallery.

tattoo of an angel carrying woman out of burning cathedral, fourth session.  Really starting to take shape now, with only some demonic smoke left to go!

Australian cattle dog portrait tattoo on calf

cathedral backpiece in progress, angel carrying woman.  Next session should complete the cathedral's colors, and perhaps start the flames!

Half sleeve based on Linda Berkvist painting of a ship.  Amazing time working on this piece, about 9 hours of work.

Progress on dragon backpiece with oni masks.  In this session we added the geen eyebrows and whiskers.  Next session should see some more color in the horns and behind the smoke, and hopefully start adding the smoke as well!

Scorpio zodiac tattoo from a Kagaya painting.  Tattoo for her family.

Cat skull tattoo and pinecones, addition to backpiece.  This is turning into such a beautiful still life tattoo, and so much fun to work on!

colorful tattoo of a barn owl on the shoulder with purples and blues in the white shadows.

Second session on werewolf tattoo sleeve, white wolf in the background is Atka from the Wolf Conservation Center of New York!

Bull mastiff dog tattoo portrait on chest.  Such a sweet loveable face!

black hole swallowing the sun tattoo sleeve in color.  Second session, starting to take some shape.  Next sesion will intensify a lot of the colors and fill out the rest of the side and top of the sleeve.

Traveling Buddha and peacock feather tattoo, second session addition to the butterflies and flowers.  This is already an awesome backpiece, with more to come in a few weeks!

Happily Ever After Sleeping Beauty tattoo sleeve third session progress - adding in the background of thorny vines and skull behind the couple and spinning wheel.  A lot of refinement to go, but already looking awesome!

orange tabby cat kitten tattoo portrait on leg

Forget me not flowers in an anklet tattoo over a pawprint

monarch butterflies tattoo perched on white flowers, part of a backpiece, first session.

Hippocamp vs Giant Squid back piece, completed. 

What would a troll do?  tattoo with troll in pinstripe pants and a patchwrok jacket and hat on the calf.

First session on werewolf tattoo sleeve.  Replicated from a painting, unknown artist. 

First session on Sleepy Hollow headless horseman tattoo, partially healed in this photo (still peeling on the cape)

Memorial tattoo with a  sheep, clover and pipe on ankle.

It's Ru Paul as a tattoo!  portrait of Ru Paul tattooed on upper thigh.

Color mermaid portrait tattoo, pinup style on upper thigh.  This was created in part from a high school photo of the client's mother.  Great fun to work on!

more progress on the octopus sleeve tattoo.  Added the blue crab, finished up the legs, and started on seaweed!

Tattoo portrait of a brother and sister, done in color between the shoulder blades.  Photo after first sitting.

color tiger tattoo on the upper thigh

Black lab portrait tattoo on the leg

First session on a red tailed hawk and raven on the upper arm.

pet cat portraits tattooed on lower leg with catmint anklet rework below

Flying crow chest piece tattoo in color

color snow leopard tattoo on leg

pet dog memorial portrait tattoo on back of calf

Sleeping Beauty sleeve progress photo - spinning wheel and spindle tattoo with cobwebs

Angel carrying woman out of a burning cathedral tattoo, backpiece, second session

First session on an angel carrying a woman out of a burning cathedral.  Wings will be added in the next session.

Rework of pawprint tattoo on the foot

Mother Mary tattoo on shoulder blade, Forza e Speranza

colorful dragon with little girl tattoo on the ribs

black hole swallowing a sun half sleeve tattoo, first session

Color realistic alligator tattoo on forearm, one of Blaze's "I want to tattoo this!" pieces out of the facebook photo album.  Thank you, Heidi!

First session on a dragon and daughter portrait tattoo on the ribs

Colorful peacock feather tattoo on shoulder blade

Colorful oriole tattoo on the shoulder with cherry blossoms

Color pink lilies tattoo on shoulder.

Memorial tattoo for beloved husky dogs on leg.

Linda Bergkvist painting as a tattoo on the forearm, part of a full Sleeve with a Sleeping Beauty theme.

Memorial tattoo for a friend, portrait of the girl's horse and some lettering on the ribs.

Pink Lilies tattoo on shoulder with zodiac symbols

Gandhi tattoo on the finger.  Smallest portrait tattoo ever!

Mother Teresa tattoo on finger

Snowflakes tattoo on arm

Day of the Dead tattoo with salamander on sugar skull surrounded with traditional style roses

Angry gorilla tattoo, upper thigh, first session.

First session on a memorial dog portrait tattoo on the leg.

Dominick Saponaro painting tattooed as a half-sleeve, featuring trains and villains.

Two seahorses with tails entwined on the low back

Dancing raven tattoo on bicep

Red tailed hawk tattoo on shoulder

Swallow tattoo on chest

Sea turtles tattoo on ribs, part of a backpiece

Swallow portrait tattoo on chest

Stingrays tattoo on the ribs, part of a backpiece

Sea turtle tattoo on upper thigh

Rework tattoo on shoulder of a dogwood blossom and a dragonfly

Shetland sheepdog portrait tattoo on the chest

Twisted tree tattoo on back

Rottweiler portrait tattoo

Color phoenix tattoo wrapping around the leg

Traditional Japanese style tattoo, backpiece with oni masks and Japanese dragon. In Progress.

Mt. Fiji half sleeve tattoo

Lionfish leg sleeve with seaturtle, coral and other sea creatures.

Armageddon tattoo on the chest, in progress.

Giant Squid and Hippocamp backpiece, battling over a ship.  In progress.

Feminine raven tattoo with cherry blossoms on shoulder.

Black and grey holding hands tattoo on bicep.

Brian Froud backpiece tattoo.  Dozens of fairies and elf creatures tattooed on the back.

Morning glories and hummingbird tattoo on leg and foot.  This covers up an old flower tattoo on the ankle.

Morning glories tattoo on leg and foot.

chrysanthemum tattoo on back of neck

American Eagle tattoo on the ribs

Fallen angel tattoo on forearm, part of a ful sleeve illustrating an angel in Hell.

Black and grey dragonfly tattoo on the foot

Color portrait of a lab dog mix on the arm

Color dalmatian portrait on bicep

Crow Chasing the Butterfly tattoo on ribs

Roman war chariot backpiece tattoo, reworking an old sun tattoo into a full backpiece.

Color lion tattoo on leg

Exploding atom tattoo on inner arm

Coverup and rework of an old tattoo.  She had already lightened the dragon head with some laser removal to make the job easier.

Candy striper portrait tattoo on the ribs

Color Artemis backpiece tattoo with sacred animals

Artemis tattoo in progress close up

Alice in Wonderland tattoo on the calf.

Color griffin tattoo on bicep

First session on a totem animal totem pole sleeve tattoo.  This is an otter, as though carved out of wood.  The whole arm will be a carved totem pole of animals with some branches and other tree features.

Second session on a totem animal totem pole sleeve tattoo.  This is a ram, as though carved out of wood.  The whole arm will be a carved totem pole of animals with some branches and other tree features.

totem pole tattoo sleeve, horse head tattoo

Zombie Brainy smurf tattoo on bicep, a graduation from grad school tattoo.  This is not in my usual style and was a fun departure from my usual tattoo day.

Thor's Hammer backpiece with runes and ravens.

Cover up tattoo of a gargoyle.  Old tattoo was a minotaur.

totem pole sleeve progress, toad tattoo

woodpecker totem pole tattoo sleeve progress

Early progress on a water to fire phoenix tattoo half sleeve.  The tail pours water into a puddle below, as the body and wings of the bird turn to fire.  Two hours in.  There will be rain falling behind with storm clouds, and much more fire to come!

Tattoo of a quetzal bird flying across the back, done in bright, beautiful colors.  Love the long tail and the cute bird mohawk!

More progress on the angel and woman cathedral backpiece.  Smoke was added with demon faces emerging from the billows of smoke.  One more session to finish the smoke and tighten up the edges. . . so excited!

Celtic knot tattoo on wrist done in browns and golds, very earthy.

portrait tattoo of Atticus Finch from "To Kill A Mockingbird." black and grey portrait tattoo on arm.

Portrait of a young sailor tattooed in black and grey on the thigh.

progress of a coverup of a rose on the shoulder.  Now a coral reef with fish.  Lots more to come!

Alice in Wonderland sleeve in the Garden.  First session, chrysanthemum and crocus flowers.  This sleeve will have several flowers winding around the arm, with Alice in Wonderland characters peering out from behind the petals and leaves.  So much fun to work on!  Coming next, the Caterpillar!

Progress on the oni mask backpiece with severed dragon head.  Probably only one more session to go to finish it up! 

tattoo of a bird nest with japanese lantern flowers hanging above, part of the still life backpiece.

Sycamore tree tattoo on ribs with colorful flower vine wrapped around the trunk.

Tattoo of Dali's Swans Reflecting Elephants on a thigh.

tattoo of a bluebird landing into a nest on the elbow.  Fairly swollen photo of this progress, but future sessions will make the arm into the tree, with totem animals carved into the bark.  More totem animal tattoos further on in this gallery.

tattoo of an angel carrying woman out of burning cathedral, fourth session.  Really starting to take shape now, with only some demonic smoke left to go!

Australian cattle dog portrait tattoo on calf

cathedral backpiece in progress, angel carrying woman.  Next session should complete the cathedral's colors, and perhaps start the flames!

Half sleeve based on Linda Berkvist painting of a ship.  Amazing time working on this piece, about 9 hours of work.

Progress on dragon backpiece with oni masks.  In this session we added the geen eyebrows and whiskers.  Next session should see some more color in the horns and behind the smoke, and hopefully start adding the smoke as well!

Scorpio zodiac tattoo from a Kagaya painting.  Tattoo for her family.

Cat skull tattoo and pinecones, addition to backpiece.  This is turning into such a beautiful still life tattoo, and so much fun to work on!

colorful tattoo of a barn owl on the shoulder with purples and blues in the white shadows.

Second session on werewolf tattoo sleeve, white wolf in the background is Atka from the Wolf Conservation Center of New York!

Bull mastiff dog tattoo portrait on chest.  Such a sweet loveable face!

black hole swallowing the sun tattoo sleeve in color.  Second session, starting to take some shape.  Next sesion will intensify a lot of the colors and fill out the rest of the side and top of the sleeve.

Traveling Buddha and peacock feather tattoo, second session addition to the butterflies and flowers.  This is already an awesome backpiece, with more to come in a few weeks!

Happily Ever After Sleeping Beauty tattoo sleeve third session progress - adding in the background of thorny vines and skull behind the couple and spinning wheel.  A lot of refinement to go, but already looking awesome!

orange tabby cat kitten tattoo portrait on leg

Forget me not flowers in an anklet tattoo over a pawprint

monarch butterflies tattoo perched on white flowers, part of a backpiece, first session.

Hippocamp vs Giant Squid back piece, completed. 

What would a troll do?  tattoo with troll in pinstripe pants and a patchwrok jacket and hat on the calf.

First session on werewolf tattoo sleeve.  Replicated from a painting, unknown artist. 

First session on Sleepy Hollow headless horseman tattoo, partially healed in this photo (still peeling on the cape)

Memorial tattoo with a  sheep, clover and pipe on ankle.

It's Ru Paul as a tattoo!  portrait of Ru Paul tattooed on upper thigh.

Color mermaid portrait tattoo, pinup style on upper thigh.  This was created in part from a high school photo of the client's mother.  Great fun to work on!

more progress on the octopus sleeve tattoo.  Added the blue crab, finished up the legs, and started on seaweed!

Tattoo portrait of a brother and sister, done in color between the shoulder blades.  Photo after first sitting.

color tiger tattoo on the upper thigh

Black lab portrait tattoo on the leg

First session on a red tailed hawk and raven on the upper arm.

pet cat portraits tattooed on lower leg with catmint anklet rework below

Flying crow chest piece tattoo in color

color snow leopard tattoo on leg

pet dog memorial portrait tattoo on back of calf

Sleeping Beauty sleeve progress photo - spinning wheel and spindle tattoo with cobwebs

Angel carrying woman out of a burning cathedral tattoo, backpiece, second session

First session on an angel carrying a woman out of a burning cathedral.  Wings will be added in the next session.

Rework of pawprint tattoo on the foot

Mother Mary tattoo on shoulder blade, Forza e Speranza

colorful dragon with little girl tattoo on the ribs

black hole swallowing a sun half sleeve tattoo, first session

Color realistic alligator tattoo on forearm, one of Blaze's "I want to tattoo this!" pieces out of the facebook photo album.  Thank you, Heidi!

First session on a dragon and daughter portrait tattoo on the ribs

Colorful peacock feather tattoo on shoulder blade

Colorful oriole tattoo on the shoulder with cherry blossoms

Color pink lilies tattoo on shoulder.

Memorial tattoo for beloved husky dogs on leg.

Linda Bergkvist painting as a tattoo on the forearm, part of a full Sleeve with a Sleeping Beauty theme.

Memorial tattoo for a friend, portrait of the girl's horse and some lettering on the ribs.

Pink Lilies tattoo on shoulder with zodiac symbols

Gandhi tattoo on the finger.  Smallest portrait tattoo ever!

Mother Teresa tattoo on finger

Snowflakes tattoo on arm

Day of the Dead tattoo with salamander on sugar skull surrounded with traditional style roses

Angry gorilla tattoo, upper thigh, first session.

First session on a memorial dog portrait tattoo on the leg.

Dominick Saponaro painting tattooed as a half-sleeve, featuring trains and villains.

Two seahorses with tails entwined on the low back

Dancing raven tattoo on bicep

Red tailed hawk tattoo on shoulder

Swallow tattoo on chest

Sea turtles tattoo on ribs, part of a backpiece

Swallow portrait tattoo on chest

Stingrays tattoo on the ribs, part of a backpiece

Sea turtle tattoo on upper thigh

Rework tattoo on shoulder of a dogwood blossom and a dragonfly

Shetland sheepdog portrait tattoo on the chest

Twisted tree tattoo on back

Rottweiler portrait tattoo

Color phoenix tattoo wrapping around the leg

Traditional Japanese style tattoo, backpiece with oni masks and Japanese dragon. In Progress.

Mt. Fiji half sleeve tattoo

Lionfish leg sleeve with seaturtle, coral and other sea creatures.

Armageddon tattoo on the chest, in progress.

Giant Squid and Hippocamp backpiece, battling over a ship.  In progress.

Feminine raven tattoo with cherry blossoms on shoulder.

Black and grey holding hands tattoo on bicep.

Brian Froud backpiece tattoo.  Dozens of fairies and elf creatures tattooed on the back.

Morning glories and hummingbird tattoo on leg and foot.  This covers up an old flower tattoo on the ankle.

Morning glories tattoo on leg and foot.

chrysanthemum tattoo on back of neck

American Eagle tattoo on the ribs

Fallen angel tattoo on forearm, part of a ful sleeve illustrating an angel in Hell.

Black and grey dragonfly tattoo on the foot

Color portrait of a lab dog mix on the arm

Color dalmatian portrait on bicep

Crow Chasing the Butterfly tattoo on ribs

Roman war chariot backpiece tattoo, reworking an old sun tattoo into a full backpiece.

Color lion tattoo on leg

Exploding atom tattoo on inner arm

Coverup and rework of an old tattoo.  She had already lightened the dragon head with some laser removal to make the job easier.

Candy striper portrait tattoo on the ribs

Color Artemis backpiece tattoo with sacred animals

Artemis tattoo in progress close up

Alice in Wonderland tattoo on the calf.

Color griffin tattoo on bicep

First session on a totem animal totem pole sleeve tattoo.  This is an otter, as though carved out of wood.  The whole arm will be a carved totem pole of animals with some branches and other tree features.

Second session on a totem animal totem pole sleeve tattoo.  This is a ram, as though carved out of wood.  The whole arm will be a carved totem pole of animals with some branches and other tree features.

totem pole tattoo sleeve, horse head tattoo

Zombie Brainy smurf tattoo on bicep, a graduation from grad school tattoo.  This is not in my usual style and was a fun departure from my usual tattoo day.

Thor's Hammer backpiece with runes and ravens.

Cover up tattoo of a gargoyle.  Old tattoo was a minotaur.

totem pole sleeve progress, toad tattoo

woodpecker totem pole tattoo sleeve progress