Jake grew up in the suburbs of Madison, where art has always been his passion, be it whatever medium. He received his Bachelors of Art at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. In college, he immersed himself into studio classes ranging from drawing, painting, ceramics, metalsmithing, and even puppet fabrication. Working as an early childhood caregiver at the campus children’s center, Jake’s initial interest was to teach art. Until one day where he wandered into a tattoo shop where he got the words “Cure H.D.” (for Huntington’s Disease, a genetic neurological disease that had impacted his family greatly) tattooed on his lower lip, where he literally and figuratively developed a taste for tattooing.

In April 2013, he moved back to Madison to begin his career as a tattoo artist, and has been immersed in the trade ever since. Constantly striving to further both his art and his tattoos. He enjoys tattooing color realism, ornamental tattoos such as mandalas and pointillism pieces (pieces involving stippling, also known as dot-work), newschool subject matter, as well as painterly pieces.

“When I get to tattoo my artwork, or put my spin on a client’s idea, it’s always a privilege. I love my job, meeting people from all walks of life, learning from them and laughing with them.” -Jake