College Station tattoo artist ready for ‘Ink Master’ challenge.
Jason Elliott has only been tattooing for seven years, but he’s already in the mix to be named the Ink Master.
The artist, who colors skin at the Novellus Studio in College Station, is currently one of the cast members on the 10th season of the reality series “Ink Master,” a popular series on the Paramount Network (formerly Spike), which pits two teams of tattoo artists against each other to see who can churn out the best work on human canvases. This season, the show carries the title “Return of the Masters,” as winners and experts from past seasons return to coach contestants, like Elliott.
The 37-year-old Army veteran uses vibrant colors in his surrealist tattoo work — dubbed “geo-trash fusion” in tattooing circles. For instance, you’ll see an inked portrait of David Bowie with his mouth askew and colorful geometric shapes floating around the head.
Elliott, who dabbled in carpentry and construction before getting the ink needle, says he doesn’t take the request for his work lightly.
“You’re trusting someone to put something on you forever, so I appreciate that they come to me,” Elliott said.
On the first episode of this season’s “Ink Master,” which aired in early January, Elliott came off like a guy more interested in preserving his reputation as an artist than becoming a celebrity and understanding the situation surrounding him.
“I’m hoping I get team Anthony (Michaels),” Elliott said, referring to how some “masters” are choosing their groups of inkers. “If I get stuck on Steve’s (Tefft) team, I’m not going to make it to the end. This guy does not understand what kind of artist I am, I’m not going to make it to the end.”
Elliott has been a fan of the “Ink Master” series for years and says that, though the filming process is extremely stressful, he’s been up to the challenge.
“Watching it at home is a lot different,” Elliott said with a laugh. “It’s a lot more trying being on the show, which can be so random and limited. The design process is a million times more intense than a day at my own shop.”
According to Elliott, who’s a Miami native, the 15 minutes a viewer may see on the show takes three days to shoot.
There’s a reason to be on the show, aside from the natural exposure that comes from being a cast member. Elliott and the other tattoo artists are all competing for a $100,000 grand prize. Due to a nondisclosure agreement with the show, he can’t discuss what happens on the show.
“We’re all under lockdown the whole time in New York and New Jersey,” Elliott said.
And he’s not the only Texan on the series this season. He is joined by Deanna Smith from Denton and Mike Diaz from Lubbock.
“Ink Master” is hosted by rock guitarist Dave Navarro and features judges Chris Nunez and Dallas’ own Oliver Peck, both legends in the modern tattooing community. Peck’s own Elm Street Tattoo is one of the busiest shops in Dallas’ Deep Ellum arts district.
Anyone who has seen the show knows that the competition can get rather intense when it comes to the artists creating work on the skin canvases of clients.
It was surreal, according to Elliott, to become a part of the show.
“They contacted me after last season, and they were looking for new people and I went for it,” Elliott said. “I know the show well and I loved the challenges.”
If he wins the whole thing, he plans on spending some time traveling around America in an RV with his girlfriend and buying the “Deadpool” cosplay costume of his dreams.