Orlando tattooist makes art a career

Hustling inside Orlando’s Built 4 Speed Tattoo, I’m reminded of Tom Waits’ gravelly intonation on “The One That Got Away”: And the grinding of the buzz saw/What you want that thing to say?

Tattooist Brett J. Barr is intimately familiar with that grinding, though the artist drowns out his own buzz saw with video of a Tenacious D concert. The vibe might seem casual, but that’s not how Barr wants his customers to treat it. “I wish they thought of this as a trip to the dentist,” he says, “a professional appointment.”

The longtime Orlando resident doesn’t take walkins. And he would prefer if people getting ink didn’t turn it into a party. A tattooist for 25 years, Barr asks that potential customers not “invite two of their friends to come along who talk and move the whole time.”

In the chair today is Rick, a favorite canvas for Barr, 43. Both of Rick’s legs are sleeves Barr did nearly 20 years ago designed to look like the work of late Swiss painter H.R. Giger. Barr guesses he has won “30ish” awards in his career, and more than a few of those belong to those legs.

Today, some jumbled mess about cars on Rick’s forearm is being covered in Barr’s signature “biomechanics,” an illusion that appears to expose gears and pistons beneath the skin. Rick has basically run out of room. All that’s left is replace old ink with new.

Cover-ups are a big part of Barr’s business these days. “There are a lot of bad tattooists out there,” says the Pennsylvania native. As the market has become “oversaturated,” according to Barr, quality has gone up — and down.

Of course, some cover-up work still comes from the classic reason: The meaning of images changes over time, such as the name of an ex. Barr has a rule about what names people should get. “Only dead men and babies,” he advises.

Regrets are common. The artist is covered in tattoos and wishes he didn’t have “about 70 percent” of them. “I never know what I want,” says Barr. “I’ve let my kid tattoo me. I’ve let me ex tattoo me.” Mostly he goes for funny, such as characters from Evan Dorkin’s comic “Milk & Cheese.”

The technology of tattoos is much the same as when Barr began in 1992, though he can’t say enough about how social media has helped with promotion. As he makes his thick black lines on Rick’s arm and wipes away the excess ink and blood, he goes back to the idea of being a dentist, or, as Rick says, a therapist. “I like to treat this like a career,” says Barr. “I leave this and go home and cook dinner.”

Built 4 Speed Tattoo, 640 N. Hillside Ave., is open noon-9 p.m. Monday-Sunday. Appointments are preferred but some artists will take walk-ins. Call 407-613-5772 for details.