Category Archive: Press

  1. BEAUTY

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    It is said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  I agree, Beauty comes in many forms and we are often distracted by the superficial.  You need to understand that most of us are dominated by one or two of our senses.  One being that of our sight, we get distracted by physical beauty and constantly miss what it is really important……..Character!  Character is everything it supersedes everything and along with ability well it becomes unbreakable.  The beauty of a person, the development of one self, to become an amazing individual and  to let the full  potential come out of ones self, that my friends is the ultimate example of beauty.

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    One can say so much about a person some times just by looking at his life work or simply a small fraction of what he is passionated about.  You can begin to see a kind of DNA in his work and it gives you and insight into his soul.  The subjects he chooses and is inspired by holds so much information about his character, his longings, what he holds dear and also what he fears. This are all similar characteristic that we all share.  What distinguishes one from the other is the ability and the courage to not be stopped.  The persistence in a person is another beauty characteristic that I love personally, for it serves as a example and it keeps inspiring others to also reach deep inside and let their beauty come out.  There so many tattoo artists now days that extremely talented but lack good character.  I wish every one nothing but the best and I hope them too can realize how amazing this subject is.  It is life changing and I reiterate this once again it serves as an important example to inspire others.

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    I have strong beliefs and I constantly blame things on luck but sometimes is just not the case.  It takes great effort and dedication to develop such characteristics such as a good personality, Genuity and understanding.  We often get caught up with our own goals and needs that we simply forget to acknowledge all this amazing traits.   Please come in and check it out for your self here at the shop or when we are out at convention and you will be amazed how much beauty there  is in this guy.

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    Thank you for  your time,  please come and check us out https://www.instagram.com/rascal_61g/ this coming August 22nd to the 30th along with other artist here at Lowrider Tattoo while we tour NeW York at the United Ink Tattoo Convention.

    Thank you so much for the love and support.

    Jose Lopez

  2. TALE OF THE UNDERDOG

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    “Do you give the horse its strength
        or clothe its neck with a flowing mane?
     Do you make it leap like a locust,
        striking terror with its proud snorting?
     It paws fiercely, rejoicing in its strength,
        and charges into the fray.

    It laughs at fear, afraid of nothing;
        it does not shy away from the sword.
     The quiver rattles against its side,
        along with the flashing spear and lance.
    In frenzied excitement it eats up the ground;
        it cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.
     At the blast of the trumpet it snorts, ‘Aha!’
        It catches the scent of battle from afar,
        the shout of commanders and the battle            cry.

                                                                                                                                                                                                     

    Life is ahead of you, and you run at it.

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    Many stories have been written about the underdog, and they will keep coming.  The stories of events never dreamt possible are dreams no more………. They are realities.  I dream in color Jay z says, ahhhaaaa beautiful.

    Niggas always asking me the key
    ‘Til you own your own you can’t be free
    ‘Til you’re on your own you can’t be me
    How we still slaves in 2016?

    Key to life, keep a bag comin’
    Every night another bag comin’

    I ain’t been asleep since ’96
    I ain’t seen the back of my eyelids

    I been speedin’ through life with no safety belt
    One on one with the corner, with no safety help
    I perform like Josh Norman, I ain’t normal, nigga

    Just a project nigga out in Beverly Hills, California, nigga
    That Wraith talk, that’s foreign, nigga
    Special cloth talk here

    All my niggas from the mud damn near
    All my niggas millionares
    We gon’ take it there, I swear
    You gon’ think a nigga’s psychic
    You ain’t seen nothin’ like this

    I should probably copyright this
    I promise they ain’t gonna like this

    “MAKE THEIR IMPOSSIBLE, YOUR POSSIBLE”

    Jose lopez

  3. DESIDERATA

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    “Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.

    Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.

    Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

    Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

    Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.

    Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.

    Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

    Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

    Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.

    And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be.

    And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.”

    Max Ehrmann, “Desiderata”

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    broken-hearted
    What becomes of the broken hearted, what comes after the pain, well like a wise man said “isn’t the fact that you’re hurt that counts, But only how did you take it?  What came from it, it is not the falling thats bad what is shame full is to lie there in disgrace doing nothing. We must over come our fears our failings and most important to never forget that more will come.  We must build endurance to tackle what ever comes our way.  Men and women  have done just that and we must learn from them, we must learn not just from their mistakes but from the actions that followed that made them who they are.  It is possible, it can be done and it will be done.

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    Greater men have struggled in the past, it is some thing normal some more than others but thats just how life is, we must keep an open mind and always remember the old saying “when one door closes a window always opens up”.  I always keep a sliding door open just in case lol.  Is that rainy day bag our parents always talked about.  I love the interaction with nature, I have learned to accept things I cannot change and have come to terms with it, I welcome what ever happens and I know that things are unfolding as they should.  I pay attention to the everyday omens and every person I meet I learn from them and  make them part of my journey, I mind my sheep. “the alchemist”

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    Beautiful people from all walks of life they all teach me so much and they remind me about the beauty of this planet that we often ignore.  We all long to exist and to be acknowledged to feel loved and needed to feel we are alive, and pain is the perfect solution for this dilema.

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    Our loved ones all they have sacrificed should be a reminder that we must sacrifice something our selfs at one point or another.  A good friend of mine once told me “Experience is the greatest teacher but he kills all his pupils.”  So we must thread careful for there is no perfect recipe for success.

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    I often wonder what motivates people to go through such great lengths only to put them selfs trough so much pain but then again pain is what makes us feel alive.  Sometimes it is  self inflicted in many different ways, and other times it is a by product of our surroundings.  But one thing is certain it creates an amazing reaction in us that helps us in the never ending transformation of one self.

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    There is so much going in our lives that it often feels like a blur, we only see certain things but we must remember that some one is always watching and taking notes wether it be our good deeds or our wrongs.  Lowrider tattoo has become a staple in the tattooing industry and it has got great recognition from a very diverse audience from all over the world.  It brings me great joy not from what I have accomplish but more from what other people have made of them selfs, and the many more that have come from across the seas to make their dreams come through.  For me to be able to contribute to that is the greatest reward I get.

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    Some will blame their failings on language barriers others on the distance between them and the opportunities, they blame it on the fact that is too hard and it takes so much work and others will acknowledge all this excuses and simply do the opposite.  They will work hard not mind the language barrier and travel across the world to come face to face with opportunity and seize the moment that will make all difference in  failure and success.

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    So go ahead and allow time to write your story and add to the amazing  people that have done just that in the past, a divine comedy a mixture of good and bad the eternal balance we must create in our lives.

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    Do it for your self, do it for your loved ones and one day you will stumble upon a reflection and you will see the beautiful structure you have created.

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    DESIDERATA, latin for desired things.   I have all that I need in my life,  the only desire that I have left is not to make every one happy for many have fail in that attempt,  but to contribute to the happiness of everyone else.

    With a combine effort happiness and so much more can easily be accomplished and only then you will acquire the character of the happy warrior.

      Who is the happy Warrior? Who is he
    That every man in arms should wish to be?
    —It is the generous Spirit, who, when brought
    Among the tasks of real life, hath wrought
    Upon the plan that pleased his boyish thought:
    Whose high endeavours are an inward light
    That makes the path before him always bright;
    Who, with a natural instinct to discern
    What knowledge can perform, is diligent to learn;
    Abides by this resolve, and stops not there,
    But makes his moral being his prime care;
    Who, doomed to go in company with Pain,
    And Fear, and Bloodshed, miserable train!
    Turns his necessity to glorious gain;
    In face of these doth exercise a power
    Which is our human nature’s highest dower:
    Controls them and subdues, transmutes, bereaves
    Of their bad influence, and their good receives:
    By objects, which might force the soul to abate
    Her feeling, rendered more compassionate;
    Is placable—because occasions rise
    So often that demand such sacrifice;
    More skilful in self-knowledge, even more pure,
    As tempted more; more able to endure,
    As more exposed to suffering and distress;
    Thence, also, more alive to tenderness.
    —’Tis he whose law is reason; who depends
    Upon that law as on the best of friends;
    Whence, in a state where men are tempted still
    To evil for a guard against worse ill,
    And what in quality or act is best
    Doth seldom on a right foundation rest,
    He labours good on good to fix, and owes
    To virtue every triumph that he knows:
    —Who, if he rise to station of command,
    Rises by open means; and there will stand
    On honourable terms, or else retire,
    And in himself possess his own desire;
    Who comprehends his trust, and to the same
    Keeps faithful with a singleness of aim;
    And therefore does not stoop, nor lie in wait
    For wealth, or honours, or for worldly state;
    Whom they must follow; on whose head must fall,
    Like showers of manna, if they come at all:
    Whose powers shed round him in the common strife,
    Or mild concerns of ordinary life,
    A constant influence, a peculiar grace;
    But who, if he be called upon to face
    Some awful moment to which Heaven has joined
    Great issues, good or bad for human kind,
    Is happy as a Lover; and attired
    With sudden brightness, like a Man inspired;
    And, through the heat of conflict, keeps the law
    In calmness made, and sees what he foresaw;
    Or if an unexpected call succeed,
    Come when it will, is equal to the need:
    —He who, though thus endued as with a sense
    And faculty for storm and turbulence,
    Is yet a Soul whose master-bias leans
    To homefelt pleasures and to gentle scenes;
    Sweet images! which, wheresoe’er he be,
    Are at his heart; and such fidelity
    It is his darling passion to approve;
    More brave for this, that he hath much to love:—
    ‘Tis, finally, the Man, who, lifted high,
    Conspicuous object in a Nation’s eye,
    Or left unthought-of in obscurity,—
    Who, with a toward or untoward lot,
    Prosperous or adverse, to his wish or not—
    Plays, in the many games of life, that one
    Where what he most doth value must be won:
    Whom neither shape or danger can dismay,
    Nor thought of tender happiness betray;
    Who, not content that former worth stand fast,
    Looks forward, persevering to the last,
    From well to better, daily self-surpast:
    Who, whether praise of him must walk the earth
    For ever, and to noble deeds give birth,
    Or he must fall, to sleep without his fame,
    And leave a dead unprofitable name—
    Finds comfort in himself and in his cause;
    And, while the mortal mist is gathering, draws
    His breath in confidence of Heaven’s applause:
    This is the happy Warrior; this is he
    That every man in arms should wish to be.
    Your friend and artist Jose Lopez
  4. TRANSFORMATION

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    We often go through so many faces, we are not happy with what ever life or destiny sets up on us. We want to break free and long for things to be different.  This differs from person to person, but at the end it is all the same we want to be unique and acknowledged.  We want the  feeling of assurance and knowing that we exist.  Hence the transformation of one self, there so many ways we can help our selfs when facing this task we can become better friends, sons, fathers, listeners, artists and learn to be more understanding and empathetic.  To see the world through the eyes of some else is sometimes the best way to understand people and their needs.  Im faced with this amazing opportunity when dealing with so many people, my job demands it and I learn so much by doing those things mentioned above.  Sometimes it is the other way around Im the one who needs understanding and there has always been some one there to help.  Thats where the magic lies transformation of one self is continuously happening and everything around us contributes to that change.

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    The capacity to learn is a gift; the ability to learn is a skill; the willingness to learn is a choice.

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    Last night I had a dream, it had a tale to tell, I dreamed I saw an Angel the poor thing wasn’t well. His body bruised and battered, his wings were ripped and torn, he looked as if he wished that I was never born. I walked up to him and I asked, “Angel how can this be”? He turned around and paused a bit then spoke these words to me. I am your Guardian Angel a great task as you can see, You’ve run a muck all your life look what it’s done to me. These bruises are from shielding you in times both dice and I’ll, Those dangerous things you had used I often paid the bill. See my wings are ripped and torn, a noble badge that I wear, How often they have flown you from evil unaware. Each Mark is its own story of deadly wounds destroyed, You’ve made me wish more than once that I was unemployed. If only you could make it and stand up on your own, Oh don’t you fret or worry you shall not be left alone. But please try to remember that I’m getting old and frail, we’ll see if you can help yourself only time will tell. I could not believe all I’d heard let alone how much he cared, I sat and wept upon his shoulder then left in despair. The next morning I pondered all the things that I had done, And that’s when the transformation hit, my life had finally begun. So I made a final decision to change my life and try, and in the distance I thought I heard a frail old Angel cry…

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    • I have been gifted with the power to contribute to so many peoples transformation. I do this everyday and it brings me so much joy to be able to help some one get closer to being that person he longs to be.
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    • With every poke of the needle this transformation begins to take place it is a right of passage something that is earned.  Its not  easy but nothing worth while in life is easy. I have so much admiration for all those who come to the studio and endure so much pain for it takes great courage and strength to go trough this difficult and often painful process.
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    I often hear “I will not kill my self over this”, and then I hear Drake say “last night I made the decision I would die for it.” So I don’t know what the fu(*&**^&% to think lol.  All I know is that if you die doing what you love that death will be a beautiful one.

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    I want to write so much more luckily this picture above explains it all, I guess it is true pictures speaks a thousand words.  I only wish I had been a tattoo artist back when I was in high school, I would have just turned in five tattoo pictures instead of an 5000 word essay.

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    Thank you so much for love and support.

    your friend and artist,

    Jose Lopez

    “Living for the Moment.”

    Thanks  Joe you are an amazing human being!

  5. “KNOWLEDGE IS FOR THOSE WHO SEEK IT”

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    The best way to learn a craft is to go to the source, and for my boy mark from Canada was just the thing.  He comes once a year to the Lowrider Tattoo Studio just to be in the front to soak up as much knowledge as possible while enduring hours of agonizing pain gathering strength from deep within with the end goal in mind.  This is a perfect example of determination, Determination to learn.

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    Seek your knowledge in observation.
    Know friendship to be the truest bond of all,
    Near perfect is Love platonic in essence.
    Within nature perceive the friendship of all,
    For all. Friendship can be Death in a lovers guise.
    Don’t let it come as a surprise to you when you
    Find your heart broken in parts, buried beneath
    The steeples you have erected in Honour of your Love.
    Bonds without friendship are as shackles.
    Seek a stranger of sympathetic intellect.

    We encourage all tattoo artist who are just starting out to do the same as our friend Mark to come in and get tattooed for it is the best way you can learn.  By being in the front seat not only watching but also by feeling the process and asking as many question is the beginning of your way to the top.

    When you know a thing, to hold that you know it, and when you do not know a thing, to allow that you do not know it: this is knowledge

    Confucius

  6. BREAKING THE CHAINS OF SUFFERING

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    Life is one of the greatest gifts that has been bestowed upon us.  Life is also very kind and sometimes very unfair,  It brings good  and bad to our lives depending on our actions and the decisions we make.  The greatest good lies in reason and virtue.   While the bad can come in many forms such as Unpleasantness, unhappiness, misery, affliction, discomfort, ill and sorrow.  All which eventually lead to suffering.  One should consider liberating one self from suffering and instead replacing it with the practice of compassion, and the aiding and understanding of others as a basic for leading a holy life and attaining nirvana.  One should begin with one’s self.  We must change from with in to be able to project healthy emotions on to others.  “You cannot give what you don’t have”

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    Aristotle contemplating the bust of Homer by Rembrandt 

    Continuing my discussion of my faculty book group’s current work, Elizabeth Spelman’s Fruits of Sorrow: Framing Our Attention to Suffering, today I look at what Aristotle teaches us about how we approach suffering. A key work is hisPoetics, where he explores what constitutes a tragic hero. Spelman says that Aristotle’s influential formulation blinds us to much of the suffering in the world because he considers only a small number of cases to be tragic:

    An Aristotelian tragedy, then, is about exemplary human suffering. Not all suffering is exemplary, not all of it is representative of important facts about human life. By Aristotelian criteria (and here of course he is not alone), suffering is not tragic in and of itself. It cannot be trivial: it cannot be that of an insignificant or base person, nor even the minor trials and tribulations of a good if not “preeminently good” man. What makes a poetic account of such suffering universal is that it is about important kinds of things likely to happen to a certain kind of man; but such an account is not tragic unless it arouses the pity and fear of those who hear it.

    It’s a big deal for our suffering to be labeled tragic, Spelman says. That’s because tragedy snatches suffering out of its “threatening, chaotic horribleness.” As tragic figures, we no longer, in the words of poet Audre Lorde, experience “unscrutinized and unmetabolized pain.” Instead, as Spelman puts it, our suffering is “diluted to some manageable degree by its riveting intelligibility.”

    Labeling something tragic, in other words, allows us to make a certain kind of sense of it. We understand the flaws of an Oedipus or a Lear and are thereby able to fit their suffering into some kind of framework.

    Spelman contrasts Aristotle’s approach with Plato’s. Where Plato worries that we will be engulfed by our own grief as we watch a tragedy, Aristotle says that tragedy teaches us the appropriate way to pity and fear. Spelman quotes Martha Nussbaum on the subject:

    Through attending to our responses of pity, we can hope to learn more about our own implicit view of what matters in human life, about the vulnerability of our own deepest commitment.

    Spelman elaborates, “One leaves a good tragedy not so much having spent one’s emotions as having enlarged one’s understanding of them and their appropriate place in human life.”

    bacchus

    Bacchus By Caravaggio 

    “IN VINO VERITAS”

    They say that Little kids and people who are Drunk seldom lie.  They always seem to tell the truth about things or as they say they have no hairs in their tongues.  While on the other hand us as adults we tell our selfs so many lies, we create horrible stories of discouragement for our selfs.  We tell our selfs we can’t do this or that.  We constantly bring down our self-stem instead of becoming our best friend.  We need to become the person who can understand us the best the one who say yes it is possible, yes you can do it.  Only then can we take a step forward towards success and begin the beautiful and sometimes difficult road to attaining abundance of peace and happiness.

    What motivates you, what drives you, who do you love , what do you live for, who loves you.  Ask your self the right question to get the right answers and most important be very honest with your self and good luck on your journey in search of what makes you happy.

    Jose Lopez

    Your friend and artist.