The first one that always comes to mind for me is Dave Kruseman from Season 6. The American Traditional style is just so solid, and he was the master coach in that season, proving the old school guys still had the technical skills to take on the younger artists.
It’s a good lineup of winners that covers pretty much every style, from Shane’s realism and Joey’s color realism, to Laura Marie’s neo-traditional and Ryan Ashley’s ornamental fine-line work. They all proved their versatility by having to tackle the different styles in the flash challenges.
Man, that list is long now! The first few winners were Shane O’Neill, Steve Tefft, and Joey Hamilton. My personal favorite winner is Ryan Ashley from Season 8. Her black and grey ornamental work is just next level, and it was so cool to finally see a woman win.
The real standout is DJ Tambe though, he won the team season with Bubba Irwin (Old Town Ink) in Season 9, and then he straight up won Season 14 by himself. He’s gotta be the most successful competitor on the show’s history because of that.
I only started watching around Season 10, so I mostly remember the later winners. Josh Payne’s season was awesome, his final tattoo was wild. Tony Medellin’s work was really clean when he won Season 11. And of course Laura Marie winning the Battle of the Sexes was a huge moment. Everyone was rooting for her. I still don’t count Season 13 as a real season since they didn’t name an Ink Master. It felt incomplete, even if the finalists were talented.
Most people forget about Jason Clay Dunn from Season 5. I’m not saying he was the best artist that season Cleen Rock One was there but Jason’s Japanese inspired tattoo for the finale was what gave him the edge. He was consistent when it mattered most, which is always the trick to winning Ink Master. The whole list of winners is proof that you have to be able to do everything, not just one style. You have to be Shane O’Neill level of good to only rely on your specialty.
The first one that always comes to mind for me is Dave Kruseman from Season 6. The American Traditional style is just so solid, and he was the master coach in that season, proving the old school guys still had the technical skills to take on the younger artists.
It’s a good lineup of winners that covers pretty much every style, from Shane’s realism and Joey’s color realism, to Laura Marie’s neo-traditional and Ryan Ashley’s ornamental fine-line work. They all proved their versatility by having to tackle the different styles in the flash challenges.
Man, that list is long now! The first few winners were Shane O’Neill, Steve Tefft, and Joey Hamilton. My personal favorite winner is Ryan Ashley from Season 8. Her black and grey ornamental work is just next level, and it was so cool to finally see a woman win.
The real standout is DJ Tambe though, he won the team season with Bubba Irwin (Old Town Ink) in Season 9, and then he straight up won Season 14 by himself. He’s gotta be the most successful competitor on the show’s history because of that.
I only started watching around Season 10, so I mostly remember the later winners. Josh Payne’s season was awesome, his final tattoo was wild. Tony Medellin’s work was really clean when he won Season 11. And of course Laura Marie winning the Battle of the Sexes was a huge moment. Everyone was rooting for her. I still don’t count Season 13 as a real season since they didn’t name an Ink Master. It felt incomplete, even if the finalists were talented.
Most people forget about Jason Clay Dunn from Season 5. I’m not saying he was the best artist that season Cleen Rock One was there but Jason’s Japanese inspired tattoo for the finale was what gave him the edge. He was consistent when it mattered most, which is always the trick to winning Ink Master. The whole list of winners is proof that you have to be able to do everything, not just one style. You have to be Shane O’Neill level of good to only rely on your specialty.