Smell the Roses: Behind Santa Barbara’s First Tattoo Convention

Smell the Roses:
Behind Santa Barbara’s
First Tattoo Convention

JJ Ortiz Pushes Through Cancer Battle to
Bring Rose Garden Tattoo Convention

By Ryan P. Cruz and Xavier Pereyra
April 4, 2024

The buzz of tattoo machines provides a constant hum inside the Golden Eagle Tattoo parlor on lower State Street in Santa Barbara, where the walls are lined with endless collections of hand-drawn flash and photos of past designs — from the traditional American skulls and sailor imagery to Chicano black-and-gray portraits and intricate Japanese-inspired full-back pieces — each representing another corner of tattoo culture. Near the entrance under bright-red letters reading “TATTOO,” a statuette of the Virgin Mary, strung with rosary beads and surrounded by a frame of multicolored roses, sits above a faded golden statue of an eagle, the shop’s mascot, whose wings are packed with folded dollar bills and Polaroids of guest artists who have come and gone over the years.

It’s a peek inside the world of owner JJ Ortiz, a Goleta local who took over Golden Eagle as his second shop after opening up the highly successful 805 Ink fresh out of college in 2008. Now in his forties — the youth of his old age, as he says — he is juggling the responsibilities of two tattoo shops, two college-aged daughters, and recovering from a recent battle with cancer that gave him a whole new lease on life. 

If that weren’t enough, he’s also bringing the biggest collection of tattoo artists ever to be in one place in the history of Santa Barbara with the inaugural Rose Garden Tattoo Convention at the Community Arts Workshop on Garden Street, where more than 65 artists from across the world will convene for a weekend of tattoos, food, art, and music this Friday-Sunday, April 5-7.

Tattoo Memories

Ortiz remembers the first time he ever saw a tattoo being done on a homemade rig at a friend’s house. He was just a kid, but he was hypnotized by the entire process, intently watching and memorizing every step — sharpening the needle, putting together the rig from spare parts — until he figured out how to do it himself.

In junior high, he began tattooing his friends and even his younger half-brother, a memory that brings a smile to his face as he recalls it now while sitting in the shop window. “I got in trouble for that one,” he says with a laugh. “I tattooed ‘Goleta Projects’ on his thigh.”

Even now, with more than two decades of tattooing under his belt and a reputation as one of Santa Barbara’s most well-known ink-slingers, Ortiz can’t help but get excited to talk about tattooing. Whenever he brings up another story about a specific tattoo, his eyes light up and his voice rises. Tattooing has been a part of his life, and his escape from life’s struggles, ever since he MacGyvered his first homemade rig more than 20 years ago. 

After getting caught up in gang life, bouncing around juvenile detention centers, and being expelled from school in 8th grade, Ortiz turned his life around, transferring from Santa Barbara City College to Cal State Northridge and earning his BA before coming back home to Santa Barbara and opening up his first shop, 805 Ink, with the remainder of his life savings in 2008. Since then, he has become one of the city’s leaders in fine-line single-needle tattoos.

Learning from the Masters

While Ortiz learned how to tattoo in the streets and juvenile facilities, he says his true education into wider tattoo culture began with an apprenticeship at the former Santa Barbara shop Iron Cross, where he was immersed in not only the black-and-gray prison-style tattoos but the classic Americana ink with its bright colors, bold lines, and always-present punk-rock music.

Over the years, he has gotten to work alongside and learn from some of the most respected artists in the world, but the man he considers as his mentor in both his career and life is tattoo legend Freddy Negrete, often regarded as the godfather of black-and-gray tattooing. 

“To me, learning from him is like having LeBron teach you how to dribble,” Ortiz said. “Freddy’s somehow managed to get better over time, and that’s rare. Hopefully I can follow his footsteps and get better with time.”

Negrete is a Los Angeles–based “OG” in the game who is credited with creating and popularizing the realistic portraits, Old English lettering, and Catholic and Chicano imagery that have come to define West Coast tattoo culture. Among his many creations is the ubiquitous “Smile Now, Cry Later” script with the image of the comedy and tragedy masks, which he first drew while in juvenile lockup.

Negrete’s connection to the old school helped Ortiz gain a deeper appreciation for tattoo history. When a biker named Charlie Cartwright opened up a little shop on Whittier Boulevard in the ’70s called Good Time Charlie’s Tattooland, it became an East L.A. hotspot where Cartwright and another pioneer, Jack Rudy, both white, were catering to a mostly Mexican-American clientele with the newly popular fine-line jailhouse-style tats. 

At the time, Negrete was tattooing in his kitchen on a homemade machine, doing the same style that was becoming popular down at Good Time Charlie’s. Eventually, Cartwright took a break from tattooing and sold the shop to another tattoo legend, Ed Hardy, who was convinced by Rudy to hire Negrete to be part of the team.

Years later, Negrete opened up his own shop in Santa Barbara on State Street, Rat-a-Tattoo. It was here that Ortiz became closer to Negrete. “His son was one of my best friends,” Ortiz said. “He passed away a few years ago.”

A Scary Diagnosis

When Negrete’s son passed away, Ortiz was there to support his older mentor. Negrete was the one who encouraged him to take the leap to open 805 Ink, and he had been there along every step of his career.

“No matter what, he’s always been there for me and for my son,” Negrete said. “He’s developed as a man through business, but as an artist, that’s where I’ve really seen this growth. I not only look at him like a son, but he’s a wise man, too.”

When Ortiz received a cancer diagnosis in June 2023, it came as a shock. At the time, he was traveling every month, making stops at shops and conventions across the world. But something didn’t feel right. He began having symptoms, and his girlfriend kept insisting he get checked out. But he continued to put it off, despite a nagging fear for the worst. “Deep down inside, I had a feeling that it was something deeper,” he said.

The month he was diagnosed with cancer was a whirlwind. “I was just trying to wrap my head around it, you know? ’Cause it went from stage two to stage three, then all of a sudden I got a phone call saying that it was stage four — that month was terrible,” he said.

When he found out his cancer had progressed to stage four, the first call he made for support was to his mentor, Negrete. 

“Freddy was one of the first people I told,” Ortiz said “I told my close friends, but other than that, I didn’t want to tell people. I kept it under wraps for a few months.”

He even hesitated to tell his daughters, one of whom was graduating from Santa Barbara High School that same month, because he didn’t want them to worry.

“Telling my kids was the hardest thing to do, ’cause I knew they were going to freak out,” he said. “I’ve always been working hard with them in mind. They’re my priority.”

Instead, Ortiz did the only thing he knew to do and threw himself even deeper into his work. When he started chemotherapy, he took time off only for the day of his infusions and the day after, when he felt the worst.

“Then I would go back to work the next day and grind it out, and it was the only time I would feel good,” he said. “Working was my coping mechanism. I’m a worker; that’s what I do.”

‘Ready to Fight’

When Ortiz learned that his cancer had spread to other parts of his body and he would need extensive therapy, treatment, and surgery, he leaned on his support system. 

Negrete, who has a degree in theology, began to walk Ortiz down a more spiritual path he never encountered before. Their daily texts became deeper meditations on life, they prayed together, and Ortiz began to see his mentor in a whole new light.

“I thought his purpose in my life was my career, but he was really in my life for this,” Ortiz said. “He’s been amazing my whole career. Everybody has that one person who has done something for you that could never really be repaid, and Freddy’s that person for me.”

And in watching Ortiz push through every step of his diagnosis and treatment, Negrete earned a whole new respect for the younger tattoo artist.

“JJ’s just such a strong individual, a strong man,” Negrete said. “He’s strong and ready to fight, and I respect that. I just tried to help him along with the spiritual aspects, with understanding how fragile life can be.”

Going through chemo infusions, which lasted for up to seven hours and left him feeling intense brain fog for 48 hours after — “You can’t even think,” he said — was the hardest thing he has ever done. But the process gave him a new appreciation for the folks in the medical industry.

“The Ridley-Tree [Cancer Center] was amazing,” he said. “You have millionaires sitting next to a tattoo artist and a grandmother, and nobody’s better than the next person — we’re all fighting for our lives. The drugs are weighing us all down, which is humbling but also eye-opening.”

Since having his last treatment on March 4, Ortiz is feeling in much better health, both physically and spiritually. Now, he says he is able to “give himself a chance to enjoy life” as it comes instead of always trying to keep up with the hustle.

“In retrospect, I think cancer has been a blessing,” he said. “It makes you appreciate the tiniest little things: being healthy, waking up feeling good, drinking cold water. Every thing’s a good thing; every day’s a good day. It’s crazy; you start seeing people complain about the smallest thing or arguing over something trivial, and I don’t really have time for any of that anymore. I know my time here on this earth is limited, just a sliver of time, and I gotta make the most of it.”

And his mentor can see it, too. “He’s starting to realize the beauty of life,” Negrete said. “Especially in Santa Barbara, it’s easy to take it for granted.”

Holy Trinity of Tattooing

Ortiz had been planning on his vision for a Santa Barbra tattoo convention for years. Before he was diagnosed with cancer last summer, he had already started organizing the inaugural event with the help of some of the best in the business. 

If Negrete is the godfather of black-and-gray ink, then Tim Hendricks is the patron saint of tattooing. The Fullerton-based artist rose to tattoo fame starring in TV shows Miami Ink and N.Y. Ink, and Hendricks and Ortiz have been friends and colleagues ever since the two crossed paths surfing with Santa Barbara surf legend Bobby Martinez on the North Shore in Hawai‘i 15 years ago.

When they learned Ortiz was having health problems, Hendricks and Negrete both insisted in vain that the convention be put on hold while he went through treatment.

“I told him, maybe let’s hold off,” Hendricks said. “But he said, ‘Nah, it gives me something to do.’ ”

So the trio got to work organizing the event, booking more than 65 artists from across the world — California, New York, Detroit, China, the Netherlands — and enlisting the help of whoever wanted to join the party.

Soon, Santa Barbara artists DJ Javier and Michael Matheson hopped in to help, with Javier designing the iconic poster — a mustachioed ’50s-style cholo with slicked-back hair and shades surfing a wave in a halo of roses — giving the convention its unmistakable California-cool aesthetic.

“People started coming out of the woodwork and really working and focusing on making this weekend great for everyone,” Ortiz said. “What DJ did with the poster, making every bit of it look proper and putting that much love into it — that’s essentially where we’re all coming from. We love this craft, and that’s the main ingredient.”

The convention will have artists with a wide range of styles, representing what Ortiz says will be three major generations of tattoo artists, from the “OGs” of the game — Rudy, Good Time Charlie, and Negrete — to the “middle generation” that helped push tattooing into the mainstream, and now the younger generation of new artists who are “getting the flavors and recipes that the OGs and the middle generation created, and are using them in different ways” while keeping up the tattoo tradition in today’s new social-media age.

Ortiz also wanted to be sure that the event featured a roster of women tattoo artists who have made a name in the industry, including Mina Aoki, Natasha DeLuna, Ruby Quilter, and Valerie Dominguez.

“That’s one thing JJ made vocal, to have more female artists,” Hendricks said. “If you look at my top 10, half are women.”

In addition to the dozens of tattoo artists who will be in town over the weekend, the Rose Garden Tattoo Convention will also feature pop-ups from local eateries such as small-batch ice cream maker Creaminal and Michelin-recognized Indian restaurant Bibi Ji, along with vintage clothing, custom chain stitching, and live screen-printing from Mind Garden Research. There will also be vinyl records spinning, temporary tattoos for kids, and educational booths with information on tattoo history. 

The Rose Garden Tattoo Convention will be held at the Community Arts Workshop on 631 Garden Street April 5-7. For a full list of artists or to purchase tickets, visit rosegardentattooconvention.com. To set up a tattoo appointment, visit the Instagram page @rosegardentattooconvention to message artists directly.

Ortiz is feeling in much better health now, both physically and spiritually. He says he is able to “give himself a chance to enjoy life.” | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom

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Inked Into Memory:
The Story of My First Tattoo

Indy Art Director Xavier Pereyra
Recalls His First Tattoo Experience at 805 Ink

I always wanted tattoos growing up. Everyone that was older than me seemed to have them. And with California having so many deep-rooted subcultures, it’s only appropriate for people to represent what they’re passionate about through ink.

About a week after my 18th birthday, I made an appointment with JJ Ortiz at 805 Ink for my first tattoo. I heard about JJ through my cousin Josh Luna. Josh, who has been a longtime friend of JJ, recommended him when I told him my idea for a black-and-gray single-needle tattoo. I wanted three roses on the left side of my chest, above my heart. Each rose represents the women in my immediate family — my mother, Rosa; and two twin sisters, Marisa and Sophia.

I remember walking into 805 Ink to drop off some reference photos of roses I found for JJ. The sound of buzzing needles and getting a whiff of the green soap they use to clear the bloodied skin made me second-guess — “Do I really want to do this?”

JJ took the reference photos and was able to draw up exactly what I envisioned, which made it a lot easier to tell myself, “Yes, I do want to do this!”

A few days later, I nervously showed up for the tattoo appointment. As I walked toward the back where JJ had his space, I couldn’t help but look at all the other tattoo artists working on clients. The aura of a tattoo shop is really something unique. How many other places can someone go where people choose to sit through the pain of needles in an art-filled building with old-school, heavy-hitting rap blaring from the speakers?

As I sat down, JJ set up his station. A tattoo artist’s station is really important for health and safety reasons, so everything can proceed smoothly. JJ then fired up his tattoo machine and got to work. I remember the loud buzz of the machine and the sharp needles bouncing off the skin of my chest. After about an hour of work, any time JJ lifted his hand to adjust his angle was a moment of relief. My pain tolerance is okay, to say the least, but the adrenaline of what was happening made my heart rate raise tremendously. At one point, JJ stopped and told me, “Hey, man, take a deep breath and just relax.” Easy to say, but it was much harder to actually do. 

After about three total hours, I finally had my first tattoo. I looked in the mirror and couldn’t have been more stoked on the finished outcome. I’ve since collected about five more tattoos from various artists, with JJ doing another, a cowboy on a bucking horse to represent my dad’s love for spaghetti western movies.

When I look back, I see these tattoos as time stamps. Life always has its ups and downs, and moments can be forgotten, but when I remember I have these pieces of art on my body, it helps me think about the fragility of this thing we call life. 

Xavier Pereyra is the Santa Barbara Independent‘s art director.

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