Jeremiah Barba’s portfolio is truly an international affair, with his dark style blowing the minds of thousands of people all over the world. Jeremiah Barba has been a well-respected, talented tattooist for over ten years. The son of legendary tattoo artist Kari Barba, proprietor of Outer Limits. His mother is a 25- year veteran in the industry who has won over 400 awards for her work, and exposure to so much talent and success has prepared Jeremiah for his aspiring career that lied ahead. Jeremiah spent his childhood in the tattoo shop. His parents opened a few shops in the Southern California area when he was very young, and life, he says was anything but average. “We stayed in the shop because we didn’t have anywhere to live. So I remember when I was five years old living in the back of the shop. We stayed there until they could afford a place to live. I was in the shop all the time. I would get off school, and my Mom’s clients would pick me up and take me back to the shop. So I was really burnt on it by the time was in High school”. Some people assert their individuality by stepping into a tattoo shop. Jeremiah did it by bolting out of one. And then after flirting with mind-numbing jobs in the service industry and a dicey lifestyle, he came back to tattooing and embraced it. Barba’s stylistic traits encompass compellingly lurid color to black and gray with preference for big designs. He enjoys everything, especially Dark art. After apprenticing at Big Bear Tattoo, with Bill Carlson and Ed Schaffer, he went to work at Twilight Fantasy Tattoo of Riverside, CA. But after six months those gigs were not working out, so he went to work at Outer Limits Tattoo with his mother Kari Barba. There he learned a lot from everyone and it opened his eyes to different styles of tattooing. That too, was to be short-lived.”I just was not taking it serious, like I should have.” Body Graphics Tattoo then took him on, and the year and half he spent there, he says, helped him mature. “Greg Griffin showed me a lot of little things, like how to pull a line right and customer service as well as taking tattooing seriously.” So then it was time to give it another shot at Outer Limits Tattoo, in Orange. That’s where everything came together especially the appreciation for tattooing. “Originally I got into tattooing for the money-which I acknowledged as a mistake- but I came to embrace the artistic dimension and that’s when I fell in love with the art form of it.” He started doing conventions, guest spots, etc. After about 3 to 4 years he opened his own shop called Epidemic Tattoo out Temecula, CA. But after a falling out with his partner it was time leave it all behind. That’s when he moved to New York City to work with Paul Booth at his Last Rites Tattoo Theatre. I got to work and meet the greatest group of artists in the industry. It was truly the best experience and I came away with a great deal of knowledge for the art of Tattooing and Painting.” Jeremiah is an artist who is flexible in his subject matter and style. What marks his work as his own is consistent quality in the drawings, placement on the body that respects its natural shape and flow, and solid understanding of the significance of lighting and shading. Lately, much of the work he has been doing has been black and gray, including many portraits. “I really try to explore all aspects of tattooing.” Jeremiah’s artistic influences are as diverse as his portfolio,ranging from tattoo artist to painters, movies and music. “My daughter, I have to say, is my biggest influence because she makes it all worth it. I can’t wait to see her explore the same way I do. I already got a machine for her if that’s what she wants to do. And my mom… I‘ve been watching her get down for 25 years now, and I can’t describe the feeling I get when I watch her work. I hope to be as good as her some day. Jeremiah has a bright future ahead of him and his collection of over 60 awards and counting he looks forward to what comes his way. He is fortunate enough to have customers who appreciate his custom artwork, and he works closely with his clients to plan tattoos that ideally, he loves as much as his client. “I try to steer my clients into a piece of work that is not only what they want, but also is a reflection of my accumulated knowledge and tastes as an artist. While he generally works closely with his clients while they plan their artwork, he enjoys when his clients allow him to do a piece that is 100% his own artwork and his own idea. “I’d like to thank all my friends who’ve helped me become a better artist. There’s way too many to name, but I’ll name a few: my mother Kari Barba, Bill Carlson, Ed Schaffer ,Everyone at Outer Limits Tattoo, Greg Griffen ,Bob Tyrrel (Greatest guy in the Industry.),Tin-Tin (The Coolest French Guy I know.) Liorcifer, Dan Marshall, Tim Kern , Robert Hernandez (Amazing Artist!),Ethan Morgan, Guy Aitchison, Filip Leu, Paul Booth (Big Influence ,On my work and my life), John Clue, Joe Capabionco,. And a million other artists – you know who you are! Thanks for the never ending inspiration.”

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