PENNY BOY · GUEST SPOT · PORTLAND OR
Portland built its name on large-scale work — Japanese bodysuits, Pacific Northwest black-and-grey, backs that read as a single image across the shoulders. It's the city where VOID Tattoo Fest gathers invited artists every May, and that's exactly the register Penny Boy works in: destination backs, one client at a time. When he tours the Pacific Northwest, a handful of Portland collectors get on the book by application.
A closed selection of Penny’s award-winning full backs — see them all & in motion, or view the art gallery.
In a scene shaped by Japanese back work and Northwest black-and-grey, a spine-to-hip commission is nothing unusual — which is precisely why it's worth handing to someone who tattoos nothing else. Penny Boy (Massimiliano Pennella) is an award-winning back specialist — 100+ international awards, Best in Show — booked ahead by application on his Portland tour windows. Full and half backs only: neo-traditional, black-and-grey and color, built over multiple sessions to hold for decades.
VOID is an artist-run, invitation-only gathering, and Penny's Portland work follows that same destination-artist model — he doesn't keep a studio in Oregon. When a guest-spot window opens in the Pacific Northwest, a few full backs are taken by application. Apply to be told the next Portland dates.
There is no price list. A full back is a large, multi-session project, so every quote is custom and issued only after your application has been reviewed and approved.
Yes. The back is the largest, most demanding canvas on the body — full and half backs are all he takes, in Portland, across the USA and in Europe.