PENNY BOY · GUEST SPOT · SAN DIEGO CA
San Diego is where West Coast black-and-grey was born, out of the chicano and single-needle line that the rest of American realism copied. It's a town of coastal collectors who read a back the way they read the water, and when Penny Boy brings his California guest windows down the SoCal coast, a handful of those backs are his to build.
A closed selection of Penny’s award-winning full backs — see them all & in motion, or view the art gallery.
In the birthplace of West Coast black-and-grey, nobody hands a full back to a walk-in. Penny Boy (Massimiliano Pennella) is a specialist who tattoos one thing only — the back — with 100+ international awards and a Best in Show behind him. He keeps no chair in San Diego; when the California circuit brings him to the coast he takes only a few full and half backs, chosen by application, each one drawn to hold neo-traditional, black-and-grey or color detail for decades under the SoCal light.
Penny doesn't keep a permanent studio in San Diego — he's a destination back specialist who guests along the California coast. Around convention season and his SoCal windows he takes a small number of backs by application, so apply to be told the next confirmed San Diego dates rather than assuming a booth.
There's no price list. A full back is a large, multi-session commitment, so every quote is custom and issued only after your application is reviewed and approved for one of Penny's San Diego windows.
Yes — the back is all he tattoos, which is why San Diego collectors seek him out. Full and half backs are prioritised in neo-traditional, black-and-grey and color, built one client at a time to last.