Sunset Strip Tattoo

It took me a while to write this but after some heavy contemplating and reading several reviews that reflected my own negative feelings about this guy, I decided to write this to tell people about my experience with Paul Timman and WARN them…
He totally f’d up my tat!
Since I loved the pieces he’d done on other people i was super excited for him to work on me.
Imagine the disappointment I felt when I saw what a mess he had made of mine. Maybe he didn’t give a damn because I’m not a major celebrity like Angelina Jolie or maybe because my skin simply wasn’t light enough for his liking. Although I am obviously a sista my skin color is actually the same tone as his… yet he refused to use the light colors I chose because he said they wouldn’t show up on my skin because it was too dark! (I should have left right then and there)! He took forever getting the colors prepared, took forever to work on the tattoo and dug in way too deep. (And was expensive)!
If I didn’t know any better I would swear this guy had it out for me. He had me bend my neck down «so I’d be more comfortable» but not until he was done, did I realize what a horrific mistake that was since this stretched my skin out a considerable amount. (Something he must’ve known well and good, having done this for so many years). When I held my neck up right the tatoo actually shrunk and looks like a big, fat, heavy, ugly, black caterpillar on my neck instead of the delicate Japanese writing it was supposed to be! Since it was on the back of my neck I really couldn’t see what he was doing while he was working on it or keep a really close eye on it while it healed… Which took forever since it was so deep! No wonder it hurt ten times more than my other tattoos! I’ve seen his work on other people and let me tell you this looks nothing like his other work. My tattoo is sloppy and still causes my heart to sink every time I look at it. Since it is mostly thick black, (something I wasn’t expecting since I repeatedly told him I wanted very delicate writing) it’s going to be extremely difficult and expensive to fix. I would recommend staying far away from Paul Timman, «tattoo artist of the stars» at all costs!

Dave did my wrist tats. Everyone in the shop was welcoming and fun. Im loving my tat and will definitely come back for more.

This place is incredible. I’m fairly new to the Los Angeles area, but I’d heard a few legends about this place. My pal was living just around the corner from the shop, and he quickly met the crew and suggested I come check it out for myself. After one visit I came back and got a small tattoo from Ramon, who is very skilled and extremely friendly. While the design I got was very simple and small, Ramon’s portfolio is very impressive. Furthermore, Ramon is just an awesome dude! I’ve also gotta give some respect to Dave G. He took my drawing and made it into a fantastic tattoo for my pal. I’m definitely already thinking about what is next!

DAVE G. is My tattoo artist… clean work… love it !!! Can’t complain about it… Very professional… thanks DAVE… !!!

I’ve been here for three pieces and drive from Long Beach for this. I’ve had great experiences and the work is amazing! The artist who I’ve been to does great water color and soft shading work. They’re all really laid back and friendly when I go in. The prices are a bit steep but totally worth every penny! The tattoo coverup I just got had me screaming like a little bitch but my artist was great at calming me down and keeping good conversation when it got too painful for life. I highly recommend this shop!

Best first tattoo experience ever. All of the tattoo artists were really friendly and funny, but also still very professional and knew exactly what they were doing. I called to ask if they did walk ins and ended up coming in the same day and getting my tattoo done, but I didn’t feel rushed or anything like that when I was there. Dave spent what had to be at least 45 min with me making sure he knew exactly what I wanted and sketching it out. During the whole tattooing process he explained what he was doing so I knew what was happening, but also chatted with me to pass the time. He was really fun to talk to! All in all, I love how my tattoo came out and it was a great experience. Thanks, guys!

Great place to go to for tattoos. Was recommended by a friend and did not fail to impress. Got my ink done by Paul, awesome artist and very skilled. The place has great service and good vibes all around. Definitely check them out.

I go there for Ramon. He is amazing. Highly recommend this place.

It was my first time getting a tattoo and I enjoyed myself all of the artists there have a very funny sense of humor which made the experience that much better. They do excellent work and are very professional. I wouldn’t go anywhere else to get my tattoo i plan on coming back for some more work. I highly recommend this place plus you never know you might see a celebrity. Thanks Paul.

This place is legit. Where all the old school rockers went to get inked. You can check out all the signed pictures on their wall.
Called in to get a tattoo the day after making the call and got right in. Very happy with the results and pretty neat getting inked where members of Mötley Crüe and various other famous rockers have had work done. There’s actually an old documentary with Mötley Crüe going inside this location looking for Nikki Sixx I watched after getting inked here, was pretty neat.

Love my new ink! Thanks Paul! Very clean and professional… Took me in as a walk in. Great work!

My boyfriend gets ALL his tattoos at this shop by DAVE. Very good work! Highly recommend.

Me and my best friend got tattoos from David an Dave. They are both super awesome and nice. Great customer service and we love our tattoos exactly what we wanted!!! Plus, the lowest minimum on sunset

Me and my girlfriend got our first tattoo together here. Our tattoo artist was very friendly and comforting. He made us laugh the whole time. A very chill environment. We plan on going back here again for our next tattoo.

Hands down the best tattoo shop in Hollywood! Clean and comfortable space with good music pumping. artists that are talented, helpful and spend the time to tell you what they think will work well and what won’t. Whether you are fixing bad work from the past (from some other shop) this is the place to go. dont forget to ask for Paul

I went to the shop 23yrs ago when they were on Sunset Blvd. in the shop across from Comedy Store. The last time I was there 17yrs ago, Tupac Shakur was there getting his work done. Move up to the present. The tatoo that was 23yrs old and was on it’s last leg and i have been wanting to redo it. When it was first done they were the only ones then to want to put it on my neck. Most shops in the day would not do it. Not knowing who was there working now and the shop has moved futher down Sunset Blvd. I dropped in on them and met Paul who looked at my work and knew who had done it yrs ago. Well… I was sooooo impressed that I asked him to fix me plz… ASAP… it was late on a Sat and he said yes… My neck tatoo is no longer old but brand new and is the bomb !!! Paul is Fuckin Fantastic !!! I am going to go back and start loading up this body with new Tats… Paul and the guys there were so nice and friendly and funny tooo !!! I would recommend to anyone who has not been anywhere to start there. They are the best. If I can go back after 23yrs … well Shit … They Fuckin Rock !!! They were in the 70’s and 80’s the only place to go and to this day they still are … They are very Famous but humble… and I like that !!!
Namaste,
Arnold Divine

Paul Timman at Sunset Tattoo fucked up my tattoo really bad. Days after getting it realized what a poor job he did. It was a simple tattoo too. It was such a beautiful piece of art worked and he destroyed it. Worst tattoo I have ever got. He didn’t even give a shit. There are so many other great artist out there that actually give a shit so go find one of them. It is going to be expensive to fix this disaster.
I was going to go to Mark Mahoney at Shamrock because the last piece he did for me was amazing but he has a long waiting list. He does a great job. I will never go to anyone else again. A real professional that take pride in his work.
Mark Mahoney’s Shamrock Social Club —
A friend of mine got some Kio work done from Greg James at Sunset and it was amazing.

I’ve had two tattoos done at Sunset Strip Tattoo. The first was a very large back piece. It was done by Greg James, and I brag about this any chance that I get. He’s the best of the best when it comes to Japanese tattoos and my koi fish are absolutely gorgeous and delicate. He’s totally as nice as everyone says he is.
The second tattoo was from Dave Gastelum. It’s a stylized tattoo of a guitar. The guitar belongs to my dad and has some interesting details on it. Dave had his work cut out for him to get those details in. He was honest with me about what could and couldn’t be done. The end result was exactly what I wanted. Most importantly, when I got home, my dad instantly recognized his guitar.
I really can’t recommend this shop enough. There’s an amazing amount of talent here. As far as prices are concerned, you get what you pay for.

Dave is the shit. So chill. Just got a tat from him today and its so detailed and the lines are so finely rendered… he definitely pays attention to detail. I have 4 tats from him and people stop me all the time just to look at them.
And FYI he wont force you to make your tat larger, like most other shops… simply because they lack the skill to do it. He can do it, sweeeeeeeeet.

Decided one night that I really wanted my first AFI tattoo, so I came to Unilocal and decided Sunset Strip was the place to go. Well, I was right! Rob is awesome and super friendly. My tattoo came out excellent and healed quickly! This will be my regular shop now :)