paul talbot

Before I start I want to make something clear to you. Im not anti tech. Quite the opposite in fact. Throughout my life I’ve learnt each ‘next big thing` as it’s become available and then - because I know all…

Art - any art - and it’s creators are, generally,  held in high regard by modern society and often thought of as being special or gifted in some way. But in this big tech, late stage capitalist hellscape that is…

I Beg to Differ is a blog that isn't about grandeur; but the charming messiness of life, the questionable decisions that are involved and how it somehow seems to make sense in retrospect. My name is Paul and you Might…

It’s 2008 and I’m sitting at the crossroads staring at 500 miles of bad road, in every direction. I’m currently between the layers. I’m in ‘the jam’. I’m Liminal. What I’ll become is not yet known to me and what…

I got a Baby's brain and an old man's heart Took eighteen years to get this far Don't always know what I'm talkin' about Feels like I'm livin' in the middle of doubt If you're in between two places or…

Welcome to my nightmare I think you're gonna like it I think you're gonna feel you belong I have a recurring nightmare.  I'm perched in a swanky office, encircled by executives, having just unveiled my grand pitch. The air is…

He's a rebel and a runner, He's a signal turning green, He's a restless young romantic Wants to run the big machine As most of you will appreciate, starting my own business for the first time was a pretty daunting…

In the relentless pursuit of the elusive unicorn that is the perfect tattoo over the past fifteen years, my thoughts were consumed solely with ‘the goal’. Head down, driving my feet ever forward. But never looking up. Focusing only on…

When Perry tossed the idea of writing this column my way, I found myself standing - not for the first - at the edge of uncertainty, questioning not just what I could write but if I even possessed the ability…

Maintaining Integrity as an Independent Artist in the World of Brand Collaborations Integrity, an unwavering commitment to truth, authenticity, and moral principles, serves as the bedrock of artistic expression. For artists, it's the Morning Star, illuminating the path to creativity…

This time I want to start  by telling you that I've recently been watching the Latest Season of Black Mirror. That got me thinking about the shows near-future dystopias and themes of technology and media and how it uses both to…

This time I'd like to pull on your coat tails about something that's been bugging me and my friends for a while. We've all noticed that younger (or newer) tattooists seem to be suffering from the same plague of narcissism…

This time I'd like to pull on your coat tails about something that came up in the world of Tattooing a little while ago, TattooGate. But before I get into that I want to tell you a little story. Now,…

This time I'm going to attempt to answer this question from our youtube channel (youtube.com/thattattooshow). "Really love this show man, you guys give me good company every Monday. I wanted to say Paul, once, you told a bit of your…

This time I'd like to pul on your coat tails about something that I've been thinking about for a while. After visiting The Brighton Tattoo Convention we got into a discussion on That Tattoo Show about some of the new…

This time we're going to be talking AI. The evil technology that's going to see us all out of work, penniless and potentially working as slaves to a race of malevolent robots gods before the year is out! Or are…

Lockdowns, Lizards and the Zombie Apocalypse.  Both myself and Chris are professional tattooists and shop owners in the UK. We started the channel during the first of the Covid lockdowns in the UK in 2020. Locked in our houses, we'd…

OR, how tea making can lead to a great career. More than once! In the UK, regardless of the industry, most apprentices start off making the tea. As an apprentice you're unskilled, clueless and a complete novice. Tea making is…

“Start where you are, use what you have, do what you can” is a quote by Arthur Ashe about taking on challenges. But the first time I heard it, it was used in a different context and it was paraphrased…

IS TO KEEP THE MAIN THING THE MAIN THING Before I explain why the above quote by author Stephen R Covey bubbled to the top of my conscious mind this month. Let me tell you a little tale from lockdown.…

Back in 1986 NME journalist David Quantick, an English freelance writer and critic was interviewing Jamie Wednesday a Streatham indie band which included the two men who would become Carter USM. In the interview he predicted that cannibalisation would be the downfall of…

During Lockdown I've been watching some livestream tattoo discussion panels. They are pretty freeform and chat based. Mostly around a chosen central theme. During one of these someone referred to tattooing as a service industry and I thought ‘hang on,…

Take a seat and welcome to - what is currently- quite a gloomy place called The Naughty Step. By now you’ll already be aware of the news I heard only yesterday morning that Chris Cornell, lead singer of Soundgarden, Temple…

I thought about The Popcorn Theory when I was reminded recently of a conversation I had in Boston with a very well known, much copied and well respected artist who will - of course - remain nameless. We’d been talking…

Have you ever heard things like this when you hear ‘artists’ or clients discussing tattoos? “But what will it look like in ten years?” “You should stick with the classics they’re proven styles” “The bold will hold” “It’ll never heal”…

I learnt something really important the other day. Life isn’t about how much happiness you want. It’s about how much suffering you’ll take to acquire that happiness. And success - in all our myriad of definitions of it - depends on…

Like most people living in the 21st century i suffer from a level of anxiety  that builds up sometimes during the year and I’m left feeling like I’m spinning my wheels or treading water. Either not moving or moving without…

Popular knowledge tells us that genius is born, not made. According to a study conducted by University College London professor Chia-Jung Tsay, we have a natural bias towards people we believe have talent.   Through a series of studies, researchers discovered that managers…