When RedLetter1's Phil Holt was coming of age in San Francisco in the '90s, he idolized Timothy Hoyer, a tattoo artist whose large-scale custom body art broke the mold and created a bridge between painting and tattoo. Think dense, meticulously inked subjects from the gothic to the Japanese-influenced, bursting with smoldering color and the energy of motion. Since Hoyer parted ways last year with his Richmond studio, he's been traveling and devoting more time to his other passion: oil painting. No surprise from an artist who has cited influences like Rubens and Egon Schiele. Now Holt gets to fill his own Ybor art gallery and tattoo studio with canvases by the master. Check out Hoyer's latest work — exhibited under the evocative title Angel Dust — and meet the man himself at the opening reception, which occurs from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. Sat., Sept. 2. On display through Oct. 10, 1510 E. Eighth Ave., Tampa, 813-241-2435, www.redletter1.com.
This article appears in Aug 30 – Sep 5, 2006.