Avalon Tattoo

Jason did matching tattoos for my friend and I. We got script on our foot and he did an excellent job. Super friendly and made the time go by quick. Thanks Jason!

Awesome place and clean. Cool music. Staff was really friendly and helpful. I was a walk-​in and my artist stayed a little late to get me done. I would definitely come here again

Jason did a cover up tattoo for me and it turned out great! Now I love what I used to hate! He was very friendly and made me feel comfortable. Great experience! Thank u!

Went into Avalon yesterday as a walk in and it was a fantastic experience. Ended up getting Jo as our artist and he was delightful. He was so friendly, accommodating, and did an awesome job. Getting a tattoo can be a nerve wracking experience and I have been to quite a few shops where the experience was less than enjoyable. Definitely not so here. If you are in the San Diego area and need some work done I highly recommend Avalon and ask for Jo!

Joe is amazing!!! I have had tattoo’s from all over and Joe is one of the best! I had two tattoo’s done recently and they looked lifeless. Joe was able to give them dimension and now I am very proud to have them on display. He is extremely nice and funny as hell. Joe makes you feel that you are priority and that is the way it should be. I will be going back very soon to get my other sleeve.

I’ve procrastinated for many years about getting inked before I met Joe Kearny and Avalon Tattoo. I had met with tattoo artists before and had usually been met with an aloofness and I’m busy attitude and this had put me off. Meeting Joe, I knew he was someone who was down to earth and didn’t mind listening for 5 minutes about my vague ideas about the tattoo I wanted. We also had a mutual appreciation for the traditional Sailor Jerry style of tattoo. A week later he emailed me the line art for the tattoo. I was blown away. The line art was amazing: strong lines and an attention to the very last detail. I like to think I know a thing or two about art being a trained Art Director who’s worked in the MarComm/​Agency world for 20 years. He had taken my initial idea and run with the ball, so to speak. The end result was amazing. This tattoo now covers most of my upper left arm and shoulder.
And this was just the start, with an outcome that beautiful I wanted to repeat the experience. And so we did, the mermaid that graces my upper right arm onto my shoulder is beautiful. It’s the epitome of the Sailor Jerry style. The two shoulders are now linked by a chest tattoo of swallows and roses with a sacred heard on a background of blue clouds. I can’t speak highly enough of his attention to detail, his meticulous line work and amazing use of color. This is combined with his speed — he’s fast and he’s a nice, down to earth fellow who will give you an honest opinion.
The guys at Avalon PB as a whole, welcoming, nice people. I’ve seen their work too, and know their standards of excellence. Any artist you choose at Avalon will be great. If you need a tattoo — go with the best in town — Avalon PB.

My husband has a few tattoos from Joe that are awesome and referred me to him. Joe has done a new tattoo on me, and an add to an existing tattoo that I wanted to correct and make bigger. Both turned out great and I’ve been very happy with them! He doesn’t rush through and has amazing talent with detail and colors! Both my husband and I get stopped by people quite often to ask where we got them done! I’ve also sent my sister and friend to him and everyone is always pleased with his work! Joe’s the best! Avalon has been around for a long time and with good reason!

Joe is awesome! Every one is helpful and nice. I felt comfortable in the shop. I’m so happy with my tattoo. I can’t wait to go back for more.

My sisters and I have family who have been going Avalon and Avalon 2 for years. When we were able to get tattoos of our own we decided to try out Avalon. My sister was the first of us to get one. We went in she put a deposit in for her tattoo, but we didn’t meet the artist until the day of her tattoo. That we met the funniest Irish man ever, Joe Kearney! He is the best guy ever. He took really good care of her. Explaining what was going to happen and how to take care of her tattoo as it healed. When she was in the chair, he told us stories and joked around with us, completely taking her mind off the tattoo being done. After she got her tattoo, I knew my husband and I wanted to get ours done by Joe too. As we kept getting tattoos, our family members wanted Joe to their tattoos as well. So far he tattooed my sister, my husband, my dad, my father in law, one of my coworkers, 2 of sister’s friends, my cousin, his marine buddy, a close friend of mine and myself. I still have friends who want to get work done by him. This was seriously a matched made in heaven. We are so lucky that found Joe on the first try when My sister got her first tattoo. They are super clean! He always made sure that he cleaned everything when he was changing customers. My husband is a paraplegic and Joe made sure that my husband could move around on the studio and that he was comfortable when he was getting tattooed. His touch jobs are fantastic. Joe touched up one of my dad’s tattoo and my cousin’s buddy’s koi that he got in Japan. Joe finished the koi and it looked beautiful! Joe matched the previous artist perfectly. He is understanding and makes you feel comfortable when you get your tattoo done. I will always go to Joe to get my work done.

Joe did an awesome Jellyfish tattoo! I was in town for holiday when my GF decided she needed a jellyfish tattoo after going to the aquarium. We were only in town for 2 more days so I decided to try Avalon since I had heard good things about walking tattoos. We went and spoke with an Irish artist named Joe. Not only did he do an excellent job on the custom piece that incorporated hidden shoreline of California and Sydney in the tentacles but he was fun to sit and joke around about. Joe was the whole «tattoo experience» and even let us play with his realistic light saber a customer gave him since he is such a Star Wars nut ;) I would highly recommend Avalon and Joe! Thanks again Joe!

I went in with an idea for a tattoo and I hooked up with Marty. He took my idea and drew it up. Next thing you know I’ve got a kick ass tattoo of my Dads 40 Ford on the inside of my bicep. It is fuckin gorgeous! Marty is a terrific artist. Everybody in that place is great. I got my first tat there in 1989, so I knew these guys weren’t a bunch of bubble gummer fly by nighters. They are experienced, knowledgable. These guys just do good work. I can’t say enough good things.

Once again, Alex Kuo gets 5-​stars. Followed him from a previous parlor and will continue to go to him as long as I’m in San Diego! HE IS THE BEST! So stoked once again. Painless and perfect. Thanks again ALEX K!

I’ve been sending my family and friends to Marty since I got two pieces done a couple of years ago (it takes me a while to commit to a tattoo). I trust him to put art on my body for the rest of my life and I think that says a lot. Marty delivers every time. The shop is clean, the pigments are quality, and honestly all these artists seem to be equally amazing. This time Marty really created this tattoo and made it just right for me by tweaking every last bit of it. He’s not in a rush and I appreciate that considering tattoos don’t get second chances.
I got a small tattoo (a life-​size matchstick) from Joe on a day Marty wasn’t there and it was great too, he got lots of detail into it and I couldn’t be happier with it.
I will continue to go to Avalon until my skin gets to wrinkly and old to tattoo anymore.

Had a great experience getting my tattoo done with Steven Mast, he is an amazing artist, very knowledgeable. He took the time and worked with me to get every detail of the design the way I wanted!
I’d recommend him to anyone, just plan to schedule an appt way ahead of time.

Amazing art work by Hoss! He did a masterpiece on my hubby and did an amazing coverup for me. We will definitely come back for some more art work.

My first time here and I’ll be happy to come back again to get more tatts from Joe! I LOVE MY TATTOO!!! He was also very friendly and to me out of all the tattoo artist his didn’t hurt. (I have high tolerance w/​pain.) THANKS AGAIN JOE!

I visited Avalon Tattoo while in San Diego for a journalism convention last weekend. The shop is easy to find, clean and we were greeted right away.
My friend and I had a rough sketch of a koi that we both wanted to get done. Kurt was available and made sure that rough sketch was an authentic Japanese koi by the time we were ready to begin.
Kurt knows what he’s talking about, and I appreciate him taking the time to make both of our pieces as beautiful as they are — he’s easy on the eyes, too, ladies!

After trying for 2 days to secure an appointment at a North Park tattoo shop I gave up and looked to Unilocal to help me find another shop. The reviewers are correct. This place is professional, clean, very reasonable. Jason did a fantastic job on my tattoo and was very quick. He was personable and made me feel relaxed. I would definitely recommend this shop if you are in the market for some amazing artwork.

RAD
I got my first tattoo done by Marty and he was AWESOME. He was very helpful, gave me wonderful recommendations on the size and placement and was an awesome conversational partner! As soon as I came into his room all my nerves about my first tattoo melted away and really the whole shop has some sort of calming effect on your person. The tattoo parlor itself is very nice with a great atmosphere and friendly staff. If I could I would recommend Avalon 100 times over again! Definitely coming back for more. I strongly suggest it, you won’t regret this choice!

I’m really amaze at some of the reviews I am reading here complaining that their tattoo artist wasn’t chatty enough. Its subjective, but frankly I’d prefer a nice calm presence and a focused artist so I get the best work possible. You know how you have to turn down the radio to concentrate when you are lost finding an address? Think of it like that. They need to focus sometimes on making this lifelong piece of living art perfect!
My experience was very good. I walked in to do a consult on a Friday afternoon and luckily got the artist that had been suggested to me by a dear friend. Tonya Van Parys took a look at my Frankenstein of a design that my sister and I both wanted. She took probably 20 minutes with me chatting over the design and what we were focused on, and what she could take more artistic license with. We scheduled an appointment for both of us to get tattooed the next day, paid our deposit, and left.
Its street parking for this tattoo shop, so I highly suggest getting there EARLY for your appointment. Also, the street in front of the shop is 2-​hour parking only, so if you have to be there longer, I’d recommend going into the residential neighborhoods surrounding Garnet to park. We got there early and lucked out on a rockstar parking spot, so we wandered Garnet shopping until our appointment.
My tattoo experience was tumultuous because it was my first one so I was overcome with anticipation and anxiety, but Tonya was amazing. I was a bit of a nervous wreck but Tonya was a total pro and spotted my initial light-​headedness and then walked me through the entire 2 hour sitting. The art she created is exactly that, ART. I loved the sketch she did, and the finished product actually made me tear up a little it is so beautiful.
She wasn’t super chatty but when she could she did talk. I was totally fine with that thought, because I went into a «zone» where I didn’t want to talk anyway, I just wanted to hug that pillow and do arithmetic in my head. I would HIGHLY suggest this very clean and professional shop, and Tonya herself for the masterful work I have. I’m very pleased and should I settle on another design, I would see Tonya again in a heartbeat to tattoo me again.