Got Ink? Hudson Valley Tattoo Convention 

Walking into the MJN Convention Center in Poughkeepsie, NY this past weekend, people were met with the sounds of tattoo guns and deep cuts from Alice In Chains, rows of booths lining the space and flash art covering every surface. The third annual International Hudson Valley Tattoo Convention ran from April 4-6, with over 200 artists from around the world and hundreds of attendees ready to get tattooed.

The convention showcased mainly American traditional, Japanese traditional and neo traditional artists with the occasional booths focused on black and gray realism, geometric and other styles. 

New Paltz’s own Dog Street Tattoo had a booth at the convention with resident artists Billy Berard, James Conway and Emily Scott tattooing and promoting their studio. 

Jason Owens is a tattoo artist and the owner of Thank You Co Tattoo in Hollywood, Florida. He specializes in Japanese traditional with American traditional influence with almost 20 years of experience. 

“There’s this magnetism in tattooing that’s hard to describe,” he said. “It was like it wrote a love letter to me, and I’ve been obsessed with it for 20 years.”

Owens attends the Hudson Valley Tattoo Convention every year and has clients who come each year specifically to work with him. 

“It’s always rad when everything lines up, it’s a super rad person, and it’s a piece that I’m super into [and] they’re super into,” he said. “Seeing them live with that, sometimes [tattoos] can be life-changing, especially doing large-scale work. I’ve been very fortunate to be on the giving end of that. I’ve watched it have an impact on their life. Whether it’s confidence, whether it’s anything like that, it’s a really special thing when you can do that for somebody.”

 Each artist offering tattoos created their own schedule of appointments and many had signs up advertising their open appointments, some taking immediate walk-ups if they were free. Prices of tattoos varied from artist to artist based upon the size, detail and the amount of time the tattoo would take. One booth even offered a discounted rate for people willing to receive a free-handed piece, meaning there is no stencil. 

Besides getting tattooed, anyone in attendance could enter as many contests across the three days as they wanted with a fully healed tattoo that met the requirements: Best American Traditional, Black and Gray, Portrait/Realism, Black Work, Japanese, Large Scale (torso/backpiece), Neo Trad, Sleeve, Overall Tattoo Collection and Worst Tattoo. Every day also had its own Tattoo of the Day with pieces completed at the convention. The winners were automatically entered for Best in Show with others tattooed during the weekend. 

The artists who completed the winning tattoos received trophies for their work. The other winners’ prizes were supplied by the various vendors at the event selling clothes, prints, signs, stained glass art, books and supplies for tattoo artists. 

The convention also had live music each day, featuring entertainers like DJ TC the Ripper, What? (a local band from New Paltz), Amaryllis in the Attic and the True North Jazz Project.

What? is a funk-fusion band that performed on April 4 from 6-8 p.m. playing two sets of original music plus “crowd pleasers,” as described by Ryan Perone, the band’s main vocalist and trombonist. Walking around, one could hear covers like “Get Down On It” and originals like “Say What You’re Thinking” from their 2022 album “Lavender Lounge.” 

With the third annual International Hudson Valley Tattoo Convention coming to a close, artists and tattoo enthusiasts have next year to look forward to. The fourth annual convention will run from April 10-12, 2026. For more information and future updates on the convention, visit their website at https://www.hudsonvalleytattooconvention.com/ and their Instagram @hvtattooconvention.