To many tattoo artists, skin is a blank canvas and every tattoo tells a story.

"This is the last place for the true artist," said Dwayne Matthews, the owner of Magick Dragon Tattoo in Gainesville. "This is their last stand. They haven’t come up with a computer to do tattoos yet."

Matthews set up shop 11 years ago and has watched as the industry has changed over the years.

The year he opened, he said there was little competition in Hall County — one shop was run by a notorious drunk, he said, and another had a reputation for illegal drugs.

But these days, tattoos have a broader appeal. Matthews said he sees a cross section of the community in his shop.

"It’s just become more socially acceptable," Matthews said.

"I’ve tattooed crackheads and I’ve tattooed (school) principals," said Scott Stripling, an artist at Magick Dragon.

Hall County’s Health Department has recognized the growing popularity of tattoos. In January, it began regulating tattoo shops to create health and safety standards.

The new regulations require each technician, a tattoo or piercing artist to obtain a $50 permit and each body art establishment to purchase a $275 permit. For each subsequent year, each establishment will pay a $150 annual fee, each technician a $20 fee.

Pat Braswell, the county manager for environmental health, said the new regulations have gone over well with the five tattoo shops in Hall County.

"It’s been a very smooth process," Braswell said. "They’ve all been extremely cooperative."

She said many of the shops even helped the health department form their regulations.

"They seem to be really excited about having that health department certificate," Braswell said.

There are no tattoo shops in unincorporated Hall County. There are four in Gainesville and one in Oakwood.

"We don’t prohibit them but we have some pretty strict regulations," said Susan Rector, business license director for Hall County.

"You have to be in the medical field in order to be a tattoo operator."

Rector said a certificate proving you are a nurse, doctor or physician’s assistant is required to get a license, plus inspections from health department.

Changing image

Matthews said many in Hall County still regard tattoos as strange or sinful.

"We’re in the Bible belt. There’s a lot of people who think we’re the devil himself," Matthews said. "Tattoos have always been associated with convicts and bikers and sailors."

Matthews said the depiction of a female demon embracing a nun he wears on his forearm especially draws attention.

"I’ve been told I’m going to hell," said Stripling, who is covered from head to toe in tattoos.

But tattoos and Christianity do not need to be mutually exclusive, said Jerry Potter, owner of Underground Ink in Oakwood and a former minister.

Potter said people who look down on tattoos often show him Leviticus 19:28: "Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the Lord."

But Potter keeps his Bible with him in his shop and often surprises people with his biblical knowledge.

He counters with Revelations 19:16: "And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King Of Kings, and Lord Of Lords."

Changing styles

Over the years, tattoos themselves have evolved.

Once more two-dimensional and cartoon-like, these days lifelike portraits and realistic tattoos are becoming more popular.

"All tattoo artists go through a an apprenticeship with an artist they like," said Eric Carpenter, owner of New Vision Tattoo in Gainesville.

Carpenter said he found an artist whose style he was interested in learning in Gainesville.

"I do a lot of black and grays. That’s where my artistic style leads me," Carpenter said.

He said it is easy to distinguish his work from others.

"I’m getting to the point where I don’t recognize the people so much but I’ll see their tattoo poking out of their shirt and think ‘I did that,’" Carpenter said.

To collectors, tattoos are biographical, a hieroglyphic narration collected over a lifetime.

"It’s a reflection of you and what you think," said Potter. "It’s the only thing you can buy that you’ll take to the grave with you."

Potter’s upper arms are filled with swirls and designs of many colors.

He pointed to the winged eyeballs that adorn not only his left arm but the walls of his shop, a symbol that you are always being watched.

Telling a story

Matthews said though he provides many designs to choose from, more and more people are coming to him with custom designs.

"Seventy-five percent of our customers don’t want something off the walls," he said.

People who are going to only get one or two tattoos in their lifetime often choose a symbol that is very meaningful to them.

But for some people, it’s less about what the tattoo looks like and more about the time in their life when they got.

"Sometimes the story means more than what the tattoo is," Matthews said.