Tonight, The Shooting Gallery in San Francisco presents Shawn Barber's Tattooed Portraits: Snapshot,18 new works capturing the spirit and soul of tattoo artists and collectors.

I've been a fan of Shawn's Tattooed Portrait series since he began it in 2004, particularly for the seductive, fluid renderings of tattooists, whether it be full portraiture or intense focus on their hands. Tattoo artists can be hard people to crack, to convey their soulfulness beyond tough exteriors, but Shawn's open, friendly nature brings down those barriers and the results are very personal and engaging.

One of my favorites is actually not of a tattooist but of actress/activist/hottie Margaret Cho, who is shown (below) getting tattooed by Mike Davis and sucking on a loli (the minx!).

Read more about Shawn's work in his Fecal Face interview. Also check his latest book Forever and Ever available for purchase on his site.

The Shooting Gallery show opens at 7pm tonight and runs until September 8.