Hundreds of different colors of ink line the tables at the 2020 Ink Masters Tattoo Expo at the Harvey Convention Center in Tyler.

On Friday, dozens of artists and customers showed up for the 2020 Ink Masters Tattoo Expo at the Harvey Convention Center in Tyler.

The convention began back in 2004, when Ink Masters CEO Rey Hernandez and his wife put together their own tattoo convention. As the convention grew year by year, Ink Masters spawned a reality TV show that put tattoo artists in competition with each other to be crowned the “Ink Master.” The show was canceled earlier this year due to the pandemic.

“When issues with production (of the TV show) came up, Ink Masters continued with the convention side,” event coordinator Vincent Aguon said. “The TV show used to pull the artists from the conventions. So, they were Ink Master artists, from the conventions.”

This convention is the second Ink Masters convention in Tyler, and Ink Masters hopes to make it an annual event.

“The artists are sponsored by the Ink Masters brand,” Aguon said. “Some of the artists that have their own shops, they’re converting over to an Ink Masters studio. So, they’ll be a partner in the Ink Master brand.”

Aguon said that there were a lot of requirements and expectations that Ink Masters needed to follow to abide by the city’s guidelines, but that he’s glad the convention was able to happen.

“This weekend has been minimized,” Aguon said. “We used to have like anywhere from like 200 to 300 artists, and now we’re down to like 30 artists.”

The Ink Masters representative said they have been very mindful about enforcing the use of masks and social distancing to set the example so the industry as a whole can stay open.

“They only allowed us to come in because we came in and fought to reopen the whole industry with the state and Governor Abbott in Austin,” Aguon said. “We protested for them to reopen the tattoo industry again. With all that fight, we’re trying to protect it now. We fought to work and have shows, so we have to maintain that.”

But masks at tattoo parlors aren’t new. Most tattoo artists have always been mindful of the health hazards that come with the industry.

“We’ve always been masked, you know, we’ve always done that,” said Aguon. “I mean, just from the bloodborne pathogen aspect of it, we’ve always used gloves, we’ve always used aprons. When you walk through those doors and you talk to an artist, their whole set-up is set up like a procedure at a clinic. We’re complying with something that already had been existing, other than at the time (before the pandemic), the clients didn’t have to wear masks.”

At the end of the day on Friday, the expo announced the “Best of Day” tattoo and artist. Friday’s expo gave awards in the tattoo art genres of traditional, neo-traditional, arm and leg sleeve, chest and back, unusual, lettering, realistic, and geometric design art.

The expo will continue throughout the weekend. Saturday’s expo will focus on black-and-gray art, as well as portraits. Both artists and tattoo customers have the opportunity to win prizes.

Saturday’s expo will be open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday’s expo will be open from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. Tickets are $20 at the door of the Harvey Convention Center. Kids 17 and under are free to enter but must be with an adult.