a couple of questions, and then recommendations:
1. do you have the design already, or are you looking for someone to help with the design process?
B. is there a specific style of artwork you are looking for?
there are plenty of capable artists in this area, and even some really good ones. my advice to everyone considering getting tattooed is to shop around a bit. check out a few shops. look at artist's portfolios. make sure you see pictures of healed work, not just fresh. ask about cleanliness and sterilization procedures. show them your design, or describe what you are looking for. just talk to the artist a bit to see if you get along. if you get a bad vibe, move along.
once you find someone you like, start talking about price. if you get a bad vibe, move along. a rough estimate for cost for a decent artist is $100/hour. be prepared to pay for good work. if the price seems way high, shop around. if it seems way low, move along. good work is rarely cheap, and cheap work is rarely good. this is a lifetime investment. don't skimp.
a few shops in the area to check out are:
state of the art, winchester,va. jesse tseronis has done most of my work.
great southern, college park, md and somewhere in nova. sandy parsons did my first few tattoos.
fatty's, dupont circle, dc. talk to fatty.
jinx proof, georgetown, dc. talk to tony.
ambroto's, silver spring, md. talk to mike.
james marlowe's shop that i can't remember the name of (comes a time, maybe?) near tt reynold's on nova. talk to james.
i can make better recommendations with more info about what exactly you're looking for, but those are some of the best artists in the area.
