Shane O'Neill (born 1972) is an American

tattoo artist A tattoo artist (also tattooer or tattooist) is an individual who applies permanent decorative tattoos, often in an established business called a "tattoo shop", "tattoo studio" or "tattoo parlour". Tattoo artists usually learn their craft via an ...

in Middletown,

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

. He is best known for winning the first season of the

Spike TV Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Media Networks. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles. The channel was o ...

show ''

Ink Master ''Ink Master'' is an American reality competition television series that originally aired on Paramount Network (formerly called Spike), premiering on January 17, 2012. The show features tattoo artists who compete in various challenges assessing th ...

'' and he is nationally recognized for being an expert in

Black-and-gray Black-and-gray (also black-and-grey, black and grey/gray) is a style of tattooing that uses only black ink in varying shades. This tattooing style is thought to have originated from prisons in the 1970s and 1980s and was later popularized in tat ...

portraits and realism tattoos.

History

O'Neill attended the University of the Arts in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts. He then worked as a freelance illustrator. He began tattooing in 1997, with his artwork being featured in tattoo magazines ''Tattoo Society'', ''Rise Magazine'', and ''Wet Red Ink''. During ''Ink Master'', O'Neill was never in the bottom three contestants or up for elimination except in the final episode where only three contestants were left. He won ''Best Tattoo of the Week'' honors in episodes 3, 6 and 7. In the final episode, O'Neill produced a Japanese style tattoo and a colored skull tattoo and won. In March 2012, the Middletown Town Council gave a proclamation in honor of O'Neill's win. Also in 2012, he participated as a member of the jury for the Chaudesaigues Award, which recognizes excellence in tattooing. O'Neill has been featured at as a high profile guest at many tattoo conventions and even organized tattoo conventions himself. In February 2012, he organized a "Best in the MidWest" convention in

Council Bluffs, Iowa Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The city is the most populous in Southwest Iowa, and is the third largest and a primary city of the Omaha–Council Bluffs ...

and in July 2013, he organized "The Gambling Rose" convention in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. He also launched his own company, System One Tattoo Products, which sells items related to tattoo care and piercing.

Personal life

O'Neill lives in Middletown, Delaware with his wife and three daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:ONeill, Shane American tattoo artists People from Middletown, Delaware Living people 1972 births University of the Arts (Philadelphia) alumni Participants in American reality television series Reality show winners Ink Master