Picture Machine Tattoo

Picture Machine Tattoo has been part of San Francisco's tattoo history since 1976, when it was founded by Pat Martynuik, a tattooer who earned the nickname "Picture Machine" for his nonstop work ethic and constant productivity. Martynuik had learned the trade from Vancouver tattooist Doc Forbes and his friend Huck Spaulding before running shops in Edmonton and Calgary, then worked at Lyle Tuttle Sr.'s famous 7th Street studio upon moving to San Francisco. After Martynuik's death in 1989, the shop passed through his son Guy and eventually to Lyle Tuttle Jr. in 2005, who relocated the business to its current Geary Boulevard location near 15th Avenue.

Operating as a no-nonsense street shop, the studio has built a reputation for producing high-quality tattoos in an unpretentious environment, drawing many up-and-coming artists who worked there through the 1990s and later became prominent names in tattooing. Today it continues that legacy, offering both walk-in street shop tattooing with long hours of availability and high-end custom work made to order for discriminating collectors. The current artist lineup includes Jason Storey and Jen Wong, carrying forward the shop's decades-long tradition in San Francisco.