After surviving “Painstaking Portraits” last week, the remaining five artists were in for a twist, when the judges announce there was no Flash Challenge. For the Elimination Challenge, the artists were given six hours to tattoo the same subject—a grim reaper.
Because there was no Flash Challenge, judge Dave Navarro assigned the human canvases for the challenge, trying to give each canvas the artist that is best suited for what the canvas wanted. Navarro gave Bethpage tattoo artist Erik Siuda the hardest canvas, who wanted a grim reaper sitting on a throne of skulls tattooed on his arm. The successful tattoo was Siuda’s ticket to continue on in the competition.
During the Elimination Tattoo Critique, it was Mark Longnecker and Cris Element who landed in the bottom two due to Longenecker’s juvenile composition and design and Element’s Virgin Mary-like reaper.
In a shocking twist, the two artists had a final chance to face off head-to-head and earn their spot among the top four. The power of choice was in the hands of Jason Clay Dunn, the most recent challenge winner. Dunn was required to design the tattoo that Longenecker and Element would tattoo in the Elimination Face-Off. Dunn created a Chrysanthemum, a popular flower in Japanese art that tested the fundamentals of line work, shading and color packing. Ultimately, the judges recognized Longenecker’s passion and his willingness to fight, which allowed him to remain in the competition alongside Siuda and two other finalists.
After fourteen weeks of competition, Siuda is still in the running for $100,000 and the title of “Ink Master.”
Inkmaster airs on Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Spike TV.
