Tattoo studio moves to McHenry Village after nearly a decade of business in Modesto

It seems fate was at play when all things aligned for a Modesto tattoo studio owner to move into McHenry Village — beginning with his marriage.

Vincent Cabrera got married in 2016 to a woman whose last name so perfectly described who he is that he took it for his own. The newly named Vincent Cabrera-Tatman (Get it, tattoo man?) opened Painted Ape Tattoos the same year at 140 McHenry Ave. with another Tatman alongside him — his brother-in-law Jacob.

After a bit of growth and the addition of more artists, Cabrera-Tatman moved his studio to Modesto Avenue, where it remained for about nine years. Now, he’s back on McHenry inside Modesto’s first-ever shopping center.

How that happened brings us back to Cabrera-Tatman’s wife, Jessica.

She knows the daughter of Gabriel Khasha — owner of Gabriel Fine Jewelers and the building that houses it in McHenry Village.

“That’s how we got the introduction,” Cabrera-Tatman said. “I talked to Gabriel and I told him what my business was, and he said, ‘OK.’”

Painted Ape moved into the suite next to Gabriel Fine Jewelers and opened July 1.

It’s the only dedicated tattoo studio in McHenry Village. The management office was not immediately available for comment on whether it’s the first.

A tattoo artist of nearly 20 years, Cabrera-Tatman got his start almost unconventionally. He was working in sales in 2006 for — get this — The Modesto Bee when he decided he wanted a career change.

It was on his sales routes between Manteca and Merced that he noticed there weren’t very many tattoo shops.

“Actually, even art wasn’t something I was sure of,” Cabrera-Tatman said. “I drew a little bit, but not as much as I do now.”

After attempting to get hired at some of the local shops, he decided to open his own. It was called Unbound Tattoos and was situated on Briggsmore Avenue and Oakdale Road.

He then learned how to tattoo from the artist he and his business partner had hired.

“Within two years, I was winning awards,” Cabrera-Tatman said. “When I look back on it, I’m like, ‘That should never have happened.’ I was so naive in what I was doing, but natural at it.”

Cabrera-Tatman specializes in color, and black-and-gray, realism tattoos. He’s also painted a number of murals around Modesto, including the hillside of poppies mural on a building at I and Ninth streets.

There are six other tattoo artists at Painted Ape who each rent a booth. The studio does not offer piercings.

Artists are: Cabrera-Tatman (avctl_creates on Instagram), Jacob Tatman (jacobtatmanart on Instagram), Chalalai Eggen (chachii.ink), Dakota Saing (inkndestroy), Niki Hupe (niki.needles), Elena Huizar (tired.spider) and Spenser Emrich (goblingirlink).

“We have a new apprentice, her name is Lola,” Cabrera-Tatman said. “Her drawings are insane. That already puts her at the level of starting to get to skin.”

Each artist has a unique style of tattooing. Some of what you can find at the studio is neotraditional, illustrative, realism and Asian-style work.

The studio minimum for a tattoo is $100 and each artist sets their own hourly rate.

Painted Ape is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, visit instagram.com/paintedapetattoos.

This story was originally published August 1, 2025 at 7:32 AM.