Matt Howse

American traditional and Japanese traditional

The Seeker Tattoo · Yucca Valley, California

Matt Howse is an Australian-born American tattooer and painter who has worked full time since about 2001 in American traditional heavily informed by traditional Japanese, known for his sharks and for nautical and military subjects. He opened his own shop, The Seeker Tattoo, in Yucca Valley, California in May 2025.

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Archive Note

Howse was born in Australia and brought to California as an infant. He drew tattoo designs during U.S. Army service and began tattooing professionally about a decade later, building his name through Sacred Tattoo in Oakland (2004 to 2006), Theo Mindell's Spider Murphy's Tattoo in San Rafael (2006 to about 2014, where he cites finding his direction and contributed to the shop's published flash collection), Seventh Son and Idle Hand in San Francisco, and Flying Panther and Full Circle in San Diego. He moved to the California High Desert in 2023 and opened The Seeker Tattoo in Yucca Valley in May 2025. His work is American traditional with a heavy Japanese traditional influence plus graphic, illustrative black and grey, with bold lines and heavy black, and his signature subject is the shark, alongside nautical, military, and society imagery, eagles, skulls, and crossed cannons.

Lineage

nautical and American traditional vocabulary The Sailor Tattoo Tradition 1770 CE · Tradition Japanese influence in his work Japanese Irezumi 1700 CE · Tradition trained John J. Mayo III John J. Mayo III 2020 CE · Person