Tattoo Artist Norm Will Rise Passes Away

Take a look back at this legendary tattooer and the impact he left on the industry

This Friday, Los Angeles’ tattooer, machine maker and graffiti artist Norm Will Rise passed away. Norm had an incredible impact on the tattoo industry, especially within his specialty of lettering. He worked out of Love Letters Tattoo in LA and tattooed a number of celebrity clients throughout his career, including Marilyn Manson.

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Travel Time see you all somewhere BERLIN aug 1-4 ESSEN aug 5-10 PANAMA aug 14-19 OAKLAND aug 22-26 LOS ANGELES aug 27-sept 18 CHINA sept 18- 25 LONDON sept 26-oct 7 Please email me @ loveletterstattoo@yahoo.com for appts or ? Thank you all everywhere. #endlesssummer #allday #knowthestory

A post shared by Norm (@normloveletters) on Jul 29, 2019 at 11:58am PDT

Manson was regularly tattooed by Norm and upon hearing news of his passing, the singer took to Twitter, writing:

“NORM. A TRUE FRIEND AND AMAZING ARTIST. PUT ALOT OF TATTOOS ON ME. I LOVE YOU MAN AND HOPE YOU ARE SOMEWHERE PEACEFUL. YOUR ART WILL LIVE ON IN MY SKIN. RIP. AND THIS IS A REALLY SAD DAY FOR ME. HE WAS A GREAT PERSON THAT SHOULD STILL BE HERE.”

A number of artists within the tattoo industry also shared their thoughts on the icon’s passing, including close friend and fellow lettering master Big Sleeps. Sleep has established a Go Fund Me page, alongside Norm’s friends and family, to help out with memorial and funeral services.

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Walk with me. @loveletters_tattoo #allday

A post shared by Norm (@normloveletters) on Oct 3, 2019 at 5:50pm PDT

With respect to his friends and family, the cause of Norm’s death has yet to be disclosed to the public. However, his impact on the tattoo world will not soon be forgotten. Take a look at one of our fondest memories with Norm from August of 2017, when he tattooed fellow tattooer Megan Jean Morris at our NYC headquarters.