More than a dozen tattoo artists were at work at the National Western Complex in Denver over the weekend.

Inside the event hall on Saturday, attendees laid across tattoos chairs on either their backs, sides or stomachs as artists worked under surgical-like lights.

Other artists sat at their booths with paper cutouts of their favorite designs, showcasing their past work and individual style to potential clients at the Colorado Tattoo Convention & Expo.

Madi Moore, a tattoo artist with Crooked Spine Tattoo Studio, came to the convention center from Colorado Springs for her third time at the event.

While other artists are busy working around Crooked Spine’s booth, Moore said her priority has been getting face-to-face interaction.

“I’m not even too worried about doing as many tattoos as I possibly can.” Moore said. “It’s more about making connections and making a good first impression on potential clients.”

Moore had a display of her black ornamental tattoos and a collection of temporary tattoos for the kids that come with their parents to the event.

“And it’s always funny because usually kids, like, can’t sit still,” Moore laughed while saying. “But they sit way better for tattoos than adults do.”

This is the 10th edition of Denver’s annual gathering of tattoo enthusiasts and artists. The event began Friday and ends Sunday at 7 p.m. Tickets cost nearly $37 for admission on Sunday.

The first edition of the event had about 15 tattoo artists, said Rito Ramirez, the founder of the Colorado Tattoo Convention & Expo. Now, it’s grown to feature more than 300.

“Oh man, it’s grown,” Ramirez said. “We probably get over about 10,000 attendees through the weekend. It’s amazing to see tattoo collectors from all walks of life.”

Ramirez, a tax specialist whose brothers were tattoo artists, said he was first inspired to launch the event to showcase regional tattoo artists and connect them to the community and resources to help their business.

He said many artists are in need of more resources with tax preparation, health certification and other managerial aspects outside of their own art – and the event is one way to better connect them to business support or get ideas from other artists.

“When we first founded the convention, it was to assist the tattoo artist, not just in the tattooing side of business, but in the back side of the business,” Ramirez said.

He said there was no event like that at the time in Colorado. There were some magazine tattoo shows that came in town, Ramirez said, but those neglected to showcase local talent.

“We just decided, hey, let’s do our own show. We’ll build a show of Colorado artists and then from there we’ll start inviting national people,” he said. “But we’re at the point where we’re getting international people to recognize the event in Colorado.”

The event hosts a slew of activities ranging from car shows, fashion shows, burlesque dancing and jiu-jitsu tournaments. It also features approximately 20 tattoo competitions for different styles or techniques such as black-and-white portraits, watercolor, lettering and Chicano-inspired.

It aims to highlight trending techniques and new technologies in the tattooing and body modification industry – and is a chance for people looking to get a tattoo to have dozens of artists to choose from in one place.

The event brings in a lot of different types of art to bring people together, said Matt Salazar, a tattoo artist of three years behind 5280 Ink in Arvada.

Over the weekend, his first year at the convention, Salazar has done several tattoos including small lettering designs, a zodiac sign he came up with a client and got a commission to create a tribute to someone’s grandmother.

The convention was an opportunity to gain experience and make new connections, he said.

“There’s a lot of talented people,” he said, “and not just in tattoos.”