 Fremont artist does booming business A 21-year-old Ohlone College student is positioning two mirrors so he can survey the tatoo-in-progress on his back. It's a stylized bird the size of a shawl, colored red and black, dotted witha few beads of blood from the most recent needle strokes. The student Aric, turns to the tattoo artist. "I like this," he announces.The artist raises his brow. The artist's mouth says, "That's good." The artist's brow says, "Because it is too late to do anything about it now." The act can be impulsive, but the results are permannent. Even so, Fremont's only tattoo artist, Advance is hustling these days to keep up with demand. Tattoos have been elevated in the past few years to become a fashion accessory of the rich, the artistic, the punks, and even the middle class. Thus it has gained a form of respectability that was lacking when it was the province mostly of servicemen and racehorses. "I get all age groups," Advance said. "Men and women, small to big." (Tattoos he means.) His clientele ranges from the girl who had word "skinhead" tattooed inside her lip to more mainstream folk, whom he calls "suit-and-tie people." The trade has advanced, says Advance. Interviewed in his Irvington shop, he talked while putting the finishing touches on Aric's bird. He said the colors today are more varied and longer lasting; and the designs are more intricate. "You get everything from Picasso to Dali kind of work. Most of today's younger artist have degrees as graphic artists. Where as 40 years ago tattooers were like wallpaper designers."
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 Advance, 41, orginally was a traditional painter, but he found that a hard way to make a living. A friend who did tattooing introduced him to the craft. At first he viewed it as "just something to make a few bucks." But eventually it was revealed to him: Tattooing provided everythinh an artist could want. 'Satisfaction, praise from customers, and you get paid for it." The cost ranges from 40 dollars to "thousands" for a full body job. He works by appointment only. His advertisement is mainly by word of mouth, although he does distribute a few cards and has a listing in the Yellow Pages. Even there, he doesn't list the address of his shop. "I prefer clients who know what they want; not some drunk who just falls in." Aric knew exactly what he wanted: He designed his tattoo himself. "It's supposed to be a phoenix," he says of the bird design, which he created. "I mixed Celtic and Native American patterns." He winces while Advance works. "Does it hurt?" he's asked. 'Uh yeah." Advance works off a tray, dipping his needle into dyes, his hands in rubber gloves. "I use all new needles and new ink" for each customer, he says reassuringly. Aside from a law requiring a client be 18, Alameda County does little to regulate tattooers, he said. It has 'guidelines." Otherwise, "if your not causing a problem, they leave yoiu alone. He estimates he has decorated thousands of bodies. He has binders full of photographs of hid tattoos: cartooon characters, slogans, religious symbols and the perennially popular names of lovers. Does anybody ever come back, sobered by remorse and daylight, wanted to change it all back? Advance smiles. He has a certain demonic character in his demeanor. "Only the names."
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