Tattoo 035
Ryan wanted something different. He's got a half sleeve on the arm of a beautifully rendered angel scene. It had been awhile and while he was visiting town, he thought this would be funny under his other arm.
It's from this image below:
(Ryan sat well for about 80% of it. The area can be difficult for some, and wiping started to take its toll after awhile.)
Tattoo 034
Hey! My first skin rip!
This is a couple of Cherry Creek ideas brought together. I'm enjoying flash more and more. It's like being in a cover band.
This one took me awhile. My mind was wrapped around it, but I kept questioning myself. Why? Well, I'm not sure, but it happens and you have to pull out of it. Midway through I stepped back, got a drink of water and finished up in a zone.
Oh, and for the skin rip I ended up mixing some of the ink in the needle. I wanted more red, then more brown... then a bit more water. It was a rush.
(He sat, sat, and sat. It was his first tattoo, but you wouldn't have known.)
Tattoo 033
A quick outline tattoo, slightly above the elbow. His wife got the same from Big G on her ribs. Ah, circles!
I'm also noticing more and more—and this is obvious—that I could take 50 photos of a tattoo and, depending on the angle of the skin, every shot will have a distorted view of the actual image in your head.
Tattoo 032
My first finger. It's a weird area. You, obviously, don't want to go too deep or the fatty layer will spread the heck out of your ink. (thus, a blow out) But dang, I was a little nervous, so I ended up going light and barely scratching the surface. So I continued to go over until I figured it out.
Tattoo 027
Mouse over for outline comparison.
My buddy Rob Schwager was in Illinois to visit his family for the holidays. We had planned a sacred heart for him so he came on over. Our wives hung out with the kids and I took him to the shop and tattooed him in the middle of his chest.
Good times.
The actual outline of the heart was thick so my mentor, Drew, had me use a 5 round with a loose needle grouping. It was perfect for this piece. The flame was outlined with a 10% black wash dipped in some water. It should heal relatively lighter. The blood was partially outlined with dark red (lower right sides) and red overall. And last, the rays coming out from behind it were a really light (less than 5%) black wash done with fast hand movements (tiny circles).
(He sat like a champ for three and a half hours.)
Tattoo 026
I was so excited to tattoo some roses. Then Dawn came in and told me they were yellow roses with lavendar/red dipped tips.
Dang.
So I hit up Google Images real fast for a reference shot and went for it. I blood lined the roses for a sketched look. Then a 5% black wash was put in quicker than normal so it'd be a touch lighter. We'll see how it heals.
(She sat well.)
Tattoo 025
Healed image.
I still need to get a better photo of this, but for now this'll do.
Dang, was this large. It took a good 5 hours total to finish. Some of my outlines were weak so having to go over again just added to the time.
But I like the final product. Both strong and feminine, the green made it stand out.
(She sat wonderfully. Then after 4 hours, she turned white and started talking gibberish. I've seen this many times during piercing people. So I stood up and caught her head while she passed out. After about 10 minutes she was back to normal and we finished. Turns out she hadn't eaten at all - no wonder!)
Tattoo 024
Top images shows better clarity, bottom is more accurate color.
This ended up taking two sessions. I first outlined the entire piece in blue and shaded with a 5% black wash. I didn't notice the time and the shop closes early on Sunday. So we had to stop early.
In my head the tattoo was going to be finished. Walking away from it when I wasn't ready... well, it was weird. I found myself thinking about it in the shower. How was I going to complete it and make it look cool?
But with the extra time came a few ideas. Weeks later she came back in and ended up using some black in the bottom part of the outline to try and make it pop.
She loved it and It was good to have it finished.
(She sat like a champ. It was her first tattoo and listening to her iPod most of the time helped.)
Tattoo 023
The shop was full and my mentor, Drew, pulled me up and gave me my first walk in. Two guys were traveling and wanted the same cross on their arms.
Speed was my concern with this one. His buddy was getting the same tattoo at the same time - right next to me. I didn't want my guy sitting an extra hour while both of them got fidgety.
(He sat really well.)
Tattoo 022
This picture isn't that great. I'll be trying to get some better shots next time I see this guy. He wanted a Celtic armband with a Celtic rose on the outside. His arm was large so we finished in two sittings.
I noticed that there's so much to do, it's hard to really invest yourself into each area. At first I felt like I was slacking, but then I realized that if I were to have poured myself into each gradient like I wanted to, he would have been sitting double the amount of time.
(He didn't sit well. At first he mentioned to me that he was going to sit well, but 20 minutes in and he moved and altered position every five minutes or so. Then he started coughing, a deep, body shaking cough. The cough was worsened on the second sitting because somebody lit incense.)
Tattoo 021
I'm not even sure what this tattoo was. But don't worry, I'll find it on the laptop at the shop. Just give me some time.
Tattoo 020
I loved doing this one. Sure, I was intimidated at first, but I'm learning to trust. I knew I could do this on paper, so the same mind that can problem solve it there should be able to use those tools and figure at least a close semblance in the skin. Well, that was my thinking to charge myself before going in.
About 15 minutes into some of the blood lines, I started to panic. I realized the stencil was getting blurry and was having troubles chasing it. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and forced myself to trust.
After that quick episode, I pulled it together and finished the outline. When the shading happens, the hidden intensity fades a little and I smile. Being able to shade with washes is one of the best feelings I've encountered. When what you see in front of you goes through the filter of your mind and flows through the permanent motion of the machine... it's wonderful.
Also, I found myself working from light to dark. The 5% black wash was first to form the fade into the forehead, the sculpting of the cheek bones and the build of the neck. Then I worked full black into the small areas which needed it to bring the contrast and feathered it out quickly and shortly - most not really touching the 5% wash. Next came the 10% wash which I used to fade the black into 5% areas.
There a lot more detail I would have liked to tried, but that'll take time. I've so much to learn and can't wait to keep on.
(Dale sat wonderfully. We took two breaks in the 3 1/2 hours but he could've gone without.)
Tattoo 019
This Baby Phat logo went on the right side of her lower back. My goodness does that area stretch. The height of the logo on paper was almost doubled with she bent over.
I went with a light wash to shade from black outline to skin.
(She sat well.)
Tattoo 018
Derrick has a graffiti style tattoo of "It's not easy being green" on his inner forearm and wanted Kermit on the outer.
I trusted myself a bit more during this outline. So I just went for it. There were times I wanted to fade the green into yellow, but stuck with fading it softer into the skin with a fast hand motion.
(He sat incredibly well. By paying attention to what I was doing and helping me with arm positions, it made for a better tattoo.)
Tattoo 017
Dually and his friend came down to get tattooed. While his friend got a cool rib piece by my mentor, Drew, I came up with this standard triquetra.
The idea was tested in Photoshop and I tried hard to recreate the subtle depth of the dimension. Initially the filled in wash was going to be lighter, but I had troubles with it being patchy. So I went back over it twice. I'd rather have it a bit darker than patchy and light.
A few white lines were added at the end.
(Dually sat well. Squirmy once, but he had to use the restroom.)
Tattoo 016
Ben wanted the initials of his children. I talked him into a more realistic looking heart and we went for it. I paid extra attention to the lettering, and it ended up taking awhile.
(He sat well for about 3/4 of it. Then he started feeling like hamburger meat and wanted out of there.)
Tattoo 014
My goodness. Tribal. I had no clue how tedious filling in black can be. The client brought in this exact piece so I went for it on his huge arm.
Tattoo 011
The quote is from V for Vendetta. The letters are from an old, 1770's font. The latin translates to, "By the power of truth, I, a living man, have conquered the universe".
Instead of outlining and trying to fill in between two thin outlines, Drew had me running right circles from outer edge to outer edge. If the final line was off, then I went over it with a steadier outline.
Here's the original:
(Mitch sat well. Being his first tattoo, I was worried again. But the worst part for Mitch was the green soap.)
Tattoo 010
Glendon wanted an eagle head. He didn't want anything realistic and was leaning toward something tribal. But he ran across a stone eagle from Jeff Bartels and loved it... I'll try to get a better photo when I finish coloring the eye (tomorrow).
Nic was watching me try to fade solid black out (into the lighter, 5% greys) with a really quick circular hand motion. He told me to turn down the voltage just a bit and trust a slower, steadier circle. Immediately I was able to increase accuracy with the new pace.
Oh, and I'm feeling a tiny bit more comfortable with my 9. On a scale from 1 to 100? I've jumped up to a big numero 7. Ha.
(Glendon sat so well. It was his first tattoo, but you wouldn't have known.)
Tattoo 009
I was hard pressed to get a good photo of my first Chinese character - left my Nikon at home. It was on a guy's ribs... my goodness it was difficult. It felt like I had never tattooed before.
I'll post it ASAP.
Tattoo 008
Isaiah 43. My first all black piece. Dang, I had no clue what it took to get the black in so solid. That and stretching the lower back/right side area took some muscle on my part. I learned a lot on this piece... It was hard for me to stop; I kept worrying about empty spots and getting that shader right up to the lines.
(She sat well, also. I've been pretty lucky so far...)
Tattoo 007
I'm still working slow, and we ran out of time to color this piece. He'll be back in soon, so I'll post the final version then.
It's the first time I was given the piece on the fly and had to turn it around right away. I'm told I'll get used to that, I just hope it happens sooner than later.
(He sat well. This being his first tattoo, heck, he sat tremendously well.)
Tattoo 006
Carol rounded off her other ankle with a bass clef. My second tattoo was her treble clef.
(She sat perfectly)
Tattoo 005
She asked for a specific Tattoo Johnny (flash) butterfly with an American flag in it. [more in this post] This is the reworked version.
(She sat wonderfully. Also, she was very interested in the process. So being able to slightly explain and talk to her was great practice itself.)
Tattoo 004
Taken from a Renaissance relief, this really old symbol (often with halo and holding a Bible) represents St. John.
(She twitched a lot, but sat well)
Tattoo 003
The Clandestine Industries logo actually has a much thicker outline. In time, with some experience under my belt, I'll go back and thicken it to my liking.
(He sat well)
Tattoo 002
Carol, our piercer, wanted a treble cleff. Even though the pieces I start with are small, it's still possible to add my own touches. Torn strands hide my weak outline!
(She sat wonderfully. Oh, and she even kicked and twitched on purpose to see how I would respond.)
Tattoo 001
Taken from the Tom Waits song, The Piano Has Been Drinking (Not Me), my first tattoo was a drunk piano...
