Another Smattering of
Tattoos
Not exactly Prize winners, But I think these should
show up pretty good.........
The Lion
is strictly black and greywash. Oh, about 7 inches tall and about 5 & 1/2
wide in the middle of this guys back. The Wolf is larger than it looks because
Gary's arm is HUGE. The tattoo is probably 8 inches tall and 7 wide and is primarily
black and greywash with a little yellow in the eyes and some white highlights
here and there. It is also a MAJOR coverup of a 20 year old tattoo. Both are
custom pieces, The lion was drawn out and approved by the client and stenciled
from my drawing. The wolf on the other hand is done in my preferred style. Sketched
directly on the skin (with or without looking at reference material while sketching
- I had 4 or 5 illustrations & photos taped to the wall while drawing on
Gary's wolf - no reference material for the little wolf on this Ladies
ankle below). Often this sketch is exactly that, a minimum sketch. This can
depend on the trust of my client, sometimes the sketch is elaborated much more
than I need so as to show the new owner where we are going! So what happens
is, the real Artwork is composed with the Tattoo Machines themselves. This is
my primary approach, especially, for Portrait work as well as Cover-ups. I will
dedicate a good portion of space for both later on.
Here's
a small example
This little black & greywash wolf is only about
3 inches by 3 inches with a little green and white in the
eyes
This backpiece was done in Portland OR. The difficulty was that stenciling
the artwork onto his back distorted the image because of the topography of
his back. Ultimately it had to be drawn directly on his back in order to
make it look enough like the drawing. It took a long time to draw it
on perfectly, looks like it worked out pretty good.
The thing about
covering up tattoos, is that you have to camoflauge the dark portions of the
existing tattoo with the dark portions of the new tattoo and it's more difficult
to correspond the light areas of the new tattoo with the light areas of the
old tattoo. Darker can never be covered with lighter, and it would be hard enough
to make a better tattoo of the old tattoo if that didn't complicate the situation,
wouldn't it. I draw it until it fits and camoflauges the old tattoo, when I'm
done it's gone.
Drawing directly on the skin opens a very dynamic interactive window into
creating personal one of a kind tattoos. First your client has to talk and describe,
not anly how they percieve it will look, but the feeling the idea evokes
in them. As you try to form the sketch on them, you find yourself negotiating
and compensating with muscle and boney contours, fluidity of surface skin, shape
and frame of the "canvas" and overall discombobulating terrain. Then the sketch
must capture enough of the essence of the illusive subject/feeling so as to
be a roadmap of directions that the machines and I will follow as the destination
is revealed.
TATTOOS are
not for everyone
And just because
you like tattoos doesn't mean you like them all 
Well I have a batch
of tattoo photos here that are not at all similar. The point of tattooing your
body is to customize it, make it your own"design". As an Artist I understand
that one persons "Pi-c-asso" is someone elses "Piece-a-Crap". Every tattoo can
be unique in the same sense that people are unique in how they "fit" themselves
into clothes or a lifestyle, and it reflects back an image that they have chosen
or wished upon themselves. You can - not like everybody, and still like people.
I look at tattoos the same way. Subjective is not the natural judge of the "quality"
of the art, no, subjective may be some measure of the "value" of Art. This applies
to Tattoos even more than other art forms because the canvas is ALIVE. Wow,
what a concept judge a person and their tattoo content all at once, and subjectively,
together. Hey kids, thats why when people look at you they don't see you, they
see "Tattoos". Who gets tattoos? Why Sailers, Criminals, Bikers and Fallen Women.
Oh right, I know, the perception of the public is changing. Oh thank you Motley
Crew and Cher! Thank you so much.
Some variations of your "Biker" themes
Kind of Graphic designs with bold line, wash and bright color
all worked together
A couple of Graphic designs with bold line, wash and bright color all worked
together All of these are Blackwork, but they are also all very different.
A lioness in the photo/realistic Black and greywash has a little yellow in the
eyes. The Koi is signed in my Japanese "Chop", Hori Ookami (Lone Wolf
the carver of skin). The Native Owl Woman is on Tattoo Artist, Fat Cat in Waco
Texas.
Just a little cross
section of tattoos that regular folks get. There's a theme for everyone but
I guess theres not one single theme that is universal to all who would get a
tattoo.
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Rusty
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The Lion
is strictly black and greywash. Oh, about 7 inches tall and about 5 & 1/2
wide in the middle of this guys back. The Wolf is larger than it looks because
Gary's arm is HUGE. The tattoo is probably 8 inches tall and 7 wide and is primarily
black and greywash with a little yellow in the eyes and some white highlights
here and there. It is also a MAJOR coverup of a 20 year old tattoo. Both are
custom pieces, The lion was drawn out and approved by the client and stenciled
from my drawing. The wolf on the other hand is done in my preferred style. Sketched
directly on the skin (with or without looking at reference material while sketching
- I had 4 or 5 illustrations & photos taped to the wall while drawing on
Gary's wolf - no reference material for the little wolf on this Ladies
ankle below). Often this sketch is exactly that, a minimum sketch. This can
depend on the trust of my client, sometimes the sketch is elaborated much more
than I need so as to show the new owner where we are going! So what happens
is, the real Artwork is composed with the Tattoo Machines themselves. This is
my primary approach, especially, for Portrait work as well as Cover-ups. I will
dedicate a good portion of space for both later on.
