The one girl was still unsure about getting it as she was in the studio. Those are the tattoos you regret. As the girls went to fill out some paperwork, my artist told me she was really happy to see how involved I was.
-nobody
Totally. People who walk in say "I want a tatoo" and pick something out a chapbook, I just do not understand. I thought about getting a tatoo for years and didn't because I couldn't think of anything I wanted on my body forever.
This one isn't me... but my older sister...
Wow. Was this done in Glasgow? Who's the artist?
@thestrangequark: the hummingbird is really excellent.
Okay, I took some time before work yesterday to hook the iSight up to my iBook and get some caps. It was challenging due to lighting and trying to manuever the camera around. Please forgive the history lesson on the way:
1. This one was my first and is more than 15 years old; the nipple piercing visible in the shot was done in the same year, but I took it out for a few years before getting it re-done with the bar a few years ago. Naturally I picked one of the most painful areas (on a man, anyway) to get first tat. Guy who did it was just starting out; his colleague/mentor said it was the best he'd done to-date. One thing I want to change is the eyespot, which shouldn't be visible; otherwise it's great as-is -- design drawn by hand by the artist from a reference photograph I provided. Work done at Anubis in Santa Cruz:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3146/3096818079_eb293d6279_o.jpg
2&3. Got these two after I moved to San Francisco within a year of each other. This one and the next two were done at Lyle Tuttle on Columbus Avenue in the mid-late 90s (yes my skin takes the ink well):
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3110/3097656432_16f5b4dc1a_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3183/3096818217_ce953371c9_o.jpg
4. This one is also from Lyle Tuttle and was a birthday present from my wife. She did the art design with my input; I was aiming for something tribal, but not using any actual tribal design. Yes it's another orca and it's on my forearm (tough to photograph because it wraps around a bit):
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3141/3097656468_6d4f280d76_o.jpg
5. My most recent one. A father's day gift from my wife from a few years ago. Done in Stirling at Lab Munkie. I just used a large Hebrew font and handed them a printout. The guy tried re-interpreting it for me at first, but I just wanted what I gave them exactly. My daughter's name on my left upper arm below the colourful orcas:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3245/3096818179_634278e1ba_o.jpg
There's three other things I want to get done, two of which are more orcas and one will be a massive one on my upper back, but I just haven't banked the money for it yet. My daughter's school has an excellent artist who works at a place in Glasgow with a Japanese name and was an acquaintance of Mr. Tuttle, so I'll probably go with him.
With regards to comments about defilement, well, being a Jew I've definitely desecrated my body in the eyes of the faithful, but I think it's worth jeopardising the ressurection ;-). Oh, two other piercings besides: right ear, which I sized up to 10g and then let close years ago; prince albert which I also took out for a year+ and then reconsidered and reinstalled myself.