3 from this week

Black and grey peacock

Vegas


Bacchus
Michelangelo Caravaggio

2010

Mrs. Mojo Rising

The customer's grandmother sitting on top of a park bench, 1942.

Jim Morrison's throat is in the upper right.

Know Your Rights

Internment Camp Buddha

2010

The original art for this tattoo was made of cut paper by the customer's great grandfather, one of more than 100,000 Japanese-Americans who's rights and property were taken by our federal government.

Executive Order 9066 from Feb. 1942 allowed military commanders to declare California, Oregon and Washington 'exclusion zones'. With a little help from the Census Bureau, Japanese-Americans were 'excluded' from the west coast and placed into desert prison camps for the remainder of the war.

The tattoo is a negative version of the original design but is otherwise unchanged.

Harley-Schwinn Reversable

Pin-up girl posed on a 1930 Harley-Schwinn Reversable, a motorcyle that could be turned around and ridden as a bicycle. Only a few were made.

The tattoo was finished in one 6 hour session.

2010

The Pumpkin Hibiscus Problem

Here's a really nice cover-up, that pink just hides those letters like magic. Now she has a pumpkin, that is supposed to a hibiscus, that says "Daddy's Girl" on it.

Cover-ups don't actually cover the old ink, it's still in there sharing the same space and most colors aren't going to hide black ink.

The new design must be larger and more complex to hide what you don't want anymore.

This cover-up failure is going to become the center of a sun flower...

First session complete, outlined and a black and brown shading over the old tattoos.

and after two sessions of color.

2010

Pretty in Pink [a lot of pink]

Gilette Elvgren's Aiming To Please cowgirl and a dog with matching pink scarf. That's a lot of pink. The girl's right arm is also changed to make the gun at blowing level. The lip-shaped smoke rings were denied.

2010

What I did on my summer vacation...

a Calico Bass reproduced from a Chuck Byron print brought in by the customer. Done in three sessions over the last six weeks.

People who work for comission don't get vacations.

The Sugar Skulls Have Eyes

Dia de los muertos skull circled by two swallows and one of them is...

DEAD

2010

The eyes make this one a little different than the rest.

Pirated Artwork

Dead Men Tell No Tales

2010

Outline and black shading completed on my rendition of a design by Danger S. Jones.

My new liner from Micah Caudle ran perfect and made this tattoo almost effortless despite my overly complicated drawing. Color to come soon...

He Went Down To The Sea

Sailor Jerry designed mermaid and ship
2007
The tattoos are about 6 months old in these photos.

And as I shot down the youthful Richardson...

it was St. Sebastian I thought of and his arrows.

O'Malley's Bar by Nick Cave begins and ends my knowledge of St. Sebastian. I do know the drawing I did for the tattoo was based on Andrea Mantegna's Sebastian of Vienna [1456-59] and the stylized tree was added at the customers request.

2008

Sheena's in a Goth Gang

Some rabid looking Roth style bats on Kelly. Looks like we did the left one last.

Dec. 2008

Lord Hoody

Chris G's Holy hand panther

2008

Return of the Living Sugar Skulls

Left and right shoulder skulls

2007

The Monster Demands A Mate!

Elsa Lanchester as the Bride of Frankenstein

2008