An Artist's Journey

A Day Without Gays

2008-11-19T07:26:00.001-08:00

You don't have to be gay- just American!
Equal rights for all!

We are calling for a nationwide strike and economic boycott by all Gays and Lesbians AND OUR ALLIES, whether straight, bisexual or transgendered, on December 10th, 2008, International Human Rights Day.

WHY SHOULD WE DO IT?

Because LGBT workers, business owners, consumers and taxpayers contribute over $700 billion to the U.S. economy each year and should not be treated as second class citizens.

Because marriage should be a Right for all Americans, regardless of gender, race OR religion.

Because until ALL are equal, NONE are equal.

Strike: call in gay, shut down your business, take the day off.

Boycott: don't buy anything or spend money.

Participate: visit www.daywithoutagay.org for a list of volunteer and/or protest opportunities.

Your RSVP

Attending

Change.gov What Our America Needs!!!

2008-11-10T18:50:00.001-08:00

I LOVE this! Obama Rocks!! Wooo Hooo!
We Did it and We Can Do It!!!

clipped from www.webpronews.com

Well, he didn’t waste much time. President-elect Barack Obama already has his new website up and running: Change.gov. And guess what? You can apply for a job at the White House there.

It’s not the blog section, or the biography sections for Obama and Joe Biden. The revolutionary parts are the participatory crowd-sourcing sections. Have a vision for America? You can pound out your version of “Common Sense” and upload it to the site. Have a story you want told? Under the same “American Moment” tab, you can upload that too.

President-Elect Obama will expand national service programs like AmeriCorps and Peace Corps and will create a new Classroom Corps to help teachers in underserved schools, as well as a new Health Corps, Clean Energy Corps, and Veterans Corps. Obama will call on citizens of all ages to serve America, by developing a plan to require 50 hours of community service in middle school and high school and 100 hours of community service in college every year.

Even Tattooed Freaks Like Baked Apples

2008-10-24T16:39:00.000-07:00

Okay folks, I know this might seem a little odd for a tattoo BLOG, but you have GOT to check this shit out!!! I just found this terrific potter via Thursday Thirteen, and he's having a raffle/giveaway of his very cool ceramic apple bakers. All you have to do is go on over to his place and leave a comment for one entry, or post about his blog like this to get 3 more! Check it out!

Please visit LaneyPottery.com to see the Pottery Apple Bakers for yourself.

Mmmmmm.... Baked apples. Me, I'll use green apples. Nice tart Granny Smiths like you'd use for a pie. Smothered in butter and cinnamon and brown sugar... maybe add a nice slice of sharp cheddar to melt on top in the last 10 minutes or so of baking...
Aw hell. My mouth is watering. Now I want them BAD!!!

No Ordinary Love (with no ordinary images)

2007-11-24T21:58:00.001-08:00

I had never seen this before, and the photographer had no background information. So after reading through the comments on Flickr, someone who lived in the area was able to provide a few more details. And another user found the link to the artist's website.

clipped from www.flickr.com

this is in the cemetery at mount macedon, victoria

it is about 80km west of melbourne or something like that

it is the grave of a guy, and his wife commissioned this sculpture for it as an expression of her love for him

clipped from docs.google.com

clipped from www.users.bigpond.com

Artist:
Peter Schipperheyn, born Melbourne
Australia 1955- Title:
"Asleep" carved 1987 Dimensions:
460 mm in height by 2020 mm
in length by 800 mm in depth [life-size figure]. Medium:
Carrara Statuario Marble . Present
location: Mt
Macedon Cemetery, Mt Macedon. Victoria.

clipped from docs.google.com

clipped from www.flickr.com

the gravestone IS amazing...the detail and the pose are both provocative and disturbing at the same time. The way her hair is spread out and her right hand gripping the edge is so incredibly realistic! What a wonderful piece of work.

clipped from docs.google.com

clipped from www.flickr.com

the gravestone by itself. the perspective of this, along with all the other ordinary gravestones is just amazing. the contrast between the feminine curves and the rectangular edges is so stark and stunning

clipped from www.users.bigpond.com

clipped from www.flickr.com

Sad, yet amazingly beautiful. I've never seen anything like this before

Tattoo Tuesday #2

2007-10-17T10:30:00.001-07:00

Title: The Hermit

Style: Black/Grey

Collector: Rudy

Body Area: Ribs

Tattoo Tuesday The Missing Canvas!

2007-10-09T11:12:00.000-07:00

We've all got tattoos like this. Collectors that disappeared, or that we had a falling out with sometime in the middle of a fun piece. This guy was a total "Parrothead" (Jimmy Buffett fan) And his sleeve was designed around the theme. Somewhere, someone has probably finished this tattoo that I began so many years ago. If any of ya'll see it finished somewhere, drop me a link or a pic!

Wordless Wednesday on Tuesday (F. Faerie)

2007-10-09T10:20:00.000-07:00

Wordless Wednesday (on Monday) (Everybody Hurts)

2007-10-08T15:55:00.000-07:00

Please Push Play

Thursday Thirteen # 3

2007-10-04T10:44:00.001-07:00

Thirteen Things about Thorne's Ink

13 Reasons NOT to Get a Tattoo.

1) You are under 18.

2) You are drunk.

3) You are loaded on some other substance.

4) You are hung over or have consumed alot of alcohol during the previous 24 hours. (This will make you bleed more and is a pain in the ass for your tattooist.)

5) Your friend/neighbor/drug dealer says "C'mon, lemme drill on you man. I got this gun for a bag... dude, I'm an awesome artist, I'll just go wild on you, man.... just freehand".

6) Someone says you should.

7) You're overwhelmed with love for your boy/girl-friend and want to show them how much you care with their name permanently inscribed upon your flesh.

8) To show people how "cool" you are.

9) To piss someone off.

10) Because it's cheap/a "good" price. "The bitterness of poor quality remains, long after the sweetness of a low price is fogotten."

11) Because "everybody" else is doing it.

12) You decide to do it, but find yourself uncomfortable in the atmosphere of the shop you've chosen or with the tattooist.

13) The tattooist you've chosen is more interested in his ego than in your vision of your tattoo.

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Comprehensive Tattoo Aftercare According to Thorne

2007-10-01T09:22:00.001-07:00

Congratulations!!! You now have a fresh piece of unique artwork forever imbedded into your skin. For the next few weeks it will be your good care that will make sure your tattoo heals properly.

1. Remove covering (if any) after 2 hours.
2.a Wash your hands well, FIRST!!!
2b. Wash your tattoo with luke-warm to cool water and mild soap. Remove all coagulate by scrubbing gently with your hand. (I prefer you use Noxema, or Ivory. Please avoid Antibacterial soaps except on your hands before washing your tattoo, also avoid deodorant or perfumed soaps/cleansers) Do not re-bandage tattoo.*
3. Blot dry with a clean paper towel. (Do not use your bathroom's cloth towel as it contains bacteria).
4. Air dry for 10 to 15 minutes.
5. Apply a thin coat of ointment.** (Thin is the keyword here) Repeat three to four times a day for the first 3 or 4 days, and as needed thereafter.***
NOTE!!! I cannot stress this enough! Although ointment is good to help you heal, in the first few days you must NEVER reapply ointment without washing your tattoo, first. Ointment, although protecting your tattoo also acts as a dirt and germ magnet. If you don’t wash the old stuff off before applying new you are rubbing these contaminants into a fresh wound.
6. Don’t touch or play with your tattoo while it is healing, and don’t let anyone else get their dirty hands on it, either. It needs to stay clean to prevent infection. Only your attention and care can guarantee this. Do not pick at scabs or dried skin while tattoo is healing. Do not scratch or abrade. (If it itches terribly, a quick, stinging slap will alleviate the itch for awhile)

*Rebandaging
In general I do not recommend that you rebandage after this point. There are only a few times when you may need to cover the tattoo. The most critical one being just before bedtime. If your tattoo is still oozing when it comes time for bed, you will want to protect your sheets as well as your tattoo. If feasable, cover the
tattoo with a clean item of clothing before hitting the sheets. If, like me, you just have to sleep naked; change the sheets. Dirty sheets are full of icky old skin, dust mites and bacteria.
While your tattoo is healing you will also need to cover it during any work in which you're in an environment where there is a risk of your tattoo becoming infected. Any dirty work such as construction, auto mechanics, welding, asbestos removal, ditch digging, spray painting, etc. If you’re not sure whether the tattoo should be covered it probably should be. A teflon coated bandage is best here, because clear plastic hold in too much moisture. Loosely bandage and cover with clothing!!

**Regarding Ointments:
Remember that a fresh tattoo is an open wound and the ointment is a medicine. I generally recommend Tattoo Goo for the first 48 to 72 hours, and H2Ocean Foam and/or lotion thereafter. For relief from pain and itching, and for a fast hael for many clients, I recommend Rxeme. This product does contain some lanolin, but the good of this one by far outweighs the bad.
In general avoid products that contain lanolin or petroleum jelly as these two products have been known to leach ink out of the skin as it heals. Do not use NeoSporin, Alo Vera gel or alcohol.
Don't over saturate the skin with ointment. It is not needed and does more damage than good. A thin, conservative coat is all it needs.
If you find you are having a reaction to a particular product, stop using that product immediately and either consult your physician or a knowledgeable pharmacist.

***As the tattoo heals it will form a scab over the surface of the tattoo. It may look like a regular scab as seen on a scraped knee or it may look like flaky white skin. However it looks the tattoo should be kept fairly well moisturized without keeping it wet. What this means is that as the tattoo heals a small amount of ointment should be used that will work into the skin without leaving a greasy or slick feel. The skin on and around the tattoo should be moist, not dry or tight. The scab should also feel moist but avoid it getting soft and wet feeling. This will only prolong the healing process.
Your tattoo should heal in about two weeks, although it will not be fully integrated as part of you for 3-5 months. Different people have different physiology. With this in mind you should understand that you may heal quicker or slower. Some tattoos require a lot more work to be done to the skin. The more damage your skin receives, the longer it may need to heal.
If a deep scab begins to form it is important that you don’t allow it to grow and crack. This will cause loss of color and possibly scarring. I recommend soaking the scab in a solution of hot sea-salt water to soften the scab. At this poin, the concern is not so much loss of ink, but avoidance of scarring. Most shops/artists have a reasonable touch up policy.

Wrapping things up:
Avoid chlorinated water (such as swimming pools or hot tubs) until your tattoo is fully healed. Keep your tattoo out of direct sunlight, and be sure to cover it loosely if you will be doing dirty, dusty or wet work.
If at any time severe redness, swelling, yellow or greenish seepage occurs, or if your new tattoo is very hot or painful when it’s not being touched or irritated, call your artist and/or see your personal physician immediately.
Remember that this tattoo will be with you forever. Don't start off by short cutting the healing process.
Once your tattoo is fully healed, you will want it to remain beautiful forever. Although age and weight can affect your design over time, for the most part your tattoo’s worst enemy is the sun. It hasn’t really been conclusively proven whether or not the sun impacts your tattoo pigment, or just your skin, but either way it’s bad news for your art. Use sunscreen. A 50 SPF stick works well to apply just over the design, to avoid lighter splotches surrounding your ink where you might want a little tan.
Exfoliating, shaving, and hot or cold wax hair removal will not damage your tattoo; in fact, removing dead skin and regular moisturizing will keep your skin healthy, which will keep your tattoo looking bright and beautiful.

These aftercare notes are my professional instructions to my clients, and are offered as general information or in addition to information given you by your tattoo artist. Many artists have different approaches to aftercare, so do follow your tattoo artist's instructions, or talk these over with him/her.

I'm BAAAaack!!!

2007-07-26T10:31:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I'm an ass! I've been home from the show since late Sunday night and haven't gone online for a second until now! The show was a BLAST and a serious success for me! I did some fun ink, met some great folks and signed on a couple of long term clients wanting large pieces! Wooo Hooo!!!
Monday I lazed and slept all day and never booted the computer.
Tuesday I played with my new addiction all day (The Sims 2).
Wednesday I cleaned house, did laundry and began the process of unpacking-reorganizing.

Okay. Now we're caught up to today. Today I'm babysitting my adorable, happy chubbilishous lil Pharoah, and BBQing with the kids whom I've only seen briefly in weeks, so I'm still running behind with my blogging and show pics and slideshows. I promise I'll be up with something with substance by tomorrow!!!

Thursday Thirteen #2

2007-07-18T12:26:00.001-07:00

Thirteen Things about An Artist's Journey
Thirteen Tattoo FAQ's

1) You must be 18 or over to get a tattoo legally.
2) Tattoos are permanent.
3) Tattoos are not just for hookers and sailors anymore.
4) Yes, tattoos hurt.
5) Direct Sunlight fades your tattoo (It isn't known whether it actually affects the pigments, or that the tattoo just shows the effects of the damage to your skin)
6) It's good for your tattoo (skin) to shave, epilate, wax and/or exfoliate once your tattoo is fully healed.
7) A tattoo is usually fully healed in 3-5 weeks.
8) A tattoo has become part of your body in 3-5 months.
9) The most common allergic/sensitivity colors are red and yellow.
10) Many people regret that they didn't put more thought into their first tattoo.
11) The tradition of Tattoo goes back over 6OOO years.
12) You can contract bloodborn diseases (Like Hepatitis, Staff infections, HIV) from home tattooists, (aka: "scratchers) who are ignorant to proper sterilization and cleanliness procedures.
13) You should contact me for a one of a kind custom tattoo!

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Wordless Wednesday #2

2007-07-18T08:40:00.000-07:00

Thursday Thirteen #1 Things to do for BAE

2007-07-13T10:45:00.000-07:00

Thirteen Things about Thorne's World
13 Things I need to do/pack for the Body Art Expo next week on Friday, Sat, Sun, July 20, 21, 22.
I hope I'll see some of ya'll there! That would be very cool!

Okay, peeples!! I'm doin' it! Next weekend beginning Friday (yep- I'll be missing for a few days around here)-- Ms Thorne, Auntie Thorne-- Thornishness, Thornie, will be appearing for your artistic tattooing pleasure, at the Pomona Body Art Expo, at the L.A. County Fairgrounds (aka: The Pomona Fairplex). This will be my first show as a participant. Hopefully, I'll be tattooing my little heart out! I'll be setting up shop with a friend who will be offering her gorgeous handmade baby items (tattoo style, of course), jewelry and cigar box purses for sale. This list should really be 1300 things to do/pack, but I suppose I'll stick with the meme!!

1)

Make lists:

~~Grama care~~

~~critter care~~

~~house care~~

~~watering guide~~

~~emergency numbers~~

show furniture & displays

packing/personal

2) Homestuff:

~~make birdy bread~~

sterilize

paint boxes

~~pay Bills~~

Do Laundry

3) Reference Books:

~~fantasy art books~~

~~horticulteral books~~

~~animal books~~

~~tribal tattoo history books~~

~~celtic designs~~

~~Pinup Books~~

~~Old School Flash~~

~~Evil Flash~~

4) Clean:

bathroom

~~display cages and joints~~

rubbermaids (bins and drawers)

all non sterile equipment

brother laser thingy

show furniture & displays

ferret cage

5) Make Slideshows:

a) my ink

b) ink friends

c) ~~ink shows~~

6) Update Portfolio:

crop prints

layout

7) Sort and Organize:

Make ~~10 setups~~

~~tubes~~

~~grips~~

grip covers

drapes

needles

caps

antiseptics

salves & lotions

8) Print:

Aftercare Instructions

wavier

9) Make Banner:

Iron

~~sew~~

~~design~~

paint

seal

10) Blogging:

Saturday ~~Daily Feature for~~ SC

~~Show notice for An Artist's Journey~~

Next Week's TT

Next Week's WW

Venusday Love

11) Kristens:

take furniture

~~help finish her projects~~

~~layout 10' X 10' Booth Space~~

12) Ask My GirlyBoi for help!!!

13) Get done before Thursday:

EVERYTHING!!

Yikes!!! I forgot what a pain in the ass it is to get ready for a show!!! Oh, well, at least I don't have to design, make and pack a few K $$'s worth of Stained Glass! *whew*!!

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Wordless Wednesday

2007-07-11T12:04:00.000-07:00

wordless wednesday

MacJournal Test

2007-06-29T02:42:00.000-07:00

Website

Try sizes

Styles Styles

Related Tags:

test 2

2007-06-13T23:51:00.001-07:00

Koi Sketch Prismacolor

Try typing now. Maybe I should have done a title first. Let's try that.

Test for MarsEdit

2007-06-13T23:45:00.001-07:00

Another BAE comin' up, and this time I'll be there!!!

The tatoo "hat"

2007-05-28T11:45:00.001-07:00

What a load of crap, on sooooo many levels!!!

clipped from www.swampfoxz.com

Bikini The “slut mark” tattoo

An inquiry into the tribal tattoos on the lower back area of a woman.
In the early 1990s, a new tattoo style began to pop up on beaches and in night clubs all over the world. “Slut marks”, as they’d come to be known, are tattoos that can be found on the lower back area of a woman. These controversial and risqué tattoos have since drawn strong criticism from some, while garnering praise from others.

A Vet Makes a Permanent Statement (with the assistance of an awesome artist!)

2007-05-28T01:26:00.001-07:00

Wow. Just, wow.

clipped from www.nickbaxter.com

A sleeve about the brutality of our modern imperialist wars, and a harbinger of things to come if we don't change the destructive, all-consuming course we're on. This is on a former serviceman who's seen some of the horrors firsthand...the same horrors that are packaged into glossy corporate-media soundbytes for naive americans about "freedom" and "democracy" and how we're supposedly saving the world, not helping destroy it. Funny sidenote: Adrian Dominic posed for all the zombie reference pics which were used for this. Which means that Jason has 7 little self-cannibalizing Adrian zombies on him. I, personally, would be psyched.

Studio: Transcend Tattoo Gallery web site
Location: Branford, CT
Phone: (203) 481-9372

To Ink or Not to Ink

2007-03-29T12:17:00.000-07:00

that is the question. And the promised topic of this article.
Okay, we all know we're in this business to make money. And of course we love to create our art. We love the satisfaction of crafting a beautiful piece of Body Art that makes the client happy.
But what about those times when a client wants something that we just know they will be unhappy with in later years?
What do we do with requests that violate our personal values?
What do we do with requests for ink on body areas we just don't care to visit?

Is "the customer always right"?
Do we have a responsibility to save our clients from themselves?
Do we have a responsibility to the Industry?
To our own art?
To our paycheck?

I think that these are important questions for every artist to answer. Not because there is necessarily a right or wrong answer to any of them, but because we owe it to our clients, our art, and the industry to at least examine where each of us stands on these questions.

I'll start off by admitting that as a "by appointment" custom artist I don't face the "walk-ins" that many artists working in busy shop locations have to deal with. Although I do get business from my website, most of my clients are referrals who have already seen my work and are interested in the kinds of work I do.

Still, from time to time I have to face these questions. Nest week I will be doing the second sitting on the client pictured in the previous article entitled Tattooing Darker Skintones.

This client is quite insistent on having color in his tattoo, even though it is not the best choice for his skintone; even though he already has a tattoo in color that he is unhappy with. When he described the older tattoo to me on the phone, I was expecting a mess. He was very unhappy with the tattoo and the artist. When I saw the tattoo I was nonplussed. It may have been a little too fine in detail, but otherwise it was a well executed piece of flash, the colors layed in smoothly with no drop-out. In discussing the tattoo with him, I discovered that the artist had been responsible and knowledgeable about not using midrange colors (he flat refused the client's request for pink and orange in the design), and did his best to dissuade the client and explain the color problem on dark skin. In the end, I believe the artist made a reasonable compromise between what the client wanted and what he believed would work best from an artistic and technical standpoint.

So the question for me this Saturday will be, to "Color or Not to Color"?? I think this would be a beautiful tattoo done only in Black and Grey. I will do my very best to make the client see and accept this. I will try hard to talk him out of adding any color when the Black and Grey is finished and I can show it to him to illustrate my point. In the end, in this case, I will do as the client wishes. If he insists on color, he will get it. Green, some red and blue. I will do this hoping that my bold lines and large spaces will hold up under the addition of color better than his other tattoo, but knowing it would have been a better piece without color. I will do it even knowing that there is a good possibility that in time (perhaps as soon as the piece is fully healed) he will be unhappy with the color.

I'll go with what the client wants within reason, because it's his body and his ink. He's the one who will live with it, and hopefully, he'll come to love it, regardless. Hopefully, he won't talk about it and me the way he did about the previous artist. Hopefully.

Before I do his color however, I will take photos of the Black and Grey design. I'll also take photos of the colored piece, and I suppose they'll go in my little Color on Dark Skin album as one more example.

What about the client that comes to us with artwork by a friend that is unsuitable as a tattoo? If I can't create something that both of us are happy with, I will politely suggest that the client find another artist. For me it is important that I simply don't do work that I wouldn't want in my portfolio; that I wouldn't be happy to claim as my work.

Wellll....maybe not. As for subject matter; I don't do hate. No swastikas, Nazi, or other poison.

Also don't care to tattoo genitalia. Male or female. I'm no prude, I just don't care to have my face that close to a stranger's stuff.

In a multiple artist shop, these things might be a matter of personal but not shop policy, and the artists could just pass around the client that they don't care to do. For a one-artist shop, turning down work means the loss of income. I'd have to say that the two examples above are not common requests for me, so it's not really a big consideration, but in those two cases, money is not the issue. It's where I stand. Period.

Will I do that "cute " little butterfly, that overdone tribal butt-antler design or fairy or armband that a client has his/her heart set on? Will I do some of the great flash that artists are putting out these days? The Biomechanical or skulls and reaper monster stuff that is not my forte?? Yes. I do need to support myself...somebody's gotta bring home the kibble, and I sometimes have to do designs that I may not like, but still have the responsibility to do the best technical job I can.

In my opinion I do have a responsibility to the client, my own artistic integrity and personal values, as well as to the Tattoo Industry as a whole. High quality ink from a clean and professional artist is no less than a client deserves. Ink that I'm proud to call mine to and to represent in my portfolio or other venues is important to me, and reflects well on our growing industry.

Although this is my business, my job, my source of income; I hope my need will never overcome these responsibilities.

Tattooing Darker Skintones

2007-03-12T11:14:00.000-07:00

Having a light olive complexion myself, and an even darker skinned daughter, I've given alot of thought and had some experience with tattooing color on a reasonable variety of skintones. Lately, as my client base has broadened, I have had the opportunity to work an even larger variety and ethnicity of clients and I believe it is a topic worth covering here. It is an interesting problem for a couple of reasons.

1st, as the artist, we must take into account that we're not painting or drawing. Tattoo pigment does not lay on top of the skin like any colored medium you apply to any other surface. Tattoo pigment is injected into the skin, therefor the colors, (even black) are going to be affected by the natural skin pigment.

2nd, and perhaps the bigger problem, is explaining to/convincing the client that has her heart set on colors if/why her color/style choices are unsuitable.

When considering what colors are suitable for a particular skintone the simplest mental formula to use is the darker the skin, the bolder the color. It is impossible to estimate the variety and range of skintones we might be dealing with, so if we use generalities, we will be dealing with:

Very Light (0% to 10% skin pigment)
Medium-Light
Dark-Light

Light-Medium
Medium-Medium (50% skin pigment)
Dark-Medium

Dark
Dark-Medium
Dark-Dark (90% to 100% skin pigment)

If that sounds difficult, just imagine 3 shades each of Light, Medium and dark skin. Get it?? Of course there is a wide range in between each of those shades, and I doubt that either 0% or 100% skin pigments exist, but the percentage scale seems the best way to approach the problem. Another way to visualize was suggested to me by a wonderful ad for Mom's (Millennium) Inks in a recent trade journal. When considering colors to use imagine that the client's skin is a sheet of tinted semi-transparent plastic in the client's skintone. Imagine that plastic laying on top of your color choice. How does it look?? crisp and clear; unaffected?? (Lighter skintones) Or dark and muddy; muted?? (Darker skintones)

On very light skin a wide variety of colors will show through the healed dermis. It is possible to get crisp, clean colors in every gradient. On very dark skin it will be impossible to have any color at all show up with any reliability. I have found that even the black I use most often (Kuro Sumi) is not always reliable on very dark skin.

On the medium skintones choose golds over yellows; dark oranges,greens and blues over bright oranges, greens and blues; and watch out for magenta, purple, and pink. These colors are pretty much a crap shoot on medium skintones unless you are very accustomed to working with, and adjusting these colors to the particular skintone in question. On medium-dark skin, avoid them like the plague. Stay away from colors that are already kinda "muddy" like olive greens and yellow ochres. And what about white? White will usually show up in this pigment range if you are working with a reliable white (I use Starbrite, Moms opaque whites and Intenze Mixing white), and if you lay it in well. Keep in mind that on the darkest medium skintone, your white will appear less vivid and have less "pop" than you might like, but should still do the job.

On the darker skintones seriously consider black/grey work as a better choice not only for your artwork, but for the client's long term happiness with her piece. Absolutely avoid yellows, oranges, light and bright blues and greens, and white. Midrange colors like the pinks; muddy colors like purple, magenta, olive greens are a no-go, too. Red, green and sometimes blue are the only colors you can reliably use on the darker skintones. Remember that no matter how good color looks right after you do it, once the tattoo has healed and the pigment is fully integrated into the client's skin it will look muddy and dark in this skintone range.

Black/grey work is another area which is affected more than many artist's and clients understand when considering a style of tattoo on darker skintones. It has been my experience that the general rule the darker the skin, the bolder the color, holds true here as well. The darker the skintone, the more detail you will lose doing black/grey work. Consider bolder lines, darker shading but perhaps less shading. Leave more negative space. In the very darkest skin consider hard edge or tribal type work.

Now on to the hard part. A client walks in your door. Immediately you have an understanding of what will work for her in style and color, based on your perception of her skintone. What she wants is absolutely unsuitable for her skintone. What do you do?? How do you handle it?? How do you explain to her why her ideas are unsuitable in a way that she will understand and accept your professional opinion, rather than go find a less experienced or uncaring studio in which to get what she wants?? (And end up dissatisfied, but too late.)
I now use the Mom's Ink ad description (as above) to explain to the client the why and how of the inappropriateness of her original choices. I go on to animatedly describe my interpretation of her design and how perfect it will be and how much better it will look not only immediately, but through the years. Most clients will accede to my experience, as they are referrals from other clients, and have seen my work and come to me with a sort of built in trust. But what if she is still waffling - still has her heart set on her original ideas or something close to them? I show her what her choice will look like. If I have them (and I do; (they are in a small album all to themselves, and not on public display), I show the client some pics of tattoos that I did either before I knew better (admit it...we all have them) or at the insistence of a client. I let the client see how her color choices will look, when healed.
If that doesn't convince the client I have a decision to make. Will I do this tattoo?
But that, my friends and readers, is a topic for another article.

Another Taste of Ink

2007-01-20T14:31:00.000-08:00

So, I've spent the last couple of days wheezing and sneezing and sleeping and freezing. You guessed it, this cold snap (snap, my ass!!) is still kickin' our butts here in the High Desert of California. Out here on the ranch the pipes are still frozen under the house, and we're sharing a flu-bug.
I haven't gotten much of writing done, but I've been trying to get this BLOG hooked up with my Homeplace, with My Yahoo and trying to get RSS feeds everywhere, so all of you art and ink enthusiasts (and dare I hope readers of varied interest??), may have easier access to my ramblings.
So I'll be honest. I'm posting another (short) slideshow of pics from Friday at the BAE that I missed in the first one. I'm doing this solely for content. I'll get down to the real stuff soon.

A Quick Look at the Expo

2007-01-18T17:23:00.000-08:00

Whew!! What a day. Yes, the pipes are still frozen here in so-called Sunny Southern California. Nonetheless, I managed to get some work done for my (as yet unknown) Art/Ink/Tattoo enthusiasts to check out. Most of my day was spent editing photos from the Expo. Throwing out the junk, cropping the good stuff, saving for print and upload.

I'm running a new-ish iBook these days, and although it's a lil confusing for we old Classic Mac-users, I'm finally starting to get the hang of it. So finally, dinner's made and the pics are done and I'm kinda wavering....do I really wanna start BLOGGING tonight? Hmmm....wellll.... (Yes, I am indeed a super procrastinator. Even when I want to do something it can take me forever to get started) So I'm thinkin' I'll start writing after I eat..maybe....

Then I notice this icon in my dock that I haven't really payed any attention to, because I haven't needed it. It's iPhoto. I click. Just to see what happens. I figure with all the very cool things that i-whatever programs are doing in Mac OSX, it's a good chance that this iPhoto does something neat besides upload from your camera.

Now when it comes to assembling things from a carton, (like a wagon, or a chainsaw, or an entertainment center), I read directions. I'm no computer wiz (or is that whiz, like cheese?) but Mac, being damned near indestructable has spoiled me and I tend to wander around clicking things until something happens that I like. (Which can really mess me up if I actually wanna do the same thing twice!!!)

I digress. The point is, that I made this very cool little slide show. Sort of a preview of coming attractions. I'll be BLOGGING in more detail here about some of these pics and people at this event, but I thought this might just whet your appetite. Enjoy!

P.S.
Please forgive the misspellings. I haven't been able to click my way to a dictionary, yet!

Black Wave Tattoo Pics...

2007-01-17T22:09:00.000-08:00

These are pics of Su'a Sulu'ape Freewind and Kate. He has just finished a small design behind her ear, and is working on an arm design.

Please visit Black Wave Tattoo for more info on this incredible culturally correct tribal and neo-tribal artist.

An interesting life...

2007-01-17T18:51:00.000-08:00

   Isn't that a curse?? "May you live in interesting times". Yep. I think that's it. Well, we are definitely living in interesting times. I'd say it's interesting when I can spend an entire weekend at the Body Art Expo, come home to freezing weather and frozen pipes at the old family ranch, and then sit around bitching because I have it hard.
   Hard compared to what?? Compared to the families of the over 3,000 troops killed so far in Iraq? Compared to the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi citizens killed so far?? Compared to kids suffering, orphaned, wounded, starving?? I dunno. But, that is a rant for a different BLOG, so let's keep this about tattoos today, okay? Okay!

       So We attended all 3 days of the Body Art Expo in Pomona, California this weekend. It was a blast as usual, and we renewed friendships and met new friends and saw a whole lotta awesome tattooed freaks! (Just like us).

      Friday started off slow, with the ice and snow storms in the pass (Cajon, 4,000' elevation), but we made it down and got checked into our hotel in Ontario and made it to the show by 1:p or so.

      The Group: Me; my partner/lover, Tam; and our good friend and client, Brad. We were ready. Sadly for me, the artist of several of my tattoos including my back piece in process, Judy Parker of Pacific Tattoo , was not there. Seems the promoters changed the usual date of the first weekend of the month for the show to the second, and it was a conflict for her. Bummer for me. (Not to mention that the first weekend in Jan was a beautiful, warm, sun-shiney one! Darn promoters) But I was prepared for a good time nonetheless. Shopping for supplies, and maybe, just maybe, a lil black work from Su'a Freewind of Black Wave Tattoo.

      And, I was determined to be brave and stand by the sidelines while a couple of my clients entered my/their ink in the contests. *shudder, shivvver* I was nervous!

      Friday was slow, wandering around the mnay stations and checking out the retail goodies. Where to start shopping?? Jimmy from Technical was his usual stylish, self with a great selection of Millenium (Moms); Intenze and Starbrite inks, machines and tubes and more...Superior Tattoo Equipment with its friendly sellers, lots of medical supplies, machines parts and power sources and "starter kits"...(And that, my friends, is a topic for another article in itself) Mithras needles, Iron Horse tattoos and machines, and lots more!

      There were alot of great artists present, but if I start naming names, then somebody'll be pissed cuz I left someone out, so I'll just say go HERE for a list of exhibitors, shops and artists. One of my favorite portrait artists was there, B.Z if you can dig that, and another one sharing his booth that I can never remeber his name, but I wanna say the shop is "Sin City"...I could be wrong, tho...

      More about the show, later. I gotta go edit and upload pics to go with the BLOG.

Tattoo writing

2007-01-09T12:58:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited about the Body Art Expo this weekend. I'm only slightly less excited to have discovered that my artist, Judy Parker, isn't going to be there. So, poor me, no work on my back. Still, I'm thinking about seeing if I can get some work from Black Wave. I'm doing my left arm in black linework, not big thick tribal shapes, more like mehendi designs. I am thinking to see if Su'a Sulu'ape FreeWind will do a spiral on my elbow. If it doesn't cost too much. I was planning to spend $300 or so for a sitting on my phoenix, but I need a few supplies, so maybe I can spend a little less on ink. Still, I really want some new ink, and think it would be very awesome to be tapped. Very spiritual.

I'm going to take my journal and keep notes, impressions, etc. for BLOGGING. I'll take my camera, too. Hopefully, I'll be able to get T or B to take pics of me getting tapped. That would be great fun to post here. Hopefully, I'll see Brixton. My heart always sings to see him. This BLOG will be great fun, as I post my own journey as both a tattooist and as a collector.

Shaping the concept

2007-01-06T22:22:00.000-08:00

I've been surfing around exploring the possibilities of making money blogging. I've also come upon some very creative barter sites; most notable is One Red Paperclip . As much as I love to write, I'm thinking of trying something with one or both of these concepts. Combined?? Not sure about that.
So my first idea is to BLOG about my experiences as an artist and ultimately as a tattoo artist. I know there is a big taboo in the industry on giving away information, but having taken the long road, so to speak, I'm not so sure I believe that a good thing. I think I could offer a valuable service with FAQ's, perhaps do some research on different licensing reg's for different states, counties and cities, offer advice, a calender...who knows what else would evolve??
I'll add this BLOG to the advertising sites and partnerships and hopefully through linking with other tattoo and art sites and BLOGs I'll be able to build traffic and interest. Of course, I'll link to my studio website as well, and perhaps that will generate more tattoo business.
I'd like to do a trade-up BLOG like One Red Paperclip, too, and I have some ideas about that, as well, but knowing my propensity for taking on too many things at once, I think I'll work on getting this one up and running first.