Started Tattoo Nov 2010
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Let the artist be an artist.
Some things have been coming up around the shop the past couple of months that seem to be circleing around the same thing. In blogs past, I have written an article on tips for getting tattoos, but with this latest flush coming to the surface, I think I shall expand on it. On behalf of all the tattooers and myself out there I am going to write a bit on letting the artist be an artist.
This may be hard for some clients, that are a bit controlling, or think they have the best ideas for a tattoo,- but clients and artists that specifically do not know what it is like to do a tattoo or draw one should basically leave it up to the tattoo artist.
There is a lot of things about the skin and body that artists and people that don't tattoo, just don't know about. Not too mention that there is this whole world of needles, pigment, tubes, stretching the skin- all the technical stuff that goes along with tattooing. And here is the big one for tattoos; What would it look like in 5, 10 or 20 years from now? That's what goes on in our tattooers mind while are constructing a design for a tattoo. All the while, trying to come up with what our client has asked for.
So, as you can imagine, it takes great contemplation and concentration on coming up with a striking tattoo that will knock everyone's socks off.
To be frank, I believe that if my clients tell me what they want in the simplest of words, with perhaps a piece of reference that they are going for, I can take it from there and design something lovely with the freedom to create it as I please. I have some clients that are exactly like this and the piece ends up having better energy.
Sometimes I have clients that are really picking and I am always up for the challenge, but they do not know what it is like to actually tattoo. They do not know skin tones like I do, and sometimes, I have to tell them I would recommend doing something elce.
Another thing that happens for some clients that are getting a big piece done, and they only come in a couple times a year or even once a month, they will change their mind about coloration or throw in a whole other idea to this mix. This is really tough. It is hard to make it flow in this case, but when it's someones body, you aim to please. So stick to the plan, and don't bring in a new idea or reference material for something completely different. Your piece can look all over the place if that was your approach to the design. Being concise is key!
This may be hard for some clients, that are a bit controlling, or think they have the best ideas for a tattoo,- but clients and artists that specifically do not know what it is like to do a tattoo or draw one should basically leave it up to the tattoo artist.
There is a lot of things about the skin and body that artists and people that don't tattoo, just don't know about. Not too mention that there is this whole world of needles, pigment, tubes, stretching the skin- all the technical stuff that goes along with tattooing. And here is the big one for tattoos; What would it look like in 5, 10 or 20 years from now? That's what goes on in our tattooers mind while are constructing a design for a tattoo. All the while, trying to come up with what our client has asked for.
So, as you can imagine, it takes great contemplation and concentration on coming up with a striking tattoo that will knock everyone's socks off.
To be frank, I believe that if my clients tell me what they want in the simplest of words, with perhaps a piece of reference that they are going for, I can take it from there and design something lovely with the freedom to create it as I please. I have some clients that are exactly like this and the piece ends up having better energy.
Sometimes I have clients that are really picking and I am always up for the challenge, but they do not know what it is like to actually tattoo. They do not know skin tones like I do, and sometimes, I have to tell them I would recommend doing something elce.
Another thing that happens for some clients that are getting a big piece done, and they only come in a couple times a year or even once a month, they will change their mind about coloration or throw in a whole other idea to this mix. This is really tough. It is hard to make it flow in this case, but when it's someones body, you aim to please. So stick to the plan, and don't bring in a new idea or reference material for something completely different. Your piece can look all over the place if that was your approach to the design. Being concise is key!
Friday, December 3, 2010
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Winter time musings
Winter is just about here and the shop has finally slowed down...Now there is time to finish incomplete drawings that have been shoved to the back that are all crumpled up, or I may even break my painting fast which has lasted way too long...Or better yet, I myself can get that tattoo I have wanted for so long. I have wanted this viking ship tattooed on my thigh with a boar in the sail. I swear I am going to do it soon. I will show you pics. I am doing it next month, I just decided. And ya, I'm scared cause I am old now and am sensitive. I think once your body is 75% tattooed, it really starts to kill. Pain adds up over time.
So, I was reminiscing on what I could write about, and I was taken back to the time I was tattooing in San Francisco. (I have a lot of memories during those days, hella bad ones and good ones too)But I worked at this shop on Gough street, which was in the ghetto. The projects were across the street, but then you go up 2-3 blocks and your in this this nice restaurant/bar strip with nice folks walking around. Well, I worked there for a year with this guy Pickens who is by far hands down my favorite artist I have ever worked with, I might add.
And one day I was working in the shop and I look at our door and in our stoop there was a crack head huddled, crouched down smoking crack. It was a big plume of stagnant smoke that filled the small entrance way and I ran up on the door from inside and kicked it and told him to get the fuck outta there! I was so pissed! I could smell it even. There was this nasty smell of crack that was lingering. I believe that is when I really got into smudgeing- burning sage and using other herbal sprays to clear out negative energy stuffs. That was the first time that I started thinking, this shop is not going to last very long apparently. That was also the shop with the prostitute that came in there, that I previously tattooed at another shop, and she did not recognize me cause she was a heroin junky.
Well months after that crack smoking event to my shop entrance, The shop was robbed at gun point. All they got was my buddy's digital camera. Ha! But that's when we decided to call it quits on that shop. It was kinda a bummer cause I did like that shop. It was just 2 of us, and we ran it. It was really mellow, and we listened to Metal. I remember that we put a pool table down in the basement. There also was a beautiful coffin in the basement. And I actually had a photo shoot in that coffin. There was a big screen tv down there with a stereo, so I could put on some loud death metal and enjoy the coffin. Yes, I have a morbid side. I will have to dig up the photo's to see if I can post one of the coffin. I will add that to my list of things to do while I am enjoying the slowness. I also had 3 cancellations for the week, so I shall have some spare time indeed!
So, I was reminiscing on what I could write about, and I was taken back to the time I was tattooing in San Francisco. (I have a lot of memories during those days, hella bad ones and good ones too)But I worked at this shop on Gough street, which was in the ghetto. The projects were across the street, but then you go up 2-3 blocks and your in this this nice restaurant/bar strip with nice folks walking around. Well, I worked there for a year with this guy Pickens who is by far hands down my favorite artist I have ever worked with, I might add.
And one day I was working in the shop and I look at our door and in our stoop there was a crack head huddled, crouched down smoking crack. It was a big plume of stagnant smoke that filled the small entrance way and I ran up on the door from inside and kicked it and told him to get the fuck outta there! I was so pissed! I could smell it even. There was this nasty smell of crack that was lingering. I believe that is when I really got into smudgeing- burning sage and using other herbal sprays to clear out negative energy stuffs. That was the first time that I started thinking, this shop is not going to last very long apparently. That was also the shop with the prostitute that came in there, that I previously tattooed at another shop, and she did not recognize me cause she was a heroin junky.
Well months after that crack smoking event to my shop entrance, The shop was robbed at gun point. All they got was my buddy's digital camera. Ha! But that's when we decided to call it quits on that shop. It was kinda a bummer cause I did like that shop. It was just 2 of us, and we ran it. It was really mellow, and we listened to Metal. I remember that we put a pool table down in the basement. There also was a beautiful coffin in the basement. And I actually had a photo shoot in that coffin. There was a big screen tv down there with a stereo, so I could put on some loud death metal and enjoy the coffin. Yes, I have a morbid side. I will have to dig up the photo's to see if I can post one of the coffin. I will add that to my list of things to do while I am enjoying the slowness. I also had 3 cancellations for the week, so I shall have some spare time indeed!
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