Summer Solstice merry meet!

The Keeper of the mead
Came carrying out the carved flasks, 
And poured that bright sweetness.  A poet
Sang, from time to time, in a clear
Pure voice.
   BEOWULF: 493-497

Sketch work up

        I still have not caught that stupid gopher. He is a smart F'er! The garden looks good anyway. I will post pics of it  soon. I have been growing hops which is new for me, and they are growing ok for now. Growing plants is a hobby of mine that I am really passionate about. I actually am going for a certificate in garden design. It plays a role somewhere in the background of my life and it will take years to achieve, but perhaps later into the future it could be more at the forefront of my life. Another thing that is new that I am enjoying on my days off from the shop is studying martial arts. I am taking a karate class at a friends studio that is actually in Penngrove. I can not say enough good things about this instructor. I will add a link to his information.

      So about shop stuff. I am working on a sketch right now for a big piece to cover a clients stomach. We did a traditional eagle on his chest and the next part is to get a snake on his front. These are the two preliminary sketches I have been working on. The first one on the left was the the beginning and I ran out of paper for the top of the snakes head. I also could not figure out which angle I want the tail to land at but as you can see form the second sketch I figured that out. I still need to show my client these sketches! I am posting them on this blog first. ha.

         Here is the second sketch. I already tattooed a eagle on his chest so you can see were I marked off the tail feathers. The next step is to have him in here to see how it actually fits his body.
        I will most likely do two more drawings of this before I start to tattoo it. See how much effort goes into this! There is so much time that goes into the drawing before it even gets tattooed! I think a lot of people don't realize what  it takes to get a tattoo set up. I recently heard an artist friend say fro every hour of tattoo there is three hours of draw time- behind the scenes stuff. And people think we get paid so well!
        On another note it is only 12:30 and it is already 81 degrees in the shop. That's gonna suck for me and my 4o'clock!
Well, enjoy the hot weather and Happy Summer Solstice!
and don't forget to tip your tattooist! :)

Medusa!

Here' one I have been working on for the past few months. It will be a 3/4 sleeve when we are done. We only have a few sittings left. I will post the finished pics when I finally finish it. There is another woman in a frame in the inside of the arm. I really enjoy working on a design like this!