Abstract

So, Sean has decided to do a sleeve that is, "Mostly black and grey with some areas of color that pop." The subject matter was secondary for him and was up to me; so I decided to go back to my roots...abstract drawing and painting. So here we go! Thanks Sean for the opportunity to expand my horizons and loosen up my style.

Livie and Lexie help out!

Today, the girls helped their daddy clean up around the studio! Actually, they helped Nicki clean up; but, who's keeping track? The girls hung around the shop with their daddy, helped clean the mirrors and windows, and watched as I added color to some roses. They seem to really enjoy the process of tattooing and watching as the final product emerges! I know I enjoy the questions and wonder in their eyes!

Will work for Tattoos!

Nicki-loo-hoo, a long-time client of mine, has hit a rough spot in the road of life but doesn't want to lose out on "chair time." So, being the industrious and clever person she is, came up with the idea of cleaning for tattoos! She is hoping to finish her sleeve before April. Now, before you get any ideas, this option is not open for just anyone. Trading work for tattoos is only for close personal friends and clients of the shop.

More photos of Nicki at work will soon follow (possibly with fun little comments as well). Yea Nicki-loo-hoo!

Today's fun little comment could be, "This photo was taken just minutes before Nicki destroyed the bathroom door!" Or, "Its not often that someone works for trade and ends up owing money on the first day!"

Dawn of a New

So here we go again; another day in the trenches. You know, even when you have a job that you love, some days you just don't look forward to. The sky is cloudy and that always makes for a bleak day for me; my head feels like its full of lead and my clarity of thought is more like thinking in mud.

Yesterday was good however! Even though I had an appointment not show up, I had a client double up. So, no lost income due to some thoughtless prick! That's always good news.

So, now its back to the trenches. Clean and sterilize tubes and grips, make my room ready for the day, and clear my mind of this fog...and drive on.

Talk about slow

Yeah, so last week sucked; talk about slow! Holy Crap was it slow. 50% of my appointments were "no-shows". Let me tell ya, that is one of the worst feelings in the world...waiting around for no reason, turning away prospects because you think an appointment is on the way. Really makes for a fun day! Anyway, hopefully this week will be better.

Post Fourth of July

I suppose that by now everyone has heard the tragic news of Steve McNair's murder during the fourth of July weekend here in Nashville, Tennessee. So far, his untimely death at the age of 36 is being treated as a Murder/Suicide. It appears that he was shot to death by his 20 year old girlfriend who then shot herself in the head (McNair was shot twice in the body and twice in the head). Of course further investigation may reveal other possibilities.

Other than that, this weekend was a good one for our family. My family and I spent the day at my wife's Aunt Betty's home enjoying good food, conversation and kite flying for my daughters thanks to B.J.! Later that evening we headed toward downtown Nashville to watch the fireworks display down by the river. Unfortunately, mother nature didn't co-operate and the festivities were rained out! Perhaps it was mother nature's way of mourning the passing of Steve McNair.

Fourth of July

Here we go folks; another 4th of July. Fun, grilling out, drinkin' beer (soda in my case), and generally relaxing! The shop will be closed for the most part; Wes has one appointment and that's all we're doing. So, remember to have fun and be safe on this long holiday weekend!

Ancient Art

Have you ever wondered when tattoo started and where? I have; plenty. Unfortunately, we will never really know. But we can be certain of this; tattoos have probably been around for almost as long as humans have inhabited this planet and were aware enough of their own existance to create art. I think that some people simply find it fascinating that art can be carried with them; wherever they go. Portable art, if you will.

While we don't know and never will know who the first person was to accidently (maybe on purpose--but I don't think so) poke themselves with a sooty splinter; we can be sure of this. Tattooing has been around a very long time. Women who lived when and where Jesus lived tattooed their faces and hands. That's 2000 years right there. Women in ancient Egypt tattooed their body and limbs; this evidence dates back 3500 to 4000 years. But the oldest of them all is the tattooed "Iceman". His frozen remains revealed tattoos on his back, knees and other joints; this fellow is 5200 years old (now those are some old tattoos). Anthropologists speculate that his tattoos were more theraputic in nature due to their placement. Follow this link to read the full article (Tattoos: The Ancient and Mysterious History by Cate Lineberry) in the Smithsonian Magazine. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/tattoo.html

Soldier of God

Today, I worked on Brian's Soldier of God piece. This is the end of session one; background to follow. More Later.

Dawn of a new day.

Don't you just hate it when you set up an appointment for a large tattoo and you set aside a very large chunk of the day for this same tattoo and the person doesn't show up? I know I do. No show, no call. How nice is that? You know, all it takes is one little phone call to let me know what's going on; just one call.

Anyway, I used the extra time to do some chores that needed to be done and to simply enjoy the day; Wednesday was a beautiful day after all. You know, sometimes a little break does the body and mind good!

In other news, I worked on Mike again yesterday finishing a sacred heart/banner/name tattoo on his chest and also reworking an old crappy black and grey grim reaper on his left arm (now it is in color). I didn't take any photos this time so I'll try to get some healed pics in a couple of weeks.

Toy Soldiers

Brandon came to me with a request; "Can you do the raising of the flag (Iwo Jima) with toy soldiers and raising a breast cancer ribbon? You know, the little green soldiers with platforms on their feet?"

So, here it is. Today is round one of a larger piece which will include a helicopter and background. The four soldiers represent Brandon and his sisters; the ribbon is for his mother.

Week of the Skull

So, this week saw the return of Mike! I always enjoy working on him; he sits well, never complains and will sit as long as I will let him! Gotta love that in a client! Anyway, this piece started out as a cover up of his wife's name (that part of the tattoo is above this skull and is not visable in this pic) and all of the work on him is custom and drawn directly on him with a ball point pen (no stencils). The piece started out as black and grey and then I decided to go with color; I'm really glad that I did! Mike is too! The color really took the depth of the piece to another level. I also love the sick green color of this piece; I used the Zombie Greens from Alla Prima.
I'll post more pictures of the progression of this piece as it unfolds. Hopefully, future pics will be better than this one. I'm a tattoo artist, not a photographer! But, I am working on it; I need to buy a "natural light" light bulb to show the colors better and to help illuminate the tattoo. Hopefully I'll get one soon.

Remembrance

A little work I did in Knoxville. Steve's new half-sleeve in progress. He traveled a long way to come see me for this piece and I was happy to oblige him.

What's your flavor

A custom half-sleeve by Keith Groves.

Vampire Babe

Vampire Babe in progress. Come visit us in Greenbrier, TN.

Hard at play...I mean work

Laying down ink at the Knoxville Convention. Come check out the awards we've recently won.

Full Moon Tattoo and Horror Festival

Good times were had by all! Tattoo of the day Friday and Saturday! Friday's winning tattoo was a portrait of Hugh Lorrie (Dr. House)! Will "The Kill" had this done on his forearm and it took three and a half hours to do! Saturday's winning tattoo was Abe Sapien from Hellboy on my buddy Bo! This one was full color and was a blast to do! Poor Bo had to sit for many hours to complete this one.
Bummer of the weekend; my man Wes Neal's grandmother passed away as we were preparing for the show. He attended her funeral Friday afternoon and made it to work the show Friday evening. Sorry for your loss man.

One of those days...

Have you ever had "One of those days"; you know, the kind that you rather had never happened? How about one of those months? How about vehicle repairs once a month for the past three months totaling about four grand? Don't you just love it when that happens? I sure do.

Well, on the positive side of things; this economic downturn hasn't seemed to have had an affect on the shop (so far). We are very lucky to have a loyal clientele who really like our work (and us for that matter). So, thank you all for making Artistic Ink a success for the past four years.

Remember that next month is the 8th annual Full Moon Tattoo and Horror Festival. Wes and I will be there and we hope to see some familiar faces at the show! We are both booked as of now but check with us for any cancelations that may occur.

Now, let's hope that today isn't "one of those days."

Welcome to Artistic Ink

Artistic Ink is a small, two artist tattoo studio in rural Tennessee. My name is Keith Groves; I own, manage, work, and spend a great deal of time at the studio (sometimes I even care for my two girls there too).

I do all kinds of tattoos here; large, custom, colorful pieces, small flash pieces, black and grey is always fun. Basically, anything you can think of, I can do.