A little about heritage...

Recently, I've been discussing various reasons for getting certain tattoos; from memorial portraits, to simply adorning the body beautiful. Well, here's one more for you; heritage. Can you tell me anything about this person simply by looking at this indelible image on his side? If you think about it hard I'm certain you can. Here's a hint for you; he aint from around here! He currently lives here (in the U.S.) with his wife (she is from here) and child. Well, think on it, and in a future blog I'll let you know where he is from and why this image is connected to the country he was born and raised in.

Until then, keep tuned into the tattoo community and remember that we will be working at the Full Moon Tattoo/Horror Convention from April 23rd through the 25th in Nashville, Tennessee at the Airport Marriott off Briley Parkway and Elm Hill Pike. We will be there from noon til midnight Friday and Saturday and noon til 5 or 6 Sunday. Be sure to come by, visit our table and say hello! There will be many bizarre, freaky, and delightfully entertaining people to see and mingle with! Also, new to the convention this year will be the one and only Dee Snider of Twisted Sister fame! That's right! Dee mother-effin' Snider! There will also be some of the favorites from B-movie fame; Bill Moseley of The Devil's Rejects and Doug Bradley from Hellraiser to name just two! So come on out and see the sights!

Peace!

Choosing images for your tattoo

I did this piece on Marty Eubanks this past Monday for his "spiritual" arm. I thought I would use this piece as an example of choosing an image to have tattooed on your body.

In days gone by clients would walk into a tattoo parlor, look at the flash on the wall (usually hand drawn by the resident tattoo artist), choose a picture from said flash and then have the image inked into their skin. This practice still goes on today and many, if not most, tattoo establishments still have flash on their walls to this day. However, you as a client are not limited to picking from flash any more!

It is becoming more common with the ever growing popularity and easy to use thing we call the internet to find very interesting and tattooable images online! The availability of images out there is mind boggling; the only limitation is image size! Be sure that the piece you choose is as big as you can find; small grainy/pixilated pieces are next to useless! Also be sure that the image is legal for you to use. The idea is to find a piece or several pieces that are a general idea of what you are looking for and then find an artist who can draw that for you.

Image options are limitless; I've done tattoos from images found on t-shirts, boxer shorts, comic books, magazines, tile patterns, dollar bills, paintings...the list goes on and on. Keep your eyes open and don't be afraid to bring in your image and see if it is appropriate for a tattoo; chances are...it is!

Thanks again to Sensei Marty Eubanks for choosing me to bring his tattoo to life. I'm not exactly nearby and it takes a minute for him to make the drive to the Nashville area just to get a tattoo. I appreciate that!

Sometimes tattoos mean something...

I recently did this black and grey piece for my friend from World Champion Karate Academy, Sensei Marty Eubanks. His right upper arm will be devoted to the spiritual aspects of his life and will serve as a reminder of the path he has chosen as well as a reminder of the pain that we endure is nothing when compared to the pain Christ went through for our forgiveness. Hats off to Sensei Marty and thanks for the opportunity to bring this piece to life for you.

Sometimes our tattoos hold no meaning; they're simply pretty pieces of art on our bodies. There's nothing wrong with this...a good bit of my tattoos fit into this category. Sometimes; however, you simply have to put something on your body to jog a memory or commemorate a special event. Some people put their child's footprints on their body to display their pride in being a parent. Others have portraits of deceased loved ones to show their love and happy memories of that person. Marty chose to have his Savior tattooed on him to do the same; display his pride in Christ...but also to remind him that some have suffered much more than he has and also to remind him of the direction he has chosen in his life. He uses the tattoo as a conversation piece to help others who may be in the same types of situations he has found himself in over the years. I hope this tattoo will help him with his goals and I pray it helps him to help others in their time of need.

I am proud that Marty chose to make the trip to the Nashville area from Kentucky to get inked by little ol' me in Greenbrier, Tennessee. Thanks, Marty; it means a lot to me.

Jenn's Sacred Heart

I am humbled by the trust people place in me to not only do quality tattoos for them but also to choose the best placement for their tattoo. Jenn originally wanted a Sacred Heart tattoo on her chest; but, after checking out the available spot, I decided it would be best to place it elsewhere. Unfortunately, her breastbone was just too short for the piece to have the impact she wanted it to have; it would have been less than half as large as it is now. Luckily, she understood and after some discussion about other options, we decided on the inner forearm.

This piece was custom drawn on her arm with a ballpoint pen and is therefore a one of a kind piece...all for Jenn!

Thanks Jenn, for being such a great client and making the trip out to Greenbrier's best little tattoo studio for your work!

Spots added to custom orchid

Check it out everyone! The orchid has been spotted in Greenbrier! I sure am lucky to have such faithful, and trusting clientelle; probably the most faithful tattoo enthusiasts in the Nashville area! This tattoo was fun to do and this young lady and her friends were a joy to be around as well. Thank you all for making this tattoo session so pleasurable.