Fudo Sword


Got a nice bit of color in on the flames the other day.  It was getting late so we couldn't quite finish, but I'm sure he wasn't heart broken...
It's a pretty painful area, but he did hang tough and would have finished if we could.  I'm pretty happy with how much it pops, and it's only going to get brighter after it heals.

Kingyo (Japanese Goldfish)




Knocked out a fair sized piece this session,
 but couldn't quite finish.  She's been coming down from Oregon so I was hoping to finish in 2 sessions, but just didn't want to rush it for the last fish.
These rib pieces get quite a bit larger when they're stretched out on the table...
The bottom fish will be in color but it doesn't have all those negative spaces in the water overlapping it to deal with, like the top one, so it should go relatively quick and smooth.

Durga Weapons and Flowers






I'm pretty serious when I say that this tattoo might kill me.
Last time our 5-6 hour outlining extravaganza pushed my poor hand to the limit, and today gave me a bit of a run for my money as well.
We added the pomegranate branch at the top, and the last of Durga's implements (a rope) entwined in it.  Then it was on to the patterning in the snake.  I had drawn it on the stencil, but there was no way to get to it last time.  There was also no realistic way to draw it on as it would rub off immediately, so I just had to wing it.  I'm happy with the result, but I'd be lying if i said it wasn't a bit stressful to freestyle that pattern and be confident it would work out.  I just didn't really think too much (a technique that I employ in most aspects of my life that seems to work for me) and tried to just let things happen...

Swirls and Flowers



Nothing too crazy, but we added a bunch of leaves to all the blossoms at her request, and I think it was a pretty good idea.  Sounds like we might sneak down the arm a little more next time.
One of my favorite people to tattoo, so whatever she's into doing, I'm sure it'll work out...

Parrot



Finished up the African Grey today.  The wings are still healing from last week, so it'll probably be looking its best in a few more weeks.  Her family actually has one of these and it sounds like they were comparing the real bird with the tattoo and were pleased with the results (which really does make me happy as I have never even seen one in real life).
She did great during this process and is definitely rocking a bigger and more involved tattoo than most other 19 year olds...
I really liked the claws, so here you go...


Shoki Body Suit Day 5


Well he made it through the week.  And with flying colors I might add.
Went over to the other thigh and outlined another demon.  This dude is holding a giant hammer and stepping up through flames toward Shoki.  It is the balance to the demon on the other thigh who is falling instead of ascending, but also holding a giant weapon...


From the front you can just see both the axe and hammer, and they are forming sort of a yin yang.
Eventually we will be adding two other demons (one coming up the back of the left thigh and one across the lower back/butt that is getting stomped on by the tiger).  I'm purposely putting 4 demons back there as the word for four in Japanese is "shi", which is also a word for death.  The number four is considered a bad omen or unlucky by many Japanese for this reason.  My thought was that the oni foursome would be even more menacing with this numerological tie in...
I'm excited that he'll be back in a month, and even more so because during the whole week session he's here my friend Hide from the Horitoshi family will be in town visiting and tattooing with me.
He does traditional Japanese tebori (hand poke) tattooing and it should really add something to the vibe in the studio that week.
More info on Hide coming soon...

Shoki Body Suit Day 4


Made it over the hump after yesterday so I switched it up and went to the thigh this session.  For this suit I have a fairly good idea of the direction it's going, but don't make any specific plans for each session.  I like to have some prep work done for each session like the flower or demon drawings (everything else gets drawn on the skin), but I generally just go with what pops into my head when he gets there...

Parrot



Shaded in the wings (the tips will stay dark and fade to grey at the base).  Didn't quite have enough time for the tail and claws, but we'll squeeze that in next week.  The photo below is after the first session and shows how much those greys soften in with a little time...


Shoki Body Suit Day 3




Did some shading in the top middle of the back next to some of the previous day's work, and outlined some clouds down the other side.  Capping off more of that collar line really starts to give a slight preview of the overall look...

Shoki Body Suit Day 2



Today we added a chrysanthemum on the shoulder and did some shading up top (I had to get on a chair to take that 1st pic as he is 6'6" or so).  The flower will tie into the arm and make everything flow together better as a whole (and not just look like we did the back and then the arms etc).  If he's got the foresight to do a cohesive bodysuit then we will take full advantage and plan several steps ahead.
Also tried to stay away from that fresh rib work from yesterday just to be nice.  Day 3 tomorrow...

Shoki Body Suit Day 1



So it started that he had no tattoos and wanted a Japanese sleeve.  After talking over the vibe he was going for I suggested that Shoki might represent his vision well.  After he did some research on his own he resonated with the idea so much that he decided to do it as a back piece instead.
Somewhere along the line, he decided that the heavily tattooed thing was clicking for him and made the decision to do the rest of his body.  Now I've got the task of bringing it over onto his arms and chest and down to the back of the knees for now.  In the future we will plan on going onto the front and down to the ankles, but one thing at a time.
He lives in Portland (7 hours north of me by car), so we recently decided that he would come down one week every month or two and get tattooed for 5 days in a row for a couple to few hours at a go.  This was the first day of that first schedule...
Went right to the side to get some of that over with early on.  It takes a tremendous amount of dedication and perseverance to follow through with something like this and I for one am very much looking forward to the transformation.  I've got my head wrapped around this one so many different ways, the possibilities are very exciting.  Never thought about one guy's body so much...

Chrysanthemum


Started this one a month or two ago and just finished up (that's why the yellows don't quite match up yet).  Great client who's super fun to tattoo, so the flower ended up a bit more "fun" looking for lack of a better word.  Never done one quite like this, but I feel like it works for her and I'm excited for our plans to do more and finish the arm.

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