Monday, October 22, 2007
Tattoo (Session 3)
Session #3
Sunday, October 21st, 2007
7:00PM
Wow, what a change from last week. Last night’s work really hurt. In fact it still really hurts.
Last night was the first session without any drawing. It was just sit down and get to it. Joel finished all the shoulder, and under-arm leaving only the chest left to shade. After the shading we start on color.
Sunday, October 21st, 2007
7:00PM
Wow, what a change from last week. Last night’s work really hurt. In fact it still really hurts.
Last night was the first session without any drawing. It was just sit down and get to it. Joel finished all the shoulder, and under-arm leaving only the chest left to shade. After the shading we start on color.
Tattoo (Session 2)
Session #2
Sunday, October 14th, 2007
3:00PM
Sunday, October 14th, 2007
3:00PM
Today was more hand-drawing and finalizing the lower arm. After much thought and consideration I decided to go with Joel’s recommendation of “three fingers up from the elbow” as the edge of the piece. I felt a more conservative 5 (or more) was what I wanted, but after a couple of weeks I decided to let Joel do what he thinks is best. I also decided to add cherry blossoms to the edge of the design.
In addition to an hour of outlining, tonight was also the first session of shading.
The first step in shading is the preparation of the Sumi ink. This involves grinding a solid Sumi ink block with a little water on an “Ink Stone” to produce the black ink. The Ink Stone is a small tray made of smooth unglazed ceramic with a shallow well at one end where the ink collects. The Ink Stick is ground on the bottom of the tray with water and the ink gathers in the well. This process takes 15 to 20 minutes to complete.
Shading is done with a much different needle configuration. All the lines are done with a single needle and shading is done with 4-15 needles. Joel generally uses 5 needles for shading.
In general shading is less painful than line work, but this depends greatly on the area. In fact after 2.5 hours I was ready to continue but also happy to end the session on a high note.
Tonight Joel finished shading the outer half of the lower arm. It’s really starting to look like a tattoo now. My next session is scheduled for next Sunday, only seven days between sessions.
In addition to an hour of outlining, tonight was also the first session of shading.
The first step in shading is the preparation of the Sumi ink. This involves grinding a solid Sumi ink block with a little water on an “Ink Stone” to produce the black ink. The Ink Stone is a small tray made of smooth unglazed ceramic with a shallow well at one end where the ink collects. The Ink Stick is ground on the bottom of the tray with water and the ink gathers in the well. This process takes 15 to 20 minutes to complete.Shading is done with a much different needle configuration. All the lines are done with a single needle and shading is done with 4-15 needles. Joel generally uses 5 needles for shading.
In general shading is less painful than line work, but this depends greatly on the area. In fact after 2.5 hours I was ready to continue but also happy to end the session on a high note.
Tonight Joel finished shading the outer half of the lower arm. It’s really starting to look like a tattoo now. My next session is scheduled for next Sunday, only seven days between sessions.
Tattoo (Session 1)
Session #1
Wednesday, September 12th, 2007
12 Noon
Yesterday we finally got started. The first couple of hours were spent drawing. The head of the dragon was done as a hand-drawn stencil, everything else was drawn on my shoulder with Sharpie markers. After more than an hour of drawing, the real work begins. This session was all outlining and covered my right chest (pec), shoulder and part of my upper arm. The lower arm will be done next time.
The shop was pretty busy and a number of prospective clients looked in to see Joel working. The first question is always “Does it hurt?” Of course it hurts; some guy is jamming a needle into your flesh 40-50 times a second for hours. Duhhh.
Outlining is pretty brutal, it a single needle and very sharp, thin lines. The total time for this session was just over three hours. The first hour was fine, the pain a distant irritant. By the second hour I was starting to really feel the burn with each new line. My leg was starting to twitch uncontrollably after the longer lines. By the third hour I was holding my breath during each line. I was really glad when he finished.
Aftercare is Aquaphore lotion for the first 4-5 days followed by simple lotion.
P.S. There was a small amount of peeling on days 2 and 3 but no other problems.
Wednesday, September 12th, 2007
12 Noon
Yesterday we finally got started. The first couple of hours were spent drawing. The head of the dragon was done as a hand-drawn stencil, everything else was drawn on my shoulder with Sharpie markers. After more than an hour of drawing, the real work begins. This session was all outlining and covered my right chest (pec), shoulder and part of my upper arm. The lower arm will be done next time.The shop was pretty busy and a number of prospective clients looked in to see Joel working. The first question is always “Does it hurt?” Of course it hurts; some guy is jamming a needle into your flesh 40-50 times a second for hours. Duhhh.
Outlining is pretty brutal, it a single needle and very sharp, thin lines. The total time for this session was just over three hours. The first hour was fine, the pain a distant irritant. By the second hour I was starting to really feel the burn with each new line. My leg was starting to twitch uncontrollably after the longer lines. By the third hour I was holding my breath during each line. I was really glad when he finished.
Aftercare is Aquaphore lotion for the first 4-5 days followed by simple lotion.
P.S. There was a small amount of peeling on days 2 and 3 but no other problems.
Tattoo (Session 0)
Session #0
Saturday August 18th 2007
Consultation with Joel Long, Bolder Ink
We arrive at the Bolder Ink shop a few minutes early and begin thumbing through Joel’s portfolio. I am shocked at the difference between what he has on his web site and the work in his albums. The work in the book is exactly what I am looking for, sharp, vibrant, lots of detail, subtle shadows.
I later asked Joel about the difference, he explained that anything he puts on his web site is immediately copied by other artists (I don't think he used the word "artist") so he keeps his best stuff in the books and only publishes older work to the web.
When he arrived we discussed what I wanted and he made some suggestions based on traditional Japanese technique. everything sounded pretty good so I made an appointment for my first session.
Saturday August 18th 2007
Consultation with Joel Long, Bolder Ink
We arrive at the Bolder Ink shop a few minutes early and begin thumbing through Joel’s portfolio. I am shocked at the difference between what he has on his web site and the work in his albums. The work in the book is exactly what I am looking for, sharp, vibrant, lots of detail, subtle shadows.
I later asked Joel about the difference, he explained that anything he puts on his web site is immediately copied by other artists (I don't think he used the word "artist") so he keeps his best stuff in the books and only publishes older work to the web.
When he arrived we discussed what I wanted and he made some suggestions based on traditional Japanese technique. everything sounded pretty good so I made an appointment for my first session.
Tattoo
After more than a year of planning, thinking, dreaming, I recently started the wheels on motion to actually get a new tattoo. I have a climbing rope and Figure-8 around my right ankle that is now 10 years old. I have loved it every minute since I got it.
Recently I have been attracted to traditional Japanese style tattoos, especially the snake-like Dragons and brilliant orange Koi fish. Japanese style is unlike the “single-point” style of most tattoos. The pieces are much larger, covering the entire arm or leg. In the Japanese style, there is a central tattoo that is framed by a more subtle background. The background can be wind bars, clouds, waves or other design. The background on this type of tatoo is typically done in gray. I am most attracted to Dragons and Koi, both very traditional designs.
After an aborted start in January, I have chosen another artist and set an appointment for the first session.
I originally wanted Chris Garver to do the work. He is one of a very few artists who specialize in traditional Japanese style. Unfortunately he is now a star on the TV show Miami Ink, which means the only way to get an appointment, is to send in a video tape and “audition” for the TV show. I have zero interest in getting a tattoo on TV so Chris was out.
My wife knows a guy working on a full body-suit, she asked him and he recommended Chris Trevino in Austin and Dave Tedder in Atlanta. I spoke with Chris, described the piece I wanted and learned that due to the size and complexity, it would take at least 3 or 4 sessions to complete. I like both Austin and Atlanta but traveling there multiple times seemed like way too much work.
Months pass…
I am again looking at Chris Trevenio’s web site and find a link to an artist in Boulder who has worked with Chris. His name is Joel Long.
I found his web site and looked at his portfolio. Some of the pieces looked pretty good but I wasn’t sure he could do the level of work I was looking for. A few more months pass and I decide to meet him to discuss my plans while Kathy and I were in Boulder for dinner at Frasca.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Cave Diving in Cozumel
During our trip to Cozumel we spent a day diving Cenotes Dos Ojos.
Kathy and I in the bat cave.
Cave diving budies...
This is the half-way marker for the upstream loop. Cave Diving humor.
Kathy and I in the bat cave.
Cave diving budies...
This is the half-way marker for the upstream loop. Cave Diving humor.
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