WED 2ND JUNE - FRI 4TH JUNE @ NEW YORK ADORNED, NEW YORK
SAT 5TH JUNE - TUE 8TH JUNE @ BROOKLYN ADORNED, NEW YORK
FRI 11TH JUNE - SUN 13TH JUNE @ INK N IRON FESTIVAL, CALIFORNIA
TUE 15TH JUNE - SAT 19TH JUNE @ GOLD RUSH TATTOO, CALIFORNIA
For appointments, please email, blackthronetattoo@gmail.com
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Lauren's Fibonacci Spiral
Lauren came to me with a pretty open-ended idea for a tattoo. I blogged about this design on Allégoria last autumn when I first drew it up:
"Today's a good day, and I'll tell you why: Most of the time, clients have something pretty specific in mind whether they know it or not, but I was basically given an open project on this one. The only structure was the starting point being a Fibonacci Spiral (geometric spiral that appears in nature i.e.- sea shells, hurricanes, galaxies). This design is a milestone for me. I've been cruising along, sticking to the mainstream "boundaries" of tattoo. The client wants a lion, they get a lion. They want a floral arrangement with names, they get just that. They are beautifully drawn, perfectly executed in tattoo, and the client is completely satisfied. However, starting primarily with this design, I'm venturing into a more open project where I have a lot of artistic license. This brings me to an unfamiliar and very enticing place. A place I feel stylistically terrified, without boundaries or guidelines, and completely free. Rarely do I travel into the realms of the not-easily-recognizable, and NEVER into the abstract... It's just not my thing... at least not until I dreamed of a design last night, woke up, and this poured out..."
-September 21st, 2009.
Here's the first sketch I came up with back in September:
Here's the revised sketch I reworked this Winter after reconnecting with Lauren:
To fit her right shoulder, the design was reversed and we started 2 weeks ago at Coil 12:
Session 2 complete. She'll likely need some zip-zap touch-ups and we might push the values in a few areas, but it's basically finished. After a total of 7 hours, today at the Coil 12 studio:
"Today's a good day, and I'll tell you why: Most of the time, clients have something pretty specific in mind whether they know it or not, but I was basically given an open project on this one. The only structure was the starting point being a Fibonacci Spiral (geometric spiral that appears in nature i.e.- sea shells, hurricanes, galaxies). This design is a milestone for me. I've been cruising along, sticking to the mainstream "boundaries" of tattoo. The client wants a lion, they get a lion. They want a floral arrangement with names, they get just that. They are beautifully drawn, perfectly executed in tattoo, and the client is completely satisfied. However, starting primarily with this design, I'm venturing into a more open project where I have a lot of artistic license. This brings me to an unfamiliar and very enticing place. A place I feel stylistically terrified, without boundaries or guidelines, and completely free. Rarely do I travel into the realms of the not-easily-recognizable, and NEVER into the abstract... It's just not my thing... at least not until I dreamed of a design last night, woke up, and this poured out..."
-September 21st, 2009.
Here's the first sketch I came up with back in September:
Here's the revised sketch I reworked this Winter after reconnecting with Lauren:
To fit her right shoulder, the design was reversed and we started 2 weeks ago at Coil 12:
Session 2 complete. She'll likely need some zip-zap touch-ups and we might push the values in a few areas, but it's basically finished. After a total of 7 hours, today at the Coil 12 studio:
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Collin's Mother, a Giraffe
Collin's mother was a Giraffe. Not a real one of course, but she embodied the Giraffe spirit. They are about far-sightedness, they see perspectives we dont, thats what she did, they bridge gaps, and they are strongly bonded to their babies. the flowers are the flowers Collin wore in her hair at her wedding. Her spirit flows through Collin, and I tried to capture that in the design. Enjoy!
Complete. After 2 sessions, and 4 total hours. Collin's got perfect skin for bright colors, and we chose turquoise and blue to compliment her red hair and fair skin. Sounds like we'll be integrating it into a full sleeve very soon!
My first sketch, which ended up being a little too comical and curvy.
The second and final sketch, elongated when made into the stencil to fit her arm better and make the neck just a little bit longer.
Complete. After 2 sessions, and 4 total hours. Collin's got perfect skin for bright colors, and we chose turquoise and blue to compliment her red hair and fair skin. Sounds like we'll be integrating it into a full sleeve very soon!
My first sketch, which ended up being a little too comical and curvy.
The second and final sketch, elongated when made into the stencil to fit her arm better and make the neck just a little bit longer.
Jeff's Tribute
I'm working on a tribute tattoo for my friend Jeff, of his dog Emma. She's a sweet lady, and a huge part of Jeff's life. We decided to have a playful image of her in an environment, instead of just a simple portrait. The main issue we faced was that he wanted it half-sleeve size, but it needed to cover an old cross he had on his shoulder. He first came in for a session of just white ink, over his old tattoo to try and reduce the ink out a little before the big piece went over it. The other issue was how to cover the cross, but still keep the portrait of Emma in the spotlight without sacrificing the composition. We found the perfect solution, and are currently 2 sessions, and 7 hours into a full sleeve design of Emma in a field, with her favorite ball, and a dramatic sunrise coming up over the trees. I've got about an hour left on the outside, cleaning up lines, softening gradients, and final zip-zaps... Then it's on to the inside with another design! Here's the progress pics so far:
My solution. The approved sketch design. To help break up the composition, and create some visual flow with that accentuated Jeff's arm, I ran some wind though the piece, pulling his skin tone through the design to help integrate the color into his skin.
Jeff's first session - 4 hours. Main details on the grass and ball, and dark shading on Emma's face. The purple at the top is the remaining carbon stencil that was committed in gray lines, and finished over the second session.
Jeff's second session - 3 hours. Fine details, and a lot of 15 Mag work on the upper arm. The cross will need a little more covering in the grassy field area of the design, but it's almost completely disappeared now.
A detail of the upper arm. Can you see the old cross? An on-the-fly addition of the light yellow line over the dark treetops really helped them pop out!
Jeff's arm before, with his old cross that needed covering up:
My solution. The approved sketch design. To help break up the composition, and create some visual flow with that accentuated Jeff's arm, I ran some wind though the piece, pulling his skin tone through the design to help integrate the color into his skin.
Jeff's first session - 4 hours. Main details on the grass and ball, and dark shading on Emma's face. The purple at the top is the remaining carbon stencil that was committed in gray lines, and finished over the second session.
Jeff's second session - 3 hours. Fine details, and a lot of 15 Mag work on the upper arm. The cross will need a little more covering in the grassy field area of the design, but it's almost completely disappeared now.
A detail of the upper arm. Can you see the old cross? An on-the-fly addition of the light yellow line over the dark treetops really helped them pop out!
Jeff's arm before, with his old cross that needed covering up:
Monday, March 22, 2010
Welcome to the Treehouse!
Welcome to Treehouse Tattoo Studio! This blog was created to chronicle our artmaking process with tattoo, and create a catch-all site for current and future clients. If you're seeking an appointment, please email one of us below to set up a consultation. Thanks for visiting! :)
Amory Abbott: amoryabbott@gmail.com
Alice Guerin: gwarenx@aol.com
Amory Abbott: amoryabbott@gmail.com
Alice Guerin: gwarenx@aol.com
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