Tattoo's of the Day!

Matt Decker's completed Cannon Lady Piece on Lauren!

Emily's Completed Lily/Tribute Sleeve

 Emily's sleeve is finally complete. A lot of ideas went into this, but the main elements are: Stargazer Lilies for her first born, Silver [brass] knuckles for beauty and strength, Johnny Cash for creative influence, Harmonica for her Father, Tiger Lilies for herself, and the quote around her wrist: "Those who live by the sword, die by the sword." This sleeve is a culmination of years of work, a lifetime of trust while I figured out if I could even complete this piece, and a personal milestone in the development of my skill as a professional tattoo artist. It's bittersweet that it's over! At least she has another arm...

Rob's Bomb Squad Tribute

Rob's hobby is restoring old bomber aircraft. He wanted a contemporary take on the original logo from the B-24 Bomb Squadron. The skull and B-24 propeller comprised the sketch I showed him. When he showed up for the appointment, I surprised him with the idea of the red brush stroke before we started. He loved the idea, and I free-handed the red for the final touch on his piece. Bold and beautiful! Bombs away!

Dane's Gentleman Scholar Cat

Dane has a fantastic sense of humor, and asked me to do a piece that was simply "A cat in a suit." So here we go! This was a blast to do, because rarely do my tattoo designs include humor in this ridiculous kind of way. It was a great experience doing something so silly for a change. Black and grey with some white highlights. Thanks Dane!

Emily's Dia De Los Muertos Sugar Skull

Emily and I have been working on her full sleeve literally for years now, so it was fun when we took a break from it to do this small sugar skull on her other arm. It was her design, and not a style I typically work in, but who says I can't rock neo-traditional work? ;) crisp and clean without a doubt!

Valerie's Tribute to Her Mother

I've known Valerie since she was 12 years old, and on her 18th birthday she asked me to help her with a tattoo. I couldn't have been more honored. It was to be a tribute to her mother: Gerbera Daisies, with petals blowing away and turning into birds. She drove down from Chicago, sat for a solid 2.5 hours, and voila! Lovely black and grey with some white highlights.

Christian's 3/4 Sleeve DJ/Halftone Extension

If you look back a number of posts, you'll see the blog for Christian's watercolor half-sleeve, and the process we went through developing it. He came back again having decided to extend the work to a 3/4 sleeve. Half of the extension would be a tribute to his passion for DJ culture and the rest was basically up to me... So a Technics turntable tone arm would sit on the outside of his forearm, and spin it way around to a laser-lit show with a DJ doing his thing on stage over a cheering crowd. The back I decided to go nuts with and we worked up a halftone dot pattern to gradate out to the 3/4 cuff.