Karashishi and Peonies

And here's our work from day one.

As I mentioned before, we'd only been communicating by email, and this was our first meeting, but it all worked out great.  The drawing I had done fit on his arm perfectly in one shot (and even the actual size I had drawn it...sort of a meant to be scenario).  Not bad for having never seen his arm before.  One fact I had totally forgotten until we were just about to start was that this is his first tattoo ever.  

I have to say I really love the fact that he's been thinking about getting tattooed for a long time, did his homework as to what image/style he would like, researched it's meaning and what artist could do the style he was interested in, patiently waited and saved up for a year, woke up in the morning drove four hours and then went for it.  I constantly reflect on how lucky I am to have clients like this...

He turned out to be a super nice guy and he sat really great for so much outline at once.  The plan for today is to draw on and outline the background and get as much of it shaded as possible. 

 Stay tuned...

Karashishi and Peonies

Just a quick sneak peek at a rough sketch of a piece I'm starting today.

I've dialed the drawing since this, but you get the idea.

We've been communicating via email for over a year (never actually met in person) and he's coming in from out of town for a couple days in a row.  Although my regular appointments are in the 2-3 hour zone every few weeks, it's fun once in a while to focus all your attention and energy to one piece all day.  No one before or after, just a singular purpose...

Tiger Sleeve

And all the black work is done (well almost, still some stripes left on the lower tail)!  We've been working very diligently at such a steady pace that it sort of snuck up on me.  There's still plenty left to do but we are certainly getting there.  All of the more technical and "hard" parts of the tattoo are done and now it's color selection and trying to stay inside the lines.

He's really going about this in the best way possible.  A half day appointment every three weeks (and coming in occasionally if there's a cancellation) really keeps the momentum going very strongly in a forwards direction.

I feel fortunate that he's willing and able to do it like this, and if this is the theme for our future projects I expect some very solid results.

Blossoms and Peonies

Well I think this all worked out very nicely.  We finished the peacock cover up some time ago, and on her last visit we did blossoms around it and floating across her chest.  This visit (she lives 7 hours away so we do a few sessions over a few days usually) was all about doing the other arm.  We did three fairly mellow sessions back to back.  Day one we drew on and completed the purple peony.  Day two we did the yellow one, and day three was the bud and blossoms.

We had discussed some ideas over email, and had a basic idea of where we were heading, but when we met up in person it sort of morphed into this, and i think it was absolutely the best way to go. 

In almost every older Japanese peacock print I saw, they are shown with peonies, a very classic pairing.  And as it is associated with spring, it matched the blossoms as well.  One of her first ideas for this arm was an octopus, although I felt it wouldn't fit thematically or visually.  As we discussed it a little further there was an element of sexuality that the octopus represents that the peony can represent as well.

I really couldn't be happier with how the arms work as a pair.  I think it really looks like one image split over two arms.  I also like the restraint shown on the chest.  Lately it seems like you see a lot of large, dense chest pieces (which is totally fine) but this is a very subtle way to have that area covered in tattoo.

There was talk of water background that we've decided to work with lower on the body, but she really does like the look of darker grey shading contrasting with the color, so there will most likely be some cloudy mist behind the bird and flowers in the future...

Chrysanthemum, Skull, Koi Leg

It's been almost a couple years in the making, but we're just about there...

We still have some background to fill in on the inner thigh, and some flames around the toad, then it's time to call it until we have to hook it up to whatever back/side work he'll probably get to in the future.

It's been a very enjoyable ride the whole way through.  Since the beginning he's had a very clear vision of what he wanted, and as it went along his suggestions and input were always spot on.  A color tweak here and there, or suggestion of how a certain part might flow, it was always helpful but not over bearing...

I feel no sense of ownership over the tattoos I do, and firmly believe that it is the client's piece to wear, not mine as the artist.  There sometimes can be a conflict between fulfilling the client's wishes and doing what's "best" for the tattoo (in terms of composition, content, color etc).  Each situation and person is different, so I have no real set system of how I go about things.  I just take it as it comes and really listen to and try to understand the client, then do my best to make a nice drawing and be very present and focused while applying it.

Often times the client is 100% open to letting me do the tattoo as I see best and leaves everything in my hands.  I really appreciate the freedom and trust, but it's a lot of responsibility and I don't mind having a little direction (as long as it's thoughtful and constructive).  Luckily on this project his input was always constructive and really did help make it a better piece.
(And his ideas for the sleeve we'll be starting after this are pretty cool and unique as well)...

Chrysanthemums and Rocks

Another poor quality phone pic, but it gives you the general idea.  

These flowers are an extension of a half sleeve done several years ago (that I wrote about somewhere a few months ago).  This session was finishing up the blue and gold one (although I just realized I forgot the center) and starting the red one.  I'll still be doing a bit more than just that red to the upper one but we ran out of time.

On his other arm he has a few peonies that are very graceful and classic.  The idea on this side was to go a bit wilder.  I drew the whole thing on to try and keep it a bit looser and free feeling, and when it came time the color we wanted to crank up the excitement meter just a little.

There is a fine line however between something that is colorful and high energy, and something that is just gaudy and loud...

It's great that he's open to whatever, and it's fun for me to play around a little more with color combinations.  It's not really that crazy or over the top at all, but a definitely a little push ahead of where I normally go with it...

Dragon

Been forgetting the real camera, but the phone camera can always do the trick in a pinch.  

I've got to admit, I had fun with this one.  I didn't have as much prep time to work up the drawing as I like, need, or usually have, but we pulled it off.  I like to have a drawing (especially a bigger one) completed well before the appointment so I can have some time to really digest and critique it.  Sometimes you get so wrapped up in the drawing process, that you really need to re-visit it a day or two later with a fresh set of eyes and clear head.  Not always, but often you'll see things that you weren't  able to before (sometimes very glaring mistakes).

Due to some scheduling and communication glitches (not the end of the world though) I was actually finishing the final line drawing of this about 5 minutes before he came in.  Like I said, certainly not how I prefer to do it, but it can also really work.  If you've had nothing but one image in your head for a while and you're drawing, drawing, drawing and then jump straight into the tattoo, there's like a muscle memory thing that just transitions right over to the outline.  It feels much more like you're still just drawing rather than tattooing.  Hope that makes sense...

That in combination with the fact that this dragon design was a little looser than I normally do it (which is a direction I will certainly be heading in) and he sat like a rock made it a success.

(And as for the rest of the scales, he had to get out of there to pick his son up at day care, so we'll have to draw the remaining ones in next time)