Body Suit

Dialed in the collar line and filled in all the little nooks and crannies tonight.  Once again he sat great considering the terrain and all went well.

Time to start outlining the other dragon next time...

Chrysanthemum/Koi Leg

STILL plugging away on this one.  I swear I am working as quickly and efficiently as I can, but there just seems to always be more.  It has been a lot of fun though, and I really like the color scheme he chose for this flower.  I pretty much doubles in size when his knee is bent and has a really cool effect (that I should probably photograph sometime).

Looking forward to finishing this flower and then starting the upper half of the leg...

Koi and Water

Been slacking on the posting lately, but damn life can get busy...

Got close to finishing these koi the other day but not quite there.  Still have to layer in the lighter red/orange and yellow streaks in the fins.  Also the gills and save the eyes for last.

He's a pretty big guy so the tattoo is quite large in person.  

He's been turning me on to high end hot sauce and whiskey lately, which I appreciate a great deal, but can end up being a deadly combo...

Las Vegas

Just got back from the tattoo convention in Las Vegas.  I wasn't tattooing, but went to support and help out the Horitoshi family from Tokyo.  I visited them last year in Japan and they put me up and made sure I was taken care of completely.  It was one of the best experiences of my life, and I feel very fortunate to know Horitoshi and call him and his family my friends.

His style of tattooing and way that he carries himself as an individual has been very influential to who I am as a tattooer and person.

It was also great to spend quality time with my mentors from SF Bill and Junii Salmon, and all of the other great people in my extended tattoo family and new friends I met.

  Looking forward to thier return trip to San Francisco in the spring.  Do yourself a favor and check out Horitoshi's work at www.horitosh1.com.

Hagoromo Tennyo

Last two sessions on the buddhist angel.  Slow and steady...

We've got a few more sessions this year, then a month and a half off for her marathon training, and back at it in the early spring...

Hannya

Mr. Big Hannya made another trip up from San Francisco to get some more work.  Added some background and colored all the maple leaves.  His ability to sit very well through all these unpleasant areas continues to amaze me.

Sounds like we'll be doing quite a bit more on him (like a dragon from the foot to chest) so this piece is really just beginning...

Koi and Water

Been in Las Vegas for the last week so these updates are a bit outdated...

Got the first shading session done on this one.  Hoping to finish it on the next one.  Smooth sailing thus far...

I'm looking forward to doing more of this type of bold and straight ahead Japanese work.  Great client and conversationalist.