Joey the Dog, Marsh Grass, Poker FDL, Family Crest

A lot to post about this week! In addition to getting a good healed photo of Joey the Dog (it can sometimes be difficult with people's schedules, but definitely my favorite way of documenting my work), I also have a couple of one-sitting zappers to share - I'm always glad when there's time enough to get a piece to a finished state in one sitting. The only downside to the one-sitting tattoos is I don't usually get to get healed photos if the client is from out of town. I think most of my regular clients understand the advantages of a healed photo though, so that's not typically a problem.

Anyway - first up - let's do Joey the Dog. The client's request was a portrait of her dog in a suit, very old-fashioned-like. I had her bring the dog by so I could get an idea of its temperment and also if there were any specific markings I might be missing in the photos. I also shot my own photos to make sure I got all the angles and info I needed. It was sooooooo much fun. Animal portraits are far easier for me - I still won't tattoo human portraits! (Not yet anyway). I would like to get in one more session to tighten up the background and heighten the contrast in key places.

I'm trying out the watermark thing. I don't have photoshop at the moment so I must apologize - it's not how I would prefer to do it. I think I would prefer to use a symbol instead.

This poker-inspired fleur de lis is on a cool guy. We went with the heart suit, which is fun because it includes the queen of hearts and also the suicide king, ha! I used real Bicycle brand cards as reference, but of course had to alter the designs to make it tattooable. In the process I had the hands of the characters break the squareness of the cards, which I think helps visually. The black poker chip is valued at $100, though we mostly chose it since it is a predominantly black and grey tattoo.

The next few images are on a girl who has a very interesting string of jobs under her belt. She's a native New Orleanian, but has had the opportunity to travel to some awesome places. The particular plant that we tattooed on her is based on the dominant marsh grass that protects the Louisiana coast from hurricanes and which was also devastated by the now year-old oil spill. She got it as a protector/memorial symbol. 

We had started the following family crest soon after I got out of my cast, so we broke it up into two sittings to make it easier to manage. Most of it was completed the first sitting though, with only the helmet and banner/name remaining for the second. Simple, but fancy. Also his first tattoo and he sat awesome.

That's it for the moment. I've got a bunch of stuff on the burners including the Second Story Gallery Inaugural Group Exhibit!!! The Second Story Gallery (SSG) is a new co/op in the Healing Center Bldg. on St. Claude St. (in the Marigny), of which I am a founding member. I will post more in-depth info on that in a soon-to-be post. This turned out to be a pretty long one! 

Anyway, everyone have a great rest of the week. Cheers.