So I Got Tattooed....Again

So, I got a tattoo…again!

I’ve been working on a half-sleeve for over a year now.

The artist behind the needle is Dawn Grace. She's so bad-ass you have to wait at least 2 months before you can get time with her.

Here's the original outline she did and the meaning behind the tattoo.

Then, the day before Thanksgiving I sat for almost 4 hours while she started coloring the bad-boy in.

And, the overwhelming agreement amongst all involved is as Dawn put it… “fuck you’ve got a big arm!!!”

So, she only got the background done…and one flower.

February's my next and hopefully last date with her to complete the half sleeve.

But in the meantime…let’s get to the photos.

Here’s what it’s like with just the background colored in.



So I Got A Tattoo

For a while now I’ve had the idea of trying to turn my arm into a canvas of birth flowers for my family.

Last summer, August 2009, I went to a somewhat new tattoo artist and had the first three flowers tattooed. He did a damn good job, but it was clear my standards hadn’t been met.

So, I did what any dude did wanting some damn good ink thrown on their body and hit Google to find an artist. And that’s when I found Dawn Grace.

I emailed her, sent a picture or two, and she shot back, “let’s do this!”

It was March when I emailed Dawn. Her next available opening was in September. So I waited. And waited.

Then, the day came. I was nervous as hell. I rolled up, met Dawn in person for the first time and she immediately got what I was after.

The birth flowers:

Wife – Chrysanthemum

Kids – Calendula

Me – Water Lily

And then the final, the sunflower – the constant in the wife and our lives.

Since I’ve known the wife, we’ve always had a sunflower planted in the yard, or a picture placed on the wall, or stood in awe of sunflower fields running miles long. But, sunflowers were never our spoken connection, it just kind of was. So, I chose it.

Then, I wanted it all tied together by long, flat, thick reeds, to me symbolizing the intricate insanities of life surrounding love and family.

And here’s the results. In eight weeks I'll be going back to get it finished with color.

It was an amazing experience. The inside bicep of the arm is definitely a tender area. Although, I know it’s nowhere near as painful as the ribs, upper chest and inside thigh.

But still, it was painful enough to where I felt I “earned” my tattoo.

And I earned it from a kick-ass artist.