Tattoo « Journeyman Journal

Tattoo #4

Saturday, July 30th, 2011

This past Tuesday, after much searching and contemplation I took the plunge and got Tattoo #4. This one is a tribute tattoo to my brother Donny…who passed away 20 years ago…and to my sister-in-law Kim…who passed away 1.5 years ago. Being a double portrait, I wanted to be sure I go the right guy/gal to do the work. The patience paid off!

Here are the two pictures that Colin at Red Sky Tattoo was working from…and I asked him to add the phrase “With You Always” to the piece…

My Favorite Picture of Them Both

I got the recommendation to use Colin from the shop owner and I visited him a couple of weeks ago and set an appointment on the spot. When we showed up he took about an hour to do the stencil and once he showed it to me I was no longer concerned…it rocked! Here’s the stencil on the arm…

It's Big! Anita thinks too big, I think just right!

It took 2.5 hours of actual chair time to finish. I was in the shop a total of 5 hours, but that included the drawing time and breaks. Here it was after the first break…

Looking Good

There are three questions most people ask me about the tat the first time they see it. I’ve already answered two of them (where did you get it done and how long did it take). The first question is usually, “Did it hurt?” Answer: “YES!”

But the final result was SO worth it (added the photos so you can see the comparison “side by side”). It’s hard to get a good photo right now since it’s still healing, but you get the general idea…

Love It, Love It, Love It!!

The whole thing was a great experience and I absolutely L-O-V-E the tat. It was worth waiting to find the right person (and I highly recommend the entire crew at Red Sky Tattoo in Castle Rock). I miss both my brother and my sister-in-law very much, but they are always close to me now!

30.07.2011 Family, Hobbies, Misc Ramblings 1 Comment

Tattoo #2

Saturday, August 1st, 2009

It has been almost a year since I got my very first tattoo (you can read about it here). They say you never get one…that you get hooked and end up with several tattoos. I think they are right (and I don’t even know who “they” are). So while Anita was in China I took the plunge on my second tattoo. It was supposed to be a surprise even though we’d been talking about it for awhile.

A friend of mine at work (Christina Phillips) had gotten some work re-done by a guy (Rusty) up in Arvada and I liked the work…so on July 22nd I headed north and got the work done. And once again…I love it! Here is the inspiration for the design I ended up getting:

tat2_chirho

It’s called a “Chi-Rho” and is one of the earliest Christian symbols known. Here is Wikipedia’s description…

The Chi Rho is one of the earliest christograms used by Christians. It is formed by superimposing the first two letters in the Greek spelling of the word Christ: chi = ch and rho = r, in such a way to produce the monogram ?. The Chi-Rho symbol was also used by pagan Greek scribes to mark, in the margin, a particularly valuable or relevant passage; the combined letters Chi and Rho standing for chr?ston, meaning “good.” (Wikipedia)

I love the symbolism and the meaning behind this symbol, and it isn’t very common. Christina had also gotten some UV ink on her tattoo and I liked that idea–specifically for the Alpha and Omega symbols in the artwork above. Here are the pictures from the event (taken by Christina)…

tat2_inprocess
The tattoo in progress.

tat2_ouch
Yes…it hurts!

tat2_done
The tattoo right after the sitting (wrapped in plastic even).
You’ll notice that the Alpha and Omega will “disappear” as it heals.

Here are a couple of photos from the tattoo today. It’s not completely healed, but it’s well on it’s way…

tat2_healing
Here it is in broad daylight…see, the symbols are fading nicely.

tat2_glow
Here it is under a blacklight…cool huh?

I love this tattoo almost as much as the first one (just something about that first tattoo though). And I can safely say it will not likely be my last…but that’s down the road. For now, I’ll enjoy what I’ve got. =0)

01.08.2009 Guy Stuff, Misc Ramblings 3 Comments

Tattoo Friday

Saturday, August 23rd, 2008

It has been a crazy week…hence the few posts this week. That didn’t stop me from permanently scarring my body! I have been thinking about getting a tattoo for a couple of years, but finally made the decision to actually do it the last time we were up in Winter Park.

So I started doing my homework. First was deciding on what I wanted. I knew I wanted a cross, but wasn’t sure exactly what design I was looking for. After many hours of Internet searching I came across this picture that became my initial inspiration…

Inspiration

I didn’t like the banner, but the cross itself is the design I was looking for. As soon as I saw this picture I knew this was the direction I was going. So I traced it to get rid of the banner (btw, I am no artist and can’t even manage to trace a cross very well). Thank goodness the tattoo artists is actually an artist and understood it was simply a guide.

My secondbit of homework was picking the tattoo shop that would do the work. There are several around town and I checked out three before making my decision. The first shop I went to was Ancient Arts right here in Parker. They do good work ,but even he said I should check out several other places before making my decision (especially since this was my first). He advised e to make sure I liked the shop andthe person doing the work. The second shop I visited was Bonaroo Tattoo, also in Parker. Didn’t like this shop at all!

Last weekend Logan and I visited Red Sky Tattoo down in Castle Rock. I had visited their website and looked at the galleries of each of the artists. I really liked the work of Jimmy the Kid and was hoping he was there. Not only was he there, but he was the guy who greeted me. I showed him the tracing (as well as the photo) and asked him what he thought. He was awesome! He immediately came up with a couple of ideas and saw what my vision was. I liked him. I liked the shop. I put down a deposit and scheduled a session for the next Friday, August 22nd at 5:30 pm. I was committed now.

So yesterday I took off from work a little early and headed down to Castle Rock with the entire family. I’m not sure who was more excited…me or the boys. I was also a little anxious having been convinced the pain would be just short of having a compound fracture.

Jimmy had told me he was going to draw up two versions of the cross: one in stone and one in chrome. When I got there he showed me both of his custom drawings. Here they are:

Now all I had to do was decide which version I wanted…and it was a tough choice. I liked (and still do) both versions. So I did what any warm-blooded American would do and I put it up for a vote. Everyone liked the stone version. After some further pondering and decision making I agreed. Stone Cross it was. Jimmy wanted to do a few minor modifications (mainly making the cracks a little smaller) so he re-drew it once more and made a stencil. The first stencil was a little small so we bumped it up a little. The next version was perfect! Here are the pictures from the one hour session:

The Stencil Before We Got Started.
Do I look worried?

The First Needle Shot.
It wasn’t so bad!

Oops…spoke too soon.
The top right part of the cross was the worst part.

In all honesty, the pain wasn’t anywhere near what I expected to be. The top right part of the cross was the worst and even that wasn’t what I expected the worst to be. The outlining was the worst. But after a few minutes the whole thing was a little numb and we settled into a groove. Outline…then shading…then a little white accents. The it was over.

AND I LOVED IT!!!!

The end result was better than anything I imagined. It’s good when something this permanent not only meets, but exceeds, your expectations. Jimmy did an amazing job! Thanks man!

Here is the end result:

In context.
It’s still a little red but you get the idea.

The Closeup

Overall this was a great experience and I am very pleased with the results. I can’t wait for the color to settle down and the redness to fade away. I can honestly say that this is not likely my last tat. For now, I’m off to admire the work in the mirror and put some Diaper Rash cream on it.