Tattoos.

[zaika]

Sugar skull on my forearm

I have an appreciation for a time when things were beautiful, from cars to buildings to clothes. Why wouldn't I wish to add beautiful images to my body?

the sugar skull is beautiful!! and i have the same sentiments.

 

[Pilgrim]

I have one - and only need one. Those in the Pacific NW will recognize immediately why one is enough...it's on the left wrist so it can easily be displayed when waving "We're Number One!"

 

[SamMarlowPI]

no tattoo...but i got my ear pierced two weeks ago...

 

[sweetfrancaise]

no tattoo...but i got my ear pierced two weeks ago...

Ooh, where did you get your ear pierced? Just the lobe or...? I'm thinking of getting my ears pierced again. I already have three on each ear, and a cartilage piercing

 

[ortega76]

the sugar skull is beautiful!! and i have the same sentiments.

Thank you. Like I said, I love traditional americana and traditional japanese stuff. Bright beautiful colors (5 Bold Colors, as my artist is fond of preaching) and thick outlines in triple-black are wonderful. I don't often post pics of my favorite tattoo, my Our Lady of Guadalupe, because it is pretty personal. In the spring, I'll start a sleeve of a geisha and flowers (inspired by some beautiful woodblock prints). Yeah, I'm a fan of tattoos.

 

[SamMarlowPI]

Ooh, where did you get your ear pierced? Just the lobe or...? I'm thinking of getting my ears pierced again. I already have three on each ear, and a cartilage piercing

yepp just the lobe with a 5mm crystal stud. my friend and i have been talking about getting it done since high school so we finally said what the hell...it looks good. 7 piercings...where else on your ears can you pierce??

 

[pgoat]

yepp just the lobe with a 5mm crystal stud. my friend and i have been talking about getting it done since high school so we finally said what the hell...it looks good. 7 piercings...where else on your ears can you pierce??

I had three in one lobe alone (long time ago). It was the left ear - just saw some reference to this on a commercial for some show with Jon Cryer and Charlie Sheen....do those left/right things really still matter for men?

 

[SamMarlowPI]

I had three in one lobe alone (long time ago). It was the left ear - just saw some reference to this on a commercial for some show with Jon Cryer and Charlie Sheen....do those left/right things really still matter for men?

i believe so, unless you get both done, but i would think its more of a fashion thing now...i really have no clue. when we got ours done the lady confirmed the left ear and my friends little brother jokingly said "no he wants the right one done"...but like i said, i aint gotta clue...

 

[volatile]

do those left/right things really still matter for men?

No. They never did, truth be told.

 

[pgoat]

No. They never did, truth be told.

well ...... yes, and no

(no, if you didn't play into what others thought)

I recall someone told me at some point in the late 80s I shouldn't leave my bandanna hanging out of a particular back pocket (can't recall which side - I've never seen Al Pacino in Cruising)....I was surprised, and totally ignorant, and by that point (in my early 20s) couldn't care less. But in middle or high school, I think the average male teen who wishes to be perceived as macho (ironic when you consider he's getting an earring) will probably be very concerned with the left/right thing if there is still any weight to it. I can assure you there was, back in 1970s suburbia.

 

[jake431]

As I promised, here are some pictures of my Tattoo, albeit in progress. As I mentioned previously, I've wanted to get a memorial tattoo for my Grandfather more or less since he passed a few years ago. I decided against the more literal usual variety of a photo and decided on a piece which not only honored him but the interest in World War 2 aviation that he gave me. So, I took my time and found an artist whose work I liked - Jason Vaughn at Deluxe Tattoo here in Chicago. I saw his online portfolio - and especially his tattoo of an impala, and decided that he could do what I wanted. So I sent him a journal entry of my Grandfather's war diary:

Dec 9th No#6

A memorable day! Old 013 got a zero. Sgt Perry shot him down over Milli when we had just left the target. It was my first look at the Japs fighter and it is a beautiful ship. We could not bomb our original target as clouds covered it. So we went over the main section of the island and Maxie put 25 #100lbs bomb right down their runway - after that we turned left off the island and 5 zeros jumped us. The rest of the formation broke away before hitting the target and went to the right instead of the left as we were supposed to, thus leaving us alone. They made about 10 or 12 overhead passes at us while we tried to join our formation but we managed to escape all hits. Perry and Swain let those nips have plenty of lead all the way. The ship that Perry shot down had his tail assembly shot off and the last we saw of it he was going straight down at almost 300 mph at 2500ft and smoking. It was a real exciting day and another one which will take a long time to forget. To make the mission even more interesting we went through a weather front from Monamea to Funa Futi where we had to go down to 900ft. to get below the clouds. Plenty tiresome flying and we certainly felt relieved when the ship sat down on our home base at 2130.

So I gave him a few books on B-24's and one on Zero's - and told him to come up with an artists interpretation.

Without further ado, here are the first pictures of my tattoo, in progress. Please note the pictures so far are taken with a cell phone and that as the tattoo is literally in progress, my arm is coated in vaseline.

Session #1, Jason laying out the linework:

Session #2, Jason beginning the color:

Session #2, like Mig's says, "Look at the blood!":

Session #2, Arm top:

Session #2, Arm bottom:

Session #2, most of arm:

I don't have any pictures currently of the inner arm, but more will pictures will follow I am sure. My next appointment is Feb 9th - I'm about halfway done. If I need a fourth session it will be March 1st.

-Jake

 

[Canadave]

Wow! Is that your first tat?

David

 

[jake431]

It's not my first, it's my fourth. I have on on my left forearm, one on my right wrist, and one on my left calf.

But it's my first large piece, it's a half sleeve. You can't see in those pictures but it wraps around my arm, from armpit to elbow.

-Jake

 

[Canadave]

OK, I couldn't see any of your others, and thought that was a big commitment for a first. Looks good!

David

 

[Jay]

Jake, what a great tat! It looks even better than I imagined! Thank you for sharing.

 

[BellyTank]

Fantastic art, Jake.
I really like that it has the look of Japanese tattoo art.

Jealous.


B
T

 

[Marlowe P.]

thats some good inkin' there. The picture with the blood still dripping is pretty bad ass

 

[Goldfish]

jake431, that's amazing! I am sure the pictures of the finished tat will be stunning!

 

[jake431]

Thanks guys, for all the kind words. I have to say, when I started this project in earnest, I wasn't sure how it would turn out. But now as it has reached the halfway point, I can say with certainty that the best advice I was given about tattoos was this - find an artist who's work/style you like, and come to them with your ideas. But not, if at all possible, a final design. When you let the tattoo artist create their own design, you're making sure they have a better time doing the tattoo, and giving them a personal stake in the creation they are pushing underneath your skin.

BT: I really like the direction Jason (my artist) has chosen with the style - it's a good mix of Japanese style, but with enough detail (rivets, one of the plane's pilots has a helmet with stitch marks on it etc) to really make the whole piece a unique thing of it's own. I couldn't be happier so far.

Marlowe: The picture of the tattoo with the blood dripping was actually my girlfriend's idea. I can take no credit. Any bad-assedness results from her taking the picture, not me.

-Jake

 

[Edward]

No. They never did, truth be told.

Back in the Old Country, lot of folks used to reckon they indicated which foot you kicked with.