Show me your tats...
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I know this isn't thread-appropriate, but I like your new avi, Mac. Gotta say, it reminds me of the figure of a rakish fellow in a straw hat, a character in much literature used to invoke the foreboding character of Hermes, or another bearer of mischief and/or malady. Most immediately, I thought of Mann's Death in Venice when I saw it - Death in Venice - Modernism Lab Essays. The troll shirt provided a nice postmodern spin for me. Just a little free association in the tattoo thread, not calling you a guide to the underworld!
Thanks. We took a day off from work and went and stayed down at the beach. I dressed up like a tourist and just walked around pretending I was somewhere much farther away from work then I really was. It sort of worked. As it turns out I'm half-assed famous around here for some reason. So even with the hat and sunglasses and Hawaiian shirt a bunch of people recognized me. It was fun though. It felt a lot more like a vacation then a long weekend.
In 2008 I was kind of in an awkward stage. I had a job I hated and made me miserable, I was in a relationship that drove me absolutely insane, I was failing out of college pretty hard, etc. I always liked tattoos, but I always felt if I'd get one it'd be for some sort of motivational purpose. You know, something I can look at when I'm 150 and feel good about.
I ended up quitting the first college I was at literally in the middle of class. Just kind of woke up and decided, this sucks, I don't want to be here. I left and went to work that night (I worked third shift). On break with the one cafeteria computer they had I signed up to a new school that night at 3 AM. Within two weeks I started classes (the timing was perfect). Once classes started, I found myself doodling a bit in my notebook. At one point I had realized that some of the lines I was drawing was forming a twangy looking word. I carried on with it and finished it. Shortly after, I got it inked.
Not a day goes by where I don't look at it and acknowledge just how far I've come in such a short time. It's been a continual reminder to be optimistic and has helped me keep my head on straight.
The thing I like about it most is how few people see what word it says at first glance. To date, only two people have come up to me and asked if it says faith. On the picture I feel as though it looks a little more obvious than when you look at my arm in person. Most people assume it's a tribal design at first until they begin scoping out each letter.
I ended up quitting the first college I was at literally in the middle of class. Just kind of woke up and decided, this sucks, I don't want to be here. I left and went to work that night (I worked third shift). On break with the one cafeteria computer they had I signed up to a new school that night at 3 AM. Within two weeks I started classes (the timing was perfect). Once classes started, I found myself doodling a bit in my notebook. At one point I had realized that some of the lines I was drawing was forming a twangy looking word. I carried on with it and finished it. Shortly after, I got it inked.
Not a day goes by where I don't look at it and acknowledge just how far I've come in such a short time. It's been a continual reminder to be optimistic and has helped me keep my head on straight.
The thing I like about it most is how few people see what word it says at first glance. To date, only two people have come up to me and asked if it says faith. On the picture I feel as though it looks a little more obvious than when you look at my arm in person. Most people assume it's a tribal design at first until they begin scoping out each letter.
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I suppose I should get in on this...
The top one is my 1st tattoo, I was 35 when I got it. Yes, that is me mutating into Cthulhu. I spent a long time fleshing that design out. I even had Tom Sullivan, FX artist on the original Evil Dead, do a sketch of it for me. It didn't start out being a self portrait; I had taken a polaroid of myself screaming into the camera for referance on the design, and my ink slinging buddy pretty much insisted it be me or he wasn't going to do it. Since he was doing it for free I caved. So, yes, I have a self portrait tattooed onto my left arm! The human eye has been touched up since this photo was taken, and looks a lot better.
The 2nd is a portrait of H.P. Lovecraft. For those that do not know who he is, he was a writer in the early 1900's who created the Necronomicon and the whole Cthulhu Mythos. He is on the underside of the same arm as the 1st. I had a friend ask, "Why would you get a tattoo there, no one can see it." I replied, "Is that why you get tattoos? For other people? Besides I have a portrait of another man tattooed on my body I think it is in a perfect spot!"
Lovecraft has been a huge influence in my artistic life since I was 14-years-old.
The top one is my 1st tattoo, I was 35 when I got it. Yes, that is me mutating into Cthulhu. I spent a long time fleshing that design out. I even had Tom Sullivan, FX artist on the original Evil Dead, do a sketch of it for me. It didn't start out being a self portrait; I had taken a polaroid of myself screaming into the camera for referance on the design, and my ink slinging buddy pretty much insisted it be me or he wasn't going to do it. Since he was doing it for free I caved. So, yes, I have a self portrait tattooed onto my left arm! The human eye has been touched up since this photo was taken, and looks a lot better.
The 2nd is a portrait of H.P. Lovecraft. For those that do not know who he is, he was a writer in the early 1900's who created the Necronomicon and the whole Cthulhu Mythos. He is on the underside of the same arm as the 1st. I had a friend ask, "Why would you get a tattoo there, no one can see it." I replied, "Is that why you get tattoos? For other people? Besides I have a portrait of another man tattooed on my body I think it is in a perfect spot!"
Lovecraft has been a huge influence in my artistic life since I was 14-years-old.
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Fantastic! I will bump this thread from sinking too low for as long as I'm on this forum. Thank you guys so much for sharing some of this art and the inspiration for it!
I suppose I should get in on this...
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Soo fresh...I love black and gray. And seeing your ink is giving me an epiphany--Octopuses are likely the illest of all creatures of the deep, thus, a well done tattoo of one is tough to beat.
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I suppose I should get in on this...
The top one is my 1st tattoo, I was 35 when I got it. Yes, that is me mutating into Cthulhu. I spent a long time fleshing that design out. I even had Tom Sullivan, FX artist on the original Evil Dead, do a sketch of it for me. It didn't start out being a self portrait; I had taken a polaroid of myself screaming into the camera for referance on the design, and my ink slinging buddy pretty much insisted it be me or he wasn't going to do it. Since he was doing it for free I caved. So, yes, I have a self portrait tattooed onto my left arm! The human eye has been touched up since this photo was taken, and looks a lot better.
The 2nd is a portrait of H.P. Lovecraft. For those that do not know who he is, he was a writer in the early 1900's who created the Necronomicon and the whole Cthulhu Mythos. He is on the underside of the same arm as the 1st. I had a friend ask, "Why would you get a tattoo there, no one can see it." I replied, "Is that why you get tattoos? For other people? Besides I have a portrait of another man tattooed on my body I think it is in a perfect spot!"
Lovecraft has been a huge influence in my artistic life since I was 14-years-old.
Wow man, that first one was free?! Your lucky that is amazing! This thread is getting me in the mood for some ink!
I for one Welcome our new deep sea/extra-dimensional overlords...
My 21 year old daughter's octopus overlord... she likes octopi...weird kid...
I had grown so tired of people saying it looked like Captain Davy Jones from Pirates of the Caribbean; about a year after getting it, I was beyond FUBAR'ed at a party that I broke a dude's jaw when he snidely commented about Davey Jones!
She %100 rocks
!!! Do you all know how intelligent those great beasts of the deep are?!
Octopus learns to recognize symbols - YouTube
Octopus Tool Use: The World's Smartest Invertebrate - YouTube
I've got a really cool, pretty design of one that a friend drew for me on my wishlist (I've got a whole folder of 'em). You raised your girl up right, entropy!
!!! Do you all know how intelligent those great beasts of the deep are?!Octopus learns to recognize symbols - YouTube
Octopus Tool Use: The World's Smartest Invertebrate - YouTube
I've got a really cool, pretty design of one that a friend drew for me on my wishlist (I've got a whole folder of 'em). You raised your girl up right, entropy!
Actually they were both free. My ink slingin' buddy lived in a duplex I owned for about 4 years, and that was part of his appreciation for putting a roof over his head. A lot of my friends scoffed about me only getting 2 tattoos from him, saying that they would be completely covered if it was them, but I wasn't interested in frivolous ink; I really tried to get ink that was important to me. I had a couple other ideas, but they never fleshed out.
Oh, man, you didn't seriously break the dude's jaw
?! A girl once said it looked like a squid threw up on the back of my neck, but I resisted fisticuffs
!
Wow...I surely wouldn't have had your restraint! The cost of tattoos at my favorite shop in Venice is over three times higher than when I got my first one. Gotta win the lotto
...
Oh, man, you didn't seriously break the dude's jaw
Yeah, it was ugly. I was definitely too old for that kind of drama, but it was a huge, wild party my Wife's Sister's Brother-In-Law put on, and everyone just played dumb about who I was. I skirted getting in trouble, but it was certainly the first, and last of his parties I attended.
I'm sorry, but "played dumb about who I was" sorta does beg the question...a bit more on that? You kinda look like a HUGE hero of mine (RIP), Shel Silverstein -
I'm sorry, but "played dumb about who I was" sorta does beg the question...a bit more on that? You kinda look like a HUGE hero of mine (RIP), Shel Silverstein -
The few people that actually knew me at the party were family, and the rest were young, dumb and full of unmentionables. Myself, I'm no socialite, and had mostly kept to myself the entire night. I also had way too many shots of Jager down the ice luge. I don't even remember the circumstances that had brought on the incident. Considering the amount of unmentionables at that party, it's no surprise nothing came from the incident. I don't have any more tattoos to show, so I hope that satisfies your curiosity as we are starting to stray from the thread topic.
I also love Shel's work. Though I'm not sure of the resemblance. I guess all us bearded dudes look alike. I suppose his work could inspire some awesome ink though.
You're right, I'm sorry about straying pretty far from the thread topic tonight...blame it on octopus love, okay? The comment just had me thinking perhaps you had some notoriety about which you were keeping mum, and I'm a little too snoopy for my own good sometimes, so I had to ask. But, hey, I don't feel that way about bearded dudes at all. I'm hugely pro-beard and always have been, but I honestly do see a touch of Shel in the portrait, and trust me that that's a major compliment. His art graces many bodies all over the world, too -
? The comment just had me thinking perhaps you had some notoriety about which you were keeping mum, and I'm a little too snoopy for my own good sometimes, so I had to ask. But, hey, I don't feel that way about bearded dudes at all. I'm hugely pro-beard and always have been, but I honestly do see a touch of Shel in the portrait, and trust me that that's a major compliment. His art graces many bodies all over the world, too -
"...Octopuses learn not only how to survive, but thrive, in almost any environment. Even in the barren isolated tanks of a marine biology lab, colleagues have discovered octopuses escaping from their chambers and braving the dry air to scamper across a lab bench and find a snack in a nearby tank before returning to their own..."
http://bastiatblogger.blogspot.com/2013/01/tide-pool-warfare-and-way-of-octopus.html
http://bastiatblogger.blogspot.com/2013/01/tide-pool-warfare-and-way-of-octopus.html
that is my second tattoo taken in the process of being finished since i kept bugging the guy to see it (not like the room was mirror walls and could see every angle of myself anyway.. just wanted a pic to send to family showing them what i was getting) its my sons name, and his baby footprints from his birth certificate taken 2 hours after being born and stabilized in the Neonatal ICU.
For those of you who have not read my new member thread, i have a 2 1/2 year old son who was born with a heart defect. Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (Yes firefox.. Hypoplastic is spelled correctly, stop bugging me about it.) is where the left side of the heart does not develop completely. In my sons case he only had a fraction of what should of been there. Our options at his birth were home care until he died without treatment, heart transplant with risk of rejection for rest of his life, or a 3 staged surgery over the span of 3-4 years. After his first surgery at 7 days old i decided i wanted to tattoo his footprints on my back in case anything happened to him, id always have a part of him with me.
I had them spaced as if he was walking on my back so i could have my future (if any more, still trying to convince girlfriend) children walking across my back in ink.
My first tattoo was done for free by a friends extended family member at thier house, it is a scorpion on my right upper arm, able to be covered by a tshirt.
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