So after several years of combating my desire to get a tattoo, and several years of contemplating what exactly I should get etched into my skin, this past August (08/2000) I finally decided to follow through.
At A Glance Author Necromancer Contact Necromancer@bme.anon Artist Lee Studio Newskool Tattoo Location San Jose, Cali-fucking-fornia Decided?
hah. I just wasn't thinking clearly at the time. Bad mental states lead to impulsive actions!
So I went with my friend (known to people on bmezine as "Mental Castration", but I just call him dickless) to a local tattoo parlor which had come highly recommended to me by several people I know, Newskool Tattoo. From the minute I walked in, I could tell this place was nothing like the standard flash-on-the wall parlors that I had visited before.
In I went, and spoke with the artist behind the counter. I handed him the cover to Skinny Puppy "Too Dark Park," and told him that I wanted the stylized "SP" logo in the center tattooed onto my lower right leg.
As he was looking at the CD insert, another tattoo artist walked out from the back. He asked what was going on and I explained to him what I had told the other tattoo artist.
It was then that I noticed his shirt.
Napalm Death. A band notorious for their unique shirt designs. Mutations, torn and stretched skin, their shirts are the epitome of death metal shirts.
"This guy rocks," I thought to myself.
So my friend and I and the tattoo artist with The Shirt (the tattoo artist formerly known as "Lee") went outside, lit up cigarettes and proceeded to wax idiotic about music, religion, philosophy, and lastly my tattoo. When he inquired what I was looking for specifically, I responded simply with "Well, I want that SP, and I want you to do whatever you want with it. Snake, knife, blood, I don't care. I want YOU to design it. Just use that logo as the foundation."
Right there he started drawing a design with what I had given him. Drawing with amazing precision, he took what I had given him and turned it into a unique vision with his own personal artistic style. He asked me how I liked it, and I told him that I loved it.
He grinned and told me to come back in 2 hours. I was not disappointed. We set up an appointment for the next day, and I went home with butterflies in my stomach.
My friend and I returned the next day and we began the work. He had apparently worked on the design most of the previous night, tweaking it, changing it, applying his own distinctive style. I loved it.
Then he shaved my leg.
I loved that too.
I didn't know what to expect. I had heard so many different stories from so many different people, pain levels ranging from "HOLY CHRIST!" to "Nah, doesn't really hurt," so I was apprehensive to say the least.
He did the outline of the design first, and after he completed the outline we took a smoke break. The only part that really even hurt was the part of the tattoo that was right on my calf muscle. When he was doing that part of the tattoo, I was gritting my teeth and white-knuckling the bench I was laying on. The part on my shin was very unusual .. a weird vibration against the bone.
After our smoke break, he started on the shading. A very different feeling from the outline, the best way to describe it is like a vibrating metal paint brush being pressed against your skin.
After a majority of the shading was complete, we took another smoke break.
I had come to dread these smoke breaks, because it meant that he was going to put the disinfectant on the tattoo before we went outside.
THAT was the part of the tattooing process that hurt. Oh man, that stung like a dozen bees that held a grudge against my leg.
Yow.
After that final smoke break, he finished up the shading, added the background design and disinfected my leg again.
4 hours and 3 cigarette breaks later, my first tattoo was on my body. It was time to pay the piper.
"So how much do I owe you?"
"Well, normally I charge $130 and hour, but I'll charge you $100 and hour, so I guess at about 4 hours that comes out to $400.."
As he was finishing his sentence I started flipping out the dollar bills.
".. so you owe me $300."
"$300?!?!"
"Yeah, you let me design it, draw it how I liked it, and I really enjoyed doing this tattoo, so you owe me $300."
"Alright, I'll give you $300. And I'll give you a choice: Either you let me tip you $100 or take you out for a round of drinks."
"I'll take the drinks."
And now, over 6 months later, I'm getting my second tattoo. I have this unusual desire to be walking, breathing art.
With this story I am submitting 3 pictures taken of my tattoo the day after.