It had been 5 years since I had last been tattoo or pierced. I had been feeling some what anxious about this and increasingly more uncomfortable with how un-tattooed I was. I had three other tattoos but I really had felt for a long time that I needed full sleeves. Fortuneatly one of the best and most experienced tattooist in this country (New Zealand) had recently opened up a studio inside the local piercing studio. I had seen the quality of his work on people I had met and felt comfortable that he was the master craftsman I had been looking for and I finally had enough spare money saved to start the project. I had a rough idea of what I wanted but that was about it. After meeting the man and discussing with him what i wanted to do, I felt immediately comfortable and knew that i had made a fucking good discission in chooseing him. He told me to come back in a couple of days at which time he would show me a design of his that he had wanted to put on someone for a while. Two days later I arrived back at the shop to be showen a design that I couldn't fucking believe. A very bold, very black, very large tribal flame-work which started at the wrist and continued to about three quarters of the way up my upper arm. Fucking perfect. It met all the criterior I had in my own mind for what i wanted. It was as if the design had been waiting for me instead of the other way around. I had tried for years to design my own tattoos, but not being a visual art person, none of them quite cut it. Some things are best left to the professionals. I feel that too many people get a little too "cosmic" when it comes to tattoo designs, and philosophise all sorts of elaborate multilayered meanings into everything that their tattoo is supposed to represent to them and other people. Fortuneately this doesn't apply to me. I look for things that are aestheticly pleasing and I will enjoy for ever.
At A Glance Author psychomotor Contact psychomotor@bme.anon Artist Greg Burt Studio White Tiger Tattoo/ Inner Steel Piercing Studio Location Queenstown New Zealand The day finally came when we could start. The surroundings and people were relaxed and I felt complete trust in the artist. This is what made the tattoo process warm and comfortable instead of painful, and something a lot of people miss in their tattoo experiences from not researching the available artists enough to pick the right person for the work they are after. Being a serious artist Greg uses the best needles available and the best inks, Something that a lot of tattoo artists shy away from due to the expense. Instead of the usual 1,3 and five needle configurations most tattoo artists use, for heavy black work he custom makes 7 needle guns for both the thick out line and the colouring in. Although that sounds painful it is no worse than normal. To my delight he is a very similar person to me and hence I enjoy his company which is a fucking bonus I can tell you.
So far the project has taken 3 four hour sessions and I have one 2-3 hour session to go before finishing this part. The healing has been brilliant and the results amazing. On the artists advice I am using "Bepanthen Creme" which is an antiseptic cream with Almond oil in it, made by Roche( I don't know if it is available in the U.S. under that name ). This stoped the tattoo from scabing and helped the swelling. Instead of forming thick scabs my tattoo has just peeled like sunburn, leaving all the colour intact, even on my elbow. I can't recomend this stuff enough. It is the only thing I can put my finger on to explan how quickly and successfully the healing process has been, compared to other tattoos i have had done in the past.
I have seen a lot of thick black work that isn't up to scratch, and I don't think a lot of people realise that to get good even black over large areas is much more difficult than it looks, infact probabely more difficult than multi coloured work. As always gets written in every tattoo publication over and over... choose your artist carefully, and get someone who specialises in the type of work you are after, then sit back and let them get on with it.
As soon as I finish this project (in 1 weeks time) I will send in photos. It's looking fucking brilliant.
One thing that I have noticed from spending a lot of time in the tattoo studio in the last month and a half, is how many people come in and ask how much does this or that cost in a very vague way. This never ceases to amaze me as a lot of them are extremely concerned about price. People who are too concerned about the cost of tattoo work I don't fell really want it enough. To me you can't put a price on something that you will ware on your skin forever, especially when it is done by a master. If the guy down the road can tattoo the same design for cheaper there is usually a good reason, Quality.
Any way I think I have got past the 800 word mark, Look out for the photos of my arm in the next few weeks..............