Going to be at the new space on Monday. Everyone is welcome to come by and say hello. We are located at 17th st and Market, Cicatrix tattoo and piercing. The name will soon be changing to Castro tattoo.
Here is the first sitting of the geisha tattoo. I tried to be as original as possible, I did not look at examples of other geisha tattoos. It was hard to find good reference but I think it is coming out pretty good so far. The line work for the designs in the clothing was done in color, which will make for a nice effect once a lighter color is placed into the background. This is one of the last tattoos here at Black and Blue before my move to Cicatrix next week:)
I have been working on this back piece since august. It is definitely my biggest piece so far. We started this one at the Bodyart Expo at the Cow Palace in SF. there is still work to be done but I wanted to show the progress.
panther sleeve
I have been working on this sleeve for a while now. The client allowed me to freehand the flames and the panther(my first old school panther). “Freehand” or drawing on the body(actually “freehanding” something would be tattooing strait away with no guidelines) allows you to work more effectively with the curvature of the body.
A: pick an artist based on the style of tattoo you want. I get a lot people that will want me to do a tattoo that is not my style. Most of the time I will refer them to another artist, but it leads me to believe that people are picking artists based on reviews or something unrelated to the style or quality of my work.
First off you are getting a piece of art work on your body for the rest of your life, you are not choosing a best friend. If a review says that the artist was late, rude, smelled of alcohol, and played loud music then I would guess that review would sum up 90% of the best tattooers I know. Choose based on their portfolio, and experience doing the style of tattooing that you want. Make sure you look at the tattoos and not just drawings that hey have done(just because they can draw doesn’t mean they can tattoo), the tattoo work should be pretty close to their drawing ability. I would steer clear of someone who’s drawings look much better than their tattoos…but not the other way around(tattoos better than they can draw).
If you cannot get through to the artist your idea, easily, than they probably are not the one to do the tattoo. You have to share a common vision in order to get the best tattoo possible. You should feel comfortable knowing that the artist knows what you want.
If you review an artist, on say Google, base your review on the tattoo you received…not the bad attitude, or the devil music…remember you hired an artist…they let you into their world for a few hours, to help you, so that you could express your vision.
If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him.
John F. Kennedy
This blog featured a tattoo of mine, check it out
http://blog.inkedlist.com/2012/01/11/five-incredible-dragon-tattoo-designs/
Q: should I eat before getting tattooed? A:Yes, you should eat a normal breakfast, lunch, and dinner(if your tattoo is after dinner:). Getting a tattoo requires energy on your part and your body needs nourishment to get through the stress of getting tattooed. Don’t eat or drink anything that you don’t normally ingest and make sure not to deprive yourself of the things you do on a daily basis. For example a lot of people tell me that they have heard somewhere that coffee is bad to drink before a tattoo…whats worse is adding a caffeine headache and sleepiness to the pain of a tattoo. I guess the point is to come in to the tattoo as comfortable and clear headed as possible.
The belly rules the mind. ~Spanish Proverb
Black and Blue has won best of the bay for 6 or more SF Gaurdian’s “best of the bay” awards. I went into this shop while it was in its 3rd or 4th consecutive year. I guess it is time for me to make my own name out there in this big city. The tattoo shop that I will be moving to(Cicatrix 17th and market) is less well known and has more of a private atmosphere. I plan on honing my skills there. I will be able to concentrate on the art of tattooing, getting back to using reference books as opposed to google, and having more time devoted to drawing. The next stage in becoming the best tattooer I can possibly be.
Some people dream of success… while others wake up and work hard at it.
~Author Unknown
Got to do some more work on Miguel’s chest piece, during the last days at Black and Blue(best of the bay 2011). Soon I will be at the new shop in the Castro, tattooing some new and familiar faces.
I will be tattooing in the Castro from as of February 2012. I wanted to show where I will be so I did a little photo documentary of the area.
