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.
follow the link and scroll down. this Blog featured a picture of my Clients new “World Champions” tattoo, pretty cool:)
sf tattoo 15, world champions 2010, san francisco color tattoo,giants
After 4 wonderful years at Black and Blue Tattoo, I will be leaving. My new place is called Cicatrix at 17th and Market in the Castro. I feel that it is time for a change. The new place will be set up differently. I will get to buy all my own supply’s which I look forward to, because I hate shopping for clothes but love shopping for tattoo supplies. Cicatrix is located at the cable car stop where 17th, Market, and Castro st intersect. I will be at the new place as of February 1st.
One very long sitting, with no complaints from my client. We made sure to put the pupils in last so that the dragon wouldn’t come alive and eat us(i read that could happen somewhere:)
In life I have always been good at most things, a jack of all trades for lack of better words. It wasn’t until I found tattooing that my focus narrowed, my frustration rose, and a perfectionist was born. The art of tattooing engulfs a person in it’s mystery. You can never do the perfect tattoo, It may be perfect for that client. But for an artist there is always room for improvement with every piece that walks out the door. There are so many variables involved in doing the best tattoo you can, inks, needles, tubes, machines, power sources, artistic ability, and to top it off you have to be a great photographer.
One variable that has affected me lately is health. I have been living on burritos and Giordano Bro.’s sandwiches(best sandwiches in the world). I get to the Gym about twice a week, which has helped some. In order to be the best tattoo artist in San Francisco, or Cleveland, or wherever(in my own head), your body must also be functioning at optimum levels. There is a level of consistency that you must apply evenly throughout the tattoo process in order to get the best results. If you go into the tattoo high on a cupcake and soda and out of shape, you may find your energy fizzling out after about a half hour. This leaves your client with a nice outline and a spotty coloring job, because your brain was depleted of energy and couldn’t remember whether you were doing big circles or little brush strokes,(none of which are tattooing techniques:)or whatever you do.
Of course this applies to most trades, its why carpenters take about 3 meal breaks per day, you wouldn’t want a hungry guy with low blood sugar, building your roof. I guess what I am trying to get at is that if you wanna be the best at what you do, you have to be in the best physical condition possible. That is why 2012 is the year of Victor not having any cupcakes, or cigarettes, or beer…because I want to give myself the clearest shot at being… the best tattoo artist I can be and to give my clients the best tattoo I can give them.
“The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don’t want, drink what you don’t like, and do what you’d rather not”.
Mark Twain
Just finished up a guest spot at Cicatrix in the Castro(SF). Really nice folks over there, they let me sit in while Black and Blue tattoo was being remodeled. It was fun tattooing in a new spot for a little while, and getting to see how another shop works. Also that area is pretty cool, there is a park with a cable car stop right in front and Orphan Andy’s(best breakfast in town) next door. The naked guy that sits in the park wasn’t there either day, lucky for all.
Check out the gallery for some new work and some progress on the “Super Duper Black Panther Back Piece”.
I tattooed this without access to a computer or printer, so I had to draw it from a picture on an iphone. I think it came out better than if I would have done it portrait style, by tracing the original art work, and it may be the new way in which I will be tattooing this kind of art. There is still work to do on it but I just wanted to show the progress so far. I did this on my buddy while his wife was in Cleveland, won’t she be surprised when she gets back:)
I have gotten into ITA magazine for the 5th time! hopefully I will get a feature soon, which is my next goal.
