Saturday, December 10, 2011

Finally got my copy of the Bloodwork book. Wow! I'm blown away. The first surprise was when the two volume set was handed to me.  It's so damn heavy I almost dropped it on my foot.  I'd say about 30lbs of great tattoo pics.

Wonderful design on the cover, as you can see. The second surprise was when I opened the book - they used one of my pictures for the inside cover! Guess they liked it.
These books cover many different artists from all over the world, and the general format is a cover page with a portrait of the artist and a map showing their location, and then several pages devoted to each tattoo collector associated with that artist.  Each collector gets a smaller portrait, a fold-out three page spread with  a couple of views, as well as a few more pages devoted to more full-page views and several detail shots. These are all full body tattoos, hence the "Bodies" name.
My name is actually misspelled on my title page, but I'm not mad.  I was actually reconsidering giving my full name in the first place.  Problem solved! My bare ass is all over the damn place, is it wrong to hope for a modicum of anonymity?
Here's my three-page foldout.  Trying to suck in my gut. ;)
Another view of my back, and some detail shots.
I don't want to share photos of the other artwork, but trust me, there is plenty of tremendous artwork showcased in these two books.  This is absolutely the best tattoo book I own as far as quality of subjects, pictures, and overall design and packaging.  If you're an appreciator of tattoo art like me, do yourself a favor and check out this book. I'm honored to be a part of it.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't see no gut!! This spread is so beautiful.

Anonymous said...

Hey Mike,
My wife gave me the set for Xmas !
I was showing her your entry about it on the blog and she tracked it down.
You weren't kidding, that sucker really tips the scales, but a finer collection in print I have never seen.
So much to see, I haven't even gotten through book #1 yet.

All the best to you, with hopes for a great New Year.
Dmitri

Anonymous said...

Hi Mike,

I bought the book ‘Bloodwork Bodies’, and finally I’ve got it from the customs where I need to pick it up somewhere here in Germany
1. Yes as you said it is very heavy, I was very astonished
2. Yes, it is excellent, so many brilliant tattooists, and so many collectors, who are proud about that what they have achieved. The pictures have a very high quality. It is real art.
3. Congratulations that you are part of it, you must feel honoured

Some years ago I was Japan (Asakusa). Since then I intent to start with the progress of an irezumi and the book makes much more appetite to go this way.

Regards Hartmut