During my last session, we started to shade some of the water on my left side. It's a nice change of pace, the light shading heals a little faster. I'd forgotten how the area just around my nipple can be so sensitive...

I stopped by the New York Tattoo Convention yesterday. Usually conventions aren't my thing, but I figured, "what the heck." Actually, I was bored as hell and there was nothing better to do yesterday afternoon. I've attached a picture of some of the business cards I picked up as I made the rounds. Lots of great artists there, I really enjoyed looking at the portfolios. Funny, a friend of mine made the following observation: "strange that you see so many great portfolios at these events but you rarely see really good tattoos on the folks at the convention." Very true! I am always surprised that attentive tattoo artists can always pick up on the fact that my tattoos were done by hand instead of machine. Only a little bit of my sleeves were sticking out from my t-shirt, but time and time again people were calling me over to their booths to ask questions and have a look. Some of them immediately recognized it as work by Horizakura, others just knew that it was tebori and were curious to see more. By around 5PM the place was packed and they were gearing up for the competitions of the day (Best Chest / Back, Best Black & White, etc.) But the crowds were starting to get to me so I left for the day before anyone took the stage.

Edit: I almost forgot, the folks at the Starlight booth were nice enough to give me a copy of Mario Barth's "Under the Skin" documentary which features Horitoshi. I'll post a review once I get a chance to check it out.

Here you can see the results of my last two sessions. We've been filling in the inside of my arm. I think there's probably only one session left until all the background on my left arm is done!

Random thought: you'd be amazed how many people think I have pot leaves tattooed on my arms! I suppose the differences between a Japanese maple leaf and a marijuana leaf are lost on most, but wow..this is annoying. Especially if it's say, my girlfriend's parents or a coworker. I'm trying to have a sense of humor about it, perhaps responding with something like "DUDE! If ya like that, you gotta check out this tattoo of a bong on my penis. It even grows when you.." (by this point they are walking away rather quickly..)

Sorry for the long delay! The last month has been hell. Moving into my new apartment was a huge pain in the ass, so I've spent my days either moving future and boxes or dealing with completely unreliable brokers / supers / managment / movers / etc. I also had to take some time off from tattoos to let my body heal. My left arm was absolutely not happy, at one point with a month and a half's worth of healing tattoo, rashes, minor infections, etc. My theory is the stresses of moving and my upcoming unemployment did a number on my immune system.

Anyway, I'm finally feeling normal and fully healed. I have an appointment today so I took some picture before the new work is done. Last time we did more work on my arm, and I believe we'll start on my leg today.

No new pictures today, but I should have some up in a week or so. I've had two appointments since my last update, but unfortunately the last bit is taking longer than usual to heal and the pictures don't due the tattoo justice - which is why I'm not posting them. At this point, the background on my left arm is filled in up to the elbow.
Until next time, I'll leave you with this bit of tattoo humor.

Hope you had a pleasant New Year! I also had a birthday in there, so the past month has been one of many festivities. These pics are from work done at the end of December. I have a series of appointments starting this week, so I hope to have more regular updates for at least a little while. The bottom edge of my left sleeve is now starting to take shape. I'm glad he's starting with the shading on my arm as the imbalance between and the left and right sides of my body is particularly noticeable there.
One of my Christmas gifts this year was a copy of "Under Way Is The Only Way" by Grime and Horitaka, which I previously mentioned here. I found the book very good and I'd definitely recommend it. Aside from the great pictures, there are interviews with each artist that are in-depth and go a long way towards exposing a more personal side of the artists. I learned a lot of interesting things about Horizakura in there. Funny that after years of regular appointments I hardly know the guy, but I guess that's not too surprising considering neither one of us is very chatty. (Plus I always thought it was a bit rude to talk his ear off while he's trying to work).

As you can see below, in my last session we started to fill in my left arm. The lines around a few of the rocks were thickened, and some of the water on my forearm and elbow was shaded. Also, a small rock was filled in on the bottom of my bicep.

Wow, I can't believe it's been three months since I posted any pictures. Unfortunately, I haven't had much new work done in that time. I've been forced to cancel more appointments due to being broke. And I'm afraid it's not going to get better anytime soon - at the end of December I'm getting laid off from my job. I'm sure I'll find a way to finish the tattoo but..it may take longer than I expect.

At any rate, here are some pics of the completed left side outline.















I believe at my next appointment we'll start shading in my left arm.

As Cameron pointed out, there's a new book out entitled "Underway is the only way" by Horitka with an interview with Horizakura. I'm very curious to see a copy, especially since a picture of my tatoo is in it, but I've heard the first edition is already sold out. There should be a second edition out in Spring '09.

Here's a link to a story on the NYTimes website about the increasing frequency of tattoos in places that were traditionally considered "no go zones" - places like hands, face and neck.
The outline on my left side is done! I'll post pics in a week or so when it is healed.

Woah, it's been almost a month and a half since my last post. I haven't had an appointment in a while due to scheduling conflicts and being broke (my girlfriend and my bike are eating up the little free cash I have.) But, I do have an appointment tomorrow so I'll be posting an update soon. I'm anxious to get the outline finished and start on the shading!

Sorry for the delay between posts. I had to cancel a few appointments so I'm a little behind schedule. Also, lately I've been a little preoccupied with my new toy. These pictures are of work done about a month ago. You'll notice the outline on my right are is basically finished, and we also did a bit more on my torso area around the koi there. I think the next session will be the last outlining session - after which I'll post some pictures of the entire completed outline on right side.

As someone pointed out in the comments of my last post, there's a documentary out on Japanese tattoo which features Horitoshi. I watched the internet trailer, and it left me a little underwhelmed. I guess I was put off by the fact that the trailer seemed to be more about Mario Barth than it was about Japanese tattoo. But I guess a guy who Inc.com says is looking to build the "Starbucks of tattoo parlors" is no stranger to a little self-promotion. At any rate, I'll probably end up buying it anyway since coverage of Horitoshi is hard to come by, especially in English.

This picture is of work done a few weeks ago on my left arm. As you can see, there's a large koi swimming up my bicep, with a few rocks and leaves near the bottom edge. This appointment took a little longer than usual since Shinji didn't have a drawing for the koi prepared, but I was still surprised how quickly he was able to sketch it. I came in and he took a few measurements, and about 30 minutes later the sketch of the koi was complete and Shinji was ready to start tattooing. I'm glad my tattoo is starting to have some symmetry, it always bothered me to have one half of my body completely bare and the other half completely covered. I figure I have about 2 more outlining sessions and the entire outline will be complete.

Here's a picture of the most recent work. The bottom edge of the outline is the bottom border of the tattoo, just above my knee. The top edge of this outline is about 4 inches below my left nipple. I'm pleased that we were able to get a decent amount of ground covered during the first outline session. Can't wait for the next appointment!

Here's a picture of the last of the touch-up work done a few weeks ago. You'll note the head of the large koi in the center of my back is now shaded a bit darker, making it consistent with the shading on the more recent koi. I also had the red ink in my backside redone (ouch).

This past Sunday I had an appointment and we began to outline my left side. While that work is too fresh for me to post pictures of, I do have something else - a picture of the tattoo in progress. Strange, over the years I've never managed to get a photograph which illustrates any of the preliminary arrangements; this is the first one. What you see here is a premlinary sketch drawn on your favorite human canvas and narrator. The detailed koi on the bottom was transfered onto me from a predrawn sketch in preparation for the tattoo. The rest of it was drawn on me freehand. First the outside boundaries of the tattoo shape are marked, using a line drawn down the center of my torso as a reference. Then, broad shapes are drawn using a light green marker. You may be able to make out crashing waves and rocks on my chest/torso, as well as the head and fin of a koi on my upper left arm. Next, the final detailed outline is drawn on with a black brush-tip marker. This is then tattooed over. I'll post pictures of the completed outline soon.

Quick update: Here's a picture from my last session, about a month ago. It was strictly touch-up work on my back, mostly redoing many of the sections in red which never really took well the first time around. Also, small scales were added to the lip of the large koi where before it was just a solid block of color. Shinji thought this would help minimize the appearance of the old tattoo underneath it. I have an appointment today, and I believe there will be a bit more touch-up work, but I am hopeful we will start to outline the left side of my body.

My right side is finally done. During my last session we finished off the color inside the koi on my ribs. At my next session we will be doing some touch-up work on my back, for the most part trying to fix a few areas where the red did not take. Although it will be a pleasant change from getting my torso tattooed, the back is no picnic, especially the second time around.
Speaking of my back, I was able to get a copy of the February '08 issue of Skin and Ink. When Shinji told me they had a "big" picture of me, I didn't think he meant a full page picture! Now I can proudly say I've had a full page nude photo of me in a Larry Flint publication. I also like that my sweet tribal armband is forever immortalized there. Doh!
In other news, on Friday I went to check out some art at Saved Tattoo here in Brooklyn and had the pleasure of meeting John Reardon. He immediately recognized my sleeve as Horizakura's work and came over to chat with me. After a few minutes of trying to compare Horizakura tattoos (John's upper left arm was done by him) without taking off more clothes than would be appropriate in public, John said "You know..I think there is a picture of you in my book!" He pulled out a copy of his Complete Idiots Guide to Getting a Tattoo and sure enough, there I was in the section on Japanese tattoo! John was nice enough to give me a copy of his book, I'd recommend checking it out if you are thinking about getting a tattoo but don't really know where to start.
Yesterday someone asked me, "Isn't it a little weird to find out you are in a book or magazine? Shouldn't they be asking your permission?" Actually, I'm OK with it. It's not a picture of me really, it's a picture of Horizakura's art work. He should be able to display it wherever he likes. I wouldn't even have a picture of it published outside of this website without asking him first.

I just found out that Skin and Ink Magazine did an article on Horizakura in their February issue. I hear there's even a picture of me in there. Unfortunately, I could not find a copy. After hours of hitting the stores with no success, I decided to order a copy online and I'll have to wait a few weeks before I see it. Anyway, pick it up if you're a fan of his work.

Well, I thought we were going to add color during the last session. We did some more grey shading instead. But today, we're definitely adding color..I think. I just want to finish this spot. I'm really tired of getting tattooed there. It's so uncomfortable that after an hour I'm ready to stop for the day.

A few weeks ago we did some black shading in the koi on my ribs, here's a pic. I have an appointment today, I imagine we'll be adding color. I really want to start outlining the other side, and I'm so close now. Also, check out Inked Inc. This site focusing on tattooed professionals has been around for a while, but it's new to me.

Howdy folks. Here are some pictures from 1/23/08. The only thing left to shade in now is the koi in the right-center of my torso. We started it yesterday, and it's a tough spot. Shinji told me that speaking with a few others, they agree it's the worst to sit through. So naturally, my appointment last night was no fun. But I'm very excited to begin outlining the left side of my body. You'll notice the last session was just coloring in odds and ends all over the place. It's a little annoying to have fresh work in many different spots, but luckily I usually heal fairly quickly. Don't know if you can tell, but the green in the leaf near my right hip sort of bled into the gray underneath it. I've got sensitive skin and that's a spot that is particularly so. I've seen it happen in other spots but this is larger and since this is a bright color it's a little more noticable. We may need to go in and do some touch-up over the gray later.

Also, I saw this article in the NYTimes today you might be interested in. It discusses the recent popularity of temporary tattoos. I've certainly seen a lot of these lately. I really got a laugh out of the Miami Ink brand cloth "sleeves" I saw people wearing on Halloween, too funny.

What's in a business card? I find myself picking these up whenever I stop by a tattoo shop. From busy to bare and everything between, everyone has their own tastes it seems. Maybe once I have enough of these I'll setup a gallery. If you have interesting tattoo business cards, please send some pics my way.

At my last tattoo session, we finished all of the remaining color except for the large koi in the center of my torso. The most recent work is almost done healing, I should have some pics up very soon.

I also wanted to give a shout out to Iron Horse Magazine. I was quite surprised to learn a small picture of me was published in their last issue. I'm just glad this picture wasn't of anything embarresing. It just goes to show you never know who's watching after you've had a few drinks at the bar.

Hope everyone has a wonderful New Year. Happy tattooing in 2008!