Flapper girl.

I was gonna tie this pic in with a blog post I've been working on about how awesome the 1920's were... but I don't have the time or the energy this week so that will have to wait. Outlined this on the lovely Andrea's leg last Monday, but forgot to take photos as usual.



Keeping me busy.

So much stuff on the go at the moment, and with most of it unfinished it’s nice to review it all every now and then so I can feel like I’m going somewhere. This year I’m going to try and document my works in progress better so I have something tangible to show for all the work I’m doing.
A few new finished pieces:

This one is a full sleeve that I recently finished on my neighbour Michael, who is also getting the lily plant pictured further down. Angels are not something I’d usually be into, but Michael is ace and I really enjoyed doing it. Better pics of this soon.

Some works in progress:

ugly little dog portrait for Nique:

Loving this lyrebird sleeve on Nick, who I bond with over Can and Grails and The Black Angels:

Buddhist sleeve on Earl who finally just got this finished after 2 years or something. Better pics soon:

Something different for me – a sewing-themed sleeve for Anneke:

Stargazer lilies for Michael: so excited to tattoo a bulb on someone!

some sketches for tattoos I’ve started but don’t have good pics of yet: a super fun harpie for my lovely client and fellow tattooist Leonie:

strange Victorian tea-drinking wolf-man for Anthony:

an epic Kuan Yin back-piece for Caroline, who got it outlined today and sat like a trooper:

And completely unrelated, a drawing of some dandelion leaves that I have been working on for weeks in my botanical illustration class:

Now I don’t feel so bad about not having a life.

Sketch for Mel.

My lovely belly dance teacher Melusina and I have agreed to a trade in which she will give me some private dance lessons in exchange for a new business card design. I have a pretty high bar set for me with this one because Mel is so incredibly beautiful, and I want this to look as much like her as possible.  I based this image on a clip of her performing a mesmerising sword dance that I posted on my blog previously. Her end of the bargain will involve helping me with a choreography to some of my favourite music, which will most likely be either Take Refuge or Deep Politics by Grails, depending on her preference. I'm very much looking forward to having a choreography that I can practise and enjoy at home, to the music that I feel inspired by.

Cavewoman for Tori.

On Sunday I had the pleasure of starting this cavewoman tattoo, which is now fully outlined and partially shaded. I won't bother posting the progress photos because they turned out crap, but I will post the drawing, which took me a really super long time - mostly because I was attempting to translate a strong image that Tori had in her head. The cavewoman was loosely based on a character named Ayla, a cro-magnon huntress and medicine woman, from the first in a series of books by Jean M. Auel called The Clan of the Cave Bear.  I haven't actually read any of the books, but given my interest in all things primitive I was really keen to work on this piece with her. Although the process of designing it was difficult, this was a really rewarding tattoo, aided by the fact that Tori was exceedingly happy and appreciative of my efforts. I can't wait to finish it now.

 

Cave Bear Clan Ain't Nuthing Ta Fuck With!

Sketches

Some sketches for paintings that I've spent too much time on and will probably never finish.

The blue one will hopefully end up as a Space Bong poster, but we'll see.