This week was definitely a fun week! I’m supposed to only work four days a week, but ya mans can’t help getting a couple extras in! I’ve been weight training with my buddy Alex, and getting back to Muy Thai with the Rhino Doug Marshall. This has definitely helped improved my confidence and my energy levels.
Monday was a dope one, if you didn’t know portraits are my favorite projects to work on. Bill (my client) has been working with me over five years and is newly retired from Tulare PD. He’s been waiting patiently for me to get back to health, and take on this new one.
This is image was very special to him. The picture is of his two sons, both of which I’ve tattooed! The picture was taken when they were little, and the original he carried with him since he started the force. So now he figured since he’s retired he’s get the picture tattooed over his heart. This is a great honor for me and I’m pumped I was able to get started on this.
The Neck! This was another fun project. As you might assume designing this type of tattoo always poses different problems than a normal placement would. Luckily the stencil went on first try! I’ve seen other renditions done with a similar theme but really wanted to put my spin in this. The entire design is original and custom made for my clients neck so if you see it anywhere else….. you know where the source is! Tons of fun, but very thankful for my team at PureNUMB without it this tattoo would have been super uncomfortable for my client and probably would have been a zillion times harder to finish!
Im not one to turn work down, so when I got the email to finish my clients tribal eagle I jumped at the chance. I learned about my clients past career in the marines and how he came to have started this project. Most people are new to hearing of my work and only see the flashy stuff I’ve curated, but I take pride in being versatile. I’m a walk in artist at heart and won’t shy away from most things.
This portrait was started last year at the Colorado tattoo convention. We received 2nd place for best portrait! My homie Peter travelled all the way out to collect this picture of his father and help us represent for Body Art Gallery and Tulare Ca. I’m extremely happy with the second pass and cannot wait to get a good picture of the healed product!
Wednesday Adams/Christina Ricci portrait. This project took many hours and I’m very thankful for longtime friend and client Christina. She’s been collecting work since I started tattooing! Almost 15 years now. Always a great time catching up with her. And also was cool catching up with the homie Lee as well. I’m super thankful for all the great homies in Tulare that have been with me since I was 18 in the garage, in the kitchen, in the bedrooms, lol and even the raider room. Tulare has really given me an opportunity to showcase my skills at every level of my career so far. Without my hometown I would have never been able to do what I’ve done and in the time I’ve been able to do it.
I finally got one! 🐉🪷 the homie Alex came thru and collected/started this dope project! I’ve been hella working on kois and dragons so the whole time I was out I really really really was antsy to start this bad boi! The Japanese style work was something I had a lot of interest in when I first started but never pursued. Now that I’ve been in the game a longer time I have such a huge appreciation and enthusiasm towards this style. It’s actually been super difficult to get my drawings down and even more difficult to get the clients in the seats haha, but any projects I get to start in this style I’m going to try and go above and beyond for them!
What a week. Super busy and digging it. Sitting back and watching the game play out was difficult. At the end of the day, it helped me form a lot of perspective. I’m 33 and I still have a lot of dreams and aspirations. Luckily I have been doing this so long that I’ve paved a proper foundation to seize my opportunities and pursue what I feel I’ve worked my whole career for. Thank God I’m here and thank you guys for being a part of my journey.