# 30: Kiss My Lucky Charm

This tattoo marks the beginning of a new chapter for me. I have spent time working on fruit. I have spent time working on people. Now, I am beginning spending time on people in a tattoo shop. That's right, this is the first tattoo that was also an audition to work at our town's local tattoo parlor. I was nervous, and in some ways it felt as though I had never done it before. By the middle of the tattoo, I was much more confident and it felt more natural. Now that this step is out of the way, I'm excited to actually be doing several tattoos a week. It will be a challenge juggling it with my day job, but I'm excited to make them both work side by side!

The client had been wanting this tattoo since she was 12ish, she said. Now when people try to pinch her on St. Patrick's Day, she can just moon them!

#25 Japanese Wave Sleeve (update)

I finally have something to show for this tattoo. This is a sleeve I've worked on twice now. He had the dragon on his arm before I met him, and he was wanting something to fit behind it. Last time, I only did the lining and some shading on the wave crests. This time, I got started on shading the waves. I really didn't anticipate how long it would take to do. Luckily, we ended this step in a place that was faily balanced.

 I remember an artist once telling me that good tattoo artists will rather take their time than do a crappy job. After the third hour, I could tell that I was getting tired, so we're taking another break. I'm really pleased with how it's going so far.

#29 Phoenix

I love this design. She got it online, but I adjusted the coloring just a bit. Rather than having the gradient only go from top to bottom, I made it go from a few places here and there. This was one of the examples of a client who wanted something, but for whatever reason our schedules took a month or two to connect the right way. I think it was worth the wait. :)

#28 "Respect" Kanji

This was a surprise. I came over with the intent of working on this guy's back again after a few months, and right away, he asked if I had ever tattooed on a hand before. So there we went, an unexpected tatt right then and there. Pretty sweet-looking. He told me that the reason he wanted a tattoo on his hand right in that spot was because he's seen a few people with it and loved it. It was playing pool with a man with this placement that got him really interested. Man... If I hadn't gotten myself into a career that prohibits visible tattoos, I'd do it too!

#27 Die Laughing

Simple, but nice design. I like the message, as well as the negative space being used to make the mask jump out of the skin. It also kind of makes it look like I lightened up the mask, but I actually never even touched it. This was with three shades of black. I have been planning on doing this one for months, but the client kept putting it off. I found out today that he was mostly worried about the pain, but ended up not thinking it was all that bad.

#26 Infinity Splash

This design means a lot to the client, but also doubles as a really sweet tattoo. It's a representation of her family and a specific family member who recently passed away. I really like the colors. This whole design is about 2x2in.

#25 Japanese Wave Sleeve

Sorry, folks. I somehow forgot to get this guy's photo before he left. However, I only completed the first half or so of the tattoo during the first visit, so I'll definitely get my second chance at the photograph. It's cool, though.

#24 Froglets

A practice that I've seen and even worked with a couple times now is finding artwork that you like from sources online and having them tattooed on you. I really like the idea of having something original on your skin. I don't mean to say that traditional flash isn't great, but I definitely favor artistic flair. Especially when the tattoo looks like it was sketched with a pen like this one. I kind of feel like making works of art should be about creating an effect, and it's not always necessary to have a perfect line. All of the lining in this one was done with a single-needle bit, gone over multiple times to create squiggly lines. Really fun stuff!

2nd visit on #14

She said she wanted some "birthday color." It took me longer than I thought it would. I'm realizing now that I'm taking longer to tattoo than I used to. Frankly, I'm glad. It's allowing me to make sure I'm doing everything perfectly, even if it makes my back a little more sore.

By the way, my tattoo artist mentor-ish dude is asking me to start my apprenticeship sooner than planned. I'm kind of excited, but just need to save up for the tuition. This hobby kicks so much ass.

#23 Rose with Banner

I haven't done as many roses as I would have guessed at this point. I'm glad I got this one, though. It looks incredible!

The coloring came to mind with the client from seeing examples from old-school designs. I asked her if she wanted something newish, but she's a fan of the classic designs. I agree that they pretty much kick ass.

The banner, by the way, is blurred to protect the dedicated person's private information. It's the stuff from her father's dog tags from his service in the military. He's going to love it!