Cherry Blossom

This is my favorite tattoo of the day.

Mahalo.

Dog Paw on a Paw

I have three dogs.  Only dog owners can understand this tattoo.

Mahalo.

Chris Is on Maui

My best friend Chris came to Maui to spend a week with us, he was here a few years ago for a visit.  I have known Chris since the mid 90’s.  For this trip, we are going to eat, surf, paddle, drink, and have lots of fun.

Good to have you back on Maui.

Polynesian Gecko

Crazy week so far.  I have not had a lot of time to blog.  Here is my favorite tattoo of the day.

Mahalo.

New Window Design

Athena and I finished the store windows today.  Our friend Kenny owns West Maui Signs and worked with us on the design ideas and then he installed the graphics for us.  It looks fantastic!  We got some help from Andy at Sign Solutions.  He printed our post card up on resistant travel board so we can take it to conventions when we want to.  Andy printed and installed the wrap on Athena’s Kia Soul for her business, Such Good Dogs.  I am really happy with the new look of our studio’s street view.  

Aloha and Mahalo to both of you for the new work we have!

Banger Palm Tree

Fun little banger tattoo.  I like sharing these; they are just as important to the client as the back piece is to another client.  A tattooer should take pride and do a good clean job with tiny tattoos.
We must be a craftsman in all we do.

Mahalo.

Polynesian Sigil

This is common for of the sigil “Ha” as it is compositionally seen often.  I dig it.

Mahalo.

Polynesian Q

This Polynesian Q is for his son.

Mahalo.

Octopus Dream-Catcher

I’ve never done this before; it was super fun.

Mahalo.

Traditional Polynesian Tribal

This client comes back to me every year, and every year she is more ambitious with the work she wants.  This year I tattooed traditional Hawaiian triangles down her leg.  She will be back next year for more, and I am certain that she will want something much larger than what we have done so far.

Mahalo.

Polynesian Turtle Band

Band tattoos that go around a leg or arm are always a challenge to line up properly.  This turned out pretty cool, it is my favorite of the day.

Mahalo.

Pineapple Grenade

This is a pretty bad photo, but I dig this tattoo.

Mahalo.

Polynesian Turtle

Today was pretty busy.  This is my favorite of the day.

Mahalo.

Polynesian Sigil

This is another abstraction of the sigil “Ha” used to express the path this young man is taking.  Sigil work is by far my favorite process.  I use sigils in nearly everything I make, especially my paintings.  I truly want to expand on my sigils through tattoo.  I see tattooing as the work of the shaman.  Regardless of what is being tattooed, I treat it as shaman work.  There is so much more we can do for our clients lives than simply tattoo them.  I want my clients to leave my studio feeling a deep sense of pride in themselves when they look at their piece, that they feel good about how they look so they can  extend that pride in the self to the rest of their daily life.

Mahalo.