Rainbow Whale

One last tattoo for the year.  I had a very busy day for the end of 2019.  I tattooed all day and this is my favorite tattoo of the day.  It is simple, clean and was really fun.

Mahalo.

Flash Day!

I ran one last surprise flash day before the end of the year.  It was not as busy as the last one, probably because I sprung it on the net two days before.  But for such a short notice it was a good day.

Mahalo for being a part of the last flash day of the year! 2020 here we come!

Divinity School

I have been working on this painting for a long time.  I started it sometime around February of this year, and for a long time it sat on the easel unattended.  I was too busy tattooing to spend time painting, and I had to think about the work for a while.  As soon as I could see what was going to be I started working in every spare second I had.  It is 12”x24” oil on linen and all brush work.  This study  got our of hand for a while and I had to reestablish the balance.  My work is a constant rebalancing of harmony toward disharmony and then back again.  I like to create compositional problems that need to be solved.

I have enjoyed the difficulty this composition presented me with.  The base sigil was created during a particularly cold season where I was so chilly that I found it necessary to purchase two pairs of shoes.  I have not owned a pair of shoes for at least 4 years.  I had a pair, but then they were so old and I never wore them so I threw them away and reserved myself to wearing slippers daily.  Slippers are flip flops, and living on Maui normally is too hot for shoes.  The base sigil was complicated, and from the beginning disharmonious with itself, however purposefully so.

I would like to have this completed before the new year, albeit, I may not be able to as there is so much work to do before it is resolved and considered a composition worth hanging.  Realistically I need 4 days of real work on this painting for it to be finished and I only have two.  

Aloha.

Rose

The client asked me to tattoo an American traditional rose tattoo in heavy black.

Mahalo.

Hibiscus Flower

Today I tattooed a large hibiscus in my style of American traditional tattoo.  I really like this tattoo, but I think the next time I go this direction I will use more black.

Mahalo.

Hibiscus Flash

I got the time today to watercolor a bit.  Christmas is always a slow couple of days in the shop, and I like to take advantage of the slow to paint.  I call it painting season, and I was able to work on my oil painting and this flash page.  I started and finished this today.

Mahalo.

Divinity School

Divinity school

I am a compositionalist.  I realize that few know what that is.  I use the aesthetics of composition to create works of art.  The arrangements of Color and form, title of a work, and the characterization of a concept are my tools of composition.  I wanted to talk some about my process as It is complicated and direct. 

Before I start any oil painting I become a character in its entirety.  Normally the generalities of a character spans the series of works, making only minor mental state changes per work. 

I start with an idea, a philosophy, an event and draw a line study of a base sigil that encompasses the total idea.  The sigil drawing is the concept I wish to express within the painting.  I tape the drawing of the sigil composition to the base of my easel and leave it there as I complete the current paintings on the easel.  I always have see real paintings in different stages of completion going at once.  From that point I look at the line drawing periodically, keeping the intent in mind.  When a new canvas is prepared I draw the line sigil on it in pencil making compositional edits as needed.  Then I let it sit there on the easel for some time, a day or a few weeks as I think about it.  I have other work to do as I think about the new composition.  When I have chosen my base color fades I apply a very thin coat of oil-paint giving me a general direction of the transition of color from end to end on the canvas focusing on the form of the sigil drawing. When I am done I leave it alone for as long as is necessary for the rest of the painting and its title to come me.  I have had paintings sit dormant for over a year, some only a day, most of my work immediately comes to me.  Patience and the ability to make immediate decisions as impulsively as possible as soon as I know them is how I listen to my intuition. 

Atop that sigilic color form the entire painting will be engineered one step at a time.  Those steps may look as if they are completely like momentary discovery or improvisation, however they are not improvised.  I know every step, ever brush stroke, ever form before I apply paint to the canvas.  I can lay out each stage of completion of a painting like a deck of cards in my mind.  I superimpose, or envision them in front of me and flip through them at will, studying the various stages of completion as I need.  Not as if they were there like a vision, but as they are physically there in the real.  Clear, precise, and real enough to touch.  In that way my work speaks to me and if I listen to it as one listens to a lizard, I am honest within my work as an artist.  Listening is about patience, and following directions.  As each step in the process is revealed to me, so long as I do not go past that which I already know for certain, my work is successful in revealing its conversation and aesthetically pleasing. 

Compositional oil painting is all improvisation in that one can only create a single portion at a time as one follows directions and is engineered as the one step at a time process as complicated simplicity demands patience.  Don't be fooled, my paintings are complete as soon as I know their title.  I need only to follow through with the work.

So, that is one portion of my process to creating a work of art in oil paint.  I am not sure why I felt like writing this down for myself, but if there is an itch I say scratch it.  I am currently working on my seventh study for my Peloponnesian War formal composition, and it is very close to being finished.  I have already completed the base sigil work for the new painting, and as I sit here looking at it, studying its edited complexity I realize that my process is simply ritual.  I like it.

Mahalo.

Hannya Mask

This was really fun to work on.  I only did three tattoos today as Athena and I went to go see the new Star Wars movie again tonight.  It was so damn awesome.  This tattoo was awesome too.

Mahalo.

Star Wars Movie

We will be taking the day off today to go to the new Star Wars movie.  Athena and I absolutely love Star Wars.  I am really looking froward to seeing this movie.  We bought tickets for today and tomorrow; we had to see it in the theater at the very least two times.

May the Force be with you...

...Always.

Plumeria Flower

And another plumeria flower tattoo.  I went for a different look this time.

Mahalo.

Plumeria Flower

The plumeria is my favorite flower in Hawaii.  I tattoo many of them every week.  Today was very busy as I made 13 tattoos; and this was my favorite tattoo of the day.

Mahalo.

Polynesian Tribal

A client from a few years ago came back today.  He wants to start a forearm Polynesian tribal piece.  Eventually he would like to cover the entire arm, but starting with the forearm was his preference.  This is simply the beginning, and we will do the next session soon.

Mahalo.

New Client Chair

We bought a new client chair for the shop.  We had the TatSoul 570 Client Chair for a year, and it was okay, but not perfect.  I really liked it but it was not sturdy enough in several places like the leg supports; under extra weight they bent slightly and made the legs slightly uneven.  Because I really liked it, Athena and I picked the TatSoul Oros 680 Tattoo Client Chair for our new one.  We are also going to have a massage table for the shop, we just have not picked out what we are looking for yet.  We bought the “Elite” package, which comes with wheels for the base, fitted plastic covers, side wings, and some other attachments for the main chair, so we can transform it into different positions.  It came in nine boxes, and it only took us a couple hours to build.  The hard part was putting the plastic protection covers on.  They are all well fitted to each cushion and really a squeeze to get on properly.  

 Athena and I building the chair, it was fun.  We even got a couple of walk-ins as soon as it was built, so I got to tattoo out of it right away.

It looks pretty nice...

It can be a massage bed...

Regular old barber chair style...

The reverse sitting is fantastic so I can tattoo the back easily.  I have always struggled with tattooing one-off tattoos on the back because of the clients position.  Having them sit like this makes it easy for me to stretch the skin, more comfortable for the client to sit for a couple of hours, and I can stand while I tattoo them, which helps my back.

Athena’s just having fun...

Devo likes the new chair!

I have now done a few dozen tattoos in this chair and it is definitely better than the 570.  It is more comfortable for the clients, as the cushions are more forgiving.  I like the strength in the legs, where the 570 had very little strength, this has great support.  All in all the 680 is just a much nicer version of the 570.  If you are considering buying a client chair from TatSoul, I would go for the 680 as it is only a bit more expensive and it is much nicer than the 570.  The 680 is great, so far I really like working on it, now lets see how long this will last with the work load I have.  I typically tattoo five or more clients a day, all in various places on the body.

Mahalo.

Turtle Plumeria

This was fun.

Mahalo.

Fishhook

December is for fishing.  This client is a fisherman and a pipe smoker, we had a lot in common.  This was a fast and fun tattoo, and he will be back soon for an American Traditional fish and pipe tattoo!

Mahalo.

Storm Trooper Rose

Star Wars is truly my absolute favorite escapism in the entire galaxy.  I draw a lot of Star Wars stuff just for fun.  To combine two things I love, American Traditional tattoo and Star Wars, well it is a pleasure.  This was really fun to tattoo.

Mahalo the force be with you.

Athena Working Hard

Athena comes into the studio to help me a few times a month.  I mostly run the studio by myself, tattooing all day and taking care of new customers as they come in.  On days like to day when I am booked solid for 12 hours straight with no time for a break she comes into the studio to handle the daily foot traffic.  It’s fun owning a couple of businesses together as husband and wife, and we really are a good team together.  Athena and I work really hard, and we keep it balanced.  We have a true mom and pop store, and its everything we ever dreamed of.

Working hard editing my improper use of the English language...

I love this woman; together we have really created a beautiful life together.  I couldn’t do any of this without her.

Aloha

Traditional Tiger Shark

I love American Traditional tattoos.  This was just fun to work on.

Mahalo.

Polynesian Turtle

This tribal turtle is my favorite tattoo of the day. 

Mahalo.

Sea Turtle Flash

I was able to finish some flash this week at home after work.  I have already tattooed all three of these designs.  I paint a flash sheet as I tattoo new ideas.  Flash sheets show me what does and doesn’t work in a tattoo, and it give me something cool to put on the walls for the studio.  Normally by the time I have finished the painting I have already done the tattoo.  I painted these guys much larger on the 11x14 watercolor paper so they could be seen really well from a distance.

Mahalo.