Polynesian Giraffe

The client brought me several ideas of a giraffe, but she wanted it done in tribal.
So cool, we went for it.  Cool idea, cool tattoo.

Mahalo.

Polynesian Armband

This is the beginning of a much larger project.  

Mahalo.

Polynesian Anchor

This was fun to tattoo.

Mahalo.

Polynesian Add-on

Added on to my clients leg work today.  She will be back again to complete this piece next year.
It has been great working on this over the years.

Mahalo.

Polynesian Islands

The client came back for the third year in a row.  This year we worked on an addition to the turtle we did last year, the Hawaiian islands in Polynesian.

Mahalo.

Polynesian Tiki

My client comes to the island often, and I will see him again soon for a second session on his arm.  This was a fun tattoo.  The tiki is abstracted like a mask.

Mahalo.

Polynesian Tribal

Fun, straight from my flash walk-in.

Mahalo.

Polynesian Elephant

This was fun.

Mahalo.

Polynesian Octopus

I get to tattoo an octopus a few times a year.  It’s alway really fun; so many moving parts to manage and arrange so that it doesn’t end up looking like a mess.
I want to make more of these octopus tattoos.

Mahalo.

Polynesian Anchor

Hold fast!  Love this one.

Mahalo.

Polynesian Tribal Band

This was a fun tattoo, and a challenge as arm bands always are.

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.

Polynesian Tribal

This was my favorite of the day.  Walking in one of my teachers shoes.

Mahalo.

Polynesian Tribal.

I enjoy working on traditional compositions.  Today was a busy day as it always it here.  This tattoo was my favorite of the day.

Mahalo.

Polynesian Tribal

This client and I are building a chest tattoo that will wrap around his back and onto the arm.
This was the first session.

Mahalo.

Polynesian Sigil

The sigil 'Ha" is the breath of life, the first word spoken by man, and subsequently god's breath.  Those collective descriptions mean "creative beginnings" and metaphors the swirling of breath and the universe, the micro and the macro.  It is a sigil that I use in virtually every Polynesian tattoo.  

Mahalo.

Add-on Polynesian

Adding some Polynesian tribal to an existing tattoo.

Mahalo.

Polynesian Tribal

Last year I made a smaller tattoo for this client.  He loved it and has committed to a large chest to back tattoo that will take his entire right side.  It will be completed on his next visit.  My style is heavily influenced by the compositions of my abstract oil paintings.  I really like the direction of this work and I am excited to complete it.

Mahalo.

Add-on Polynesian Tribal

This client comes back to me year after year.
We have slowly been tattooing her leg and we will eventually finish it.

Mahalo.

Polynesian Mortar Pestle

Putting Polynesian sigil work inside an object not traditionally Hawaiian is actually something I do a lot of.  Since the sigil work is language that is arranged to tell a story for the client, so should the composition be a portion of their life.  

Mahalo.