nothing says b.f.f. like matching space coyote tattoos

my first opportunity to do a simpsons-themed tattoo.  hopefully not the last!

more (mostly) finished tattoos

evil goat

this was supposed to just be a t-shirt design.  but now it's the beginning of a sick new leg tattoo on a fellow tat magician @ my shop.  

"too cute!"

this client wanted a precious moments girl to signify her niece.  why the bubbles?  the niece, who is only 2 years old, can't pronounce the client's name, and calls her "bubbles."  yes, entirely too cute. 

tats for dads

maryland blue crab.  the graham family rulez!  thanks warren. 

give a hoot--kick out the jams.  based on a piece of flash by the talented mr. john glessner.

tats for moms

 

a friend's mom got a flower from her family coat of arms on the back of her leg.  thanks Debbie!

old school

 

traditional roses (in progress)

 

no panthers were harmed in the making of this tattoo

 

sXe razor

halloween flash

since everyone else seems to be doing a set of halloween flash, and since i was bored at the shop, i made a couple sheets.  it's all prismacolor marker on printer paper.  inexpensive & relatively mess-free.  if anyone is actually reading this blog, they should come get cheap halloween tattoos.  i'm just sayin'.   

animal paintings

here are some paintings i've recently done and donated to various animal-related non-profits; the first is a water-soluble oil painting i made for FARM (http://www.farmusa.org), the two lower paintings are acrylic works i donated to woodstock farm animal sanctuary (http://www.woodstocksanctuary.org). through auctions, my painting efforts have raised nearly $5,000 for animal groups so far.   

new stuff

got a lot left to do with this one

finally finished!

hello. 

record head and maneki neko

more custom fun i've had with walk-in clients.  the first guy wanted a 'trainspotting' looking guy with a vinyl record for a head, blowing his 'brains' out.  the color scheme was to match the american mcgee rendition of alice from alice in wonderland on his other arm.

apologies for the shoddy editing.  i can't explain the white line.

this tattoo was done to commemorate the birth of the client's son; the son's initials are in the gold placard.  it's meant to be an east-meets-west boon of good luck.  this guy was an awesome client and i hope he comes back for more work. 

the dynamic duo

another old one. 

i've been doing a bit of acrylic painting and prismacolor marker illustration lately

kurt cobain as zombie

homage to traditional tattoo flash

space monkey

can't have too many zombies

Toonces

This tattoo is on the other arm of my PETA co-worker.  it was done to memorialize her cat, toonces.  i don't believe toonces actually played piano, but we found a cute image of a cat playing a piano, and i sketched a design based on that drawing, and  with toonces's face, simplified/cartoon-ified a bit to accommodate the overall feel of the piece. 

Mel's tattoo

Mel is an animal-rights law student from Australia.  While she was in the D.C. area interning with C.O.K., a friend referred her to me and Mel contacted me about getting a battery cage hen tattoo.  

The design was based on a sticker, which read "vegan for her" and featured the head of a hen with her beak seared.  i created the following design from the info Mel provided. 

the actual tattoo ended up looking a little different from the sketch.  we decided to make the hen brown, to reverse the image, and to omit the banner. 

 

more custom tattoos for your viewing enjoyment. 

the wolf is from my sketchbook, done on the tattoo shop's apprentice.

 

some custom lettering on the back of the neck for a fellow nebraskan who was visiting the d.c. metro area.  also my first attempt at cherry blossoms. 

 

a gentleman vulture. this one's also about a year old

this is an in-progress tattoo i'm doing for a co-worker at my tattoo shop. the words, 'life in shambles' are lyrics from a local maryland hardcore band.  the design was based on a pre-existing drawing, which i altered to make more dynamic and tattoo-friendly. 

a tattoo i did for a former PETA co-worker, completed in one sitting about a year ago