Number 4 of the 11s.

The best part of today was when I was halfway through the outline,

Jason sees the drawing which I had taped up near-by and says,

"Dude, is that a mouse?"

Um...yup.

I don't know how he didn't notice it in the initial drawings,

or once we put the stencil on,

but I'm glad he was into it when he did notice.

Cause I'm pretty sure that's my favorite part.

The owl is in color,

but all the background is black and grey,

which is why it looks so red and hurty.

It was also 6+ hours of tattooing.

Unfinished Business.

This tattoo was supposed to be an all-dayer,
but that didn't happen.
Tattoos hurt, kids.
Problem is, Eric-Pete lives everywhere but Minnesota,
so we're hoping, hoping, hoping we figure out a way to finish it up before 2012.
Maybe Portland in November?
Or MN in December?
Otherwise it's Grants Pass, Oregon from January to April.

Anyway, it's a raven choking out an owl.
No kidding.
His idea, and we were all a little jealous.
I wish I finished, and had the whole thing to post,
but just a little peek for now....





















I did tons of painting all weekend,
and I'll have plenty to post soon.
Two different shows are happening in October that I have pieces in,
one here in MPLS,
and one in Connecticut.
Busy work weeks,
and busier weekends.
Don't forget to enjoy the outside,
it'll be winter before we know it.

Three Footed.

If you have a foot fetish,
you missed out hard yesterday by not being at Identity Tattoo
I tattooed three feet,
and three feet only.

Ben got his tribute to pancake breakfast started,
and we outlined and shaded both feet.
I can't wait to give those some color in a few weeks.














Bex wanted a chubby little owl,
to go with the rest of the chubby animals she has.
Actually, some of them are just downright fat.
This was super fun to do,
even if tattooing a foot isn't the easiest body part to tattoo.
(or get tattooed)
But they both did well,
and I didn't get any kicks to the face.


















Weekend time, now.
Less feet in my immediate future,
more catching up on stuff before I head out West again.
I'll be doing a guest spot at GogueArt June21rst-24th,
and I'll post about that more in a bit.

Bird Week at Identity Tattoo

I tattooed some birds this week.
Tuesday kicked it off with Adam's dead baby bird,
and then there was one bird-ish thing a day for the rest of the week.

Stephanie came by with her 85 year old mom again,
and they both got tattooed.
Stephanie got her owl/cat/mouse scene all filled in,
but I think we're doing other projects before we do a bunch of background.






















Pamala finished off my week yesterday with another knitting animal.
This time it was a knitting catbird,
on the opposite forearm of the knitting cat.
Mulberries are fun to tattoo (and so good to eat).
I loved doing these tattoos,
so it's a shame Pamala doesn't have any more tattoo plans for the future.
If anyone knows any rad knitting librarians that want fun tattoos,
send them my way, please.






















This peacock feather also got made sometime this week.
There was another one, too,
but apparently I forgot to snap a photo?
















Now it's the weekend,
and I'm painting, making clay antlers,
doing drawing, buying old books,
cutting cardboard, and writing press releases.
Having an art show is a lot of work, it seems.
Doesn't help that I'm apparently getting sick.
Hopefully lots of new stuff to show Tuesday.
Otherwise, I'm dead.

Busy Birdhouse Building

Never Quiet Never Soft has an art show in the works.
(I think I've hinted at it before)
It's going to be big.
I'm hard at work on it right now,
and it's not even happening till March.
I went to Ryan's today,
where we got to work on some power sawing,
staple shooting, and gorilla glueing.
Sawdust was in the air, and we set off multiple fire alarms.

It would have been a manly scene for sure,
but I'm super jumpy little baby when using the pneumatic staple gun.
That, and we were there to make birdhouses.
Big thanks to Ryan for all his help
(as always),
and for letting NQNS take over his basement for the next couple months.
I'm not sure he knows that's the plan,
but it's cool, I didn't just spill the beans.
He doesn't have internet in his new place yet.

Saturday I tattooed my butt off,
and one of the things I worked on was finishing this owl tattoo.
It's one of those awkward half healed, half fresh tattoo photos,

but I'll do that 'hoping for a better shot later' while I post this version.

I'm not sure where my weekend went,

but it's back to work tomorrow.

Well, tattoo shop work.

(every weekend is going to be a working weekend for a while....)

Grandma's a Badass.

Viola turned 85 today,

so she got a birthday tattoo.

No kidding.

On her hand.

A cover-up, even.

She didn't move,

or make a peep,

but she did keep us laughing the whole time.

Viola's daughter Stephanie went next,

and got some more work done on her lower leg sleeve.

We added this owl, acorns and leaves,

and colored some of it in.

Tomorrow I tattoo a couple more birds,

then leave early for the airport.

I'm off to Peru with Adam W.

In search of South American lighthouses,

dead birds and vegan food.

I'll be back in the shop September 11th.

Long weekends?

I win.

What a lovely way to burn

I am one sick dude.
There's no thermometer around for proof,
but I'm pretty sure I've got a fever.
(and I've been beating up the Maynard House's lavatory pretty bad as well)
But I'm booked solid at Off the Map Tattoo,
and I'm not one to call in sick.
Ever.
(what am I, an a-hole?)

Here's a couple of tattoos I've done out here so far.
The owl was photographed at a weird angle,
so the head looks a little warped,
but it's fine in real life.



And more black and grey book themes:



I'm four tattooing days down,
with only two more to go.
But I saved the longest days for last.
Wish me luck.
I could use it.
Luck, and a few more rolls of toilet paper.

Best Owl Tattoos Especially Owl Shoulder Tattoo Designs Gallery Picture

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Arm Owls on Almost-Off Hours

I didn't take the holiday today.
I celebrated Independence Day by rocking it solo at Identity Tattoo.
By the time I figured out it was a shop day off,
I had already booked it up.

Luckily, Kelsey and Jenna brought the pre-fireworks fun.
I knew they would.
I got to do this owl tattoo on Kelsey, and some fancy script on Jenna.


After the not-too-normal shop day, we had Ryan and Rebecca over for firework viewing in Powderhorn Park.

There's been a few big black and grey pieces happening lately,
and I've been really into them.
I have some animal cubby-hole sketches that I'm looking to do and might get posted soon.
Let me know if you're looking for something big-ish and slightly absurd.
It might be a good match.

Also, I'll be gone a decent chunk of August.
Meryl and I will be visiting Maryland and Connecticut,
seeing family and friends, meeting brand new babies and tattoo artists, doing poker night, China Pan, and seeing the ocean.
As awesome as all of that is, it means I won't be at Identity Tattoo for two weeks.
Please plan your tattoo getting accordingly.

The Wingnut Dishwashers Union posters arrived, and I'll have some at the shop. Let me know if you want one.