A little bit of Portland.

After working/traveling/working 18 days in a row,

I was really looking forward to my first couple days off.

I was going to write this Portland blog post then,

but it was the worst weekend ever.

I should have just kept working.

No kidding, I even got into a minor car accident.

But don't worry,

I went back to work right away,

and pretended it didn't happen.

Anyway, Portland was awesome.

My people out there are the best.

I got to hang out with Elias and his housemates,

and it just so happened that everyone swung into town that week.

Optic Nerve Tattoo is a super great shop,

but almost everyone was on vacation or away while I was there.

(maybe they called my references)

A big thank you to them for hosting me.

Korel came down from Olympia to start her peahen/peacock tattoo.

We're sleeving her right arm,

and got the outline mostly taken care of the first day.

I had a few cancelations,
so when Summer came in Day 2 for her 41rst birthday tattoo,

I was happy to accommodate.

We drew on a big phoenix in sharpie,

changed the head,

and tattooed for a couple hours.

But, since I don't live nearby,

and a half-finished chest piece is hardly a way to celebrate,

Summer came back in the next day,

and we finished it up.

For reals, kids.

They don't make many this tough.

I did my best to incorporate all her other tattoos,

cleaned up parts, covered others.

Happy Birthday, Summer.

Portland is amazing,

once you see past some of the hipsterdom.

There's beautiful things and amazing people everywhere,

and a sign that says 'vegan' in every place you go.

I'm sure come January,

Meryl and I will be spending lots of time there,

and I know a little basement bedroom that's just perfect.

Thanks again to everyone that got tattooed,

showed me around,

gave me a ride,

and let me share their space.

Cherry on a Spoon.

Cody and I have been working steadily on his MN leg sleeve,
and I look forward to unveiling it in the not-too-distant future.
We skip around a lot to avoid healing areas,
and today we worked on the bottom part;
Minneapolis' 'Spoonbridge and Cherry' art piece from the
Minneapolis Sculpture Garden.
We even did a little reflection of it in the pond below,
and I thought that was kinda cute,
so I snapped a little phone photo to end my lack of blogging as of late.






















You know what else I did today?
Bought my plane tickets for Portland, Oregon.
I'll be tattooing at Optic Nerve November 13-16th.
If you want to book some time with me while I'm out there,
let me know asap.
Four days fill up fast!

Too many words...

...no room for photos.



Plans.

I've made some serious plans for the rest of 2011,

and the first few months of 2012.

I'll start with the new year plans and work backward.



In January, Meryl and I will be headed West.

Back to Grants Pass, but this time we'll stay for 3 months!

We'll be living out there,

and I'll be working at GogueArt,

Jeff Gogue's tattoo shop and art gallery.

I'm beyond excited,

and I feel like the luckiest,

most fortunate tattoo artist in the world right now.

Jeff is such an amazing and inspiring person,

and I look forward to four months of growth in both tattooing and painting.

Obviously, I don't have a Grants Pass clientele,

so I might be doing some guest spots occasionally in Portland,

but otherwise, that's where you'll be able to find me.

Then, in April, we'll be moving back to Minneapolis.



So with that departure date in mind,

I have committed to only two (tattooing) travel plans for the rest of 2011.

In September (15th-18th) I'll be doing the Paradise Tattoo Gathering at Jiminy Peak in MA,

and in November (13th-16th) I'll be at Optic Nerve in Portland, OR.



I will also be doing a big tattoo project the first 11 days of November.

I'll be doing one 5 hour(ish) tattoo each day,

starting November 1rst,

and ending November 11th.

(11/11/11)

I'm almost done with the 11 drawings for that,

and will have them at the shop for viewing and booking soon.

If you already know you need one,

contact me for more details,

and to save your spot.

And then after November 11th,

I'm thinking of printing up a little art zine

with the drawings and finished tattoos in it.

.

.

.

Aside from all of that,

if you're working on some tattoo projects

(that you want finished before January),

come by Identity Tattoo and have Handsome Adam book a series of appointments.

The rest of August is booked,

and September is filling up, too.

And if you're unable to come into the shop to leave a deposit

(let's say you don't live in MN),

I can take paypal deposits now, too.

Just email me.



That's pretty much everything.

Minneapolis and both coasts,

tattooing and moving and all of that.

When this happens....

I love traveling,
but hate the packing/housecleaning that always goes with it.

I fly out to Portland tomorrow,
meet up with Meryl in the airport,
(she's flying in from Denver after a week in Boulder)
then get some hang out time with the west coast crew.
Then we rent a car and head to Grants Pass on Monday.
Both coasts in 30 days.
With a little bit of MPLS time in between,
just enough time to do some laundry and a few tattoos.
(big thanks to Handsome Adam for being a semi-permanent resident of Louderhorn Inn,
and taking such good care of Shamira)

But enough putting off the inevitable,
I have to go put some things in a suitcase.

Headed West

I did this black and grey tree tattoo in December,
right before I headed out to my East Coast trip
(and Off the Map Tattoo guest spot).
And then we added to it yesterday,
right before I head to my Gogue Art guest spot.
We didn't finish, but I was happy with the progress,
and wanted to post.
And it's a good way to show
what a black and grey tattoo looks like healed vs fresh.






















In this abandoned shed addition,
you can see the little bit of tree in the bottom right.
We have a bunch more to do,
especially with all of the sky, horizon, clouds,
and we'll likely finish it off in March.






















Right now I'm headed off to the airport.
Next stop, Portlandia.