Hey Steemians! I have not been posting recently because my life was total chaos. Things have mostly settled down, so I hope to be around more. Big news! I will be tattooing at STURGIS this year, so I am really excited to make some posts from my adventures there! I’ve been working my butt off, so I thought I would share recent tattoos.
This client decided on an owl for her first tattoo with me. She is of Hawaiian decent and in Hawaiian culture, many families have what is called an aumakua. The aumakua is a kind of god or protector that watches over you and your family. It can generally be something found in nature, animals, or even rocks or trees. She has always felt a kinship to the pueo (owl). A few weeks after getting this pueo, she came back to add to it:
This was a blast to do. We used indigenous imagery and Hawaiian tattooing together in one. The dream catcher represented her other familial ties. The symbols in the center of the dream catcher are for the Hawaiian Goddess Hina, the moon and in some lore, also the wife of Maui. I really really enjoyed doing both of these pieces.
This elephant was based off the clients reference. I’ve done a couple that are similar in the past, but each one is very unique. I got to have a little fun with the dot shading in the details with this.
I love big floral pieces. They accent the features of the body, add decoration, and look very feminine. Always fun to do pieces like this. This one is also capped with a mandala, which you can see in the upper right. Those have become more popular as well.
This is just a super traditional idea, done time and time again. This is not my normal style of work, I don’t try to do photo realism. But the methods were easy enough and I am very happy with that drop shadow to give the rosary a 3-D effect.
So, I’m very happy to be back with you folks here. I see the market has taken a bit of a tumble, but no worries. I’m in it for the long haul. I hope you have enjoyed the update and I hope to hear from some of you. Take care!
