We were supposed to get this tattoo way earlier, but a couple of days ago, it was finally the day!
My sisters and me decided long time ago that we wanted a tattoo of an anchor. Those mainsteam bullshit tattoos picked from any common tattoo sketchbook? Yes and no.
My sister getting stung by a needle
My father served in the Dutch Korps Mariniers and got himself a tattoo back then. Just like his father and older brother did. His tattoo is blurry, vague and practically undefined, but the concept of it is still there.
My dad's tattoo
With this in the back of our minds, we wanted one too. Not because we served - obviously - but to have a part of our father on us. So eventually we made an appointment with the guy who did my tattoos last year, and this weekend it was finally time for us to get some new ink!
My sisters wanted a simple, straight and minimalistic one. I wanted something bigger, more detailed - an actual picture sorta. I am a fan of dot shading and I was aiming for something like that.
Three girls walk into a barbershop.
No, this is not a joke, this is the actual story. Three girls walk into a barbershop, completely ignoring the big fat letters on the front door saying, 'No women allowed'. At least 10 guys with massive beards stared them down. They walked to the back of the shop and went down some tiny stairs. What's that? That is a tattooshop below a barbershop, sir!
Joey
There he is. The king of the hour. His name is Joey de Boer, a fantastic artist. When looking for an artist for my previous tattoos, I was looking for someone who had a steady hand, someone who could kick ass in getting straight lines on your skin. And also this time, he did not disappoint me.
He started putting our thoughts onto paper, put our words into lines and put our wishes on our bodies. Like I mentioned earlier, my sisters wanted a minimalistic anchor. They ended up with this!
Courtney and her tattoo
Samantha and her tattoo
Whereas my sisters had the same design, I required a more custom one. It is based upon the anchor which is placed on the baret of the Korps Mariniers. However, I did not like the crown, nor did my dad have it. Also, the rope is super close to the anchor on this one, but might get blurry when I get old and wrinkly. Also, my dad's original tattoo has the rope on the left side, and more loose too!
We ended up with this design.
Design of my tattoo
Soon after, he got his tools and started buzzing on me. This is the result!
And this is the beauty that he tattooed on me <3 I love it! It's placed on the back of my right leg, right above my ankle. As you can see, the shading is more dot-ey. Giving both the anchor more texture too!
My tattooooo!
I am very happy with the results and I can't wait for it to be healed. For now, I will just keep putting cream on it like a boss :)
In addition to Joey's great service and style, he found the blurry patch on my dad's hand a shame. As a former marine himself, he offered to fix up my dad's tattoo for free.
Also want one of these pretty footers? I do them for free! Check out this post for more information!