🏊♂️ My final swim for a month to start Thursday morning. It's all about #tattoolove, innit. I made the most of one last time in the water ahead of waiting for my skin to heal. It was functional with another 40 lengths ticked off. I almost felt nostalgic for lockdown when you were given a few days warning ahead of the pools closing again.#
💀 I decided after my last inking a year ago to continue with the ink fest. I also gave myself the personal deadline of waiting for six months, just to make sure, y'know. I made sure and yep, BRING IT ON. But there was a six month waiting list for my man. I've been Waiting for My Man in eager anticipation over recent months.#
I joined four other slightly nervous folk shortly after 10:30am, waiting for the call from their artist. It was very similar to a Doctor's waiting room, without the crappy magazines and shitty daytime telly.#
Johnny Cash was on the studio playlist for the morning. The Man in Black sounded fitting for what was to come.#
We were all in separate rooms with an open door policy. It was very relaxed. I tried to ease my nerves with all sorts of random bollocks. Which room would first buzz with the sound of the vibrating needle? It wasn't my room.#
Much like painting and decorating, it's all about the prep. My man was very thorough. I liked his approach. It was almost an hour and a half before the first needle went in. We wanted to make sure the design was spot on and balanced in the correct place on my shoulder.#
We were a little over optimistic with the grand scale of the initial paper design. If at first you don't succeed, then scale down.#
Next up: NEEDLE TIME!#
I've felt bigger pricks, so to be speak. I actually quite enjoyed the whole experience. The style of my man is for very small black dots to build up the bigger picture. This most definitely wasn't a slap it on approach.#
I started to think about what it might look like after this first session was finished. But you shouldn't look too far ahead. Half the fun is the actual experience itself. You need to live through this mild irritation ahead of the satisfaction of the end result.#
We both took a late lunch. I had the artwork covered up and I took a wander around the mean streets of Sunny Colch, aka a charity shop CD buying spree. I came out trumps with the White Stripes, Athlete and the Pulp Fiction soundtrack - £3 all in.#
I then had the very random thought of checking up on my crappy MTB that I had locked up outside. I wouldn't normally do this. I rocked up to the bike rack, only to see some weedy yoof with a F-OFF pair of bolt cutters attacking the D-lock on the bicycle next to mind.#
BASTARD.#
"Can I help you?" I asked. He claimed that it was his bicycle and he had lost his keys. Yeah, right mate. A small crowd was now starting to gather. I was selfish and more concerned about my own bicycle. I unlocked it with a view to shifting it elsewhere. The crowd grew, the little shit did a runner.#
By pure coincidence I saw a uniformed Community Support Officer around the next corner. I explained what I had seen. He was already across this, and explained that there had been a couple of other reports of the little shit.#
Funny old town / city.#
Round 2 of the Ink Fest continued. More prep work, more planning for Part 2 and Part 3. Yep - this is only the beginning.#
A clean up took place back at base. I'm happy with the work today. The shoulder is finished, the upper arm has some work in progress sketches. It looks a little odd as an unfinished piece of art. Patience is everything.#
🏊♂️ My final swim for a month to start Thursday morning. It's all about #tattoolove, innit. I made the most of one last time in the water ahead of waiting for my skin to heal. It was functional with another 40 lengths ticked off. I almost felt nostalgic for lockdown when you were given a few days warning ahead of the pools closing again.#
💀 I decided after my last inking a year ago to continue with the ink fest. I also gave myself the personal deadline of waiting for six months, just to make sure, y'know. I made sure and yep, BRING IT ON. But there was a six month waiting list for my man. I've been Waiting for My Man in eager anticipation over recent months.#
I joined four other slightly nervous folk shortly after 10:30am, waiting for the call from their artist. It was very similar to a Doctor's waiting room, without the crappy magazines and shitty daytime telly.#
Johnny Cash was on the studio playlist for the morning. The Man in Black sounded fitting for what was to come.#
We were all in separate rooms with an open door policy. It was very relaxed. I tried to ease my nerves with all sorts of random bollocks. Which room would first buzz with the sound of the vibrating needle? It wasn't my room.#
Much like painting and decorating, it's all about the prep. My man was very thorough. I liked his approach. It was almost an hour and a half before the first needle went in. We wanted to make sure the design was spot on and balanced in the correct place on my shoulder.#
We were a little over optimistic with the grand scale of the initial paper design. If at first you don't succeed, then scale down.#
Next up: NEEDLE TIME!#
I've felt bigger pricks, so to be speak. I actually quite enjoyed the whole experience. The style of my man is for very small black dots to build up the bigger picture. This most definitely wasn't a slap it on approach.#
I started to think about what it might look like after this first session was finished. But you shouldn't look too far ahead. Half the fun is the actual experience itself. You need to live through this mild irritation ahead of the satisfaction of the end result.#
We both took a late lunch. I had the artwork covered up and I took a wander around the mean streets of Sunny Colch, aka a charity shop CD buying spree. I came out trumps with the White Stripes, Athlete and the Pulp Fiction soundtrack - £3 all in.#
I then had the very random thought of checking up on my crappy MTB that I had locked up outside. I wouldn't normally do this. I rocked up to the bike rack, only to see some weedy yoof with a F-OFF pair of bolt cutters attacking the D-lock on the bicycle next to mind.#
BASTARD.#
"Can I help you?" I asked. He claimed that it was his bicycle and he had lost his keys. Yeah, right mate. A small crowd was now starting to gather. I was selfish and more concerned about my own bicycle. I unlocked it with a view to shifting it elsewhere. The crowd grew, the little shit did a runner.#
By pure coincidence I saw a uniformed Community Support Officer around the next corner. I explained what I had seen. He was already across this, and explained that there had been a couple of other reports of the little shit.#
Funny old town / city.#
Round 2 of the Ink Fest continued. More prep work, more planning for Part 2 and Part 3. Yep - this is only the beginning.#
A clean up took place back at base. I'm happy with the work today. The shoulder is finished, the upper arm has some work in progress sketches. It looks a little odd as an unfinished piece of art. Patience is everything.#
