It’s Been a Little Bit Again

So there is a lot that has happened. Some of it doesn’t seem important in hindsight – but here is some of it that seemed worthy of sharing.

Jenn had this amazing double exposed photo of her cats that she had taken a while back.

She wanted to make it into a tattoo and I was excited for the challenge. The only thing I wanted to change was how far the kitties were from one another – by bringing them in closer I felt it would work a little bit better. I did do a rough sketch of what I had in mind to show Jenn.

I did want to make the one eye reflective (like the flash had bounced off of it), but Jenn and I agreed that it took too much away from the character of the cat.
The tattoo wraps her leg a little bit so it is hard to see in a single photo – so here are a few different angles of it.

I was also able to take a healed photo of Jenn’s hummingbirds which we made for her about 2 (or 3?) years ago.
We have added what will be the last piece to Eric’s Buddha/Mara tattoo. I’m a little sad that this one is going to be finished soon as I have enjoyed working on it immensely. There is one more session to go to finish the MarshCroc and possibly some tightening if Eric has found anything that needs it (or I come across anything).
I really can’t be greedy here – This piece started out as a chest panel and half sleeve and has grown quite a bit since the original concept.
Thanks so much Eric!

On May 6th I returned to painting class. We are probably getting near the end of the session, but I am not going to dwell on that.

This one is finished. I need to sign it, glaze it and get a better photograph – then she can go on off to her new home.

These two are probably finished also. They will need some more observation before I decide for sure and then they will also get the finished treatment. I am having fun with this series for sure and there will be more to come.

Delirium has a way to go yet. Since she is so much different than the other ones that I am working on it is hard to switch back and forth to work on her at the same time. I think she is going to be a sunny day painting that I will keep in the studio and work on when the conditions are right for her temperament.

I went off to Off the Map this past week. I have a bunch of great photos of clouds and flowers and the Bed and Breakfast that I stayed in – but I am going to figure that you really don’t care that much and not show them to you. So here are a couple of the tattoos that I made while I was there.

What can I say about Gretchen? I always look forward to seeing her and she has gotten some of my favorite tattoos. This one was no exception and if you follow me on Twitter (@justteejay) this is the tattoo I was talking about when I said I was “giddy” over the drawing.

I also made this lion tattoo for Jack. He sat great and the tattoo looks much better than the photo. He originally wanted the lion to have three eyes which I was super excited about – but I didn’t realize he wanted the third eye to be subtle. So who out there will let me make a three eyed critter on them? I spent a lot of time figuring out exactly how I would work it out and I would hate for that knowledge to go to waste : )

I got back in town on Saturday night so I had plenty of time to rest up and head back to painting class Monday morning. I started two new pieces.

In case you can’t see these guys well enough – here is the sketch that I was working off of.

A break to check out the lilac festival and clean the house a little bit and then back for figure drawing class. I am not at all happy with my drawings lately – but I will keep plugging along at it and I am sure they will improve again.