This is a quick post, but I wanted to thank everyone who came up and said "hello" at the Chicago Body Expo. It's always a pleasure meeting people who follow the site.

Actually tattooing a convention was really good for me. I was a bit cranky/out of my element for the first tattoo or so. Then eventually, I found a rhythm even with random people walking by and watching.

On a side note:
I know posts have been infrequent and a little less meaty. But don't worry. I'm starting to get a handle on booking appointments and eventually posts will get back on track.

I've been really busy. Which is a wonderful problem to have. So in the hustle of the daily tattoo grind, it's a pleasure to keep getting opportunities to chip away at existing pieces.

Every time Ashley doesn't sit very long, but she sits like a champ. So even if I get only an hour to work on this piece, I jump on it... because it's so dang fun.

In college (Illinois State) my roommate, Jason Meents, was always able to just draw figures and form straight from his mind. He was, and still is, able to accurately form and contort the anatomy to his liking. It was a pleasure watching him, and trying my hardest to soak it up.

Now I can hold my own drawing. No problem. But my creation process is much different. I do sketch up figures and I layout numerous thumbnails. I'm just a little too particular - and even the word "particular" is being nice. I have trouble getting past reality and what I actually see. It's my own personal struggle, really. I'll sketch and then go accumulate references to match the idea. Probably because I don't trust my version and I always want a sense of realism. It helps me attach myself to it. I may be able to visualize a crazy world with disfigured light poles and lanes of elongated, El Greco looking people cycling in front of the shop, but I fight myself to actually put that down. Not sure why. I just know we all have our own way of massaging the process to actually work. And do so consistently.

So this piece stretched me a little. For whatever reason, I took it as a personal challenge. The image was in my head, but she wanted it kind of realistic. Not an illustration.

After sketching and sketching, I reverted back to 'ol faithful: the internets. And, much to my chagrin, she couldn't come through for me. (She's usually a faithful and trustworthy friend - full of vigor, naked people, and spice)

I went downstairs, grabbed Ashlee's Nikon and decided to setup a quick reference shoot. The process was fun. Maybe even a bit liberating.

Anyway, this is the final piece. She loved it and, which, honestly, is all I could ask for.

Addendum: Hell yeah, an addendum! Matt at Insight offered his Alla Prima blood inks. I was hesitant, but after using them, I'm off to buy my own.

Bob wanted a matching Mary to balance out the Jesus on his right side. Here's what we came up with. (The middle two tattoos are by other artists)

Also, someone commented about a healed pic. It's in the photo below. Actually, I'd like to start posting some more healed pictures next to the fresh ones. It'd be great to see the difference in contrast and consistency.

Here's a larger version...

I'll be tattooing the Body Art Expo convention this year at Navy Pier - Chicago. (June 27-29) I'll be up there in a Bluebird Tattoo booth.

If you're around, stop by and say "hello". It's always great to meet people who read the site.

Also, I have an opening on Friday and possibly Sunday. If you're interested, fire an email to me via david@allentattoo.com

Here's the finished version of the Bettie Page tattoo I've been working on. (The outline is in the gallery) I'd like to do some more color blending when it heals... maybe some deeper mid browns... but that's just me. Oh, and sorry about the glare. I'll get better pictures when I can.

This is all Eternal Inks by the way. I just got a full set and absolutely love them.

Here's another angle.

I'm a little behind in posting. I've been booked solid for a bit (which is new to me) and finding time to post is getting tougher. I guess that's a good problem to have, but I have to make sure to keep Allen Tattoo current.

To start catching up, here's a really cool underwater scene I'm working on...

Jason follows this site and liked an earlier underwater scene I did. After talking with him, I kinda got a picture of the detail he wanted. I was a little nervous to lay it out, because I remember how daunting the first one seemed.

Once I started on it, though, all was fine. Most of the confusion was already solved from doing something familiar. So my goal in the first session was to get an outline and a slightly shaded version of the shapes. I wanted to be able to come back to it and know where I stood dimensionally.

Also, here's the actual Photoshop design. It's not pieced together exceptionally well, but enough for me to be able to pull the outline and render it seamlessly while I tattoo. I ended up purchasing some high resolution stock images for this one. I absorbed the cost, but that's no problem because I made the money back after the first session.

The spring busted on my Aaron Cain shader, so I shipped it back to him and he tuned the heck out of it. It's running perfect again. While it was gone, using other machines helped me figure a few things out.

Here's the deal. Every machine has its own... well, it's own personality. Now that I'm accumulating experience, I'm able to feel and see the differences. From the contact vibration to how the skin takes the ink, it's starting to make a sense that's difficult to explain. I just know when to turn up and down. And I know when I'm right there.

Which happens to be different with every machine. Then, to have fun with the equation, throw in an innumerable amount of skin types. You know, great stuff like elasticity and density. Even writing about it makes it sound a bit daunting. And, I'll admit that it is incredibly much so when you approach it to learn.

But it kind of just happens eventually. With the important word being "eventually".

And so, eventually, my greys are getting smoother. I'm certain my hand motions are steadier and depth variations are more consistent, all of which help a great deal. But that understanding between myself and my machine has a lot to do with it.

I've a long way to go, but I'm starting to feel like I'm actually progressing.

Hey, this one was fun. I did this on Bob's back. Who is Bob, you ask? (or not) Bob is an ex-Marine sniper who decided to fill his body with tattoos at the age of 70 something. Most are military related, and he wanted to "balance out" his body with some other imagery.

I decided to throw in white. I'm not a big white guy, but it fit with the piece.

Also, because it's a picture of Jesus, I was able to add my own touches to his face and shape. Which, in turn, is so much easier than an exact portrait.

Now I need someone to let me get all distorted and Byzantine.

First off, it was wonderful. Everything was done right. Seriously. People were excited, details were covered impeccably, and the atmosphere was different. You just knew the room was filled with insane amounts of talent.

Which leads me directly to what I noticed and wanted to write about in this post: actually being able to watch the people you follow online is really cool.

Some artists have jumped all in and have added time within their routines to update with posts and imagery. Others sporadically throw pictures into their MySpace folders and instantly thousands of people are able to access the works. Places like TattooNow have even provided a user friendly experience for tattoo artists looking to streamline the promotional process.

With all of the tattoo eye candy available, we - both fans and artists - have bookmarked the artists that we like and dislike. It just makes sense that we find ourselves going back, over and over, to view what has become a continuation of an artist's work; an artist's progression.

Of which we're lucky to even get a glimpse, let alone continually update with imagery, ideas, and random thoughts from the minds of those artists.

In doing so, it's easy to feel comfortable with people we don't really know. Here we see the fruits of their pure, unadulterated creativity. We read slices of their lives and gain personal inspiration from their talents and skills.

What was once, seemingly, a stowaway culture that thrived amongst itself... a culture with sordid tales. A tattoo brotherhood. With those who found themselves drinking Brandy from skulls and cutting lawns with scissors... has now become less privy. Sure, there remains a guard: a fine line of distinction that protects information from professional to professional. But we are now able to directly absorb each other's work.

And so this world continues to change. The landscape is now multi-colored. I'm certain trees were green in season. But now. Now they are whatever color we chose.

We are able to chose those colors on our own and/or we can allow ourselves to be influenced directly by opening a browser.

An artist will post another solid piece to his portfolio and thirty burgeoning artists, around the globe, will scrutinize and find a way to apply what they pulled from it into their work. It's just what we do. We pull. We bite, and we chew. Somehow making our own out of what already was and what we currently feel.

So. I write all of that in observation of my experience with this directly at Hell City. Of all the visiting tattoo artists I ran into (those not working the show), most went on and on about how great we have it. I met artists from all over the states, and a handful from various countries. All of which came to learn. Some I ran into waiting for seminars and others I noticed peering over the shoulder of artists tattooing during Hell City.

All in all, what they talked about most (at least with me) was how cool it was to see the artists they love. We all know lurking online helps us learn; physical proximity doesn't matter anymore. So it was weird being able to actually see and stand next to the people we follow and get inspiration from.

I could list the names, but it doesn't matter. You get the idea.

Once we walked in, it was then a matter of picking an artist and standing next to their booth. You stand and you soak up by watching somebody layout their ink caps, mess with their machines, or whatever. We all have our own system. Having a chance to watch somebody else's is nice.

It's also a little creepy. You know, just being the random guy standing there watching with intent. Because, honestly, who knows your intent, really? But, after a few minutes, it didn't matter. I said "hey" a few times, other times I didn't. The less of a wake I could leave the better...

Ultimately, what I found was vast. There was too much to take in. Too much to even write down. It didn't seem overwhelming or anything. If it even got close to that, it was then a matter of walking away and getting something from the food court.

I wrote earlier about our landscape now being multi-colored. What I meant was that we have a bottomless supply of visual options right in front of us. Hell City was amazing because I was able to catch little glimpses of those options being formed and created.

Hopefully that makes sense. Well, here...

I saw moments of pure shading, then instant withdrawal giving time enough for thought. Dark colors were laid down much farther into blends than I expected. Mags were used like paint brushes; curved mags looked interesting. Grey washes were mixed a ton of different ways. Some guys even whip shaded in rhythm with the music. Many had smooth interactions with clients, while others hid within themselves.

It was inspiring.

Now that I think about it, all of this may seem a little obvious. But I went in not knowing what to expect. I came out happy and ready to tattoo some more.

* Addendum: Dang this is a long post.

My second piece in the Scratch Art book was messed with while I was reading a book about Picasso written by one of his grandchildren. So it makes sense to me.

I picked up a copy of the Scratch Art book at Hell City and it's incredible. I couldn't stop going back to the gallery and viewing all of the work. Most of the art is just stunning. I had just looked at some teeth that were expertly rendered, then the artist, Nick Baxter, came strolling in. I found myself going right up to him and telling him how beautiful I found it to be. I don't usually do that so I failed to introduce myself (I tend to do that anyway though) so it was random, but he responded kindly. Honestly, I wish I could have personally offered praise for just about every piece.

It's Saturday in Hell City. I've little access to a computer, and posting from my iPhone takes forever. That and the camera in it decided to stop working. So look for a tired recap complete with no photos or, for that matter, any good use of sentence structure.

I will say that it's fun seeing all the pure talent. And it's just plain uncomfortable being some random guy leaning over booths trying to watch technique. It may even be a bit creepy.

But that's okay. I can get past that.

I'm off to the food court...

Enjoy this video profile of the Chinese tattoo artist Zhuo Dan Ting. Current skirts around the border of the tattoo scene in Shanghai, but more importantly shines a spotlight on a thriving and interesting influence.

"Whatever level you are, people may consider you very good, but you still must continue to learn."

Here's a quick and dirty video of me outlining (a bit extensively) a portrait in Photoshop CS3. With so many peculiarities, I like being able to zoom in and create the outline with my Wacom.

The video is about 2 minutes. Everything is sped up, big time. Also, it was too quiet so I threw in some old hardcore. There's a couple of seconds in the beginning so you can mute it, you know... if you can't hang.

I finally got to get a good picture of a tattoo I loved working on. It's a clipper ship done with freedom. Meaning... she let me do my take instead of traditional style. I was incredibly happy (yep, incredibly) with the way this healed. It may even be the first time I noticed an area of grey that I didn't deem patchy.

I got to sneak in another session on the top half of the murder sleeve. There's so much more to do, but it feels good to chip away at it.

Also, I've had a lot of emails about this one... it'll take awhile, but I'll keep posting the progression.