It looks like I'll be tattooing the Baltimore Tattoo Convention next month. I've yet to tattoo outside of my locale, so I'm excited to jump in.

I've open availability if you'll be around the area - It's Jan 23rd through the 25th.
Connect with me through email: david@allentattoo.com

More info here.

It took awhile, but I've just posted some tattoos in a new section of the gallery: Continuation. I'll continue to post new stuff in this section for the next couple of months.

Also, I've added a gallery of photos I take and send from my cell: iPhone Photos. I'm still posting to Flickr, but this area is a little more tattoo and experience specific.

Maybe this is obvious, but I've only recently been using it a lot. This example was used for a cover up, but I use it even more when I'm planning a tattoo for a certain space.

All I do is hold up a ruler to the piece when I take a picture. That's it.

After transferring the images to my computer, I open up Photoshop.
Create a new file (File > New). For a new document I always use the Photoshop Preset: U.S. Paper. (Size - Letter) This creates a standard 8.5" by 11" sheet at a 300 dots per inch resolution.

Next, I open the image I want and drag it onto the new document. Making sure the rulers are showing (View - Rulers) I click on the ruler and drag/pull a guide down to the inch mark. And I drag another down to the two inch mark.

Then it's a matter of resizing the photo; enlarging or reducing enough so the inch and two inch marks line up with the guides.

Pretty easy.

Then I have my size. Sometimes I print it out and draw over it. Other times I use my Wacom and sketch right there. It's perfect. And it helps with figuring out sizing for cover ups.

I also have paper rulers I print out and use as well. I like using a new one for every person, so I just print them out and throw them away. It's nothing special, but, when I get time, I'll throw it in the reference section so it's easy to just grab and print.

The last day of the convention was, surprisingly, the busiest for me. So much so I had to turn away people. Which sounds good, but kind of sucked.

Early in the day a couple approached me for some tattoos. One was paying cash and the other wanted to pay with a credit card.

The last thing on my mind was having a credit card processor.

But I really wanted to fix his tattoo. I've spent some quality time in San Diego and wanted to spruce up his letters... you know, do it justice.

Instantly I thought of the iPhone application, Credit Card Terminal. You have to have an account with Authorize.Net and it seems like a great idea. But I didn't have time to setup an account with them and the iPhone reception in the Hyatt was spotty.

The mental trail led me to where I did have an account: Paypal. I told the couple it would be about fifteen minutes and I hit up the business center computers with Paypal in mind.

Paypal has a simple setup to add payment options to a business account. It didn't matter how it looked, there wasn't really time for that. I just needed my customer to be able to pay. So I setup a new default blog in Movable Type (allentattoo.com/payment) and then pasted in the Paypal code. Ten minutes later, he was sitting there typing in his information. Twelve minutes later I had money in my account.

A little over an hour later, and the tattoo was complete.

I fell asleep to my iPhone plugged into the Hyatt alarm clock. I was in and out of sleep and then that Radiohead song from Amenesiac started in with the horns... life in a glass house? Really? Alright.

So I switched things up to Air and crashed. Four hours later I woke up to a the light of a bright city. Luis forgot to close the curtains and the city was alive and, um, reflective.

Breakfast was some food and ginger ale from the food court and it was on to the convention area to setup a little.

My ankle and leg is swollen as hell. It looks hilarious... I never thought my skinny little ankle would look so cool sporting a cankle. Yes. A cankle.

It's gross.

But it's so cool.

A bottle of 24 ibuprofen was $10 at the hotel store, but worth every penny.
Thirty minutes later things weren't as large and I was able to walk without looking stupid.

Okay, this has been hectic. And I suck for not having this as smooth and organized as I would like to have done. But it is what it is...

Just finished getting tattooed. And it hurt! Imagine.
Somehow the vibration from my ankle bone worked its way up to my teeth.

It was nice. And I can handle nice every now and then. But the tattoo?

The tattoo was (and is) lovely.

I'll throw up some iPhone pics later.

So I found myself in a hectic rush. Everything was easier this time around, but there's still the mental checklist while leaving that seems to hold things up a little. It's always nice to be able to pick up forgotten supplies from vendors, but if I already have it...

So far, every time has presented an initial mess of arriving and unloading. It's fun watching random people get pissed at the chaos. But this job is great, so letting it slide make sense, right?

I know this post is kind of random, but don't mind that. My mind and process is a bit scattered.

This time I brought the Macbook, the Wacom and my trackball. It might be overkill, but it's comfortable to at least have them around. So much so, it's my first item to setup. Then the power supply, then the dental bib, tubes, caps, and the routine. I love that the Hyatt has a business center right here in the convention room. Not having to pull a printer around is wonderful. And $0.75 for a print is worth it.

When I think about stuff like that I feel dependent. I pride myself (well, a little) in not being dependent on anything. But when I stop for a second and analyze my need for wifi... it's easy to see the level of denial.

This time of the year, things die down just a bit. But I'm happy to say they haven't died down much at all. There's always much to do and lately I've been working on a lot of larger pieces. Which is really teaching me both patience and persistence. Knowing the final product will eventually be done helps, but wanting to get there requires having the wherewithal to take time and do it right.

Now about that wherewithal. Ha.

Today I'm working on five tattoos. I've stretched myself out a bit, but it's just one day. The Chicago convention is this weekend, so I'm trying to finalize some work.

I've thought about it and I'm going to be blogging my experience at the Chicago Tattoo Convention in a couple of weeks. I'll bring my Macbook and update randomly with thoughts and observations.

I was an apprentice during the my first convention. It was nerve wracking and I didn't even tattoo. I had little knowledge, but was thrown in figuring out how to set up a portable environment of cleanliness, comfort (kinda), and compromise. Honestly, it's always the best way to learn anyway...

My second experience was a few months ago. I'm used to packing gear every week to my guest spot at Insight. So I'm past the awkwardness of tattooing in another area. Every day at the convention was a lesson in flying off the cuff and realizing what I did and didn't need. You realize quickly what should have been brought and what was obviously superfluous.

This time I'll make a point to go over what I'm bringing and maybe even some of why. My experience with other artists... which, by the way, has been 99% positive. (I couldn't be more impressed with people and the camaraderie. Art is great, but good people are just as important to me.) How tattoos go. If people show up, I may even enter some tattoos in contests. We'll see.

Hopefully it'll be something to look back on and I'll have learned a few things.

I'll be tattooing the Chicago Tattoo Convention this year with Bluebird Tattoo on Nov 14-16. If you're around, feel free to come up and visit. I always love meeting readers, fellow students, and folks of distinction. Ha.

Also, I've a few spots available... david@allentattoo.com

I got to work on the underwater scene leg piece and I wanted to show. Jason has been traveling up here time and again. His light skin seems to hold color really well.

And I love having pictures of the entire process...

Here's the first post.

This post has been written and re-written multiple times. It's been a shifting work in progress.

I've taken time to try to explain certain aspects of lining from my point of view. It was going to be a post I could look back on and use for information. A snapshot of sorts.

But things change.

Technique and motions are always developing and there is a consistency that strengthens with repetition, muscle memory, and a growing dexterity.

But things keep changing.

What seemed a normal pace (voltage wise) for almost two years suddenly didn't make sense anymore. My lines were more solid, but because I built them up accordingly. I never expect a single pass beauty every time, although some artists can nail it always. I simply wanted better quality. Well, two days ago I turned up my liner and the world was new.

My entire method of creating lines shifted because something clicked. The tiny dots of a soft hit, the blur of trailing ink, and the light vibration of stretched skin all spoke to me. It sounds silly, but I swear I just got it.

I continued to stretch and the vibration made more sense. It was a bit more solid. I knew (instantly) that the line would be solid two years from when it was created. All it took was shutting out what I knew to be comfortable. If we are working our selves, there's no reason we can't use those honed senses. As if listening to a familiar voice, there is an ebb and there is a flow to the relation of needle and skin.

Again. It sounds silly, but...

--

I remember, a year ago, Monte Agee talking with me about tattooing. His eyes lit up and he told me many things. But one quick comment stands out at this point.
He said, "David, shading, at times, is like sex."
I tilted my head back and laughed out loud. There was no way for me to understand, let alone fully understand. I just loved how it sounded.

--

But it makes sense to me now.

Every skin requires an altered relation. By listening to my senses, I can adjust in an instant. Maybe I'll turn up or down. I might need to rinse off plasma. A fade might require a quicker hand motion; or a stretch may require a different positioning.

Whatever the give, I'm learning to take. Then, when I find the motion of the skin, I've discovered what it takes... so I give in return. And so on.

--

All of which seems to form an even larger picture. I'm trying to dive into myself to be able to write this down, but when it happens - it just happens. There's no quick and obvious answer. Rather a road to be traveled; an experience to be had.