New flash sheets!

Just a sneak-peak at two new flash sheets. New set will be on sale before Christmas of this year. Hit me up via email to reserve a copy for your shop today!

On top check out the new ghetto-fabulous sheet! Below is the filligree aka ornamental stuff in black and grey. More to come!!!

Things at the shop have been getting better by the day. Still frustrated, but not so much. I'm finally taking my test to become licensed to tattoo in Hawaii in January. I'll be working at Skin Deep Tattoo in Waikiki from Dec 13 through Jan 22.

Will post more later.

Thanks for checking out my blog!

Gallery show!

I have more news!!!  I will be showing my artwork at the Portside Parlor and Art Gallery located at 20 S. 2nd Street in Philadelphia. First Friday in November!! This is a group show with my fellow tattooed friends from Body Graphics and No Ka Oi Tiki Tattoo. So excited!!!!

Here's more new art!

Garuda Painting for sale: $200.00  prints will be available after Nov. 10th. Contact me to get one from me directly! The Pink skull from a previous post will alos be available.

Another painting/print for sale. Watercolor on Paper. I will have prints of these made for cheap!

 IVA-CULA!!!!  Also for sale, acrylic on canvas

Sneak peak at new ORCHIDS flash page! (Coming Christmas!)

More to come!!!!

FRUIT TATTOOS

I finally was able to come into the shop early enough to get some practice in.... grapefruits!

I have been pretty frustrated lately, with the whole thing. It felt good to just sit down and listen to the machine for a little while before my mentor came in to watch. I know that I signed up an "old school" apprenticeship, and its very difficult to just be patient and take in all the information that you can. After watching 3 friends go from apprentice to "professional" tattooer in less than 2 yrs, I have a better appreciation for those that have really put in their time. I'm blessed to know that I am one in very few of my generation to receive a "real" apprenticeship, one that will actually count for something. I have been apprenticing for 2 yrs and 3 months, still have yet to tattoo a paying customer. My friends bug me to practice on them, and I feel like if I am made to wait any longer I will explode! I get alot of "what kind of tattoo apprenticeship doesn't have you actually tattooing?" Well, after I am done these 3-4 yrs, I will not only be able to put in a clean and solid tattoo, but I would have built the machine I tattooed with, built the needles I used, spun the coils on my machine, mixed the inks used to put in the tattoo, and fixed up the broken clip cord after it shorted out during that tattoo. How many "professional" tattooers can say that that are under the age of 30? Not many, but I will. The tradition behind tattooing really interested me from the beginning, and the MOST traditional thing about tattooing is the road which you take to actually learn how to do it. Just like when Leonardo apprenticed Raphael. I am so excited to start, and don't have much farther to go.

So, to the grapefruits!! Practiced some vines hand drawn on a grapefruit as stencil doesn't go too well. My linework is not as shaky as before, but I need to get better at pulling long lines and picking up on started ones. That seems to be hardest part for me so far. "SLOW THE HELL DOWN!" I have to keep telling myself. I paint very fast, and therefore draw fast.... but tattooing is forever, no erasers people...

That's all for now, will post some more artwork in a bit.

Art show coming up!

Just posting that I will be showing at the Portside Parlor and Art Gallery, the new tattoo shop/ Art Gallery in Olde City, Philadelphia. Me, along with many other artists from our shops will be exhibiting at a group show on the First Friday in November. Most works will be for sale, so stop by and buy something to feed our broke asses!!

Featuring previously posted Blue Skull and pink skull, along with the Garuda painting and a small painting of a Hula girl.

Will post soon!

Thanks and come check it out!

-Tina

Halloween painting so far

Here is another painting which came along with the skull sketches. Talk about complimentary colors!

I had my friend Iva pose for this one. It started out as a vampire drawing and sort of evolved into this raging medusa-like creature? Don't know if that's a good thing or not. Again, really bright colors, which I love but do not normally use.

More to come.

friday night

I let this go for a week or two, so here is a few things that I have been working on.

I painted this last week while working at the South Street Body Graphics with Mony... it was pretty dead so I found a skull cast and did some acrylic sketch/studies to pass the time. I got my one and only issue of Tattoo Artist magazine, reading up on Jeff Gogue and admiring the way he paints skulls. He uses oil mostly, so acrylic was the next best (and portable) thing. I did one with mostly blue and another with pink and green. I'm not sure why I all of a sudden have an urge to use complimentary colors, but I'm diggin the freedom of painting that I missed! It was very theraputic. I feel like I have lost that freedom and need to get it back. I need to work on SLOWING DOWN and not wanting to finish so quickly. It's weird how everyone makes comments about my ability to work so fast, but when I am painting, I get so lost in what I am doing that before I know it, I am "done". Looking at these now, they are far from finished, but figured that I would just leave them as sketches and move onto more.

Need to upload another one to this, will post again very soon.

Money Panic

I am off work today. Feels good until I went to go pay my bills. Only have about 1200-1400 per month in bills, and only making about 300 a week... this isn't good at ALL! I hope that when I start tattooing this will all change. I hate being broke. I feel stoked when I put cash in the bank, until it comes right out for bills. FUCK!

I started another flash sheet yesterday at the shop... it was fairly dead again until after dinnertime a group came in for some "In Loving Memory" tattoo and some girly stuff - stars and butterfly. Wish it was busier, but I guess with the slow season approaching fast, looks like I need to get this flash set done and out there. I need to HUSTLE YO!

Here is the flash sheet so far, just close ups.... talens ink on cold press watercolor paper 11 x 14. There is also a Mary in there but I forgot to take a pic of that!  Will post more tomorrow when I work on this again. Today is reserved for linework!