I haven't been posting much lately, so I decided I would start posting a picture of each tattoo I have over time. Today, I'll be starting with my very first tattoo, that I received on my 18th birthday just about 10 years ago.
This tattoo was a birthday present for my 18th from my mom (I also got my tongue pierced that day, so I couldn't talk AND had a sore left shoulder. 'Twas a great day). It was originally done by Danny at Lucky Dog Tattoo in Centralia, WA (Lucky Dog has since closed down). I got it because I used to be a huge comic fan back in the day. I still like comics, but haven't been able to keep up on them in roughly 10-15 years. Anyway, I went with The Punisher because he's always been one of my favorite comic characters. However, I wanted something besides the standard white and black skull used in the comics, so Danny came up with coloring it black and using red for the eyes and nose holes. While working, Danny thought it would be cool to make the top into flames rather than all black, giving it even more of a custom look, and I agreed.
After nearly 10 years, the tattoo had begun to fade considerably. So, when I went in to get my sleeve done (which I will post in pieces later on), my current artist-and the best damn artist in Denver, in my book-wanted to freshen it up to go with the bulk of the sleeve. This photo was taken that day, and the difference was pretty noticeable if you ever saw the tattoo prior. Touch-up work done by
Chase Martines at
Brave New World Tattoo. Although Chase is the only artist I use in Colorado, the other artists at the shop-Enrique, Hailey and Eric (the owner)-are all excellent as well.
Again, I'm still somewhat of a comic book fan, and much like the Punisher, Spawn has always been one of my favorite characters. Ever since I picked up my first issue (number 18) and looked at Spawn shoot an army official square in the eye, Spawn has always been a badass to me. What better way to commemorate that badassery with a tattoo? This tattoo is on the back of my left shoulder, and features half of Spawn's face, as well as half of one of Spawn's greatest rivals, the prostitute-fucking murderous bounty hunter with a skull mask melted onto his face (courtesy of Spawn) known as Chapel. This piece was actually taken from the cover of a Spawn issue (number 12), and was done courtesy of Marco Hernandez at Lit Fuse Tattoo (formerly of Tiki Tattoo, which is where the piece was done at), Olympia, WA.
