Pens n needles

ok, got to try and post this quick coz shop's closing in 10.....

So the exhibition last night was a lot of fun. Had a blast, met up with friends old and new and generally had an awesome night.

here's some pics of the artwork on show.... each image is titled to the artist except one *click to open and name'll be the last 2 words in the URL* coz i cant remember who did it. (sorry.... whoever u r)

i love the title of this one.... it's called "My Girlfriend was not my muse"

Anyways, next up is the one i forgot the artist... i only took the photo coz it's the best hair placement ever. true story.

so after browsing the artwork on show, it was drinking time, stupid photo time, and general shenanigans ensued.

Rach was a rebel, and wore heels even through there was a sign clearly stating how HEELS ARE A NO NO! (seriously, it was hilarious last night......)

me taking a photo of matt taking photo of people taking photos of photos..... again, you kinda had to be there......

Rach's face is a gem. She doesn't know Al (drink stealer)... funnier..... yesterday.

i dont even know what me and alan are trying to do to Al in this one..... or who took this photo for that matter......

Charissa was continuing a rad nautical/pirate sleeve. 

Anyways, pretty long day at work today, did this little guy/gal.... kinda fun. It's based on a painting by someone who i've forgotten. ( i know how useless i am being..... i promise)

Right that's it for now kids..... have a good weekend.

arty farty

so, some sketches i've mustered up these past few days first.... (these are not for anybody in particular so if anyone is keen on getting either, just get in touch).

and tonight i'm off to THIS!

I have a friend exhibiting and i expect this to be awesome, so you will most definitely hear from me if it isn't.

that's it. short. and. sweet.

The Carnival of Death

oooooh, just found out bout this..... super exciting..... looks rad.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2011

"The Carnival of Death: Perceptions of Death in Europe and the Americas," 3-Day Conference and Exhibition, University College London, Feb 24-26

"The Carnival of Death: Perceptions of Death in Europe and the Americas"--a 3-day exhibition and conference at University College London--launches today! The exhibition features the artwork of Laurie Lipton--who's "Santa Muerte" is shown above, just in time for tonight's event of the same name --as well as that of Matt Rowe, Sarah Sparkes and many more. The conference spans such topics as Helen Frisby's "revelry and rivalry in the nineteenth century English folk funeral," Adriana Bontea's "The Merry Epitaph and the Art of Memory," and our old friend John Troyer's (familiar sounding?) "Morbid Ink: Field Notes on the Human Memorial Tattoo."

The exhibition is free and open to the public; Although the interdisciplinary conference is also listed as free and open, registration was supposed to have taken place by Friday February 11th, so not sure if one can still beg their way in or not but, from a glance at the program, thinking it might be worth a try.

THE CARNIVAL OF DEATH
Perceptions of Death in Europe and the Americas
Conference and Exhibition dates: 24-26 Feb 2011
Venue: Institute of Germanic & Romance Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of London
Keynote speakers: Briony Campbell, Paul Preston, Laurie Lipton

1 complaint : who the hell puts on an exhibition for only 3 days and closes it at 6 at the latest? crazyness. I guess if i had a 9-5 this wouldn't be such a dilema, but now it looks like i gotta get up at stoopid o ' clock tomorrow to go see it. Better be good..... or else. Anyone else wanna come along tomorrow, send me a text. i'm gonna aim to be at Goodge st station at .... wait for it..... 9 in the morning *sob*

oh, in other news, it's my 5 year wedding anniversary. woop woop.

recap

so i've had an awesome last few days, and not work related for a change (i normally only ever get excited bout tattoos.... but i'm trying to branch out)

so on Sunday, i met up with Pieman for a super fancy Sunday roast, and then onto comic shops for some serious expenditure. I'm glad i've found places in London that stock all my favorite art/graphic/general brain fart kinda stuff i just love to read about. I also picked up a copy of this *drum roll*.......

all u fellow awesome Star Trek fans can read all about it HERE!


So then onto an art shop that was having a HUGE sale. Up to 80% off some stuff, and i FINALLY managed to find perfectly square hardback sketchbooks (i've been looking for years) so the fact they were on sale made it that bit more satisfying.
Picked up some canvas too so hopefully that'll get me motivated enough to throw some paint at stuff.

So then Monday was the Defeater gig i've been looking forward to for a while. Boy were they tight, and by no means remotely disappointing.  I didn't take my camera, coz cool kids don't take photos (right Will?).

yup.

awesome thing is, the newest album has an acoustic EP which is awesome, coz i loved this track.... and always wanted more like it!

facebook readers, sorry, videos dont seem to appear on my blog so go here

And then came the day after Monday... Tuesday, or yesterday to some in the here and now.....

So i was gonna draw, n paint, n stuff, but i also fancied getting out the house coz Ross has been practicing his noise stuff and it's kinda annoying in a flat as small as mine. 

So off to Maidstone i trotted, to visit my sensei, the honourable Jay Parker. OK, not so honourable, but awesome none the less. Spent the whole day there (i say whole day but i forgot how wretched the commute to Maidstone from North London can be). 

Was nice to see him again...been a long time.

So i'm booked in to get my back-piece started FINALLY! Lemme explain.... i got 2 small pieces o' crap on my back, so knew it would be a cover up, and knew i wanted Jay to do it, but trouble with living in China and your preferred tattooer living in England is well.... just that. So i'm so glad i can start getting big scale work again, not just 1-shots. (i'm not even joking, i've left the backs of my thighs and my ass free just in case he needed the space. the amount of times a came so close to getting stuff tattooed there and had to stop myself.....)

Oh, and don't ask what i'm getting. I don't know yet. Won't know til i see it to be honest. Ooooh, exciting! (that's another thing i love bout getting tattooed by Jay.... we don't need consultations, reference, or any of that, coz he knows me well enough to make sure it's kick ass in my opinion, which generally in turn means it's retarded to most.)

So what other news have i got..... hmmmm... Oh, i almost forgot, i added a new page to my blog: "seizure's palace" where i'm posting stuff for sale, be it t shirts, prints, original artwork etc etc.... and i'll be posting any sketches i do that i really wanna tattoo and will therefore be offering those pieces at a very reasonable rate to satisfy my need to tattoo some stuff that most people wouldn't generally request. Phew, hope that all makes sense.

Oh, and if u r reading this on Facebook, it will make no sense, so go check out MY PROPER BLOG HERE!

and to satisfy all u people that only read my blog for pics of tattoos and generally do not care about my day to day doings..... here ya go....

merch-apalooza

so, quick post coz i'm not sure i ever got round to announcing i got my shirts all printed and ready to find homes.

got this design as girls vests, and it's available on t shirts in white on black AND black on white....

and this design on hoodies (running out of them mind you) and t shirts. the t shirts with this design also have the dog print as a small sleeve print.

please contact me if you are interested in buying any of the above, and specify size, and colour preference so i can check the stock box! (girls vests are only available in white with black print (as above) and are 1 size fits most)

i have a small selection at the studio too, so if u r in the area and fancy getting yourself one, pop in!

kids love (dr)ink

So, young Max came back for some more ink, this time we had much more suitable furniture, and i'd like to think the whole experience was much easier than last time, when we were both pretty much bent over backwards trying to reach places only gymnasts should at the brighton convention. that sounds wrong.... but it's 100% autobiographic. promise.

So here's what any Joy Division fan should get over their hearts......

he sat really well, considering it's all pretty much skin n bone round there.

In other news, last night i had a mosey on down to this...

I'm sure if i knew a bunch of people there and was just planning on drinking cheap beer, i woulda had a good time, but alas, that wasn't the case, and i just got frustrated with people standing with backs to the artwork, meaning all i really got to see was the conveniently placed bin in the centre of the room and a bunch of barely post pubescent mugs. I did push and shove enough people out to have a quick look around, but wasn't feeling patient enough with life in general to stay much longer.

I'm a big Fos fan, in fact he designed one of my favorite t shirts....

here's a cool little piece on him.

anyways, anyone in London lacking in stuff to do should definitely swing by and have a gander, it's on for a month... that's a long time to procrastinate, so no excuses people. the studio that's hosting the exhibition is beautiful, with the coolest entrance ever. *drool* I'd kill for a shop front like that. 

anyways, thats it, and if this post seems kinda disjointed, it's been spread throughout the course of a day and between 3 customers.... so i hope it reads.... well.

muffins are for people to scared to eat cake for breakfast

so this is what i did today. really fun piece on a lovely lady down from Wales.

it's tucked up on the upper inner arm. poor thing started to struggle towards the end, but all in all, took it like a champ.

anyways, bout to leave work, so short n sweet it is.

Home is where the house is

So after a full day yesterday, i took it upon myself to stay back and do some after hours foot torture.

Miss Sinead wanted a pirate ship and a lighthouse. She was very generous with her giving of body parts, as i got not one foot, but TWO feet! All the feet she has.... mine. yup.

The original sketch had some scenic palm trees on the left side, but she wanted it to be more like ireland, so out came the palm trees and in went.... little houses?! s'pose i could have thrown a brewery in there somewhere......

she sat like a trooper. can't have been fun.... at all. She even managed to walk to the nearest drinking establishment after wards without a hint of a complaint. 

cat scratch fever

So, long day yesterday... big ol' cover-up... but a fun one.

Poor lawrence had been walking around with this monstrosity for the last 6 months....

it was done by a "random hippie in camden" his words not mine.....

so here's what we spent the better part of a whole day doing....

he was a really sweet guy and definitely deserved a better tattoo than the one he was originally lumbered with, so i'm glad i could help. it's put his faith back into tattoos and i won't be surprised if he's back for more.

good stuff.

Bitchin'

So had some free time at work today, so caught up on a few designs that were starting to get to "urgent" status, and did this. Anyone wanna get this tattooed? I'll do it for a decent amount of clams. yup.

In other news, it's Valentine's Day, Simon Pegg's birthday, and the day the doctors thought i'd be born. Oh how they were wrong. 

Have a good'un!

what are friends for?

so quick post between customers, just a bit of chit chat really. first up is the news of a tattoo trade i am very much looking forward to. Myself and the delectable Mr Lord Montana will soon be exchanging pain, ink and time on one another. Here's a sneak preview of the piece i plan to do on him. Haven't seen what he's mustered up for me but no doubt it'll be rad.

second up is the gig i'm off to tonight. The awesome King Blues will be playing the Garage tonight. I'm pretty sure it's sold out, so if u aren't already in possession of a golden ticket, no trip around the factory for you i'm afraid. Luckily Jamie Jazz is an old buddy and managed to get me on the list. I may even remember to get a healed photo of the tattoo i did on him during my guest spot in London a few years back.

Now all i gotta do is make friends with a bar person, bank manager, hit man, and baker and my life will be set.

faber fate

so.... remember me rambling on about a top secret super important pencil quest? well.... it went terribly. TERRIBLY! grrrrr..... anyways, i did promise i'd explain.... so here goes.

Basically, the other day while visiting my favorite taxidermy/antique/junk shop, i spotted none other than a beautiful antique Johann Faber silver mini pencil casing. It even still had a little nubby pencil left in it. So i bought it for a steal, then started thinking if i could still get pencils that shape n size.... hence the mission i've been on. Now see, for all o y'all who have credit cards or paypal, i'm sure this woulda been a hell of a lot less of a mission and more of a coffee break. I'm not one of those people. I like life harder than nessessary.... clearly. So after visiting a lot of stationary/art/hardware shops, i kinda came to the understanding i'd most likely have to get a knife out and risk maybe amputating a finger or two.

So, i go to one last shop, thinking "at least it's still got a little pencil left" when i hear the guy at the til go "oops". I turn around and find him grinning at me like a mopey monkey who's just sniffed his shit ridden finger and got caught. This guy has only gone and taken the pencil out, put it back and got it jammed all the way up the top of the silver casing. GRRRRRRRRRR

So half a day spent trying to get the pencil out the top of the case, and half a day filing a pencil back to about a centimetre longer than what was already there.... and i'm pretty much back to square 1. no... i'm probably in the minus' now coz even if i could get a pencil like the one that was in there, i'd have to saw it into a third seeing as the top of the casing is now.... eternally occupied.

anyways, i figured i may as well post photos of what i'm talking bout. It's gonna accompany me everywhere, i love it... and its tiny. too awesome, fancy mini stationary. who could want more?

seriously, is that not awesome? it's like a mini ninja sword pencil. i'm in love.

anyone else who is equally obsessed with all things stationary, heres a link to some more johann goodness. and here's an awesome little read about whats jammed up that silver tube too.....

“May the dragon of life only roast your hot-dogs and never burn your buns!”

So, today we finished off the dragon back-piece on the lovely Layla.

She's been steadily booking in for a few hours every other week, and i don't say i blame her for being glad it's all done n dusted. Hopefully i'll get a healed pic, coz all that cloudy background is all wash and will heal way lighter. But, til then, if then ever happens, here it is....

Photo is in daylight without flash coz the section from last session is still very shiny.

Bruise&Glory

So some pretty sweet pictures of me working have surfaced from Brighton....

wish i could credit the photographers, but all i know is the 1st one was on this ladies facebook!

Again, thanks to everyone who dropped by the stall to get tattooed, bought a shirt or just say to say "hi"!

Tattooed my favorite banjo playing skinhead today (hey, just coz i only know one doesn't mean i can't have a favorite) who is in 2 pretty sweet bands.... Booze&Glory who'll be supporting the Business later this year in London, and Neck who i caught at one of the last gigs the Gaff had (*sniff*).

Here's what he got.... just in time for his next tour round Europe.

oof, swelling on elbows n knees always looks so sore!

Anyways, got tomorrow off and I'm on a weird pencil hunt.... it's a long story, but if i find the sacred pencil I'm looking for (which I'm not sure even exists), i will most definitely elaborate. promise.

plane pain

So this is what Mr Kent came and got today...

He wasn't planning on getting it all done as a one-shot, but alas, we got it all finished! woop woop. 

Had a blast doing it, and he sat like a champ. dunno if you can tell from the photo but it's bang on the ribcage so can't have been fun.

I wish i got to do stuff like this more often. It's so nice having a customer who just keeps getting awesome stuff and letting me have so much input with the design.

Also got a healed pic of his VW beetle... mmmmmm smooth as eggs.

In other news, looks like the next issue of Total Tattoo magazine (which is aprils issue, but comes out in march) will have a nice ol' spread on me. EXCITING!

there's 24 useful hours in every day

so i haven't posted any sketches/drawings recently, sand i had a little free time at work today... so here's what i dun. (seriously, if i stay in london i will completely lose all former knowledge of tenses relating to the verb "do") anyways.... here it is....

hopefully tomorrow i'll have a new tattoo or 2 to post, hmmm, well....  at least 1... promise.

til then.

Is the coffee getting weaker or am i?

Wow, super tired today. Had a regular booked in to pretty much tie up his sleeve but we didn't get it all finished. He ended up tapping out with bout 40 mins to go, and i'm relieved coz my eyelids feel like they are being dragged down by a million clinically obese elephants wearing lots of heavy bling.

Anyways, figured that'll gimme just enough time to post the teeny tiny pocket rocket tattoo i did yesterday. This was so small, i woulda been much happier making it 3 times the size and bolding it all up a lot, but alas, this is how he wanted it so we compromised a fair bit.

ended up taking Milo to the vet on Tuesday, he's on pain pills for his limp, which seems to have improved a little. Bad news is we found out he has a heart murmur so i gotta save a lot of pennies to get him scanned and x ray'd to see the extent of the problem. It's literally been one problem after another recently.... and all this stress is definitely taking it's toll. Anyways, this shit can't go on forever now, can it? So til next time.... adieu