hop skip and a jump to skunx

so, as many of you may have realised my life has been slightly hectic of late, hence the lack of blogs, and the lack of time to ramble. i have some rambling time right now though, so thought i better get a moving. (i sound like woody guthrie... dont i?!)

so first up, i shall be transferring studios this month. I will no longer be tattooing at Flamin' 8 as of the 16th of July, so if u have work you want doing... i would get a wriggle on to book in with me there.

Dont fret if you cant though, coz i will be staying in London, not too far away, working at the ever awesome Skunx in Angel. Thats right folks, i can only hope i too will soon have my mug adorning that front page surrounded by blue. woop woop.... very exciting!

In other news, i shall be doing a guest spot at Forevermore in Glasgow from the 27th of July til the 6th of August... contrary to what their website says.... but dont fret i have just texted the owner to resolve that blip aka what could have been the longest guest spot ever recorded.

wowza. so what now? some tattoos? some news on what i been up to?

tattoos. best you lot dont know what i've been getting up to of late....

wow. i had no idea how long it musta been since i blogged any work.

oh, and i got my front started. 

it hurt like ... what i can only imagine being dragged across tarmac for 2.8 miles behind a speeding vehicle feels like.

Totally neat, totally sweet, totally knock me off my feet.

(weasel lyrics for those of you who are clearly not into good music)...

So! Total Tattoo just came out with a 5 page article on none other than me! super exciting.... i have to say i'm totally stoked! Sally assured me she'd send out a copy to the studio, but i never got one, so luckily Ely got her hands on one on her way in today. (sorry customer.... but i couldn't wait to read it. i wasn't ignoring you)

So i'm not gonna post the actual article til next months is out.... but here's the cover and the "content" page, with me wearing the best band t shirt ever, and holding the best dog ever, who even got credited!

So a HUGE thank-you to Sally, Al Overdrive, and the crew at Total for featuring me. woop woop.

In other news, and for all of you who actually did check back yesterday for my empty promise of a scan of the new sketch.... apologies. i got walk in's, then my booked customer came in, and before i knew it, the day was done. I took my sketchbook home last night and forgot to bring it to work.... so that'll have to wait til maybe tomorrow? 

So instead, y'all get to see what i did on one of my favorite barmen, and i always get retarded amounts of alcohol in return for tattooing them, so everyone's happy!

I remember when i got my "viva hate" that this was a pretty sucky spot to get inked, so he sat like a champ. Let's hope it's a 1 hit wonder and won't need seconds. X fingers crossed X

wow, this post looks deceivingly straight edge now.... eh?

So to lighten the mood, look at what Kirsty just brought back from the corner shop?!

til next time....

culture vulture

So wasn't gonna blog (again) tonight, but just noticed this..... on inked culture's blog....

well i never!

anyways, since i'm blogging (again) figured i might as well post this too.... just finished it ( kinda figured if i'm not doing nowt tomorrow, i'd better at least finish this or i won't get it off my mind)



now... finally..... time to relax ( i just gotta stop worrying about all of thurs tattoos i haven't designed yet!) BAH!

no pain no gain

So yesterdays tattoo kept me working til 4am, hence the lack of the blog. Anyways, i'm much less tired now, (it's 3am the next morning) so figured i'd blog the piece on Joe.

He tried to play it cool for the cameras......



but ended up showing his true colours. poor guy, really suffered, but sat through it all!







So here it is, Miss Anna Tomic and Miss Ally Wrong... get it? anna tomic ally wrong.....



Anyways, all's fair in love n war, and Joe'll be inflicting pain.... a lot of pain on me tomorrow.... hopefully have pics to post these next few days (although i doubt i'm gonna be sitting through a 1 shot....so it might just be linework.) i apologize in advance.

In other news, Ocean Park seems to change their closing times at their own whim, so we ended up on the peak tram, which is almost a roller coaster..... bot not quite....

We did have an awesome day, and lots of pics taken..... so some of that goodness soon too!

Flamin' galah!

if it's printed....it's true. yup.

check this out y'all!

EXCITING!

Year of the tiger magazine

So while Joe was way way way up in sky flying along, bored, he picked up the in flight magazine... only to find an article on none other than me. WEIRD! i had no idea.... luckily he's a thieving little so and so and he brought me a copy.
(click the images to enlarge)


my lovely hands gracing the inside of the cover....

pen to paper

so it's been a while since i got any paintings finished, so thought i'd share what i got up to the other day. just because.



later, i'll post the tattoo i will burn in hell for...... til then y'all......

Rock and Rollin' down the avenue

So, I miraculously managed to find enough time to fit Marc (singer/guitarist) from The Bembol Rockers in for a nippy new acquisition. This is tucked up on the inside of his right arm. Was a little worried he wouldn't be able to sit through it all in one go, but he cowboy'd up and we managed!

I was supposed to be finishing off the music themed calf piece today, but he's 25 mins late so i aint sure he's coming. 

In other news, i got videos of me n ross singing with the bembol guys so i'll upload one  later on!

2 kindsa custom

So, today was pretty eventful. Managed to squeeze Lakshmi from Bembol Rockers in for a tattoo due to an appointment re-scheduling, and that awesome super top secret object(s) i ordered off ebay arrived! 

So here's lakshi's arm....Super excited to do this, i love Ganesh and the only Ganesh piece i've ever done was teeny weeny, so got to fit a lot more detail into this one! (he insisted i signed it too....which was kinda weird! haha)

here's a detail coz the pic aint coming up larger...

And here's my *new prized possession*.... (customs must have had a field day with this one!)

Front half is hanging in the shop, so y'all are welcome to come visit him!

Back half is hanging in the studio, so i get to stare at his ass all day long!

i woulda taken a pic from the door frame so u can see front and back together, but we have a blind on the studio door that blocks the view.

It'll be a cold day in hell....

...the day Ross gets a Morrissey tattoo, and maybe today was just the tip of the iceberg! Yesterday i sketched this piece out, and had enough time at work to line it all. 

Not sure if I'm gonna colour it, or even use it with the Morrissey flash I'm working on.... coz *drum roll*.... Ross actually likes it so much, he wants it tattooed. Cold day in hell indeed, which seems fitting as today seems to be the official beginning of winter here....finally!

Winter means Milo has to start wearing sweaters ... and before long jackets... he hates clothes, especially jackets. This year, there seem to be no normal dog clothes just weird bumble bee outfits and other humiliating stuff. The closest we found were a grey sweater with "DOG" emblazoned on the back.

 (i know he's small and all....but it doesn't take a genius to figure out I'm walking a dog)

... and a little sailor top which needs tailoring coz it's so long he'll pee all over the inside! yup, i have to get my chihuahua's clothes tailored now! (when i say "tailored, i mean I'm taking them to the curtain shop in town) i need to learn to sew....

In other news, ...dum dum DUUUUM! i got a phone. Me....phone. I hate phones, i especially hate speaking to people on the phone. If i sound rude/angry/agitated on the phone, it's because I AM! But i couldn't not buy this phone. IT'S A MONKEY...me...monkey...phone!

Took the photos in a bar, so they ain't great but u get the picture!

I know it's Paul Frank, but.... i couldn't help it, it's a monkey phone....c'mon y'all!

And there's a lil' chihuahua (among other creatures, like a rockin' raccoon, a chicken dressed as a geisha, and a weird little vampire bat!) on the Menu!

Been listening to a lot of Eddie Bond today, and was gonna post "look like a monkey" by him but then i found this,

which i guess is what that song his was based on...

so thought I'd post this instead...

If u r reading my facebook RSS blog, check it out HERE!

Proves how awesome monkeys are and how retarded people are...

(he doesn't wanna wear the fucking hat)i hope he grew up to maim that guy.

Don't fire without checking the magazine!

So , (i just realised how many posts i start with "so"....) Hmmmm

Yesterday i got an awesome surprise in the letter box patiently sitting there, waiting.... it was none other than the latest issue of "Pinstriping & Kustom Graphics Magazine", with a little article on me! I'm super excited, this is the 1st international feature I've had. (Flash Ink magazine doesn't count in my eyes, coz it's from a stone's throw away in Singapore!)

Here's some pics....

The Cover....(i can't figure out why these aren't coming up bigger when clicked on, they are really large files.... anyone have any advise?! i never used to have this problem til recently....)

2 sweet as a nut tattoos on 1 page....classy! I'm always surprised to see which pics magazines choose to use, this one definitely seems to favor turquoise! (i spotted that donut piece in a couple of tattoo mags in England when i was last over too)

And it even has a link to none other than my blog! Right here! (unless u r reading this on my facebook feed or alivenotdead page...!)

Blogless

So, i just haven't had much to post about recently....not since i tattooed my brother...which also coincided with an interview for an online journalist, so i cant say too much, coz i said i'd link to her piece when it comes out.... so zzzzzp. (that's the noise that me zipping up my big fat gob makes)...

I guess posting the pic of Dave's tattoo can't hurt though, right? 

so here it is. it was way smaller than i thought we were gonna do it, tucked up under his arm, but came out nice and he sat well. I aint got diddly squat booked in anytime soon (that i can think of) that i'm gonna be blogging bout, so i will warn you now, if nothing interesting happens, and i don't get any painting done, it's gonna be a whole lotta new shoes pics.....and new necklace....

ooh, almost forgot, looks like 3 out of 5 guest artists to be can't make it, Daveee from Kult in Poland can't come, but he will be in Singapore in Jan for anyone interested.

Also, Lee and Rich from One shot charlie's are now moving shops next year, so money allowances are limited. BOO :(

November spawned a monster

So, super long day at work, I even managed to get away right on time, but it was....tiring. did a nice piece on a girl's ribs, she sure did struggle, and with a LOT of sprays of bactine, she just about made it through. I couldn't get a good photo for the life of me, this is the best i got, so it will just have to do! (oh, and there's a lil cover up action in there too!)

Anyways, tomorrow (thank god) is my day off, i was really looking forward to a punk rock race course night of booze n hooves, but it got postponed til next week, so more on that then!

So came straight home coz ross was cooking dinner, chicken n veg in a black pepper sauce. it was really good but just way too spicy for me, so ross cleaned up (my bowl....i did the dishes) while milo tried his luck!

Oh, the temperature has finally dropped enough for...... a hat! almost wore a cardigan on the roof, but it aint quite that cold....yet!

It aint even 2 am and i'm DONE! so now time for a relaxing night watching Cops and hopefully....some horror film ross bought for me starring Rosanna Arquette as a psychic..... haven't seein it in weeks, so that might be a no-go!

Not sure what i will do with my day off tomorrow now.... got a lil' drawing to do, but other than that.... i just do not know. i'll find something to do i'm sure!

Thurs i'm doing a samurai mask on a guy, and fri got my bro booked in, so hopefully some nice pics in the works!....til then!

Don't look so puzzled!

So, today i did this lil' hooter on some ribs. 

It's in memory of his nan, who loved owls and used to do lots of jigsaw puzzles with him. Can't have been a fun 3 and a half hours, and he sat well. 

Got a mag out again today.... laid down all the black shading with that... this could start being a regular occurrence! (in which case i won't tell u every time i use a mag! haha)

at the core of a nerd, you will find an Oreo cream filled center... maybe.

I was searching for quotes about nerds (but they all sucked, or were by Bill Gates), so these are my personal favorite nerd quotes!

The city of Townsville. A city that, while being a city, is for some inexplicable reason called “Town.” And not only is it called a “Town,” but also a “Ville,” thus making it a city, town, and village, which seems to me to be redundant and repetitive, which can be quite annoying if you ask me, which you have no choice but to do, for now I, Mojo Jojo, am in charge of… the city of Townsville!
Mojo Jojo

If every vampire who said he was at the Crucifixion was actually there it would’ve been like Woodstock. I was at Woodstock. I fed off a flower person and I spent six hours watching my hand move. - Spike

Space. It seems to go on and on forever. But then you get to the end and a gorilla starts throwing barrels at you. Fry, Futurama

Remember to always be yourself. Unless you suck. Joss Whedon

How low is my self-esteem that I’m the sidekick in my own dream? -JD, Scrubs

So, like i said earlier this morning, i had an awesome piece booked in. I started to sweat when 10 mins after her appointment, she still hadn't shown, but i had faith........ and she did and it's awesome and i love it. This was such a fun piece, on a super sweet customer, who just so happens to be one of the head honcho's from the Norwich Body Arts festival. She works for Outline magazine, who did a cool lil' piece on me for the convention. I think it's the 1st time a magazine hasn't ever hideously misquoted me, so 10 points well earned Emma!

(oh yeah, we died my hair yesterday..... it's very very red.)

I drew up this piece last night and almost lost sleep worrying she wouldn't go for the glasses, (i even made a duplicate minus the specs) but when she saw it, she told me she was actually thinking of incorporating glasses somehow........ That magic mind meld potion seems to be working just fine.

OK enough with the babble, here's what i got to do today!

On Thurs i am finishing, if all goes to plan and there's no reason why it shouldn't..... the Chairman Meow chestpiece, so more blogging soon! Tomorrow's my day off, not sure what i'm gonna get up to, but i'm looking forward to it! Good times

I haven't got a stitch to wear!

OK, so came to work, ready for a day of busy busy mayhem, and alas, i had one guy reschedule and one guy not show up!

I was even here early coz i went out to lunch with my big bro. 

Anyways, i am not gonna moan, i'll take the high road this time.

So i got to work on another Morrissey piece to add to the collection, and here it is, done and dusted, lovely jubbly.

I bought the remastered greatest hits today check it out here! just kidding, check it out HERE!

I wish i'd brought some hair clip stuff to work coz i coulda gotten so much done, my 2nd sham shui po visit was awesome by the way, loads of absolute tat to stick stuff to! i remember before the shop opened me n ross went sham shui po'ing for stuff, coz i made a whole batch to sell in the shop, and if u thought they were cool, the new stuff i got tops it!

only a few lil' bit and bobs i couldnt find ( i bought a really nice red rose hairclip in London with a skull inside, well i bought 2 like that, different though... anyway, one fell apart, and i need a rose to stick the skull back into, but nope, denied!), but that's all good, and i got some white bone clips i got from my buddies store (check out their hairclips HERE!), so was looking for some bones (was gonna put crossed bones under the skull-rose combo)...., but nope, no bones....well only red ones! 

Also bought some fancy shmancy new cardigans today, one that's crazy neon pink (and covered in little knitted white bows), but i'll figure out something to wear with it..... hopefully! basically, The girl who's getting the Chairman Meow chest piece had a black one i fell in love with, but the shop i found mine in today didnt have any black ones left. (Ci-ci, if u r ever passing that market u got urs in, can u check for me? pleeeeeeeeease?!) and i got a black cardigan with skulls on it.... i've just noticed how schizophrenic my wardrobe is!

Finally, went and bought lots of new vinyl. well, 2nd hand vinyl but NEW and SHINY to me! 

(once again, quite a schizophrenic variety..... ) maybe my appointment really DID show up and the other me tattooed him...... Nah.

Guess what?!

TEAPOT!!! 

So to some, this will explain the last blog, to most, it won't make the slightest difference. But guess what.....?!