I’ve been wanting a half-sleeve tattoo for what feels like forever. I could never seem to come to a decision on what to get, until just recently I decided that I wanted something in an art nouveau style. I received a book of art by Alphonse Mucha and as I flipped through I began to like what I was seeing.
Alphonse Mucha Monaco, Monte-Carlo, 1897
But many people get direct copies of his art for tattoos and I wanted to do something different. Luckily my tattoo artist/owner (who is also a friend and founder of the Boston Tattoo Convention) of Witch City Ink was up for the challenge. He came up with a great design and finally set aside a chunk of time to do the work.
stencil placed
The first attempt at applying the stencil was successful. I thought it looked really good. And then it hit me how big it was. Wow, this was gonna be great and suck all at the same time. The buzzing began and he started the tattoo from the bottom up.
a bit out of focus, but I don't mind it
I tweeted part of the time I was in the chair, but signal was not always so great inside the shop. Plus we were chatting a lot and I was trying to concentrate on not moving and to ignore the painful parts. We took a break halfway through and I got someone to grab some pics for me.
halfway through. Seeing this pic makes me realize I need to hit the gym and get my hair done at the salon!
alt view
Going back under the needle after taking a break is the worst. You have to sort of get prepared again, the endorphins wear off a little bit. Plus, I was starting to wear out. Two hours later and the outline was complete. We both sighed with relief and happy with the end results.
outline done
detail
Now it’s time to take time to heal (and get thine ass to the gym) before we begin the shading process.