I learn something new every time I get tattooed

So last night I got my new tattoo. See the pics below. I showed up around 3:30 and my new artist Kalib was consulting with a guy about fixing some redneck tattoo that he had. I filled out my paperwork saying that I understood the risks in getting tattooed and that it was in fact a permanent process. Kalib pulled out the finalized drawing with the changes we had discussed on Saturday. I was impressed immediately. My old tattoo artist never had anything done before hand, mostly because the shop was located a stones throw away from the UW-Madison campus so he was constantly tattooing. I doubt in Pekin, IL they have as much work. Anyway, he had it all drawn up and had done the lettering on a computer so it was perfect old school style and centered perfectly.

He got set up, and we proceeded to place the stencil on my left forearm. It took four placements to get it to look right. It was difficult to judge because I have girly forearms and the tattoo was wide enough that it began to roll down the sides of my arm.

It had been about a year since I’d been tattooed so I was a bit nervous. It’s like women and childbirth, you can’t really remember pain so you’re willing to do it again. As soon as the needle hit the skin for the outline I felt better. The outline took about an hour and forty-five minutes. Kalib went over several of the lines twice to ensure they were solid and striking. One of the things we chatted about during the outline was how Old School tattoos really test the skill of the artist because they employee the very basics of tattooing to look the way they do: Strong lines, and excellent shading.

We took a brief break and I took a leak while Kalib consulted with a 18 year old girl who wanted to get a heart with flames on it that said “I burn for you” under it. After about ten minutes we resumed with the black shading.

The shading process of all the various colors took another hour and a half. We talked a bit more about this and that. Kalib is 24 years old, same as me, and we had a lot of similar interests, Hunter S. Thompson, Metal music, tattoos. Also the piercing artist and the counter guy stopped by every so often and talked to us. We finished up just before 7:30. I was amazed by how good it looked. It’s one of my best. I gave Kalib a 20 for a tip and layed down the rest of the 300, worth every penny.

The care instructions they gave me, differ from how I’ve previously cared for my tattoos. Normally I’ve pulled the bandage after 3 hours and then just left the tattoo exposed to the air for the rest of the healing process keeping it moist with lotion. The way they suggested is to keep it covered in plastic wrap for the first couple weeks with A+D lotion on it. This will prevent it from scabbing over, and the skin will just kind of flake as it heals. I’ll follow their advice because I want this tattoo to be amazing. All is right with the world, right now.