Battle in the Deep

After four hours of tattooing, I'm one step closer to a completed left arm





I took a half day of vacation today to get this work done. It's been a bitch to find a time since Kalib and Jason at American Inkwell are so busy.

I'm happy for them though. They're living the American Dream. They own their business, and are doing what they love to do. I wish I had the kind of courage they had to tell Nick's Tattoo to fuck off and start their own shop together.

This was my first tattoo at their new shop, which is nice, but it was really cold. I don't know if they have the rule that as soon as it's April they don't turn the heat on, but I was cold through most of the tattoo. Which is odd, since I'm normally sweating during the process.

Like I said, it took four hours to complete. It's a much bigger and more complex piece than I had originally though it was. It's at least as complex as my Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow piece.

It wasn't too painful though. Kalib and I chatted about movies, TV, and music. We have a lot of the same taste and a similar sense of humor. By the end, I was ready to be done. At some point near the end I asked myself why the hell I do this to myself.

When we were all done and I saw the finished product I remembered why. There's no one in the area who can do a better traditional/neo-traditional piece like Kalib can.

Now its Tat Wax and healing.