Phoenix Tattoo: Session Four
Went in for the fourth session of the Phoenix Tattoo with London Bellman. He worked today on the shoulder blade – the area we’ve dubbed the Supernova. We decided that some purple shading would work well and I’m so elated with how much it’s softened the upper section. I wasn’t quite sure how well a hard line would work against my skin and with the whole flow of the tattoo itself, so this is a good compromise.
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- Before
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- After #1
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- After #2
Afterwards we stopped by the Yarn Garden (Local Yarn Store – LYS) to pick up some Lamb’s Pride Bulky for the Jayne hats. Unfortunately – they didn’t have yellow or orange, but I picked up the red and settled on some Cascade 128 Superwash chunky. So the next phase is to knit up the hat with the new supplies and figure out where to go from there.
The tattoo is really coming together and entering the final stages of completion. Now, if you look at it straight on, it seems done. But there’s still the inside portion to finish up, which will probably be at least another two sessions. The next one will occur on November 13th, 2010.
LINK LOVE:
Phoenix Tattoo: Session Three
No videos this time – but here’s a recap anyway. Told London Bellman at Atomic Arts Tattoo Studio that we probably wouldn’t be back for three months (indeed, my next appointment is September 11th) – and wanted to clean it up enough to show it off at the San Diego Comic Con.
He understood – and finished up filling in the space on the left side of The Phoenix, as well as some flame outlining. He also did more cleaning up of Jean Grey’s anatomy with black shading.
Here’s a few pics ranging from before any inking to the end of three hour appointment. Click on the image to scroll through them!
Phoenix Tattoo: Session Two
Yesterday I spent another three hours in the chair of London Bellman, and I have to admit I am crazy impressed with the work he’s done. Who knew that actually looking at portfolios and picking someone based on the style of their artwork would yield such amazing results?
Not too much story to tell – we arrived at the duly appointed time, took the seat and the pain started. He worked on more of the space around the elbow, and on the elbow bone itself. It’s good to get one of the more painful parts out of the way, especially since it’s going to be a few weeks before we can get another appointment scheduled.
He also started some pretty amazing shading and softened up the lines of the fire, which has made it look more like…ya know, fire.
I was worried about the size and spacing of the stars, but I think they’re perfect given the scope of the Phoenix herself – everything else must match up to that scale.
London also got rid of the dreaded hand. Check out the video here:
Probably not gonna be able to set another appointment until mid-April (or later), but I don’t mind waiting. It’s quality over speed and quantity.
Phoenix Tattoo: Session One
Outlining - that's the easy part. Now insert color.
Went in and spent three hours at Atomic Art Tattoo Studio on the 3/4 Phoenix sleeve tattoo. The plan is to add stars, planets and even a spiral-freaking-galaxy. I met with London Bellman previously (as you’ll recall from this entry) and we finally set up an appointment for today.
Since we’d had a good conversation, and I trusted London with his amazing artistic ability – I didn’t really need to hem and haw over the work before we got started. He shaved my arm, laid out the design and started lining everything in. I mean, everything. The earth, saturn, the spiral galaxy and all the stars. Then he colored in the earth, which is on my elbow and was quite painful. I’d had a bit of tattooing in that spot, but nothing like this grinding right into the bone.
All of this took up our scheduled three hours so I paid the man and took off, wearing a ridiculous white bandage that limits arm movement and makes it looks more like a serious injury than it really is. The outlining is small and simple – it will heal in no time. The earth hurts much worse, especially since it’s on the flex of the arm.
Looking forward to our follow-up appointment in two weeks. That’s when the real pain will happen. Until then – enjoy a fun video I put together.
Phoenix Sleeve: An Update
Money Changes Hands
Met with London Bellman of Atomic Art tattoo this afternoon and got great and positive vibes. He was very laid back, put me at ease, and straight forward about what would happen. He asked a lot of questions – listened to my input – and started drawing stuff out right away. LOVED that he freaking measured and used scale to determine the layout. Absolutely freaking professional.
I don’t even feel like I need to visit anyone else at this point (which I was contemplating before the appointment) – he’s definitely my guy. I put down a deposit and am waiting to hear back from him to set up a date and time to start the work. It’s going to be a lot of hours in the chair – and we’ll probably have to break it up into more than one session.
Much Love,
Mindy Crouchley
Phoenix Tattoo: Session Two
So – just to get you all psyched for some up and coming content – I will be meeting with a tattoo artist this afternoon to go over ideas for finishing off my Phoenix 3/4 sleeve tattoo. I will be adding space designs – and have spent the last two months searching
The Phoenix Tattoo in it's current state
high and low for an artist who could render those designs on my flesh with the most accuracy and beauty.
This is that guy: London Bellman of Atomic Art Tattoo here in good old Portland, Oregon.
My concepts include adding a half-earth towards the bend of my elbow – along with inky blue/purple space, stars, a spiral galaxy and maybe a ringed Saturn like planet. Also hoping to get some touch-up work done on the original piece.
I’m feeling really confident about this man – he seems like a genuine artist and someone who will be easy to communicate my ideas to and get a gorgeous looking piece. I scouted him out through word-of-mouth from a trusted friend, scouring his portfolio and the shop reviews.
What I discovered in my searching is that there is a wealth of tattoo talent here in Portland. You can EASILY find at least five or six shops in town with impressive reviews and the chops to back them up. Some others I considered before finally choosing Atomic include:
– Infinity Tattoo: Alice Kendall specifically
– Optic Nerve Art: Pedro Dorsey probably does the best portrait work in town
– Imperial Tattoo: Todd J. originally created the Phoenix
– Raven Ink Tattoo: Been inked here before – seen artwork done on friends. Will most likely be back up if Atomic falls through.
– Atlas Tattoo: Great old school flash arty stuff. Not right for my style
While I was mostly sold on the artwork and the vibe from the shop (custom pieces only – setting is a zen kind of Japanese garden) – what finally did it for me was locating this interview with London Bellman on youtube yesterday. This is the kind of calm, respectful person I feel most comfortable letting near my skin:
Gonna find out in a few hours if my hopes and dreams for tattoo-age with this character will come true.
Much Love,
Mindy Crouchley
Dan
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