I planned on posting this here once this was all done. This is a copy/past from my other blog so if you have time to read it all, I would gladly give you a cookie……and like all tattoo fans say, once you get one, there will be more. So I am sure expect more if my money is right.
Without getting into the whole intense culture of tattooing, let me tell you the story of me finally choosing what I wanted. If I could pin point my inspiration to a certain person, I would say Brandon Boyd (Incubus) would be on the forefront. Man crush? I am not too fascinated with shafts and balls unless if they are my own but I just like his whole demeanor in the way he lives life. Even though music is a big part of his success, he still keeps up with his passion for art, photography and surfing. His tattoo always had a classy look unlike some other musicians out there (fuck you going to get ESPN tattooed on your body Weez!) and the placement of it didn’t scream attention but still displayed the art piece well.
Back a couple of years, I was fortunate enough to see Usugrow’s artwork at one of his shows at Upperplayground SF. My first recognition of the guy was from his t-shirt he designed for The Hundreds. I don’t think it was a big hit at the time. This was back when shirt designs were nothing but all over prints and cheesy photoshops (wait…isn’t that right now?) and his tattoo style wasn’t a crowd favorite….even in my eyes. I always take note of artists regardless and I grew more fond of his work as an art form and not graphics for clothes.
The whoa-factor was high on this one. I subliminally showed it in a post back in September which was the first time I went to Everlasting Tattoo to talk to them about this piece. When I saw it, I just thought it was the one. It was perfect for that arm piece that I was looking for. It didn’t have that sleeve shape where it looked like I would be wearing a wonder woman bracelet but had more of an organic feel. It was an easy sell since Usugrow’s style already has that tattoo look with the only exception that the shading wouldn’t be stippled.
After he signed my book, I pretty much told him that I would get a tattoo of his work on my body and I think all he did was blush in that Japanese “no-trouble” kind of way. Meeting the artists was a big deal for me. Aside from his work, his attitude had to be straight and with his reassurance on it, I was one step closer to sealing the deal.
Months would pass and the next step was to look for a tattoo shop that could do this operation. I stay on the grind with a couple of blogs and noticed a certain shop being mentioned in Mike Giants blog and The Sciolist. Both of these guys have a greater knowledge on the tattoo game in the Bay Area so I went to do the research and checked out Everlasting Tattoo. Come to find out that they have a pretty creditable history and clientele resume consisting of talents like Margaret Cho and Kat Vond D so I knew. I probably went down to the shop about 10 times and talked to 3 artists until I finally set up the appointment to have Luke do it.
So after getting more advice as far as getting a fuller arm piece and some ghetto photoshop techniques (I printed two of Usugrow’s artwork, cut up the bug one and scanned it in on top of the other collage them as one), here is the the tattoo design in all its glory. People always ask me on the meaning of the whole thing. In the literal sense, it is a bug on a flower but my interpretation of it all is….I just think it looks fucking cool! I am in no way a bug trying to plant seeds in every girls vaginas and if any since Usugrow is Japanese, this is just a homage to the land of the East since I am half. One of the best advice I have ever took to heart with tattoos that I can give to others is to take a potential artwork that you want for a tattoo, hold it for about a month or longer, look at it again and if you still have the same feelings about it when you first saw it, then it is worthy to be put on your body. I had this piece in mind for about over a year and two months and on Tuesday, it will be on my arm forever.
First session was over. I loved the pain! The buzzing sound of the needle dragging in my skin was music to my ears. I could have sat through the whole 3 hours session if they would have let me, but seeing that this was my first tattoo, Luke and Everlasting decided to break it up into two. Did it hurt? Imagine someone telling you that on a Tuesday, a guy is going to come by and punch you in the gut as hard as he can and on the day it happens, a 5 year old boy comes out and pats the tip of your dick with his bare knuckles. It stings for like a hot sec but it ain’t no thang. More to come on this Fongstarr X Usugrow X Everlasting tattoo in two weeks (Collabo!). Geez….I feel like I have a gay henna tattoo. It will probably match my pierced vagina.
And here it is in its entirety as of today. Okay, let me first start off by saying that me not liking my tattoo has nothing to do with Everlasting as a shop and their talents as tattoo artists. I 100% back them all and recommend them to the fullest if anyone is out there shopping for tats. I think this has more to do with not really knowing how tattoos work and of course I can’t (holy shit…..the tattoo realization has kicked in) but if I can do this over I would have made the tattoo a tad bit larger and had no thick lines. I mean it looks cool, right? I’ve showed it to about 20 coworkers today and they have all congratulated on me having a might fine tattoo. So what is the problem? NO ONE CAN TELL WHAT IT IS!!! Regardless of the cleanliness of the tattoo, if no one can tell what it is, that means in some sort of way….it is bad. Usugrows artwork is pretty abstract in general but I think I should of had this more as a tattoo and not a replica of his work. First off the tattoo has way to many intricate details and to show them off, the lines should have been more subtle. Look at the bug (if you can see it). With thin lines, it came out really nice and if you revert back to the original art work, there should have been a thick outline surrounding the whole body but with the tat, we left it alone. I think that is what failed with the flower. I think we should have left the stroke a lot thinner then the original. Other few adjustments could have made it better but all is pretty much said and done. I don’t know man….they say I will be my own worse critic and I am harsh in general with art but I have to live with this thing for the rest of my life so it is hard not to. Plus masturbating is totally weird now……
