Matchless Tattoo

Been keeping busy painting while the shop is closed. Listen the audio, you'll love it. Enjoy :-)

Here's a wider shot of this piece I've been working on lately, seen here in our "studio", aka the living room. Some paintings are about a message, some tell a story, or invoke a mood. But sometimes a painting is just a vision that must be made real. For weeks I had a recurring image in my head of a golden skull surrounded by blue peony flowers. I could feel my hands itching to make it. I wouldn't be happy until I saw it in real life. It didn't "mean" anything, but what is ar...t without whimsy? As a determinist, I'm astounded by the millenia of prior causes that wound it's way through the cosmos and propelled my hand across a canvas. And that my tiny act of obsessive creativity is but one domino in an ineffably vast Rube Goldberg contraption of unknowable intent. Whew! Okay, enough of that, I feel dizzy. Oil on canvas, 24 inches x 48 inches. See more

Here's a sneak peek at a bigger canvas I've been working on, 24 inches by 48 inches. Tattooing is so methodical, even stuff that looks loose has to be applied with focus and intention. So it's really lovely to cut loose with a brush and be sloppy. Shaping things as I go, pushing tones back and forth until they're just right. I'm also so stoked to finally work out some time lapse video of my work. I can't wait to do this with some of my favorite tattoo projects! Thanks for watching!

The final painting of 2019! "Melora Wiz Resourceful" 18"24" oil on mounted illustration board. Melora's story continues to take shape, and I love the idea of releasing bits and pieces of narrative with each image. "Although Melora was blessedly impervious to most means of death and destruction, she was not immune to massive discharges of electricity. And so she found it well worth the time and effort to make a stout pair of insulated gloves for the testing of her newly constructed weapon. Better safe than sorry, and all that. As it happened, her device performed exactly as expected, and her safety equipment was unnecessary, but still smashingly chic."

Progress shot of a poppy, BlackBerry, and bees 3/4 sleeve I've been working on for @so_dem The poppy is healed, and needs a little touch up, the bee and background are fresh. No filters here, or ever.