A Koi On Keith Alexander. Page Six.

Pre-Eleventh Session. December 5 2003. 10:30AM.
It's snowing today. They predict a few inches. And The Last Samurai just opened. It looks amazing. I really don't like movies, but I am excited to see this one.

A friend of mine, Wes, just launched a site. He's journaling the evolution of his Japanese-themed tattoo. Check it out at I Awake In The Forest. Another friend of mine, Derek, just started a full-body dragon tattoo and is posting thoughts and images at Evolution of the Dragon. And a traditional tebori tattoo shop has been opened in NYC. It's called 55 Tattoo and it's run by the Horitoshi family.

Post-Eleventh Session. December 5 2003. 11:55PM.
All color tonight. No outlines. We colored in most of the water on my left side and two of the three maple leaves. We're going to add one or two more leaves on my lower right and water and wind on my left butt cheek. I'm blown away by this work. We've got three of four more sessions to go. I count at least three layers of depth and the water is turbulent. Dig it.

Oh, and The Last Samurai was pretty damn good. Except for one or two predictable scenes I was totally impressed. Someone called it Dances With Samurai, and that's pretty accurate. And funny. I practiced Iaido for a year (need to get back to the dojo) and the scenes with the bokken were right on. The sword fighting was super exciting and the soundtrack was great. I need to pick that up next week.

And we got more than "a few inches." It's been snowing heavily for more than 24 hours and accumulation may hit 1.5 feet. The Blizzard of 2003 they're calling it.
I love New York.


Progress image. From sessions 2, 6, 9 & 11.
Pre-Eleventh Session. December 5 2003. 10:30AM. It's snowing today. They predict a few inches. And The Last Samurai just opened. It looks amazing. I really don't like movies, but I am excited to see this one. A friend of mine, Wes, just launched a site. He's journaling the evolution of his Japanese-themed tattoo. Check it out at I Awake In The Forest. Another friend of mine, Derek, just started a full-body dragon tattoo and is posting thoughts and images at Evolution of the Dragon. And a traditional tebori tattoo shop has been opened in NYC. It's called 55 Tattoo and it's run by the Horitoshi family. Post-Eleventh Session. December 5 2003. 11:55PM. All color tonight. No outlines. We colored in most of the water on my left side and two of the three maple leaves. We're going to add one or two more leaves on my lower right and water and wind on my left butt cheek. I'm blown away by this work. We've got three of four more sessions to go. I count at least three layers of depth and the water is turbulent. Dig it. Oh, and The Last Samurai was pretty damn good. Except for one or two predictable scenes I was totally impressed. Someone called it Dances With Samurai, and that's pretty accurate. And funny. I practiced Iaido for a year (need to get back to the dojo) and the scenes with the bokken were right on. The sword fighting was super exciting and the soundtrack was great. I need to pick that up next week. And we got more than "a few inches." It's been snowing heavily for more than 24 hours and accumulation may hit 1.5 feet. The Blizzard of 2003 they're calling it. I love New York.

Pre-Twelfth Session. December 17 2003. 7:00AM. Ever watch the www series Ninjai? No? Me neither. 'Till the other day. Sara turned me onto it. Bloody little cartoon! I posted some of the trailers here and you can watch the entire series here. I definitely have moments where I wish I'd have done my arm work differently, but when I look at it from a few steps away it all flows with my back pretty nicely. This is due to the fact that I've always chosen my iconography based on mythology and symbols that are extremely important to me. Fact is, I already have a great deal of water, sky, foliage and blackwork on my arms so the overall effect is consistant. I definitely need to add some finishing touches to my arms like completing some sky and clouds and coloring in the acorns and oak leaves. I just printed out some pictures of my chest work and drew in the perimeter I want to work within. I don't think Chris will want to deal with completing unfinished work, but there are a few other artists I have in mind. I can see my upper body work complete by the summer. BFT. And you know what? I feel like this little mini-site is a valuable contribution to the world of tattoo. That feels good. And for those of you reading this that don't really know me, I've also contributed a bit to the world of body piercing, branding and cutting. Post-Twelfth Session. December 17 2003. 11:50PM. Pretty much done with the perimeter shape. Two or three touches to the actual shape left to make. Then shading and coloring what's left. Water, swirls and three of the five maple leaves. And holy crap, tattoo on the ass dosen't just hurt, it's kind of not-describable. It's not like the pain on the rest of your body. All those types of pain are identifiable. Sharp, annoying, dull, whatever. But the pain on the cheek isn't even a pain, per se. It's this crazy sensation. I'm at a loss for words about what it feels like and we still have a lot of work there. It descends further than the picture shows. Please excuse the black modesty bar, I've suddenly become shy. After the tattoo session I went to say goodbye to Alex. A great friend who is moving back to Germany. I saw a bunch of old friends from my days as Senior Producer at Atmosphere Interactive. After the party I jumped on the F train at the 2nd Avenue subway station and made my way home.
"Japan's Tattoo Arts: Horiyoshi's World" ISBN4-8226-0191-9 "Tattoos of the Floating World" ISBN4-90-74822-45-2 "The Japanese Tattoo" ISBN0-89659-798-9
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