Today is our first “Tattoo Tuesday” on Reefs.com. I’ll kick it off with my latest piece, which I just had finished by my good friend George Wilkinson at Spirit Gallery Tattoo Shop in New London, CT. It is definitely a shop worthy of its 5 star rating on Yelp.
The design of the tattoo reflects my fascination with charge and opposing forces, the mathematics of the physical universe, facets of my wedding band tattoo, elements of my Ram/Taurus Zodiac signs, and, most relevant to my fellow reefers, cnidarian and cephlo-inspired design themes.
Send a picture of your tattoo and its story to [email protected] to be featured on a future Tattoo Tuesday post!
1. This tattoo has no clear relationship with reefs, it looks like you just wanted to show it off.
2. Which is a shame, the linework and edges are poor and uneven.
3. The black packing is very patchy. It looks like you got stoned and drew on yourself with a sharpie.
4. Tribal 2015, bro!
Criminy your are right on a few points. I did want to show it off, of course. So i did. And we are creating a place where other reef geeks can show off their own tattoos. We are an eclectic bunch in this hobby, and tattoos seem to abound. As for a reef link there is some some strong cephalopod inspiration in the design.
There is an old tattoo at points, and that was a total home tattoo from an artist friend who needed to learn (though I do highly recommend licensed tattoo parlors) who later opened his own shop. I personally liked the idea of the look of a rough tattoo that looks like it was plowed into my skin with sharp rocks and charcoal. I took that feel and asked George to replicate aspects of that in how he did my new tattoo. I definitely took him out of his comfort zone as George is more of a realistic type of tattoo artist, in the end i got a look that meshed with my older tats. I chose not to have any touch up or redos of any areas to keep the look.
We can’t wait to share other reefers’ tattoos and stories!