I think I'm turning Japanese I really think so....

Long day at work today. Long story behind it too.... i'll give y'all the short version! Basically, i had a customer come to me with an unfinished (outlines only) 1/2 sleeve. I told him i didn't wanna finish it, but he was very persuasive, and as he's relocated to Hong Kong, he cannot go back to the original artist for a very very long time. I was still kinda umming and ahhing, and "i don't touch other people's work"..... etc etc. initially, i figured the only way i would be ok finishing it, is if i got in contact with the guy/girl who started it, and asked if they'd mind. So i did. 

So I'm like "who started it for ya?" and he's like, "Chris O Donnell." and in my head I'm going "oh for god's sake, you can't be serious, is this a joke?! there's no way..... BAH!" Chris O Donnell is a little bit of a tattoo god, and i was even more uncomfortable bout finishing it! But I messaged Chris, and he was a super sweet, super nice, awesome guy! So i reluctantly booked the guy in. Today was the day. We only got the background done, and that was 4 hours alone, he's booked in again for the 2nd session 3 weeks from now. If all goes well we'll get it finished then, and maybe one quick touch up afterwards. We'll see. Anyways, here's a very small sneak peak at the piece,

terrible pic, but i didn't try too hard after all I TAKE NO CREDIT FOR THE DESIGN WHATSOEVER....NOTHING TO DO WITH ME! (i'm just the monkey colouring it in) CHECK OUT CHRIS O DONNELL'S BLOG HERE! AND HIS WEBSITE  HERE!

  

Finished up about 11pm and went out to dinner with Ross. We found this pretty awesome new Chinese restaurant (a chinese restaurant, in china.... yeah really). Food was good, which for me, means it was awesome coz i'm so fussy. It's up on Knutsford Terrace, TST. Go check it out! (it's in between like, 4 Italian restaurants, you can't miss it!

The only downer about diner was the crazy old German couple who seemed tpo be trying to smoke us out...... God knows how they are still alive. I mean i smoke, but they were.... maybe embalmed. i dunno. 

I also totally forgot to blog about a little gem i found in Inn's Point (toy mall) in Mong Kok. I found the cutest little shop that sells handmade bags. Really awesome handmade bags at very reasonable prices. (the bag above is my latest buy, it's Alice in Wonderland material. Really cute!) check their website out HERE!

OK, so seeing as i can't really blog about the tattoo i did today (the other 2 i did was a touch up and an add-on, so ....) Unfortunately (for anyone who is already sick to death of me talkin bout Morrissey, i sketched out another piece to go into the mix. Haven't coloured it, and it's in my watercolour hater sketchbook, so..... maybe i'll prismacolour this one!

Tomorrow we got guest list to Roni Size, so Ross will be having fun, and i'll be lost til i find the bar! 

Anarchy

Winter is nature's way of saying, "Up yours."  ~Robert Byrne

OK, so this..... this "punk rock" half sleeve got started the other other day. Bless him, you shoulda seen his reference pics, they looked like the satanic spawn of avril lavigne and johnny rotten got holda some crayons. After i dwindled about 150 things into a few manageable select few, we got started. 

I figured we'd do it nice n bold, so out came the 14RL (a few little bits n bobs with a 5), but mostly 14 through n through. ended up kinda being fun, like the satanic spawn of me and Sloth from the Goonies got holda some crayons. 

I have to say, i really don't enjoy session work that much. Obviously i'll take it any day over tribal or a bunch of stars, but i find i almost forget about them, then i'll be flicking through the appointment book and it's like "oh, god..... i remember that...." then it's like, once i remember the piece, i'm all like "wow, has it really been that long? can it be healed and ready to go?" then i get all "where did we leave it.... what colours was i gonna .....oh whatever, i'll figure it out on the day!"

I much prefer when i'm all "right, we're gonna do this, this, and oooh, maybe some of this will look good next to this and then .....we're done! sweet! photo!....blog! phew and finished."

does that make any sense..... at all?! 

oh i don't think i ever mentioned the back piece that i "have" to finish by christmas, coz he wants to reveal it at his office christmas party! i feel like i should start some new ad campaign, 

"TATTOOS ARE FOR LIFE, NOT JUST FOR CHRISTMAS!"

anyways, i hope he's not reading this, coz i aint sure it's psysically possible to finish in time, we'll see. maybe he'll start to heal like wolverine, and we can just go at it for like, 2 weeks day in day out! 

Anyways, just watched "500 days of Summer", and it was really good. Go watch it! It's cute!

It's been a while since i've seen a good romantic comedy, i think the last one was "The Wristcutters", which is probably one of my all time favorite films now (plus it has Tom Waits in it which is always a bonus! ).

Who does your hair?!

So this is the painting i finished yesterday... couldn't get it scanned, so a photo of my sketchbook will have to do! It's a new sketchbook, was on sale and packaged so i couldn't feel the paper before buying it. I now know it is quite possibly the worst paper for watercolour ever... my god did i have a hard time with this stuff! definitely no more paintings in this sketchbook!

anyways, here she is.....Pantheresa!

In other news, i will be working the Singapore Tattoo Convention 2010, and am taking bookings. pls e mail me @ info@starcrossedtattoo.com with your idea, size, and placement and i will get back to ya asap!

the walk in's on the bus go round and round....

Today, i had the entire day put aside for a mammoth piece (not like wooly mammoth, like humungazoid gigantic ) but, alas, she had a family emergency and didn't come. So, i was not best pleased about the fact i had absolutely nothing booked in.....all day. But i did get to do 2 lil' fun n easy walk in's, so that's what u'r getting today! i did also managed to finish a painting, but i aint got the photo uploaded yet, so that'll have to wait til tomorrow (which happens to be my day off, and even though i have managed to catch the 1st cold of the winter *a rare and illustrious little thing that looks like a fairy on crack under a microscope i've been told* i am determined not to waste my day off tomorrow....if i make it outta bed.)

ok, so 1st little walk in was these teeny weeny swallows....

seeing as i still can't figure out why none of my pics come up big when clicked on....here's a close up, of quite possibly one of the smallest birds i ever did tattoo!

(oh the irony, this pic comes up larger...... but the other 2 don't ........ BAH!)

and next was this ... love pieces like this, 5 mins doodling with a sharpie and ur good to go! nice n easy...

oh, and in other news, ross got to do some hand picking this week, check it out on his blog (which he never updates) HERE!

alrighty then, til tomorrow y'all!

It'll be a cold day in hell....

...the day Ross gets a Morrissey tattoo, and maybe today was just the tip of the iceberg! Yesterday i sketched this piece out, and had enough time at work to line it all. 

Not sure if I'm gonna colour it, or even use it with the Morrissey flash I'm working on.... coz *drum roll*.... Ross actually likes it so much, he wants it tattooed. Cold day in hell indeed, which seems fitting as today seems to be the official beginning of winter here....finally!

Winter means Milo has to start wearing sweaters ... and before long jackets... he hates clothes, especially jackets. This year, there seem to be no normal dog clothes just weird bumble bee outfits and other humiliating stuff. The closest we found were a grey sweater with "DOG" emblazoned on the back.

 (i know he's small and all....but it doesn't take a genius to figure out I'm walking a dog)

... and a little sailor top which needs tailoring coz it's so long he'll pee all over the inside! yup, i have to get my chihuahua's clothes tailored now! (when i say "tailored, i mean I'm taking them to the curtain shop in town) i need to learn to sew....

In other news, ...dum dum DUUUUM! i got a phone. Me....phone. I hate phones, i especially hate speaking to people on the phone. If i sound rude/angry/agitated on the phone, it's because I AM! But i couldn't not buy this phone. IT'S A MONKEY...me...monkey...phone!

Took the photos in a bar, so they ain't great but u get the picture!

I know it's Paul Frank, but.... i couldn't help it, it's a monkey phone....c'mon y'all!

And there's a lil' chihuahua (among other creatures, like a rockin' raccoon, a chicken dressed as a geisha, and a weird little vampire bat!) on the Menu!

Been listening to a lot of Eddie Bond today, and was gonna post "look like a monkey" by him but then i found this,

which i guess is what that song his was based on...

so thought I'd post this instead...

If u r reading my facebook RSS blog, check it out HERE!

Proves how awesome monkeys are and how retarded people are...

(he doesn't wanna wear the fucking hat)i hope he grew up to maim that guy.

Don't fire without checking the magazine!

So , (i just realised how many posts i start with "so"....) Hmmmm

Yesterday i got an awesome surprise in the letter box patiently sitting there, waiting.... it was none other than the latest issue of "Pinstriping & Kustom Graphics Magazine", with a little article on me! I'm super excited, this is the 1st international feature I've had. (Flash Ink magazine doesn't count in my eyes, coz it's from a stone's throw away in Singapore!)

Here's some pics....

The Cover....(i can't figure out why these aren't coming up bigger when clicked on, they are really large files.... anyone have any advise?! i never used to have this problem til recently....)

2 sweet as a nut tattoos on 1 page....classy! I'm always surprised to see which pics magazines choose to use, this one definitely seems to favor turquoise! (i spotted that donut piece in a couple of tattoo mags in England when i was last over too)

And it even has a link to none other than my blog! Right here! (unless u r reading this on my facebook feed or alivenotdead page...!)

supreme loser

ok, so time to tell y'all bout yesterday. was one of the best days off i've had in a while. 1stly, me n ross decided to go find this chip shop in sai kung we've been hearing so much about.

 We found it, and.... it was ok, nothing to write home about, and funnily enough it's called "camden town". When i was in camden in august, i noticed a chinese takeaway called "hong kong", wish i had a photo of that now. 

Anyways, after our fish n chips, we got the bus into town, the sky looked awesome.

No, those aren't UFO's....they are reflections of the lights on the bus.

Rush hour was hell, and we ended up at the races an hour late....

Steve was already $1000 up and very excited. I know diddly squat about racing, Steve on the other hand..... knows a lot about racing (and a little about acceptable shoe-sock attire)

So, as Steve was the go-to guy with the racing (he'd even printed out info at home, bless him)....Ross and Murray heeded Steve's advise, and won. 

I decided i'd just bet on the long-shots... and lost. (Come on, how could i not place a bet on "Supreme Commander"?!)

Can u feel the tension?

The boys and their winning tickets.

^

I may have well bet on this guy!

Ah, at least Melvis was around to brighten the mood!

Anyways, about to watch Friday the 13th... dial a cliche, right?