While I know most people wouldn’t think of Lucille Ball as the quintessential pin-up girl, she certainly had all the trappings: the hairstyle, red lipstick, the figure-flattering but appropriate outfit, hose, heels…
Like I said, the girl had it all.
Tattoo by Mike Devries at MD Tattoo Studio in Northridge, CA
From Mike Devries’ blog:
First pass: Back to back days collab with Josh Duffy and I… Dude sat like a champ! 8 hours then 6 hours the following day! The morning of we took a few hours of figuring out what we were gonna do exactly, making stencils and did some freehand work and then started goin’ at it, we switched sides about every hour so everything on his back was tattooed by both of us. There was a small tribal piece in the center of his upper back that we covered…We are still going to get back into this one more time for a final run thru, there’s still a lot of loose ends. We’ll post healed pics when we get em too.
Collab tattoo by Mike Devries and Josh Duffy at MD Tattoo Studio in Northridge, CA
We’ve all seen a number of eye tattoos, but this is taking it to a different level. I can only assume the wearer of this masterpiece is going to get a half sleeve (at least.) I’d love to see what gets laid out on the outer arm.
Tattoo by: Mike DeVries at MD Tattoo Studio in Northridge, CA
According to Mike, this tattoo still needs an hour. When I see a note like that along with a tattoo, I’m always curious what will change and how much different the tattoo will look after that last going-over.
Tattoo by: Mike DeVries at MD Tattoos in Northridge, CA
Not only is ‘Crazy Good’ the official slogan for Pop-Tarts, but it’s also the most accurate description for this tattoo.
Tattoo by: Mike DeVries at MD Tattoos in Northridge, CA
An entire leg sleeve of skulls is no laughing matter – and not an easy one to blog about, either. I’ll just let the bearer do the talkin’:
Kind of funny looking at my leg now compared with the original concept of what it was going to be. It started about 3 ½ years ago with the announcement that I was going to be a father. At that time I had a few tattoos, but not a major collector in any way. When I found out my son was going to be born a Leo, the search was on for an artist to do a realistic lion cub. I did tons of research, finally stumbled across Mike Devries‘ work and was totally sold–I contacted him right away to set up an appointment.
Luckily, he was booked out almost a year. I say that because if I had jumped the gun on the lion tattoo, it would have been a major mistake–my son wound up being a Virgo instead.
Since I already had the sitting lined up, I started thinking about what else to do and then it hit me, a skull! I have always loved skulls as far back as I can remember. I wasn’t sure if DeVries would be into it since all the work of his I had seen involved people and animal portraits. I contacted him about the change of plans and the rest, as they say, is history.
Since doing so much research initially, I had compiled a “tattoo dream team list.” I talked with my wife about the idea of continuing the skull theme. She was completely supportive and told me to go for it. I immediately started contacting the artists on my list. Many of them not only were interested in the project, but actually moved me up in line on their waiting lists just to be part of it.
The following, in order, are all the artists who contributed: Mike DeVries, Carlos Torres, Jeff Gogue, Nikko Hurtado, Robert Hernandez, Bugs, Jason Butcher, Joshua Carlton, Carlos Rojas, Aric Taylor, Shawn Barber, Bob Tyrrell, Stefano Alcantara, and FAT.
Each artist was given complete freedom to tattoo anything they wanted as long as it was a skull. It was so much fun to see what the guys would come up with. Some did exactly what you’d expect based on their respective styles, and others took it in totally different directions than anticipated.
After having such a wonderful experience with this project, I have started an arm sleeve with the same concept. So far the contributing artists are Phil Garcia, Goethe and Jeff Ensminger. Time to get that “tattoo dream team list” out and start making some calls!
Whenever I see gorgeous weather and beautiful women in two piece bikinis, I think of California. I don’t know for sure if this sleeve is based on California, but it screams west coast to me.
*Cues the Beach Boys*
Tattoo by: Mike DeVries at MD Tattoos in Northridge, CA
Mike DeVries recently posted an excellent and, in my opinion, incredibly important bit of advice concerning laser tattoo removal vs. cover up tattoos. Here’s a snippet that’s bound to get your attention:
It happens so often, I get an email or a call from someone who is not only looking for a new tattoo to add to their body, but to also hide one at the same time. I constantly hear the story of the over eager collector, getting a tattoo and ending up with something they aren’t happy with, or a tattoo that is just old and doesn’t look sharp anymore, or even it’s just something that they feel no longer represents them as a person. Those unfortunate tattoos have the ability to stab at the self esteem, bring down morals, and sometimes, prevent them from moving on in life, whether it be in a personal relationship or a professional one. The idea and consequence of something being completely permanent on our bodies is hard to grasp before it’s actually a reality, and sadly, regretful. They come to me with the hope that it could be covered up, 7 times out of ten, my response would be to get some laser treatments done on it first, not to be that guy that wants to send business to the local laser removal place, but because in the long run you will be happier with the results.
Tattoo laser removal was discovered possible in the 80s and has been developing ever since. It was a big step from sanding a tattoo off, or chemically burning it off, and left a lot less scarring. The word laser sounds so sci fi and almost intimidating, but I have never met someone who has regretted having it done. It takes time, which is one of the consequences of wanting permanence reversed, but in the end it’s worth it because for one you get something you want over it, rather than something that will work to cover it, and 9 times out of ten, if there was no laser treatments done prior to the coverup, overtime the tattoo underneath the new one will show through.
This is definitely a must-read it if you or someone you know is considering covering up an old tattoo. Read th full post on Mike DeVries’ blog.
Every coffee table deserves one good staple book for you to browse through. I’ve heard amazing things about Mike DeVries’ new release: Cranial Visions ($70).
Featuring work from an extensive (not to mention impressive) list of artists, this is definitely a splurge-worthy gift to give yourself over the holidays.
Everyone knows money is tight during the holiday season. Here’s an easy way to treat yourself to a new tattoo, and give back to the community as well, courtesy of MD Tattoos.
Tis the season! We had such a fun and successful experience last year with our “Tattoo for Charity” day here at the shop we have decided to keep up the tradition and do it again this year, hoping we can match, if not top, the $2000 we made last year.
This year we are doing it on Sunday, December 12th, from 10am-7pm. We will be offering $40 tattoos, giving that they take anywhere around 30 min. We have a predetermined selection to choose from, or are accepting custom designs, given they dont take more than the time allotted. We are all participating this year and again will make the artists random on a first come first serve basis. 100% of the proceeds will go to the Salvation Army’s Christmas Charity to help out families in need this Christmas season. Come by the shop and get tattooed and feel good about doing it!
Tattoo by: Mike DeVries at MD Tattoos in Northridge, CA