once again, under the needle

yup, i did it again, and i am surly going to hell for it (nevermind of course, i don't believe in hell)... yesterday, phase 2 of my sleeve tattoo began. 3.5 hours of ink time (including a bit where i feel asleep during the tattooing) and my sleeve is finally taking shape.

to refresh your memory... here is phase 1 of my sleeve. the symbol is the 8 auspicious symbols of buddhism. these symbols are extremely personal to me and i was wanting to find something to compliment the symbols without detracting from them or pulling focus.

we (trevor, my tattoo artist and i) went down a number of different paths before we hit on this one - simple use of asian imagery for wind/air mixed with lotus flowers & cherry blossoms. when we started phase 1 (the symbols) it was important to me to make sure there was a lot of movement in the banner (the victory banner representing the victory of one's body, speech, and mind over negative obstacles). phase 3 of the sleeve will actually go above what you see now and will be tibetan prayer flags flapping in the wind.

the bulk of phase two is monochromatic. i wanted the symbols to pop.... everything here is grey shade work with the exception of the lotus flowers and cherry blossoms which will get color on monday.

color me one very happy boy.