What does an idea look like?

I haven’t had much of a chance to blog away here. There has been plenty to go on about, but by the time I get the chance to get into it.. It somehow looses it's excitement and I eventually get on to other things. The main downside to having the attention span of a goldfish

At any rate, the mere fact that I haven’t blogged in a while isn’t my only reason for posting on here. I was planning to post some recent photos of work in progress, and some shots from trips out with Holly and the Hoss.

Before I get to those though, I wanted to repost this rather long quote I copied. It is from a book by Peter London called “No More Secondhand Art” I really know nothing about the author (though I will be looking into more about him now) The quote is really pretty amazing as it pertains to a large problem within the tattoo community. The concept is of course not new, but the tendency of tattooers to simply copy other artists work is maddening. I find it interesting that Mr London has identified and attacks the same problem within the painting/fine art world. So here is his quote, and if you are an artist of any sort it is worth reading… and if you are a tattooer, read it and really give it some thought.

”Of course technique is important; so are principles of design. But you already know this. You also know what it takes to acquire these traits; long, hard work. Do you want to draw like Rembrandt or Degas? Simple! Just draw ten hours a day, six days a week for forty years. That’s how they did it. Ready for that? How did Monet paint those densely woven symphonies of strokes of light, weaving that luminescent Japanese bridge over the swarming lily pond? First he excavated a huge hole, then diverted a river to fill the hole, planted it with lily pads, then built a Japanese bridge over the whole thing, all at vast expense. Then he bought a boat, made a floating studio out of it and for twelve hours a day, for over twenty years, he paddled around that pond, and painted and painted until his eyes glazed over. If you want to make stuff that has Monet’s charm ...have Monet’s passion, devotion, largess, sacrifice.

The techniques of Monet or Degas can be copied; their principles of design are not obscure, they can be learned. If you want them for yourself, you can have them for a price. And the price is dearer than you may think. Not only will you have to put in at least as much time as they did in developing these same skills, all your living days, but the real price you will have paid is that you will have succeeded in becoming them, and will have missed becoming you.

Monet’s technique and principles of design are Monet. They were created by him so that he could portray what he alone was seeing and thinking and feeling. These are not simply techniques or principles of design. They are conceptions of the world. Monet had to create his own repertoire of techniques and principles of design because he could not portray through the prevailing means what he alone was seeing and feeling. You can’t have his technique or apply his principles of design without becoming him.

Better to raise the questions Monet did than to mimic his responses. What are his questions, the task he set himself? They are remarkably similar to the questions any artist, any creative person, any awake person asks.  What is that damn thing out there? What does an idea look like? How can I give form to a feeling? How does this whole mess fit together? How can I speak about the thing no longer there? The thing not here yet? Why am I moved like this by mere daylight, by nightfall? Is there a truth here, or merely beauty? Does this line have integrity, or is it guile? What have I made up, what have I observed? Of all the things I can do, what shall I do, what should I do? Will I ever get it right?

Your particular techniques and your principles of design will be derived from your struggle with these questions. Monet did it. Rembrandt did it. So did Bellini, Breughel, Bosch, Bach, Brahms, Beethoven, Byron, Bartok, Berlioz, Bernstein, Brubeck, Basie, Balanchine, Beckett, Bergman, Beckmann, Berryman, Borges, Bellows, Baldwin. You get the picture.

All creative journeys begin with a challenge to introspection, to fathom not only what’s out there , but what’s in here. They are invitations to original response. 
 

Ok so here are the Photos... as if this weren't long enough huh? haha sorry

The first few shots are the start of a sleeve. We wanted to get this part first as the girl will be the primary foreground image. The rest will fall into place behind her.

Next is a section of a coverup I have been working on. It will represent death/disease. The funny part of the cover-up is that I did the original tattoo we figured at least 16 years ago. HAHA If anyone is going to cover my work, im glad i got the chance.

Yet another cover-up in progress.

Here are a pair of tattoos I was able to start and finish in one sitting. I'm grateful as hell for the chance to work on the large and involved pieces, but it sure is nice to start and finish a piece in one sitting now and then. And for the record, both are on the same gal. They were done 2 weeks apart.

Last but not least, here are some shots from the few times lately Holly Hoss and I have been able to get out and about.

 I hope you are well.
-Scott

less whine more substance...

So my last post was a bit on the negative side. Im sure I will get back on that topic again, but for now I’ll get back to the usually scheduled subject matter…

My head has been all over the place lately so it has been hard to focus long enough on any one thing to accomplish as much as I would like. I keep giving myself extra homework on top of my drawing for tattoos for each day. Some days, my focus is unwavering, and others I can’t even get a line on a page. Creativity is definitely something that comes and goes for me. I’m sure most folks reading this can relate. To a degree that is why I have been keeping this blog, to motivate myself as much as hopefully some other folks as well.

The Milan convention is coming up mid month, so I have been trying to get a new painting done for that. I have the concept drawing/layout figured out, the hotpress is stained and ready to go, I just need to transfer it and get to painting. Hell, there was even a point of going out to take some photos for reference. It feels good to go find the settings myself, instead of just finding photos from flickr or some other photo database. The photos that are going to be used are all from the creek just down from my home. Passing it every day, it will be fun to interpret it within the scene. One of these Sundays, I will just have to get my act together and set up a box to paint from life rather than photos. I’m pretty excited with the concept so the drawing came together pretty quick. I will post the storyline for the illustration once it is finished, for now I’ll just put up a blurry photo of the pencil drawing. (this was also posted on twitter earlier, I just wanted to explain it a bit more here.)

As for the Milan convention, I cant wait to get back there. Turk will be joining me again on this trip, and I look forward to seeing the other cast of folks when we get there. Sure it sounds obvious, but I really look forward to these shows and the folks I get to see while there. I don’t do too many conventions, so it stays fresh for me. I can’t imagine being the sort of fella that goes to show after show. I just don’t think I like people enough for that, at least the crowds of people anyhow. I will of course post photos from the show and from around Milan. It’s a beautiful city, with some amazing artwork. It gets overshadowed by other grand cities in Italy, but should not be missed!

There are some tattoo photos in this posting as well (go figure) I have continued pretty lucky with my customers. They have really been giving me some great ideas, and then the freedom to run with them. I have had quite a few consultations with folks regarding upcoming appointments, and I cant get them started soon enough. Time management has become a constant battle. I need to just commit to a specific span of time to draw each day. easier said than done. The hour commute has its drawbacks for sure!

I have had some ideas for other blog posts, but I will need to just focus on one topic at a time. These epic update posts are fun, but I cannot get into anything too deeply. Watch for some slightly more focused themes in future posts. Until then here are a batch of photos to roll through…
Be well
Scott
here are some ref and layout photos of the new painting in the works...

 

 next are some tattoos and concept art. 

1st is a pair of drawings for the start of what will be a sleeve. these designs are intended to border an existing tattoo so it works with the rest of the sleeve. i'll post updated images as it goes along. it will be a pretty crazy tattoo when its all done. 

 

next up is a drawing and start of a hula girl. it was tricky placing this one as he wants to keep the web. we already did an aircraft carrier with an f-18 on the backside of the same arm. that was posted in a previous blog. this section will tie in with the other when all is said and done.

 

next up is a pretty deep concept piece. this is the start of what will fill from his knee down. it is to be tree people (think ents from lotr)  carrying children away from a ruined polluting city. this will be the largest closeup of one of them, the rest will zom out as it wraps around his leg. whenever i do a full wrapping image, it helps to use a large image that breaks up the vertical view. the idea is to break up the scene vertically so the perspective still works, even though it wraps around and meets itself.

 

the last tattoo is the first sitting from a burne hogarth illustration. i dont often copy someone elses artwork, but in this case, it was the perfect design. we will indeed be changing the design in the next sitting where i will be adding something to the open section of his head. so far the thought is a fetus in there, but it isnt 100% just yet. the guy that is getting this tattoo is another tattooer named frank rudy. he is a genuinely good fella, with some pretty damn cool paintings and tattoos of his own. he works out of timeless tattoos in bordentown nj.

the last photos are just some scenery shots from out and about. the snowy ones were a fluke day. i had no idea it was supposed to snow, and woke to about an inch and a half. nothing crazy, but it was all fresh out there, and i didnt want to pass a chance to go roaming around the property with hoss (our badass brussles griffon) the very last shot was one that one of my customers sent. it came out pretty rad and my mom likes to see pics of her little kid at work.

 

this may get to be a bit abstruse... but there are pretty pictures

My first post with this blog set out to explain my mission of inspiration and motivation. Recently I have been trying to realize and focus on the things that are my primary inspirations. Sounds easy right? Not so much. My interests are so varied it is difficult to actually try to sort out just what it is about each element that captures my interest. Considering anything from my love for the outdoors to my growing passion for classic American illustration styles, from my interest in traditional Americana/country music to my fascination with inspiration itself; it has become a goal to boil those factors down and capture the common thread that jumps out to me in the first place.

I’ll let you know if I figure anything out. Of course if I do manage to separate the wheat from the chaff, and really establish the core of my inspirations… what the hell do I do with the knowledge? If nothing else it is a fine fuel for introspection and hopefully the catalyst to push my creative process to another level.

Anyhow, I am posting some photos below that cover the past month. It makes for a rather large post this time around, but time has been short for me. I really need to make the effort to post more often so I can keep these shorter and more concise. The blog has really allowed me to focus a bit more on my creative life and evaluate the directions and decisions I make in that way. I plan to keep it going, but  do realize the need to post shorter and more often. I hope you can still get something out of it when it is so lengthy.

Ok so here goes:

First of all here are some tattoos that I have been working on. The first is the drawing and the start of the Halloween themed sleeve I have been really excited about. It shows a story he told about how his parents played a Halloween prank to scare he and his brother and sister.

 

Second is a cover-up of a tattoo I had actually done about 15 years ago. The new image and drawing shows a death/pestilence character. Around him will be diseased people and then not yet shown will be medieval plague doctors.

The next one is actually a finished healed photo of the The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner rib panel. I had shown this in progress in an earlier post. The tattoo was finished about 2 months ago, and we just got the healed photos last week.

 

The last tattoo photo is the color on the Headless Horseman tattoo. Of course it is another work in progress. We are actually a fair bit beyond this stage now, but We haven't gotten new photos recently.

Next up are some Christmas shopping photos. Yeah, exciting right? But eally it is more to show the wonders of the Q-Mart. A farmers market I have been going to since I was a little kid. Holly was happy I didn't find anything for her from there, but  it was certainly not a wasted trip.

Finally are some random outside shots.

First is the creek near our house. I follow along it every day on my way to work and rarely see it like this. It is spring fed so is always flowing, but rarely as violent as this.

The next ones are the same creek after some serious snow a week or two later.

the first two are the same spot as shown above at its more usual pace.

I'll wrap this all up with some white Christmas shots of the house and the tattoo shop. Thanks for taking the time to look at and read all this. Ill try to keep it interesting, and not as epic in the future.

See ya in the New Year!

-Scott

The Last Days of Fall

The past few weeks have been relaxing. After the past few months, Ill take the chance to enjoy what little bit of fall is left. We got out today to walk Hoss around at Highrocks. It was absolutely what we needed. A perfect evening spent walking all over one of my favorite parks. Hoss definitely enjoys anytime he gets to jump around on rocks and roots. Holly was patient with me while I took a ton of pictures. I'll post a few of them below.

Tattooing has once again been all about ongoing pieces. I started a few new ones, and continued on a bunch. I can't wait to get some of these done, though I have really been looking forward to each sitting. It's nice to have work I can really get involved with. As much as I have fought the idea of having a particular style or look to my work in the past ... I have actually been excited to have more and more folks looking for my take on their ideas. It really feels like my work has evolved over the past year or two, largely because I have actually been focusing on my approach to each tattoo. I have always taken each tattoo seriously and certainly don't want to give the impression otherwise. The change is the thought that I have always held back from trying to have too much of "me" in my work. Again, trying to avoid a style or particular look. I have definitely gotten better at walking the line of how to interpret what is asked of me. Below are a few photos of recent works in progress. I'm so unbelievably grateful to my customers for the interest in my work, and the trust to let me really run with their ideas.

The last group of photos below are a bit older. They are from a trip to the Golden Nugget flea market back in September. I love the bizarre pieces of history, and the way folks present them. I took most of the photos on the sly, so its fun to see what shots come out.

Take care
-Scott