Of Dragons, Turtles and Tattoos

I will, I promise, be getting that digital camera soon! I'm hoping Christmas.

Until then, I found the link I based my ankle tattoo on, it's this design. It's a little different, however: instead of the lines being blue, they're black. The dragon heads are still blue, with some yellow shading on the horns and black on the eyes.

My tattoo artist, Maverick Mess of Deluxe Tattoo, did a great job on it. I can give this guy any picture...and he'll make it 100% better than I dreamed it could be. If you're in Portland, or have a chance to visit, check him out. He's talented, scrupulously clean and won't charge you and arm and a leg for a great piece of permanent art. And unlike some artists, he doesn't act like a stuck-up, superior high-school debutante while he's inking you. He treats you with respect, and there's a lot to be said for that. He's done three on me and four on my husband thus far...with a few more in the works. Hey, when you find a great artist....you keep 'em!

I can't wait to be able to show y'all my turtle he did just a few months ago....it's my largest tattoo; a Southwestern-style turtle with a Kokopelli in the center. I based it on this design. There are some changes I made: there is more of a Southwestern feel to it (probably strange from a Northeast Native, lol), with much more color. And there's only one Kokopelli in the center, with a swirly-type design behind him. And no trees.


I love the Internet...I've found my last three designs on various sites. The strange thing is, I never find them on tattoo sites! The dragon one I found on a site for free animations for webpages. The turtle, on a site for knick-knacks and such. The Kokopelli? On a site that sells rubber stamps.

I'm forever telling people who ask me where to find a good picture for a tattoo: just use Google Images. You'd be surprised what turns up.

For example, while searching in vain for the image that gave me my Kokopelli (mine is a bit different from the ones I've found online today), I did find two other designs that would equally make great tattoos: this tattoo design which is neat, and this one, which isn't a tattoo design but in my opinion would make a gorgeous bit of inkwork.

Speaking of tattoos....if you are (as you should be!) a regular reader of THE ZEN PRETZEL TRICK, you'll know regular commenter Rich of Everyday Absurd. He recently posted one of the most original tattoos I've ever seen! If you haven't seen his blog...shame on you. Rush right over. You'll thank me in the morning. Another blog entry to check out is Incognito's insights on stupid tattoo-related queries on her blog, The Lunatic Fringe.

I'll leave you with this disturbing, yet kind of cool picture I found using Google Images. Like I said, you never know what you'll find.

My how I love the freaking computer age.....