*Here we come to present day - and what is in progress*
It’s going to sound a little crazy, well maybe not, but I get a lot of somewhat strange looks whenever I tell people this, this tattoo is one that I’ve wanted since I was about 12. Well, part of it I’ve wanted since I was 12, and the other part has been ever since I was 13 or 14. I think this will be one of my more impressive, and extensive tattoos thus far. I just finished session 4 with 6 hours, and we’re nowhere near done with this one. You may be wondering why if I have wanted this tattoo since I was 12 that I didn’t get it as a first tattoo, and instead ended up with the awful one I did... Well, I knew way back then that this wouldn’t be a simple tattoo and I couldn’t actually envision it. That’s something kind of important about me - If I can’t visualize it, I won’t do it. That goes with anything. It can be a good thing and a bad thing. That type of thought process can, at times, stop me from doing really stupid things, but it can also keep me from amazing things. Some of the best things in life are done on an impulsive whim. Some things.
Anyway, I’m going to cut right to the chase because it’s near impossible to really talk about this tattoo without delving into the story.
Location: Remainder of upper thigh (all above the knee)
Tattoo: Dragon - Orchids - Butterflies
Story: I will start with the dragon (this is the part I’ve wanted since I was 12) - As a kid I would retreat into books and I always loved scifi, fantasy, horror, and mysteries the most. I cannot tell you when my love affair with dragons began, but I feel as if I’ve always loved them. I remember my 12th birthday party was a surprise. I had a dragon cake and my mom had gotten me this dragon necklace with earrings that came in a little box, another dragon necklace that was a vile that had glitter in it (or pixie dust - it was more fun to think of it that way) and the most awesome dragon card that I had ever seen! Anyway, enough reminiscing, that is the simple version of my love for dragons, and it hasn’t wavered. As for the orchids and the butterflies - this comes from a song. “The Theft” by Atreyu “A thousand black flowers explode into butterflies.” I cannot explain to you why this touched me so much, nor why I felt so compelled to get it as a tattoo. All I remember is the first time I ever heard this song when I was a freshman in high school (14 or 15), and those lyrics, I knew I had to get it as a tattoo.
Now for the fun voila moment - As I had said, I hadn’t gotten this dragon tattoo, or the flowers/butterflies tattoo yet because I could not visualize it. I had thought that I’d get the dragon huge down the side of my thigh the way my mom had her roses done, but I just wasn’t in love with the idea. Well, my friend Kimber and I were, and still are, planning to get a sister/best friend Batman and Robin tattoo, so we went into the shop to get pricing on it. While we were sitting there and contemplating our Batman and Robin tattoo, I suddenly knew exactly how and where I wanted these tattoos - I needed to combine them into one! So, I made an appointment.
I figure in this post, I will catch you up to the most recent session. I could have broken each one down into its own post, but that seemed silly.
Session 1 -
Here we just got the dragon started (sorry for the less than visible photo of the dragon, but I got a new phone and for whatever reason, the other photo didn't get transferred - see Instagram for more)
Session 2 -
Now the dragon has started to take on some definition, starting to look pretty awesome
Session 3 -
Now we’ve gotten to work on the flowers and butterflies, still a lot of work ahead
Middle of Session 4 -
End of Session 4 -
This is the dragon all finished 5 hours later! Spike said no one has ever let him spend 5 hours on a dragon before (or anything like that, I think), but I knew I wanted this dragon to have a lot of detail and really stand out. The orchids and the butterflies are just the accent pieces. We also discussed the full extent of where this tattoo is going. It has actually taken on more than I had ever anticipated when I started this process. I think we’re looking at a good 10-12 hours before it’s all done. Possibly more; it just depends on the detail put into the rest of it.
And just a little Collage of the process thus far :)
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