smiling.politely

I just finished this painting yesterday... possibly the best idea i've ever had for a piece (including the 12 foot wood/metal straight razor sculpture i made that actually folds away). sorry for the watermarks, but i'll probably post this in a few places that increase it's likelihood of sharing without sourcing. Kuniyoshi warriors, of course.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/534680_10100488762403191_17026783_47484761_1466466552_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/554828_10100488762148701_17026783_47484759_1139198157_n.jpg
they're a bit large, hence URLs in place of the images.
EDIT: also, planning a 2'x3' woodcut version of this for the future (i dual majored in printmaking and sculpture). mainly did the painting as a color study... carving will probably occur in the summer, printing in the fall.

no problem! i don't have many wide shots of it with a size reference, so i'll include a photo of when i was prepping the mold to cast the blade, along with some in progress photos where it was closed, and a final shot or two. looking back on it now, i hate the drawing i did on the handle, particularly the tiger. but, i guess that comes with the territory...
the handle is birch cabinetry plywood, laminated into a 1 1/2" sheet (from two 3/4" sheets), the blade is cast aluminum (or aluminium, for any non-Americans), and the drawing is acrylic paint pen and colored pencil, coated in Shellac. roughly 60 hours of work on the handle, and 250 hours of work on the blade, starting with the foam carving, through moldmaking, time spent in the foundry casting it (which involved a week long trip two states away to Houston, TX... but i'm only counting the time spent casting), and grinding/sanding.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/185599_842687201101_17026783_44414902_3167353_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/215267_953775763731_17026783_44849450_1223271_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/226859_960129420951_17026783_44943596_6851720_n.jpg
(photo credit: Chase Brazzle)
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/222261_959317912221_17026783_44941362_2897224_n.jpg
of course, now it's displayed with all the glory afforded by being wrapped in plastic to protect it, tucked away in a room at my parents' house.

no problem! i don't have many wide shots of it with a size reference, so i'll include a photo of when i was prepping the mold to cast the blade, along with some in progress photos where it was closed, and a final shot or two. looking back on it now, i hate the drawing i did on the handle, particularly the tiger. but, i guess that comes with the territory...
the handle is birch cabinetry plywood, laminated into a 1 1/2" sheet (from two 3/4" sheets), the blade is cast aluminum (or aluminium, for any non-Americans), and the drawing is acrylic paint pen and colored pencil, coated in Shellac. roughly 60 hours of work on the handle, and 250 hours of work on the blade, starting with the foam carving, through moldmaking, time spent in the foundry casting it (which involved a week long trip two states away to Houston, TX... but i'm only counting the time spent casting), and grinding/sanding.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/185599_842687201101_17026783_44414902_3167353_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/215267_953775763731_17026783_44849450_1223271_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/226859_960129420951_17026783_44943596_6851720_n.jpg
(photo credit: Chase Brazzle)
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/222261_959317912221_17026783_44941362_2897224_n.jpg
of course, now it's displayed with all the glory afforded by being wrapped in plastic to protect it, tucked away in a room at my parents' house.

no problem! i don't have many wide shots of it with a size reference, so i'll include a photo of when i was prepping the mold to cast the blade, along with some in progress photos where it was closed, and a final shot or two. looking back on it now, i hate the drawing i did on the handle, particularly the tiger. but, i guess that comes with the territory...
the handle is birch cabinetry plywood, laminated into a 1 1/2" sheet (from two 3/4" sheets), the blade is cast aluminum (or aluminium, for any non-Americans), and the drawing is acrylic paint pen and colored pencil, coated in Shellac. roughly 60 hours of work on the handle, and 250 hours of work on the blade, starting with the foam carving, through moldmaking, time spent in the foundry casting it (which involved a week long trip two states away to Houston, TX... but i'm only counting the time spent casting), and grinding/sanding.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/185599_842687201101_17026783_44414902_3167353_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/215267_953775763731_17026783_44849450_1223271_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/226859_960129420951_17026783_44943596_6851720_n.jpg
(photo credit: Chase Brazzle)
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/222261_959317912221_17026783_44941362_2897224_n.jpg
of course, now it's displayed with all the glory afforded by being wrapped in plastic to protect it, tucked away in a room at my parents' house.

I just finished this painting yesterday... possibly the best idea i've ever had for a piece (including the 12 foot wood/metal straight razor sculpture i made that actually folds away). sorry for the watermarks, but i'll probably post this in a few places that increase it's likelihood of sharing without sourcing. Kuniyoshi warriors, of course.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/534680_10100488762403191_17026783_47484761_1466466552_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/554828_10100488762148701_17026783_47484759_1139198157_n.jpg
they're a bit large, hence URLs in place of the images.
EDIT: also, planning a 2'x3' woodcut version of this for the future (i dual majored in printmaking and sculpture). mainly did the painting as a color study... carving will probably occur in the summer, printing in the fall.

no problem! i don't have many wide shots of it with a size reference, so i'll include a photo of when i was prepping the mold to cast the blade, along with some in progress photos where it was closed, and a final shot or two. looking back on it now, i hate the drawing i did on the handle, particularly the tiger. but, i guess that comes with the territory...
the handle is birch cabinetry plywood, laminated into a 1 1/2" sheet (from two 3/4" sheets), the blade is cast aluminum (or aluminium, for any non-Americans), and the drawing is acrylic paint pen and colored pencil, coated in Shellac. roughly 60 hours of work on the handle, and 250 hours of work on the blade, starting with the foam carving, through moldmaking, time spent in the foundry casting it (which involved a week long trip two states away to Houston, TX... but i'm only counting the time spent casting), and grinding/sanding.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/185599_842687201101_17026783_44414902_3167353_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/215267_953775763731_17026783_44849450_1223271_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/226859_960129420951_17026783_44943596_6851720_n.jpg
(photo credit: Chase Brazzle)
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/222261_959317912221_17026783_44941362_2897224_n.jpg
of course, now it's displayed with all the glory afforded by being wrapped in plastic to protect it, tucked away in a room at my parents' house.

I just finished this painting yesterday... possibly the best idea i've ever had for a piece (including the 12 foot wood/metal straight razor sculpture i made that actually folds away). sorry for the watermarks, but i'll probably post this in a few places that increase it's likelihood of sharing without sourcing. Kuniyoshi warriors, of course.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/534680_10100488762403191_17026783_47484761_1466466552_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/554828_10100488762148701_17026783_47484759_1139198157_n.jpg
they're a bit large, hence URLs in place of the images.
EDIT: also, planning a 2'x3' woodcut version of this for the future (i dual majored in printmaking and sculpture). mainly did the painting as a color study... carving will probably occur in the summer, printing in the fall.

Bryan Burk yesterday
Dark Horse, Los Angeles

i've never quite understood the issue with driving around town a bit, whether looking for tattoo shops or something else... i live 70 miles from the nearest good tattoo shops, including the one where i work. across town isn't the worst distance to travel, and neither is 40 minutes.

that being said, with the majority of locations on your body, you do have to look at a tattoo every day. so, if willing to save up and buy the "right" bike needed for one's situation, why not save up the correct amount of money and get the tatto done right?

since both of my parents have been tattooed since well before i was born, i have no idea... i do remember once i was getting a bit older (and making friends that weren't cousins or kids of my parents' friends) realizing that not everyone's parents had pictures on them.

since both of my parents have been tattooed since well before i was born, i have no idea... i do remember once i was getting a bit older (and making friends that weren't cousins or kids of my parents' friends) realizing that not everyone's parents had pictures on them.

since both of my parents have been tattooed since well before i was born, i have no idea... i do remember once i was getting a bit older (and making friends that weren't cousins or kids of my parents' friends) realizing that not everyone's parents had pictures on them.

nothing too eventful... when i was 20 (in 2007), i got some text and a skull on my left forearm. my dad has the same text on his forearm, and since i was unsure as to what my goals in coverage would be at the time, i figured that getting that tattoo in dedication to my parents would always ring true with me. plus, skulls are rad.

he most definitely was not a banker... i know he moved furniture for a few different places, and built barns, worked in a lumber yard, and worked in his brother's cabinet shop after we moved out into the country. the details some of his arm tattoos have left is surprising based on all the years of outdoor construction work. on a side note, he was 23 when he started going to Charlie.
as for being awesome, both of my parents are pretty rad.
also had them dig out a frame with Charlie's old business card and care instructions. the blue card and "Keep the world artful" bits are from my mom's brother's time in California, and the card for "Sully's" was the aforementioned garden shed shop.

in early 1983, my dad walked into Charlie's shop, watched him tattoo for two days straight, then started dropping money on tattoos over 10 days. in that time, Charlie did his hands, added the dozen roses around the girl on his right arm and clouds around the eagle on his left arm, and tattooed almost his whole chest, except for the wizard/castle, dragon, and lettering on his stomach. in 1984, he went back and had the dragon outlined, the peace pipe on his forearm, and the text inside his forearm. around that time, he had met my mother, and converted her from house tattoos. her first was a Van Halen logo with a guitar string/casette motor machine. the unicorn on her forearm is hers. of the tattoos i've mentioned, none have been retouched since Charlie did them almost 30 years ago, except shading in the dragon and the clouds around the eagle. Nick Cartwright did a tattoo on my mom's other forearm which is currently being covered in a Koi/chrysanthemum sleeve by my boss, Josh Cruse.
the butterfly girl in the midst of the dozen roses was done by a guy named O'Sullivan, who apparently had a fully functional, immaculate shop set up in a garden shed. the castle/wizard and shading for the dragon were done later by a guy named Richard "Critter" Trukken, who also did all of my dad's legs, back, both sets of ribs, and finished out what's on his arms. he also redid the clouds Charlie did on his left arm (hence the lack of closer photos of it). at some point, if he feels like it, i'll get some photos of his other tattoos, and possibly some stories. having been fairly entrenched in the tattoo world of the late '80s and early '90s in Kansas, there's a fair few of them.
side note... excuse the scratches on his hands... new, fairly violent kitten in the house.

nothing too eventful... when i was 20 (in 2007), i got some text and a skull on my left forearm. my dad has the same text on his forearm, and since i was unsure as to what my goals in coverage would be at the time, i figured that getting that tattoo in dedication to my parents would always ring true with me. plus, skulls are rad.

nothing too eventful... when i was 20 (in 2007), i got some text and a skull on my left forearm. my dad has the same text on his forearm, and since i was unsure as to what my goals in coverage would be at the time, i figured that getting that tattoo in dedication to my parents would always ring true with me. plus, skulls are rad.

got another bit of Spider Murphy flash from the apprentice in the shop where i work. not the greatest photo, but it gets the point across. photo and tattoo by Jon Probasco.

got another bit of Spider Murphy flash from the apprentice in the shop where i work. not the greatest photo, but it gets the point across. photo and tattoo by Jon Probasco.

got another bit of Spider Murphy flash from the apprentice in the shop where i work. not the greatest photo, but it gets the point across. photo and tattoo by Jon Probasco.

in early 1983, my dad walked into Charlie's shop, watched him tattoo for two days straight, then started dropping money on tattoos over 10 days. in that time, Charlie did his hands, added the dozen roses around the girl on his right arm and clouds around the eagle on his left arm, and tattooed almost his whole chest, except for the wizard/castle, dragon, and lettering on his stomach. in 1984, he went back and had the dragon outlined, the peace pipe on his forearm, and the text inside his forearm. around that time, he had met my mother, and converted her from house tattoos. her first was a Van Halen logo with a guitar string/casette motor machine. the unicorn on her forearm is hers. of the tattoos i've mentioned, none have been retouched since Charlie did them almost 30 years ago, except shading in the dragon and the clouds around the eagle. Nick Cartwright did a tattoo on my mom's other forearm which is currently being covered in a Koi/chrysanthemum sleeve by my boss, Josh Cruse.
the butterfly girl in the midst of the dozen roses was done by a guy named O'Sullivan, who apparently had a fully functional, immaculate shop set up in a garden shed. the castle/wizard and shading for the dragon were done later by a guy named Richard "Critter" Trukken, who also did all of my dad's legs, back, both sets of ribs, and finished out what's on his arms. he also redid the clouds Charlie did on his left arm (hence the lack of closer photos of it). at some point, if he feels like it, i'll get some photos of his other tattoos, and possibly some stories. having been fairly entrenched in the tattoo world of the late '80s and early '90s in Kansas, there's a fair few of them.
side note... excuse the scratches on his hands... new, fairly violent kitten in the house.

he most definitely was not a banker... i know he moved furniture for a few different places, and built barns, worked in a lumber yard, and worked in his brother's cabinet shop after we moved out into the country. the details some of his arm tattoos have left is surprising based on all the years of outdoor construction work. on a side note, he was 23 when he started going to Charlie.
as for being awesome, both of my parents are pretty rad.
also had them dig out a frame with Charlie's old business card and care instructions. the blue card and "Keep the world artful" bits are from my mom's brother's time in California, and the card for "Sully's" was the aforementioned garden shed shop.

got another bit of Spider Murphy flash from the apprentice in the shop where i work. not the greatest photo, but it gets the point across. photo and tattoo by Jon Probasco.

in early 1983, my dad walked into Charlie's shop, watched him tattoo for two days straight, then started dropping money on tattoos over 10 days. in that time, Charlie did his hands, added the dozen roses around the girl on his right arm and clouds around the eagle on his left arm, and tattooed almost his whole chest, except for the wizard/castle, dragon, and lettering on his stomach. in 1984, he went back and had the dragon outlined, the peace pipe on his forearm, and the text inside his forearm. around that time, he had met my mother, and converted her from house tattoos. her first was a Van Halen logo with a guitar string/casette motor machine. the unicorn on her forearm is hers. of the tattoos i've mentioned, none have been retouched since Charlie did them almost 30 years ago, except shading in the dragon and the clouds around the eagle. Nick Cartwright did a tattoo on my mom's other forearm which is currently being covered in a Koi/chrysanthemum sleeve by my boss, Josh Cruse.
the butterfly girl in the midst of the dozen roses was done by a guy named O'Sullivan, who apparently had a fully functional, immaculate shop set up in a garden shed. the castle/wizard and shading for the dragon were done later by a guy named Richard "Critter" Trukken, who also did all of my dad's legs, back, both sets of ribs, and finished out what's on his arms. he also redid the clouds Charlie did on his left arm (hence the lack of closer photos of it). at some point, if he feels like it, i'll get some photos of his other tattoos, and possibly some stories. having been fairly entrenched in the tattoo world of the late '80s and early '90s in Kansas, there's a fair few of them.
side note... excuse the scratches on his hands... new, fairly violent kitten in the house.