Mush

It's done. We're done. Except for a touch-up and tweaking session after this heals. Did the left ribs from love handle to arm pit (none of which you can see here), detailed the 3 fish on the left, finished up the eagle rays, ship wreck mast and the blue. Right now it's 29 hours after we finished and I'm still trashed. Healing this one is going to be special.
But of course, since it didn't show up on his Instagram, all I am left to share is an in-progress pic he posted about 7 hours in! (Which coincidentally was the same time I was complaining over on the "Thread to post while getting tattooed" thread that I was running on fumes.)
This is just before the final push to finish the eagle rays, ship wreck mast, blues and highlights in the middle. (Funny enough, at the time, I didn't realize it was also the final push to finish THE WHOLE TATTOO!)

We're taking healed shots in a few weeks and I'll post the final results. For now, I'm just gonna curl up on the couch and nurse my tattoo flu.

Finished my back on Friday night (well, Saturday at 5:30 am). It was a hell of a ride - it took almost exactly a year of sessions every 2-3 weeks. We'll do a final session after this heals to tie the bow on it.
This tattoo was made by Sean Zee out of Brick, NJ from pictures I've taken while scuba diving. I gave him 50-some pictures and a wish list, and he selected about 15 shots to create this scene. These pics were taken on 4 continents from 1998 through 2013 using (mostly) a Nikonos V underwater camera with an SB-105 strobe, UW Nikkor 35mm, 28mm, and 15mm f2.8 fisheye lenses, Sea & Sea (no relation) macro kit and Nikonos closeup kit.

Sean is a great guy, dedicated and amazingly creative. It boggles my mind how artists just "see" stuff like this and make it happen. He put up with a lot of questions and "what ifs" and "why nots" from this nearly virgin canvas (as he likes to say, "this woman only had lil kitty paw prints on her shoulder before this"), explaining to me all the ways this tattoo would NOT work, and ended up just putting it on the table that it really needed to be a full back if I wanted so many references. And to prove it, he designed the whole thing superimposed on a picture of my bare back and emailed it to me. I remember the moment I saw it for the first time and it shorted out my brain. I committed to the full back about 20 minutes after I got the email. (And I admit at the time I did not understand in the least what I was in for...)
Kinda funny, thinking back on it, how all the chatter and uncertainty and 14 years of wanting some sort of tattoo with my eagle rays were completely silenced and resolved in a heart beat. Anyway...
So, the critters making appearances, starting at the top right and going clockwise are: two moon jellyfish, two Moorish idols, two clownfish and anemone, a batwing coral crab and mustard tube sponges just behind him, a leopard moray eel, two squirrelfish hiding in red sea fans that cross my lower back, a sea snake in lettuce coral (very poisonous, which I didn't realize until after I'd crawled up in his face to take the picture and then been admonished by the divemaster after the picture was developed), a queen angelfish and a hammerhead shark. In the center are two spotted eagle rays and the broken mast of the Nippo Maru, a Japanese supply ship sunk during WWII by US forces in Truk Lagoon, Micronesia.
When I look at this, I don't just see a tattoo of fish. It's a diary of my favorite diving experiences. Each part has such different memories of the location, the people I was with, and the experience on that dive. (Yeah, poisonous sea snake. Whoopsie on that one. And the clownfish was actually guarding a little ring of day-old eggs. And trying to photograph moon jellies in a surge without being hit is like playing a 3D video game. And that I really really wanted my spotted moray eels but Sean said the pattern wouldn't age well, so with resigned sadness, my handsome spotted moray had to morph into a leopard moray. Sniff Sniff.) All of this flooding my brain at the same time.
And then I get this goofy grin on my face thinking about walking around with this huge awesome back piece that anyone I know would be shocked to learn I have.
He put up a little video where you can see the ribs, too: Video of SeeSea's Back. Healed pics coming to an LST contest near you. I want a T-shirt, dammit :D

Above is a picture of me laying like a passed out pale seal on Iain Mullens table. Today was the second to last session on my back. Can't wait to see it finished. We're doing the last bit and touch ups with Rudy Fritsch at the Scottish Convention in the end of March. Going to be fun/hell. Todays session was nice except for a few bits. I can't believe how quick this piece has been. I got the idea to start my back in April last year, asked Iain about it and then we started in mid June. It really helps that both him and Rudy work super quick and make for good company + conversations during the sessions.
Secret bit of knowledge exclusively for LST (I know people love that exclusiveness, I sure do): that ain't a dark red, but actually a light gray wash looking bloodied and irritated. Haven't got a piece of color on me, except for a few patches of gray and white.

This is my main man, Rufus, probably falling asleep in the this picture, one of his favorite activities.

Had a few hours on my back yesterday. Worked on background was a good session, everyone at Sugarahack is so friendly.
I had a chance to listen to the first couple episodes of the serial podcast too, I'll admit , I'm hooked. Listened to a few more on the drive home.
Back at it again end of January bring down the left side and hopefully move below the waist.
See how it goes. I'll say it every time, the love handle area is killer.

Happy New years friends!

Happy New years friends!

Happy New years friends!

So I earlier tonight I booked my next tattoo - in March I'm heading down to Austin to have Steve Byrne put an eagle on my chest. In one shot. Because I am an idiot.
Ah, well. As @Graeme said, "If you want tough tattoos you can't be a wimp about it."

Had a few hours on my back yesterday. Worked on background was a good session, everyone at Sugarahack is so friendly.
I had a chance to listen to the first couple episodes of the serial podcast too, I'll admit , I'm hooked. Listened to a few more on the drive home.
Back at it again end of January bring down the left side and hopefully move below the waist.
See how it goes. I'll say it every time, the love handle area is killer.

Nothing booked yet and this will have to wait until I've finished my back but plans are underway for getting my chest properly started. Going to get a kurikara Fudo really big on my torso. It's going to rule.

I posted this over in "http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/forum/general-tattoo-discussion/5952-thread-posting-while-getting-tattooed-page9.html#post107507" mid grind last night, but here's an update. Right ribs to arm pit and detailing out the right side. I'm still limited to what he puts on Instagram, so it's not close up and the lighting isn't great. But man this is getting me crazy happy!
Although, of course, next session was supposed to be my last one ... but now it's not again... ;) But he can detail it out all he wants - I'm just in love.

Ahhh, he just put up a detail shot. The right is finished - second pass on the blue and rays are next, and finishing the left ribs, then a final pass for whites and blacks. Stolen from Sean Zee's Instagram

Stellar stuff @SeeSea way to hang in there, I'll keep you in mind as I progress

Had a few hours on my back yesterday. Worked on background was a good session, everyone at Sugarahack is so friendly.
I had a chance to listen to the first couple episodes of the serial podcast too, I'll admit , I'm hooked. Listened to a few more on the drive home.
Back at it again end of January bring down the left side and hopefully move below the waist.
See how it goes. I'll say it every time, the love handle area is killer.

Mid grind. Lovin' the ribs and armpit. Not.

Here's an update on my back piece - love it :-)

xccx

Just got done with my chest/half sleeves from Horitomo at State of Grace. Took me a couple of years to get it all done since I had to fly there and book back to back sessions. First, here is a pic of my fucked up tattoo that I got when I was 18. Horitomo touched it up and incorporated it with his art. SOrry not sure why some photos are posting sideways, I have it upright when I loaded them.
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you're a wild man, I HATE lines, its the most painful thing I have ever experienced. I would take 6 hours of shading over 20 minutes of lines anyday.
My hat is off to you, sir.

you probably gonna need to give some ideas of what you're into or you're likely to get alot of "panther" in the ol suggestion box

you're a wild man, I HATE lines, its the most painful thing I have ever experienced. I would take 6 hours of shading over 20 minutes of lines anyday.
My hat is off to you, sir.

Cross posting from the latest tattoo thread, this is after session 1 of... i don't know how many... with Marius Meyer

Had a few hours on my back yesterday. Worked on background was a good session, everyone at Sugarahack is so friendly.
I had a chance to listen to the first couple episodes of the serial podcast too, I'll admit , I'm hooked. Listened to a few more on the drive home.
Back at it again end of January bring down the left side and hopefully move below the waist.
See how it goes. I'll say it every time, the love handle area is killer.

Had a few hours on my back yesterday. Worked on background was a good session, everyone at Sugarahack is so friendly.
I had a chance to listen to the first couple episodes of the serial podcast too, I'll admit , I'm hooked. Listened to a few more on the drive home.
Back at it again end of January bring down the left side and hopefully move below the waist.
See how it goes. I'll say it every time, the love handle area is killer.

Had a few hours on my back yesterday. Worked on background was a good session, everyone at Sugarahack is so friendly.
I had a chance to listen to the first couple episodes of the serial podcast too, I'll admit , I'm hooked. Listened to a few more on the drive home.
Back at it again end of January bring down the left side and hopefully move below the waist.
See how it goes. I'll say it every time, the love handle area is killer.

Had a few hours on my back yesterday. Worked on background was a good session, everyone at Sugarahack is so friendly.
I had a chance to listen to the first couple episodes of the serial podcast too, I'll admit , I'm hooked. Listened to a few more on the drive home.
Back at it again end of January bring down the left side and hopefully move below the waist.
See how it goes. I'll say it every time, the love handle area is killer.