Bettie Trooper featured on tattoo blog

My ol' Space beauty was recently featured on the the Art of Tattoo website...

Competition frenzy #2

The good folk at Inked apparently loved my last submission - Bettie Trooper. However, it was pulled from their competition because of the possible copyright infringement of using a stormtrooper helmet in the image. I'm from a generation that grew up with Star Wars (the good ones, not the pants ones), and its imagery has become an essential part of our popular culture, hence it entering into a lot of my art.

Anyhoo, not being easily deterred, I decided to polish up another old piece and pop it into the comp ... Hell's Accordion Angel. Like the last one, their displayed images are a pixelly travesty, but if you have the time please hit the 5th star :)

Competition frenzy

I've just submitted a redux of my Bettie Trooper illo to the inked Tshirt competition. Unfortunately the quality of the image, as shown on their site, is so low it makes it look like a pixelly soup. Nonetheless, if you get a chance click on the 5th yellowy star please:)

Lowbrow art for my light brown walls

My latest wall adornment is this drool-worthy limited edition (94 of 100) and signed print Madeleine (originally ink and watercolour on paper) from one of my favourite artists, Angelique Houtkamp. She is a Dutch tattoo artist, painter and shoe designer extrodinairre who conjures to life her own nostalgic take on old school tattoos, sultry pin-ups, broken hearts, swallows, sailing ships, mermaids, spunky cowgirls, and boxers.

I also added to my Tiki collection with these little fellows from Doug Horne.

Thanks to the lovely folk at Outré Gallery for bringing to Oz such a visual feast in fairly reasonably priced packages.

Here's my own take on the whole Tiki thing ... yes, it does look like a rather angry penis.

New tees

Big Fat Robot with victim

The Japanese writing is suppose to mean “Big Fat Robot”. However, my translation skills are extremely rusty, so for all those Nipponphiles out there, please tell me if my hanes and ten tens are where they should be.

Actually, I don’t mind if it’s horribly wrong, afterall there is a huge market in Japan for meaningless English phrases (go to http://www.engrish.com/ for many hilarious examples). So it should work the other way with equally amusing results. In fact, I remember seeing a GI type wandering around Roppongi with a tshirt written in Japanese kanji, it said “baka gaijin” (idiot foreigner). Not sure if it was an ironic statement on his behalf, or he just thought the letters looked pretty.

Print / card versions coming soon.

Betty Trooper

For us nerds with tatts.
Print/card versions coming soon.

See more here ... Red Bubble

Koi inking #2

Only 2 more inkings to go. Next up is the wave work. And, no I don't have saggy boobies - the material of my singlet just happened to bunch up that way.

Koi tattoo: inking #01

Before - pastey white canvas, with just a hint of trucker's arm.

After - ouchy! Only 3 more inkings to go:(

My musings on Japan have mainly focused on some of the whackier and more annoying things that happened there. Consequently, readers assume that I’m not overly fond of the great country.

On the contrary, my confreres; I love Japan. So, to show my affinity, I have (after much research and reflection) decided to mark my body again for life with a quintessentially Japanese symbol. No, I’m not talking about a roaring Godzilla, a pimply Otaku, a giggly girl in a sailor’s uniform, nor a groping salaryman – I’m talking about a Koi.

The Koi is basically a good-looking carp. Sure, the Aussie versions are a pest and a pain in the Murray Darling Basin. But in Japan they are seen as a symbol of perseverance and success in life. These nuggety little characters are capable of swimming upstream against seemingly insurmountable currents in order to get to where they want.

According to Chinese mythology a carp which succeeds in swimming upstream and hurdling the upper rapids of the Yangtze River will be transformed into a dragon. I have no intention of evolving into a scaley fire-breather, but the koi is emblematic of my effort against particularly unrosey things that happened earlier in life. Memories of this time were submerged but raised their hideous head in my 30s. As a result, I was a bit blue for a while. However, I have long managed to burst out of that quagmire of gloom, to become a much shinier and happier me. And I want to celebrate this fact with the aforementioned tattoo.

You may have seen many koi tattoos with what appears to be a crown. These appear on the Tancho Koi; some of the rarest, and most expensive. The circle is believed to be representative of the symbol of the rising sun on the Japanese flag. For that reason, Tancho is the most coveted Koi in and out of Japan. Although, I’m intrigued by this element, I do think it reeks of elitism and materialism, so I chose not to have it included in my tattoo.

Many thanks and praise to Andy P, a master tattooist at the Tattoo Gallery, Rundle Street, Adelaide. Only 3 more inkings before my fishy friend is completed…