Japanese Tiger

Background Complete

At the inception of my website, I was excited to post in-progress tattoos. It really helps to illustrate the progress one must make towards attaining their goal. It also represents the amount of work a tattooer can get done in a session. It is also a badge of honor for those who sit long and hard hours to accomplish more tattooing. It looks so small in the photo, yet this is 7/10ths of a man’s inner arm, a large tattoo to see in person. Ed gets the work put on in a timely fashion. He sits and sits. Is it any wonder the Japanese tattoo is admired around the world? Like Daruma, the tattoo recipient also sits while contemplating. No one knows the thoughts of strength the warrior lets arise and pass through him, never stopping. In writing this, I did allow my mind to stop in one place, thus shutting down my stream of thought. Zen is the absence of judgment, the absence of a dwelling place. It is alive in the present and just waiting to be tapped into. Maybe it will allow us to paint a picture, or to sit for one more hour.

Here we complete another 3 or 4 hours, I have shaded the rocks, the water, and the clouds all the way around, and connected into the previous tattoo seamlessly. Tonight, he comes in and is a contender to finish the piece. But beware, the cherry blossom, like the mind of a warrior, is multifaceted, is everywhere at once, and neither can be conquered at a moment’s notice, even as their respective lives burn so short and sweet.

Check out part one of this tattoo before the background was completed.