UnkeyMonkey -the art, music, and thoughts of Michael DeMatty

One thing Paul remembers fondly of growing up in the mid west was the vivid pink dogwood trees each spring. Someone told me the blooms are actually bracts, which is why they only have four petals.

I finally completed the dogwood flowers and touched up, (re-colored,) all of the psychedelic stuff and the matrioshka doll. I actually had done all but the flowers over a month ago, but so much of it had faded. The flowers and the re-coloring took 10 hours over 3 days.

Lesson learned: Never use the corner of a mag grouping to fill in solid color.

When Paul was in high school he spent 3 months in Pushkino, Russia, (studying microbiology of all things!),  and brought back an impressive collection of some really beautiful Russian folk art, including a set of the most beautiful matryoshka dolls i have ever seen.

They sit proudly on our mantle, and have given Mike Donahue’s youngest son hours of fun. Whenever they come over, the first thing he does is pull down the dolls and take them to the couch so he can open each one and put them back together again.

When it came time to decide what the next element in Paul’s sleeve would be, he thought about his fondest memories and remembered Russia. Then he thought about the dolls and how they represent a complex nature, not only because each doll contains another doll, but also because each one is a beautiful floral artwork within a simple depiction of a person. It may be that it represents his complexities, as well as his awareness of the complexity of others. We are not what we may appear to be.

I ordered special ink for this tattoo because he wanted the colors to be as bright as possible. I found a set of 3 fluorescent colors that happened to be the colors in the doll, (a pink, an orange, and a red.) However, when i started to apply the red, i quickly realized that it just did not want to stick in the skin. The pink was even worse. Plus, i couldn’t see the pink for the redness of the skin beneath. Since this is only my second color tattoo, it’s possible i just don’t know how to work with such an ink.

I quickly made the decision to lightly color the whole tattoo rather than make more of a bloody mess trying to get these stubborn colors in. In 2 weeks, after it fully heals, i will re-color the whole tattoo again to evenly deepen all the tones and bring out the super bright colors. And then, if necessary, i’ll do it again 2 weeks later. (Which will be so much fun for Paul, since the red part close to his elbow was almost unbearably painful!) =( Sorry babe!

Om, Aum, the sound that holds the universe together, representing all things and people, past, present, and future. Found in both Buddhism and Hinduism and reminding us that we are all one and connected, it is a spiritual tattoo.

I was nervous to do this because i have never done a color tattoo on a person before, but i found that it is actually easier in some ways than the black and gray work i did on myself and Ruben, because it’s just a matter of working the color in until it is intense enough without tearing up the skin too much, and using the feathering and hatching techniques i learned from my good friend Mike Donahue to blend the colors. There are 10 colors in this tattoo, and took about 5 hours, including time it took to mix some of the colors. It looks like it may need a bit of touching up after it heals.

Paul chose the colors himself. The color choice represents not only his favorite color, orange, but also the warm colors he looks best in. After this heals, I’ll go back in and touch up the outline so it will look really clean and crisp. I started by trying out an 8 round shader, but then switched to a 7 mag and was much happier with the color application. The inks are Intenze, Skin Candy, and Kuro Sumi, ordered from Element tattoo supply and Joker tattoo supply.

It started with 2 shows in one day with Total Eclipse. The first was a community barbeque fundraiser in Lafayette, immediately followed by rushing to San Francisco to make our show at Maggy McGary’s at Grant and Green.

The next day was a wedding gig in Livermore. Drank a bunch of wine, danced and sang, and had a blast.

We started outside in the olive orchard, and then moved inside where there was more light.

Finally, I started Paul’s tattoo that he has been begging me for, (since way before he even decided what he wanted!) So far I have only done the black, but after it heals I’m going to make it very colorful.

Then, I used the lotus design I made for Paul to make a design for my wrist. I like how it continues the water theme of my forearm.

I hate my job.

I actually couldn’t love it more. Do what you love. If you’re not doing it yet, at least make sure you’re working toward that ultimate goal, whatever your job is now. Yes, money can bring a great deal of happiness, but always remember that happiness is more important than money. Am I wrong?

On my leg, I added a lot of darker shading to add more contrast to the design. On Ruben’s Calendario Azteca back piece, we added another ring of the design as well as 4 more points. For now, we left the outer boxes empty in case he decides to put in words, such as “Oaxaca” or “VW” or “4:20″ maybe.

My friend Ruben, impressed with what i had done on my leg, decided to put his back in my hands. A back piece is not a decision made lightly, but he knew exactly what he wanted. As a show of Mexican pride, he decided he wanted the center part of the Aztec calendar. We decided to proceed in such a way that it could be added to in stages, to eventually become the whole Aztec calendar, or at least most of it. Since the design is so finely detailed, we did 2 sessions so far, one for the outline, and one for the shading. The shading took 4 hours. I made 2 purchases in the process; a new light so i can see what i’m doing, and a new bottle of black ink. The light is a compact fluorescent daylight floor lamp from Homo Depot for $60, from Hampton Bay company, made especially for artists, crafters, or reading. It’s the same light the pros use. It’s incredible! The ink is Intenze brand.

Probably the longest part of doing the outline was finding the center of his back and placing the stencil. The red mark you see in the first photo is marker, not blood.

Outline.

My new tattooing light.

Shading begins.

Done for now. I’ll refine the shading next time.

Interesting facts: The actual Aztec Calendar, or “Sun Stone,” is 12 feet tall and was carved in 1479, (pre Columbus.) It is housed in the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City. I can’t wait to see it someday.

I touched up my tattoo, reworked some of the lines, thickened the outlines of the snake and skull, and darkened the leaves of the flowers. It looks a lot cleaner now. Here it is after fully healing.

Currently, i’m in the middle of a back piece on a friend of mine. I’ve done the first outline, and this weekend i’ll do the shading and then show you. I’m also still busy drawing figures from Greek mythology for Paul’s tattoo. Yes, he’s still asking me, “Where’s my tattoo? Are you working on my tattoo?” Poor baby.

Thank you to everyone for the kind comments. It’s given me a lot of confidence.

“I think you’re crazy,” Paul responded when i asked, “What do you think?” I was showing him the stencil on my leg before starting the tattoo.

Well, i might be a little crazy, but i ended up with a pretty awesome tattoo, and a huge sense of accomplishment. A few days ago, my dining room became a tattoo shop, and i officially became a tattoo artist. (Not to be confused with a professional tattoo artist, of course.)

I made a last minute change to my design before starting my tattoo, changing the peony. I painstakingly decided on the placement, asking Paul to help me adjust the paper print-out taped to my leg until it looked perfect. Once that was done, i used a permanent marker to record where the image laid. Then i took a shower and shaved the area. Luckily, the ink marks did not wash off completely.

I took my stencil which i had prepaired earlier, and very carefully applied it to my leg with the help of some Speed Stick regular deoderant applied to the skin first. Placing the stencil is very tricky, but i managed to place it almost exactly perfect. I decided it was close enough.

With a deep breath and pushing all sanity out of me, i put the machine to my leg, and began to trace the stencil. About 4 hours later, it was done.

Yes, 4 hours is a very long time, but the problem with tattooing your own leg is that you cannot get your face up close to the design to see it well, and your ability to change arm position to steadily draw each line is very limited. You have to use a lot more strategy. When i was done, i had a pretty shaky, but fairly good tracing of my design. At that point, it was bed time, so i decided to do the shading another time.

The next night, i decided i was ready to go ahead with the shading. I mixed 3 different strengths of gray wash in different ink cups, (part ink, part witch hazel.) Some artists use distilled water or water mixed with green soap, but since witch hazel is an excellent astringent and anti-inflamitory, it keeps down the swelling and bleeding as you tattoo. I don’t bleed from tattooing anyway, but i was pleased to see how well it controlled the swelling. I started by dipping into my lightest mixture, and shading in the darkest area of my design, going over it several times to quickly get a sense of how to control the shading, and then trying out the stronger mixtures as well. After just about 5 to 10 minutes, i felt pretty comfortable about controlling the color depth with my 3 different mixtures. It became more natural as i went along. After another 4 to 5 hours, i was done. I wiped it down gently with witch hazel and green soap water, wrapped my leg with plastic wrap and went to bed.

The next morning, (yesterday,) i got up, unwrapped my leg, got in a lukewarm shower, and gently washed off the slime and ink mixture that formed on the tattoo over night. I just used my fingers. I gently patted the tattoo dry. I did not put anything on it. (Last time i got a tattoo, i made the horrible mistake of putting A&D ointment on my tattoo after washing it. It quickly became water logged and turned into a solid scab! I didn’t want to make that mistake this time!) Throughout the day yesterday, i kept feeling the tat with my fingers to check for slime oozing or dryness. There was none, so i did not put anything on it or wash it again for the rest of the day. Today, it was just a tiny bit dry feeling, so i went ahead and put some Neutrogena oil free moisturizer, (that i use on my face,) on it several times. I think this makes a perfect tattoo lotion, being non-greasy. It’s now 2 days old, and healing beautifully.

After it heals completely in a couple weeks, i’m going to add a little more shading to the underside of the snake to make it more 3 dimensional, but other than that, i’m pretty freakin’ stoked about how it turned out. I have to say, i’m proud of myself.

Now, Paul keeps saying, “Now you’re working on my tattoo? Now you’re going to do my tattoo? Great!” He wants an elaborate sleeve of Greek mythology covering his arm. I’ve already started his design, but it’s going to take a while to finish it.

No, i haven’t started on my tattoo yet. After looking at my leg design for a while, i decided to give it another try, and came up with this. I felt like the first design wasn’t soft enough, so i added more flowers. I think i still need to add more shading to the background for more dimension, but I think it’s better now. Do you agree?

Even though i have been unable to find an apprenticeship, i have decided to go ahead and tattoo myself. *gulp* Practicing on rubber and grapefruit can only do so much. I’m ready to take the plunge and put needle to skin. Mine.

The easy part was deciding where to place the tattoo. My right upper leg, where i can most easily reach, and where it will be the least visible, in case i screw up. The hard part has been deciding what the tattoo will be. After several months of contemplating this while looking at endless photos of tattoos, i finally decided on a skull and snake design. Now, i know to some this might seem a very unlikely and even questionable decision since, to some, a skull is a dark, scary symbol.

In fact, the skull is a very beautiful and captivating image, strongly symbolic in many cultures. It is a symbol of change, a reminder to live life while you can, for acceptance of fate, and remembrance of loved ones. The skull with a guardian snake, to some meaning that knowledge and memory live on, has been a common, proven design in the tattoo world for a very long time. Snakes, themselves, have a multitude of symbolic meanings. For me, the most important is the idea of shedding the past, the old skin, and leaving it behind, the way i left behind a dark part of my life. (The snake also goes well with the Mayan design on my left arm.) For a tattoo artist to get such a traditional image put on their own body is a sign of respect and dedication to the art.

I wanted to design my skull and snake with the feeling and imagery of Tibetan religious art, so i gave the snake the Eye of Buddha found in Nepal, and incorporated the peony and lotus. For me, the fact that the snake is coming out of the skull’s mouth also represents a song or words, and how your song or philosophy or teaching can live on after you die.

I want to know what you think. (Paul doesn’t like the bass clef on the forehead.)