T.C.B Irons Custom Handmade Tattoo Machines

I partnered up with My friends (Jason Lightsey and Todd Boling) over at T.C.B Irons to work on several promotional art pieces for their company. They make quality Handmade tattoo machines as well as restoration on older models. The guys recently stopped by the Tattoo shop where I work on the weekends and brought me a custom Liner and Shader for me to work with. I was very impressed by the performance of both machines and give them my highest recommendation. I got the machines in the green and orange color in memory of my boxing coach, Tommy Brunette who was Irish and always encouraged me to pursue my art. R.I.P. Tommy. Below is a picture of my new machines courtesy of T.C.B. Irons followed by a small bird tattoo that I got to break the machines in on. If you are a tattoo artist or looking to start tattooing and are interested in purchasing a great running machine head on over to the site here , or follow the companies Facebook page here . I'll be sharing all the work I do for them as soon as I can. Also, if you are looking for me to do a custom tattoo for you and you are in the Birmingham Alabama area , I can be found at the Pelham location of Tattoo Expression on the weekends. The shop # 2015-620-0580 . Thanks for stopping by, Enjoy!!!!

Tattoo Art

So there are some people that don't know that as well as doing my concept art and illustrations , I am also a Tattoo artist for over 15 years now. I even owned a shop for a short period of time in west Springfield Mass, that was a very successful award winning shop. I am currently working at Tattoo Expression, in Pelham Alabama. Address: 3180 Pelham Pkwy, Pelham, AL 35124, Shop Phone:(205) 620-0580 You can find me there Thursday thru Saturday from 2:00 till 9:00 and on Sundays from 2:00 till 7:00. Come down and check me out if your in the area and looking to get some ink. Here are a few examples of my work amd more can be found on my website Here. If you come in for a consultation and your idea is something I don't do, no worries we got a group of talented individuals , and I'll make sure you get pointed in the right direction:) You can check out Tattoo Expression's Facebook page Here. Thanks for stopping by, Enjoy!!!

Custom Tat

custom tat I did today for a friend/ client who works in the the music industry with a lot of famous bands. She sits like a rock and never complains. LOL

Vampires, Angels, and motorcycle road rage

This first drawing features one of the vampire queens from the story I am working on written by my good friend Scott Madden.  The scary guy in the background is a character we call the master of souls.
First the thumbnail:


And the tighter pencils:


And here is a design I did for a friend.  He's going to be taking my painting and airbrushing it on his tank.  I'll be sure and post the process after he finishes it along with my finished painting.  Basically he's sending a message to all the people that run him off the road on a daily basis, because they are busy talking on their cell phones instead of keeping an eye on the road. 



Next is a tattoo I did today of a piece that is available on my online store as a print.  I call it Raziel , the Angel of Mystery.  My wife Vicky is the model for the warrior angel.  In the original painting I put the name of GOD on her forehead in angelic script and my name is on the sword, but I left all of that out of the tattoo.
below is the original piece, followed a few tattoo pics:












 

Rodeo

Here's a tattoo I did today on my friend Rob Krauss. He wanted a cowboy riding a bull done in a cartoon style, to represent his up bringing. He also wanted the word giddyup somewhere in the design. It's a phrase he uses often, and his friends pick on him about it all of the time. I always enjoy working on Rob, we have a lot in common, like boxing and movies, so the conversation is always enjoyable.

This is the original sketch followed by pics of the tattoo. (The Pics are kind of blurry, but you get the idea.)

Memorial tattoo

This is a tattoo I completed recently on my friend, Kyle. He wanted a memorial for his grandfather (Pop Pop). Pop loved Hot rods and motorcycles, so Kyle gave me a list of things to include in the tattoo and this is what I came up with from sketch to finished tat.

Tattooing cartoon elephants

I did this simple tattoo recently of 2 elephants facing each other and forming a heart shape with their trunks. This is the process I went through with the client:
First she explained her idea to me, she wanted a lower back piece, not too detailed, of two elephants and two palm trees forming a heart shape in the center. I then drew up a quick sketch for her to approve or disapprove. This was just a quick scribble to show what I had in mind. I explained to her that the image would be flipped, so that the elephants would be forming the heart shape that she wanted.



She liked the idea, so I cleaned up the sketch flipped the image and used the copy machine to get the size that she wanted.



Then we sat down and tattooed it.


And there you have it.

Jason's new tat

It's been awhile since my last post. Here are a couple of pics of a tattoo that I did on my friend Jason Ramone recently. The tat says Gavin ( Jason's son) in graf, with a cartoon turtle doing the tagging. The M on the turtles hat and the turtle itself represent Jason's wife Michelle (who loves to collect turtle figurines). Jason is a very close friend, we always have a good time when we get together, so this was a labor of love for me. Below are some pics of Gavin and Jason, and the work in progress shots from initial concept to finished piece.

DAVE STEVENS (1955 - 2008)

I just found out that artist Dave Stevens has passed away a few days ago from complications of leukemia at the age of 52. Dave was a friend, mentor and huge inspiration to many artist the world over. Below is a tattoo I did on a fellow fan of Dave's art. This happens to be one of my favorite Betty Page pin-ups that Dave drew. As you can see, I did not do it justice. The art world lost one of it's best. My deepest condolences to all his family and friends. You will be missed greatly - Rest in Peace my friend. http://www.davestevens.com/

Video game concept art and tattoos

Here are two colored versions of some of the sketches I posted earlier. I was tattooing for the last ten years and only recently took a hiatus from the tattoo world to pursue other avenues of artwork. I decided to use some tattoos as a design element within both of these characters. The first character has a day of the dead skull on his weapon and the second a devil girl pin - up on his arm.