I have been tattooing Sheldey for a while, she always comes in asking for small feminine Tattoos, which I’m more than happy to do it, I believe no tattoos are easy to do specially small ones, you have to put extra care on them and you have little space for error, on bigger tattoos is easier to rectify certain things, and go around something you want to fix or make it better.
This time my client asked for a bigger Tattoo on the side of her stomach. She requested a butterfly and sent me the image. She requested a lot detail, so I recommended to get it done a quiet clear size, and she agreed with my suggestion. In order to achieve a successful Tattoo, when the client gives the Tattoo Artist as idea, and after lets the Tattoo Artist give their honest opinion, and realise that, your Tattoo Artist want the best for you, you will have more chances to walk away with a successful Tattoo.
In our Tattoo shop in Bury, we value our clients ideas, and we take that idea, and our intention is to make the best decision possible to our clients, in order to achieve the best Tattoo as possible in Greater Manchester. In our tattoo studio in Bury Greater Manchester, our aim is to listen to our clients, work based on honesty, we prefer to be honest with a client and loose them, than lie to our client just to get business, and achieve the best quality tattoo possible.
In this realistic Butterfly Tattoo, my client mentioned, it was the most painful Tattoo she ever had done, but she did not give up, and she went until the end. She knew what she wanted, and she was willing to sit in the chair the time necessary to achieve the best We could do for her in our Bury Tattoo shop.
I was approached by Matthew in the studio, he had arrived from near Blackpool to spend the weekend in the Arcade Club in Bury, I remember it was quiet late in the day, so we made an appointment the following day, he forwarded an image of a feather.
The following day, in his appointment, Matthew started talking about the reason why he came to Bury, to visit the arcade Club, and I resonated with his interests straight way, as I’m a gamer myself, not as much as I used to as when i was a kid, but sometimes, after you tried so much, worked so hard, and need a brake from reality, what a great opportunity, to grab a controller and loose yourself in another world, or dimension if you can call it, and that is possible with gaming.
When we started talking about the Tattoo, Mathew let me know that, the feather was from his bird Zazu, who unfortunately passed away recently. Matthew showed me images of Zazu, so I could match the colours of his feathers in the Tattoo in Greater Manchester. I always put a lot of effort when I do my Tattoos, but when it is something sentimental to someone, it is different, because, it means a lot to that person, a pet can be a part of someone’s family, and become a family member, and I can completely understand that, as animals have the ability to love unconditionally and that’s true love in my point of view.
Zazu was Matthews first parrot. He says, I got him because he was so small and i lived with my parents, so I could only have a small bird, but he turned out to be the biggest bird I know, in terms of character and pluckiness.
Matthew had Zazu for nearly 12 years, and he got him from Liverpool when he was a baby. He was a South American Pacific Parrotlet. He had babies of his own, and he was a great Dad.
He was loving like a little pocket sized hug, he would always sit with us, on a night and share tea and watch tv with us when we went to bed, says Matthew. He was just a truly awesome little bird.
When I was Tattooing Zazu’s feather on Matthew, he got a bit emotional, that’s when I realised how important that Tattoo was from him. That’s when you realise how important your job is, to deliver something on someone’s body for life, that’s going to remember them daily of someone who had an important roll in their journey.
I have had memories doing sentimental Tattoos on customers. I have had a lot of memories from clients Tattooing their loved ones who passed away. But Pets are just as important to people as humans are, they seem to resonate with them in a deeper level, and have this unconditional love journey, which it is how all love should be, unconditional.
Surrealism Tattoos, is a style still in development and it is still to be discovered by a lot of tattoo fans, I do like surrealism, simply for the fact that is a mix of realism and things that are not real, almost like fantasy, surreal, however there is a taste of realism in the image. So it is basically a mix of something imaginable and unimaginable.
Surrealism is an artistic and a movement, that began in the early 1920’s. It is focus as an expression of the unconscious mind by combining dreamlike, irrational and unexpected elements that are not commonly real.
Surrealism is a mix of Realism with what’s not real. Surrealism is a mix of Realism with a dream.
Surrealists believe that dreams are a deeper truth than our conscious understanding, the movement was officially started by Andre Breton, who published the Surrealist Manifesto in 1924, inspired by psychological theories.
Some key points of surrealism art includes:
Dreamlike images, and unexpected combination of objects.
Symbolism that encourages different interpretations
A mix of Subconscious intuition and imagination rather than logic.
So those are a few examples of what surrealism art is, so you can get your mind exited with ideas, as there is no limits on how you can create, that is one of the aspects I do love about surrealism art, is unbelievably free and there is no limits to your imagination. You can distort your mind in a safe way, and not to worry about the outcome.
Maybe surrealism is what is in other dimensions, is the distortion of what we believe to be true, and it brings forth what we dare to believe. It is a safe place to express ourselves without being judged, its somewhere where there’s no right or wrong, good or bad, its just pure expression of art. Rules in my point of view, deviate the artist from the freedom of art, and limit the artist to its full potential, when you follow rules as an artist you become kind of a robot, and true artists are far from being robots, they receive ideas from the divine, and translate their feelings, intuitions and perception in to a piece of art. In order to receive creative ideas from the divine, you must be in peace within, peace within is the new kind of wealth people are looking for, instead of money kind of wealth.
In this piece of art I worked on, I incorporated elements of my own mind, letting my imagination be free, without any limits or judgements. That’s the best way to approach an art idea, and the development happens freely. I made this Charcoal and graphite drawing, in our Tattoo shop in Greater Manchester, I worked on it every free time I had after tattooing full time, usually I draw at night before I go to bed, its usually the last thing I do before I go to bed. In the morning usually, I go for a walk, exercise and read, as my brain is fresh in the morning, it is good to obtain information.
In this blog I would like to focus in the best tattoos I have been doing since I have been back in Bury, Greater Manchester. Working back in a public studio is surreal, its like going back to the beginning of my career, and working dealing with walk in requests. I feel like I’m more prepared to be in a public studio, after I have been tattooing for 19, nearly 20 years. You have to make quick decisions, working in a public studio, and being able to deal with last minute requests. I do enjoy the social side of it, you do end up meeting a lot of interesting people, and getting some really good tattoo requests.
The best feeling you can have is when the client comes in and understands what you do as an artist. And their request, it gives me the opportunity to put what I have been learning in drawing to the Tattoo. When I see a good opportunity in a Tattoo request, I plan the Tattoo as much as I can, planning is key to achieve the best tattoo possible I’m about to do. The more you plan a tattoo the better the outcome.
One example of that is a drawing a did on Ruth’s shoulder, I drew it over and over again, until I was fully satisfied with it, and the end result was, I booked a consultation for her to view the art work, and she was happy with it straight way. As I drew the tattoo over and over again, when it came to Tattoo it, it felt like I was in a natural flow, as the repetition of the drawing, contributed to the flow of the Tattoo.
Doing a Tattoo is like any other things you do in life, there is a flow, and the more you get immersed in that flow, the better the outcome of the tattoo. So a client who doubts their tattoo artist is most likely to get them out of the flow. Make sure to ask your questions before the Tattoo starts, and when you start getting tattooed, allow your artist to get in a flow, as the only person who is going to benefit from that flow is you, the client. Trust the process and allow your Tattoo Artist to express them selves in your skin, and in order to do that, study their work before you approach them, only get tattooed by someone if you are a fan of their work.
So in order to achieve the best tattoos in Bury Greater Manchester, there’s a lot of dedication and planning involved. I have recently bought a sketchbook to only focus, study and draw textures, I really want to upgrade my texture understanding, as when I do textures, I have to look at a reference, I want to create textures straight from my mind, so it comes out more natural. I learned that textures comes from a inward creativity that can not be copied, I learned that by studying Victor Portugal’s work, his texture work is amazing, and I wanted to learn more about it, so I started drawing in a sketch book trying to understand his textures, and that’s when I realised that, his textures were impossible to learn as it came from within him. So in order to deliver the best textures when I approach a Tattoo, is to study, practise, and allow that my intuition will create my style of textures.
Dedication is the only thing that will separate you from other artists, dedication is the only thing that will separate you from others in any walk of life, whatever you do, or whatever you are willing to achieve.
So, Thanks for reading my blog, if you lasted until the end, and enjoy the best Tattoos I have done in Greater Manchester so far, Thank you.
I can only start saying that I love Egyptian Mythology. The Egyptians were a culture that captivated the imagination of multiple cultures and people. Mythological beliefs are strong in Egyptian culture, divinity and human spirit together makes any curious person wonder and be intrigued with this amazing culture.
Egyptian Mythology stories are powerful, Egyptian mythology is more than a superstition, it is a way to understand the mysteries of the universe. I have had then experience of speaking to people about the Universe and how our reality works, and they said, I’m not joining your cult. One thing I’m certain is, you can not reason with the ignorant.
How does someone who is born in this reality, it ignores the fact that, there are so many questions to be made, and they choose to be blind, react to life and not really live it. We will probably never find out the truth, where we come from, or why we are here, but one thing is for certain, past cultures have left us clues and ideas, about how the Universe works, and how our reality came to be.
Ancient Egyptian, were probably the most artistic and spiritual society I have ever seen, that’s why I do have a connection with the Egyptians, and if someone asks me, would you rather have lived in the Egyptian times than now, I would definitely say yes. And I do believe past societies have left us ideas and beliefs that could help us in our journey of discovering the mysteries of the universe. In order to discover the mysteries of the universe, you must study a lot of different subjects. Once I saw a podcast of a teacher who was a Christian, a biologist, and a physician, and it was a really good debate, because he studied a lot of different components that dissected the possibility of an essence or what makes our reality what it is.
So in this drawing, I wanted to enjoy drawing a large Egyptian Goddess portrait, I wanted to really focus on the main areas of the face, the eyes, the nose and the mouth, so doing so, i would be able to really have fun editing the face by drawing it by hand. And having space to play with textures and allow myself to be creative and have fun. Creativity is important when approaching a drawing, and allowing yourself to be creative it really helps when creating texture.
Drawing, it allows me to study images I’m interested in, so when I come to tattoo something similar, I will be able to deliver a better Tattoo for my clients.
This drawing was made with charcoal and graphite, I love doing 3d Mythology drawings, it is so much fun and I get the opportunity to learn something new with it, in order to deliver the best tattoo I can in Greater Manchester.
Thanks for reading my blog and I hope you guys enjoy my new Egyptian Drawing.
Video Of the Progress
Underneath you will see the progress of me working on this drawing. I tattoo full time, so i have to do this on my spare time, and I’m not complaining about it, i do it with all my pleasure and love for art, i believe its more fulfilling to spend the night drawing than watching TV or doing activities that have a short term pleasure, however, it does not have a long term fulfilment. Art is a life time purpose, and a soul long term fulfilment
Art is my purpose and my Soul long Term Fulfilment
In our Tattoo studio in Bury, we give a personal experience to our client, in this blog I would like to focus on how we work, and how we approach Tattooing and our clients.
Back in the day when I started Tattooing, Bury was such a quiet town, I can not believe, how busier its now, a lot has changed since I left, when I left Bury in 2009, there were only 2 Tattoo Studios in Bury. Nowadays, we can see a lot more studios, however, if there are a lot of Tattoo Studios, it does not mean they are doing everything right.
Why get Tattooed in our local Tattoo Studio in Greater Manchester?
– We have 3 artist’s in our studio, and we have been Tattooing for a similar amount of time, so we have a similar philosophy, and attitude towards Tattooing. That’s quiet rare in a Tattoo Studio nowadays. I have worked in previous Tattoo Studios, and all Tattoo Artist’s have such a different approach or perception about Tattooing, as they have started their journey from different times.
– Most Tattoo studios nowadays, have a large room, and they fill the room with as many artist’s as possible, to make as much money as possible, that kills the personal experience between you and your artist, and when Tattoo studios are in it just for the money, the business offered doesn’t come from a genuine place. When getting tattooed in a room full of different artists, your Tattoo Artist can not be fully focused on your tattoo, as someone will always be talking in the room. In our Tattoo studio, we all work in different rooms, so each artist have the freedom and opportunity to be fully immersed in your Tattoo. Having a personal room with your tattoo artist, it can give you a lot more of a personal experience, and I believe it is important for both tattooist and client to have that personal experience, and peace of mind when you want to relax and focus.
– We all do different styles in the studio, so the client is guided to the artist who is the best at that style they requested, so the client is the one who always wins. We all have different passion for different styles, so we focus on what we passionate about, when you focus and study the style you are passionate about, that’s when you give the best tattoo to your client. And believe me, some Tattoo Artist’s advertise themselves to specialise at a certain style, and they do not study the style they claim to specialise. However I understand not everyone will be able to see that, but I have been in this business for almost 20 years and I can. That’s why when I get tattooed I go to Poland to see Victor Portugal, because, he is a true artist who has his own style and to develop his own unique style, you must draw a lot, and be very dedicated to your craft.
– Another reason to visit our Tattoo Studio in Bury, is that we make the best coffee you could have in a Tattoo Studio. We take our coffee serious in the studio, I mean, we made an investment in a Ninja coffee machine, and we can make coffee straight from the bean. Coffee straight from the bean, it tastes so nice, it is like having a coffee from Costa. So make sure if you are passing by our studio, pop in for your free coffee.
– Last reason why you should visit our Tattoo Studio in Greater Manchester, is that we want the best for our clients, and we do not fool our clients in order to make money, we prefer to turn away a client, if we will have to fool them in order to make a living. You can fool people sometimes, but you cant fool all the people all the time.
The Ultimate Guide on how to get Tattooed in Greater Manchester
What I wish I knew
What I wish I knew, is a topic I have mentioned in my previous post. I mentioned about writing a full advice on how to get tattooed, and things I wish I knew before getting tattooed. Mistakes I have seen people doing over and over again, including myself, and what it surprises me, is after 20 years of tattooing, you still see Tattoo collectors or tattoo fans, making the same mistakes when getting tattooed.
In this blog, What I wish I knew, I’m going to talk about myself as a Tattoo Collector, and what I wish I knew before getting tattooed, or what I wish I have done and choices I wish I had made before getting tattooed, so you don’t make the same mistake. And I’m also going to dive in deep in to how I see people doing which it contributes to them not getting a good quality tattoo.
First I would like to start mentioning about the Tattoo style that you like the most, I’m pretty sure there’s a Tattoo style that stands out for you the most, so based on the style that you like the most, I’m pretty sure that is the style that you want to get tattooed on you, right? So based on the style that stands out for you the most, there most be about 5 artist’s who do that style that you like, and you probably follow them on Instagram. Out of them 5 artist who you like, some of them are abroad and some of the are in your country. So if there is a tattoo Artist who you love their work, who is in your country and he does the kind of style that you love and wish to get it done, why don’t you get tattooed by them and stick with them?
It is very rare, when I see someone covered in really good tattoos, and I guess that is because Tattoo collectors are very impatient, people do not want to wait or save up to be tattooed by the Tattoo Artist they admire the most, since the beginning of me getting tattooed, I have always looked up to some artist’s, so why did I not go and get tattooed by them, instead of thinking they were too far or too expensive. A Tattoo is never too expensive, to consider that you are going to have it on your body for a life time, why are people not willing to invest money to when they are marking their body to the rest of their life? So yeah, I wish I knew to just get tattooed by Tattoo Artist’s who I love their work, and not go for lower prices, or choose someone to Tattoo me because they are available. When you choose to get tattooed by someone who you love their work, why not stick to you artist and all your Tattoos are going to flow and look organised. And you will love your Tattoos for the rest of your life.
I wish I knew that the cheaper will cost me more in the future, I wish I was really fussy about who touched my body with a needle, and that is something people really lack when they get tattooed. The amount of customers who come in the studio with an appointment and they do not know who they are going to get tattooed by. The amount of clients who have a consultation in the studio and they do not know who they are having the consultation with. And the amount of times I have a consultation with someone, and they don’t know who I’m or what I do. And then, you have to explain to your client who you are and what you do. You as a client you should know who you want to get tattooed by, every tattoo Artist has such a different way of working, every Tattoo Artist have a unique way of making their Tattoo look, so you as a client should be exploring and even having fun when choosing your Tattoo Artist, and not only look at their work, also look at their Bio, get to know their story, where they come from, why are they so passionate about a certain style. When choosing a Tattoo Artist, one Tattoo Artist makes their Tattoo look like “A” another Tattoo Artist makes their Tattoo look like “B” and another Tattoo Artist will make their Tattoo look like “C”. So can you see how different it is when you choose your Tattoo Artist? So knowing who your Tattoo Artist is, and understand what they do is very important, so when you book your consultation with your artist of your choice, when you already know who they are and what they do, is very respectful, and that will contribute to a positive consultation and even a positive Tattoo session.
What I wish I knew is that Tattoos is a lot more serious than I thought, and I mean that on both sides, as a Tattoo Artist and as a Tattoo collector.
As a Tattoo artist- The amount of focus and dedication required “If you are a serious tattoo Artist” One drink of alcohol the night before a Tattoo session, would affect your Tattoo session the following day, 2 drinks the night before it would affect even more, and 3 drinks would affect further. I understand that everyone has different tolerance to drinking alcohol, however as a Tattoo Artist alcohol is one thing you do not want to be doing often, just for the fact that it affects your concentration the following day, it affects your nervous system, and have an effect when you age. Sometimes I do have a drink, but I make sure I have a day off the following day. Another serious factor about being a Tattoo Artist, is the responsibility, to do your best everyday, with no excuses. Us Tattoo Artists we have to look after ourselves in order to deliver the best to our clients, and looking after ourselves includes our diet, the best food we eat the better we can concentrate, looking after ourselves physically, the better we are physically the best we can deliver to our clients.
As a Tattoo collector- The responsibility of marking your body for the rest of your life, and choosing the right artist for you, being patient to wait for when the right artist is available, travelling to the right artist for you, no tattoo artist is too far away, if they are right for you. Some people get tattooed by someone just because they are round the corner from them. I travel to Poland to get tattooed, just because I love his work, and I want his work on my body for the rest of my life. As a client you also have the responsibility to save up the money necessary to get your tattoo done, I know a lot of people will say, I can not afford it, if you really want something done, you will save up for it, it doesn’t matter how long it takes, eventually you will have the money and get something that you love, for the rest of your life. And it is better to have one amazing tattoo, than a few average ones, a lot of people want to be covered as quick as possible, again, that’s another reason why people end up making wrong choices, if you want things to be done properly, it takes time, and everyone who wants to get tattooed quickly, will have a tattoo that is not at the highest level. To be a good quality tattoo Artist, you must be serious about it, therefore you will need serious clients in order to deliver amazing Tattoos, only serious clients have and deserve to have good quality work, or the best work if you want to call it.
So I hope you get the idea, I could go on forever, talking about stories I have experienced, and witnessed working in a Tattoo shop for so long, but I think I have covered the most important topics, and I hope you guys have learned with it, that’s the main thing. So I will wrap it up for now, as I will be surprised if you made it to the end of the post, but I appreciate if you have, and happy Tattooing or getting Tattooed!
For a lot of tattoo fans, getting tattooed can be a mix of intense excitement and total anxiety, specially when first timers do not know what to expect.
A guide on how to get tattooed, is an exiting topic for me to talk about, however, is a topic that would need a few different posts in order to cover it to the fullest. So keep an eye on this website for more guide on how to get tattooed, sit back and enjoy my guidance of 20 years in the business, I hope you guys enjoy the journey.
This Blog is going to be in two sections
– Tattoo Green flags vs Red flags
– What I wish I knew
Tattoo Green flags vs Red flags- What to look out for when trying to find a Tattoo Artist online, or even when you walk in to a Tattoo studio. Keep an eye on how Tattoo Artists advertise themselves. Keep an eye on how Tattoo Artists work, and how they present themselves.
What I wish I knew- What I wish I knew, it will be a personal one for me, as I’m going to guide you through the lessons I had in the past about getting tattooed, which it will help you not tom make the mistakes that us getting tattooed in the early 2000’s did, so you will be learning from somebody else’s mistakes, including mine, and mistakes I have seen others doing, which I would not recommend.
Tattoo Green Flags vs Red Flags
You can tell a lot about a Tattoo Artist, just by looking at how they present and advertise themselves. Tattoo Artists who rate them to be the best, its because they are desperate for business, a Tattoo Artist who’s confident and believes in his or her skill, will not feel the need to state they are the best, the best artist’s their work do the talking. Artists who do not have many clients, usually when they make a post online, they will rate their own tattoo, saying, look at this amazing tattoo that we’ve done, almost trying to take away your own right to accept how good a tattoo is or not.
Another red flag to watch out for, are Tattoo Artists who make deals for cheap tattoos online, a good Tattoo Artist will have a good flow of clients coming in and wanting to get tattooed by them, cheap deals online, will only make the Tattoo Artist work half hearted because they are getting paid less, so the one who will walk away with the worst deal is you, as you are carrying the Tattoo for the rest of your life. Paying full price for your Tattoo, is a swap of energy, the Tattoo Artist gives you his energy and all the skills and lessons he had over the years, and you swap that with your money which you have worked hard for, when you earn money because of your hard work, your money has your energy, so paying good money for a good quality tattoo, is a swap of energy. When the value of a tattoo is lower, so will be the tattoo artist effort.
Green flags when approaching a Tattoo Artist, is of course having a consultation with them and checking the studio is nice and clean, a Tattoo Artist who cares about their studio will care about your tattoo. A green flag to notice about a Tattoo Artist is how do not pressure you to get tattooed by them. A good Tattoo artist are confident in their work and skill, and they do not feel the need to convince you to get tattooed by them. That is a great green flag when approaching a good Tattoo Artist, they do not feel the need to convince you to get tattooed by them, they know you will make an appointment because you love their work.
A green flag when approaching a Tattoo Artist, is when your energy match with theirs, you are investing time and money in to your body, and the Tattoo Artist’s energy is also going to be a part in this investment, so you as a tattoo collector, have to make sure that you feel comfortable with your Tattoo Artist’s energy and vibes.
Another green flag when approaching a Tattoo Artist, is when they listen to you well and want to collaborate with your request, they feel like you also have to participate, and its team work. It is important to have faith in your Tattoo Artist capability, however, a good Tattoo Artist will want you to participate in the process of the design, or planning of the tattoo.
