Bird Week at Identity Tattoo

I tattooed some birds this week.
Tuesday kicked it off with Adam's dead baby bird,
and then there was one bird-ish thing a day for the rest of the week.

Stephanie came by with her 85 year old mom again,
and they both got tattooed.
Stephanie got her owl/cat/mouse scene all filled in,
but I think we're doing other projects before we do a bunch of background.






















Pamala finished off my week yesterday with another knitting animal.
This time it was a knitting catbird,
on the opposite forearm of the knitting cat.
Mulberries are fun to tattoo (and so good to eat).
I loved doing these tattoos,
so it's a shame Pamala doesn't have any more tattoo plans for the future.
If anyone knows any rad knitting librarians that want fun tattoos,
send them my way, please.






















This peacock feather also got made sometime this week.
There was another one, too,
but apparently I forgot to snap a photo?
















Now it's the weekend,
and I'm painting, making clay antlers,
doing drawing, buying old books,
cutting cardboard, and writing press releases.
Having an art show is a lot of work, it seems.
Doesn't help that I'm apparently getting sick.
Hopefully lots of new stuff to show Tuesday.
Otherwise, I'm dead.

Dead Birds Are (still) Sexy

Well, I'm back in town,
and back at Identity Tattoo.
I felt the only way to transition from Grants Pass to Maple Grove
was a little sexy dead bird tattoo,
so this happened.






















Adam M is a tattoo-getting pro.
He sat like a rock through this,
despite a bazillion interruptions.
I guess everyone got taxes back while I was in Oregon?
The deposits and appointments are flooding in.

He'll be wearing ballerina slippers this coming Not Casual Friday,
so if you're around,
it might be worth stopping by.
(to see him wearing slippers with skinny jeans and a tie,
i mean, not to see the tattoo)

So, yeah, I'm back,
but just for two weeks.
Then a week off leading up to our big art show March 11th and 12th.
There might be one or two appointments left before the 5th,
so if you need it, stop by (with a deposit).
The emails are piling up,
and I'm behind on returning phone calls.
And I don't expect to get caught up on life till the end of March.
No kidding.
But no matter how busy I may be,
they'll always be time for dead birds.
(thanks adam)

Javier Campos from Lima Peru... uses Godoy Machines

Javier Campos is a Peruvian tattoo artists. We mentioned his model machine in previous blogs. He has only been tattooing 8 years... look at his work. These are mastepieces. This is what every tattoo artist should strive for. When you have this kind of understanding of your machine and technique, there will be NO limits to what you can do.

I can't wait til the trend of traditional tattooing is over. It will be interesting to see who will be out of work and who won't. Artists with limits are just that. This guy will always be busy because he has the skills.



We met Javier at a convention in Lima Peru about 5 years ago, and saw him again at the following one. Since then, we have become friends and we meet whatever South American events which we decide to attend. Normally we give one of our machines as a prize for best black n grey tattoo, best realistic and best tattoo of the convention. And pretty soon, he was winning all the machine prizes!! We decided to start giving him machines in order to let other artists have a chance to win one of our prized machines.



This is some of the best work to be seen in tattooing. Just compare. Walk around town and take a close look at people's tattoos. Compare.



The subtle shades of greys and skin tones are not the easiest to put into the skin. Over time, the experience of doing this type of realism becomes easier and easier and pretty soon, you get a complete understanding of how to do it, how to deal with different skin types... Training your eye / hand coordination with this type of style will prepare you to handle ANY challenge effortlessly.



Look at the shades of color in the lips. The colors blended to make a realistic tone for the lip color are hard to blend. A knowledge of painting helps to steer you in the right direction. Check the hoop in the girl's nose... very realistic.



Another masterpiece... Remember the name Javier Campos, you may be seeing him here sooner or later...

A Little Souvenir

I post the tattoos I do a couple times a week,
but rarely ever post tattoos that I get.
As I've been talking about all week,
I was super fortunate to guest spot with Jeff Gogue.
And the last day there, he had a cancellation,
so I jumped at the chance to get tattooed by him.
I wanted my whole front tattooed,
and he really put together some hotness for me.





































It was really the perfect ending to such an amazing week.
And a serious way to guarantee that I'll be headed to Grants Pass a few more times in the future.
I'm headed back to MPLS will a head full of ideas, inspiration, and gratitude.

It was such a great time,
I almost don't mind sleeping on a couch tonight in a business lounge at the Helena Airport.
All good things come to an end,
I was just hoping to end it in my own bed tonight,
and not in Montana.
Oh well.

Purgatory is Salt Lake, Hell is a ribs tattoo.

Minneapolis doesn't want me back,
but I've already left Oregon.
So I'm stuck in Purgatory.
Didn't think it existed?
Oh, it does.
It's called the Salt Lake City "International" Airport.
I did my best to get out of here for somewhere better,
but all they did was give me a ticket to Helena, Montana.
Because there's no flights to Minneapolis tomorrow,
or tuesday, either.
Wednesday?
Hmmmmm,
I'll take my chances in Helena.
Meryl and I once stayed at a commune there for a few days,
so if I disappear,
I'll be tattooing off of car batteries up in the mountains.

The second to last day I was in Grants Pass,
I did this birdhouse tattoo on Jaxun.
He sat really well for a REALLY long time.
And on the ribs? Nice.
And you know what?
It it wasn't for him,
I wouldn't have decided to head west,
and I wouldn't have asked Mary for a recommendation,
and she wouldn't have set me up with Jeff.
So thanks Jaxun,
I couldn't be more appreciative for starting up this crazy chain of events.























So I'll either be in Minneapolis sometime tomorrow,
or starting to grow out my hair somewhere off the grid in the mountains of Montana.
Only time will tell.

No Pressure

I've been oil painting for a little while now,
but I kind of use oil paints just like acrylics that dry slowly.
No mediums, no varnishes.
Nothing that makes them look good.
(just like acrylics)

So I was a little nervous to paint with Jeff Gogue today.
Just him and me, from 9am to 7:30 pm.
But since he's the nicest dude ever,
he actually gave me a basic rundown on oil painting techniques.
And then did a super hot painting step by step to show me in real life.
My own little personal art instruction.
So dope.

I had stopped by a used bookstore on the way to work today,
and bought a couple books for the still life I was going to paint.
Then I ripped some of the pages out.
And put a human skull on top.
(yeah, it's real)
This is it all set up in the beginning stages:













Here it is a little later,
and a lot farther along,
but STILL NOT DONE:























I also worked on two other paintings
while this one was drying,
and I'm hoping to finish all three before I leave Saturday night.
We'll see.
I have an all day flaming birdhouse on a ribcage tomorrow,
and then a portrait of Elias' stuffed animal on Saturday.
So I'll have to get to the shop earlier than early both those days
to get some extra painting time in.

But the best part of today was getting to see Jeff work.
He started 4 paintings from scratch,
and brought them each to near completion.
He's a machine,
and I'm forced to re-evaluate what I used to think of as "productive".

Days like this are priceless.
Now it's off to bed.
6 hours of sleeptime scheduled,
then back to the shop.
Goodnight.

out of this nettle, danger, we grasp this flower, safety

My days out here in Grants Pass are way different than back home.
I start walking to the shop at 8:40 am.
Today was the first time I've been outside when it hasn't been raining,
so I took some photos along the way.
Moss grows everywhere out here,
and makes for some interesting compositions.















I get to the shop by 9am,
and it opens at 10.
When I got there this morning,
Jeff was putting the finishing touches on his latest painting,
and then took it outside to photograph.













My good friend Johnny drove down from Eugene today,
and he got "Buddy Tattoos" of stinging nettle plants with his pal Ashley.
So I did two of these today,
and worked till 8 something.

Johnny's such a riot,
and we all had a lot of fun.
(except maybe Jeff,
since I kept making his client laugh with my dumb stories,
and that doesn't make tattooing a bazillion dragon scales any easier)























Tomorrow's a painting day,
and I'm super excited for it.
Hopefully I'll have something to show tomorrow night.

People to see, Places to go.

My friends took good care of me the second my plane landed in Portland.
Elias picked me up from the airport,
we headed right to a vegan restaurant,
and met up with a bunch of old friends.
The next morning we were all together again,
eating brunch at some different vegan joint.
Portlandia, kids.
A magical place, and a vegan's delight.

Then Julie and Korel drove me the 4+ hours down to Grants Pass,
(with a quick detour in Eugene to stop at Sweet Life,
a bakery with tons and tons of vegan goodies)
It was about 250 miles,
and a beautiful drive through some serious mountains.

Today was my first day at my GogueArt guest spot,
and it was pretty awesome.
Jeff's not only super talented,
he also the nicest dude, ever.
We've never previously met,
but I already feel welcome and at home.

I worked most of the day on a sleeve for Julie,
pussy willows starting at the wrist,
plum branches from the shoulder,
and everything meeting near the elbow.
She sat for a brutal 6.5 hour session,
and we got really, really far on it.
I'll try and get some photos of it in the morning.























Korel was not only the photographer and professional hand holder,
she also got her first tattoo, and did great.
They leave early in the am tomorrow,
since they don't just have a long drive back to Olympia, WA,
but they both have to work tomorrow, too.
That's 7 hours in the car just to get to their jobs.
That's also some of the best kind friends you could ask for.
Thanks for the ride and the time kids,
have a safe trip home.

Headed West

I did this black and grey tree tattoo in December,
right before I headed out to my East Coast trip
(and Off the Map Tattoo guest spot).
And then we added to it yesterday,
right before I head to my Gogue Art guest spot.
We didn't finish, but I was happy with the progress,
and wanted to post.
And it's a good way to show
what a black and grey tattoo looks like healed vs fresh.






















In this abandoned shed addition,
you can see the little bit of tree in the bottom right.
We have a bunch more to do,
especially with all of the sky, horizon, clouds,
and we'll likely finish it off in March.






















Right now I'm headed off to the airport.
Next stop, Portlandia.

NEW GODOY MACHINES SITE - WWW.GODOYMACHINES.COM

NEW SITE IS UP...

If you are a professional tattoo artist, go to http://www.godoymachines.com to order our book...the most illegally downloaded industry e-book of our time. The one pictured is the second edition. Way thicker and more informative than the previous edition.

Any one of our machines... the only machines in the world who's patented parts are owned by US, it's builders!!

If you are interested in a machine seminar... like this one in Italy, contact us. Over 140 people attended!!

Let's bring professionalism to tattooing, and not tolerate the mediocrity which is now widely accepted. It's overdue. No more egos, no more attitudes...

Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet.....

I got the best pile of stuff in the mail today.

I got some big, crazy, cursing house stickers all the way from Australia,
care of Oscar Devonian.
She's got a rad art blog,
and is Director of the Australian Office of Dead Birds for ilovedeadbirds.com

I also got the new mailart from Hope in Louisiana,
and this year they come with instructions on what to do with it next.
Pretty clever.
If you want on her mailart list,
I think all it takes is a little bit of monies and a nice word or two.

And the big package I've been waiting for finally came, too.
1000 postcards to tell everyone all about the Never Quiet, Never Soft art show.
And you know we did them up right.
16pt Dull Cover with Matte Finish is the sexiness
that my camera just can't pick up.
But go ahead and enlarge that image anyway.



















I'll be sending out tons of these promotional cards all around MPLS,
and will have a pile at Identity Tattoo as well.
We'll be dropping details of the show little by little all month.
And then we'll see you there.

RECENT FUN STUFF FROM SASHA

Yup, another guitar. I really like doing them. Can't get enough of 'em! I have a lot of fun with all the detailing in them. Thanx for sitting so great & letting me do my thang Adrian!

When I looked at the origional sketch of this on the back of a Binos placemat I thought, "Oh lordy, why do I get myself into these tattoos that other people turn away?" but it turned out to be another rewarding challenge. And after all, isn't that one of the reasons I work at Funhouse? Making the stencil and getting it on the skin took longer than the actual tattoo, which was pretty damned fun but it left me crossed-eyed by the end! Whatever, they're just eyes.

Just a funny painting I did for my crazy Duck-E! Mi pato loco para siempre!

FUNHOUSE TATTOO / THE GODOYS IN COLOMBIA, AND CHILE...

Colombia.... such a great place. Totally stereotyped as dangerous, thanks to their drug cartels from years ago, ruled by "El Patron" - Pablo Escobar . There are still guerillas in the mountains and at night you can see the lights of camps inhabited by families which have been displaced by these guerillas. There are tons stories about kidnappings and the muggings in the major cities. Well, we didn't have any problems. The climate in this town was perfect... mid 70's to 80 degrees every day and a really good tattoo scene. Our friend Edward organized a few seminars in his town. With the help of Tato the owner of the Tattoo Shop / Bar where the seminar was held.

Here, Steve supervises 3 of the 10 participants as they take care of their machines.

The participants in the tattoo machine seminar were great. Probably the fastest learning class we have ever taught. They were really enthusiastic and eager to learn. It seems that in other countries apart from the USA and CANADA, that people are actually interested in bettering their career, bettering their abilities and furthering their education in order to better their trade. Here in North America, the egos are so big that no tattoo artists wants to admit that they "don't know". They don't see that we must educate ourselves in order to advance!

We spent a few days there in Colombia with Edward. The guy is a champion...

Art, Enrico and Steve.

We flew to Chile to do a convention. Our hosts got us an apartment on the 18th floor of an apartment building. We were guests of honor. We met our friend Enrico Colombres, who is also our machine distributor in Buenos Aires Argentina. We were treated like kings... this place was deluxe. Perfect waves out front... nice beach too. The waves were good everyday and didn't drop below 5 feet! Unreal!!

Check out the boogie boarder getting ready to pull in to a tube! And the surfers getting ready to take off on the next wave!

Here are part of the organizers. The 2 patos and their friend Gerson... such cool and generous people. They bent over backwards to make sure our stay was perfect. And it was.

Our double wide booth was situated in the middle of the convention floor. We repaired like 30 machines and sold quite a few machines!

The judging in the competitions was fair. The quality of the tattoos and the judges' understanding of skill and technique resulted in a great competition!

This is Nicolas Horning... doing what he does best.

Nice tattoo... nice machine!

This guy has been tattooing for a mere 2 years! This color portrait of Ozzy won him second place in the realism competition.

Tattoo conventions in other countries are amazing. Especially south of the U.S. border. The artist seem to have a mutual respect for one another! Totally unheard of in North America.

Now... come down to the shop and get tattooed!!

TATTOO CONVENTION IN VANCOUVER APRIL 15-17

htt://www.westcoasttattooshow.com

Here it the link... for information. We will be there. Doing what we do best... to make appointments to be tattooed at this event, contact us at the shop. 604-879-4114. You may get an award winning piece which you could enter in some of the contests and win something! Best of all, it's on you forever!

I am still offering a seminar on tattoo machines there. Price is $300.00. It goes all day.. between 4-8 hours. It's not some half assed seminar that you would receive from some amateur... if you are a professional tattoo artist.. of ANY skill level this seminar will benefit you. Contact me directly at art@godoymachines.com

See you all there!!

Prehistoric Table Manners

Some mothers tell you not to play with your food.
Other mothers help you stand little broccoli trees upright in your mashed potato landscape, and you get to be the hungry stegosaurus that eats them up.
This was the most fun tribute piece I've ever heard of,
let alone got to work on.

I mean, c'mon, it's a dinosaur tattoo.
And not just any dinosaur,
one of those bus-sized vegan badasses with spikes and armor.
And it's eating a broccoli tree.

















I finished out the day with this tattoo,
and then a bunch of us headed down to Cult Status Gallery.
They were having an art show/benefit for a dog rescue,
and the turnout was pretty great.

That's also the gallery where we'll be having the NQNS art show in March,
so it was good to get back in it,
and kind of visualize everything a bunch more.
Ryan was there to help flesh out some of the details,
and I'm realizing it's crunch time.
I'm also realizing that I leave a week from today for the west coast and my GogueArt guest spot.
Other than that week away,
I'm reshaping my schedule, and changing my priorities.
It's officially non-stop painting time.
I'll be showing some progress shots as it comes together.
(i don't think I've ever had to work this hard for anything before)

Your Turn - Round 2

Well, that didn't take too long, did it?

Kelly Doty posted the story on my facebook page January 28th,
and I just did this today (February 3rd).
I was going to do it yesterday,
but I was too busy celebrating Groundhog Day.
(did you see Albie's post? too funny)

Anyway, as you can see,
Mike G's chest is super pissed at me,
and not just because I shaved off all of the manliness.
I'll get a healed photo without all of that red hurtiness around it,
but for now, here's the tattoo commemorating the love shared between Hamish
and his not-gender-specific goose partner.
Bff's for life.






















A million thank you's to Mike G for sitting like a rock,
and for getting the whole damn thing in the first place.

And now it's back to Kelly's turn.
This is her new assignment:
a carjacked circus lion
One month.