Personal Canvas

To look at me you probably wouldn’t think that I am heavily tattooed.  To be honest there are only 2 that you can see if you really look, other than that, I look fairly run of the mill… I guess if bright red lips and wing tips floats as run of the mill in your book.

What most people don’t see of me is my own personal canvas, and I had never really considered sharing this with a wide audience as I am not much of a sharer about truly personal things, until M.C.Grimm picked up on a comment I made on his blog.  This got me thinking, I share art work almost daily with you, so why wouldn’t I share the art which I choose to express myself with on my own personal canvas.

Each of these tattoos have a meaning to me, which I will try not to over bore, but I will give a little general rundown.  I am in no way finished, and I can happily say that I am addicted.

Some see tattoos as a thing that only stupid people do (I have had this comment before) and some ask me what do I think I will look like when I get older… To these people I smile and listen to their opinion, and then explain that each of these have a memory or meaning and when I am older they will be marks of a life well lived.  For those who think I am stupid… you’re welcome to your opinion, but I am happy to say, I know differently.

The photos of these are all taken minutes after the ink has been done, so please done judge too harshly on the redness or swelling that you see… I can say they all look beautiful now…

This is also where I do a shameless mention of my good friend and tattoo artist who has just opened his own shop (check out http://www.aontattoo.com) it seriously helps to have a tattoo artist as a friend if you plan to cover yourself in colour.

The Nautical

I have a very deep love for the sea.  I feel calm near it.  My family on my fathers side also had links to the navy.

On the mermaids chest, amongst her tattoos is an eagle in flight, this is a bit of an in joke with my Dad.  He has an eagle on each forearm, every time I go to get a tattoo, I tell him that I am off to get an eagle on my forearm.  This is the tribute to my dad.

The Anime

Animation is another love of mine, Studio Ghibli is right up there for me.

The Mash up

Designed by my friend for my birthday, this is a mash up of my love for Ghibli, the Hannibal films, The Dark Crystal and a few other geek references.  The design was so good – how could I not get it inked on?

The Scientific

These represent my love of science, and its impact on art.  One is the chemical symbol for happiness, the other is the golden spiral laid over a lotus flower.  The chemical symbol does have a deeper meaning, but that is another story.

Alice in Wonderland

I am sure that I have mentioned before that Alice in Wonderland was my favourite book growing up…

The Charitable Contribution

About 3 years ago my mum was diagnosed with cancer.  She is in remission now, but there have been some charitable events which saw tattoo artists donating what they earned that day to cancer charities.  These are the tribute to my mum and her battle.

The Artistic

These are just from art styles that I like.  The flowers taken from the Codex Seraphnianus, and the eye I hope you recognise as the eye of Horus from Egyptian mythology.

So there we have it… for now anyway.  I am sure that it won’t be too long before I add something else to my hidden and ever growing collection.