I caught wind of a painful fun contest involving tattoos. I noticed it a few days ago but for some reason didn’t feel to inclined to join. Well after reading @dandays entry, and visualizing his experience, I decided I better join sharing what tattoos I have and what they mean to me.
Thanks @foxyspirit for initiating this little contest. I hope I am not too late. Behold....
My Lintrash Tattoo
Talk about needing to be a contortionist to be able to snap these photos...Good Night. This tattoo reaches from my lower left abdomen up around my left side over my rib cage, then stops on my left shoulder blade. Try taking those photos yourself... it’s not fun. Mama-Splatts was busy and I could only imagine what it looked like if someone snuck up behind me. “Uhhh...What are you doing??”
Why...Linetrash??
Because Linetrash that’s why....Jokes just jokes. I’m a Journeyman Lineman. I build and maintain the Electrical Grid, so everyone can enjoy the luxury of having electricity. We are a pretty rough bunch of crazy people that enjoy playing with electricity, working for 40 hours straight, love a good challenge, have a weird sense of humor and never give up. We will always find a way to make something work, and if we break something....Guess What...it isn’t Lineman Proof. We have a bad rep for breaking everything for some odd reason. Hmm....weird??!!
After completing an average of a 4 year apprenticeship, full of verbal, mental, and physical abuse, sleepless nights spent repairing damaged lines. Earning that title of Journeyman Lineman is a big deal. I had to do something to celebrate this before I left. If you had seen where I was just 4 years prior to getting my Journeyman Card, your mind would be blown. I shouldn’t be here...trust me. So before I moved back up to Washington State I had to get into my boy Noe Lopez at Contra Tattoo and have him get crazy with my new tattoo idea.
As I explain to him what I want, we just connect. He starts sketching and doodling as I am talking to him. My mind is stuck in amazement as he knew exactly what I wanted just by the words coming out of my mouth. This wasn’t the first time he had done it, yet it still amazed me. The first tattoo I got from him looks just as good as the day I got it. Ya I like to stare at it from time to some. Literally the day my son came home from the hospital, I went in and had him start this Tattoo. I was a Dad for the love of God!!
My Son’s Name: Wyatt Splatts
His Footprint and Birthdate
These tattoos are 11 years old and the color has stood the test of time so far. Most people have no idea what it says and think it is just some sort of design. Noe nailed it on that one, that is exactly what I was looking for. So I tracked him down and requested his skills again.
I had just put my 2 weeks notice in at the company I used to work for and setup my first appointment to get this beast of a tattoo outlined, so I thought. Every 5-7 seconds of those couple needles pounding away into my side, I was holding my breath. With my leg I could totally relax. Ya there were some areas that made me scream like a little girl but nothing like this!! I couldn’t relax at all. Just tensed up the whole fricking time!!
Hours and hours went by, I think this first session was around 4-5 hours. No it wasn’t just the outline, he did all the black and added extra color to the arcs. On thing about a Lineman, if you ask does it hurt the response is typically...“Not too Bad” Well to a tattoo artist that means...Keep Going
This was all done in one session. He put a lot of ink on me that day. If you look closely you can see the date when I earned my Journeyman Lineman Card. I had to have him incorporate that in there, it was a huge accomplishment for me.
Slap some AD ointment on that beast, tape some plastic wrap over it and out the door I went. Having to work with this fresh tattoo on my side wasn’t very fun at all. My family was already in Washington so I was working all the Overtime I could. Just another bad idea, but it won’t be the last in this post.
Finish this thing up!!
The second session took about 3 hours of the same pain level and complete lack of being able to relax. This session is where he did all the detail work, adding the 2 ends of the broken stranded wire...
Oh no, he wasn’t done yet!!! He took white and went inside all the electrical arcs. Ok...I will say it...
Ouch!!
He pays so much attention to detail it is insane. A little shadow here, a highlight there, I could have been there another 3 hours if I would have let him. Oh ya, that bad idea I was talking about...here it is.
I was moving to Washington....when I got done with this tattoo. Once I am done with this tattoo, I am hitting the road. That means I have 16 hours of driving, my A/C was broke in my 1990 Chevy Lumina and it is around 95 F outside. I’m just going to tell you this, that was the most uncomfortable 16 hours of my life. It’s on my left side and that side of my body was facing west. I had to sit rolled on my right hip a bit since the tattoo goes up to the left shoulder blade. Then the fact that the sun sets in be west, allowed the sub burn that tattoo in really nicely.
I took about a 45 minute nap in Grants Pass, Oregon but I drove all night....with this pain on my side!!! The cool part was when I was about 1/2 hr away from my brothers house, he was heading to work and I met him at the gas station for a quick cup of coffee. How cool is that???
I haven’t had the funds to get my Daughter name done yet, plus I have a hard time going to another artist. Noe and I could almost read eachother’s minds and see what mental picture was in the other’ head. It was so cool to find an artist thatfully understood what I was looking for. I would like to do one of those Japanese Cherry Blossum Trees and have my Daugter’s name spelled out in the flowers. Then the roots of the tree wrap around my leg and form her foot print and birthdate. She asks me about it from time to time and it kind of makes me feel bad. That’s it...I’m starting a secret tattoo fund...shh don’t tell Mama-Splatts.
Steem On
and
Yes....
Tattoos Hurt!!