pictures - resonanteye

No, the magic is not gone.

29th of March 2016

In apprenticeships, artwork, clients, complaints, deep thoughts, ethics, original art, pictures, tat zap wizard, Tattoo Advice, tattooing,

(originally published 07/04/2012)

I was reading both a blog post, and some forum posts, about the state of tattooing this past week, and had a startling realization.

There are tattoo artists out there who have never worked in a studio without being asked about a TV show.

The demand for tattoos, good tattoos, and the number of people tattooing, makes this a completely different subculture than it was when I started out.

Does this mean the magic is gone? Am I no longer a wizard? Did reality TV really eat the soul of tattooing?

Maybe a year or two ago I would have said yes, and ranted for a while about it. But right now- No. I don’t think the soul is gone, we are still wizards, and the magic is still there, and as potent as ever.

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some works from the archives.

18th of December 2015

In art, artwork, deep thoughts, drawing, flowers, halloween, horror art, interview with the artist, journal, morbid art, original art, original drawings, other media, painting, pictures, posts with links in them, posts with lists in them, prints, stuff for sale, true stories, you,

These are the more popular things I’ve made available as prints over the last few years. They’re not all my own personal favorite pieces, but they’ve gotten the most attention and love from you guys. I think collecting them together here might give me some clues about what you all like so much, maybe.

Also I won’t be posting for a few days as we’ll be celebrating solstice here, but I’ll be back right after, on the 23rd. xox

“Down with the Ship”
This was a piece of tattoo flash I did as part of a series, and people really seem to like the sideways lighthouse in it. I did it at 11×14″ in watercolor, and did the linework with a nib pen and ink. The original sold and the prints have sold a lot too, I don’t often draw ships but I think I did a decent job on this one. You can still get some sizes of prints of this, here.

“Einstein”

I did a little contest on my facebook asking people to tell me the funniest story about someone falling down. My friend Tiny told a great story, and was the winner. The prize was a portrait of anyone famous they liked, they’d get to keep the original art. He chose Einstein, and man was he fun to draw. Lots of people seem to like this one. I tried to give him nice gentle eyes. Yes, there are still prints of him. I did this one at 8×12″ in colored pencil.

“Red Highway”

The original of this, I gave to a collector of my work. It was a 10×13″ watercolor. Of all the landscapes I’ve done, people seem to be most interested in this one. Maybe it’s all that hot dawn cloud color. I’m not sure.

“Dahlia with Dice”

Of all my still life work, this one gets the most attention. Maybe it’s the format, that high vertical? It was originally a 12×16″ watercolor painting. The prints of this one are popular and I’ve made a few handmade runs of it, as well as the open edition prints.

“River Otter”

A lot of you guys love the animal totem series, and this guy is the crowd favorite. He’s a little more simple than some of the others, so I think a lot of people just really, really like otters. Colored pencil on handmade tinted paper, 8×12″.

“Weeping Doll”

I’ve done handpainted prints of her. The original sold as soon as it was finished. I’ve redone the entire image twice and both reproductions by hand sold immediately. And the open edition prints…people really like this beat-up old doll. She’s pretty melacholy. It’s originally a 10×13″ watercolor on hotpress.

Then, there’s “Shy Owl”. The most popular of them all. Due to the buyer of the original schmoozing me out of open edition printing, (I was an idiot and won’t be doing that so cheaply ever, EVER again) there are only cards available of this guy. Every print I did make of it, that limited amount, sold instantly. People email me asking for a print all the time. I’d be at least a few hundred dollars richer if I’d never said I’d only make a few prints of him.
An expensive lesson.

I’ll never give up my reproduction rights so cheaply ever ever again.

Process photos of recent paintings!

5th of December 2015

In art, flowers, original art, original drawings, painting, pictures, step by step,

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a journey

16th of October 2015

In hobo, journal, personal, pictures, travel,

It’s very hot in AZ. Also there was lightning.

Jellyfish mermaid complete.

21st of July 2015

In art, pictures, posts with links in them,

Finished this lady a while back- she’s on display at laughing buddha in seattle right now, and is for sale. (email me to make an offer on the original)

I put up a few prints over on the redbubble.

She’s meant to have a deep-sea shark’s tail, and is surrounded by jellyfish. I’ve been sketching mermaids for a while, and this is the most pleasant one of the few I did around that time. I think I may paint out and finish some of the darker, creepier ones- the ones with the deepsea fishes’ eyes, and the tentacles, and the fangs. It might be time.

Here is a full image of this fine mermaid, to tide you over. She’s 11×15″.

EPSON MFP image

motivation.

20th of July 2015

In complaints, deep thoughts, personal, pictures,

23992_336294633370_1510191_n I have always had trouble with motivation. I have great ideas, and understand what I ought to be doing at any given time, but actually DOING it is sometimes a struggle. I suppose this comes with the territory of depression, but I hate it. Over the years I’ve tried everything, just about. Here are a couple things that have worked for me.

1.Put on your shoes.

I just- put my shoes on. This means something to my mind, apparently, because once my shoes are on, I start doing things almost right away, I don’t know why this works, but it does. Socks are a half measure and will get me to the kitchen for coffee but no further. Pants will get me from the bed to the couch. But shoes? I’ll end up doing something useful within an hour or so.

2.Close the bathroom door and turn the water on in the sink.

I have had a long hard fight with maintaining hygiene over the years. If I don’t think to myself “I’m gonna brush my teeth” but simply go into the bathroom and lock the door, then turn on the water…somehow I immediately brush my teeth. It’s like the shoes- it just works. I don’t let myself think about it. I just turn on the water as soon as I go in there. I usually have to use the bathroom right away when I wake up, so I turn the water on right when I walk in. I know it wastes a little water to have it run for a minute, but it’s the way that works, and I stick with what works these days.

3. Keep medicine next to the bed.

This works for me because I take my medicine in the morning and at night, not during the day. Except for one medicine, which I just take with me.

4. Don’t bring your laptop or phone to bed with you.

You will HAVE to get up to entertain yourself. Even just to entertain yourself. It’s way too easy to start reading something online and laze around with it.

5. Don’t rush.

I have been waking up at least an hour before I have to get ready, this past year. This gives me time to slowly wake, to get my head together before I have to get out of bed. I can get pants on and socks and get coffee early then relax for a while if I want, but on days when I really need to kind of slowly rise from the depths, it’s a lifesaver.

6. Have your clothes ready and some food ready for the morning.

Since I am at my perkiest right before bed, I grab my clothes for the next day and set them out. I try to also put out the things I need to make food with in the morning too. In fact, the more nighttime-me is considerate of morning-me, the easier mornings become.

As for cleaning the house and stuff, I have no idea. I go long times not wanting to do anything, and then suddenly have a zeal for it and will whirlwind my whole house. Sometimes just one area, sometimes everything over the course of a few days. I am still figuring that one out. Any suggestions?

(this post was originally drafted, in a much shorter form, on: May 15, 2012)

making gigantic sheets of flash.

2nd of February 2015

In art, conventions, drawing, events, female tattoo artist, joke tattoos, old school, oregon tattoo artists, original drawings, pictures, tat zap wizard, Tattoo, tattooing, travel, you,

1959412_10152705788832712_1722891796360266568_n Since I’ll be working a convention in early March, I’ve been going through all my unused sketches, drawings, tattoo flash collection, and sketchpads and assembling some big sheets of flash to bring along. I want to make it possible for people to look around at a bunch of things and pick something; to let people be spontaneous, and to give them ideas. So I’ve been doing this rather than putting a ton of smaller drawings in books to flip through.

These big sheets are pretty common in tattooing. We call them porkchop sets or pick and sticks, flash wallpaper. When a tattoo artist wants to do a bunch of small-to-medium sized things in a short time, they’ll often be using a sheet like this for people to choose a design from. You can see them pretty often when shops do a friday the 13th sale, or events similar to that.

(if you like something you see, hit me up at the evergreen convention. I’ll have these with me and be ready to roll! or email me, too.)

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spidery.

9th of October 2014

In artwork, caveman art, geek, morbid art, other media, pictures,

These are all sold. I have some prints (also here, here, and here) of these available but not the originals….. And yes, these came from a nightmare. (Originally Published on: Oct 23, 2011)

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The Krasue: page 6 of The Horrors.

24th of September 2014

In art, coloring book, halloween, horror art, pictures, posts with links in them,

The krasue is a Thai monster, which feeds on entrails, fetuses, placenta, and babies. It’s considered very dangerous to pregnant women, and people put thorny branches around the house to keep it away when someone in the home gets pregnant. It glows red (as seen in this video) and floats. The krasue lives as a normal person during the day- but at night, its head and entrails separate from its body, which it leaves hidden away from view. It must go back to its body by daylight and reattach itself.

The krasue is Thai, but similar beings are known throughout southeast Asia. In all cases, it eats fetuses right out of the womb, and if it can’t find that, it eats animals’ guts or feces. If you leave clothing out overnight to dry, it will wipe its mouth on them, leaving slime, blood, and gore behind. Some say the krasue is a witch, who cast the wrong incantations and was cursed. Others think it is a woman who killed someone in a previous lifetime, or who had an abortion, or even an older woman jealous that she can no longer get pregnant. Still others believe it to be a ghost or supernatural creature, not human at all.

In the image, a krasue has just succeeded in stealing a fetus from a pregnant woman, and flies off, triumphant, to eat it.

(All this and more about the krasue, in my book!)

The Horrors, page 14: The Ilomba

23rd of September 2014

In art, coloring book, drawing, horror art, pictures, posts with links in them,

Ilomba is a sea snake with destructive powers in the mythology of the Lozi people of Zambia. It is provided by a witch doctor. Usually it is fed with eggs and porridge in the morning. It takes on the identity of the person that owns it. If it is killed, the owner feels the pain, and then dies. If the owner dies, it dies. The only way it can be destroyed is through the witch doctor.

~wikipedia

It appears as a regular seasnake to normal people but on the desired target it has the head of it’s creator. …The eyes of the Ilomba paralyses the victim with fear and bites it sucking the blood and devouring its soul that makes the Ilomba double in size. The sorcerer or witchdoctor collects these souls to use as zombies.

http://fuckyeahafricanmythology.tumblr.com

The ilomba comes from Zambia, but is known here and there throughout Africa. It looks like a normal snake to most people. Only its victim sees its true nature. It’s made by a sorceror, whose face it will have when it attacks. It not only sucks the blood from its victim, but also their soul.

In this image a woman walks through a group of snakes, one of which is the ilomba. The fact that snakes are common in Zambia makes this tale all the more frightening- at any time you could be right next to one of these creatures and not even know it. Like many other monsters in mythology, it hides in plain sight. The ilomba may be created by a sorceror, but it is not ruled by one. The person who makes an ilomba must feed it, by directing it to other people to devour them. Without blood or souls, the ilomba turns on its creator, killing them both. And if an Ilomba is killed, its creator also dies.

(All this and more about the ilomba, in my book!)