Lynn learns humility..

So I have been lucky enough to make a good friend who has sacrificed much of his skin to me. His name is Austin and he is responsible for a lot of the work I do in my early tattoos.

I was eager for another chance to tattoo after my first one and I was fortunate enough to have a friend who wanted multiple projects done. So we set up an appointment and I began the emotional roller coaster once again!

This image to right is what appeared. Eventually. This is a touch up picture which means I worked on that multiple times. This image looks blotchy because it was taken after the third touch up where i went over the color, hence why the red is darker in some areas. It heals to be an even color.

This tattoo, although a wonky and free form design, was very difficult for me. It was the first time I had to color anything and it really slapped me in the face with the realities of tattooing. I went in feeling strangely confident and struggled throughout the entirety of the piece. It took me about four hours each sitting and there were three separate sitting. This is an unusually, and really unheard of, length of time to spend on such a simple piece. But it was my second and I was nervous. I went very slow, took my time, and then felt crushed at the end. I walked away feeling defeated by what I thought to be a very simple project. Not taking failure very well, I began to doubt if this is really what I wanted to pursue.. Maybe I just wasn't meant to tattoo.

But I was comforted by a tattooist at the shop. What he said to me made all the difference. He said not to worry, that everyones beginning tattoos come out awful and it's all a learning process and to not beat myself up. It can all be fixed.

He was right. I scheduled other sessions where I could clean up the lines (from a super tight 7 to a 9 round line) and another to fill in the blotches in the color that formed after the healing. (7 mag shader) And now I feel better about my work, I got a total of about 12 hours of practice from this single piece, and I hope that the wearer enjoys it as well. I assume he does because he has come back for more and more tattoos from me :)