moveing from minnesota to washington, onward and upward

"we are loud, rough, and real, they live on the surface and we swim in the deep"

should have stopped more for the beautiful sights and taken more photos of the changing scenic terrain around me, it was boring as hell until half of Montana towards the west coast, where things finally got dynamic. rolling desert hills, grasslands, roads where iv literally been the only person on for miles, hours of driving and no soul to be seen, sort of poetic to me, in a way. that was a good night, the light from the moon lit my way, i even turned off my headlights with total capability of driving by moonlight, light pollutions a bitch, you forget what mother-natures capable of when she isnt choking on the anxious gasses of humanity's byproducts.

getting past the continental divide, and into the mountains some 300-260 miles away from Seattle when the forests started to take over with their ferns and moss, and towering green giants... probably my favorite part so far...
so much so, i chose to live in the moment, feel the familiar, breath the not-so-far-away ocean air, and focus on finishing my journey

if i can recommend anything to anyone making the drive from Minnesota to Seattle,  south Dakota and Wyoming are boring as all hell, doing it in the night time wouldn't even mean you missed anything, the black hills are sort of neat, but once your past the middle eastern portion of Montana, thats when things start to dwarf everything inland, and the further you get to the coast, the more dramatic and violent it looks like the geometric development of the land became..


so, always make that part in the day when you can see it, going down cliff edges with no guard rails at 80-90mph means drowsiness isn't fun at all, being alert for truckers as well who might snip over their lane lines was defiantly a common thing as well, due to the sharp turns that were being presented at the speeds they were accumulating

looking forward to evolving into a higher form of myself here, there's more room to swim, fresher air to breathe, and a society built around many cultures that seem a lot more accepting of change, and the differences that come with it.

Posting PROPS to: David Wirsigs black eyes song because i drew a lot of "think time inspiration" from it during this move, and shared it with a few friends in the meantime.


IT's that old recurring dream where you're drowning
flailing your arms out, fearful and frantic
and black waves are curling and pounding
down onto your head somewhere in the Atlantic
through the fathoms below you a shadow
is gliding up towards you with singular purpose
and hundreds of thousands of gallons
of ocean froth and foam as it breaks the surface

its black eyes find you almost at once
you can't hide, swim away or take air into your lungs
to scream for help that won't come

and oftentimes I am awoken
at three in the morning by screams in the attic
I'll run upstairs, wrench the door open
call out a warning (and try not to sound panicked)
but my hammering heart hears the voices
of spirits that tempt us, the scorn that they've spoken
I'll remember the sad frightened noises
of an old friend who dreamt once of storms on the ocean

and black eyes looking up from below

self portrait oil painting

Self Portrait Oil Painting by DAVID Ekstrom

No clue why my brain  decided that a snarling face was decently good for painting my first self portrait,  but it did. so far everyone's that seen it has verbally mentioned  positive things towards the painting. which is pretty cool, when my sister was here for her wedding she mentioned a likeness in it, it was cool to get a compliment from her, those rarely seem to happen, maybe its just me.

great exercise tho!, and sort of a fun way to remember what you looked like at that time of year, also a good skin/ flesh oil paint exorcise, i feel like thats why i dont paint humans too often..... alive ones anyway, something about the transparency of the skin with the red of the blood livening up the cheeks and the nose, iv noticed alot of people have a red toned nose, something i dont think iv started noticing until i did this painting. well, new Facebook profile at least.

IM SO FUCKING EXCITED TO MOVE TO SEATTLE.
no more winter... NO MORE WINTER?! FUCK YEAH!
fuck you winter! may you keep all of the shitty people here cold and miserable for their entire lives, and i do just mean, the singled out shitty people, they know who they are  *glare*


hrm... need to start putting togeather a new portfolio for job searchinnnn

Davids moveing from (evolution tattoo studio) MN to Seattle Washington

(i used my blog to demo and draft because of its sweet autosave the facebook post that im going to make public soon about moveing)

Big news Minnesota, and all the clients that live here:

I'm moving from Minnesota and its winters to the Washington, Seattle area, and doing it soon.  I understand that leaves a lot of my clients and in-progress tattoos in an awkward position, which I feel terrible about; but- I have a unique opportunity to relocate to a state that iv been consumed with the thought of living in ever since I visited in august of 2014.

This past week iv been working extra days and hours to hopefully polish up what I can, while I can, but unfortunately this wasn't enough of a time frame from knowing--- to leaving, which has been a unknown date, merely a general time frame until very recently information came my way: the 20-21st of October (this month) is the projected on-the-road moving states dates.

This change of heart and mind to live in a different state wasn't due to anything social or business related, in fact the Evolution tattoo studio has been one of the most relaxing environments iv worked in since I entered this industry, and am working to keep a positive relationship with evolution so they dont get any negative side effects of a personal choice I made to live and work in a different state.      In-fact they have been completely supportive  in my bitter-sweet choice to leave, and have offered to help make the process easier considering the shit situation I dumped on them (and my clients), I really enjoy working at evolution and would continue to do so if Minnesota stopped having frigid winters, and grew some mountains while sprouting a ocean coast line.

I understand several of my clients in-progress tattoos are going to be without an author to write their books, which id like to offer different situations where the client has some choices in the progression of their tattoos.

 I'm not expecting anyone to travel to Seattle to finish tattoos, that would be out of the question to 99.9% of my clients, so I'm going to try and help them with any questions or concerns with another artist finishing what I started. I will be pulling from the evolution staff to collaborate and finish any ongoing tattoos that I'm leaving behind, iv talked too Jeff, Joe and Pooky, all of whom have offered their skills to help complete any in-progress work that clients want to see done sooner then later.

Sorry to leave you in this position, I'm not trying to screw anyone over, just trying to live a life where I'm not just "copeing" with half the year, opposed to living it to its fullest, everyone whose gotten to know me; has most likely herd my negative opinions on winter, and its duration.

deposits are still being figured out with me and evolution and will be working with clients individually to help solve any issues, and hopefully sooth any hurt or angry feelings due to the repercussions of my choices. Wanting to post this sooner then later so I can give everyone a heads up opposed to leaving everything unmentioned until its all worked down completely to the"T" which a situation like this is hard and messy to do as is, especially when iv been sleeping, eating, working and packing with literally minutes in-between.

Regards to packing, im also going to be getting rid of tons of stuff so I have less to move, and hopefully a little more loot for the process, if anyone's interested in "priced to sell, sooner then later" items, ill most likely be posting a few items, of which the main one id like to mention:  the large sculpture of the skulls/ creepy nightmare statue thats currently residing in my work station, iv had serious inquiry's about it in the past, and would like to give it a home. BUYER will need a Truck or SUV (it'll need something large 8-9 ft long, 4 ft wide and 3-4 ft tall/deep and generally load-bearing 250-300 lbs) if anyone's interested im going to be letting it go for a "i need this to happen sooner the later" price(which is negotiable), and will help load/unload as much as i can, and as much as my schedule allows me  (I have a dolly iv used for its transportation).

Also: several of my paintings, skulls/bones, the taxidermy ram/goat/pig that was in my station at work, Nice Clean white "bought on sale" Canvas's, acrylic paints,  my traditional tattoo machines, and some general house stuff if anyone's interested in that, or spam can ammunition. Just send me a message on here asking about one of these or anything else you might think of that i have that mayyyybeee you wannntt, im trying to really downsize and cleanse my material goods. Recalling the brilliant Fighclub quote "the things you own, end up owning you"

Much obliged to everyone that understands where im coming from and why I'm doing this, one thing I cant replace is the individual people whom iv grown to know and love here, so many familiar faces and good memory's, I'm defiantly going to miss the friendships iv had here, knowing nothing would/could replace them and they're profound influence on who I am. Who knows,  maybe ill move back, eventually later, visiting once I'm financially stable too, and will try to broadcast when I am, wouldn't hold your breath too long waiting on that.

Thanks to everyone who set asside the time out of their day to read this, I appreciate it greatly.

-David Ekstrom

Emilys Half sleeve tattoo

Alphonse Mucha Gypsy tattoo by David Ekstrom

heeeereeeeee it issss, Emilys half sleeve, inspired by Alphonse Mucha the old french artist, who had a very unique graphic way of creating his imagery, and his colors were always brilliant, well, if you ask me, at least theyr combinations , heh.

free handed this tattoo, actually, Emily became my "fill in" cancellation client, good to have those :D

were working on a more nautical themed bottom to this half sleeve, hopefully wrapping the whole arm, and completing the sleeve, hopefully i can get this done before i move :X

it was a fun tattoo to do, considering i pulled it out of my ass and markered it on, theres a sort of magic for "freehand" tattoos i believe ... one of which the client, and i personally find

Jack attacks sleeve tattoo animal ocean paradise

 JACKS Paradise Nautical Tattoo by DAVID Ekstrom

JACK ATTACK!! awesome tattoo for an awesome guy!
theres still more id like to do in some areas, but for the  most part, its done!
octopus underwater in a bed of coral reef sort of playing with a oldschool treaure chest hahahah maybe hes counting his gold to go buy octopus stuff? whatever that would be, maybe his girlfreind  is a money sucking pit.
little blue crab in the background, that didnt photograph much at all

some caw caws! birds of paradise sort of look, exotic birds, parrots or whatever, neat tree with blossoms of flowers on it, the whole feel of the water, sort of reminds me of maybe a lagoon? or a little naturally formed "caged in" area  where tattoo animals can thrive, and be rich.
that was so dumb to write

My back tattoo, and 2 tattoos iv done

Jaystons Wolf/Stag hybrid tattoo by DAVID Ekstrom

 i couldn't figure out which view of this wolf-deer mash-up that i liked more, a zoomed or a further away one, to show that its actually on a hand... defiantly one of my favorite hand tattoos that iv done, and it healed pretty fucking solid, to add to that, hah, so, score. the body of this creature wraps up to the inside forearm, and has wings and angry claw hands and such, but, this is the money maker right here.

Wolf/Deer hybrid hand tattoo by DAVID Ekstrom

Jordans Coverup/Rework Skull Chest tattoo by DAVID Ekstrom

 the power of re-works!
i originally did this chest tattoo when i was maybe 2-2.5 years into tattooing, starbrite (BOOOOO HORRIBLE INK), and poor methods of tattooing with mediocre equipment will defiantly make your tattoo age like that, so i added a pound of black and re worked a bunch of it, i think originally i free-handed this bad boy on, which is why it lacks anal retentive symmetry

Laser coverup Full Black and Grey Back tattoo Biomech Monster Creature thing tattoo  by ERIC S

 hey look, its my butt.
Tattoo done by Eric Schandelmeier! he also did the right black and grey biomech sleeve you can just make out in this picture as well. not the shitty unfinished left sleeve, which hopefully my buddy jeff gets to work on more soon.
laser work by nick settitch of renewal laser
http://renewallaser.com/

if your in the Minnesota- twin citys- area, i would recommend no other laser technician then Nick Settitch, hes extremely professional, will talk your ear off about the biology, and science of laser removal, and cares more about your comfort then most massage therapists iv been too.

My sister received laser work from a doctor who had a lot of money because he charged a lot of money, a guy who removed tattoos because he didn't believe in them in the first place, who would never get tattooed,  she had a horrible experience, and was severely overcharged and experienced a ton of blistering, 

Nick Settitch of renewal laser has had tattoos, and still gets them, and understands the culture of tattoos which is alot more comfortable for collectors to go to then some doctor that just wants to line his pocket. im able to have the full backpeice a major tattoo collector always wants because of laser work, i will always reccomend laser work over trying to cover up something that leaves yuou with a 'meh' coverup in the end, when you can get laser and basically start from new, depending on how far you want to take the laser work.

stencil of pain to come

Linework covering up another back tattoo

Black and grey coverup full back tattoo in progress

Full back coverup tattoo by ERIC S

Mass tattoo update

 the abstract tentacle crystal beetle tattoo i diligently designed for someone who'd probably wouldn't pull me out of a burning building, because they might get singed, metaphorically and literally, hah....

 well, at least the tattoos cool.

 matts hand tattoo, biomechanical goodness, not as many layers in there as im used to doing, this session was focusing on joing his hand tattoo with his sleeve, he had a watch-sized empty space there, and also, these horrendus blue flames which were covering up with opaque black and grey biomech goodness, feels good to get back into this sleeve, biomech never gets old for me, and nobody will understand why

:D

 Buddha tattoo on a good friend and artist, this is covering up some laser work of some olfschool chicano styled tattoos, and i mean oldschool. its been fucking awesome learning about Buddhism through knowing this person, and looking up the proper ideology and symbolisum for his sleeve were fashioning

Harpy Lady Tattoo by David Ekstrom

 Harpy tattoo on jaystons sleeve, jays getting a ton of winged animals, creatures, and mythological shit on his sleeve, underneath this is probably one of my top 5 favorite hand tattoos,  jayston used to pierce at the third eye tattoo in Winona, generally his shoes match his bandana, shirt, and pants, and sometimes his makeup, hes a super silly weirdo that makes my day better when he comes in, love my clients, love my job

Skull and rose Tattoo by DAVID Ekstrom

 Mr Tyler Howard! iv been tattooing this guy since he was in high school, in fact, when i worked at the canvas tattoo studio in Eagan, his schoolmates (lol sounds so gay) filmed me working on his tattoo for some documentary they were doing in school, you'd think id see one of those other kids who did the thing, i was probably too gritty and jaded that day for them to even have much to work with, swearing like a sailor, and reminding them that the client isnt always right when it comes to tattoos. ha. but yeah, Tyler went to Afghanistan wih this sleeve, were finally finishing it up, and his wifes backpeice tattoo

Zombie Skull Tattoo by DAVID Ekstrom

 Another Tyler, this guys a fucking hoot, i cant stop rolling around laughing when this guys in, super free reign on his tattoos he wants from me, he likes skulls, and sharp pointy things, and listening to my advice, i wish more first time clients were like this guy.

galaxy bonsai tree portal by David Ekstrom

 Abby! too bad your parents and the parents of your hubby cant know this tattoo exists, and you cant wear it loud and proud on your social media sights to show people your a fucking badass, which she was, this reaches from slightly under her armpit, to top thigh, area, all over her hip and everything, shit i just got that spot tattooed, and that shit fucking sucks... i want some more clean up/ tightening sessions in this tattoo on the space plumes, oh, and to add to this, the idea was totally all hers, there's a little coverup on the bottom of the tattoo, of, actually her first tattoo which, was, you guessed it, also a tree... we joked around alot about, her little retarded tree just grew up, became ethereal and opened portals to different universes, or something like that... which is what i think of when i was tattooing this, different out viewed perspectives of massively different galaxy's, worlds and solar systems all held together by a mighty curvy tree

Biomech Skull Venus Fly Trap Tattoo by DAVID Ekstrom

and, finally  erics hairy ass leg, this is a huge tattoo iv been working on with Eric, basically connects to his chest tattoo, slightly under his armpit (and i mean slightly)  all the way down to his knee, which connects to the second tattoo i put on him, so, iv tattooed Eric from nipple height to literally the tips of his toes, which, are totally tattooed, so much respect for this guy, we do trade work, and i cant get over his skill, hes always got some rad art ace up his sleeve, but, man, so many story's on here, i keep getting distracted from writing about the tattoos,  Venus fly traps and fly's to tie into these two flys he has on his hip, that are fucking, inside a huge Venus fly trap, now, at least, ha... needa start actually tattooing the flys in this thing! shit! wish i could work on this more, and it came into the comfort of my own station every-once in awhile