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

phoenix girl tattoo pose

Tried something a little different after this tattoo session to show off the work i did, instead of cutting the body completely out of the equation with this tattoo, i felt like, it was really cool to show it, Jeff Gouge, and a few other major large scale working artists do this same thing, sure the tattoo isn't linearly shown for everyone to see, but its defiantly a provocatively posed image that creates a lot more for the viewer then the mono-toned vertical positioning the tattoo was designed and created in, like underneath, this would be an example how i would normally portray this tattoo, but it looks stale, almost, when placed next to these, due to just how pictures work, they'll never do the tattoo justice in any way, other then meeting the tattoo in person, so, i guess this is sort of my way of displaying it, so you can meet it in person, i think for a few other tattoos currently doing around the same idea, show the person connected to the tattoo, the body displaying and wearing it, instead of cutting it off, i believe the Japanese call it a "single point tattoo" how Americans tend to view one portion of the body, and get hyper detailed and focused on it, condemning themselves to tunnel vision, not only in the conscious world but subconsciously, and it shows, when they start stacking other single point tattoos next to those other single point tattoos... complete composition betrayal, undermining the beautiful composition and compliments it could be offering the body/ body part its on. i guess stepping back is just as important as stepping closer. if not more important, because everyone's stepping closer, micro detailing everything to the point it becomes jumbled from 10 feet away.

wonder how much shit im going to get from posting something like this, between women, and internet censoring of anything remotely grey area DILLIGAF

Instagram tattoo update, vikings, eyes, shakras and stuff

Katie's Alien Facehugger arm tattoo

 In progress, after i blasted a ton of black, refreshed up some outlines, and added some power white lines to this alien facehugger tattoo, its all red swollen and bloody, just how i like-em

 interesting request that i started to learn to enjoy/love, cybernetic robotic eye, sort of steam punk, with some filagree ornamental iron work caseing over it, gears and goodies, for the harry potter searies, the lady that this tattoo on, is, unreal s, super awesome client with amazing anime references and awesome boots/booty

throat chakra neck tattoo or "vishuddha" tattoo

 good old kelly, and all of her, insanity that i love, shes always a good person to talk to about anything, shes defintly walked life on a diffrent path then  most. the throat chakra "Vishuddha"

The throat chakra allows us to communicate our thoughts and feelings. It is directly connected to the ability to express inner creativity. Both teaching and learning are affected by the balance of the throat chakra.
Some signs that the Throat Chakra is out of balance are:

• Difficulty expressing oneself
• Poor learning ability
• Habitual lying
• Fear, doubt, uncertainty

Erics Biomech venus fly trap tattoo with hidden skull and some maggots from the fucking flys

 erics leg, sort of older, and i hope this inprogress isnt a double post, its of a flytrap like skull with maggots in its mouth, this tattoo takes up a good manjority of erics leg.. such an awesome guy :D

 FINALLY got to work on this red dragon inspires backpeice, i plan on fine tuning it to more of a hr GIGER creation, on clients request, and my own amusement, totally love this tattoo, hope to be seeing this client more, shes always a good conversationalist.

viking longboats and aggressive ocean tattoo

viking war ships out to sale on the ocean foe triumph tattoo, was interesting tattooing waves like this... ever really got a good chance to tattoo waves, theyr a lot of fun, especially when your pulling them out of your ass :D literally wrapped up this tattoo today, actually, hoping to get high quality photos soon of this viking tattoo, then onto the neighboring leg sleeve! black and grey goodness!

PANDÆMONIUM: The Devils, Demons & Monsters Book

so, hello new year, so far your cold, and hurt my lungs outside.

of course.

here are my submissions for the  PANDÆMONIUM: The Devils, Demons & Monsters Book :

un fuckeryed with my stupid water mark, oh em gee

Acrylic Evil Pope painting "meeting again for the first time"

Acrylic monster painting

Oil volcanic creature painting

KRAMPUS oil painting for "Out of Step BOOKS"

 this guy was fun, the KRAMPUS, should be interesting to see how i do on the contest... hopeing the time i put into this wasnt just me painting again, nice to get something for the work you do... even tho it mistly.. wasnt work, i want to say this has 4 oil sessions on it, maybe 5... probally my most layered oil painting just yet.

KRAMPUS

dark oil painting

oil painting

oil painting

devil oil painting

"This way..." acrylic painting

digital dark art

ooohhh... diiiggiiittallll

oh, whoever reads this should check out OUT OF STEP BOOKS: artist, or consumer alike, they v been the place mining diamonds out of the rough, in terms of artists, and new upcoming unheard visual mediums, plus jinxi and steve are the shit.

http://www.oosbooks.com/category_s/1840.htm

GO TOO IT