The Art of Ink: My First Tattoo
Art is highly interpretative and as equally subjective. There is an art to the way that art itself is created. How do you capture what you only envision? How do you portray what you only feel? How do you describe what doesn’t exist? Art inspires me as much as music does. It provides an avenue of escape for the expressionist side of my personality.
I had always wanted to get a tattoo. Seeing that it was a permanent (though there are removal techniques) art piece that would be displayed permanently on my body, there had to be a meaning behind it. I didn’t want the random tramp stamp, however sexy that may be. As with others who have done the same, I decided to chronicle events that have affected my life in some major way. What better canvas than your skin to tell the story of your life? You can read (if you’re really bored) the impetus for the tattoo below. This work is done in remembrance to those who have been in my life. For better or worse, each one has had a hand in shaping the person I am today.
As with most of my sketches, they go stages and revisions. What was originally going to be a work in progress (it was to be done in stages that was never really going to be finished) ended up being a complete piece. I didn’t want to have an unfinished work inked on my arm, and then have to explain what why that is and what it means. I only had 2 criteria: It had to be simple and symbolic.
It took me about 2 months from initial concept to the final design. As the design changed, so did the meaning of the tattoo. The work is broken down into 3 panels. Starting from the left, each representing the past, present, and future. The past is dark and painful, but life goes on. The present is a new day, but the past is still lingers with you. The future is unknown, bright, and full of hope. Life is too short to dwell on the past. Learn to live, love, and laugh.
gwakie 