The first shading session (second session overall) was done on July 3rd. The shading process is interesting because it is generally less painful than outlining. If you compare each pass with the needle (say one stroke outlining versus the shading of one area), outlining is more painful than shading. I think this is because the needle does not go as deeply into your skin when shading. However when comparing the total pain felt per sitting, the shading does ends up being HELLA-painful because the artist keeps going over the same area--the same traumatized and eventually inflamed area.
We shaded in the body of the phoenix on the first day. (Ha! I wrote "we" like I did something other than lay there and be very still.) It took a little more than two hours to complete. I tried to take a picture during a break (like I did for the outlining session), but was unsuccessful because I was bleeding, A LOT. The first three photos were taken on July 4th. Just to be clear, the Phoenix is not actually red. The entire tattoo will eventually be grey-scale. The red is the color of pain. It's red from bruising and the shading process. (That should give you a data point for the amount of pain I endured.)
The healing process after getting shading done is a lot different compared to outlining. Mainly because it itches SO much more (maybe because of the larger surface area that is healing?) AND I can't scratch the itch or else it will ruin the tattoo. I would rather have the pain than the itching.
(As a tangent, this just reminded me of the "would you rather game" that was popular in college...how else were we suppose to pass the time on long road trips to away games? Reading? No. Studying? Not a chance. Instead, we played would you rather. So, for old times sake: "would you rather be in constant pain or have a constant itch that you cannot scratch?")
OK. Back to your regular scheduled programming: while getting tattooed there was a loud explosion outside the shop. It was so loud, I could feel the shock and it set off car alarms. I think someone set off a M-80 firecracker. My immediate thoughts after hearing (and feeling) the sound were car bombing and gun shots. I think my thought process has changed after working at SNL for about 2 years and living so closely to Oakland. Perhaps, it wasn't the best idea to get tattooed the day before the fourth of July. It's a good thing Luke wasn't tattooing me at the instant of the explosion. Or else I would, likely, have a misplaced line down my calf.
I went back to seventh sons tattoo for my final session this past Saturday (July 31). The Phoenix's tail feather's were shaded in. Luke did an amazing job! Judge for yourself: the last three photos posted were taken on Sunday. He added in patterns/textures into the feathers. All of the dots in the tail feathers hurt a lot. It was worth the pain because it looks amazing. I'll post more photos when it heals. Hopefully it will heal fast because this itchiness is almost intolerable.
It's been a long process but the tattoo is finally finished. I couldn't be happier with the final piece. It truly is a work of art. What do you guys think?
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