The dense load of work forced me into taking some time out–and eat.

At another table earlier I had a chance to eat with THE father of all fathers, Don Luciano.Like father…

like son. Lucks’ pops is quiet possibly one of the coolest men around..

we got alot of work ahead, stay tuned.

Caesar drove through from Vegas to finish off his angel we started a while back..

as well as  Mike, who came through to also tie off his sleeve we began earlier. Still a ways to go, both sleeves inspired by the great Julie and Boris illustrations.

Rob flew in from New York to start off the inner bicep with a piece to represent his OC upbringing, and a peaceful reminder for him in times of trouble.

Rob is a soldier in the army and is headed straight off to more training to step up to the rangers-hang in there homey.

Had to take a trip to hollywood to see big pops BabyRay at Spotlight . After he finished some guys entire leg, I stop by for a check in.

Spotlight is one of, if the not the oldest tattoo shop in LA, known internationally, the greats like Juan Puente, Bob Roberts, and yes the  man Cartoon have emerged from this tiny spot on Melrose. Within it’s small walls holds decades, and generations of tattooing history, and it just so happened that the old school tattoo machinest Dan Dringenberg was in the house as well.

As usual, one conversation leads to ten others….at the same time. I haven’t seen the man in a few months and it was good hearing the old voice. “One thing you got to remember, have fun. You don’t have to do anything, in the end what matters is friendship, honor and truth.”

Word.

Alex came through to unveil his healed Aztec soldier, upper right back..

Anthony finally came through to take a shot of his Koi I started almost three years ago!-Definetly, old school..

And Vince came back to seal off his inner bicep piece..

Music is a huge part of  my creative process. ALL types from old school rock, rap, classical, opera etc. helps generate some sense of rhythm and space. From drafting, designing, tattooing, or painting-whatever the situation is, most of the time music is somewhere intertwined with the process. One of my favorite artists to listen to is Immortal Technique . 

I will most definitely pray for those who haven’t heard of the man, but if you haven’t he’s famous for his political views and lyrics that stretch beyond mainstream culture and the underground rap industry. I did this sketch not only as a little tribute, but also in relation to an Art Center poster project.

 Being a youngster myself and coming from a generation of uneducated, leftover, drug-inducing and an uncontrolled procreating species, artist like Tech was definitely a leadership figure in his articulate voice growing-up. 13″ x 19″ Charcoal Toned.

Here are some close-ups. My hands are so used to creating LA skylines that it felt refreshing laying in  New York, although structure is the same, details needed to be considered like ladders and endpoints. If you haven’t yet, go out and cop his album. Thanks goes out to my fellow Art Center people who are a huge inspiration- keep your head up-the term is almost over. And to the homies-Time is of the essence people, stay focused, be like the kids on TV-hustle REGARDLESS even though they talk shit and laugh! Stay posted.

Video by Tiimo

The homey Willie came through to finish off his lower right sleeve with the geisha we started not too long ago. He wanted the oriental theme to be relevant but we gave it a little twist by using real references by stepping out of tradition…

Below, the big homey Lo came through to seal off his inner, right bicep with a joker..

We started this a few months back, inspired by the big homey OG Abel. By far, OG Abel to me is one of the most influential and mastered artist all around. I’ve posted previous things about the og, and his artwork is graphically meticulous just like his airbrushing..

His work has grown into a standard into the templates for many  tattoo artist—but as with every situation there’s always the lovely haters and biters who seem to grow on the daily that have actually used his design to grow a brand and distribute worldwide. And it’s relevant that the homey Lo had to throw in the saying “can’t knock the hustle” because once you see the og you’ll understand! Check out Og Abel HERE.

Thanks to all the fellas for coming through.