Inky Bear's Picnic

This coming May, a year will have passed since I started going to DABS Tattoo parlour in Southport to get my sleeve done.  I'd spent nearly twice that time designing it, trying to get it just right, before coming to the conclusion that I needed to speak to the tattooist who was going to take on the design.  My good friend Sally has been going to DABS for four years getting a full back piece done and she recommended the artist 'Inky Bear' (AKA Karl Atkins)

So I went to Southport with Sally on her next visit, taking my designs with me.  I'd met Karl once before and chatted briefly on a night out in Blackpool, but this was a chance to chat properly artist to artist and I discovered we were into a lot of the same things and were very much on the same page.  So Karl took my designs away and came up with a fresh idea that I loved immediately, so I booked myself in with Sally on her next appointment and so it began.....

By my second appointment, I'd come to realise that DABS Tattoo parlour was not only home to some great tattooists, but also they are just great people.  So I decided to start painting more vinyl and take them as gifts.  I started out with Karls and then did one for Tony, the owner, who is a master of black and dot work.  I wanted each one to be personal to them, so I started chatting to all of them more and found out what they like. 

Alan introduced me to the work of amazing artist Mike Giant  ( see his website here- http://www.mikegiant.com/index.php) and asked for a black and white piece based on his style.  Dean has a crazy imagination for characters and I also found his nickname is 'Shotgun', so that took care of that one! 

Michelle, like her boyfriend Karl, is also into the same kind of things as me, like Super Mario and Totoro, so I found painting her vinyl quite easy, as I've drawn and painted these characters before.  The concept for Sarah's vinyl came about after chatting to her about art and tattoos and she showed me some new styles where the ink looked like it had been painted on with a brush.  I knew she liked flamingoes too from seeing the work on her legs, so decided to incorporate one into the design. 

Finally, I painted one for Lisa. (Tony's wife and co owner/manager of DABS)  By this point, I'd run out of the pre-painted vinyls that Chinny had given me all that time ago at Al Fresco, but I'd been given some more unwanted records and decided to paint Lisa's directly onto the black.  This one is more in keeping with my Infected style and is one of my favourites. 

These vinyl pieces now hang on the studio walls at DABS, in each artist's own area.  Tony has also allowed me to take work in to hang and try and sell, much to my delight!

 They are an amazing bunch of people, the DABS Bears and their combined talent for tattooing is off the chain!  So if you're thinking of getting some ink, you should definitely go down to the woods today (well, Southport anyway!) and check them out.  

See the DABS website here- http://www.dabstattoo.com/

and follow them on Facebook here- http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dabs-Tattoo/107458755109