Becoming living art…

Session 2 of the Japanese Sleeve involves finishing line work on the inner bicep, which happens to be one the more painful areas and black work and shading on the dragon on the right side of my chest. This is going to be a very long day. I wake up at 5 am to apply the numbing cream to the bicep and wrap it in plastic. It needs to be applied 8 hours before.

The legend of the Koi fish” is the inspiration for my Japanese Sleeve. 

I meet with Diego around 10 am, and he uses more cream, and then he begins with the dragon shading.

Dragon tattoos symbolize bravery, wisdom, and strength.

• Black dragons are associated with experience and wisdom.

• Green dragons are associated with nature, and gold dragons represent value and a variety of virtues.

• Blue dragons are gentle, forgiving, and benevolent.

• Yellow dragons are noble companions.

This will take around 6 hours; by then, the numbing cream should kick in. So around 2 pm, he starts the line work, and the pain isn’t that bad, so I’m guessing the cream is working. After an 8-hour session, you will be exhausted and in a bit of pain. I slept well that night, took the plastic wrap off the tattoo area the following day, applied a little water, patted it dry, and spread some cream over the freshly tattooed areas.

The next session will start to add some color.

Session Three is coming soon

Session one of The Journey Of The Japanese Sleeve