Tink Tattoos & Fashion Grand Re-Opening 4-30-11

Tomorrow April 30 from 7-8pm SLT musican, Damian Carbenell, will perform for the grand reopening of Tink Tattoos and Fashion by Bethy Mills. Check it out here:http://slurl.com/secondlife/Scandalous/102/59/23 or direct link here: TinkHere. Tink offers men's and women's fashions and tattoos as well as customs. The store also features a creation station to pick alternate locations for the tattoos if desired. I like the variety of tattoos which vary from small and delicate to fuller coverage and the prices are right for any budget.


My new Tink tattoo--if you know me, you know what this "Magic" tattoo means to me. : )

Live and Let Live

The next day I went to Black Chapel Tattoo to see if I could sketch inside. Quite honestly it is difficult to find as it sits on top of a sandwich shop and the only access is by an unmarked wooden staircase. I went in the early afternoon but business was slow and the receptionist suggested I come back at night. I returned later that night and walked in. I introduced myself and both the artist, Ric DaSilva, and the patron didn't mind me sitting down and sketching.
This young girl remained calm and motionless for the duration of the work. She tended to stare apathetically at a point in space. I was told by Ric that he would be finished within the hour so I started putting lines down fast. The girls boyfriend was seated just off the page to the right. I guess he was there for moral support. Once and a while he and the girl would talk and laugh. When the tattoo was finished Ric wiped it down and showed it to the girl for the first time. It read: "Live and Let Live" in a decorative banner. She loved it. Then came the bandaging and an explanation of how to take care of it for the next few days. I kept applying watercolor washes to the sketch after the girl and her boyfriend left.
I asked Fish, one of the artists why they did not have the Hearse parked up front of the new shop and I was told that the city of Orlando wanted to charge them extra taxes in order to park the car up front. The city claimed the car was a billboard and thus must be taxed accordingly. Fish said he usually doesn't mind greasing some palms in order to do business, but these taxes were just to steep. So for now the Hearse sits guard in front of a deserted building in Winter Park.

The Hearse

Anytime I drive down Fairbanks this Funeral Hearse covered with graffiti always catches my eye. I finally decided to stop and do a sketch. The Hearse acts as a sort of billboard for Black Chapel Tattoo in Winter Park.
It was painted by Ken Deft from Pittsburg in about 4 hours. I found out that Black Chapel had moved however to downtown Orlando. The owner of Black Chapel Tattoo, Eli Tobias, accused Winter Park officials of running him out of town. After harassment for nearly a year from Winter Park Police, Tobias decided to move the shop to downtown Orlando.
As I sat doing this sketch a few people wandered by on the sidewalk that I was sitting on. Everyone seemed a bit down and out yet they seemed to appreciate what I was doing. One couple asked "Hey, are you a tattoo artist?" I shouted, "No"over the roar of traffic. A rather disheveled man in a red shirt and a beard who looked homeless, placed his hand on my shoulder, then subtly patted several times and smiled down at me. Without saying a word, he quietly walked away.