Tattoo Talk Thursday: DAN DOES QCKND’S TATTOO COLLECTORS TAG!

I usually don't do tattoo tags, but seeing how this was Qcknd's tag, I said fuck it and dove in to do it! I will leave the links to her YouTube and other social media down below so you can check out her tag and some of her other brilliant content! 

1. Do you consider yourself a tattoo collector? 

Um, yeah in some ways I do. Sometimes I like to express myself with a certain style and then I get hooked on that kind of style for a while. The goal isn't to cover myself in one specific style or theme, it's to cover myself with memories, people, expressions, etc. I really like to add to my tattoos, branching out, adding onto a piece or a theme. I don't ever want to close myself in when I'm designing a tattoo for myself. I'm a collector because I want to be covered in ink. Covered in my story. 

2. Do you have a specific tattoo that turned you into a tattoo collector? 

Not really. I mean I always knew that I wanted sleeves from the time I was like 12 or 13. All of the bands I listened and looked up to had them. Some even had their necks done. I never thought I'd do my neck...here we are almost 13 years later and I've got a massive piece on my throat of a Japanese lotus with script underneath, a pair of lips on the side of my neck below my ear and a storm cloud behind my ear that sort of comes down below it.  I always wanted a Jack and Sally piece too. I think it was my love for the art I saw on other people that made me want to do it at first and then I just got hooked. I could do whatever I wanted to my body. I started wanting to push the limits more and more with places I was tattooed, the style of tattoos and how long I could sit for one. What I always wasn't sure of was if I'd be able to afford to do it, be able to do it because of employment/work or could I even sit to get an entire body suit of tattoos? Would I get one and be like 'fuck this!'? We know that isn't the story. xD HAHAHA

1. Lips Like Morphine. They were until they weren't.
2.Blooming lotus (there is a blog on this tattoo the meaning, the 

process I already posted, you can check out if you wanna know more

on it. There will be a "Healing My Throat" blog up soon!)
3. Stormy Weather. I love rain and stormy weather. It's beautiful, mysterious

and alluring. Everything I am and always inspire to be. And stormy days make

for amazing writing and cuddles. 

3. What tattoo did you have to travel the furthest for? Where did you go? 

18,648 kilometres or 11, 586 miles! I flew from London, England to Napier, New Zealand to get tattooed down there! It was a birthday gift to myself for my 22nd I believe. I was going to meet up with a few friends, go camping and tour the North Island. I'd happily make the commute to go see Sam again. I think, somewhere on here I talked about my experiences with her and being tattooed in New Zealand, so check it out! You can see the process here and the finished product! Normally, it's kind of shit to mix black and grey with colour, but Sam is the WOMAN when it comes to making it work. Her links are below so check her out! 

4. Where was the closest? 

There was two different places and times. The first one was in London, I went to Hammersmith Tattoo for my 21st birthday and got my collarbones worked on! The vibe there is chill and the artists are really dedicated to their craft. I may just book myself some time in this year for my 26th... The second time was when I was living in LA-Hollywood. I was literally down the street from High Voltage Tattoo on Hollywood Blvd. I went in and got 6 pieces and a re-work there in the space of three months. 

Hammersmith Tattoo Piece: Ich weiß unsterblich sind wir nicht.

German-English Translation: I know we are not immortal.

A good reminder to live live to the fullest and do whatever the fuck you want, when

you want. Fuck this YOLO bullshit. This is how us realists do it. ✌🏻

High Voltage Tattoos

1. The first ever piece I got at High Voltage. You can see the full blog for this 

tattoo and a few others on the Tattoo Talk Thursdays blog; My High Voltage

Tattoo Experience Pt.1! (I should really get around to Pt.2) Some lyrics from

Dancing in the Dark by TH. Perfect script.

2. I wanted to get some portrait work so I approached Adrian, the portrait

king at the shop (Yes, he still works there) and told him that I wanted to get

a realistic portrait on the back of my left arm in black and grey. I showed him

the image and a few days later, I was in the chair and he was inking Tom onto me.

I went back to him later for the portraits on the right-hand side of the collum.

3. The Giving Tree. That story touched me and really applied to my own life. The boy

metaphorically raped that tree and it reminded me of all the times that happened to me.

I wanted a reminder to never have that happen again. Hence, the piece. I took this just

as he finished the boy and was about to start on the stump. Last tattoo I got from Dennis. :( 

Middle: The touch-up piece. Actually, Dennis more than touched it up, he finished

the entire tattoo and made it more amazing than I could have ever hoped for. He added

Lush, lust-driven red, icy blues, brilliant whites and deep golds to the tattoo. He went 

above and beyond. Sadly, Dennis no longer works at High Voltage. If I can find his new shop

in Detroit, I will link that in my next tattoo blog. 

4. Portrait of someone who was so special to me. I loved him to the depths of my soul

and probably beyond. Adrian rocked this piece out using subtle greys. It's healed up real nice 

and light. I could show a picture of it, but it's still sore to look at this tattoo. Maybe eventually I'll 

upload a current pic and show it off!

5. A portrait of a set of twins that I care about. Even though our relationship

has changed, the piece is amazing and it will remind me of what love means.

I don't know about eternally loved after all that happened and what one of them became,

but there's always some feelings there. 

6. A simple signature of a guitar player who's ace. 

5. What tattoo artist has tattooed you the most?

No matter where I've been in the world, living or on tour, I always go back to Chad. I've known 

him 7 years or so now. He does good work, we get on great and I like the techniques he uses when he tattoos. He's done about 10 pieces on me over those past years. And as long as I can commute to Western Massachusetts to see him, he's based out of there, I'll continue to! To another 7 years! Usually, I like to go to tonnes of different artists. I've been to them all over the UK, America and Germany for the most part. 

6. Any tattoo artist that you follow that you dream of getting tattooed by? 

Yes! Sadie Glover, Benjamin Laukis, Dan Molloy and Anrijs Straume.

All you have to do is search their names on Instagram and they'll all come up! I'm hoping

to get some time with Benjamin at a German tattoo convention rather than having to fly all the way to Austrailia....though I really do want to go there. Fucking choices! 

7. Tattoos that took the most sessions to complete?
Truthfully, all of mine have been done in one session. I hate the look of an unfished tattoo. I get a single piece or a few pieces at the same time. I know I always have the option to add on later. I've only added on later to my Jack and Sally piece, I added Zero to it and then when I got Magdeburg done on my lower stomach, the next day I was in the chair getting my Fall Out Boy/ Jäger Dear with roses and filigree.

8. A Tattoo That Took The Longest To Heal? 

It would probably be the massive tattoo that I have on my left thigh. It's the size of like a composition notebook, took 12 hours to do and is packed with colour and tones of black and grey. I'll be doing a full blog on this as the anniversary of the 4th year of the piece comes up in May!

9. Do you have any tattoo artists that have become your friends through tattooing?

Yeah, Chad, Olivia, Jamie. I can safely say, 5-6, people I didn't know before they tattooed me I'm now friends with. And a lot of the people I knew before I got tattooed. It's more fun when you do it with people you know, I think. I'm always aiming to work with new artists and as I tour across the UK this autumn, I'm aiming to get a small tattoo in EVERY city that I visit. If you or any artists that you know would want to be a part of this blog/vlog that I'm going to be doing and get some free promotion have them hit me up! 

10. Do you post pictures of your tattoos? 

Almost always. I love to share the new ink that I've gotten, the stories behind them, etc.
The ones that are the most personal, I sometimes keep to myself. Other times I just don't want 

to tell the public or show the public about something that I've gotten for whatever the reason.

11. How do you react when someone asks to see your tattoos? 

I'm totally cool with sharing with people. I just don't like being grabbed at by people on trains 

or in shops. HA! Back in December when I was on a mini book tour in New York City, this guy on the underground saw my ink, as I had my sleeves pushed up and he asked to look at them. He told me he was a tattooist himself and that I had some 'Sick Ink'. I love when people from all walks of life can

appreciate the art in my skin. I had a woman grab my arm one time when I was paying for something in a shop and she was like "Why would you do that?" and I retorted with, "Why did your mother have you?" She wasn't too happy, but hey. Mess with the bull, you're going to get the horns. 

12. When will your collection be finished? 

It will be finished when I have a full body suit! Or if something somehow stops me from adding

to my collection...like death or something. 

13. Who Do You Tag?

I tag everyone who wants to participate! Tag me on your blogs, vlogs, social medias so I can see what you guys have answered!! Thanks to everyone who took part in this! 

LINKS 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnjaAbsinthe/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ichliebebillah
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anjathesickboy/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMcgrUtOSAkgNUlchw6NpZw
Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/ichliebebillah

Qcknd: http://qcknd.tumblr.com/
https://www.youtube.com/user/Qcknd

Sam: https://www.facebook.com/sam.carter.543792?fref=ts