Outside of a handful of emails that I've exchanged with Keith Alexander, I cannot say that I really knew him. However, I was surprised and sadden when I found out that he had passed away. The diary of his koi tattoo inspired me to document my own experience. My condolences go out to his family and loved ones.

One of the things I really like about Phuc is his attention to details. Today, he worked on most of the little things on my back that needed to be completed, such as the rest of the cherry blossoms, the spine, teeth, and claws. The general scope of the tattoo is grand, but to really appreciate the tattoo, you really have to see the little details. For many of you reading this blog, you may never get to really see the subtleties, unless you randomly run into me somewhere, then I'll be more than happy to show you what I'm talking about. The nice details are largely due to Phuc's style and his thoughtfulness of how he wants things to appear. I don't think I really appreciated his thoughtfulness until I listened to him talk to Beth about drawing today. As usual here are the pictures. The last picture was the work completed today.

The next appointment is in two weeks on August 6th at 11 a.m.

So it seems as though the sessions are becoming progressively more painful. I'm not exactly sure what that's all about, but today sucked. Phuc colored in quite a bit even though it might not look like it. He finished the grey highlights on the scales, which were completed last session. Speaking of which, I experienced a new tattooing sensation today when he was doing the grey highlights. The scales are still in the semi-itchy phase, so when Phuc tattooed them, it felt really odd. Instead of a good sensation like someone scratching my itch, it felt more like he was poking it with a hot nail. Which was pretty much what he was doing anyways. The last picture was the work completed today and the rest are the progressive sessions leading up to it.

So Tsunami officially has a new apprentice. Not that kind. But... It was suggested that Phuc put on a similar competition to pick his apprentice when he originally decided that he was going to take one on. Beth is Tsunami's new apprentice. Katie and I had the opportunity to meet her today. She's really nice and I'm guessing that because Phuc and Sue hired her, she must be a great artist and has the potential to be a great tattooer. But for now, they have someone to run and get smoothies or maybe it'll be cheesecakes from Brooklyn.

The next appointment is next week on July 23th at 11 a.m.

As most of you know, I'm a big fan of tattoos. But, I do have limits in regards to what I would do. So, when I saw this, I was wondering what the hell was she thinking? I guess I'm not one to judge.

it would be Miami Ink. Tattooing meets reality television. I'm not sure if it's an exciting thing or a sad moment. It seems like a cool concept. I just hope that it's not hokey like the the rest of the so-called reality shows out there. I don't think that any of these guys actually worked in the same shop before this point. I believe that Chris Garver did Phuc's forearm.

Today was a "grin and bare it" kind of day. As I had anticipated, doing my love handles and lower back sucked. Phuc gave me a "plan b," where he would work on another part of my back if I could not handle the scales, but luckily I never had to go there. So, he finished the big scales on my lower back today. The session actually lasted about five hours today, longer than usual, because we figured that we were on a roll and should get all the scales finished! I apologize to his client after me for running overtime. The pictures are in order of the sessions, as usual. The final picture is what was done today.

Phuc mentioned today that he had read an editorial regarding whether people should point out flaws in other's tattoos. Specifically, the writer suggested not doing so, because the person may become obsessed with the flaw. After he shared this story, Phuc mentioned that he had a tattoo of a five legged dragon.

The next appointment is in two weeks on July 16th at 12 p.m.

I'm a little nervous about tomorrow's session. I didn't really enjoy my lower back being worked on last time so I'm anticipating the same results. I just have to suck it up and get it done. Per Dawn's request, here are a few more pictures courtesy of Ron.

Enjoy and I hope to have more to show you tomorrow.