A Tattoo Story [PIX]

I've been wanting the get the "Bullgod/Four Way Diablo" on my forearm for some time now.  I thought it was going to be done about six months ago, but that artist fell out.  I finally "imported" a great artist out of Carlsbad New Mexico to get it done.  Once again, I found off that I bit off a bit more than I can chew.  More after the jump.

People with tattoos are funny, they'll never tell you how much they hurt or are hurting.  Heathen came in with a giant skull that was done by the winner for Inkmasters and he never told me about "the side effects".

I had my shoulders done and you could barely feel it until you get near the inner arm.  I had my legs done and every single second of the eleven plus hours it took (two sessions) was pure torture.  I'm not kidding, it REALLY could be used as torture.  I even thought the meaty party of my calf might not hurt as bad as the shin, and I WAS WRONG!  It all sucked.  I think got my inner arms done, first with the RockShow logo (and I don't remember it hurting a bit) then with a Wasp on the other arm (it hurt like a bastard, even though it was the exact same place as the RockShow logo).  I followed this up with three stars that didn't bother me at all.

This time, I got my forearm done.  First, I underestimated the job.  You should always trust your artists option and you should always go as big as you are comfortable (or it just looks like a bunch of postage stamps on your body).  So, the "Bullgod" I got takes up about as much space as laying a c.d. on your arm, then the flames extend beyond that. Basically I though I was in for a two hour job and it was closer to a four hour job.  Even then, the tattoo barely hurt.  There were some deep lines that cut a bit, but no big deal.  No big deal at all, until the next day.  HOLY JEEBUS!  What that punk Heathen didn't tell me is that a tattoo on the forearm aches deep for days.  It throbs.  It's also very positional, if you hold your arm down at your side, you can literally feel the blood rush to the tattoo.  I also want you to keep in mind that I'm writing this on Monday, and I got the tattoo Friday night.  It's like I've got some very, very deep bruising.

Now, keep in mind, I'm not complaining.  I had a great time.  Me and some friends turned up the new Volbeat (four days before it was available) and it was "ink therapy" time.  I'm just giving you tattoo folks "fair warning".  You're well aware that "you've got to want it" when it comes to tattoos, but forearms give he a heck of a "tattoo hangover".

P.S.  I'd like to thank artist Robby Galvan of "The Tattoo Shop" of Carlsbad New Mexico for the incredible work.  He truly is one of the greats!

Here's my Bullgod:

Here's my friend Lynn Day's "Zombie Rat":

Here's a side by side of me and my artist, Robbie Galvan, him being in his role of "Vampire King" at Nightmare on 19th Street, me just being ugly.