tattoo part deux

So! The tattoo was the most excruciatingly painful experience of my entire life. I think I'm definitely done with the tattoos for a while. Dave did an amazing job! The birds have a very painterly look to them, which is exactly what I was going for. Joe also says he's never seen such a realistic tattoo, if that's any indication. I'm really, really happy with it. It hurt SO BAD, though, especially when Dave was working on my spine. The whole tattoo took about four hours and I don't know how I got through the whole thing without whining or crying, but I did. It also bled a lot, which was kind of icky.

The irritation and pinkness around the tattoo hasn't entirely faded yet, so I'll have better photos up in a couple weeks, but for now, here are these ones:

Just the black outline.

Another angle, so you can see the bird on my shoulder. He's my favorite.

The finished product. It'll look a bit lighter once it has completely healed.