Showing posts with label tattoo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tattoo. Show all posts

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Green Ink

Somehow in my life I've managed to start designing tattoos for people. While some are intensely personal, which I would never share, the last few I've done have been a lot of fun.

One of my friends has always had a deep and abiding love for green men.  I remember our first year in grad school together, how she wrote a really fun paper about these guys.  Since we both love Sir Gawaine and the Green Knight, a story I'm dying to get my hands on someday as an illustrator, I guess it made sense that we'd do this together.  I'm embarrassed to admit how long ago she asked me to design one for her, and I was having a hard time with it. Then one day she shared a photo and the lightbulb went off for both of us.  It was from a stained glass window (in France?), and the little green man, tucked into a diamond, seemed both joyful and mischievous.   I worked two variations, a long, viney guy and a green man tucked into his original medallion and embellished with leaves.
Long green man tattoo for sienamystic.  Pen and ink. Copyright 2011 Jessica Boehman

I may like the medallion even more:
Green man medallion tattoo for sienamystic. Pen and ink. Copyright 2011 Jessica Boehman

The last tattoo here is one I did for a friend I met while teaching in Ohio. It's the largest tattoo I've ever done, and it translated beautifully into ink.

Ornate cross. Pencil. Copyright 2011 Jessica Boehman