We were both itching to get inside, but the largest barn was locked up tight.

We eventually made our way towards one of the smallest buildings on the property. From the outside it didn’t look like there would be much to see, but the door was opened just enough to squeeze through and Heidi ran up to peek inside. That’s when I heard her let out one of her squeals of excitement that I have grown to love so much. Whenever I hear that sound, I know something has gotten her attention.
“OMFG, there is a gurney in here.”
“Are you serious… a gurney… in there?”
“Yes, a fucking gurney, get in here!”
We then spent the next 45 minutes in that little room getting some of the best photos of the day.

Click here for more images from that day.

A little peek behind the scenes.

Where’s my spoon?

Heidi elegantly demonstrates the proper way to eat your soup

I think I ate half of these myself

The final touches are added

More pictures here… http://pberge.zenfolio.com/p595660072

After some setup time, the buzz of the machine started up. How quickly we forget what the needles feel like. Multiple needles piercing my skin, hundreds, if not thousands of times per minute. It hurts, but that’s why I’m in the shop. The pain is all part of the process and in reality isn’t that bad at all. The color process for me is far less painful than the outline. It is not a pleasant experience by any stretch of the imagination, and of course the are a few very sensitive spots. The area around the armpit and the breastbone seem to be my most painful areas. It is only fitting that my dragon happens to be gripping into my flesh with it’s claws in those exact areas.

He began on my back, in an area that I couldn’t see. I tried to turn and look, but my head just doesn’t turn that far. I knew what colors he was using, but could not see anything but Heidi’s reaction. Her eyes would light up and she would grab the camera and shoot as Darren worked on me.

Slowly but surely, the dragon was taking form. The colors were amazing, but we were heading towards our time limit quickly. We won’t have time to finish today, but Darren wants me to leave the shop with a piece that looks balanced. He’s going to finish the green all the way through to the head. Then we had some time for a few accent colors. The red of the mouth, white of the teeth, pinks and yellows and oranges. Every addition of a new color would elicit a new reaction from Heidi. I couldn’t wait to see what she was seeing and capturing on camera.

Finally, after nearly 5 more hours, we were done for the night. My dragon was coming to life, but is not quite finished. One more session should do it. For now…

I am hooked on this process, the addiction has hit me like I never thought it could. I have not even finished my first piece and I am already looking for ways to expand it. The empty space around my Koi is calling for more ink, it feels and looks empty. The open space that I wanted on my skin not too long ago is now begging to be covered. What have I gotten myself into?

The moment I first set foot in the Rising Dragon Tattoo shop and heard the buzz of the machines, was the first time I felt nervous about getting my tattoo. I have been interested in getting a tattoo for a few years, but now it was becoming a reality. At that time, I still didn’t have a very clear image of what I wanted beyond the idea of a Koi and a Dragon. I had envisioned the Koi stopping half way down my right biceps, where it could easily be covered by a short sleeved shirt. I wanted the dragon head to be on my chest and the body to flow onto my shoulder. Within minutes of speaking with Darren, he made it pretty clear that giving him more room for the Koi would allow for a much more detailed design. Suddenly the design had grown to my elbow. Next topic of discussion was the Dragon. “That isn’t very much room for a full Dragon, the best I would be able to do is a partial.” That idea sounded great to me. Let’s do it! Then, my girlfriend Heidi brought up the idea of going onto my back to give a little bit more room for the dragon. The thought of the design going onto my back had never even crossed my mind until right then and there, but somehow I immediately knew it was right. I left the shop that night with red and orange sharpie all over my body that I didn’t want to wash off. Now I am faced with an agonizing, month long wait for the real thing.

Fast forward a month and Heidi and I are back in the shop and I’m ready to go. We started with the dragon and Darren freehanded the outline onto my body, but something wasn’t quite right. The position, the angle of the face, it just didn’t fit. We all agreed and he wiped me clean of the ink and started over again. The next try was perfect and it was time to begin the tattoo.

The dragon head was first because he felt that the lower chest would be one of the more painful spots. The first lines hurt, but the pain was bearable. I have heard the pain of being tattooed described in so many different ways and now I finally understand why it’s so hard to describe. One second it’s a dull pain, and the next is what feels like searing heat. Moving just an inch can mean the difference between hardly feeling the needles to gritting your teeth and hoping for the artist to move on to the next line. It’s going to be a long day!


A little while later, my dragon was beginning to take shape.

Continuing on, a few more hours of pain and I had the very swollen outline of a dragon covering my back.

After a short break, it was time to draw the Koi. He decided to draw it on paper first and create a stencil. After a few minor corrections on paper, he applied the stencil in one shot and the positioning was perfect. Here is the end result of 7 hours in the shop. Sorry for the crappy quality shots. They were taken in the mirror with my iPhone.

2 weeks later I was back in the shop for my first color session. Another 3 hours of work and this is the end result. I could not be happier! And in just 2 days from today I will be back to get the remaining color work done.