Our very own Baldassbot who is responsible for your Video Game Quick Hits, and for being an all around stand up guy. Love the old-school feel with the colors and background, love the gritty looking Yoda as well. Without further ado, Mr. Jennings.
Age: 32
Hometown: Taylorsville, UT
Hobbies: Star Wars, video games, writing, outdoors stuff (fishing, hiking, hunting, camping), running.
Artist/Shop: Travis, Art City 3925 S State Street in SLC
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| The Gonzo Fist |
Total Hours in the Chair: 1 1/2
Inspiration: I’ve been a huge fan of Hunter S. Thompson since I discovered him in high school (slightly before the Fear and Loathing movie). I got this shin tattoo in late 2005. The Gonzo fist was an icon Ralph Steadman created for Hunter when he was running for Sheriff of Pitkin County in the 1970s on the Freak Power ticket. The image is a double-thumbed fist holding a peyote button, attached to a pen (which is mightier than the sword). The traditional version is more of a solid black with the word “GONZO” in block letters moving through it. I opted for something less bold and more dynamic. The tip of the pen was emphasized as more of the writing instrument and less of the dagger than the original. The ink droplets and swirls were added by Travis to make it more dynamic.
Is there more work coming, or is this the finished piece? In this picture you can see part of a Gryphon on my lateral calf. Travis also did that piece when he was working for Southern Thunder back in 2000. I do have plans to add a family symbol on my posterior calf and something will likely end up on the inside as well. But I don’t plan to blend them together into any sort of sleeve. Just four individual, B&W pieces reflecting influences on my life.
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| The Star Wars Sleeve |
Artist/Shop: Travis, Art City 3925 S State Street in SLC
Total Hours in the Chair: Not sure, I think it’s been nine sessions over ten years. Rough guess, 25 hours. Probably have two more hours of touch-up in a few months.
Inspiration: I love Star Wars. Everyone does, but clearly my passion for it is a little different from most. It really has shaped who I am as a person. Travis and I really designed this together as a work in progress. I’m not very artistic by nature, but I knew what elements I wanted and had an idea of how to work them together. Travis obviously has a really good eye for the technical stuff and knew how to manipulate the colors to highlight each other. This started with a color Yoda tattoo, the classic pose with a customized, not to scale, b&w background. To me, the lack of scale has become an important theme for the full piece. Later, we added a full color Vader. I think that’s Travis’ favorite part. It was my idea to add color to a character that is almost solid black, but the artist’s execution is the real star. The Vader was originally planned for my left pectoral. My right pectoral Chewie was painful enough to convince me to move it to my arm instead. This is when the idea of a half sleeve really took shape. We added the Death Star, an X-Wing and Vader’s TIE Fighter as background for Vader. As much as I loved my b&w Dagobah, we had to add color because it clashed. Next came the Millennium Falcon, Cloud City, and Slave I. We added a couple more TIE fighters at the same time. The final addition was Jabba’s Palace. The subtle details he was able to incorporate into such a small area is incredible.
Is there more work coming, or is this the finished piece? This is pretty well finished. Yoda needs a good touch-up. Probably needs a little extra color work in some of the negative space. But this is the finished work. I have no plans to make it a full sleeve. It’s probably high time I move on to my favorite character, R2-D2, who just never seemed to fit this piece. Of course, Travis is constantly trying to convince me that I need to get his favorite character, Lando Calrissian. He tells me if I look close enough I’ll be able to see Billy Dee Williams is actually flying the Falcon.
Artist/Shop: Travis, Art City 3925 S State Street in SLC
Total Hours in the Chair: 3 ½ or so, but it felt like longer
Inspiration: Who doesn’t love Chewie? I’ve known a lot people who get pictures of pets as tattoos, I probably will myself when Indiana Bones is gone. Why not get a tattoo of the coolest pet/mascot around? This particular version was done using a “How to Draw” lesson for kids from starwars.com – hence the small eyes and emphasis on simple shapes. Travis handled the coloring just by looking at some reference photos.
Is there more work coming, or is this the finished piece:: My original concept had Chewbacca on the right pectoral and Darth Vader on the left. The pain factor on Chewie changed my mind. It’s no secret that tattoos hurt, but my chest was definitely the most painful I’ve experienced. I decided pretty quickly that I wouldn’t do anymore in the area. I have been starting to think it couldn’t really be as bad as I remember it though. So anything’s possible.