I've always been a huge tattoo fan. I was 13 years old when I decided that I wanted to get a tattoo, but my father wouldn't allow me to get one until I turned 21. When I turned 21, I got my first tattoo on my right shoulder, which would be a Gothic-styled cross, with rays of light in the back of it.
At A Glance Author Chad Contact Chad@bme.anon When A week ago Artist Knuckle$ Studio Philadelphia Eddie's Tattoo Haven Location Philadelphia, PA.
Now, 3 years later, I had gotten my 13th tattoo only one week ago. It is a tattoo of a Cobra Snake, mouth open, showing fangs and tongue. Thursday night, I searched the Internet for about ... 35 minutes, trying to find the perfect image of a Cobra. When I finally found one, there was no color to it, which actually put a smile on my face because I knew that when I would go get this tattoo, the artist would put in an awesome color scheme. I really love it when tattoo artists put their on little flavor into your tattoo.
Friday morning rolled around, where I had gotten dressed, grabbed my wallet and caught a cab to Philadelphia Eddie's Tattoo Haven, the one and only tattoo parlor I'll ever go to. Knuckle$, who's first name is actually, "Joe", as I just so happened to overhear two other artists call him by that name, was my artist for the day. I presented him the Cobra I had found the night before from the Internet. He took a look at it and automatically agreed to do it for me. Pricing was the first to be discussed. I really wanted this to be done in color, so we agreed on a price. I asked what would be the best color scheme, and he told me that it would look great with a lot of blue and orange, a touch of red and black, and I automatically thought the tattoo would look wickedly awesome with that color scheme. Location was the next to be discussed, where I wanted it on my left shoulder blade, which I thought would be a great spot, as it would be right next to my tattoo of Medusa, which sits on my right shoulder blade. We then agreed on the location, where he told me that I was his next customer, after a girl, who was already ahead of me.
After his previous appointment left, I paid him the money for the tattoo and handed him the consent form. He told me that he would draw the image up pretty much the way it looked when I brought to his attention, but he also wanted to trick it out a little bit more, where he would make it look more fierce, which is something I agreed with 100%. He showed me his finished drawing and asked me what I thought. He's drawing was way better than what I had originally brought in to the shop.
So, he began setting everything up, from ink caps to needle equipment. I sat down in the chair, where he shaved off the little bit of hair I have on my back. He, then, had me stand up perfectly straight in order to put the stencil on. The stencil was set perfectly on my left shoulder blade. I sat back down and was ready to be tattooed ... for the 13th time. Now, by this time, I was completely nervous. "Why?", you ask? Because it had already hurt like Hell when I had gotten my Medusa tattoo on my right shoulder blade and when I had gotten my tribal tattoo on my upper back. When the needle made the first hit to my skin, the pain felt tolerable, but as the outline process progressed, I began to feel pretty uncomfortable, as the pain was getting worse.
After what seemed like a lifetime, but in reality, was only 30 minutes, he finished the outline and allowed me to have a little break, as he needed to set up the ink caps for the colored ink. What a blessing this break was for me. Once he had the colored ink all set, it was time to get back to work. Another extremely painful 30 minutes go by and my tattoo is finished. I, then, stood up to take a look in the mirror. When I saw the tattoo, I was in complete awe. The Cobra looked absolutely incredible, way too awesome. He bandaged me up, and gave me the cliff notes version of the "Aftercare Instructions", where I also handed him a rather big tip, as he was an awesome artist and one cool guy.
If you guys are in the South Philadelphia area, and you would like to get a Tattoo, Philadelphia Eddie's Tattoo is the place to get one. Their address is 621 South 4th Street, Philadelphia, PA. 19147.