Selkie splash

I'm finishing up my entry about selkies for the bestiary. This guy has been one of my favourite creatures to draw and paint. There's something really fun about drawing a seals sleek shape along with the splashing water. Working on the Selkie and spending more time on the water even inspired a poem and cartoon for the Edinburgh Blue Balls. 

I actually made this first painting last summer. I went for a bit of a wander to Leith Links and sat under a willow tree to enjoy the day and enjoy flights of fancy. I wanted to test out my new travel water colour set and brush pens. From that experimentation this guy sprang onto the page!

In the bestiary Merlin describes the selkie as:

Selkie tramp stamp

"In their natural form they resemble a seal but are vivid blues, azures and greens. They have the most magnificent markings on their backs. At first glance they appear to be stripes, however, on closer inspection they prove to be densely gathered intricate spirals patterns. They have long flowing hairs on the tops of their heads and an internal glow that illuminate under the water. While on an evening dip it is quite a show to see a group of selkie lights streaking beneath the water. 
 
"When in human form they look just like any other aside from their pelt markings which remain around their lower backs."

The selkie's human form and their back tattoos were actually inspired by someone I knew. He was quite possibly the nicest, most loyal, kind hearted and unassuming person you could ever meet. But he had a massive lower back tattoo! It was such a shock it was indeed like finding out he was actually a mythical creature in disguise. 

When settling on a look for the selkie in its native form I stuck mainly to the features of a seal. I did explore other aquatic mammals to see if there were any features I could borrow to give the selkie a proper other worldly feeling. But, I realised that for it to truly be a selkie it needed to be as seal-like as possible. So besides big ol' purple eyes and some funky colours it's all seal.

However, one of my favourite drawings is of a walrus-like being. I was envisioning what a dying shapeshifting creature might look like, melting between two forms. This fella is a pretty sorry specimen and may not even be a Celtic creature! Perhaps they're some sort of sea spirit from Greenland or even further afield that got lost in a storm and ended up on the shores of Alba. Now in the (slightly) warmer climes they're struggling to maintain their form. It's a pitiable sight but beautiful in it's strangeness. 

Check out more from the Bestiary here!

• Haggis and wulver
• Eachy
• Giants giants giants
• Cat sidhe
• Gargoyles
• Chimaera
• Kelpie
• Dragons, sidhe (fairies), and trows

Hope you enjoy!
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New tattoo - disembodied forearm

To commemorate the release of my second novel 'Spirit Shear' I got a new tattoo!!

 

I actually got it a few weeks ago when I returned from Barcelona. It was an impulse 'post-holiday' tattoo (you'll never see me on Tattoo Fixers!!!) But now it's finally healed and looking great (b-t-dubs, there is no way to take a good picture yourself of a disembodied forearm so the pictures don't quite do it justice). I'm absolutely in love with it!

All of my tattoos have a deep and personal meaning to me. Several people have already picked up some of the meaning behind it; the pen being mightier than the sword. But, on top of that, it's even more meaningful because the glyph at the top of the pen is from my books, the Emersus Project series (read a bit more about the meaning in my celtic tattoos post). I got it to help commemorate the event. I've published my first two novels! That's pretty hardcore.

Yes, yes, I know it looks a bit like the green lantern logo. But it's not. However, in the world of Arbea, it is a symbol of power. I'm thinking that, over time, I might turn it into a band, having all the symbols from my books circling my forearm. Hmm... too many new tattoo ideas, too little time!

The tattoo was done by Nik Costaz (check out Nik's art, it's freakin amazing!) at Tribe Tattoo. It was great working with a new tattoo artist who made some excellent adaptations to my original design. Mostly, adding in the more delicate lines along the body of the pen and doing the pen nib in outline instead of solid black. Nik's contribution has resulted in something much cleaner and light than the original solid black glyph style. It's finer lines lend themselves to the beauty and fineness of creating.

I was apprehensive about having a tattoo that was visible all the time (except when I'm wearing long sleeves). But now that I have it it feels like it's part of me. The only downside is I can't stop staring at it and touching it (especially when it was healing)! Well, that and the Green Lantern comparisons. But I suppose that's the price of showing your art to the world. What matters most is that I love it!

Hope you enjoy!
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Celtic connection tattoos

So, I've finally come up with a design that I'm pretty happy with.

It's taken several iterations. I had particular trouble with the band that will sit at the bottom. It was more trouble trying to decide how much detail and what elements would be incorporated. But, I fell back on the old troupe, 'Less is more'. 

The thing that I really wanted to get in there was the wave patter that you see bordering the triskelion. I've seen it as part of larger tattoo motifs in the circle around the shoulder or the arm. But with the complexity of the eagle and unicorn it just made the band at the bottom look messy (see earlier drafts)

 

On the left hand version I've turned the figures inward to more closely resemble the Scottish crests I've seen with unicorns gallantly framing a shield. I'm undecided on which triskelion to get (the outline version or the knockout black version). I think the black version is a bit too much given there's a lot in the rest of the tattoo already. However, as a standalone tattoo I think the black is much more eye-catching and fits in more with others that I have. 

I also want to get a stylus tattooed on my right forearm. A stylus is an ancient writing tool but is also the symbol for the muse Calliope who is my muse (and also the name of my good friend's wee bairn! She can borrow my design when she's older.) I'm dithering between slghtly more complext designs and something simple.

 

I'm a bit worried. I don't really want a tattoo that will be visible when I'm wearing short sleeves. Plus, I don't want it to be mistaken for a knife (I also realise it looks a bit like a wand from Harry Potter). The more complex designs look less weapony. And I added a fountain pen nib to highlight its use as a writing utensil. I think the one on the right is what I'm going to go for. It also uses one of the runes from the Emersus Project series. It's the glyph of Arbedusitus - a being with the ultimate power to bring peace to the world. I guess the pen really is mightier than the sword! I'm going to let the idea sit for a while. But, I have a very strong feeling it's going to happen anyway!


Hope you enjoy!
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Tattoo too

I'm back on the trail of my newest tattoo to come. As I stand ready to get my UK citizenship I thought a tattoo that pays homage to my new home, Scotland.

In keeping with the tribal theme that many of my tattoos are I decided to go with a Pictish motif for the new work. It's also fitting as I've just spent the last year researching Celtic and Brittonic myths for the Age of Albion series.

There's not a ton of Pictish work left these days. As far as we know they didn't have a written language. Eventually the Picts merged with Celtic and Gaelic peoples to form the Scots and their distinct identity was subsumed into the 'Scots' identity and much of their artefacts were destroyed as pagan artefacts. But there are some stone carving (Pictish stones) and metal work left of their art which is where much of the modern idea of Pictish art comes from. Check out the Historic Scotland 3D scans of stones!!

I want to eventually form the tattoos I have on my shoulder and chest to grow into a quarter sleeve. The bigger pieces all have their individual meanings and combined will form their own story. The Pictish design will fit in between the Mucha floral tattoo and the Adinkra symbols on my shoulder.

As I want the tattoo to relate to becoming UK citizen I wanted to use the national animals of my home country (the US) and Scotland. They are respectively an eagle and a unicorn! Easy, eh?

frontiersofzoology.blogspot.co.uk

Well, thankfully, there are examples of Pictish animals found on various stones. This made the job of stylising the eagle and unicorn (from a horse) straightforward - sort of. I was able to use the drawings of the eagle and the horse (which I think is actually meant to be a kelpie) and adapt them.

The eagle was the easiest. It's pretty identifiable as a bird and I just needed to add more detail to bring it up to a level that I would be happy to have etched into my skin for the rest of eternity. It still took me a while to get it right and I had to tool around with the shape and lines of the bird so that it read distinctly 'eagle' instead of 'sea gull' (I loathe seagulls).

some sketches

So I spent A LOT of time drawing bald eagles and getting the curvature of the neck and hook of the beak accurate. I also wanted to add a bit of zhoosh to it incorporating Pictish triskelions.

The unicorn was a bit trickier. I didn't want it to come off looking too soft (the last thing I want is for people to think I'm a brony). I also wanted to up the Scottish factor on it. So, I decided that the unicorn, while following the stylisation of the Pictish kelpie horse, would be rearing up (as it's usually seen on a coat of arms) and fashioned after a clydesdale horse. I've also done some knotwork in the tail to add in some detail. 

The eagle and unicorn will be placed on either side of my adinkra symbols tattoo and below it I want to place a band that will go around my arm. I chose a more geometric pictish pattern as I think it will sit nicely in contrast to the more flowing lines of the animals as well as the Alphonse Mucha tattoo (see above picture). I'm not 100% sold on the swirls but we'll see. Now it's just a matter of discussing the image with my tattoo artist and figuring out placement and sizes.

I also designed an awesome kraken tattoo for a mate. He's a naval architect and wanted a classic navy tattoo. I really enjoyed the chance to design something traditional with a scene with shading and the like. Also, it's like nothing I've ever done for myself but I think it will be an incredible tatt. I've replaced the traditional roses that come on the side of such anchor tattoos with the flower of York (as he's a Yorkshireman). Now I just need to convince him to hurry up and get it done so I can see! :D

Have a look at  my other tattoos

Hope you enjoy!
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Tattoos with meaning

So, I've finally settled on a design for my latest tattoo.

Mucha's daisy

As with all my tattoos the 'Mucha's daisy' design has a special meaning and significance to me. It's a two part homage.

Firstly, gerbera daisies always make me think of my best mate, Ryan, who passed away last year. I tried to think of ways to design a daisy that weren't too plain, but I certainly didn't want just a realistic inking of a daisy. But, mostly, I wanted something that wasn't too limp.

Finally, after a few months inspiration struck.

The second homage is to one of my favourite artists, Alphonse Mucha. My dissertation for my masters was based around the flower series by Mucha. So I drew inspiration for the tattoo from his print 'Woman with daisies'.

'Woman with daisies' - Alphonse Mucha

Once this epiphany hit the connection for me became even stronger as Ryan was very proud of her Czech heritage and loved visiting Prague. A love of Mucha's work is one of the few convergences in our very different tastes (in everything from music to art) that we bonded over. 

So, once I had my mind set on this the rest of the design fell together. It's still quite different from the others but I want it to be. It's meant to remind me of a the friendship and love and confidence that Ryan's friendship gave me. It's supposed to be gentle and florid compared to the very heavy 'masculine' lines of my other tatts. It will blossom over my heart when I need a reminder of all the love I have in my life.

The other tattoos

My very first tattoo is a glyph of a phoenix. 

It's a simple symbolic tattoo. I created a stylised image of a bird rising above of a triangle, the alchemical symbol for 'fire' (also the mathemetical symbol for 'change'). (Double nerd alert: It's also inspired by the phoenix tattoo Rachel Summers had burned into her skin when the Shi'ar attempted to wipe out the whole Grey family bloodline.) It reminds me that life comes in cycles. It rests on my shoulder and bursts to life like fiery wings when I need to burn white hot to get through a challenging time and reminds me to rest and recoup at the end.

My second tattoo is a series of Adinkra Symbols: 'Ananse Ntontan' - wisdom, creativity, 'Nea Onnim no sua a, ohu' - Life long education and 'Wawa aba' - perseverance. 

When I'm feeling discouraged they remind me of my philosophy for success: perseverance and proliferation! You've got to keep creating and learning and doing new things in order to get where you want to be. There will always be set backs. But, as long as you keep going, you'll keep growing. It's embedded on my arm to give me strength from day to day.

Enjoy!
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