Some Polynesian STuff

Hi Bloggers- again my apologies for the lack of posts- here is a little recap of some of my favorite pieces from the past two weeks! Leaving in four days! I can't believe it...

 

Ajaccio again!

Dear blog readers, sorry for the posts being so few and far between, as my time here comes to an end, I have been rushing around trying to make the most of the short time I have left...
This week I took another trip down south for some tattoos. I went down on Monday and stayed till friday. It was a much different experience staying at Lina's house without York there, but fun none-the-less.  I helped her pick fruits in the mornings before work but I think more fresh figs ended up in my mouth than in the basket...
Work was great, lots of little stuff, but these two pieces were fun, 13 tattoos in 3 days was a record high since I've been here, and it felt great to be tattooing all day for a few days straight.

Cape Corse

Just a quick shot from last weeks trip around the Northern most tip of Corsica. It was a gorgeous 3 hour drive on a somewhat perilous cliff side road, with breathtaking views around every corner...

a tower of shit named 'Emanuelle'

Whatever happened to the good old 'mom,' or cross, or akward dolphin?

I don't care how bored you were in 7th grade math class, or during your prison time, a huge turd isn't gonna look good no matter how many stink lines you put around it, and christening it a frumpy French name doesn't help...

Today has been sweltering hot, and absolutely dead in the shop. This morning I caught 'Voldemort' my weasely co-worker making designs for a tahitian tattoo that he intends to do, and then this guy walks in as the cherry, or more appropriately tower of shit, on top.

all that's fit to print...

Another visit with Ajaccio's most lovable asshole.
Spent Monday to Wednesday down south to do a few tahitian pieces and ended up staying longer than expected. First time I haven't drank for two nights in row since arriving in Corsica, which was a much needed and pleasant break. Staying with York's adopted Corsican family, eating delicious garden grown ratatouille and making children's costumes and watching movies was a home-y change of pace from me and Pauline's usual bar stool perch at La Stretta.

This is my favorite shot from this weeks trip, besides one of York and three curly little lab pups, but I figure not everyone is reduced to a salivating idiot at the sight of small dogs and brawny washingtonian...

TGIF

Started this on tuesday, and finished it in our second session this morning- now I can get ma hair did!              

third eye/eye of horus

Time flies.  

In a week I will have been here 3 months. 

And a month and a half later I will already be on the plane home. 

I can't believe it. 

Tattooing is slowly trucking along... 

Lots of lettering- initials and stuff in arabic so not my favorite, but I had fun designing this weird modified eye of Horus last week.

Some more polynesian tomorrow...

finally some work!

After an extremely slow week (read 0 tattoos in 4 days) friday and saturday picked up and I got some tahitian/maori stuff done- yipeee!

A slightly sacrilegious Native American/Tahitian mash up....

tiki + shark

    tiki and shark on calf                               

story time!

The Corsican lifestyle is very laid back, so much so that it can make the simplest of tasks impossible. This daily practice in patience, that although frustrating in the present, is actually quite comical in retrospect. Such was the case with my morning errands.
I went to the bank to make a money transfer to England. Except that no one in the bank could determine the exchange rate of the euro to British pounds.
"Oh la la Madame, you'll have to look that up online!" I was told, by a woman peering at me from behind a computer, followed by "or maybe try the post office?"
At the post office, of course, the exchange rate was even more of a mystery. I figured I would make the most of my time at the counter, following the 30 minute wait, and buy some stamps.
"Sorry, we're out."
"What? but this is the post office..."
"Yes, but we're out of stock."
"So when can I expect that you will have some?"
"Well, the time it takes for us to contact the main office in France, and then for them to send them to us."
"And about how long will that be?"
"Oh well Madame it's hard to say, you know how slow the mail can be..."
I was half surprised that he didn't send me back to the bank for that one.
In the end, its this same relaxed attitude that enables me to get away with my own ass backwards mode of operations, so I gladly oblige.
I only wish that the bank teller and postal clerk had been around to help out the other day when I built an entire shelving unit with nothing but snap flooring and wood glue, and then realized to my dismay, (and after the loss of 3 glasses and a salad bowl that I had neglected to clear from my work area,) that the plastic bottle I had chosen to wedge the shelf into place happened to contain the only cleaning product in the house that would have aided in removing the puddles of glue that I had managed to get on to 80% of the surrounding surfaces, and which were now beginning to dry.
Sadly their words of wisdom were far from earshot, but Pauline has yet to notice the missing dishware, or the fact that it smells like burning glue every time we turn the stove on, so I guess I'm in the clear...
for now...

Paintings

 I know you couldn't possibly have thought that I wasn't painting in Corsica...
Here are some of the gouache paintings I have been doing when I'm bored at work, or on my day off.
There are a few doubles because sometimes I wasn't happy with the first one, so I would re-do it...
The boats and two of the poppies are from photos, the rest were done plein-air.

cha cha cha changes...

 

I think this guy had chicken pox- atleast I hope thats what all the spots were...
Business is really slow... No tattoos for 2 days in a row... Bumming me out a little, especially now that my machines are all tuned up nice.
Pauline started her job as kebab vendor extraordinaire today, which means a lot less delicious *healthy* dinners waiting for me when I get home, and alot more kebabs in my future... just in time for bikini weather!

turtle...

this guy is such a peach (he's the head of the hell's angels corsican division lol)- we are working on a big leg piece for next week- more pics to come!

South bound and down

Pauline and I took the bus to Ajaccio on Wednesday, for a brief visit with her dad, and for me to work at Bulldog Tattoos other location for a couple days. The tahitian pieces I was supposed to work on fell through, so the trip ended up being more pleasure than business, which was just as well and we had a blast...  Thanks to York, the gorgeous tattoo artist from Seattle, we got the hook up, and rented a room that came with the option of keeping or removing the 5 kittens from under the bed...

sexy. kinda.

Tahitian hip band from last week- this guys skin was like butter so the tattoo only took 45 minutes...

hmmmm....

The View From Here...

Pauline and I moved into our new apartment in the old quarter of town this past weekend! Its a smallish, one bedroom on the 5th floor with exposed beams in the ceiling and a tub- we're in heaven. There are views from every room, which makes it worth the 5 very steep flights of slate stairs (which were tough at first but its getting easier...) The picture above is the view from the kitchen, and the photo to the left is the view of the marina a half block away... pictures of the interior to come as soon as we finish unpacking!

tahitian leg band

typical...

Corsica the beautiful

 

This is the old port of Bastia, my new apartment 

(fingers crossed- still waiting to hear from the landlady)

 is behind the cathedral...

tattoooooos

leg band from last week- I'll try to post more tattoo photos...

Trip to Ajaccio

Here are a few pictures from a trip I took two weeks ago (time flies!) down to Ajaccio, a town in the south of the island a few hours drive away. The town was quite tourist-y but the drive through the mountains was gorgeous...

My first color/shaded Tattoo!

Last week my new friend Laura generously offered her pearly thigh as the canvas for my first color and shaded tattoo- here is the result- almost healed...

cloud scape from my friends balcony...