オーストラリアディおめでとう！！オージー達エーミちゃん（ダリのゾウのタトゥーの子）が愛国者タトゥーシールを持って来てくれた！
Happy fakkin’ Australia Day!… a few days late. Aussie friend Amy (the girl with the Dali Space Elephant on her leg – check it out!) brought by some patriotic tattoos so we could get our unchecked nationalism in full effect.

中国製や！大丈夫かなぁ。スーパー玉出の肉の匂いやわ。
Proudly made in the “people’s” republic of Fugazis – China! Just like fake tattoo machines and fake copies of my tattoo flash!

さぁ、ニックケーヴに仲良くするため、どれに選ぼうかな？
But which design to choose to ingratiate myself to Paul Hogan, Nick Cave, and Jon Howa… ok, just Paul Hogan and Nick Cave.

キョンちゃんはシンプルなデザインを！本物やったら彫るのは大変そう！
Kyon, goin’ for simplicity! In case anyone wants an actual tattoo is concentric lines around letters… I don’t recommend it.

残念ながらタトゥーシールのプロじゃないからオージーのお姉ちゃんに任せるしかない！
Sadly, we were too incapacitated (and too inept) to apply temporary tattoos and had to have the service performed by a qualified Australian.

有刺鉄線は囚人っぽいからえぇやないか？でも一件で終わらせるわけない！
Barbed wires are a traditional convict-y tattoo so that’s what I picked. But why stop there…

これにしたら自分のタトゥー番組がもらえるはずやなぃ？大阪インクやぁ！次のタトゥーブームの中心はここから始まる様に！
Make way for our ailing industry’s new darling – Bat Von B! If you need me, I’ll be in my diamond encrusted dressing room awaiting my next tribal armband and memorizing my lines for the next season of Osaka ink… but only after I’m done driving my gold-plated Benz in front of the cameras.

…

or at the local pub singing the wrong version of Waltzing Matilda!

Still really raw - first color portrait!

Ah, sweet completeness!
あぁ、「やっと完成したぁ」ってえぇ感じや！

Nothing like an idea that comes full circle from inception to completion. Chad’s leg is now home to the Nick Cave portrait I’d been burning to do for the last year. Japanese tattoo clients rarely order portraiture and so there is an awful log of legwork involved for the artist who wishes to do more of it. Namely me. Come on all you Osakan Portrait aficionados, I know you’re out there!

アイデアを考えてから成功するまでは長い道やけど通るのは勉強になる。チャッドさんの右足には僕のずっと前から入れたかったNICK CAVEのポートレート（似顔絵タトゥー）が入っている！まだまだ落ち着いてない状態やけど初カラーポートレートとしてはいい感じ。日本のお客さんの中にはあまりこういうオーダーが少ない気がする（特に欧米の客と比べたら）もちろんもっともっとこういうのを入れたいから興味ある人、是非連絡ください！

昨日の宿題が終わったら久しぶりにデッサンを練習しようと思った。好きなNICK CAVEのポートレート。似顔絵は大好きなのでこういうタトゥーに興味ある人是非連絡して頂戴！

Busted out a quick Nick Cave sketch before bed last night. So much work-drawing lately, I don’t get too much of a chance to do sketching anymore. And no, just for the record, as of now no one has ordered this yet!

UPDATE: The Nick Cave Portrait Tattoo Quest^tm is officially at an end. Thanks to everyone who inquired and was supportive of the endeavor. My friend and fellow Nick Cave fan Chad was the lucky recipient. Nick and those he has performed with were the ones who restored my faith in what music can be – when times were really tough for me I found his ballads endlessly inspirational. I was psyched on this portrait from start to finish, and so was my client. Cheers Chad! and if you ever read this yourself Nick, I just want to say, “Thanks!”