If I'm on the road for the next thousand years or so

 

Constantly referring to world clocks and missing everyone, everywhere.

Flying to Melbourne for a bit, but then I will be flying back to Sydney to tattoo at Industrial Strength's King St Tattoos in the new year.

Gorilla! And two king of hearts I painted twice because I couldn't decide which one I hated more...

Back in time for Shark Week in Australia

 

Christmas trees and beach palm trees

Violet caught me having a moment with the city right when I got in.

Davey colors in all my tattoos with markers.

Come what may

Come what may

There's that saying "Do something once a day that scares you". I think I've been doing that for so long now that what scares me the most is slowing down and taking it easy. I guess once that happens that means I'll have to pick up the pieces of whatever is left and go from there. Hopefully there will be enough pieces left to salvage, and at least I'll have some stories to tell. But I am starting to think maybe I'd be quite content with a life not so unsettled.

Going completely against that recent epiphany, I've ended up back in Australia. I've had $50 Australian cash in my wallet since I left a year ago and I guess now I can finally spend it.

Bit of a side note: Along with the 'come what may' tattoo across my chest, this crazy life has left me with an entire rib cage littered with not-so-nice-looking scars and knife wounds. Please cover with more tattoos if possible. Thank you.

(I feel awful because I forget the name of the photographer that took that picture years ago - but you are great)        

Guide me home

Smashed out in one long session in Long Beach on another traveling tattoo artist before both of us hit the road again in a few days. So 'Guide me home' was really fitting for both of us. Traded for a food stamp card and bus tokens. Hopefully I'll get to add some background and finish up some things if we ever end up in the same place again. The top lantern smoke would eventually extend into a moon in the arm pit. Tons of fun + ouch.

 Pirates are a big part of Christmas in Hollywood (And can apparently walk more proper than a nutcracker)

Army of one

The passed 10 months:
Brooklyn
Manhatten
Los Angeles
Hollywood
Venice Beach
Orange County
Compton
Santa monica
Beverly hills
Bel Air
Long Beach
Blacktown
Brisbane
Byron Bay
Sunshine Coast
Sydney
Melbourne
Wolongong
Canberra
Mornington
Wagga Wagga
Holbrook
Coffs Harbour
Woombye
Mullumbimby
Brunswick Heads
Ocean Shores
Albury
Goulburn
Toronto
Newmarket
Vancouver
Whistler
And probably around 10 more that I'm forgetting or just never got the name of.

Finding myself, or maybe just getting more lost? I really don't know.

Far from Home

Maybe I'm homesick or maybe I just don't even know where 'home' is anymore.

Slow day at the shop so Demon started my back. "Far from Home". Seemed appropriate.

Some days I show up to the shop early because I have nowhere else to go, and I jam outside with some random crazy guy named "Sky". My life in Hollywood is weird.

Catharsis

I am anxious. I am awkward. I am nervous. I shake.

Tattooing requires such complete focus and concentration. You are in that moment and nowhere else. There is nothing peripheral. There is no longer outside worry. Any lingering anxiety is gone. I am steady. The only thing that matters in the world is pulling the next line.

Thank you, tattooing. You are my paid vacation from real life.

My foggy memory/life

It hurts my head when I try to think of all the cities and towns I've stayed in over the past year. I couldn't tell you the names of even half of them, but I could tell you that "that one place" has a huge playground that's fun and comfortable to sleep at. Or I could tell you that "that next one" has some random giant pineapple tourist attraction. Or "that other one" has a sweet skate park that's lit up all night but there's a huge mosquito problem.

There's definitely more cities names I've forgotten than remembered. But you're pretty cool, LA.

I sat outside of Universal Studios at some store and drank a lot of iced coffee. Maybe some day I'll actually go in.

I am now tattooing at Hollywood Zebra, 6660 Hollywood Blvd. I tried to escape Hollywood and I made it exactly one block from where I was, still on the blvd.

At least there's always something interesting going on. This pretty much sums up my night - "Sorry, guy-covered-in-blood, I will not tattoo a teardrop on your face for $20 even if you say you'll pay me later". (Also if you could take your hand out of your pocket it would make me a lot more comfortable and a little less scared for my life)

Moving around so often requires a sort of numbness to travel. It makes it easier to let go, leave behind, and move forward. But because of that, I often fail to realize the effect that that might have on others. If I've been selfish and ignorant - I'm sorry. Maybe naive at times, but I've never had anything but good intentions.

Uncertainty

Every day my life scares me. I still can't decide whether that means I'm doing something very wrong or something very right.

I'm in LA now, tattooing at California Tattoos right along the Hollywood stars walk of fame. There are mirrors everywhere so when I'm not tattooing I do quick 10 minute sketches to remind myself of how I need to shave.

Mom

 My mother. She looks at me like I'm not covered in tattoos, and like I haven't caused her over 20 years worth of trouble and worry.

The more places you go, the more people you leave behind.

The more places you go, the more people you leave behind.
I am very temporary

Old adventures & old friends.

 

Impermanence

While lost, brushing my teeth in the Vancouver rain, wandering around and running into friends from all over the world, I've come to realize my life is just a series of random happy accidents.

I am temporary.