Talk About Tattoos

Since I can remember, I’ve always liked tattoos and when I was 18 it was one of the first things I made sure would mark (quite literally) my birthday. From then on, I’ve had the urge to get more and will for quite some time. Granted I only have three at the moment but I think deciding on what you want on your skin for the rest of your life is pretty important so for me, it takes time. I thought it could be an interesting post as I always like to know how others come up with tattoo ideas and what they mean etc. so hope you enjoy.

So, my first one is incredibly simple, small and looks like nothing special. But to me it is. As you can see it looks like a sun of some sort but to me it was this doodle that I have drawn throughout my childhood, all through my school books and when I got to sixth form and was still drawing it, it was something that I just knew I wanted. I can still remember posting it on Facebook like most people do and getting one message from a very old school friend who was ‘surprised’ that I had got a tattoo and asked, “if I was okay?”. Apparently, I wasn’t the type of person they expected to have a tattoo and still to this day if the arm of my t-shirt rides up, people say “oh wow I didn’t expect you to have tattoos?”. Bunch of mugs. It used to really bother me because it shouldn’t matter, it’s your body. You shouldn’t have to stick to some stereotype people create of you. 

Am I the type of person to be classed as ‘boring’?

I think people should get over it if I’m honest and just respect people’s creative decisions. That sounds very pretentious I know, but it’s true. Some people still unfortunately look at each other just on face value and make some snap decision on them. And then when they notice something different about you that their preconception of you didn’t assume, they automatically react and have this surprised attitude. Don’t judge a book by its cover ay?

My second tattoo is one that when it was finished, I was smiling like a nutter. It was an idea I’d had for some time and while I was at uni I got it done. I’ve always loved the traditional style of tattoos and that’s what I plan to stick to with all my tattoos in the future. The tree represents a place in Cambridge where I use to visit a lot and it has a very personal meaning, and the anchor represents how it’ll always stick with me I guess. Things change in life do change but this tattoo was always going to remind me of some great times.

Last but certainly not the least is my favourite one so far. It was one that I knew I wanted to be done exactly how I wanted and no mistakes or changes. It had to be exactly what I had envisioned in my head. And bloody hell it was. I got it done at True Tattoo in Kingston by Chris and hand on heart, it’s amazing and he’s one amazing artist. I recommend this tattoo parlour to anyone. The whole team where incredibly kind and helpful and I can see myself becoming a regular with all my future ideas. This was a very personal tattoo as it was inspired by a very difficult time I had. I have a very odd heart condition which lead me to have what should have been a straight forward heart operation. It turned out to be not as simple as they thought and unfortunately things went slightly crazy and five hours later I eventually woke up. Everything is almost fine now so it’s all good but I was very lucky and incredibly grateful for to all the medical staff who were there. The NHS is truly incredible.

So, this is what inspired the horseshoe and heart tattoo and I was actually speechless when it was finished. To have such an amazing piece of art work on my body for the rest of my life feels incredible.

I’ve recently had a few more ideas for tattoos so fingers crossed I’ll be showing more in the near future.

Hope you enjoyed this post and thanks very much.

              

Sam