May 10, 2008
This has probably been the worst day of my life for at least the last three or four years.
This afternoon I got my first—and if today’s experience is any indication—my last tattoo.
I went to a shop called Two Kats. It was recommended by someone at work. I felt completely at ease with the artist—a guy who called himself T-Bone—the minute I walked in.
He took my design, made a stencil from it, positioned it, and when I gave the okay, started inking. (The pain wasn’t bad at all—certainly much less than what I was expecting.)
I kept glancing over, and things were progressing nicely. It was finally finished and filled in. It looked great.
But he kept inking. I thought he was filling in some missed spots, but it turns out he was embellishing my original design!
WITHOUT ASKING ME!
My design was very simple, very tribal:
And at one point, that’s exactly what I had!
But then I glanced over, and instead of simply filling in some missed spots, I discovered he’d put shadows under everything! Excuse me? Was that a part of my original design?
And now that I see it in all its mangled glory, the fucking shadows under the lizards’ tails don’t even follow the original contours!
JEZUSFUCKINGCHRIST!
I mean seriously…WTF was he thinking?!?
“I was just trying to give you the best tattoo for the money.”
Why didn’t you just give me what I wanted, YOU GODDAMNEDMOTHERFUCKING FUCKWAD!
It’s no wonder I had to sign that paperwork releasing them from all liability!
Before he screwed it up, the ink was perfect. It was exactly what I wanted and I was so proud of how good it looked.
But afterward….well…all I can say is that I haven’t felt the need to cry in years, but I was fighting back tears on my entire drive back home.
Now, not only my dad, but also my friend Mark in San Francisco can say, “I told you so.” My dad, for simply getting the tattoo at all, and Mark, for not going to Palm Springs and letting Mad Dog—his artist—do it.
And now I’m stuck with this piece of shit the rest of my life, and there’s nothing I can do about it.
“The shadows are light,” T-Bone said. “They’ll fade.”
Maybe. (According to madhouse in about two years.) But my memory of this fiasco won’t. Ever.
At least I can be guaranteed of it healing properly, because it is never going to see the light of day again.
And now—thanks to that asshole at Two Kats—instead of being able to happily join the fraternity of the inked, this whole episode has turned me off to it altogether. When I see tattooed guys on the street or online, instead of admiring the work (and yes, getting a little turned on) it will only be a searing reminder of how totally screwed I got today. Thanks a lot, T-Bone.
May 10, 2008 at 11:56 pm
i know it’s not what you wanted, but it’s not terrible - the blackwork is strong, and the graphic nature of the piece stands out. the shadows will fade… but i understand your frustration. i’m so sorry.
May 11, 2008 at 12:53 am
If he thought that it needed something extra, he would have consulted you before even starting out. I think that’s just wrong to make changes on the fly. I wouldn’t have paid for it.
May 11, 2008 at 1:02 am
Oh he sucks for doing that. This is wrong on way too many levels. The reason I can’t get a tattoo is that I want to choose something I will be happy with forever and if I ever managed to come up with something like that I would want it EXACTLY the way I designed it. I would be veeeeeeeeeeery upset if this happened to me.
I know this is no consolation but it looks nice. The shadows are not too bad. I actually like them.
PS: I know this is random but that photo makes it look like that portrait on the wall is trying to sneak a peek of your new tattoo.
May 11, 2008 at 1:07 am
Holy crap! What the hell kind of “artist” goes and does something the customer hasn’t agreed to ahead of time! How unethical! I’d fire his ass in a heartbeat if he did that in my shop to anyone… ever!
I offer you my apologies as a tattoo artist. I’m sorry there are asshole “artists” like this out there. Permanently scarring someone for the rest of their life is the most reckless thing I can imaging anyone ever doing. Again, I’m sorry you had to suffer this experience.
May 11, 2008 at 1:26 am
Overall the tatoo is still hot. It’s a shame it’s not the way you had envisioned it. I think you should still show it off and be proud of it.
May 11, 2008 at 1:45 am
[...] went through a horrible experience today, and I want to offer my apologies to him as a tattoo [...]
May 11, 2008 at 2:16 am
I know it’s not exactly what you wanted, or had in your head (and on the paper); but everyone doesn’t look like what they see in the mirror either. It looks good, tell me to “fuck off” anyway (there goes the Cus-O-Meter) but if you look beyond what you had expected, it’s still a good looking tatoo. I think the shading makes it POP a bit more than a flat tatoo. Yes, the shadows could have been added later if you wanted. And yes, he should have said something. But hey, it could be A LOT WORSE. He could have accidentily made the V into a W
May 11, 2008 at 5:42 am
Eric is right and regardless of whether the tattoo looks good or not this is about a person who provides a service but then fails to deliver on what was initially agreed upon. I could accept this more easily if it happened to me and I ended up with a crappy quality tattoo but I would also be angry and maybe even feel violated because one tattooist decided that he knew best with what I wanted permanently inked on my body. Did the guy even bother to say, “Hey, it would look better if I added some shadow to it. What do you think” but it seems that he didn’t.
I wouldn’t accept his comment of “The shadows are light.They’ll fade.” Get a lawyer.
May 11, 2008 at 6:53 am
What a fucking asshole. I’m sorry you got your design screwed with, I’d be pissed too. I think it looks good, but when it’s not exactly what you wanted and imagined it’s hard to be happy about it.
May 11, 2008 at 11:03 am
1) the guy is an asshole for not asking you first
2) The ink is actually quite good. The shadows add some depth to the drawing. It’s not all bad news handsome.
3) Welcome to the ranks of the permanently inked baby.
May 11, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Having had my first tat done really badly I can totally sympathize. Sorry you had to go through that. just be glad that at least he did a good job. I know it’s a little early and fresh in your mind and you should for sure rage! here…I’ll do a little for you…
FUCKING BASTARD TAT HACK! YOU DAMN KITCHEN MAGICIAN! FUCK YOU FUCK YOU FUCK YOU!
Cuss meter that!
May 11, 2008 at 4:39 pm
Go to a good tattoo artist and have them get rid of the shadow with a laser treatment. Hopefully you used your credit card which gives you the option of not paying. “Don’t get mad, get even,” seems the appropriate tactic.
May 11, 2008 at 4:52 pm
Oooooops, I just remembered most only take cash. Now we know why! Small claims court is there if you want to spend the time pusuing them.
May 11, 2008 at 6:13 pm
I can’t believe the guy would embellish a custom design without asking. I would spread the word about his business. On the other hand, even though its not totally your original design, its rather stunning!! In fact I like it better than the bunch of grapes on my arm. When I got mine, the result was not exactly as I had envisioned, but I have learned to love it over the years, as the idea behind it is still the same.
May 11, 2008 at 6:40 pm
i’m still just fucking pissed about this. reprehensible.
May 11, 2008 at 9:59 pm
First off, let me say that I completely understand your anger, frustration, and regret. I too would have been pissed.
As much as it sucks that he didn’t follow your design, it doesn’t look that bad. I know you didn’t want the shadows, but they aren’t that distracting from your main design. You’ll notice them of course, but that’s expected.
Tattoo parlors and tattoo artists have to be licensed, so file a formal complaint. It’s the only way to prevent him from doing it to someone else. I’d also consider taking him to small claims court. Although you signed a waiver of liability, he didn’t make an accident on your tattoo. He purposefully and thoughtfully decided to override your agreed upon wishes without consulting you first. That fact will override your liability waiver.
May 12, 2008 at 3:01 am
I read your blog all the time and it’s great. I’m still sitting here with my mouth on the floor after reading this. Obviously you’ve wanted a tat for a while but have had reservations, so have a lot of us (me included) and everything should have been flawless. If it had been me, I would have stared at it until I found something wrong/off, so in this case I would have totally went batshit crazy. I do like it though.
May 12, 2008 at 3:49 am
Welcome to the ‘brotherhood’. I know it’s not exactly what you wanted, but it looks really good. I’ve had similar problems with some of my ink. The one on my calf was done poorly, and I lost some ink to bleeding, but the ink is of a spirit and the lost in gives it a translucent effect that I doubt could be done as well intentionaly. The one on my forearm is slightly in the wrong place, so it doesn’t line up like I wanted, but the hand peeking over my arm has started many a conversation with people I would otherwise likely have never met. It’s not what you want, but it is what you have. I say file a complaint and share your story like you are planning, but don’t hate it and think it looks terrible forever if you can help it.
May 12, 2008 at 7:34 am
I think it looks good. It’s not an effect that you generally see all the time.
But that’s my .02 worth.
May 12, 2008 at 9:28 am
I think it looks great. You’re still a hot man with a hot tatoo.
May 12, 2008 at 2:53 pm
Sue the motherfucker. Unless he’s made to feel pain in proportion to his fuckup he’ll just keep doing shit like that to people who come in to get inked.
When I got my first tatt the design was done by a famous painter friend of mine who went with me to “supervise” the tattoo. The tattoo artist had a couple of ideas for it that he rendered on paper first and all three of us agreed that they made it better and that’s whats on my arm now — but had he just taken it upon himself to “improve” it without my permission — well, I would have litigated his ass right out of business.
May 12, 2008 at 3:13 pm
Hey! I think you should celebrate your ink. I understand your ire completely… but it looks GOOD! The shadows do give the geckos some depth– almost like they are floating a bit above your skin.
Once you distance yourself from your negative experience, I hope you will grow to love (and show off) your tattoo.
May 12, 2008 at 4:25 pm
If you had personally ask me I would have told you not to get one. I found/find you sexy and complete without it. But for what I know it looks good. It’s a pisser when people don’t do what you want ,expect, or pay for. But soon people will be taking your picture while your out and about and oblivious.
May 12, 2008 at 11:32 pm
I’m with CB on this one. I understand why you’re pissed. However, the tat does look good.
You’re right. The guy who did this was a complete asshat, and he never should have altered you without talking to you first.
Anyway, I hope you grow to like it. It’s a great design.