We were undecided about what to do for New Years Eve as we got chatting to a couple of travellers from Australia and France, they said that a bus was leaving from Guerro Negro to make the 16 hour trip to La Paz, which they were about to book themselves on. It seemed like a fun way to see the New Year in so we packed up and with a couple of extra passengers we set off South. The road from Guerro Negro heads back in land and through the desert of Baja Sur eventually arriving and then continuing down the coastal road along the Sea of Cortez, this has some of the nicest beaches on all of Baja. The drive was a scenic one and the lads were grateful for the lift even if it was a little sweaty and cramped (Rob the Australian was about 6’6”!).

 As dusk neared the sky turned from blue to peach to lilac before the inky back seeped in and along with the white light from a full moon created a most interesting seascape.

Although the day was getting late we decided to drive a little further to reach a place called Mulege that we were told was a tranquil paradise. It’s nestled in along the Sea on Cortez cocooned by lush green mountains, shaded by palms and split by a river flowing to the ocean where birds constantly hover overhead.

As we approached the final descent in to town the mood in the van suddenly changed and the care free jovial laughter was replaced with nervous tension as the van failed to slow on an acute corner sending us all in to the path of on coming traffic. With the brake pedal flat to the floor the van continued to pick up momentum and being an automatic we were unable to gear down, so as we free wheeled down the road it was on a wing and a prayer that we didn’t meet anyone coming the other way. With a combined few ton of metal, flesh and bone travelling that fast down a mountain with minimum control we felt lucky to arrive safely in town at a motel and it was decided we’d take the night to celebrate our good fortune.

Our fortune the next morning was not so good as we discovered that repairs to the van would be costly and time consuming so we had to say adios to our new found friends as they set off for La Paz and we set about exploring the area.

In the mornings we would run and the view was never a disappointment.

 

The rest of the day we’d do as we pleased but with both of us liking to stay active we always found something to occupy the time whether it be some climbing, painting or jewellery making.

After collecting so many goodies on our travels and people constantly commenting on jewellery I make/wear we decided it’d be good to make and sell some, help fund the trip a little.

We had a chilled out New Year in Mulege and it was a perfect place to spend some time, the brakes failing on the van doesn’t seem like such a bad event now. We did trips to various beaches in the Bay of Conception, courtesy of hitchhiking and relaxed in to the Mexican way of life. I also made a couple of new friends.

The paintings I got completed whilst stranded.

Well all good things come to pass, but even the best times can get better so with a glace back we left Mulege in search for our next paradise.

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

By the time we were finally able to leave Erendira the temperature was dropping and we were told we’d have to head a few hundred miles south to shrug off the bad weather patterns. That was enough of an incentive to stock up and do a couple of days driving to ensure that Christmas day would be spent in the sun. So the alarm was set and we got our heads down early. Anyone that’s ever shared their sleeping quarters with a mosquito will tell you that sleep is no longer a priority, first it’s the high pitched whine as they hover about your head, then it’s the itching as they’ve managed to extract blood from any flesh that you thought you had covered. After that it’s a personal vendetta and one of you has to go. The mosquito won. At four in the morning and we both decided the best plan was to just get going. After some bleary eyed driving the rest of the world finally caught up with us.

A lot of the driving we did was through desert, and true to Mexican form there was cactus aplenty.

See how many pricks you can count….?

The roads are long and straight with very little in the way of traffic on them.

The scenery however was ever changing, from a desolate vista to one filled with cactus, flat land, to mountains. The strangest though was about half way down there are massive rocks in the middle of nowhere, it was a great place to get out and have a little exercise.

Christmas morning we decided to go out and explore around Guerro Negro, and as we decided not to buy each other presents it seemed like hunting for “treasure” could yield us some treats. We managed to find the headquarters for the largest salt mining firm which was built on, believe it or not, a giant salt lake. The water from the ocean is trapped and then left to evaporate leaving solid salt crystals.

We followed a small dirt road that ran through the middle of a bio reserve that was beautiful with all sorts of birds in the sky, fish in the water and shells on land.

When we finally got to the end of the road there was a derelict lighthouse with what appeared to be ruins of a few buildings now almost completely covered in sand.

(

The door on the lighthouse was non-existent and the pile of rubble in its place wasn’t too much of an obstacle, the stairs leading to the top however were.

I only managed to get so far before vertigo got the best of my nerves and I was happy with seeing the inside; Matt made it to the top and told me the view was amazing so that’s good enough for me, I’m not about to call him a liar. With time getting on we made our way back to town with some of our new found treasures.

Everything was still open for business as usual and we settled down with a traditional Mexican dish and a bottle or two of Pacifico.

Christmas night was like any other great night, too much whiskey and not enough remembered but Boxing Day saw me back at the easel to continue and complete my most important painting, of mother dearest…

Oh and do a little more on a certain tattoo ;)

 

 

    

 

 

 

Erendira was decided to be our next major port of call so after a lot of farting about between Ensenada and various other places we rolled in yet again as you may have guessed with the sun was setting.

 

 

Pulling up on an outcrop of land we were lulled to sleep by the gentle rumble of the tide washing over rocks on the shore, a sound similar to the pattering of summer rain on a parasol. It was also by the will of the ocean that we were awoken, a crashing noise so loud that we both sat up to attention, turns out our tranquil snoozing spot was next to a massive blow hole.

 Erendira was a popular spot for surfers coming down from America before a lot of the trouble began and drastically reduced the number of people willing to journey south just to catch a few waves. This worked out perfectly for us as it meant that nearly every session was ours alone. We decided to camp on the beach where our view from the back of our home was as good as one can get. We were able to enjoy beach fires, where once again marshmallows could be toasted and sink a few beers to toast the sinking sun.

There’s a friendly run back packers that was willing to let us do our laundry and take a shower for a small cost, as well as provide a bar at night to sit around with others travelling and exchange stories.

As we were heading out for a surf one morning we got chatting to an “old geezer” called George who turned out to be an old school surfer from back in the day. He spent a lot of his youth in Hawaii shaping longboards and riding waves that were destined to become some of the most famous on the planet. He kindly opened his home up to us and allowed us to park on his land and use the outhouse for painting. Everyone we met here were so friendly, we would sometimes head over to Georges neighbours, Debbie and Ira for some food and the novel experience of watching T.V.

The backdrop was the Pacific where a small fishing ship was anchored. It was an ill omen as we all stood in the calm before the storm, watching the clouds gather and the birds’ scatter contemplating what would happen when it finally arrived with us, when George fatefully remarked that he’d seen the ship weather worse.

That evening we were forced to move the van behind the outhouse with the wind driving so hard that the rain was not falling from the sky but lashing from the horizon. Only a couple of hours were spent in the van before we heard the excited cries of George at our door, barely audible above the din. After some consideration we stepped out from the safety of home to brave the storm. It’s not like getting wet and dirty when you have a house with a hot shower and clean towels on hand, in the van if you have mud on the bottom of your shoes it seems to proliferate and find it’s way in to everything. This was however one of those times that was worth getting wet and dirty for, seeing a ship wreck happen before our eyes and realizing that there was nothing anyone could do. For the second time that day we all stood with the Pacific as the backdrop this time in the middle of the storm, contemplating what was destined for the ship as the night wore on. The blue of the tranquil ocean now replaced with black waves and white foam of the ferocious night.

In the morning the storm had passed as suddenly as it had arrived and we were first down to survey the damage. R.I.P The Lunker.

We were now stranded in Erendira due to the fact that the rain had turned the roads in to mud slides, so it was time to get some more painting done…

Thanks again to George, Debbie and Ira.

 

We set off for Santo Tomas in the early afternoon, permitting ourselves plenty of time for the drive and a quick stop at wal-mart to stock up our supplies, where there were loads of the biggest cars you could ever see, known as trophy trucks. We were in the middle of one of Baja’s finest moments a race called the Baja 1000.

 We hadn’t heard anything about Santo Tomas we just liked the look of the location on our trusty Baja map. I wish I could say that it was all plain sailing, however when you’re travelling it is very rarely the case. When we took our exit off the main highway there was all of about 10 metres of tarmac before we hit a dirty, dusty and bumpy stretch of 33 km track. This meant we could go no faster than about 10km/hr, now I’m no math wiz but it didn’t take long to realize that a 30 minute drive was now going to take over 3 hours. The further we drove the higher the mountains rose around us and the lower the sun sank and once again in spite of our efforts we were destined to arrive after dark.

 Driving in Mexico after nightfall is so dangerous because the roads are in such bad repair, but mainly because the cattle roam free and there are an abundance of black cows willing to write your car off.

The Mexicans definitely don’t seem to know too much about battery farming. We kept on driving in the dark as we had gone way too far to turn back, Matt wanted to pull up in a lay-by and set up camp but with me living constantly on the edge of a horror film there was absolutely no chance of that. We finally came to the end of the road where we were greeted by a gate and after a few minutes a friendly Mexican fisherman who could speak no English whatsoever, but was however happy to let us sleep on his land. We drove as far to the edge as I felt safe (to Matt’s dismay still quite away off) and parked up. Getting out of the van saw the sky open up above us and reveal more stars in one eye blink than I’ve seen combined in my life, it was quite honestly stunning and couldn’t help but make you wonder what lies out there beyond the short reach of our imagination and even shorter reach of our intellect. Baja has one of the best observation points for star gazing, so much so that NASA are reported to be building a second observation tower. Daybreak didn’t disappoint either and when we awoke it was like waking up at the worlds end so we made our breakfast and ate like we were the only people in the world. 

 We were lucky to have stocked up as there was nothing in Santo Tomas except for a couple of shacks where the local fishermen lived. Had this not been the case what you are now reading could quite easily have been the last update for the view, the peace, the paining and the company were idyllic.

At night we would make a campfire, where for the first time at 33 years old I discovered the simple pleasure of toasting marshmallows.

 Well with no more food or drink left it’s time to “vamos” with the seemingly not-so simple task of daylight driving.

 

I was lucky enough to get to do my first oil painting with Jeff Gogue when he visited my studio in 2007. Since then I have been hooked and have been over to Oregon to visit him several times now, attending his workshops and staying with his beautiful family. I have also been very lucky to paint with Sean Barber in Ohio and I attended one of his workshops in 2009 at The Paradise Tattoo Gathering. Painting has definitely got into my bloodstream as tattooing did many years ago, and it has become as much of a passion for me as tattooing is.

Below you will find each collection of paintings. As you will see some are still in progress but they will be full collections so please keep checking back to see new paintings that are added. There will be links on how to buy prints and the original paintings very soon!

I am currently travelling around Central America in a camper van so this means all the beautiful places I go are inspiring me in different ways and I am getting to paint in some unusual locations!

 

 

Characters captured in their True Colour.

 

I really wanted to paint portraits of my friends and try to show their diverse characters. This is the first in the series, I am still working on this project so keep checking back for new paintings.

 

“see no evil...”

 

This is one of my closest friends. The very beautiful, clever and funny Miss Rosa.

ORIGINAL FOR SALE. 16x20 inches, Oil on canvas board.

This painting will be on display in Milan in February 2010.

PRINTS AVAILABLE SOON.

 

 

A parent's wandering heart.

 

“Owen. Cinco.”

ORIGINAL OR SALE. 16x20 inches, Oil on canvas board.

PRINTS AVAILABLE SOON.

 

 

“Sophie’s hope.”

 

ORIGINAL SOLD. 16x20 inches, Oil on canvas board.

PRINTS AVAILABLE SOON.

 

 

Fear to Fury.

“Keeping loved ones close”

In times of crisis it’s easy to turn on the ones closest to us but this is only because we hope that they see us the clearest. We all need a shoulder to cry on, everyone needs a hand up every once and a while and when doubt creeps in we welcome the comfort of reassuring words from trusted lips. There never has been, nor will there ever be a cause that’s worth fighting that can be won by a lone soul.

This painting was done as part of a charity auction in California to raise money for children with cancer.

ORIGINAL SOLD. 40x30 inches. Oil on canvas.

PRINTS AVAILABLE SOON (with all profits going to the same charity).

 

“Wearing his heart on his face."

Height in feet, reach in inches, age in years, record in wins losses and draws, it all tells you what type of man the fighter is but not what type of fighter he is. In a fight it is the uncountable that counts, in an equally matched bout it is the man with the greatest heart who shall triumph. When the mind is beat and the body exhausted it’s our heart that pushes us on, there are no limits to what a person will do to fight for the love that lives in their heart. 

 

ORIGINAL FOR SALE.  40x60 inches. Oil on canvas.

PRINTS AVAILABLE SOON.

 

Dia De Los Muertos.

I was lucky enough to spend Dia De Los Muertos in Mexico in 2009. It is a festival held in October every year where the Mexicans celebrate the lives of loved ones they have lost. I was interested in The Day of the Dead festival due to a lot of the imagery being carried over into tattooing and after witnessing the magic of it first hand it inspired me to do a series of paintings which I am still working on.

“Sweetest decline.”

ORIGINAL FOR SALE.  40x30 inches. Oil on canvas.

This painting will be on display in Milan in February 2010 and is part o the Cranial Visions project.

PRINTS AVAILABLE SOON.

 

“Beauty is a cruel mistress.”

ORIGINAL FOR SALE. 18x24 inches. Oil on canvas.

PRINTS AVAILABLE SOON.

 

“Dia De Los Muertos 1.

ORIGINAL FOR SALE. 16x20 inches, Oil on canvas board.

PRINTS AVAILABLE SOON.

 

Lucky for some.

This series of paintings was inspired by a painting seminar I attended by Sean Barber at The Paradise Tattoo Gathering in USA. They are part of a painting project that was to see 13 artists’ complete 13 portraits in 13 weeks. Check out our myspace page if you would like to see the paintings other people have done http://www.myspace.com/13luckyforsome13

 

“The apple of my eye.”

This is a painting of my boyfriend and best friend Matt. It is a mixture of pictures from our travels but mainly based on one of our many surf trips to beautiful Wales.

ORIGINAL NOT FOR SALE. 16x20 inches, Oil on canvas board.

PRINTS AVAILABLE SOON.

 

“Me, We.”

A self-portrait, this was really fun to do.

ORIGINAL SOLD. 16x20 inches, Oil on canvas board.

PRINTS AVAILABLE SOON.

 

‘God in the eyes of a child.’

My Mom and my biggest Hero. She is such a strong woman, bringing up two children on her own. She taught me the value of working hard, the strength a woman can have and the importance of a strong family. She taught me right from wrong and has shown me more love and support than I could have ever dreamed of through everything I have done.

ORIGINAL NOT FOR SALE. 16x20 inches, Oil on canvas board.

PRINTS AVAILABLE SOON.

 

“On the shoulders of giants.”

This is a painting of Dolly Parton. I admire her a lot; she comes from a very poor background and is completely self made. She does a lot for the place she comes from and is a very generous lady. More people should be more like her.

ORIGINAL FOR SALE. 16x20 inches, Oil on canvas board.

PRINTS AVAILABLE SOON.

 

“Sweet like fudge but with a few nuts.”

I met Patty whilst travelling through Baja Mexico. She is a Dr of Herbology and into alternative medicines. She is a really quiet, gentle and kind lady.

ORIGINAL FOR SALE. 16x20 inches, Oil on canvas board.

PRINTS AVAILABLE SOON.

 

“Chalk and cheese.”

This painting is of George Lanning. He is such a generous person, he opened up his home to my boyfriend and I while we were travelling Baja, Mexico. We stayed in our camper van on his land overlooking the Pacific and we were all sad to say goodbye. George is an old school surfer and surfboard shaper, credited with being one of the first people to surf The Pipeline. Some people at first glance may seem like they have nothing in common but true friendship goes beyond gender, age or race barriers and this friendship is one that will last a lifetime. People are not always as different to you as they may first appear. Matt and I would like to extend our thanks again to George for his kindness and hospitality, and look forward to seeing him and his dogs again soon. 

ORIGINAL NOT FOR SALE. 16x20 inches, Oil on canvas board.

PRINTS AVAILABLE SOON.

 

“Lucky for some.”

Matt Hunt is one of my oldest friends and my business partner at Modern Body Art. It was a honour to do this painting of him.

ORIGINAL FOR SALE. 16x20 inches, Oil on canvas board.

 PRINTS AVAILABLE SOON.

 

“The test of courage comes when you are in the minority, the test of tolerance comes when you are in the majority.”

I met Alex at Portland tattoo convention and as soon as I saw him I wanted to paint him. He is a really gently spoken, friendly guy who was a real pleasure to paint.

ORIGINAL FOR SALE. 16x20 inches, Oil on canvas board.

PRINTS AVAILABLE SOON.

 

“Where there’s life there’s hope.”

I was so happy to do this painting of my friend Fran and her beautiful daughter Poppy. I have known Fran for many years now as she has been a customer of mine for a long time and I have loved spending time with her every time I have seen her. She is one of the kindest, genuine and most beautiful people I have had the pleasure of knowing, and her daughter Poppy is just stunning.

ORIGINAL SOLD. 16x20 inches, Oil on canvas board.

PRINTS AVAILABLE SOON.

 

“Like a fine wine.”

This is a portrait of my Nan Harrison. A fine wine gets better with age but she is getting better seemingly without aging.

ORIGINAL SOLD. 16x20 inches, Oil on canvas board.

PRINTS AVAILABLE SOON.

 

“Thick as thieves.”

These are my awesome nephews Benn and Sam, always getting in to mischief. I think this picture does a good job of capturing the character of the dynamic duo! And I won best portrait painting at the San Diego Tattoo convention for this painting while it was still wet!

ORIGINAL NOT FOR SALE. 16x20 inches, Oil on canvas board.

PRINTS AVAILABLE SOON.

 

“Friends you haven’t met yet.”

I met this guy at Los Angeles airport waiting to board the plane to Las Vegas. He is a singer in a band from Milan.

ORIGINAL FOR SALE. 16x20 inches, Oil on canvas board.

PRINTS AVAILABLE SOON.

 

“All work and no play.”

Rosie is the engine and the oil of Modern Body Art keeping it running, and very smoothly at that.

ORIGINAL NOT FOR SALE. 16x20 inches, Oil on canvas board.

PRINTS AVAILABLE SOON.

 

Reflections of the Soul.

 

 

“Protection.”

 

This is my boyfriend and best friend Matt Roberts. This picture was taken whilst on one of our many adventures; it was in Hawaii on a beach at sunset. I love this picture, I am so happy with how it turned out.

ORIGINAL NOT FOR SALE. 

NO PRINTS FOR SALE.

 

“The Pacemaker.”

 

This painting is of my very good friend Dennis Pase. We work together a lot and I always have so much fun hanging out with him. This picture captures him perfectly.

ORIGINAL FOR SALE.

On display at Modern Body Art, UK.

PRINTS AVAILABLE SOON.

 

“Windows.”

 

This painting is of Carson Hill, a super talented tattooist from USA.

ORIGINAL SOLD.

PRINTS AVAILABLE SOON.

 

“Unlucky for some!”

 

A self-Portrait. Not many people know that I was born on Friday 13^th!

ORIGINAL FOR SALE.

On display at Modern Body Art, UK.

PRINTS AVAILABLE SOON.

 

“Nine.”

 

This painting is of Jeff Gogue’s son Andrew. I think it captures perfectly the spirit in every nine year old and their sense of adventure.

ORIGINAL FOR SALE.

On display at Modern Body Art, UK.

PRINTS AVAILABLE SOON.

 

“Sean.”

 

This painting is of the very talented Sean Herman. He is a great tattooist, a good friend of mine and a pleasure to paint.

ORIGINAL FOR SALE.

On display at Modern Body Art, UK.

PRINTS AVAILABLE SOON.

 

“Tainted Love.”

 

I had just met Alfred when I took this picture. It was taken in a dingy hotel room whilst he was getting tattooed in a rather sensitive place (I was the photographer, not the tattooist thankfully).

ORIGINAL FOR SALE.

On display at Modern Body Art, UK.

PRINTS AVAILABLE SOON.

 

“Boys don’t cry.”

 

This is a friend of mine, Dan Smith. I really wanted to paint him as he is such a kind person and I hoped to capture that in this painting of his eyes.

ORIGINAL SOLD.

PRINTS AVAILABLE SOON.

 

“Witness.”

 

This was a lady I met whilst on holiday in Bali. She has only seen the sun set along the shores of this beautiful island, but she has seen so much more than that in her lifetime.

ORIGINAL FOR SALE.

On display at Modern Body Art, UK.

PRINTS AVAILABLE SOON.

 

“Enlightenment.”

 

This painting is of my good friend Ian Carder. He is a fun, hard working and genuine guy. Thanks for always looking after me.

ORIGINAL SOLD.

PRINTS AVAILABLE SOON.

 

“Masquerade.”

 

ORIGINAL FOR SALE.

Framed and on display at Modern Body Art, UK.

PRINTS AVAILABLE SOON.

 

“The old familiar sting.”

 

I took this photo when I was tattooing a client and did the painting from that. He was getting a portrait of

ORIGINAL FOR SALE.

Framed and on display at Modern Body Art, UK.

PRINTS AVAILABLE SOON.

 

“Two 7 off suit.”

 

This painting is of my friend Grant Churchill. I loved doing this painting, it really meant a lot to me to be able to do this.

ORIGINAL FOR SALE.

Framed and on display at Modern Body Art, UK.

PRINTS AVAILABLE SOON.

 

“In my bloodstream.”

 

This is my first self-portrait. This painting was part of an exhibition put on by Magnum Opus called Unplugged and will be in a book soon by the same name.

ORIGINAL FOR SALE.

On display at Modern Body Art, UK.

PRINTS AVAILABLE SOON.

 

“The youngest old guy.”

 

The painting of Misha was the first in this series. I loved painting this so much, I found painting peoples eyes so fascinating and personal that it kept my interest keen and I was inspired to do a whole series of eye paintings from this one.

ORIGINAL FOR SALE.

Framed and on display at Modern Body Art, UK.

PRINTS AVAILABLE SOON.

 

 

My first oil Paintings.

These are some of my first oil paintings done in 2008. I have included some of these in the hope to inspire others to pick up a brush and give it a try. I don’t have copies of all of them but when I can get them I will put them up too.

 

 

“Private Hell.”

 

PAINTING FOR SALE.

Framed and on display at Gogue Art, Oregon. USA.

NO PRINTS AVAILABLE.

 

“Skeletons of society.”

 

PAINTING FOR SALE.

Framed and on display at Gogue Art, Oregon. USA.

 NO PRINTS AVAILABLE.

 

“Discarded.”

 

PAINTING SOLD.

NO PRINTS AVAILABLE.

We set off from Rosarito with no destination in mind we both just felt that it was time to get our boards wet again and apparently there’s no shortage of waves down the next section of coast.  Just 30 mins south bound on our travels and we happened upon a surf shop where we were able to stock up on ding repair kits (just in case) and a new pair of booties for Matt. The shop overlooked the ocean and as we looked down it was breaking perfectly. There is a stretch of reef breaks here from El Morro to K38-1/2, which we were told used to be super crowded, but with so many Americans now apprehensive to venture south of the boarder it made for a rather nice un-crowded line up. It was mainly due to this and the fact we stayed on a nice friendly site (Roberto’s) backing on to the surf that we found it difficult to leave.

I’m not sure how long we stayed there in the end, when you’re travelling it’s impossible to keep track of time in seconds, minutes, hours and days so the way I keep track is by knowing that I got 3 paintings done (2 lucky for some and 1 Dia de los Muertos)…

 

 

a lot of surfing…

 

 

some exploring…

 

 

numerous sunsets…

 

 

Oh and I may have started a little tattoo! ;)

 

 

 Keep checking up on my travels and we will catch up soon :)

 

I was asked by Sally from Total Tattoo magazine to document the initial part of my trip in to Mexico, covering the celebration of Dia de los Muertos known in the U.K as Day of the Dead. We both agreed that this would be an interesting topic for an article she could publish due to a lot of the symbology being used in tattooing. The following are extracts from the upcoming article.

“We left the Halloween celebrations behind and the San Diego convention early on the Sunday to make it through the Mexican border and try to get to Rosarito in daylight. We had heard a lot of horror stories about Mexico right now, a lot of people had told us not to go at all and how it is unsafe to arrive somewhere in the dark as there was a lot of trouble with gangs and corrupt police, especially around the border cities. My boyfriend and I drove through the border in our new camper van, it was the scariest border crossing I have ever done! There were military armed guards all over and they pulled us aside to search the van. With us speaking almost no Spanish, them speaking even less English it could have led to difficulties in understanding one another. Some language however is universal, so with a machine gun pointing and gesturing us out of the van we had no trouble complying. Once out we opened the van to let them search it, hardly any words were exchanged, it didn’t take them long but the weirdest thing was they didn’t even check our passports or tell us to buy the tourist visa, luckily Matt had read a lot about Mexico and knew to get one or else we would have been in a lot of trouble later! After sorting out van insurance and all the visas it was getting dark and we still had to drive to Rosarito! We arrived in the dark despite our plans not to and decided it would be safer to check into a Motel then go and find the celebrations, so that’s what we did!”

“Dia de los Muertos is a holiday celebrated by Latin Americans where families and friends all gather together to pray, remember and celebrate the lives of family members and friends that have died…Its origins can be traced back as far as 2500-3000 years, when Aztec or Mayan people kept skulls as trophies and displayed them during rituals to symbolize death and rebirth, in the pre-Hispanic era…Many people also believe that Dia de los Muertos items can bring good luck and they often get tattoos or carry dolls of the dead with them...”

If you’re interested and would like to read more about our time at the festival or the history and development of Dia de los Muertos it will be in the shops January 2010 in Total Tattoo magazine.

With a farewell Mexican dinner to get us in to the mood for our up coming adventure we left Jeff’s and headed west on Route 101. This is a beautiful drive that takes you from inland Oregon to the shores of North California passing through the some stunning Redwood forests.

There are so many beautiful natural wonders to take your eyes off the road it can be difficult to concentrate behind the wheel (well for Matt anyway). Nestled in along route 101 at the back of a forest is a wood carving store. It’s by far one of the most interesting shops you’ll enter, there are tree houses the size of flats, wood sculptures that’d baffle Gepetto Pinocchio’s creator/father and odds and sods scattered all over the place such as old clapped out cars. I got a cool pic of one and I think it’s gonna make a great painting.

We were hoping to reach the coast and see a swell pushing in, an off shore wind blowing and the sun beaming down on us (well at least that’s what Matt said I just knew I wanted sun and surf!). However the closer we got the more cloud cover there was and by the time we reached the beach there was no sun, with patches of fog and the wind blowing in the wrong direction.

 

We decided our best bet would be to just keep on truckin and see what happened. About an hour south the rain started and it turned in to a complete downpour so we parked up in the back of a retail park at the next town and cuddled up for the night. The next morning I picked up some art supplies and we set off for the very hilly San Francisco where I was due to tattoo a friend. The rain didn’t let up for the 9 hour journey and we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge in the dark. When we finally got into San Francisco, lets just say the TomTom decided to take us the scenic route! But for all our troubles we did get to spend the night with the most beautiful view over the city in the car park of the Coit Tower. This was conveniently located near the Little Italy area of the city and after a five minute walk from our parking place we were sitting comfortably in The Stinking Rose.

No trip to San Fran would be complete without a trip to Alcatraz. We boarded the boat and as soon as we docked the other side and set foot on Alcatraz you really knew this place had a story to tell. The pictures don’t do this place justice and neither can I; this was the most feared prison in America which housed the most feared criminals from Al Capone to The Bird Man.

From the cells of Alcatraz we left San Francisco behind and headed down the coast in the hope of improved weather. We drove until the sun had long slid down beyond the horizon but even in the dark the beauty at the beginning of the Saint Lucia range was apparent so we decided to hunker down at the next appropriate place.

One of the problems with arriving places to stay after nightfall is that you’re never quite sure what you’re sleeping next too. The dark disguises a lot of unwanted characteristics for a night sleeping under the stars.

We pulled in off the highway and entered a campsite welcoming us to Big Sur, all I know is that it was really dark and in every shadow I’m sure there was something ready to pounce on me and no amount of persuasion from Matt could convince me it was in my head (I had to use the boys toilet so Matt could protect me)! However when we awoke the next morning we were in the middle of a beautiful forest within earshot of a rushing stream, clearly all the monsters sleep during the day but I had survived the night to share this story with you, haha! This site had everything you could want, including a playground just for us.

After a quick work out, shower and feed it was back on the move and I don’t know how else to describe it other that beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. The road is cut in to the hillside with a jagged edge up one side, to the azure sky, and down the other side to the rolling sapphire waves of the Pacific.

As the day strolled on the weather began to drop off but this was of little concern as we were greeted with this on several of the beaches…

We eventually arrived at Pismo beach where we had a great wine testing night with fantastic music at The Boardroom and saw the start of our incredible sunsets down the west coast.

All the way down the beautiful vista followed us and constantly gave us photo opportunities.

When we got to Santa Barbra I bought my first surfboard and gave it a test run at a nice mellow point break, it was soooo much fun and we ended up staying out until sunset. With all the surfing we were exhausted and so pulled up in a residential area ready for a good nights kip. Turns out the people around there were a little paranoid and someone called the police on us, believe me it’s not nice to be woken up by the banging of metal on metal inches from your resting ear and unwanted light illuminating your previous dark and quiet den! 1.30 AM and we’re on the road looking for somewhere else to lay down.

If I’m meeting people I like to be there early, if I’m catching a plane, train or bus then even earlier. Matt on the other hand works on something I’ve come to know as Island time, so with Matt being the driver and going to meet his friends in L.A I’m not joking when I say we are already two days late. However even Matt’s starting to rush a little now as we’re due to meet them so we can all go and watch a UFC fight. With some haphazard driving we made it to their hostel just in time and geared up for the night with a whiskey. I really enjoyed the fight and everyone had a great night.

Whilst in Venice I finished this painting off for the lucky for some project. We really enjoyed Venice and there are some characters there nuttier than squirrel shit.

Whilst we were in LA with Matt’s friends we thought it’d be a good idea to head to Magic Mountain, we’d already been once before and had such an amazing time. If you ever want to be scared out of your mind this is the place to come. With the tickets paid for we hit the road early to beat the traffic and the queues… turns out we needn’t had bothered as it was closed for maintenance! We were all gutted :(

It was decided we’d sleep off our disappointment and head south for sun soaked San Diego. It was then with two people in the back of the van crouched on the floor, no registration and still no insurance that the police pulled us over, we couldn’t believe the luck that had run with us so far had finally run out of gas. The officer came over and was extremely bolshie, but after a couple of minutes of small talk he was our best friend telling us how his wife gets her tits when they’re in Mexico to get free sea food off passing boats. With this said he didn’t push for our documents or check the van he was just happy with a couple of pairs of ears that were more than eager to listen. Looks like our luck still has a little left in the tank otherwise it’d have been straight to a cell for Matt with a don’t pass go and don’t collect $200!

San Diego was not a let down. We ended up staying in a suburb call Ocean Beach, the weather was good, the people nice and the parking free on the beachfront without police hassling you. We purchased our second skateboard and used them everyday either for getting around or a little workout. The surf was good and as you can see I got to paint in some beautiful locations, but before I got to comfortable it was time to get back to work, this time at La Palooza Tattoo Convention. It was quite quiet with a lot of people not getting too much work. There was a couple of painting competitions so with the oil still fresh on the canvas I entered and took home 1^st prize ;) With us moving on south for Day of the Dead in Mexico and Matt’s friends heading to Vegas I dressed up for Halloween and we all got completely trashed, which of course meant that drunk tattoos seemed like a great idea again. Well Mexico here we come!

 

 

 

I haven't given you any news for a while, sorry guys I have been so busy traveling! Here is some exciting news for you all......

I am currently on tour around central and south America until Long Beach Convention, LA in June 2010. check out my new tour dates on the conventions section of my site. Also check out m new diary updates.

Whilst traveling I have been painting A LOT and I have a whole new art gallery so please check it out and prints will be available soon to order from the artwork section of my site.

My Flashbook is now for sale through the Shop section of my site, its a bound book with all the flash i have ever done plus a lot more. the first 1000 books are signed and numbered so order early.

 

Out of the frying pan of Vegas and in to the fire of getting to Portland. We arrived back in LA late on Wednesday night and with the van due to be ready the next day it was set to be a leisurely 1000 mile drive over the course of the next 2 days. However like all good plans we didn’t leave until gone 10 o’clock that night and with Matt falling asleep at the wheel we only got a couple of hours out of LA. We pulled over in a truck stop and it was exciting to spend our first night sleeping in our new home, especially as it was only furbished about 12 hours ago. This meant a monster drive on Friday as well as missing the first day of the show. We did all we could to keep each other occupied and our minds off the miles that needed covering (It’s not nice when your TomTom has your next, but not your last exit as 412miles!) which much to Matt’s horror included my singing. As luck would have it just as we needed rejuvenating and decided to pull over for some lunch a friendly American decided to rear end us!! Don’t worry we were in the van and not the toilets so it could have been worse. Maybe not the case for the other car though as it was a complete write off, so with details exchanged and barely a scratch to show for our troubles we were back on the asphalt and heading for the state boarder before the long reach of the law caught up to us.

 

We finally started to see the signs for Portland come in to a reasonable range (Matt had to turn the TomTom off as he found it too disheartening) and made it to the hotel just in time to have dinner with everyone else and most importantly catch last orders. So when everyone retired from the bar to their room my boy and I retired to our van and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

On the Saturday I had a guy booked in that I had started in Sacramento and is the only full sleeve I am doing at the moment in America. I’m really enjoying working on this and it’s shaping up to be one of my faves. One more session should see it completed.

 

 

I was really pleased to be able to fit this one in at the end of the convention, which also ensured that I was true to form in being one of the last tattooing, with everyone packing up around me. This was much to the inconvenience of James Kern whose table I was using.

 

 

During our time in Portland we had a few nights out, some better than others. We had a fantastic meal on the recommendation of one of my customers at The Portland City Bar and Grill with the best view over the city. It was certainly one of the more interesting evenings we had starting with the taxi driver that picked us up, he looked like a ginger Grizzly Adams. He then proceeded to tell us how Portland City had a thriving sex industry, which of course he hastened to add knew none of this first hand but through his “friends”. After dinner we went to Dantes that is a cabaret/strip club on the recommendation of numerous people and yes that does of course include our friend Grizzly. We were not disappointed it was an amazing show that was put on, from comedy duos and fire breathing to the amazing Blaze that I can only compare to a cross between Bruce Lee and Demi Moore in Striptease. Just your average Sunday night in Portland.

With our time in Portland done after some much needed retail therapy (and a few art gallery visits) it was time to head back South to Jeff’s place, but not before stopping by the infamous Voodoo Doughnuts to pick some treats up for the family. Matt particularly liked the cream filled cock and balls doughnut ;) Driving around this part of the world isn’t nearly as mundane as it could be, then again I’m used to driving around Birmingham.

 

 

I’d like to say it was a nice change to go to Jeff’s and just paint, but that’s all I seem to do there anyway. It’s such a great studio with loads of space to spread everything out, including my paint over the floor and walls as Jeff pointed out to me from last time. Whoops. Sorry Jeff.  While I was painting Matt busied himself with getting the van sorted, don’t worry though girls I kept a close eye on him and despite getting 2 paintings done, still had time to give him a lesson in how to use a saw.

 

 

 

One of the paintings I completed was the first for the art project “Lucky for Some”, it’s of my trusty assistant Rosie.