New, first tattoo, back piece

General tattoo discussion

Moderators: buttwheat, sidelvar, kohlhaas, EvilJay, Sphenoid, SharpTattoos

saskpirate
Posts: 16
Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2011 7:21 am

Mon Jun 13, 2011 7:49 am

My new tattoo! ( excuse the redness on the first one it was taken the day of )

I have been toying around with this idea for about 3 or 4 years now, originally designed by me but modified a little bit by my tattoo artist friends

the text is an excerpt of a J.R.R Tolkein quote that goes

“All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost; the old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost.

I have lived in Australia as a volunteer. And have for 3 1/2 years. During that time I have not stayed just in one place, I have been up and down the east coast and up several times to Papua New Guinea, into Thailand and Burma. I dont think I have stayed put for over 4 months in this 3 year span. and dont plan on buckling down long term any time soon…
I guess you can say I have aquired a healthy case of what they call ” wander lust ”

I believe Tolkien in this poem is saying that things are not always as they first appear, nor should you assume that things will stay as they first appear to be.

so this is a reminder, and to signify that I am merely a wanderer with a purpose. I may seem to jump from here to there and back again, aimlessly chasing my whims. But in fact, my roots run deeper than they appear…even if they don’t keep me stuck in one place or opinion for too long. and im actively gaining a perception of things outside of what I would normally know.

The things I have learned while apparantly wandering around and working for free. are some of the most precious things I will ever have in my life. My preceptions of the world, knowledge of different cultures, my love for people and my relationship with God have drastically changed and through it all have gained a new passion for life.






http://www.flickr.com/photos/saskatchew ... hotostream

http://www.flickr.com/photos/saskatchew ... hotostream





[/url]
User avatar
flyangler
Hardcore
Posts: 1088
Joined: Mon Jul 27, 2009 10:30 pm

Mon Jun 13, 2011 11:12 am

Are you looking for a critique of your tattoo or just showing it off?
User avatar
Animosity
Hardcore
Posts: 1033
Joined: Sat Sep 18, 2010 6:44 pm

Mon Jun 13, 2011 11:21 am

Not the worst first piece I've seen..but certainly nowhere near the best (this is me being considerate and nice)
User avatar
Animosity
Hardcore
Posts: 1033
Joined: Sat Sep 18, 2010 6:44 pm

Mon Jun 13, 2011 11:23 am

On the plus side, I do enjoy the quote, have been considering it myself for years, but it's been popping up in tattoo form awfully frequently recently.
User avatar
Pencil2Print
Posts: 55
Joined: Sun May 29, 2011 11:06 pm

Mon Jun 13, 2011 11:26 am

"Wander are Lost" bit of the quote is the first part I see. Looks backwards to me, lol.
The letters don't look very straight either..

I like the star bit of the compass though
User avatar
alois71x
Posts: 20
Joined: Thu Sep 23, 2010 12:51 am

Mon Jun 13, 2011 12:02 pm

I read the "wander are lost" as the first part. We are trained to read from left to right and top to bottom. The symmetry is totally off.

Whoops.

Hey, at least it isn't a Taz tattoo......
2/10
saskpirate
Posts: 16
Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2011 7:21 am

Mon Jun 13, 2011 5:58 pm

flyangler wrote:Are you looking for a critique of your tattoo or just showing it off?
critique. Im usually happy with her work that iv seen on others. but when I went in she called me in early so she could go home early and seemed really rushed, not too sure if im happy with the result. or the inconsistency with her tattooing
User avatar
yorvo
Hardcore
Posts: 5187
Joined: Sun Jul 22, 2007 3:48 am

Mon Jun 13, 2011 6:21 pm

I'm working on an upper back piece on a girl using the same quote.
User avatar
magnumman
Hardcore
Posts: 2861
Joined: Fri Nov 16, 2007 6:58 pm

Mon Jun 13, 2011 6:24 pm

I like the star portion but to be honest that's about it. I don't like how the rest is done, including the lettering.
saskpirate
Posts: 16
Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2011 7:21 am

Mon Jun 13, 2011 7:18 pm

thats about the same as me. well. nothing i can do about it now right? haha
User avatar
threesixafix
Hardcore
Posts: 2712
Joined: Sun Mar 08, 2009 8:51 pm

Mon Jun 13, 2011 9:31 pm

its not bad...what are the things on the sides? continents? the one on the right looks kinda like Australlia, the other i have no idea..
saskpirate
Posts: 16
Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2011 7:21 am

Mon Jun 13, 2011 9:58 pm

threesixafix wrote:its not bad...what are the things on the sides? continents? the one on the right looks kinda like Australlia, the other i have no idea..
yeah. its australia and papua new guinea on the bottom right. the top left is Canada ( minus all the islands on the top which im thinking of adding later )
User avatar
Leelaloo
Hardcore
Posts: 290
Joined: Fri Mar 11, 2011 12:50 am

Mon Jun 13, 2011 10:26 pm

yeah. its australia and papua new guinea on the bottom right. the top left is Canada (
That's supposed to be Canada? Really? I'm Canadian too but I never would have guessed that's what that piece of land was supposed to be. Anyway I agree it's not that bad...and like you say, what can you do now, right? Unless you want to cover up the writing I guess it's a matter of just accepting that it could be better, but it could be a lot worse.

Btw, I enjoyed your story behind the significance of this piece a lot, very cool :)
User avatar
buttwheat
Hardcore
Posts: 6661
Joined: Sun Oct 21, 2007 11:24 pm

Mon Jun 13, 2011 10:31 pm

saskpirate wrote: well. nothing i can do about it now right? haha
You can find a better artist to rework it.
Well anyways welcome and congrats on the new ink.
User avatar
threesixafix
Hardcore
Posts: 2712
Joined: Sun Mar 08, 2009 8:51 pm

Mon Jun 13, 2011 10:39 pm

i'd add some more detail to the landS. i hope thats not a fleur de lis on top the compass? it looks freehanded. the compass and witing looks nice though
Post Reply