OK, might as well come clean amongst friends... yes, I have quite a bit of carefully thought out and planned tattoo work devoted to aviation. It is covered by my clothes for professional purposes, but I am very proud of the artwork and the progress so far, so here goes:
This thigh piece was influenced by the Bendix Trophy... if you know the actual design of the trophy, you'll notice this is like "if the trophy came alive". The head shot is Jackie Cochran... Done by Chris Dingwell, Sanctuary Tattoo - Portland, ME
This left lower back piece was designed as the start of the whole back project. The image was taken and adapted from a 1927 Airshow Program cover artwork. She represents "The Spirit of Propulsion" one of the two positive forces that makes flight possible. Again, done by Chris Dingwell - Sanctuary Tattoo, Portland, ME.
This whole back project (which is very much NOT done yet) is the continuation of the lower back piece shown above. The central figure in the image is Icarus falling from the sky (uncolored at this point). Obviously the orange mass at the top left is the sun... and the photo doesn't do it justice at all. Very subtle colors and very vibrant. Next to it, on the center top and right side is the "Spirit of Lift", the other positive force that makes flight possible to balance the Spirit of Propulsion. She is adapted from the often used Vargas art that can be seen on many noses of planes (B-25 "Special Delivery" for one). She is in front of the 1894 Otto Lillienthal glider, one of the first practical and often flown glider designs. Of course the middle and lower parts aren't done yet, and you can barely see Daedalus at the lower right. Again, done by Chris Dingwell - Sanctuary Tattoo, Portland, ME. Excuse the back hair... I am born of bigfoot blood.
Before anyone jumps to judgement, I will say that I have been working on this project for about 4 years now... over 60 hours of work. Before that, I developed the design and researched the artist over 7 years time. I have long enjoyed the artform much as anyone would in painting or sculpture. Just because it is on skin doesn't make it any less difficult or requiring skill or inspiration on behalf of the artist, so it is very similar to classical artforms. Tattooing, though often stereotyped as being deviant, has been used by many cultures and generations long before our time as a right of passage and a mark of distinguishment. The artform is very unique and has range far from the biker, military, or deviant stereotypes that the 20th Century has portrayed it as. My work is very well hidden when in public and I am not going to go beyond its current hidden form. In fact, this is really the first time I have shown it on a larger scale... I just wanted to explain the reasoning behind it all.
Ryan K
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