To me, tattooing is an important way of communicating with myself, part road map to follow and part diary of where I've been. When asked how many tattoos I have, I answer that I don't have tattoos, I am tattooed. This tattoo gallery details my personal tattoo collection. Each individual tattoo is listed, enabling you to reconstruct how I added to my ink over the years. Nearly all my work has been acquired in the state of California, in the city of San Francisco, and just like the cost of living, tattooing is more expensive in this town. I do feel it is easier existing as a tattooed person in SF than other places I have been in the US or the world.
I was first tattooed in the fall of 1989. I had just turned 21. My first three tattoos were exactly five months apart, to the day. The early pieces just happened to be mostly black and white on the left and color on the right, and I have stayed with that somewhat as I have grown my sleeves. The overall shape of my ink at present was described by my friend Maragaret as being "a tattooed shawl" as it wraps my upper arms and shoulders then descends down my chest and the center of my torso.
