It finally happened…after 3 years of phone calls and e-mails I finally had a chance to tattoo Mr.Speto…good friend from the skateboarding days back in the late 80’s….now a established and respected illustrator and grafitti artist belonging to the foundation of the street art scene in Brasil… the sessions were fun and the tattoo scene has now a new and powerful member…

After discussing all the options we had it was decided that the right arm should be the place for his first time under the needle…

I have always thought that if a design is taking too long I should just stop and start again from scratch some other time…it took me 2 days to decide what to do with Speto’s arm , there are no rules to the creative process…the most important is concentration,confidence and patience on both sides…

On the second day after some drama I decide we’re ready to go…

One of the the late night sessions with Led Zeppelin on the background…

Nothing like tracing long straight lines with your machine running on point with perfectly made neddles…for precision and quality the tools “ARE VERY IMPORTANT”…of course on the wrong hands the best equipment means nothing…

A very different type of flow on the inside of the arm…the “leaf” detail has to do with the “earth” element…in my opinion very present on Speto’s own work…

Some more black before I do the final touch on the spirals…

Sometimes the solution to a problem with the flow of the design is realised only after the tattooing process already started, even though to change the lines in the middle of tattooing is a very serious decision that must be taken on the right state of mind to avoid unnecessary drama…you can compare this photo with the 3rd one from the top and understand what I mean…

Speto left my studio very late at night on our last session and I haven’t seen him since….