Fusing together a religious and modern theme, the outer sleeve is fully healed.

We got a good start to a simple angel on the inner bicep. Wrap up to come soon…

Steven’s collection is beginning to mature with the theme of Homer’s “The Odyssey”.

The sleeve focuses on Odysseus and the Sirens during his path home, and the will to overcome temptation and stay the course.

Long hours, long days and many sessions to come.

Speak no evil, see no evil, hear no evil. Session one with Avicii….

Priceless moments and people from the Monarc Pop-up Gallery + Launch event. The bar is raised – the next step of black and grey is here. Thank you Los Angeles and to all 600 + people who came through!

Special thanks to The Well, Taken Wine, Jesse Waits, En Noir, Bestia, and The Social Trust.

Los Angeles we are still in awe from last Thursday night. Humbled and overwhelmed with the amount of love and support for the Monarc Launch event. The line was around the block, overcapacity throughout the Pop – Up Gallery and we could not be any more happier that you guys got the chance to experience the whole transformation of the space. Black & Grey truly took over that night and officially aligned all industries of tattoo, fine art, and design. Very rarely in LA do you see all walks of life from tattoo, fashion, design, entertainment, business and everyone in between come together in one space.

In addition, Monarc Studios debuted a short film at the launch showcasing the story behind the process, directed by The Social Trust. Above is a look at the design and installation, stay tuned for the event photo recap. Thanks again to everyone who came out.

The night will showcase all the recent tattoo collections, with photo displays in collaboration with The Social Trust. As well as a screening of a short film illustrating the story of MONARC.

This is an invite event, to attend please RSVP to rsvp@monarcstudios.com

“Continue in the direction of the Pyramids, and continue to pay heed to the omens. Your heart is still capable of showing you where the treasure is.

What you still need to know is this: before a dream is realized, the Soul of the World tests everything that was learned along the way. It does this not because it is evil, but so that we can, in addition to realizing our dreams, master the lessons we’ve learned as we’ve moved toward that dream. That’s the point at which, as we say in the language of the desert, one ‘dies of thirst just when the palm trees have appeared on the horizon.’

Every search begins with beginner’s luck. And every search ends with the victor’s being severely tested.” – The Alchemist

Stay tuned…

]]> http://monarcstudios.com/blog/nextlevel/feed/ 19 http://monarcstudios.com/blog/signs/ http://monarcstudios.com/blog/signs/#comments Sun, 03 Aug 2014 18:58:13 +0000
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http://70.32.66.8/?p=7228 The only way is forward. Progress with Charles’ project.

The sleeve is based on the three Chinese zodiac symbols of ox, rooster and snake. A healthy challenge in putting a twist to an asian themed collection.

Eyes out for the inner sleeve to come.

Building in the ancient temple gate to the existing healed tiger we recently added.

To see more views of the full collection head to Instagram.

“Regarded by many as the divine spirit that guards the West, people in Korea consider the white tiger as a sacred creature in local folklore. A tiger that has overcome trials and tribulations and understands the world is known to turn white, becoming a white tiger. Although it is a sacred creature that doesn’t harm people, it becomes angry when the ruler of the country conducts evil and inhumane deeds. Therefore, it has been told that powerful people become humble and rich people become generous when a white tiger appears. As such, in Korean history and culture, a tiger is regarded as a guardian that drives away evil spirits and a sacred creature that brings good luck – the symbol of courage and absolute power.”

A nice blend of Bernini and Corradini to seal the inner sleeve.

This is one of those pieces where you can’t underestimate the level of building tones and sculpting the forms without loosing precision.

Alex is just getting started as a collector so we have plenty of sessions ahead.

A nice tie in with Samson and the lion to the existing Moses.

The grind is constant. Eyes out for the wrap up of this collection.

But there’s always room to build and change a common concept into something unique like Rob’s collection.

Another long night to the sunrise, long time studio vet Rob is another crazy one. This session focused on building the blacks, and blocking in the atmosphere to set up for the inner sleeve.

Bright future ahead, stay tuned for the wrap up.

]]> http://monarcstudios.com/blog/angels-and-demons/feed/ 484 http://monarcstudios.com/blog/until-victory/ http://monarcstudios.com/blog/until-victory/#comments Fri, 11 Jul 2014 07:03:25 +0000
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http://70.32.66.8/?p=7156 Jason came through for a short session. Slowly but surely we are making progress to finish the marathon.

The path to glory is paved with pain and sacrifice, but in the end we will prevail. Onward…

Continuing the inner sleeve with the lower addition to the existing upper healed bicep.

Final wrap up with this collection to come. Homestretch!

Michael is back in to make progress with his collection, blocking in the upper sleeve to tie into the existing lower from a previous session.

Inspired by the Roman god of war Mars bust and the Boxer of Quirinal, Michael sat in for a strong back to back sitting.

Another one of those fulfilling sessions for both the work coming full circle, and seeing the client power through all the physical and mental obstacles that’s needed to achieve this scale of work. There’s still a few hours to push the separation and depth, and then it’s onto the inner sleeve.

The tiger profile is enlarged to dominate the bicep in preparation to continue the theme to the lower sleeve. Recently I’ve been working a different glazing process with the tones to push the blacks so I don’t depend on white for accents or highlights. Some pleasing things are happening with pieces like this as a result, where the light has a subtle glowing effect.

Too much fun. Look out for the sleeve to be continued.

Our brother Jason is in rotation for a pass into his inner sleeve. Working our way to completion with the Lion and roses to compliment the outer sleeve of Daniel and the angels.

Kings and leaders aren’t born, they are made. You have to earn your position every day and those who lead best are those who lead from the trenches in the front. Only until you have put in the work and perfected the role how to follow can you emerge as a leader. At that point survival is over and thriving begins. Exciting things ahead.

Times are a changing. Metamorphosis into a new form marking a new era. We’ve gone too far to turn back and by the time we’ve climbed this mountain and journeyed this distance you’ll know that nothing is impossible. A sneak peek…

I’m grateful that all the clients I encounter are warriors. Alex sat through a long one with this first pass to his inner sleeve from top to bottom.

And then another day two for a second run through his outer sleeve.

It’s been a long month and it’s about time. Excited to roll out the things that have been in the works and share a vision that has been evolved into something great. Stay tuned.

We are making progress as we work the inner sleeve. Some nice surprises ahead…

Building on the inspiration of the last of the Five Wounds, the sleeve revolves around the story of Longinus who stabbed Christ on the cross.

With Christian or Catholic themes it’s an easy way out to default to a handful of the same references so it was fulfilling to come-up with a fresh mix and a different depiction of Jesus.

Next session to come is the inner sleeve…

Another one of those long nights, building on the foundation set by the lower sleeve in the previous session.

The teachings of the Buddha hit  home the most for me personally so it was fulfilling to bring this sleeve together.

A few more passes to go.

Stay tuned for another round in London this September. Updates soon to come…

Anyone who’s been to any of the islands of Hawaii will recognize the tiki god of Kanaloa, one of the ancient deities of the original Hawaii.  As well as the turtles, and the state fish that no one can pronounce…

A piece like this is always a fresh challenge in translating vibrant color into tones. Because color in images like fish, turtles, reef etc is so bright that values become muted compared to a strong orange, green or blue for example.

 In a black and grey tattoo, those same values have to rise through to become that color and create tones that reflect the same form. More to come as we begin the inner sleeve.

Progress with James’ collection working in another iteration on Heracles and Athena.

When your able to forget about time and lose yourself in the process, the journey is always the reward…

Taking another twist merging the classic theme with the modern fine line style.

Another long nights work to the marathon, Gerald sat for back to back sessions gliding through each hour.

With this piece I wanted to push the darkness and blacks further and exaggerate the tones to create consistency with the images that are each aesthetically very different.

Another fun and fulfilling session making progress. Next pass in London.

The piece is inspired by the Pergamon altar, Gigantomachy in Berlin and the symbolism of the snake and lion being the focal point.

Translating ruined stone can be tricky when you’re trying to balance clarity and depth. In the case of  the battle of Athena and Alkyoneus there’s a lot of room to improvise that helped shape forms that didn’t exist in the reference.

Sitting for a piece this massive is always a huge challenge for both the client and myself.  The mental process of thinking and composing from the beginning is as important as physically working through the session in tattooing. Big thanks to Jason for being a warrior. Another sitting to come.

Rich is back in to work the inner bicep of his Labours of Hercules sleeve.

Slow and steady wins the race. Almost there with this project.