Go Live Fast~~ Austin Tattoo Convention

Don't forget, it's just around the corner! One of the most fun conventions everrrrr!
Check out the details here and contact me to book an appt asap!

Happy Holidays!

Wishing all my friends and clients the happiest of holidays! Travel safely and enjoy time with family and friends!

For those of you that still need a last minute gift, Baltimore Street Tattoo does offer gift certificates! For those of you that need to get ME a last minute gift, I love amazon and spafinder gift certs and you can find links to purchase here on my site.

Thank you!

I wanted to take a minute to thank you all for your continued support.  My appointment book is starting to fill up and I only have a few spots left in December.  It's come to my attention that some of you who have called Little Vinnies Tattoos looking for me are being told that another artist can/will finish your existing work.  I'm sorry you are hearing this.  It's not coming from me and it was not my choice to leave there.  If you have unfinished work, simply contact me to schedule an appointment and please spread the word that I have moved on, but only just up the road to Baltimore Street Tattoo in Westminster.  Thank you and happy holidays!

oh and p.s....

I'm done w/construction on www.bethkennedytattoo.com so please.. enjoy!

Now taking appointments!

I am very pleased to announce that I will be working as an appointment only artist at Baltimore Street Tattoo in Westminster, Md.  I will be scheduling for Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays between the hours of 1pm and 8pm.  You can contact me directly to schedule and call the shop if you need more info, directions, etc.  It may take me a few weeks to get into a scheduling groove, so please be patient, and I thank you in advance for your continued support.  

I'm really looking forward to seeing you all on a regular basis again!  I will not be available for walk in tattoos, but I will do my best to accommodate whenever possible if you walk in when I'm in between appointments and I have the time to make it work.  I may not necessarily be in the shop if I do not have an appt scheduled, so please don't just drop by expecting to see me.  I suggest you call first or email me to schedule a consultation.

Please spread the word! xo

Attention~ Important Update!

Ladies and gentlemen, it is with a sad heart that I share this news with you.  I am no longer with Little Vinnies Tattoos.  If you have an upcoming appointment scheduled with me, please contact me here and we can discuss further details.  When I have more info, I will post here.  I deeply apologize for any inconvenience this has or will cause any of my clients, but unfortunately, this was a sudden surprise for me, as well. 

Site Makeover

I'm redoing my website.. please don't peek while I'm working on it ;)  I will announce here when it's ready. xox
edited on 1/2/12: It's ready, you can peek now ;)

Leaving My Mark...

My supah sweet client , Emily, sent me this pic today~ She's on vacation and has left my card at Captain Tony's Saloon in Key West, where you can leave anything you want stapled to the wall! Fun!  Maybe someone will see it and tell Jimmy Buffet about the tattoo I did that was themed around him! 

"If we couldn't laugh, we'd all go insane"

Erasing Her Past

I had the pleasure of meeting a lovely young lady from Saudi Arabia last week.  She was in town to have surgery at Hopkins and was referred to us to have some tattoo work done over her scars.  She was very badly burned over most of her body as a small child and had been having yearly surgeries as an attempt to "fix" the burns. 
Ironically, most of her body was also covered in a burka, so all I noticed was her beautiful face.  Really, she was stunning.  She expressed that she loved tattoos even though they are forbidden in her country for religious reasons with the exception of a tiny window that allows Muslims to get tattooed for medical reasons or to cover scars.  As she slowly peeled off the layers of dark fabric she was swathed in, I inspected the texture of her skin and sighed.  This was definitely going to be a challenge. 
She expressed an interest in a floral piece that incorporated traditional Mehndi designs but with more realistic looking flowers.  I looked her in the eye and told her not to worry, she was a beautiful girl and I was going to make her even MORE beautiful.   Since she was only in town for a week, we had to move fast and agreed to start the very next day.
I designed a huge piece to go on her thigh which seemed to have some of the most workable skin.  It was a large tiger lily with a few hibiscus flowers and mehndi swirly accents.  She sat like a rock for me and we finished in about 4 hours.  I couldn't believe this was her first tattoo, but taking into consideration the fact that she'd been through so much pain already in her life, the tattoo was probably nothing.  When it was over, we hugged and she asked me if she could come back the next day to do more work.  I was shocked and naturally hesitant.  I wanted to help her, but I feared that she might be biting off more than she could chew, so I declined. 
A few days later her father called and said she really really wanted to come in again and if I could fit her in the day before she flew back to Saudi Arabia, they would be very grateful.  Her leg was healing perfectly and they felt confident she could handle more.
She wanted to work on her ribs and hip area, where she was burned the worst.  I designed a similar piece for her, this one with lilies and cherry blossoms and more mehndi accents.  She sat again for 4 hours but this time was harder for her, it was definitely more painful and I think a lot of it was emotional.  We both cried a little bit when we finished and she said I was her "life saver". 
She's getting married in a few months and I believe her fiance will be seeing her tattoos for the first time.  She told me he thinks tattooed women are sexy, so I have no doubts it will be a very exciting wedding night for them.  I'm very honored to be a part of it and I do hope I've erased some of the emotional scars of her past along with the physical ones. 
I do have a few pics to post, I just have to upload them.

Fish Blood

...so I'm in a thrift store the other day... miles away from home... and I see a cute lil punk rock girl.. actually,  we nearly collided shopping carts... and my first thought was, "fuck! she's going to get all the stuff I want!"... anyway, I continue poking around and then I realize, I know her.  I've tattooed her.  I've tattooed her and I don't have a picture of it and it's a really cool tattoo!  Fast forward an hour and I'm pulling into a parking space at the next thrifting destination and whom do I see about to enter the store?  .. it's her!  yay! photo op! It's based on a Gustav Klimt illustration of women in water called "Fish Blood" and I absolutely LOVE it!

Ashes to Ashes

Today I did something I've never done before, well, ok, 2 things... I have a client who lost her dear husband this year and she asked if I would be interested in tattooing her with his ashes.  I'd heard of this being done before, but I'd never had the opportunity to try it, myself.  Today was the day and it was an incredible experience.  Because the ashes are carbon, we could only mix them with black pigment, so she chose to have a variety of text tattoos.  She got his signature as well as "I will always love you." in his handwriting.... twice... once on her forearm with traditional placement and another on her chest, over her heart, backwards, so that when she looks in the mirror, she can read it properly.  We also put two tiny hearts on her ring and middle finger (she's having his wedding ring downsized and will wear it on her middle finger).  I truly enjoy having an emotional connection with my clients and their tattoos and I can honestly say that this was an incredible experience.  Tears were shed, laughs were had, and I know that I play an important role in her healing process.  I'm thankful for her allowing me to be a part of it.

p.s. if you can't figure out what the 2nd "first time" thing was, it's the backwards text tattoo ;)

Psychedelic Jungle

Tomorrow I'll be working on a psychedelic collage type piece with imagery from The Beatles "Yellow Submarine".  I'm super excited because it's adding on to some existing work that I also like.  Emily already has The White Stripes peppermint candy, some Flaming Lips album artwork, and an Apple Bonker.  Everything is super colorful and dreamy~ my fave!  Once it's complete, I'll post pics!

Tattooing over scars

I have an appointment today to start a rather large project that centers around a very large scar.  A lady I've tattooed before had back surgery and has been left with a scar that wraps around her waist like a belt as well as about 4 inches added on to her butt crack.  She has very dark skin and the scar is not very noticeable , but she has insisted on going forward with this project , in spite of the fact that I've estimated the final cost to be well over $1000 and potentially 4 sessions (or more depending on how she sits).  Today we will start the outline.

I've had very good luck with tattooing over scars, but it's always a gamble.  There is never any guarantee that the pigment will hold the way it should and that makes things very tricky.  We're going to be putting big, stylized flowers and vines ~ like a beautiful garden ~on her and I am hoping to be able to use a bit of color, if only red and green.  I won't know until I'm actually into it.  I hate not being able to promise her what the end result will be, but that's the nature of scar tissue.  Fickle and unpredictable.

I do have some photos of her scars and w/her permission, I'll post here and show updates.

Cherry blossoms and sunsets. So bittersweet.

This week is bittersweet.  I'm working on 2 large pieces whose themes I love... one is a cherry blossom branch and the other is a tropical beach/sunset/floral scene.  So, why am I bitter? Because I'm cleaning up someone else's mess.  Both pieces were started by other people and neither one is quality work, so it's a challenge to fix them and have the end result be pleasing to my eye.

The cherry blossom branch is almost done.  We've done 2 sittings so far and have one more to go.  The tropical piece will be started today and I expect it will take at least 3 sittings.  I don't understand why the previous artist did things the way they did.  They seem to be an OK tattooer as opposed to the cherry blossom artist who was a flat out scratcher.  Fixing pre-existing tattoos is such a catch22 for me~ I want people to feel good about themselves, so I want to make them "pretty", but picking up where someone else left off is not easy, especially when you don't understand their thought process.  It's so much more cut and dry when it's a crappy tattoo and all you have to do is make it better.  The tropical tattoo appears to be a nearly finished black and grey piece, yet the client tells me that the artist intended on the finished product being very vibrant colors.  Sigh. Wish me luck!

visual inspiration

Are you following my tumblr blog? People always ask me what kinds of things I like to tattoo~ if you check out my tumblr blog, you'll get an idea :) Check out: That Which Inspires

Cosmetic Tattooing: Eyebrows & Moles/Beauty Marks

I'm pleased to announce that I will be taking new clients who are interested in having their eyebrows, moles, and beauty marks tattooed.  I will accept eyebrow clients on a case by case basis~ please call the shop (410)876-4638 to set up a consultation with me.  Consults will be available Wed-Sat 11am-6pm and there is no charge for a consultation.  If you have no eyebrows at all, please bring in any photos you might have of what you'd like your brows to look like.  The fee for eyebrow tattooing will be determined at the time of the consultation.  A consult is not required for moles or beauty marks and the flat fee is $60.

Referral program~ opinions wanted

Dear readers, what do you think about referral programs? Is that something you'd be interested in? Like, if I offered you a discount for every ___ people you send or do you prefer discounts for how much you spend? Think about it and let me know.  I have so many loyal clients, I want to reward you!

The Importance of Communication

Free advice for my clients (and potential clients): Please understand the importance of communication.  I am not a mind reader.  If you have a fabulous idea for your tattoo I have to know what's going on inside your head in order to be able to deliver it to you.  Please don't assume that I will just "know what you mean", especially if I've never met you before.  We both share the same goal, we're on the same team, so don't drop the ball :)

Star of Texas Tattoo Revival

I had such a blast at the 2012 Austin tattoo convention ~ I absolutely cannot wait for the next one! The dates were just announced (Jan 18-20, 2013) and I will be there, I am pretty sure Dave Wah will be accompanying me again, yay! I am pre-booking starting now, so if you are interested in making something happen, get in touch~ email me.

Dealing with loss

I do a lot of memorial tattoos. Too many for my liking, frankly, and it's a catch 22. I truly enjoy creating a piece of art for the person experiencing the loss because I want them to be able to look at their tattoo and think happy thoughts about the person (or beast) that they are missing. On the other hand, I think I accumulate a lot of that sadness, it gets into my veins and weighs heavily. Over the past few years I've had a few of my clients pass away and when their family members come to me for memorial tattoos I don't always know how to express my own sadness for their loss because it's my loss, too. Nothing like starting a blog off on a happy note, right?