Tattoo Tuesday V.42

This week I'm happy to post another fellow (this is the third!) here on Tattoo Tuesday. Mark is a friend of my friend Vanessa, and he is one of a handful of people she recommended to me for this feature. I think it's great to mix it up a bit, and even though I do love all of my Tattoo Tuesday girls, I think throwing a guy into the mix now and again keeps things interesting. Mark offers a fresh perspective and I definitely think his advice is worth taking. So thank you Mark for participating!


Name and blog name: Mudrat Mark, http://mudratmark.tumblr.com/ and http://noheroestucson.tumblr.com/

Age: 24

Occupation: Accountant/Grad student

Age of first tattoo: 21

Favorite tattoo: This is always a hard question for me to answer because some have a lot of meaning to me and some I have done just for aesthetic reasons. If I had to pick just one though, it would probably be my chest piece. It was my first "big" piece and I am proud of how it turned out.


Featured tattoo/location: Black and gray (sleeve? pant leg?) I'll go with pant leg.

Artist/shop/location of feature tattoo: Henry Cortez at 4forty4 Tattoo in Tucson, AZ. Right leg.



1) Tell us about your featured tattoo- is there a background story or special meaning? Why did you choose this particular piece of art?

Two of my really good friends tattoo out of the same shop (4forty4) and so I kind of just gave them each a leg, from groin to toe to work on. Aside from pieces on my calves and the tops of my thighs that were already there, I have pretty much just let them do their thing. Ryan Barnhart has been doing amazing traditional color pieces on my left leg and Henry Cortez has been doing awesome black and gray pieces on the right.

So, like most of my right leg has gone, Henry and I were up in the middle of the night talking, probably laying on my stomach in bed twirling my hair and kicking my legs back and forth in the air when he said he wanted to do a realistic portrait of Frankenstein's creature. I jokingly told him that I would let him do it on me if it was free and then like three or four days later my pant leg was started.

From my knee down we have done portraits of Frankenstein's creature, the Bride, a pair of praying hands and the Crimson Ghost as well as filling in the space in between. We just started working above the knee about 3-4 weeks ago and have done a few pieces. First, on the back of my thigh we did a very Edgar Allen Poe-ish scene with a raven and some books and a skull. In the same sitting we did a pretty chola looking Virgin Mary which I think came out really amazing. Most recently we did a painting by Gustavo Rimada called "American Psycho" with a few changes made by Henry.

2) Do you have any other tattoos? If so, what do you have and where?

I will start from the top and work my way down. On my upper body I have a Dia de los Muertos chest piece, a cartoon pinup of my girlfriend and our chihuahua on my back right shoulder and a sea siren on my ribs on my right side. On my left leg I have a sugar skull, Valerie Vargas girls, Sailor Jerry pieces, a traditional style reaper and a scene from Sin City. On my right leg I have the pieces I mentioned above plus a grizzly bear on my thigh and another scene from Sin City.

3) Do you plan on getting more?

Yeah, I plan to have both my legs filled from groin to toe within the next few months if everything goes according to plan and then start work on my upper body. I think I am going to take more time in between pieces on my upper body so I don't run out of space too quickly.

4) How do your family and friends feel about your tattoo(s)? Have you run into any adversity or negativity because of them? Do you have a significant other? Does he/she have tattoos?

My parents are not fans of most of the things I do in my personal life. The morning after I got my first tattoos, my Mom told me to go and wash them off (she said the same thing the first time I dyed my hair when I was 14). To quote my Dad, "Those are hideous, when are you going to get over all that tattoo stuff bud? You are an idiot." Aside from that, my siblings are all tattooed and my little brother is actually being worked on as I type this.

As far as adversity or negativity, sure, I think it is pretty normal but I am used to it. I go to a business school and work in accounting so people are pretty shocked when they see me and I think it takes them a while to get used to the idea that I am pretty heavily tattooed. Other than that, typical stares from people in public and what not. No skin off my back.

I have been with my girlfriend for over 5 years and she has always been incredibly supportive of me getting tattooed and riding motorcycles and just being an all around bad ass mother fucker, which is why I consider myself extremely lucky. I found someone who supports me and is willing to go along with all the weird shit I do. She does have tattoos but I am not sure she wants me to throw them up here on the interweb, so we will leave those a secret for the time being.


5) Any advice for those interested in getting tattooed but haven't gotten one yet?

I say go for it. You only live once, so why not do something that will bring you happiness? Obviously you need to plan things out so you don't end up regretting your first tattoo like many people do (me included). Talk to people you know who have work done and find a shop/artist who fits with what you are trying to do. Remember, the person you end up working with is putting permanent art on your body, so don't be a dick, and treat them with the same kind of respect you give any other human being.

Don't forget to tip!