BAD HABITS!

bad habits are hard to break.
it's true.
i was taking a whole bunch of photos of tattoos,
and then i got sick and distracted by all the bummery feelings my head was full of,
so i started slippin' and slackin' while i was snifflin' and shiverin'-
now, all of a sudden, i've gotta retrain myself to remember to capture what i'm up to.
yeah.
tattooing and art making and all of that.
there's NO time to waste,
and there's no good reason not to document what's going on.
it's a bad habit, letting most of what i do walk right out the door.
i would like to record more of this road to twenty years as i walk it.
yeah.
my friend julio from connecticut started an art swap.
postal labels, reminiscent of my long ago graffiti days,
with a lil sumthin'-sumthin' drawn on 'em.
he's got a spot down there called TATTOOLIOS TATTOO EMPORIUM
where he's doing his thing most days-
i've got AMPERSAND TATTOO poppin' way up here in the woods.
he helped me out a whole bunch when i was a young one,
starting out as a know-nothin' know-it-all tattoo turd back in the day,
he was patient and tolerant and kind to y'boi when i probably barely deserved it.
so, two decades later, i have the good feelings towards him, for sure.
ANYway,
i got my label, and his is on it's way.
i had to squeeze it in between tattoos and everything else,
but it's done, and it's mailed, and i'mma give y'all a sneak peek-
y'ready?

DARUMA!
...always.
sketched up with marky-markers, sharpies and prismacolors and microns.
for an art trade, dudes.
i like that.
...i drew up another 'nother mr. punch, too, 
with the red-version venetian carnival mask on.
but,
i don't like it, so it doesn't get photographed.
i'll try again sooner than later, and remedy the situation
with a more thoroughly-thought-out and well-executed second attempt.
that's the cool thing about non-tattoo art-
you can do it again.
that's a good thing.
however,
tattoos don't give a sh!t if you'll get better next time.
there's today, and that's it.
i appreciate both.
the gradual progress of paper art,
the immediate demands of ink and needles-
they're very different, which is good.
i mean, versatility has never let me down.
i've got big black and grey tattoos to do this morning,
i've got tight, long-lined color tattoos in the afternoon.
in between, if there's time, i'll be drawing up the new stickers for the studio.
it's all really happening, and there's not a moment to lose;
never quiet, never soft.....