When is a Tattoo Sleeve Not a Sleeve?

Tattoo ink has been added to my right arm over a period of 3 years now and it's still not finished, just when I think I'm going to fill it all up, what seems like an acre of skin yawns before me, crying out for the needle. It has a nautical theme, there's a pin up, a mermaid, a ship, anchors, swallows, a compass, lighthouse, kraken, and adding colour a jauntily angled yellow submarine near the elbow.

It started with the Sailor Jerry sailor girl pin up, I first came across her on the inside of a label of a bottle of spiced rum bearing the legendary tattooist's name. It took about an afternoon to realise that I wanted her on my arm. My right arm at this point a virgin to this ancient art. Appointment made for six weeks' time, but put my name on the cancellation list, a few days later I got a call and was told there was a slot that afternoon if I could make it. I could.

Watching her taking shape on my bicep, over the space of an hour, I was already thinking about the next bit. I knew then that she was the start of something bigger, and my thoughts turned to a sleeve. As you can see in the picture on the right, my artist had done an amazing job. I left his apprentice the brief of designing some more work to go around her and made another booking. Six weeks later she was embellished with an anchor, waves a ship's wheel and other nautical designs. This sleeve was going places.

Next was the ship, again based on a Sailor Jerry design, but instead of the Homeward script, I used the Irish Aimsir An Dea, which means either Good Times, or Good Weather - both of which are appropriate to me, and the tattoo.

The rate at which ink was now being injected into my skin was increasing and the addiction as strong as anything else which might involve a needle might be. My mermaid was to follow and she was a much bigger project, involving 3 hours of pain over a couple of sessions, the tattooist layering different shades of green to give the impression of depth to her iridescent scales. Since then there's been the homage to The Beatles, to submarines and to psychedelia. An impromptu anchor, a kraken attacking a paddle steamer and a leatherback turtle.

My point to this blog post is this, and this is my opinion only, others may have a different view, but when my sleeve is finished it will have probably taken at least 20 hours work over four years, and a considerable amount of cash. It will be made up of lots of different tattoos, with the small gaps of skin to be ultimately covered in scales and breaking waves, so that I'm left with an interesting and complex piece of art. It will not be a forearm tattoo, a bicep tattoo and a whole load of clouds lazily covering the rest of the skin. I've seen people with no ink at all, and then a month later they're wandering around showing off their sleeve. To me, that's not a sleeve. It's a short cut to a fashion statement. Isn't it?

Maybe I'm just a grumpy old curmudgeon! I'd love to hear other peoples' views on this.