Tattoo Design

Girl Tattoo For Back Body

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"...Star differs from star in glory..."

(Vincent Van Gogh, "Starry Night over the Rhone," 1888)

I Corinthians 15:40-44:

"There are both heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one thing, and that of the earthly is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; indeed, star differs from star in glory. So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body."

I had a magnificent set of evenings over Memorial Day weekend sitting out among the moon and the stars--even sleeping out all night in my yard one night, it was so glorious--and seeing the lightning bugs begin their summer debut for the season. It was simply a magnificent weekend to be a speck in God's Universe. The sheer size and awesome timelessness of the "big" things in nature--the sky, the stars, the ocean, just to name a few--have always been the major spiritual grounding rods for me, my entire life. People just don't do it for me the way nature does.

I looked at the stars these last few nights and pondered the paradoxical dance that "people" seem to occupy in my existence, thinking how each star, in its own way, is its own "person." How like the stars in the sky, we are called to community, and how each of us in our own way feels called to individuals in that community. Yet for me, the paradox has always been nothing gets my goat like people sometimes. I can only handle people for so long, and then that secular monastic in me takes over and I retreat to my safe hermitage of my country life. There is my daily retreat from work, as well as "add on" forms like my occasional "silent Saturday morning," and my "stay-cation retreats where I never leave home." Yet I never feel "un-called" to be a part of a community. When I am home alone, after a certain amount of time enjoying my alone-ness, I think of what it is I am supposed to "do next" when I enter back into community. When I am in that community, after a while I start daydreaming of what I want to do next in my "alone time." Each needs the other, and truthfully, each feeds the other.

On one of those nights, I sat out and thought about different people with each star--what they were experiencing in their lives, and how it is that I am supposed to combine with them to light up the sky, yet maintain my own individual "star-ness." Each one of us with the incarnational light of God within us, but manifested in so many unique ways.

There seem to be at least three kinds of stars in my life experience. Most valued are the "stars I can always see"--for instance, in the winter, I can always find the constellation Orion, and in the summer I can always fix my gaze on Scorpio. They are like the people in my life who have now been my friends for three decades or more. How we relate to each other has changed drastically over the years--sometimes not even close to the roles in which our relationships started out--but we somehow can always adjust. Sometimes their light is very intense and intimate in my life, and vice versa; other times, the light is dimmer. But they are constants. They are appreciated for both their longevity and their versatility.

Then there are the stars that once were a major focus, but I now no longer pay much attention to. I really don't pay much attention to the Big Dipper, the Little Dipper, or the North Star itself, per se. But there was a time I always looked for them. They are like the people who were once very involved and intimate in my life--old lovers, intense best friends, etc.--and somehow no longer figure much into the tapestry other than to be a thread once cherished, but no longer. Some of these fizzled out in a supernova of conflict, whereas others just sort of atrophied and slowly burned to extinction. Sometimes their light returns--but it is almost never of the same intensity that it once was, nor does my need to tend to that light return with the same intensity. I appreciate those stars for the history they have given me, even if it includes hard lessons.

Finally, there are the stars I just got around to noticing, like the time I first recognized all of Ursa Major, rather than just its "dipper." The first time I realized the dipper could be converted to a bear, it was an exciting time. It made the sky seem a little bigger than it used to be. I think about the gifts and talents in people I just now got around to appreciating in people who have been around me all along, or about the new people that come into my life over the years, and something about them challenge me to tend their light and let them tend mine. I appreciate those stars because they represent hope and promise.

Even the stars are perishable--which enhances my knowledge that people are perishable. It makes me understand the urgency of the Gospel of Mark, and in Paul's letters. If even stars are perishable, then people definitely are. Yet timelessness and infinity rides within all of them. What a beautiful, but messy, dance it all is!

Music Tattoos - Another Form of Artistic Expression

Rebellion Or Personal Expression?

Tattoos have been regarded as a form of rebellion, and were even forbidden in parts of Europe due to a rise in Christianity during the early periods. Even today some regard body art as an undesirable practice and associate tattoos with gangs and unlawful behavior. Those with music tattoos are not above consideration in this respect. Some feel those with body art are discriminated against, and often are when attempting to secure employment.

Those who sport a tattoo will tell you it is a form of self expression. Musicians have been associated with the boldest forms of this artwork. Music tattoos often commemorate a particular genre or instrument one plays and they are often placed strategically on the body for visual appeal when performing on stage.

As we all know, some performers are quite famous for stage apparel, or the lack thereof and often choose their costumes specifically for the reason of showing body art. After all, not every tattoo is the same, and for this reason they wear them proudly. Custom tattoos with intricate, delicate designs are considered works of art in themselves.

Some music tattoos are recognizable trademarks for some performers. One such famous artist that comes to mind is Ozzy Osbourne and his famous woman vampire adorned with a bat atop her head. Of course, not every artist chooses such a dark expression. Jon Bon Jovi shows off his simple superman logo.

Tattoos are a very unique way to express emotion and personal interest. As a fellow canvas holder sporting a basic music tattoo consisting of a bass note sprouting a blue rose on one arm and a whimsical unicorn on the other, one can plainly see I am both a musician and hold an interest in mythology as well.

Tattoos are a way to announce a position in society. Just as in ancient times, a tattoo can identify a persons special skill or occupation. Certain union logos can be seen. A highly skilled carpenter may adorn himself with a hammer and nail. I have seen nurses with small medical emblems tattooed on the ankle.

Popular themes, poetry, beloved pets and even loved ones are being immortalized as body art to remain forever as a visual memory of devotion and love. Yet the stigma surrounding them remains.

Musicians are among those excused from refute. Being in the musical industry, it is both expected and accepted as part of a persona. If you are in a band, body art is a normal part of your costume. You have total freedom and can expand your canvas whichever way you choose.

For those living in other cultural societies, body art is often a tradition and even a requirement. Young boys reaching a certain age are often marked to show the passage into manhood. Young females may be tattooed with the mark of their mate.

Rose Tattoos on Women

There is a beautiful legend in Greek Mythology that tells us Aphrodite, goddess of Love, gave the Rose its name. Chloris, the goddess of flowers, created it when she found the lifeless body of a beautiful nymph in the forest. Chloris called upon the other deities to help her right the wrong of this nymph's death. Aphrodite gave her beauty, Dionysus, the god of wine, added nectar to give her a sweet perfume, the three Graces gave her charm, brightness and joy. Chloris then called upon Zephyr, the West Wind, to blow away the clouds so Apollo, the sun god, could shine and make the flower bloom.

The rose goes back into antiquity, in fact, fossilized roses have been found that are several million years old. It has always been regarded, in Western civilization, as the closest thing to perfect beauty.

The rose image has been used on royal standards, coats of arm, castle and palace decorations. It has been used in countless paintings, embroideries, etchings, carvings and photographs. Its simple and elegant beauty has endured through time, as has its message of beauty and love. It has always stood as an expression of love. Small wonder then, that numerous women have chosen it as a favorite tattoo. It can be used simply as a beautiful decoration or as a memento of a loved one or an event in one's life. In fact, it serves all purposes very well.

Rose tattoos have been favorites from the beginning and are still the most popular flower tattoo. Each person can decide the message she wants to send and the color, size and placement of the tattoo. Whether done for decoration or love the image of the rose is a thing of lasting beauty.

Shoulders, lower legs, ankles and feet are popular places for tattoos on women, so too with rose tattoos. Women celebrities have been drawn to the rose, from a single large rose on a shoulder to a bouquet of roses on an ankle. One has a stemmed rose on her ankle while another has a heart and a rose on her lower leg, obviously an expression of love. Some people like to be different - one supermodel has a tattoo of a rose and skull on her upper arm. Others like to be daring, with a rose tattoo on a breast.

There is no doubt rose tattoos will stay favorites as, like roses themselves, they depict timeless beauty and elegance and give us all a great deal of pleasure.

Real Butterfly Tattoos Are Great on the Lower Back

Real Butterfly Tattoos are symbolic of how fragile life really is. The butterfly tattoo is the most used artistic theme within the tattoo art industry, it's up there with the flower butterfly tattoos, they have forever captivated man. Artists have a real freedom of creativity when they are creating butterfly tattoos because the designs are not rigid. Do you need inspiration and ideas for a real butterfly tattoos, do you want to make a strong fashion statement, thinking of getting a armband tattoo or lower back tattoo of butterflies.. Butterfly flower tattoos and the butterfly tattoo design and their meanings have been one of the most popular tattoo designs requested by females for the past few years. Butterflies are unique, they are so colorful and make beautiful tattoos, they represent the fragility and transformation of life.

There are about 28,000 known butterfly species. The butterfly tattoo is the most effective means to symbolize one of the most extraordinary creations on the planet with the vibrant colors and artistic designs. Among the best things about lower back tattoos of butterflies is that they have the ability to aesthetically add a lot of color into your tattoo without the loudness that is occasionally related with color. The lower back tattoos of butterflies allows the artist and the recipient huge scope for the tattooist to show of there tattoo art ability.

No matter which real butterfly tattoos design you end up picking out, it is easy to instantly see the beauty that a butterfly tattoo holds and the deeper meaning and significance of a butterfly and its life process make for a very popular design for women...Whether it's a butterfly tattoo on a lower back or a dragonfly tattoo on your shoulder, insect images have become a popular choice for tattoo art enthusiasts everywhere. A butterfly is often found with a fairy on a lower back to make for a colorful fantasy tattoo.

Real Butterfly Tattoos Are Great on the Lower Back

Real Butterfly Tattoos are symbolic of how fragile life really is. The butterfly tattoo is the most used artistic theme within the tattoo art industry, it's up there with the flower butterfly tattoos, they have forever captivated man. Artists have a real freedom of creativity when they are creating butterfly tattoos because the designs are not rigid. Do you need inspiration and ideas for a real butterfly tattoos, do you want to make a strong fashion statement, thinking of getting a armband tattoo or lower back tattoo of butterflies.. Butterfly flower tattoos and the butterfly tattoo design and their meanings have been one of the most popular tattoo designs requested by females for the past few years. Butterflies are unique, they are so colorful and make beautiful tattoos, they represent the fragility and transformation of life.

There are about 28,000 known butterfly species. The butterfly tattoo is the most effective means to symbolize one of the most extraordinary creations on the planet with the vibrant colors and artistic designs. Among the best things about lower back tattoos of butterflies is that they have the ability to aesthetically add a lot of color into your tattoo without the loudness that is occasionally related with color. The lower back tattoos of butterflies allows the artist and the recipient huge scope for the tattooist to show of there tattoo art ability.

No matter which real butterfly tattoos design you end up picking out, it is easy to instantly see the beauty that a butterfly tattoo holds and the deeper meaning and significance of a butterfly and its life process make for a very popular design for women...Whether it's a butterfly tattoo on a lower back or a dragonfly tattoo on your shoulder, insect images have become a popular choice for tattoo art enthusiasts everywhere. A butterfly is often found with a fairy on a lower back to make for a colorful fantasy tattoo.

Tattoos Pictures

That Mysterious Critter called the Trinity

In that odd way that only people who have worked around a hospital can appreciate, I have found the fact that Trinity Sunday coinciding with Memorial Day Weekend (Or, as I like to call it, "Opening day of major trauma season,")--rather amusing.

I've got a confession. I find thinking about the Trinity too long, rather traumatic. My clergy Facebook friends find preaching about the Trinity on Trinity Sunday rather traumatic. Most of them refer in some way that it is a week where they feel compelled to teach those in the pews about the Trinity, and have to admit they really don't understand much about the Trinity.

Now, I can handle the diagram above. It's pretty straightforward and simple. I recognize God is in all three entities, and each of the three entities are not in each other--well...sorta. One person told me in a recent discussion, "I know I'm not my brother and I know I'm not my sister, but the family DNA is in all of us." That is kind of what the diagram parallels. I agree with all of that. But that's where it ends.

Here's my heresy...

I have this nagging feeling that the Trinity is a representational being--like the wave or particle theory of light. Although I would be the first to tell you that the Trinity and the statements in the Nicene Creed (well, except for that add-on about proceeding from the Father AND the Son--the Son half of the filioque was tacked on later to the Creed) are "true," I would tell you I think the reality lies behind the Trinity, and the Trinity is what we use to explain what is actually a single entity made of infinite parts.

For instance...

Light, in some ways, behaves like a wave. In other ways, it behaves like a particle. Odds on, it's something that is neither or both a wave or a particle. But we can function in our world, make great discoveries and inventions involving the spectrum of light, by acting like it is a wave when it's useful and convenient, and acting like it's a particle when it's useful and convenient. The fact that it probably is NOT exactly what we theorize it to be isn't relevant. We don't sit and bemoan that it's not "true." Truth is perception, more than anything.

But the fact that the Hebrew Bible has between 40 and 70 words (depending on which rabbi you consult) that describe one aspect of what Christians attribute to a function of the Holy Spirit, or God the Father, or the Messiah, makes me suspicious that the Trinity is to Christian thought what the wave or particle theory is to light--a representation we can wrap our brains around, at least to a basic degree, that allow us to be connected relationally to God, and not just function in that world, but imagine, invent, and share with others in community.

Did you ever notice humans, by and large, no matter what their culture, like "threes?" We like to think bad news comes in threes. We tend to use threes in literature, in our phraseology. Many things in science, if you repeat them three times, creates a greater than two standard deviations level of confidence, statistically. We tend to only start to "get" things after the third time we've experienced something. We say, "three's a charm." I used to think that was a function of Judeo-Christian culture, until I learned that many other religions--Hinduism, Buddhism, Paganism, ancient Celtic religion, ancient Norse religion, etc.--also have many examples of the significance of the number three.

My theory--and that's all it is--is that for some reason, humans brains are hard-wired to be ok with three. Maybe it is because it's simply one more than what we can grasp in our own two hands. It's manageable. So when the Trinity was being "figured out," people like the folks who came up with the Nicene Creed sat there pondering this God with infinite faces and forms, and gravitated to explaining it in an iconic representation that is the default human level of understanding--three.

So for me, the Trinity is simply a three-pronged representation of an infinite concept--and here is where some people are going to shove me into the Express Lane to Hell for saying this, but I'm going to say it anyway--the Trinity seems to me to be more of a functional theory than an actual fact. There is truth in it, but the truth actually lies BEHIND it, not IN it, and I am willing to accept the "model" because it allows me to function in my world of "understanding my relationship with God." To accept the Trinity as "truth" also means I must accept the mystery that it is a representation of a bigger reality that I cannot possibly understand.

It's why I don't trust anyone who claims he/she can "explain" the Trinity to me. I think part of accepting the truth of the Trinity is to also accept that my brain, in my living human form, cannot possibly understand it, but I can understand enough of it to function as one of God's children within the confines of what it represents. To say "I believe in the Trinity"--to say the Nicene Creed and mean what I say--means I believe the reality it represents is only fully fathomable in the next world.

I'll be honest--this is a hard realization for me. I like to think I'm smart enough to "figure most everything out." But to accept that I cannot possibly figure this one out, is to accept another part of my life as a child of God--faith. Faith that this representation can take me everywhere I need to go, to live in service to God--and in that, I believe.

Bob Marley Tattoo

very nice tattoos..................

Amazing Art of Side Body Japanese Tattoo Ideas With Koi Fish Tattoo Designs With Image Side Body Japanese Koi Fish Tattoos For Female Tattoo Gallery

Amazing Art of Side Body Japanese Tattoo Ideas With Koi Fish Tattoo Designs With Image Side Body Japanese Koi Fish Tattoos For Female Tattoo Gallery 1

Amazing Art of Side Body Japanese Tattoo Ideas With Koi Fish Tattoo Designs With Image Side Body Japanese Koi Fish Tattoos For Female Tattoo Gallery 2

Amazing Art of Side Body Japanese Tattoo Ideas With Koi Fish Tattoo Designs With Image Side Body Japanese Koi Fish Tattoos For Female Tattoo Gallery 3

Amazing Art of Side Body Japanese Tattoo Ideas With Koi Fish Tattoo Designs With Image Side Body Japanese Koi Fish Tattoos For Female Tattoo Gallery 4

Amazing Art of Side Body Japanese Tattoo Ideas With Koi Fish Tattoo Designs With Image Side Body Japanese Koi Fish Tattoos For Female Tattoo Gallery 5

Amazing Art of Side Body Japanese Tattoo Ideas With Koi Fish Tattoo Designs With Image Side Body Japanese Koi Fish Tattoos For Female Tattoo Gallery 6

Amazing Art of Side Body Japanese Tattoo Ideas With Koi Fish Tattoo Designs With Image Side Body Japanese Koi Fish Tattoos For Female Tattoo Gallery 7

Good Arm Tattoo for Women

Commercial Sniping - In a few steps

This is my newest contribution for The Circuit Magazine to accompany part 3 of 3 articles on the history of sniping. After staying relatively loyal to the concept for the first 2 articles I got slightly more adventurous for this one, as you can see. Although the weapon is the British Army's L96A1 sniper rifle!

Anyhow, I just thought I'd post a few shots in progress of my process for creating this piece to accompany the ScreenCast I recorded of the illustration (which you can see on youtube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojPjantpr5Q )

Step 1 - Initial concept thumbnail.

After playing around with a few poses I decided to keep as much relevance to the subject and article as possible (considering the lack of it in the character) I went with the traditional prone position but still wanted to emphasise the characters seductive curves, which brings the focus directly onto the buttocks!

Step 2 - Defining the Character

Next I decided I wanted an exotic looking female and used photo reference of beautiful curvy women of Caribbean origin. and penciled out my idea and scanned it into photoshop at 600dpi before reducing it to 300 at the painting stage. Notice, I don't really go over board on the sketch and prefer to build it up as I progress through the painting stage.

Step 3 - Colour Flats

Using the pen tool to create selections of anatomy and accessories I fill them all with the paint bucket tool and keep th

em on independent layers to give me greatest flexibility later on.

In addition I paint in a rough background to link it together and in preparation for choice of light direction.

Step 4 - Airbrushing

Using the selections I'd made earlier by keeping all opposing areas on separate layers I use a large, soft edged brush at a low opacity to first apply shadows and then highlights to pinpoint light direction and start to brin

g depth to the illustration.

Step 5 - Background

I now decide its time to build up the background and I virtually spin it around and paint it in reverse to the original concept. Again using the pen tool to build the basic structures and then an airbrush to lay colour and light direction down fast before using a more hard edged brush to add some texture. I also work in some accessories such as the goggles on the helmet, the drink, dossier, bino's and ammo tin.

Step 6 - Fine details/finishing touches

I finish off the painting by adding a few layers of a deep bronzing, orangey colour to the flesh areas. I paint in shadows, foreground foliage, slightly alter the expression and finally add some highly effective camouflage paint to her skin. Now she's hot and ready for action.

Acquire, Aim, Squeeze, Kill, Mojito to go!

You might be Episcopalian (the sequel)

I was thinking just the other day, I had for some reason been getting a lot of hits on this old blog post, so maybe it was time to add to the list of obscure things that would say "You might be Episcopalian..."

You Might Be Episcopalian...

...if you know what Whitsunday is, and that the church paraments should be RED.

...if your Shrove Tuesday fundraiser in the undercroft features beer.

...if you visit someone else's church in March, see a vase of flowers behind the altar and think, "You don't do flowers in Lent!"

...if you have a very distinctly fixed set of songs in your head that qualify as "processional hymns," and you complain that anything outside that list causes you to remark, "That's not a processional hymn."

...if you've watched a podcast of a bishop being ordained, and raved about how cool it was.

...if you know what the sursum corda, the Sanctus, the Anaphora, and the Agnus Dei are.

...if you have a preference of Eucharistic Prayers A through D.

...if you know what The Book of Occasional Services is, as well as what EOW stands for.

...if you can point to the narthex, the nave, the sacristy, the chancel, and the undercroft.

...if you give directions of where to put things in church as "The Gospel side" and "the epistle side."

...if, when someone tells you they read the Bible every day, you respond with, "Oh, I do the Daily Office, too."

...if you've ever wondered why you kneel in Eucharistic Prayer B, when the line says, "worthy to stand before you."

...if you are absolutely certain that some parts of the Nicene Creed are "just not right," but say it anyway.

...if you have a strong personal theological opinion why the announcements are at the beginning, the middle, or the end of church--or not have announcements in church at all.

...if you've ever refered to a regular household activity as the "sacrament of," or the "liturgy of," such as "The Saturday Sacrament of the Laundry," or "The Liturgy of the Nap."

...if you know the names of at least ten bishops, and in which diocese they reside.

...if, in true "Six degrees of Kevin Bacon," fashion, you brag that you are three degrees from the Presiding Bishop...but when you get to thinking about it, all your Episcopalian friends are three degrees or fewer from her, too.

Nice Modern Tattoo Design for Sexy Women

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