ILTC Part 2.
International London Tattoo Convention 2009 pt 2
Chuey had said to come back Sunday and I could hardly wait. I played it as cool as possible but I was itching to get back into London and on that freak bus* back to the convention.
(*The freak bus was a red double decker laid on for free by the convention, looked awesome.)
Hit town and got fuelled up on Dr Pepper, a hearty KFC (Zinger Tower meal - thanks Meesh!) and a Snickers Duo bar, then was off to the show.
I got there just after 3 and checked Chuey's stall (#5 - G23) but he wasn't there yet. Ran into the homie from Friday and his arm was looking so sick. He was there for all the 3 days to have work done. Dedication.
So I milled about but didn't stray too far from G23. Then Chuey rolled in with his crew but was immediately rushed off for a photoshoot. He said 'Hey' and told me to hang out and that Edgar would set up.
Umm hold on, what now? Who for? Me? Hell yeah it was on. I was excited to say the least. I rocked out to my iTouch and just basically hung out. After a while Chuey called me round and asked what I wanted. 30 minutes of free-handing and Chuey had nailed it. It was time to rock and roll.
He has lots of fans and people wanting photos and autographs. He's super humble. One of his buddies got me a beer (thank you) and people came to watch him work.
We finished up around 8ish, everyone was packing their sh1t up. The artists were having group photos taken and getting ready for the after party. Their weekend of work was done. Man I'd like to see photos of the after party. Imagine all those rockers, punks and maniacs letting loose. Damn, I'm just talking about the chicks too....
I can't really say much else (again, yeah right). Chuey did his thing as the photos show (tho they really don't do the piece real justice IMO).
I really hope to get to see Chuey again at next years convention. It was such an honour to get to be in the chair, and to wear his work very day. Everyone loves it (well most, some are a bit disturbed by it - f*ck yeah ha ha).
I'll be keeping in touch and stacking my money up for next year.
For those that haven't already had my emails, and want to see some of Chuey's work, check him out on myspace.com/chueygtc or better yet sell your spleen (blood, semen or whatever it takes) and get your ass over to Good Time Charlie's Tattooland in Anaheim, CA..
Thank you to Chuey and his crew. To Meesh for being a life saver, to my bro Keefboz for the early birthday present, and to my wife for letting me have this moment when really it was your turn. And honourable mention to PAND for the photos. Thank you.