I find when I look at the world around me – really look at individual pieces – I begin to see. I tend to spend a lot of time observing, but I don’t always see.

But when I really see something, I gain all sorts of inspiration. It might be as simple as a colour, or the way light falls on something that makes me see it more clearly. Maybe the shape or texture of what I’m observing catches my attention.

The fact is, it could be anything. Once I’m really seeing, whatever it might be, I feel. As I start to feel, that’s when inspiration stirs.

When I feel, and I’m inspired, I can create. Lately I’ve only been creating in my mind, but that’s okay too… whatever I envision tends to stick with me if only as a background to opening my mind and my eyes a little wider at some future opportunity.

This may seem like a completely different subject now, but for a long time I’ve been inspired by tattoo artistry. I don’t have any tattoos myself… yet. A long time ago I thought tattoos were simply garish displays, perhaps a bid for attention and a way of covering up rather than accepting and living with one’s natural state.

Somewhere along the way, my mind started to open to the art of tattoo as a form of self-expression and beauty in itself. That was likely when my cousin started getting tattooed; I remember thinking at first that this was silly and that she’d regret all that permanent ink eventually.

Gradually, I found myself silently cheering her on. She was living her way, and I began to see the loveliness of the ability to memorialize moments, people or anything else of personal importance, with tattoo art.

That’s when I decided that one day, I’d have at least one tattoo that means something to me. I’ve been a bit reluctant to pursue the idea, though, because I tend to get a bit obsessive about anything that catches my curiosity. Then too, I’ve been warned by more than one person that one tattoo usually leads to another… it’s addictive.

In any case, I’ve always known that if I ever choose to put ink on my body permanently, it’s got to mean something specific. WWDD? (see my personal blog for an introduction to the WWDD? concept). Duh… Dave would get a tattoo, of course!

In the last couple of months I’ve been obsessively watching ink shows. Ink Master of course, and Ink Master Redemption. Tattoo Titans, and Tattoo Wars, and many other tattoo shows one can find on YouTube. All of this has led to me finally getting an idea of the kind of style to which I’m most drawn, though I’m not sure I actually know what that style is called, yet. From there I’ve also started searching in the Vancouver area for tattoo artists whose portfolios are specifically interesting given the elements and style of tattoo I’m planning.

Lately with all the focus on tattoos, and the location I want tattooed and why, I’m finally getting visions for the elements I want incorporated. Actually, with all these ideas also comes the thought that I’d rather start with something a bit smaller in a different location. Better to try the experience in a limited way to begin, before jumping in with a tattoo that will be much more visible and in a location that could be tricky to tattoo (for me, at least).

I’ll write more about this eventually, but for now here are some images from a Google search for realistic eye tattoos that inspire me.