Rupert's Tattoo

I just did rupert’s tattoo. I’ve known Rupert Estanislao since our Pusod days back in 2000. Pusod was a space in Berkeley where we held some exciting and provocative shows. Thanks to Malou Babilonia for letting us ‘thrash’ that space.

Rupert is the lead vocalist of Eskapo - a Filipino punk band here in the bay area. He’s also a performer who was awarded the best spoken word artist by East Bay Express. What drove me to Eskapo besides us being Filipinos was their high energy and nihilistic approach to music. It’s similar to what I’m trying to convey in my paintings. We’ve collaborated in many exhibitions where I showed my art and they played the music. We basically have the same sentiments.



England Hidalgo, my partner in art, joined Eskapo some 4 years ago where he played guitar and some vocals. This helped me get closer to the group because even if I wasn’t always able to attend, I always get the invite to their shows through England.

I haven’t done any tattoo for the past 2 months and this made me feel a little nervous but unlike before, I didn’t have to practice on pigskin. I felt confident even if I haven’t done anything for quite a while.

The design was chosen by Rupert. It’s black and gray, not to small and not too big. I changed the typeface and the layout from the original because it didn’t jive for me. Rupert agreed and we went from there.

The session took 2 and a half hours plus an hour for set-up. I had a hard time stretching Rupert’s skin in some areas because the Vaseline made it slippery so I had to re-outline in some areas.

Besides this, everything went fine. I tried Darius Agustin’s advice (Da Underground Tat 2) not to use the gray shading ink because the result wasn’t smooth so I just used my outlining ink and mixed it with water just like using watercolor. I used a 3 round needle for the outline and a 5 magnum for the shading.

Rupert was happy with the result and that made me happy too.





Thanks TJ Basa for the pictures.