Growing up in a Christian home, there was always a stigma against tattoos and piercings. But I always wanted them. When I was 17, my cool uncle took me to get my ear pierced – and when I turned 18 I got my first tattoo. Of course, it was 2000, so I got the Chinese character for “dog,” the zodiac for my birth year. Being young and not knowing what else to get, my next tattoo was my own logo/initials, i.e., a D² of my design on my mid back.
While I don’t regret those tattoos – they are part of my story – I do regret bad work. That was the case for the next piece. I wanted to get a Chinese character for “judge” since my name means “God is judge” (are we seeing a theme here?). I researched the Chinese symbol and even emailed and got confirmation from someone who could write Chinese that it was the correct choice. Then I went and stuck it on my shoulder with giant hotrod-style flames around it for some reason. The artist botched the stencil and missed the tip of one of the flames under my arm. When I asked him to fix it, he added a janky, free-hand point that wasn’t even properly aligned. Poor work and I was not thrilled.
On to the good part. In 2017 I finally went back for more tattoos. This time, I found a good tattoo artist; I was moving away from black-only work, and I wanted some color. It was also our 10th anniversary, so my wife and I were getting tattoos together. On my right arm, I got a traditional swallow with a banner in its beak that read “Jen”. I know they say it’s bad luck to get your significant other’s name on you, but I don’t regret it :).
Within a few months, I returned and got a yellow rose on my right elbow for my baby girl, who was on the way. My artist designed a “traditional-ish” yellow rose for me, and applied it beautifully.
Before I describe the rest of my tattoos, and show off some photos, let me explain what I believe the Bible is teaching about tattoos. First, tattoos were never about the ink or the body art, but about the person’s heart and whether they were marking themselves as belonging to a pagan god. Therefore, I believe a Christian can get tattoos and still be within Biblical principles. In fact, if my body is a temple, well … I’m painting my Sistine Chapel. Read more here.
“Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.”
1 Corinthians 3:16-17
I started working on my left arm as my tattoo artist and I designed a 3/4 sleeve. My first piece was a ship based on Elissa, one of the oldest sailing ships out of Galveston (where I was born and raised). As part of the ship, I had a giant orange squid attacking the ship. The giant squid was a reminder of a classic film, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. A giant squid attacked the submarine in the movie, and although the movie was black and white, I always imagined the squid as orange. As Greg, my tattoo artist, built the waves on the lower 1/4 of my arm, I told him to leave space for an anchor. He tells me, “Well, we better do it now!” So he drew me an awesome anchor and rope.
At another session, I wanted to add a lighthouse. I thought I should add it to the inside of my arm. Greg convinced me to add it to the back of my arm instead, and it was probably one of the best decisions of the entire sleeve. The lighthouse looks fantastic and is perfectly part of the scene with the ship. The lighthouse – for me – symbolizes God’s light in the world and how I aspire to be seen.
It was now time to wrap up the sleeve. By redesigning the “judge” hanzi, Greg joined it to the rest of the scene. On the inside of my bicep, I got the Latin word “Aequitas.” Aequitas means justice, half of the phrase Veritas et Aequitas, made famous by the movie Boondock Saints. I planned to add “Veritas” (truth) to the other inside bicep. Truth and justice are a huge part of my conscience and my God-given sense of right and wrong. And the left sleeve was done.
I reserved my right arm for my family. I added Ian next since Jen and Piper were already represented there. Ian loves the hibiscus flower and spiders. I planned to get a large flower with a small spider suspended from it. Once I started talking to Greg, he reminded me of the trad classic “spider with a rose body.” He suggested a spider with a hibiscus body design sitting on a web. Next, I added Gavin. His name means “white hawk of battle,” so a white hawk head was added to my forearm to represent him. Owen was the final large piece. His name, meaning “young warrior,” had me thinking of a sword, so Greg designed a custom traditional sword running down the back of my arm behind the yellow rose. Veritas on my inner bicep and some filler completed the right sleeve.
The truth is, my family is most important to me and is perfectly represented on my arm. My tattoos bring together my childhood, history, family, and God. This is my Sistine Chapel, and I will continue to paint it as I see inspiration in the physical and spiritual world around me.
