Miami Ink - A Lion and his Cubs

" Ivan stopped by the shop to get a tattoo that will help him ease the pain of being apart from his children."

" Hi."

" Hello, what can we do for you? If you don't mind me working while I'm talking."

" Not at all, brother. Looking for a piece for my back."

" Okay."

" I'm in a middle of this divorce, and I wanted to do something representative of my kids. I'm thinking of like a lion, some lion cubs and stuff."

" Sure."

" I'm getting a tattoo of a lion and 3 lion cubs. Significance is that I'm a Leo, and of course the lion cubs are my kids, my little pride."

" I'm thinking you're a dad lion just chilling, kinda watching me, and looking over the--"

" Looking over the herd."

" over the jungle or the sierra."

" And the kids kinda like just playing around."

" [unk]"

" About 7 weeks ago, my wife and I had a disagreement and what we decided, that's it, let's split. And I had to go to court, and I had to sit in front of a judge, and became overwhelmed with the thought of possibly not having the same contact with my kids. The moment that I dropped them off at their mom's house, I started to miss them, and I can't think back past, you know, before I had them there. Every moment of my life they're in my mind, you know. It's like, they're everything, you know. They're everything."

" Any sort of a background, like a sky in the background?"

" I think it would cool to show like maybe sunset or something."

" Okay, yeah. I think that getting tattooed could definitely help people through some of the rougher times in their lives, to remind yourself of that tough times so you'll never go back. I got a tattoo on my foot. It represents an angry man. I don't wanna ever be that angry again. So it's just a little reminder to me."

" I'll have some drawn up for you in a few days."

" Perfect."

" Alright."

" Thanks, man. I appreciate it. I'll be back in touch."

" Darren will take time to sketch out this tattoo that's so close to Ivan's heart."

" With business back to normal, Ivan can finally see Darren's sketch of the lion with its cubs, that symbolizes the bond that he has with his children."

" Lot of work, ah?"

" My babies."

" I'm currently in the middle of divorce. So after all this ugliness, I wanted to do something that was representative of me and my children."

" Anything you wanna change? Or anything, you--"

" No. Here's the deal, though. I've thought about positioning or placement. I thought maybe going to the shoulder. Is that something can be modified into the shoulder?"

" Let me see. Yeah."

" You got big enough arm."

" Let's do it."

" Alright."

" Perfect. Awesome."

" It's either that or the butt cheek."

" Nahh, we'll do the shoulder."

" Okay, cool."

" Let's do it."

" Now that Ivan gave his thumbs up, Darren can get started."

" All set."

" How many tattoos have you done in your life?"

" My life in as far as I've been tattooing, reached thousands."

" Back in the day, Darren was known for his graffiti work. And he uses the same amount of time and detail on his tattoos. He uses shading for its 3D effect, and he has bold colors to bring his designs to life."

" And I think graffiti helped me a lot with just different color 313theories, and all that, as well as composition, you know, the way you lay out a piece. And I think with all of that, you can apply it to the tattooing as well."

" This tattoo will help me in the separation, and that I don't pull off my wallet to, you know, to check the picture of my kids, you know, from the moment I wake up and brush my teeth in mirror, I can stare at my shoulder and see them. Darren is awesome! I'm very pleased with Darren's work."

" What he gave me was not only what I had envisioned, but more. It's amazing that he was able to take you in just a few words that I gave him, put in his own flavor and give me what I want. Can't tell you how happy I'm in. I'll leave before I start crying, man."

" Alright."

" Well, I guess you're all tied up."

" Appreciate it, bro."

" I also hope that it shows my kids my dedication to them, that I'll be here forever."