Sun tattoo: They used to hang out at a tattoo shop all the time. They would get picked on because they did not have a tattoo. Their buddy said, “I am going to give you a tattoo.” This is what was picked.

Skeleton Mickey Mouse giving the bird tattoo: They and a bunch of friends in the Marines all got this same tattoo.

JW zipper tattoo: Before their dad passed away, he had open heart surgery. Their dad had a zipper tattoo over his scar. He would always joke with the doctor that they could not go back in unless they used the zipper. So everybody called him Zipper.

EGA eagle globe and anchor tattoo: This is for the Marine Corps.

Anchor heart tattoo and Anchor cross tattoo: They and their best friend got matching tattoos. They had been friends for about 10 years and decided to get tattoos together. The story is the same for both tattoos, and the friend is the same for both tattoos.

Mommy tattoo: The mommy is in their mother’s handwriting. The image is for their first born; she was breast fed.

Paw print tattoo: This is for their first dog. Their dad took the dog and he now lives with their dad.

Lorelai tattoo: This is for their first born. Lorelai is her name.

Monarch butterfly tattoo: This is for their mom. Her favorite butterfly was the Monarch butterfly. They are from Texas. The Monarch butterfly is the Texas state insect.

Perryman tattoo: This was John’s first tattoo. They got it so they don’t forget their last name.

In high tide or low tide I’ll be by your side tattoo: About 4 years ago John got bit by a tick. John’s partner stood beside them the whole time they were in the hospital. She never left John.

John tattoo: This is John’s name so they don’t forget it.

Life and Death tattoo: The tattoo says life one way and death the other way.

Carson tattoo: This is John’s nephew’s name.

Lorelai tattoo: This is John’s daughter’s name.

Rose tattoo: This was their first tattoo. It says Michelle in the rose. They got that just before they got married.  This tattoo is 35 years old.

Classical Justice League tattoos:  They are in a competition with their son who is a comic historian on YouTube. He has all the new Justice League of Superheroes. They decided to go with the old school Justice League of Superheros.

Boston Red Sox tattoo: They got this on a whim. They were traveling down I-95 and saw a tattoo shop in Lumberton, NC, and decided to get a Boston B on their wrist.

Dagger through a heart tattoo: This was DXE’s first tattoo. It was their rebellious tattoo. DXE’s mom hates tattoos. DXE got in trouble for this one. DXE did wait until they were 21 to get the tattoo, but their mom was still pissed. At that time of this tattoo life was hurting so much. DXE thought love was not the only thing that can break your heart, life could also break your heart. In the dagger there is also a rainbow because DXE is LGBT and queer. This is one of DXE’s own designs.

Jack Skellington tattoo: Nightmare before Christmas is DXE’s favorite movie, and Jack Skellington is their favorite charter. DXE wanted a whole sleeve with all of the characters from the movie, but stopped with one due to money.

But Jen tattoo: This is DXE’s best friend’s signature. Her name is Jennifer. It says, “But Jen.” This is because they have a inside joke: any time DXE wants her to do something, DXE says, “But Jen.” Jen normally says no to DXE’s ideas and DXE says, “But Jen.” They have been best friends forever. DXE told her, “You know what I am going to do one day? I am going to get your name tattooed on me.” DXE told her to write down, “But Jen” on a piece of paper. Jen had no idea what DXE was doing. Within an hour, DXE got the tattoo. Jen now has DXE’s initials on her shoulder.

Arrow turning into a paint brush tattoo: This was another one of DXE’s own designs. The arrow represents moving forward. DXE has been an artist all their life. In the last 4 years, DXE has been an on and off professional full time artist. The image is an arrow turning into a paint brush. This for DXE is a reminder to move forward with their art. DXE doesn’t want anything stopping them, as they have stopped so many times. The style with all the rainbow colors is DXE’s style. You will see this type of style in a lot of DXE’s paintings and art.

A funny story of about this one: DXE’s artist name is DXE. In the middle you can see the X. The artist put the tattoo on backwards.  In the mirror looks perfect, but on DXE’s arm it is backwards.

Tribal sun with D in the middle tattoo: The reason for this is at the time DXE was hanging out with lots of people with names starting with a “D.” They all went to the tattoo shop and got the letter “D” somewhere on their bodies.

A3 with angle wings tattoo: There is a little 3 above the A. It is supposed to be A to the 3rd power. DXE’s mom, dad, and brother’s names all start with the letter A. DXE’s mom’s name is Angeli, and  dad and brother’s names are Angel. The wings are because all three of their names are Angel.

Cross with tribal tattoo: DXE drew this cross. DXE did not think about this one much, and just wanted another tattoo. DXE put the cross with the tribal, it has no meaning to DXE. It was just one of those things that DXE wanted.

Koi fish sleeve tattoo: This is an unfinished sleeve. This was a birthday gift to themselves when they turned 31. DXE was going through heartache, and had moved to back to Georgia from Florida. Everyone DXE had dated said, “you can not get anymore tattoos.” This is DXE’s F-you tattoo. Saying DXE is going to keep getting tattoos. The tattoo is of two koi fish, because DXE is a Pisces. The fish are unfinished as they are supposed to have scales.

DXE tattoo: This is DXE’s company logo. DXE’s artist name is DXE. In the middle is a little character with eyeballs and teeth. These characters are named Crazy Faces, and are DXE’s own creation. Crazy Faces are the seeds to DXE’s thoughts and living in DXE’s imagination.

Abuelita rosary tattoo: Abuelita means grandmother in Spanish. DXE’s family was not a religious family. They were raised Catholic, DXE’s grandmother always wore rosaries.

Flowers tattoo: Back in the day, one of DXE’s friends was tattooing. She needed to practice. DXE said, “You can practice on me,” and this is what they decided to do. The flowers was something simple she could work on.

Butterfly tattoo: DXE did this one themselves. Once, DXE attempted to be a tattoo artist. DXE practiced on their own leg. The tattoo was infected for weeks, because DXE went too deep.

A prayer for the wild at heart kept in cages tattoo: They got this tattoo as matching tattoos with Jen. They got this because every time they get in a relationship they get put in a cage and they don’t want to be put in a cage. Jen picked the quote. They both got the tattoos on the same spot.

Dual Scythe Grim Reaper tattoo: They really like the cycle of life and death. Eventually, they will get something to balance and symbolize life.

DJV skull tattoo: This is a skull wearing headphones, and one ear is exploding out. They had friends that used to be married. The friends had been through hard times. They used to be DJV. In the bottom of the teeth it says DJV. DJV had a contest at a bar where the best use of their symbol would win a mystery prize. Their prize for getting a $50 tattoo of DJV’s symbol was free drinks all night.

Faith tattoo: They got this because they feel that you should always have faith. Good thing are always going to happen.