HALLOWEEN TATTOO FLASH. 13 Designs, $130 Each

I painted this Halloween flash sheet a year ago, and I'm bringing it back for October at Big Kahuna Tattoo in Boca Raton. There are 13 designs on the page, because 13 is a number that tends to be associated with Halloween. Through the end of the month, every design is $130, in your choice of color or black and grey.

WHY I STILL PAINT FLASH

I paint with watercolor because it's the medium that translates most directly to tattooing. With oil or acrylic, you lighten a color by mixing in white. With watercolor, you fade straight into the paper, the same way a tattooer fades pigment into the skin.Tattooers painted with watercolors for years, and some of the most distinctive “moves” came from handling a bead of water that was getting away from them. You have to make it work anyway, and that's part of where a tattooer's own style comes from. How you use black shading is one way to make your work uniquely yours, and painting is the best place to practice it

IS FLASH A ONE AND DONE?
No. Flash is painted so it can be tattooed more than once. If a tattooer spends the time to finish a design, it's available to anyone who wants it. That has always been the point of flash.

HOW TO GET ONE
Walk-ins are more than welcome. These are small, fun designs that work well as a spontaneous walk-in, and appointments are welcome too. Big Kahuna Tattoo is at 73 S. Federal Hwy in Boca Raton, and the shop is cash only. Boca Raton's original tattoo shop, since 1999.