Turtledove and Phoenix Tattoos

After many a year of coveting and admiration, I finally got the perfect design to get tattooed with.

During my wedding, I had for my reading a Shakespearean poem about eternal true love, "The Phoenix and Turtle." (Both symbols died, but we all die eventually.) Thus, for my wedding, I chose to get a bird tattooed on each shoulder: a turtledove on the right, a phoenix on the left.

And of course, because I'm an anal sot, I insisted on designing the things myself.

You may note that in all my gallery, there is not a single drawing of a bird. GUESS WHY.

Six months of referencing, drawing, re-drawing, finding the right artist, and healing, I now have two works on me that I'm proud of and hope to love my whole life. Here's the progression of the design, from first prelims to what was finally put on me.

Suddenly I realize: I got Shakespearean fanart tattooed on me. That's actually pretty awesome.