Hours of work and hundreds of pounds later, tattoo artist James Dickson finally sits back to admire his latest creation - and it would be fair to say it's an unusual one.
James from Newcastle's Pins and Needles Tattoo Studio had just finished a tattoo for a client who wanted Uncle Albert's head from 'Only Fools and Horses' on Popeye's body with a sailor anchor in the background. The reason why? That's not for the 38-year-old to ask.
However, he definitely has something to say after a client headed straight to the beach afterwards and ruined the tattoo he put his heart and soul into.
"They didn't look after their tattoo so it looks horrendous now," he said. "He literally went from the studio to the beach and it got infected. People don't realise that aftercare is just as important as the tattoo itself.
"I spent seven hours on the tattoo - around five hours drawing it - and they shell out £400 for the day but then they don't look after their tattoo. I think it's crazy that they go through all that pain and spend all that money and they are not willing to look after it. But it happens a lot."
Welcome to the world of a tattoo artist, where every shift sees these specialists leave a lasting mark on someone for the rest of their life.
James has decades' worth of experience when it comes to getting tattoos. However, being on the other side of the needle is something he is fairly new to after starting an apprenticeship at Pins and Needles on Grainger Street nearly two years ago.
After getting his first tattoo as a teenager, James says that 70% of his body is covered in ink to such an extent that he has lost count of how many tattoos he has.
"I'm very heavily tattooed - a lot more than the average person," he said.
"There is no way of counting how many tattoos I have. I would say at least 70% of my body is covered in tattoos - that includes my head and my face."
The former chef from Northumberland Park had always had a love of drawing after being taught by his grandad, Stanley, as a child and he proudly shows off his work under his Instagram name, s.dickson.tattooer, which pays homage to the man who had such an impact on his career.
But it was only after sharing his ambition with Pins and Needles owner Jon Moss after his own inking session that James got offered the opportunity he'd always dreamed of.
Now James thrives on bringing people's ideas to life and has even inked his mother and wife over the last two years.
In that time, the dad has seen it all - from giving an 87-year-old man his first tattoo to fielding his fair share of "weird" design requests from clients.
"We do get weird requests, but if they are happy then that's what matters," James said. "Other people don't need to understand it. As long as the person is getting what they want, then I am happy to do it."
He continued: "I had a guy who had bad scars on his face so I used a skin tone pigment on his face that tattooed over the scars to make them less obvious. I have done things for people who have lost children, grandparents... people who have really sad stories but it is really rewarding to help them."
Replica tattoos like grandparents' handwriting or pictures drawn by family members are becoming increasingly popular, according to James, who said the role of a tattoo artist can sometimes be akin to a therapist.
"People will deal with grief in all different ways and a part of the job is just being there for them," he said.
"Listening to them, whatever they have got to say, or have a joke with them, whatever they need. I definitely think there is an argument to be made that people use tattoos as a form of therapy."
And just like the relationship a therapist has with their clients, there is definitely a heavy reliance on trust when it comes to tattooing someone for the first time.
"You get a good trust with someone as a tattoo artist," James said. "When you are doing someone's first tattoo, nine times out of 10, you are meeting them for the first time 10 minutes before.
"You are doing something that they will carry with them for the rest of their life so there is automatic trust built up. So they do tend to be a bit more open with you because they feel in safe hands."
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