The Art of Ink

Chapter One - Introductions

Welcome to the Art of Ink! This is my new story which has been on hold in my head for a long time now (Since TianShan week 2018!). This is going to be a fun ride, as usual I write what inspires me, so I don't know where this story is going but I guarantee you this....

There will be TianShan smut, flirting He Tian, confident but spiky Mo Guan Shan who knows exactly what he wants. A beautiful tattoo shop with lots of interesting characters working inside it. Plenty to fill your 19days needs! Enjoy, I love comments and likes, don't be shy to talk to me.

These characters belong to Old Xian

Later

Ladyoftheloch

xxx

============================

In bustling Sanlitun the 'The Art of Ink' tattoo shop had a retro interior unlike most traditional tattoo studios. Situated inside a high rise Yongli Guoji right in the Chaoyang District, it was open from 10.00am until 9.30pm everyday. There were exceptional tattoo artists, top-quality instruments, and a relaxing atmosphere. Four tattoo artists worked at the studio:

30 year old Da Wei Usalev, a half Chinese half Russian expat, started in 2011. His portrait tattoos are second to none and he also specialised in traditional style.

29 year old female tattoo artist, Zheng Heng Chen, became professional in 2010 and is already a specialist in both the New School and Old School style.

26 year old Zhun Yong Ong, he started painting when he was younger and entered the tattoo industry in the 2012. He is good at traditional styles, as well as being the shop's best sketch artist.

Last but not least, 23 year old Mo Guan Shan, three years experience under his belt. His speciality was traditional styles, including Chinese ink, Japanese-inspired designs, and the New Traditional style. Guan Shan was something of a wonder kid to be lucky enough to work with such pros.

Due to their popularity reservations were a requisite, to ensure tattoo artists had enough time to draw a design. A deposit of 1,000 yuan was paid when making an appointment. The minimum charge was 1,000 yuan, and if a tattoo took more than half an hour, an additional 2,000 yuan per hour was paid.

The shop itself was large, tall ceilings gave it an airy feel. A large entrance and seating area greeted customers when they opened the door. The Owner, Da Wei Usalev, looked nothing like your average tattooist with his shirt buttoned to his chin, sleeves rolled up to reveal heavily tattooed forearms. Braces, smart dress trousers and brown leather boots which were never fastened tightly. The employees joked that their boss had been watching too much of the British show Peaky Blinders, because his hair cut was severely shaved on the sides and gelled back black hair on top. The brusque half Russian man would only stare at his employees and it was enough for them to scatter back to prep or sketching. They all whispered and joked that Da Wei Usalev was an ex-member of the Russian mob, he had weird tattoos on his hands and chest that they had only seen in movies.

It was a big mystery.

The work stations had huge mirrors, brown leather fully adjustable chairs or large moveable benches. The walls were cream with dark wooden inlays and dark brown framed pictures of whatever art took Uslev's fancy. The tattoo artists own artwork were stored in large books which they could show a client when they came in for consultation. It looked like a trendy barber shop, but don't tell the big guy that.

Mo Guan Shan had been working at this haven for all things tattoo for three whole years. Usalev scouted him when he was at art school, he came to a competition at Mo Guan Shan's college and fell in love with this talented kid's work. Usalev offered him a paid apprenticeship at his tattoo shop and Mo snapped it up in a second.