Budhi
My borzoi, Bodhi, was my heart outside my body. The most beautiful, most soulful, most gentle giant I’ve ever known. He graced me with his presence for 11 beautiful, joyful years. And he moved into his next form in July, 2025. His memorial tattoo? Entirely inspired.
There’s something about a tattoo that makes it a perfect memorial for a pet. The tattoo experience contains love, commitment, focus, discipline, artistry, and some pain. When it’s done, it’s forever a part of me. That’s how my time with Bodhi was; that’s how this tattoo is.
Holding a deep commitment to honor my boy, I looked for an artist talented enough to realize my vision. I didn’t want some abstract art version of Bodhi because his form, his vision, was art. Realism was the way to honor this boy. Tens of thousands of portfolio pictures later, I found Jose. Of the scores and scores of talented realism artists out there, Jose stands out in the way he captures his subjects’ eyes. Without proper depth and soul, the eyes of a tattoo remain dead. But with the proper eyes, yielding the proper expression, the result is an image that grabs and holds tight. An accurate representation of the joy of being.
My instinct for the importance of the eyes was confirmed after the first session. It took three full-day sessions over three months to capture this memorial; the first session was the central portrait. Progress pictures show the difference before and after Jose finished the eyes. The before picture is dead; the after picture is alive. I’d made the right choice for artist.
The second session installed Bodhi’s namesake and protector, the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, above Bodhi’s head. The third session added the image of Bodhi in the snow and wind, and the background.
The design was a true collaboration process. Jose is a master of tattoo composition and his guidance was crucial as we worked together to create this piece. The tattoo is rich with the symbolism befitting a true memorial. The only three points of color are Bodhi’s eyes and the third eye of the Bodhisattva. When Avalokiteshvara looks out through her third eye, she sees what Bodhi sees. The Bodhisattva looks over Bodhi forever. At the bottom, Bodhi bravely faces what is to come, standing firm against the wind and snow. But in the clouds, subtle as always, his brothers and sisters, cats all, guide him and admire him – just as they did in life.
None of this is possible without Jose’s artistry. I’m forever grateful to Jose for his work in honoring my best friend’s life. I will proudly carry this memorial forever.
My borzoi, Bodhi, was my heart outside my body. The most beautiful, most soulful, most gentle giant I’ve ever known. He graced me with his presence for 11 beautiful, joyful years. And he moved into his next form in July, 2025. His memorial tattoo? Entirely inspired.
There’s something about a tattoo that makes it a perfect memorial for a pet. The tattoo experience contains love, commitment, focus, discipline, artistry, and some pain. When it’s done, it’s forever a part of me. That’s how my time with Bodhi was; that’s how this tattoo is.
Holding a deep commitment to honor my boy, I looked for an artist talented enough to realize my vision. I didn’t want some abstract art version of Bodhi because his form, his vision, was art. Realism was the way to honor this boy. Tens of thousands of portfolio pictures later, I found Jose. Of the scores and scores of talented realism artists out there, Jose stands out in the way he captures his subjects’ eyes. Without proper depth and soul, the eyes of a tattoo remain dead. But with the proper eyes, yielding the proper expression, the result is an image that grabs and holds tight. An accurate representation of the joy of being.
My instinct for the importance of the eyes was confirmed after the first session. It took three full-day sessions over three months to capture this memorial; the first session was the central portrait. Progress pictures show the difference before and after Jose finished the eyes. The before picture is dead; the after picture is alive. I’d made the right choice for artist.
The second session installed Bodhi’s namesake and protector, the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, above Bodhi’s head. The third session added the image of Bodhi in the snow and wind, and the background.
The design was a true collaboration process. Jose is a master of tattoo composition and his guidance was crucial as we worked together to create this piece. The tattoo is rich with the symbolism befitting a true memorial. The only three points of color are Bodhi’s eyes and the third eye of the Bodhisattva. When Avalokiteshvara looks out through her third eye, she sees what Bodhi sees. The Bodhisattva looks over Bodhi forever. At the bottom, Bodhi bravely faces what is to come, standing firm against the wind and snow. But in the clouds, subtle as always, his brothers and sisters, cats all, guide him and admire him – just as they did in life.
None of this is possible without Jose’s artistry. I’m forever grateful to Jose for his work in honoring my best friend’s life. I will proudly carry this memorial forever.
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