As a foreman on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, Doug Lewis is just a regular guy. One would never know what he has hidden under his clothes. But as you can see, Doug has spent a lot of time with his tattoo artist, Stan Wolf of Permanent Impressions in Lemoyne (find out more about Stan in our February issue)

     Doug went into Permanent Impressions on his 40th birthday planning on getting a small Rolling Stones logo. Before he ever got that far, he realized that he was in the presence of a true artist. When he got talking to Stan, he asked if he would want to draw up something special for him. Stan's response: how big? His only restriction was that Doug wanted to be able to cover everything up.

     Doug started with a full piece on his back that depicts a gothic heaven and hell battle. In the center of his back there is a wizard that is overseeing the battle. And don't think that the wizard is the only thing that is watching; all throughout the battle scenes are random faces and eyeballs, specifically on his right calf. What's the fascination with eyeballs? "They're watching, always watching and looking."

     From his back, his artwork spreads over his right shoulder and down to cover both of his legs. Doug's left leg portrays a battle between heaven and hell, the upper part showing the angels defeating the demons with the lower part showing the full battle scene. His right leg can be described as "very demonic" where, in part, a demon fetus is drawn.

     Doug is coming to the conclusion of the time that he is spending with Stan, though. He promised his wife that he would stop by the time that he turned 50 next year. By that time though, his back piece will encircle his entire chest, and connect with both of his legs.

     Doug's advice for those of you looking to get your first tattoo is simple: see what your artist can do; make sure that they actually are an artist; take their advice and listen to what they have to say; but make sure that you have a direction that you want to go with your ink. He says that everyone at Permanent Impressions is really concerned about the impression that the public has of tattooing and the impression that they are giving the community. People are generally shocked at first when they see Doug's artwork, but then that subsides when they realize that this truly is artwork and that Stan is a great artist.

     Doug has won many awards for his artwork, including a first place trophy after being tattooed for seven hours straight and walking up onto the stage at the Meeting of the Marked convention in Pittsburgh. In addition to his first place, he has taken home three third place awards in the past two years at Meeting of the Marked.

     We'll be following up with Doug when he has his masterpiece completed, but in the mean time, check out Stan Wolf and all the other guys at Permanent Impressions at (717) 731-5411 or at www.pitattoo.com.