Say hello to Monica, better a day late then never get to see her Hope to do more with her this year as well. Leave your comments below and check out Monica’s Facebook page as well.

Bio:

My name is Monica Renee and I was born and raised in beautiful San Diego, CA. Being a true southern California girl, and I LOVE spending time at the beach, soaking up the sun and lounging with my friends.

I also have a huge passion for music (especially the hardcore genre) and try to see as many live shows as possible. I have been professionally modeling for over five years now and have loved every minute of it.

I love each and every one of my tattoos…every one of them reminds me of a time in my life and I love being able to look back at all of that. I will definitely continue to get more tattoos over the course of my life. I think they are beautiful expressions of ones individuality and beauty and should be celebrated!

You can also become a fan of Monica at her Facebook page The Real Monica Renee

      

New Tattoo Gallery

Yep we are opening a new gallery on the site for visitor submitted images. Now we are not taking any image you happen to find on the web. No these images must be of yourselves ladies, or taken by you fellow photographers. We are looking for high quality images as well. There are many sites that will show the snapshots, we want to showcase the best there is!

New Tattoo Shop

The old print shop had you find the image you liked then paste in the image number. This may have been to difficult so we changed the print shop to show specific imaged that you can add to your shopping cart. Now most images on the site are available as a print so if you don’t see the one you want in there just send us an email to info@thefemalecanvas.com and we’ll get it up in the shop. All prints are also available in canvas and metal, just ask! WE also added a members only shop for exclusive prints and items!

iPhone Tattoo Cases

Looking to keep your favorite Female Canvas in your pocket? We now have iPhone 4 and 3 cases available! We are putting some up in the shop, but just like prints you can get just about any image on them, just ask! iPad case to come soon

Ok Ok the Giveaway…

yeah you are all just looking for the freebie this month is an 8×12 print of this months canvas, Ashley! The photo you see up there on the page. You should know the drill by now. We are using rafflecopter to mange the giveaway and there are several ways you can enter. We do check and if you say you tweeted and you didn’t tweet or if you say you are a member and you are not then that entry will be disqualified.

Update:

Calendar provider is offering free shipping till Jan 31st so you go get your calendars. Use code WHOASHIPPING305 when you check out.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Bio:

I will never forget the look on that elderly woman’s face. She glared at me with a mixture of disgust and intrigue as I stood in front of the mirror, trying on my various finds from the thrift store.

“Oh, honey,” she began in mock sympathy. “What will you do when you need to wear a wedding dress?”

Immediately I knew what she meant. She ran her fingers across her sternum, stroking the spot that I had covered with a large chest piece of blues and reds and purples.

I replied, “The person I marry will love me as I am, and my tattoos are a part of me.” She scoffed and went along with her shopping, unable to comprehend that someone could love a monster such as me.

But I know nothing else. Born in Elizabethtown, Kentucky in 1986, my family moved to San Diego when I was three years old. For as long as I can remember, my mother and her then-husband had tattoos that I admired. As a child who loved to personalize her effects with stickers, tattoos were like the next best thing.

My first tattoo came a few months after my 18th birthday. It’s artwork from the band AFI, a heart with bat wings between my shoulders. Second came the traditional rose on my right hip, an homage to a rose my mother has on her leg. Then an old-school rose on my left hip, my chest piece of a pin-cushion heart, a garter around my right thigh and finally a pin-up pirate girl on the outside of my right leg from my knee to my ankle.
It has been a few years since my last piece. I have been deeply contemplating what the next work of art shall be but I haven’t come up with anything that speaks to me. I suppose I will know when the time is right.

As for the elderly woman, I think of her words from time to time. But personally, I find that my tattoos are the best screening process for potential acquaintances, friends and lovers. I have always possessed the desire to get to know someone’s true character before judging them. It’s only right that I should want the same from those in my life. If someone does not like me simply upon sighting me, I have decided that this is not a person I want in my life anyway.

Life is too short to let others dictate your path in life. Even as my skin sags, my tattoos stretch and droop, I will be happy knowing that I lived life for myself.

Things that piss me off:

Rudeness. (A man who is polite to a cashier/server is so sexy!)
Ignorance. (Along with love, the pursuit of knowledge is the meaning of life!)
Religious zealots

Things that turn me on:

P90X
Fantasy novels (See: The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind)
Gaming
Camping

             

Of course more of Ashley will be added to the members galleries soon!

Be sure to leave Ashley some love in the comments below!

There are many ways to enter just follow the instructions below. I am using the new raffle copter that makes these giveaways so much easier to run. You must comment on the blog first for your first entry then you are welcome to do all the other ways to get yourself several entries in. Contest ends New Years Eve with the winner announced New Years Day!

Stay tuned as we will be annoying the new skate decks that you can have hanging on your wall with your favorite Female Canvas soon!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Welcome to our second feature of fellow photographers from around the world that enjoy photography beautiful ladies with ink. Welcome an up and coming photographer from the great white north Melanie Titus from Canada.  

Bio:

Melanie Titus is a Halifax, NS Canada based photographer who specializes in pinup and portrait photography. Melanie’s love affair with photography and images from the past began when she received her first Polaroid camera at age 10. It is only in the last few years, though, that she has become serious about it, having spent 3 years studying English at a local university before realizing that she would never be satisfied in that field . During a two year program at a local college, Melanie gained an important mentorship with local fashion photographer Brent McCombs (AlterEgo). This relationship hugely influenced her processing style, work flow and her approach to lighting. Having never used Photoshop before her formal education, Melanie began watching every online tutorial she could get her hands on. Processing has since become a a major component in her work. After finishing the 2yr program, Melanie graduated at the top of her class and decided that she would focus her attention completely on shooting what she was passionate about.

“I remember an instructor telling our class that as a photographer starting out, you would not be able to shoot only what you wanted. I didn’t buy that for a second. I thought that I would much rather be great at one thing than be alright at many…”

Photographing tattooed subjects seemed like a natural fit. Now 26yrs old, Melanie has been fascinated with tattoos since childhood and has herself been getting tattooed since she was 17yrs old. Many of the women she was working with were into the local rockabilly scene and she soon realized that her passion for vintage could aid her in carving out her niche in a small city. Obsessed with details, Melanie spends much of her time researching and collecting period appropriate wardrobe and set pieces. She is heavily inspired by Irving Klaw, Chas Ray Krider, Viva Van Story and illustrators John Willie and Tyson McAdoo.

For Melanie, 2011 has been a remarkable year of firsts. With her first publication in Inked Girls Magazine in January, a wave of success has followed. Seven more major publications followed, including her first cover, and she is showing no signs of slowing down.

“The biggest hurdle for me is living in a small city, away from most major centres. It feels really great though, to show people that you don’t have to live in Toronto to produce quality and have it noticed. You just have to be extra hungry”.

Melanie is looking forward to expanding her portfolio by moving into latex and fetish images. She will be teaming up with Toronto based latex designer Adala in the coming months and is in talks with several publications and designers. She is forever on the lookout for new models with incredible canvases.

Contact:

www.melanietitusphoto.com

   
   

All images are copyrighted by Melanie Titus and are displayed with permission

Say hello to Jessica, one of my favorite ladies to photograph. She is a natural beauty and we have had so much fun at each shoot since early 2007! Been to long since last one and need to get her in front of the camera again, promise!

Bio:

My name is Jessica but everyone calls me Muffin J
I was born and raised in the beautiful city of San Diego. I have been getting tattooed for about 8 years now
I am one of 5 siblings all in which are all heavily tattooed except for one. Expressing one’s self and being an individual was always supported in my upbringing.
I feel that our bodies are a shell our souls are renting while we are here on earth, so why not paint the story? My body shows through art the places I’ve been, the people I have loved and lost, the experiences I have had and the things I adore.
As long as there is room on my canvas to paint, the art will continue!

Things that piss me off:

Negative attitude
Bad Breath
Toe Shoes!!! Oh my gosh! Worst ever hahaha!

Things that turn me on:

Yummy perfume or cologne
A sexy smile
Closet kink 

Hobbies:

Rocking out in my car, shower, and wherever else I can J
Puffy painting and arts n’ crafts
Cooking
Naughty websites

      

Want to see a lot ‘more’ of Jessica? Well I will be load lots of her images to the members gallery this month! Of course prints are available!

You can also find her on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/MUFFIN619

Be sure to leave jessica some love in the comments below!

Welcome to our first feature of fellow photographers from around the world that enjoy photography beautiful ladies with ink. We start out here with Peter Gonzales of New Mexico.  Been following his work for awhile now and love seeing what he comes up with next. Please welcome peter to The Female Canvas.

Bio:

Peter Gonzales is a photographer based in Albuquerque, NM and specializes in Fitness and Glamour photography. Although he has always been involved in something creative, photography is a comparatively new endeavor to him. While assisting a friend who was photographing a wedding, the process and visual impact grabbed hold of him.  Peter went out, bought his first camera and hasn’t looked back, “I began reading everything I could find, or get my hands on”.  Peter is self taught in photography and photoshop and attributes his success to many sleepless nights of reading on Garage Glamour and Retouch Pro or examining photos on the internet and countless other sites, not to mention a number of books.

Early on, Peter was amazed by the work of Rolando Gomez, Traci Hicks and Andy McFarland but was truly intrigued by Robert Alvarado’s work. The combination of styling, editing and lighting had an immediate effect. “His style had a huge impact on how I look at things, and still does”. Peter spent a great deal of time researching and trying to understand how the workflow can achieve such a stylized look, one step at a time. It Was Alvarado’s love of using women with Tattoos and other body modifications that lead Peter down the path of shooting women with artwork.

“I love the personal statements, the stories behind the ink” says Peter. “In many cases, the story is quite personal and is very detailed, a personal tribute to life itself.”

Peter continues working hard to achieve a style of his own and his work has paid off.  He has been the photographer for Albuquerque’s Hard Rock ‘Hard Body’ Calendar the last two years in a row and his work has been published several times in 2011.  As he prepares to enter 2012, he is aggressively pursuing more published pieces for various magazines, websites and promotional products. In addition to shooting a great deal of fitness competitors and models, he finds time to hold workshops at his studio, teaching lighting techniques to new photographers and acting as a network coordinator. These events strive to create a comfortable environment and help put beginning photographers and new models together to expand their experience and portfolios.

Contact:

http://petergonzalesphotography.com/ and  facebook.com/pgphotographynm

Models:

Gabrielle and Licai Vigil, Jenna Elaine, Jessica Rinaldi, Mercy Beaucoup, Meredith Haleigh, Michelle Avila

All images are copyrighted by Peter Gonzales and are displayed with permission

Bio:

I grew up in South Oceanside in San Diego County and saw tattoos everywhere I went. I always knew I wanted to get them, but never really pressed the matter. I knew when the time came, I’d figure it out. When I was 20 I lived with a friend who had a wicked and huge dragon tattoo that stretched from his left arm, across his back and down his right arm. I watched his artist work on him and fell in love with his style.That’s when I got started. I decided I would do ONE tattoo…a huge piece, something I would forever relate to, that would be a piece of artwork and would compliment my body shape. I decided on the phoenix because of its symbolism. It took a total of 17 hours and I enjoyed every minute of it! I didn’t want words or a person on my body. A symbol seemed perfect, something to represent my past, present and future. The phoenix bursts into flames and rises from the ashes. My life has been entirely relative to that more than once! To me, it’s also a symbol of optimism. No matter what happens, I will always rise from the ashes once more.

Now years after getting my first tattoo, I crave more! But once again, just waiting for the right idea to come to me. Eventually, I’ll be a canvas covered in art…hopefully art that showcases who I am.

Things that piss me off:

Arrogance
Drunken behavior
Greed

Things that turn me on:

Tattoos, duh!
Being secure in your own skin
Sarcasm & good sense of humor
Decisiveness
Glasses

Dreams:

To open up my own cafe.

        

Using random.org to generate a random number from the number of comments. the winner is Tom Schloendorn! Tom please email me your shipping info and I’ll get that print out to you. Of course stay tuned to the blog as we will have another giveaway this month as well.

In the mean time stay tuned this week as well as we are set to announce the next Canvas of the Month feature. New images from our winner with bio and links. Later in the Month we will start our feature for other photographer and/or models with ink! Also plan on adding 2 more galleries to the members area as well.

Sine there are lots of lovely inked women that just may not be able to pass through my lovely city of San Diego, I will be doing a monthly (or more) feature on some of them as well. So if you meet the criteria (female sand have ink) and would like to be featured here please send me a couple photos to info@thefemalecanvas.com. They most be semi-professional photos (no snapshots please) and if chosen you must be able to submit 6-7 photos. Of course you do need the photographers permission as well. Speaking of the photographers Im also considering doing a feature on a photographer as well showing off their work with tattooed women! Some thing here, send me an email for consideration. Im looking at doing my own Canvas of the month then one on a photographer and another of a lady I will not get the opportunity to shoot each month!

Oct Giveaway!

Ok this month I will be giving away a 8×12 print of the Notorious Ang shown here from her Jan 2009 feature in Skin&Ink Magazine. The print is just the photo not the article and has been signed by Ang herself. She has since moved out of the area so I don’t know when I will be able to get any more signed prints from her so this is a special giveaway.

We’ll give you up to 5 ways to enter.

• Simply leave a comment here on this post. Let us know what you think or a constructive suggestion.
• Like our facebook page, come back here and leave a comment again that you have done so.
• Become a member, and again come back here and leave a comment
• You can follow me on twitter but Its not all about the Female Canvas, you’ll see tweets from other interest (yes come back here and leave a comment).
• Bonus!! If you add me on twitter, then tweet this post (use the tweet button below) come back make a comment

So you can have up to 5 entries for this little contest, please leave a separate comment for each entry (more than one comment for each will cause all to be deleted) and Im thinking we’ll run this contest till Oct 31st. Winner to be announced on 1st or 2nd of Nov

UPADTE: this giveaway has been closed