Regina man gets city skyline tattooed on one of his legs

A Regina man is professing his love for the Queen City with some serious ink.

Mark Rathwell got his first tattoo 23 years ago, opting for the image of a Canadian flag.

A few years ago, the former City of Regina employee got his tattoo updated by Jesse Exner at Blacksmith Arts on Halifax Street.

The thing about getting a tattoo, Rathwell said, is you always want one more.

“And at the time I thought, ‘I’m probably done after this.’ But he did such a good job, it was kind of like immediately the Regina skyline idea popped into my head,” Rathwell said during Thursday’s Greg Morgan Morning Show.

Rathwell said what he has done is not unusual.

“I’m not reinventing the wheel here in terms of skyline tattoos. There are a lot of them around,” he said, pointing out people have got tattoos of other cities and iconic sports venues.

The work on his newest tattoo took two sessions and 12 hours. On top of that, Rathwell said Exner spent five hours drawing it out beforehand.

“My wife’s checking my sanity every once in a while,” Rathwell said. “It was just one of those things that kind of grew and that I identify with.”