New artist with new interests

[jgoss1579]

Cheers fellow LST members,

My name is Justin Gossett, and i live in Weatherford Texas. I have been tattooing for about 4 months now, and wish i wouldve started way sooner. I have done a few pieces and have had 100% positive feedback, well my wife especially..lol I hope that you all enjoy my pics and hope to meet many people on here..PEACE!!!!

[Stewart Robson]

@jgoss1579 I hoped your photos were a joke or at least someone trolling.

If you've had 100% positive feedback you're asking the wrong people. You need to stop tattooing in your kitchen.

It's sad that a post like this can go a day without anybody saying anything, deleting the post or whatever.

[nmkcle]

Hey,

I am new to tattooing as well. All though it has been around me my whole adult and young adult life. Until three years ago I did not really have the time to give the craft the obedience

and diligence it deserves. Now just this past summer being out of the so called apprentice stage of learning. I find myself still wanting to be more thoroughly taught and practiced.

You will find yourself feeling the same way if you don't slow your roll. Take time learning about composition, Light source, the use of black and its powers of longevity. Then when you feel

you have a handle on that. Learn about your tools you use to create. It is an awesome journey to begin just be sure you are well prepared.

[nmkcle]

I was trying to be nice but I liked your approach better.

[jgoss1579]

nice words of encouragement dickhead.. its people like you that deserve to get punched right in the face, and if i were eye to eye with you..I damn sure would. If you dont like the pictures, then keep your comments to yourself, but dont bash them cuz you are a so called recognized artist..lol

[gougetheeyes]

And there it is. Tattooers like Stewart -- tattooers who have dedicated their lives to tattooing, gone about it the right way so as to pay respect to the trade and lineage of the craft, tattooers who are not only fantastic artists but know the ins and outs of their equipment, shit, tattooers that work in a shop -- pretty much have every right to be a dickhead to someone with an inflated ego scratchin outta their kitchen. Because we all see this shit every day.

Do yourself a favor and put down the "gun," draw your ass off for the next couple of years, and maybe if you're able to learn a little humility (and also how to draw) in that time, you'll get lucky enough to get some tutelage with an apprenticeship, or at least get someone to point you in the right direction. Good luck.

[Shannon Shirley]

Stewart is more than ''so called''. some of us are a little harsh sometimes. Brutally honest maybe. I see so much weak lettering, I worked for the source of fine tattoo lettering for a lot of yrs, fonts are not where its at. Charlie and I where talkin on the phone, yeah ,a land line, the other night and we were discussing how it seems most don't understand that you have got to ''draw that lettering''. my advice to anyone, including to myself is,always work on the Art and the Craft. Oh yeah , My mom told me namecalling isnt nice.

nice words of encouragement dickhead.. its people like you that deserve to get punched right in the face, and if i were eye to eye with you..I damn sure would. If you dont like the pictures, then keep your comments to yourself, but dont bash them cuz you are a so called recognized artist..lol

[jgoss1579]

it may not be perfection, but i drew the lettering..I didnt copy it. I am just starting ,and love every bit of it. Im sure all of your peoples first tats werent fucking Picasso's..I am happy, and i know i am not good enough to take a huge leap and try some extravagant huge tattoo, but i am working at it, and i will name call all i want when someone is a dick about their critique.

[Lochlan]

@jgoss1579

welcome to LST and what you got from @Stewart Robson and others is called constructive criticism. You are attempting to enter a craft of very protective individuals who have given decades and years to it so respect it and them. This is a craft that involves PERMANENTLY putting something onto another and potentially putting something into someone like HepC, Staph, etc if not done right.

This forum is open to all but stay respectful and don't offer violent insults to people because I guarantee you that does not fly here.

[jgoss1579]

well listen hear buddy..I have been working on Harleys my whole life, and can just about build any bike from the ground up!! but im not gonna tell somebody that is just starting to learn to put down the wrench and forget it, so maybe you veteran artists should be a little more humble if you want the respect you think you deserve. I am a very cool person, and am trying something new, and i like it. I will give the respect that is earned when i am not made a mochary of..

[hogg]

Wrenchin' on bikes, tattin' on folks. Not the same thing.

[Stewart Robson]

@jgoss1579 I don't think you need any more words of encouragement. Lots of people tell you you're awesome. I'm trying to be honest.

I don't know a tattooer worth shit that's had 100% positive feedback. I can bet you I've had way more harsh things said to me than what I typed to you.

Maybe you don't know it, but Shannon Shirley just handed you a golden nugget of information. I tattooed shitty lettering for years before I learned what he just said fairly recently. I still get shit for my lettering from the people I work with and are friends with.

Here's my 'be nice' bit: You need to look at the way roses are in real life, not in an online tattoo folio, figure out how they fit together then figure out how to simplify that to be more tattooable. Try to figure out the rhythm and regularity of the way leaves grow up a rose stem, there's a pattern there. Figure out the way the veins spread across a rose leaf, then simplify that.

If you were not tattooing in your kitchen, someone could tell you these things, give you examples and have you practice a few times in less than an hour. As you're on your own, it'll probably take you years. I know that because It took me years.

Believe it or not, I'm nicer on the internet than I am in person. Particularly with people who want to tattoo. You usually need to get a tattoo from me before I'll give any advice at all. I don't think I'm a great tattooer and I'm not sure I'm 'recognised' but I try to do nice work. I've been fortunate enough to have been given advice that helped me grow from being totally shit to having people ask to get tattooed by me, in a shop where everyone turns out great tattoos every day.

You should realise that the world of tattooing is pretty small, even though it's all over the TV and global. Tattooers all over the world know each other and visit each other, even outside of conventions. Threats on the internet are pretty retarded. You can guarantee I would have said the exact same thing to your face, but you'd know I wasn't just being a jerk to make you seem small. I was being honest.

Something I'm reluctant to mention, because it's boring as fuck, is hygene. in 4 months, without any assistance, it's unlikely that you have even a grasp of cross contamination. I know it's possible to buy sterile equipment via the internet and that seems like you're 'safe' but cross contamination isn't about equipment being dirty.

I know you're not going to stop attempting tattoos, people rarely do until they get good, or bored, but...

If you're tattooing your wife/girlfriend/whatever as well as friends and strangers, do everyone a favour, learn and understand cross contamination. Otherwise you may as well all just have a bareback gangbang fisting party with every hooker and junkie anyone ever met.

[Stewart Robson]

@jgoss1579 My first tattoo was on myself. It's still there. I did ten versions on paper, each time fixing parts from the previous version, to get it as good as possible before I even set up a needle.

It's not about how much effort you put in or how new you are or how stoked you are to be makin' tats. It's about how the tattoo looks.

[jgoss1579]

i respect that, but for the record i dont tattoo out of my kitchen. I have a room in my house that consists of all the essentials for good hygiene. I have an autoclave, and buy needles from a supplier in Ft. Worth. I use gloves even with just touching or tuning my machines. I have made it clear that i am just getting started, and am only going to do tattoos that are simple. I have passed up on many tattoos due to the fact that i know i couldnt do them, and i would try to work in a shop here, if the rent wasnt paid with meth money, and the artists didnt display signs of lepracy..lol

[Hands On]

First off, welcome to LST.

Kinda stirrin' up the pot right from the get go, huh? Alright... it's probably true that a bunch of tattooers started tattooing in their houses and had no idea what they were doing. But there is so much information out there now and you've happened to come across one of the best places for it, here at LST. This feedback you're getting is coming from people who care enough about tattooing to want to be protective of it... not the 100% positive feedback from your friends and family who are getting free tattoos. Of course they're going to support you... they're your friends and family and they want you to succeed. You're just bold(*) enough to post your portfolio where some of the best tattooers in the world can see it. Critiques make you better.

(*) could be substituted for plenty of different words. ;)

Although they might feel harsh, you have to learn from them and check your ego at the door. Don't take it personal... take it into your memory banks and make the next drawing or tattoo better. Since you haven't had an apprenticeship, you haven't had a mentor to rip apart your drawings and tattoos and tell you where you fucked up. A big part of the apprenticeship is being humbled, which is a necessary trait in tattooing. Even the greatest tattooers know exactly where their fuckups are in each piece.

I highly suggest digging into this site. Watch the videos and read the forums. It will definitely help you gain some more perspective.

You sound like a pretty positive dude... stay positive and persistent! Four months in is just a tiny step in a long journey.

As for the kitchen thing, I'm sure everyone means that you're tattooing from home (room included), and not in a shop. You have to spend time in a shop to learn how things are done properly. Go get some tattoos from good tattooers!.. you might even be able to build a relationship and land an apprenticeship.

[Stewart Robson]

@daveborjes no toes stepped on. I agree with you.

Everything I write here on Last Sparrow is initially directed at the people involved but I try to be mindful of anyone else who may read it in the future. That's why I mostly talk in general, broad terms rather than specifics.

Everyone gets once chance to be a dick ;)

[Iwar]

Dude... You load up pictures of your homemade tattoos and ask for critique in your profile text. Maybe you should have included a disclaimer that negative (or honest if you will) feedback will result in namecalling and physical threats.

Why the banhammer hasn't been dusted off yet is beyond me. That Bubbleberry guy was annoying as fuck, but atleast he didn't threaten to punch people in the face.

With that mindset I'm sure you'll come a long way.

[jgoss1579]

lol..ok DUDE??? Thanks for your input..

[jgoss1579]

Stewart...started off on the wrong foot man, you are an amazing artist, and should be respected for that, but still a DICK!!! lol

[jgoss1579]

Nice..

[jgoss1579]

and @ Killyourself....wow man? I think all artists should take advice from you. That skull with the dagger, um i guess traditional tat..Thats just EPIC man..lmfao what a great seasoned artist you are man, so thanks again for your vast wisdom..

[JAllen]

pearls before swine

[ShawnPorter]

Otherwise you may as well all just have a bareback gangbang fisting party with every hooker and junkie anyone ever met.

NOW we're talkin' partying. Hell yeah.

[slayer9019]

Wrenchin' on bikes, tattin' on folks. Not the same thing.

It would only be similar if you had to ride that first bike for the rest of your life and carry it with you wherever you go.

Sometimes you need to put down the wrench and bust out the manual and do a bit of research before you make any simple mistakes.

[Avery Taylor]

Holy shit. I really need to start keeping up with the introduction threads. This one is a real peach. Honestly, it really reminds me why I enjoy this forum so much. It would be really easy to go down the line and trash the new guy, but instead honest opinions are being given with thought and consideration. Here is mine. Drive to Austin, TX. Take about six thousand dollars. Go see Jason Brooks, Chris Trevino, Steve Byrne, Jay Chastain, and Tony Hundahl give them the six-thousand dollars to tattoo you. Then go back to Weathorford. Save up another thousand dollars and drive to Mesa, Arizona. See Aaron Coleman. Give him the thousand dollars to tattoo you. I checked on Google maps and that is about 40 hours round trip driving from Weathorford for both trips. Then sit down and look at the seven-thousand dollars worth of tattoos you have just purchased, and try to figure out how they did it. Then cry yourself to sleep, and burn every piece of tattoo equipment that you have ever bought on Ebay. At least this way you will have a few good tattoos to show for your efforts. I am sorry that I have not been as kind as the other members on here, but it has been a long day, and reading your insulting posts made it that much longer.