New TEXAS member! :)

[shootinlikejimmer]

Hey LST guys and gals!

Yet ANOTHER New member here!

Little about me before I get to the real reason I joined up here...

I'm James, a 22 year old guy that recently moved from California to Western Texas.

I moved from my home to chase some work in my career field, being a lineman. For those of you who don't know what that is I'll make it nice and simple for ya... I build power line.

right now I work in the oil foelds, but my goal is to be back in a city in Cali sooner than later..

In my past I raced quads professionally, but after breKjng 2 bones back to back (over a year of not being able to do $#!t I decided it was time to get my ACt together and figure out a real job to do for the rest of my life.

so there are some basics of how I ended up where I am today...

now to the good stuff..

I currently live in Odessa TX.. it's a boom town, and just like everywhere there are plenty of places to get tattoos, but in all honestly every shop here SUCKS... their work is just really poorly drawn.

I am NOT a tattoo expert, hell I don't even have one yet, but that's why I am here.. to find a good, QUALITY, place to go get my first.

now, my first tattoo will probably be lame as hell to most of you, but I want something simple, for my first. I do already have an idea for a 1/2 sleeve on my upper arm, but I want something small as my first one, and I even drew it.. even though I suck at drawing..

so what I want to know is:

1.where is a good place somewhat near odessa Texas?

2.what would you all add to this tattoo I drew up? I feel as though it needs more, but can't figure out what would make it look BADASS.. maybe some vines or something??.. help a fella out here!

and so you all are aware, I am ITALIAN, those are the colors of the ITALIAN flag, NOT the Mexican flag..

just have to make that clear so you don't start throwing out Spanish words or something that is Hispanic related hahA

anyways, thanks for reading, and I look forward to being a part of this community and can't wait to hear what ya all think of my shitty drawing! haha!

-James

[shootinlikejimmer]

please excuse my crappy color pencil drawing... it's horrible, I know.. but I did it just to get a rough idea of how the piece I wanted would look... just need to add something to it now... HELP MS! hah

[motsimus]

Hey mate welcome to LST, I know it's a few hours away but if you find yourself in Austin you should check out Affinity tattoo and Rock of ages tattoo. Affinity Tattoo and Piercing - TATTOOS

Rock of Ages Tattooing | Austin, TX

If you can't get there I suggest you just wait until your back in California where your pretty much spoiled for choice.

[shootinlikejimmer]

it here is no telling when I'll be back home! and I am DYING to get a sleeve started..

I planned on going to either Dallas or Austin.. was just waiting for someone to suggest a shop/ artist in one of those cities!

do you know of they will work with me via email to get a design settled?

I figured with the size this piece will be it can be done in one sitting..

but everything after this one will be larger and probably require multiple visits..

I honestly want to keep the number of visits as low as possible, just because of his far of a drive I'll be mKing..

[shootinlikejimmer]

@motsimus:

What do you think of my idea for my first tattoo? i don't expect you to like the idea, but I do so that's all that matters.. but what would you add to it to make it cooler looking and add some style and maybe some dimension to it..

[motsimus]

The easiest thing you can do is call the shop and ask if you can send them an email.to be completely honest I would go for a rose with the Italian flag behind it ,something a bit more classic that will stand the test of time but if the diamonds what you really want then I suggest talking to the tattooer that you choose and see what they think.

[shootinlikejimmer]

hmm... I like the idea of a ride with the Italian flag... I actually wanted to get a few flowers around the elbow area of my arm, and those were probably going to come after this tattoo, or maybe after I got the upper 1/2 sleeve..

[shootinlikejimmer]

I'll give them a call tomorrow and see what they say

[bugxjuice]

Austin and Dallas have plenty of great shops, but honestly there's no need to go that far - San Angelo TX is home to Trufant Brothers Tattoo. The Trufant Bros (Alex and Aubrey) are both solid tattooers, and they put on the West Texas Tattoo Convention, which is just around the corner, Feb 21-23, in San Angelo. There's a laundry list of incredible tattooers at that convention, I would definitely recommend getting tattooed there.

As far as your idea, I'm in agreement on the rose and flag - a rose is a strong, classic image and the rose/flag combo is not uncommon.

[Joe Shit]

How about the Italian boot with an American flag on one side and Italian flag on the other side.The ankle would be a good spot for that.

Red Skull Tattoo El Paso 1791 Zaragosa Rene,Alex,& Danny do good work.