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Yeah. This is why I'm not a tattoo artist.

I'm now to this place and just wanted to share my new 3/4 sleeve that Marcus did on me Saturday. He tattoos in Maine and New York but comes here to Santa Barbara a couple times a year to guest spot. Because I might not see him until December or January, I booked 2 appointments with him this visit. The first session he completed the outline which took 4 hours and 45 minutes but with out breaks probably closer to 4 hours. It was a little rough, he's definitely not known for being gentle,but it was well worth it :D Here's the drawing done from the tracing of my arm... And the finished outline. It was done 4 days ago so it's a little scaly by now... I'll go back on the 1st to complete all the black and grey shading so it should look like a finished product until next time when I can get it colored in. Fortunately the guy works really fast, unfortunately it's 5-6 months in between visits.....

Now with more (Tom Hardy as) BANE!

Im sure many people know about Post Secret but if not... Post Secret began as a community art project by Frank Warren whereby he asked strangers to write down a secret about themselves that they've never told anyone on a postcard and mail it to him. He displayed them at a show and then it morphed from there into a website and several books. The blog is now the largest ad-free blog on the web. The project has done more for suicide prevention and awareness than any other group in a long time. I went to one of their events last year and was very moved by Frank and his journey with this project that has turned into a global movement. Not all the secrets are dreary. Many are triumphant, funny, and uplifting as well. In the end they show people that they are not alone, no matter what they've been through and I think that is super cool. I try and remember to check out the new secrets posted on the blog each Sunday... this week had one that was tattoo related so I thought I'd mention it here... http://www.PostSecret.com I'll attach the postcard I mentioned as they change each week.

I knew a kid in florida who made an appt with Eddie Deustche for "one of them elephant headed buddhas" back in the day. I wish I could have been there when he asked for that.

My recent drunken annotation in my "drunk book" (which is a black book full of drunk thoughts) was a tattoo idea. I was watching Jurassic park... hammered. The first scene of the movie came on and Robert Muldoon us yelling "SHOOT HER" at the dudes to kill the raptor. I think a bad ass raptor with that above it would be rad. As for the Ass Eagle, you all can thank me later for my drunken rant. Dari, your son sounds awesome. Im a little drunk while writing this.

jesus christ my back killed. i tried to brave it with a first sitting of 3.5 hrs for the outline and gradually those sessions tailed off to paltry 45min ones. if i had been my own customer id slapped me honestly haha. i didnt really plan anything artistically, i asked the tattooer for a design id had in mind for a few years and after seeing a few sketches the final design came thru, i feel like he wanted to show me the drawing thought process to let me trust him but i already did so for me, they werent so important, i just wanted to get it started! the only respite was the shoulder blades and even then they hurt, the worst for me was the butt and lower back towards the side, ugh. i have to admit i was embarrassed at how crap i sat sometimes and have been very sympathetic with customers of mine whose backs im working on since. my backpiece almost felt like the beginning of being an adult and getting serious about my job and getting serious about the tattoos i got. i think i'd been at Frith st for less than a year when Alex started it and it felt like an important step for me, it def marked a special time for me in life and work. so yeh, it's gonna hurt like a bitch so take painkillers, have a decent breakfast and take the rest of the day off, youll be useless afterwards haha

My back is in progress and last session I realized that getting one's back tattooed is like getting your ribs done all over again. I foolishly thought going into it... "At least my ribs are done. Nothing could hurt that bad." If I'd given it an ounce more thought and considered the anatomy involved I might have realized that ribs wrap from front to back... fucking duh! I told Scott we will be finishing this thing in 30 minute increments. What a cry baby I've become in my old age.

And then a few hours go by and you start to give out and finally finish and you're sweaty and demolished and shaky -- but then you get cleaned up and look in the mirror and think, "Oh, maybe there's time for another one.."

That's because your back is weirdly sensitive. Ever asked someone to rub your shin? Nope. But back rubs are awesome because your back has a million sensitive spots, all of which feel super fucking awesome when getting tattooed, especially the lower back. You already know that tattoos hurt, and you seem to be acutely aware that the back will hurt, too. You also know that you're already on this path (didn't you just get your hand tattooed?) and that the back is the ultimate canvas. you just need to figure out what you're getting and who's gonna do it, although something tells me that you have more than a few ideas in mind. While I did find the process to be painful (and expensive), I have no regrets at all about doing it. It was so exciting to see it come together, session by session. There's something about having a full back piece. It's something that I've always admired, but for years, I didn't think I'd be able to make the physical/financial/mental commitment to go through with it myself. Completing it was a big milestone for me, and I have a beautiful souvenir of the experience that I get to wear for life.

Alanna, this is really incredible! That you went from watching the TV shows, to seeking out a good tattooer, to LEARNING about the history and the trade, to actually being so invested to continue to get tattooed by great people and talking with such enthusiasm about Dietzel's desings -- amazing. I bet most people's initial reaction to that first sentence of your story was something like, "Here we go.." but you've just proved that nobody's own story is more legitimate than anyone else's. Truly, truly awesome.

Did the upside down, red script say "Ink"?

When I was little, I saw an old 'tattooed man' in Gibsonton, Florida. Gibb'town was where the circuses and sideshows wintered and a lot of the old timers ended up retiring down there. It's also where we went fishing with our folks, so seeing extraordinary people was a perk. I remember seeing his arms, just blueish black messes, and wanting SO much to be like that when I grew up.

That's REPULSIVE. Tattoo shop in a nudie store? I'm outraged. Can you get me the address of that place so I can go tell them how upset I am? And do they have peep booths?

OMG I just heard about a shop in Myrtle Beach called "420 Superstore Tattooing and Tobacco"