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After going big, I go home; I prefer to shower there.

Go big or go home!

Totally different imo. But, if given the choice,and all else being equal- I would be more comfortable having elective surgery performed by a surgeon who had also chosen to have elective surgery than one who would not. " It's just a tattoo, I don't think there's too much to empathize" --- That's definitely not how I feel as a tattooer and I really hope the people i choose to get tattooed by feel the way I do---not the way you do.

Just checked out the link- your pictures rock :) I take pictures pretty much everywhere, but I haven't managed a great shot at a show yet- there's nothing but bollocks on in Newcastle at the minute to go to :(

To add to this, most traditional Japanese suits (or traditional Japanese tattoos) start out as a back piece. Its not so common now, but before what you got as your back piece defined what you could get on the rest of your body.

i don't think there is any such thing as getting too big of a piece as your first piece, but i would consider that you may want some of that space further down the line if you discover other artists you like. that's the advantage of having a bunch of smaller pieces in certain areas (or all over if you fancy) as you gradually gain more work, but have more opportunities to have different people tattoo you and different ideas that develop over time. then again, what do i know? i got my chest done as my first tattoo so sometimes, you just gotta say "fuck it."

Buy some Chewlies gum!!!!!

Watch someone die slowly of lung cancer, that'll help you quit. Worked for me!

There is a biblical passage " do not forget to entertain strangers, for by doing so some people have entertained angels" i like this when applied to many situations - from a non biblical stand point

Copenhagen Long Cut and running. Not at the same time.

Very true and I actually considered doing that, though a few days later I walked into my shop and got more ink, and have continued to do so every year since on the day we broke up. I've been told by numerous people that I was lucky to get out of it what could have been a relationship that could have been full of suffering. And yes he was very indecisive about things.

Hey there, I'm late to the party! Most slang terms and phrases irritate me. I think since I write about tattoos I might notice it more, which is a bit pap. People who say a tattoo is "sick as fuck" are my current pet peeve- if you look at any tattoo on the Tattooist Art facebook page, you will see over 100 "sick as fuck!"s. One thing which really made me laugh though- I got a little unwell last year and had to stop working for about a week. A good friend of mine who doesn't really know much about tattoos kept an eye on my site while I was away, and someone posted up a message asking where in Newcastle was great for some "ink". She told him to have a look in Newcastle Arts Centre and Amazon, and to ask a tattoo artist if they're looking for tattoo ink, having no idea the guy actually meant to say "tattoo". He was a bit pissed off and thought she was being sarcastic, but it really shows how stupid that word is for a tattoo. If it was just ink, we'd all be walking around with sharpie marks on our arms which we'd have to get re-done every day!

Amazing...

no respect.

Just regarding Shige - My girlfriend began trying to book a piece by him in February of this year (she sent a Japanese language e-mail). She followed up with a phone call to the studio three weeks later, and - bingo... consultation organised for September (when we are over there anyway). The impression she got was that, as some posters have described in relation to other 'hard to book' tattooists, if you are serious and can follow through and travel then he will probably try to do something for you.

i talk people out of backgrounds and useless additions all the time. i see so much garbage online. people just throw every trick in the book in there. or just tack on a bunch of roses around something, it looks awful. just let the image be itself, it has strength on its own. a gypsy head doesn't need blood splatters, a crescent moon, fog, a tree, roses and fake cholo letters all around it. except for a few people, tattooing is in a sorry state creatively. by the way, the outline thing is a SMITH STREET thing, which has now been beaten to death by anybody with a computer. you can't do anything new and cool without vampires sucking it dry. ok, i'm done...haha