Leaderboard

got my hand done by Chad Koeplinger when he was in Chicago like 3 weeks ago. this was taken that night. sorry for the crappy cell phone picture.

I like to think that I've had some help getting started correctly (thanks, 12oz guys). Nice to see you around these parts.

Here's another one that Eric's wife Bev posted on Facebook, she said it was outlined by Eric and colouring and lettering by Paul

Just finished a session today photo taken just before it got wrapped so still bloody and a bit distorted due to my phone angle

As a friend and client of Bailey's let me give you one bit of advice, DO NOT be late to your appointment. there is no better way to piss that little fucker right off! Also, no chewing gum or energy drinks. Aside from that, let him do his thing. He's probably my favorite person to get tattooed by, I hope you like country music and dry humor.

Last night I got my first "on a whim" tattoo. This morning I think it was an awesome experience and not one I'm likely to forget or regret. Spontaneity can be just as important and significant as the most planned out actions, this applies to tattoos as well as other aspects of life. :)

This is oversimplifying things a bit, but if you love his style and trust him, you've done enough planning.

You pretty much can't go wrong with Bailey HR. I've found the more tattoos I get, the less "planned" they tend to be. Makes it a lot more fun!

I have always tried to strike a balance. I reserve the tattoo projects for people in town that I can go back and discuss stuff with and am not in a hurry to get. If I am traveling and trying to get a piece done, I usually tell people that I will pick from what they have their or pick something I know that they are good at and let them draw what they feel like. I feel like if I am traveling to get something from someone it should be a reflection of them, I wouldn't want it to get lost with me trying to dictate every detail.

I had promised myself NO MORE DANG TATTOOS in 2011 (which has seen the Abe Lincoln/Panther Paws tattoo, the Hand of Glory, the devil head, the skull and bee and the fingers- more tattoos than I got from 2008 to 2010 combined) but my girlfriend (the lovely Claire) told me tonight that my birthday present is a gift certificate* for some time with Robert Ryan. I guess there's one more to sneak in for 2011. *she was too lazy to go to Asbury to get the cert, so she is giving me money with a note that says 'for a robert ryan tattoo'. I'm getting too old for this shit.

Eric Inksmith's wife just posted this on Facebook Paul Rogers on Eric Inksmith 6/8/1982

It wasn't much but I had a nice experience with Joe Capobianco at Hope Gallery in CT. I was getting tattooed by one of his co workers and it was getting late and Joe was watching a little. He was finished for the day but stuck around and brought me a drink and just kept asking if there was anything I needed or anything he could get me. Just having the great Joe C. hanging around and complimenting the tattoo and bringing me juice, etc. was real cool. I admit I was a little uncomfortable and starstruck but he was so humble and such a cool guy. Speaking of starstruck I was also getting tattooed by Shane O'Neill while he was doing a guest spot in Mass. and Bob Tyrell was there, also, ending his guest spot. Bob wasn't tattoing but sat and watched Shane (I guess they're good friends) and those two were talking about tattoing, various shops, Kid Rock possibly buying into Bob's place, etc. Having Bob compliment my tattoo and shake my hand and just have a normal, friendly converstion was pretty cool to me. It may not mean much to some people here but for me it was a special experience.

Just saw this on http://www.theboldwillhold.com/: Wow.

This is something that encounter at least once a week..... you know how when you have a dentist appointment you try to cram 6 months worth of flossing into 15 minutes before your appointment? or if you have to go to the doctor, you try to shower up before you go in for whatever is ailing you? WELL PLEASE FEEL FREE TO TAKE THE SAME LIBERTIES WHEN YOU ARE GETTING TATTOOED!!!!!!!!!! brush your teefs so it dont smell like you been munchin on shit sandwiches for lunch. if you are getting your foot or cankle area tattooed, please wash your dawgs and wear a clean pair of socks! dont come in after working in the sun on the job site with your work boots and wool socks. and for you goofy hipsters.... wash your feet, borrow some socks from your dad, and wear a pair of shoes other than the sorry ass moth holed pair of vans you bought 5 years ago and have been wearing EVERYDAY since. you're gonna spend hard earned cash on a cool tattoo on your foot only to slip said foot into a pair of sneakers that smell like onions and vinegar?! not so smart. do the right thing. and while you are at it, wear some pants that fit you and put your girlfriends shirt back into her closet.

since there has been a lot of discussion about them over at the Most Painful thread, i thought it might be time to set aside a thread devoted to palm tattooing alone. i saw a set that Lizzie did and i thought it was extremely beautiful and elegant despite being so simple (and physically, understandably so!) i would be lying if i said i wasn't jealous and didn't wish that it was on me rather than the person in the picture (and i have never wanted hand tattoos before seeing this!) anyone else seen any that they really love?

This is the first time I've booked an appointment before deciding upon what tattoo I want. Bailey Robinson, Sept. 5th. Some think that because they are permanent, a responsibly applied tattoo requires more consideration than I am showing. But I see this as a step toward being comfortable getting tattoos in the way that I want to: for the sake of the tattoo itself. as a time stamp and nothing more in the way of conceptual significance. Bailey might be my favorite tattooer, so I know I can't go wrong. Thoughts? Does anyone remember over-thinking their tattoos, and their transition to this method, of picking flash and figuring it out when you get there? Was that a fast or slow transition? Or did you start out getting them that way... Discuss!

Like the other said, it all depends on the person tattooing you. Richard Stell can do almost any animal with no stencil or reference other than his brain and it comes out amazing. Scratcher guy down the road can do anything you ask for with no stencil and no reference and it will look like total shit until you get it lasered and covered. Or, for example, when I got my back done, he draw all over it for a while, took a photo and then used that as reference for the real drawing which he then tattooed with a stencil.

One of my oldest tattoos, from '96. I've got 2 of them in the usual swallow position pardon the beard

It seems like it kind of just depends on the tattooer and the design. I have had people draw stuff on me a couple of times but most of the time stencils were applied. There are a lot of guys out there that do amazing work and they choose to draw the design on in certain cases. However the term "free hand ", has become kind of a buzz word among some customers and a gimmick by people who need one in my opinion.

Getting tattooed should be a fun and spontaneous thing at least some of the time. Other wise I might as well be making a dentist appointment.

Absolutely Brian. Her artistic ability and dedication to the craft of tattooing is undeniable. She is clearly pursuing her own path that is not making concessions to trends and popularism, and is carving her own way through her profession. I have a huge amount of respect for her work and her uncompromising attitude to the field. Obviously not everyone working with modern styles of non-traditional tattooing are the same, and it would be narrow-minded and ignorant to lump them all together. I think Berit is a great example and even if you don't like her work, her approach and dedication is worthy of respect.

I was once detained by PD in whatever county Las Vegas is in. The Deputy had full sleeves.

Always a great vibe at Frith Street Tattoos, London. From Frith Streets blog.

scott sylvia mike wilson dave gibson (that old ITA with mike and dave in it blew me away. and of course i lost it somewhere) jack rudy leo zulueta these are all dudes whos work i saw early on in my career that made me want to do tattoos.

its been a few years....2005 I believe as Energon was the last line I picked up. I made a decent profit on my G1/Japanese collection and took a bath on the rest to the tune of a couple grand, ouch I've been thinking about it and the only collection I have these days is artist business cards

I wish I had of been aware of your transformers sale...

The bear probably wouldn't even put up a fight. He'd just say "Thats one tough mudder"

I cant grow a full beard. Let alone do push ups on FOUR basketballs... "

just an observation...any discussion of serious pictures and responses are also not funny nor random pics soooooo less talk, more random pictures! cheer up mutherfuckers! :)

This is my best friend George and his grandpa-90years -old sailor- his tattoos are 65 years old and i ll try to have some close pics but the guy is not so easy :) I m very proud that he is wearing my shops t shirt.

Ha, I suggested it last night and I'm pretty sure she called me out on just wanting to get tattooed. SMART LADY.

Once I went to Smith Street for a noon appointment and they were bbqing out back and invited me to have a burger.

horrible photo of a nurse shark i got in my left ditch in September '09... https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/8325_684531945501_17026783_39720068_2987769_n.jpg

I'd like to point out this gallery right here on LST: kayle leogrande's Pictures - Tattoo Gallery @ Last Sparrow Tattoo Kayle joined, uploaded a ton of great pics of Americana and Japanese work, then vanished. I hope he comes back and joins the discussions. I'll admit that I was unfamiliar with his work, so I checked out his site. Turns out dude is (or was?) a professional cyclist! Very cool.

I know this is slightly off topic but I thought MsRad's question was interesting and it's not worthy of a brand new thread. I'm not a historian, so I won't attempt to give dates and I don't know how long everyone has been tattooing but knowing where those guys worked makes it clear that they all influenced each other. That makes it all even cooler to me. I didn't work with all these guys so maybe I'll miss some important detail but I know a few of them and the people they worked with. Hooper used to work at IntoYou, when Xed LeHead worked there. Jondix used to visit and do guest spots. So did Mike the Athens and his 'student' Tas. Then, Tas' work had much more Thai/Tibetan and Borneo/Micronesian influence than it does now, so did Hooper's. Tomas Tomas moved from a different shop in London to work at IntoYou. So at one shop, including guests/friends you had: Alex Binnie, Xed, Thomas Hooper, Jondix, Mike the Athens, Tas, Tomas Tomas and Duncan X. There were of course other awesome tattooers working there who specialised in different styles but these 8 people are very influential in the dotwork/blackwork (non-tribal) styles. Hooper and Jondix are close friends and have done series of paintings together and a few collaborative tattoos. I see Mike's and Alex's influence a lot in the work of Jondix, Thomas and Tas' (non Japanese) work. A lot of the dot shading comes from Xed and Tomas Tomas, I think Tomas in particular took it further than anyone, to great success. It's been awesome over the last 8 years or so, watching this amazing work grow out of existing tattoo styles and have other influences slowly added to each person's work and seeing them push themselves and tattooing in general. To me, that's perfect way for new styles to develop, rather than someone deciding that they have invented a 'new thing'. If these guys weren't awesome enough most of them can do great tattoos in many other styles too. I have learned a lot seeing their work, particularly Hoopers healed work in the flesh and nervously tattooing next to it.

I'm guessing shark week will be coming to an end shortly so here's a few at the last minute. All by Norm and all stolen off his blog WILL RISE

Yeah if you've never had a finger nail ripped off, it's insainly sensitive. I remember that even if I was sleeping and my finger rubbed against my bed sheet it would send shivers down my spine, until the skin toughed up. But still who thinks "hey I should take this chance to tattoo that" that's way to hardcore for me. It's in another ball game, I'm going to go back to my bottle and nice soft plush toys. [edit] Ohh yeah should add this as a spot I don't plan to tattoo, and the roof of my mouth. Fun Fact: The roof of your mouth is the only spot on your body that you can tickle yourself.

Here is a collab painting between the lovely Lina Stigsson and the equally lovely Stooks (manly lovely of course :rolleyes: )

Sailor Eddie Jr. Philadelphia

Hammerhead shark plane on me.

Funny there are a lot more in the series but they aren't on his facebook. There was a Cholo shark, a lumberjack shark and a reaper shark just to name a few but hopefully I can find some more. but here is another shark I have on me, its a very rare species. Panther Shark Tattoo by Ross Ferrie (design by Ashley Howell) both from Acme Tattoo.

a friend of mine has this, by Nikki Balls.

Bull's-Eyes & Black Eyes is a great book. Maybe Keith Underwood has some of his flash? I don't know if it's still being reproduced. I wouldn't call them the ultimate in traditional American designs but they are super awesome. Efficient to line and shade, straight off the sheet. He solved a shit load of design and layout problems and made them tattoo-able. (Much like Scott does too, in my opinion)

good lord Thomas Hooper... here's a pretty crazy lion (or what I assume to be based off of a lion)

These guys must do all of the Juggalo tattoos.

Yeah he had another panther jam in there that kicks ass also

My boss (Jack Witt) used to zap at a couple of different spots on the Pike (Lee Roy's, Long BeachTattoo) and has a killer scrapbook of vintage photos and business cards. I scanned all of them the other day. Being an ex-HA(apparently not an easy club to quit) and working on the Pike in the mid 70s, he has a boatload of great stories. I can't give ALL of the gems away, but here's some decent ones I can post.

Here's some cool ass pieces, some of you may know him. His name is John Chance. He's got a 30 year old back piece with work from Jack Rudy but mainly Ed Hardy just thought I'd share!