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I just had this finished yesterday and I am so happy with it. The tattoo is by Xam at The Family Business. The camera's flash really flattens the colour, so I'll post a better photo in natural light when it's healed.

I've slept on Troy's couch many times and I have to tell you that one of my favorite things about staying with Troy is all the epic shows he has recorded on his TV box. It's like browsing through the wildest documentaries or shows on aliens, drugs, history or anything taboo. That man has great taste

its like a road trip, you'll never get to see anything different or interesting if you don't get in the car and drive farther than around the block. the only way to grow or find what direction your interests might take is by going out and experiencing it. i got tattooed quite a bit in the 90's and have stuff that i wouldn't get now and if i had those spots empty i'd for sure make a different decision now but i don't regret a single tattoo or the experience that came with each one of them.

No, that would never work. Not unless you make your scrodum the wattle.

see now all I can picture is a roster tattoo on my dick... and some joke about rising early in the morning!

i did this fun one just the other day

HAHAHA more brutal honesty, please

CONGRATS!! the ring is gorgeous!!!

Congratulations to the both of you!! Beautiful ring by the way :)

Ursula.... CONGRATULATIONS from Richard and me..... You guys are some of the most genuine and understated people in my book and even with our differences, I miss the fuck outta of ya. I think it's one reason I am like ok lets get the fuck outta JAX to the next gig... Any who, much love to you both! It's a sophisticated, and timeless design. You'll wear it well.

He tattooed a little portrait of James Brown (!) on my friend's shoulder blade in the late 80s. When he was done, he said, "There ya go--that's a damn fine Little Richard." Kinda freaked my friend out, but the tattoo was cool (and actually of JB, not LR).

nice! the meatmen!! sidestory about seeing them in atlanta, at one point during the show after shooting large blasts of fire across the ceiling of the club tesco vee had a giant 5 foot strap-on that shot confetti out into the crowd. i can remember going to shows at the same club for years after and every once in awhile just the right about of sonic force from whoever was playing would cause some of that same confetti to rain down from the rafters. each time this would happen it would bring me right back to the memory of him blasting it out of that giant strap-on.

No jameson?

Ill tattoo a Cock. I dont even think I need to be a good artist.

I didn't mention Mike because I assume he's probably booked up for over a year.

Mike Rubendall at King's Ave is pretty damn good, too, I think.

Not a Dandy Warhol fan but funny enough did see them in concert in Portland in 1995. I only spent one year of high school in Portland and one in Seattle. But the music scene definitely drew me toward Portland. I have to say that I know a lot of people who fancy themselves photographers and none of them are making very much money because every asshole with an $80 digital camera is now a photographer and Every asshole with a computer is a graphic designer. I don't know your friends work, but what I do know is there are a lot of people willing to work for next to nothing and often time volunteer their work for free and people looking for this work know that and just will go with the free work, despite the quality. Gee what other craft is like that? Tattoing is different than other fields in the sense that most feel you have to earn the right to tattoo by paying your dues, regardless of natural talent in art. Skipping this step, depraves you of a lot of insight to running a tattoo shop that aren't related to art. Getting tattooed was a way to learn about the industry and be present to some important conversations. Don't believe me go watch the Dringenberg Interview on the home page.

Free repairs! My dude was good enough to purchase the lifetime warranty :) No date yet, that will come later and depend on what happens with immigration.

This is a tattoo site we're all about firm views .

Thanks Alana and thanks everyone else! Yes it is true, James proposed last week while visiting me in Toronto. We celebrated by filling a large box at Nadege french bakers with all kinds of crazy tarts and pastries and then shared then with our friends at the tattoo shop. Later that night we went to Guu Saka Bar which friends who've been there (Japan i mean) claim it's the closest thing to being in Japan without being in Japan. lol @Texkota pregnancy is def not something we're planning for now or anytime, no matter how badly his mom missed 'small feet running around the house' hahaha Also, we should congratulate @shawn porter who got engaged within the last month as well!

There's no way he 'loves' tattoos and doesn't have any. Period. Nothing you can say will change my mind on that. All you did was prove Bart's comment that most of the people tattooing who aren't heavily tattooed are in it for the money because they couldn't make it in other art related jobs. There's no way he would make more money as a photographer. Every asshole with a camera fancies themselves a photographer now a days, it's a very very hard field to make money in, unless you are truly talented.

I know you're clawing desperately for a way to be 'right' in this argument but this way of thinking would only apply to someone who is expressing themselves, for the benefit of their clients via their tattoos. Thats not the way it works. We get tattooed because we LOVE tattoos. If a tattooer does save space for the different 'periods', by the time they are a decent tattooer they should have passed through so many 'periods' that they have a shit-load of tattoos anyway. I still have space on one of my forearms. My bodysuit was finished before I did anything there. But like Bart said, that saving space, which isn't what this argument is about. I'm guessing you, a friend or your tattooer doesn't have many tattoos and you're trying to find a way to be told "It's ok, you're different." It's ok, they will get lots of tattoos eventually. But to put another spin on the argument: how many good tattooers (I mean tattooers, people who do tattoos that look like tattoos, not colour portrait guys) don't have many tattoos. There are a few, but not many. Also, this isn't a theoretical argument, where logic wins. "If this is true, then this must equal false" It's a real-life discussion about real things and when it comes to tattoos and tattooing: The tattooer is ALWAYS right. ;)

1) while those tattoos do not reflect who i am any more i do not regret any of them. they reflect who i was and where i came from artistically and i remember everything i learned from every one of them. i learned more about tattooing from getting tattooed by good tattooers than from anything else. i do wish i had room for more tattoos however. but not because i regret what i have but because i love tattoos and as i said previously "people who are into tattoos get tattoos" and that desire doesnt go away when you run out of room. 2)this isnt a discussion about saving a spot or two for future tattoos its about not having any tattoos.

people who are into tattoos get tattoos whether they are tattooers are not. if you're not tattooed then you'll never convince me that you are really into them. my experience has been that non tattooed tattooers dont love tattooing, they love money and they think tattooing is an "easy" way to get some they are "artists" who cant make it as an artist in the art world so they become tattooers because it the only way they can figure out to make a living illustrating. sidenote: Ursula, while the majority of the time you'd probably be correct it is not always true about tattooers being covered in the stuff we like to do. especially with people like myself who've tattooing for a long time. the 90's was an exciting time for tattooing and i am covered head to toe in tattoos that do not reflect who i am artistically at all anymore.because tattoos are permanent they do not change as our taste does so I have a biomech sleeve even though i havent done any biomech tattoos or had any interest in biomech at all since the late 90's.

Haha. Yea my roomates and I have a nice collection of death sauces and I love giving a little bit to any tough guy. The look on their face is priceless. Never gets old!

Part of choosing a tattooer for me is about their personal artistic style, having lots of tattoos shows me what kind of tattoos you like to get, which are usually the same type of tattoos you would like to do. So basically, if you are covered in bio-mech/tribal/new school then I'd assume that's the kind of tattoos you like to get and give so I'd probly not really get tattooed by that person because it's not my thing. If I met someone who was covered in awesome tattoos by great artists and who's own portfolio showed all the things they learned from getting those tattoos, well I'd probably get tattooed by them. Yeah being covered in good tattoos doesn't mean you're going to be a good tattooer but it certainly helps. @slayer9019 - to me tattooing is not like surgery at all really. Even the most minor surgery is going to go much deeper than tattooing. It's going to involve a more complicated and lengthy healing. It requires a completely different skill set, I think. I've done a tattoo, yes it was horrible, and yes the person who got it knew it was going to be bad. I would never ever attempt to preform surgery on someone, in even the most minor way. Why? you ask, because I have zero knowledge on the procedure and wouldn't want to cause permanent injury. To me, the only thing in the body mod world that comes close to surgery is some of the more extreme piercings and mods. Some of them are straight up surgery. Giving someone a tattoo, even a large one will never come close to slicing some dudes dick down the middle, or cutting 1 inch holes into someones ears/cheecks/nose/whatever. The only thing I'd think would be similar to tattooing is when you take a skin biopsy or have a layer of skin removed for whatever reason and I only say that because it's the only thing I can think of that doesn't go deeper than a tattoo needle would. If someone here is actually a doctor/nurse feel free to inform me otherwise.

Last post before I'm turning in for the night... I might be a little bias as I have several tattoos from Marius, but I think he deserves a spot in this thread too. Here's a link to his blog: Marius Meyer - CUSTOM TATTOOING A couple of my favorites (not on me though)

Frank Carter! Sure, he's gotten tons of recognition as the former lead singer of Gallows, but everyone might not be familiar with his tattooing. Works alongside @Valerie Vargas and @Stewart Robson at Frith Street from time to time. Check out his website: Journal - frankxcarter.com

Getting tattooed by Scott Harrison was an absolute pleasure.

ah wow, i had totally forgotten about what it was until now. a hatchet man with some lettering, thankfully i've destroyed enough brain cells that i can't remember exactly what the wording was but i do remember it was something that was purposefully misspelled like sykotik.

feel free to yell at me for saying this but i find that heavily tattooed women, if they are not tattooers themselves, are off the fucking wall... and i love them but never date them and to address what brian was saying about his buddy's meeting girls in the shop that they tattooed and who are now interested in tattooing. i hate to sound like a shit head but from my personal experience, thats going to be a shit show and i wish them the best of luck

there's probably no need for a female tattooer thread. i tend to steer away from 'all-girl' events, ive been asked to be part of all girl tattoo projects (art shows, books etc) and conventions but personally i feel that in certain cases all that does is not strengthen female artistry or bonds, its a selling point for perverts or people who think female tattooers 'have a gentler touch'. ive had a couple of instances where i'm simply not comfortable tattooing a man whether it's just due to their topics of conversation, pervy remarks or general air about them. even when women hit real hard of men tattooers its just never as creepy as when a guy does it to a woman, it's just a different type of uneasiness. my response to this is usually to be forward and serious and to let them know it wont be tolerated, and if it continues i make my excuses to not tattoo them, i dont enjoy feeling uncomfortable in my own turf. about the magazine covers. women are pretty to look at, you put a woman on a cover you will sell double what you would if you put a man instead. magazines are businesses and they like to make money. back in the early 90's you could still buy a tattoo magazine with men on the cover every now and then but i guess when today you have hundreds of young, gorgeous, tattooed girls (some of them not even wanting a pay cheque just the glory of being on the cover is good enough for them) queuing up to be your cover girl who's gonna care about being more equal?

One of my bar customers has a back yard full of truffles. Golf ball sized truffles. I've demanded he bring a few into the bar. This is going to be excessive.

getting tattooed is a journey , enjoy the ride.

There can't be a pinup thread without something from my home girl Lina Stigsson! :cool: There are more on her website: Lina Stigsson

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.

This one by Chad Coeplinger is one of my favourite tigers

no tattoos.....no love.......fuck you in the face for thinking you can tattoo and not be tattooed, the trade involves a commitment a dedication to the craft. if you dont respect it or like it enough to get the product you produce on you then you are a parasite.....''robbing from the host." i think that would be the definition. as for boris i have no interest in what he has to offer. has anyone seen how many ink caps that guy uses. how many fucking shades of skin tone can you need? or does that weird rotary you take the tips of not blend a color. christ!!!!!!!

I personally do not respect tattooers as much that have no tattoos either. Now maybe I'm being closeminded but fuck it. I wanna know that a tattooer is devoted to his trade; mentally, emotionally, financially and most of all physically. I'm not talking about being heavily tattooed but at least a forearm shot or two. If you're a tattooer and have not one single tattoo or maybe just one... You're just a tourist in our business, go back to selling real estate, there's more of that 'glory' stuff you're lookin' for.

Dude, this was during the initial event. Thats how mad I was. After she walked out I listened to Blood For Blood and drank myself to death with good scotch.

This was a good read, I got my g/f a nice japanese sleeve 2 years from a good friend of mine. Her parent's reactions were very obvious they were not happy she got her 1st tattoo a huge sleeve of a snake, and peonies with clouds. Her mother's response ofc was that it was way too much, and it didn't make her seem lady like. Each time she had her appointment, they would get upset, and say it's too much! Each time, I would bite my tongue on instances like this due to respect of her parents, and also because I live with them. Slowly, I would ask them, what makes it "too much" and why do you think it is that way for you? They are very old school on the idea of being heavily covered and think it is more of a infatuation and ritzy than anything else. Slowly they accepted that what she has, and who she is will always make her "feminine" enough, regardless how tattooed you are. My brother in law also, thinks that women with tattoos are trashy, which I don't understand, he grew up with the 80s punk scene, skating, and has every vinyl of awesome punk music, and has a subhumans tattoo himself. All in all, I find that modern society clings to beliefs of how they were cultured or raised about the idea of being "feminine" and what is "feminine". Being proactive with the public about questions and educating them to me; is much better than giving someone a negative reaction. The general public, will always look, and dart stares, regardless where you are. You are tattooed, you should expect to be approached, and questioned. I myself, did find it annoying, but now I take it with a grain of salt and take it in with a positive learning experience. Respectively, my dad hated the fact I was getting heavy coverage when I decided to start my 2nd sleeve when I was 21. Now that I have opened his eyes, and explained to him how tattoo culture is, where it came from, and why I did it, he doesn't think of it as so taboo.

Tammy must've sabotaged it and then stole it. Figures.

Done in Petaluma, CA by Clayton @ Electric Oni Tattoo. My cousin Tori passed away, leaving her husband and 5 year old boy behind. She was the best addition to our family and she will be missed. She had the same tattoo on her forearm, but hers said "Angel's Wings Carry Me Home" From Social D. "Bella Demise" was her nickname, which suited her perfectly.