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my friend soap owns a shop called lab monkey in Stirling, Scotland. I learned to tatto in the shop round the corner from his but thankfully he never hated on me for that ;). anyway reading his blog i came across a good link to a website documenting some of scotland's history of tattooing. ive visited it before many years ago but forgot completely about it, thought some of you might enjoy reading info on it Prince Vallar - Tattoo Artist

Today I got the other half of my back outlined and some shading. Next session *possibly* next month. The guy being tattooed next to me got a rad Buddha head on his neck from Hua. (The pic I've linked to was taken by Hua and is part of set on their open Facebook page. Some good shots of Belfast in general in there, murals etc) Relieved to be done for the week.

I find myself staring at my blank forearms more and more every day. I already have plans for my upper legs, back, and ribs, but once those are filled, those forearms are going to stick out to me even more. Hopefully by then, I'll be self-sufficient/employed; my skin has become a calendar marking down my days to freedom = )

Dude. You spelt BIEBER'S name wrong. COME ON MAN.

Well, I've done 12 hours on my back in the past three days. Six the first day, then a day of rest, then six today. I went in with the mindset that the back is one of the most painful places to get tattooed, and specifically the love handles and ass (Valerie Vargas' posts re clients automatic reactions sunk in). Probably because of this I was a lot cleaner in the run-up to this week than for anything else I've done. Very little alcohol, lots and lots of sleep all week. The end result was that the first day actually felt OK, a lot better than I expected. To me it felt like towards the end it was beginning to bite more because of the time involved than because of the location. Today was a little harder, it started to get sore around lunchtime. I figure that whatever stock of endorphins I had built back up by resting yesterday just didn't go as far. At the four hour mark today I was feeling like throwing in the towel, but then Ching sat me up (I'd been lying on my stomach) and this totally pepped me up - it was weird, I was feeling nauseous but just the change of position made a huge difference. I actually felt like the last two hours were OK... Although then again I was also getting my upper back worked and I feel like around the shoulder blade was easier than lower down towards the love-handles / ass. In conclusion: I'm a convert to the no-drinking-in-the-run-up approach, and I reckon as much sleep as possible is important. The only other thing I came away with is that taking the day off between the two sessions felt like a really good idea. I have no doubt that going straight into it yesterday morning would have had me wanting to tap far earlier. My girlfriend has been watching anxiously, because she's got a pretty gruelling schedule planned for next year. Four sessions in two weeks in Japan. I think, after this week, that it is do-able. I feel like I could get tattooed next week (if I really had to).

thanks everyone I owe alot to everyone here. I am still a noob but I feel like I appreciate art so much more and willing to go outside my percieved comfort zone because of the education I am receiving here. There is one huge downside, There was literally no pain so I fear that I will be spending lots of time and money getting alot more work at a frenetic pace.

Rose on my foot, done about four days ago by Jaime at Black and Blue Tattoo, San Francisco.

Hot stuff on my foot by Manee Friday in Portland.

I think this sucks but is a valid concern. I do think alot of people especially in the midwest where I reside have a negative connitation associated with tattoos. This and the fact that alot of people on here are bothered daily about tattooes Has me in the mindset i will not get a visable tattoo untill I begin to run out of room or I become financially independant. Plus I actually want the tattoos for me. I have only shown 2 of my friends my newest tattoo and I got it wed afternoon.

Welcome RockelWoman!

lol petri I made a funny here it is I need to get one of his pictures because I cant get the colors to show

Check this shit out! I guess this is what you get for tattooing both the back and front of your leg the same week... Notice how crazy the sockmarks are on my swollen leg, haha!

Yeah Robin it was for awhile, but I hate to say it but having my son has really helped me work through it and forget it ever happened. I am focused on him and let the past be the past.

my parents have been married for 52 yrs,beautiful. they love each other dearly. I have been married 3 times. I guess either im an idiot, or things just aint what they used to be. everyone has to do what they feel is right. Ive done, im sure, hundreds of names for a lot of different reasons. Im not real superstitious, although I like superstitions. I dont think a ring or a tattoo makes or breaks a relationship, its just a symbol. I like symbols.

I'm relatively new to the forum and the tattoo world but I definitely think that Frank Carter deserves recognition. I've got three tattoos done by him and couldn't be happier with them. One of the tattoos was a walk in done about a month ago which he stayed late to finish which I thought was really cool. He's a good guy who does awesome tattoos and couldn't recommend him enough. Also Miles at Frith Street Tattoo is an amazing artist, got my first tattoo from him and it's incredible. He can do any style and has a ton of cool stories about tattooing and travelling. Sorry about the quality of some of the pictures, I'm no photographer. The top three tattoos are by frank and the bottom one is by miles.

Horimatsu Matti Sedholm aka Horimatsu is a dark horse. From sweden he does Traditional Japanese tattoos. Tebori. Matti is a great tattoo artist who REALLY studies Japanese history, culture, Ukiyo-e, zen and everything else surrounding Japan. He has been for years one of my favorite tattoo artists.

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