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I just got home from our little trip to LA, and I brought a friend: I went to Bob Roberts and asked him for one of his tiger heads. He saw the spot I had open and furrowed his brow. "That's gonna be tough." He tried to sketch something on, but I could tell he was kinda flustered, so I said, "Ya know, I also really like your spiders." He lit up and said, "Now you're talkin'!" He drew it on and knocked it out in half an hour. All in all, it was a great, great experience. He and I chatted about music and, of course, tattoos. He asked to see my back, then said, "I got a snake on my back, too." He then proceeded to melt my face off by showing me his Ed Hardy backpiece, as well as his Horiyoshi III torso pieces. Coolest fucking dude ever, and I am beyond stoked on my black widow.

She should have thought about that before getting visible tattoos or heavy tattoo coverage. M&S isn't Vans, Top Shop, Urban Outfitters etc. What did she expect? Lately American Apparel have been shying away from hiring heavily tattooed people. I think this is great. I'm sick of seeing heavily tattooed people in every coffee/clothes/record/food shop. No I'm not being sarcastic. It's time for people who make themselves look like freaks to accept the fact that they are freaks and stop whining that nobody accepts them in the non-freak world. Nobody forced that girl to get tattooed, she wasn't born tattooed, it was her choice, regardless if she volunteers for charity work. Are long sleeves and a high collar too much trouble when working with the public?

This from Duncan X. Tattooed about an hour ago.

just finished this one today. holbein the younger, death and the pedlar.

I look like a freak, but I work in the non-freak world. That's why I cover up when I'm at work. It's a very small price to pay. @Stewart Robson, I seem to recall you saying that you worked as a designer before tattooing, right? I'm guessing you were heavily tattooed then, but probably not on your hands or neck. Hell, when Bob Roberts asked me if I tattoo, I said, "No sir--I work in an office. No hands or neck for me," he held up his hands and said, "Me, neither!" God, I sound old, but I feel like the latest generation of tattooed folks think it's their right to have their hands and neck done. If you're around tattooers or heavily tattooed people all the time--which most non-tattooers aren't--that's one thing, but it's nice to be able to get by in the real world without too much hassle, too.

Not heavily tattooed (yet) but got enough visible ones to draw a reaction and quite frankly id rather have someone not agree with having them then every fuck tard telling me their prospective plans for a shitty tattoo unsolicited at the drive thru. Just give me my Starbucks already

Solid

The back's some prime real estate and the largest uninterrupted/undivided piece of space so it seems counterproductive to section it off it with competing tattoos. I think it's an awesome idea to do something collaborative. Like that battle royal or Ursula's idea to have one central image kind of framed out with others. In the end, both of these are cohesive. That's key to me. So I guess the short answer is that whether it is one artist or a collaborative effort it should be planned as such and each artist shoudl get that they're part of a process so they can make it work. It's cool to have them working on pieces of a puzzle but in my opinion it looks best when they're all working on the *same* puzzle.

Been skating since I was four though not as much these days.....favorite was pool, full pipe & drainage/runoff skating. Stories for days though some of the best may be incriminating. I am in the middle of a move and discovered some skate pictures recently may be I'll try and scan some in...... A story of one thats not incriminating....there was a big fire in the San Jose area many years ago so typical pool skaters we went looking for burned houses that had pools full we could empty or ones that were already empty. We stumbled upon this old man working outside and pulled over because it looked like he had a pool. Sure enough I approached him and the coolest old man was like if you want to finish emptying it feel free to skate. He and his wife had never seen anything like it so for a few months we had a private pool to skate where we just had to call him ahead of time and they'd serve us food whenever we swung by. It was just my friend and I then we'd take other friends there every now and then...if you have a Thrasher magazine the issue where Tony Trujillo won SOTY and he's skating a pool thats it

got this lady from brad stevens @ ny adorned tonight.

I was just reading Sboyer's response in the thread What tattoo designs can you never see enough of? and realized we have no Rock of Ages thread so here we go... I remember when I fell in love with this tattoo design while working at Juxtapoz and we had just printed the Jason Mcafee Rock of Ages poster and just being amazed. For some reason that poster really sticks out in my mind. I tried to locate a picture of it for here but can't find it so if you have one please post. While trying to find the image I did locate this video of Freddy Corbin at Temple Tattoo doing a Rock of Ages. It says it was done four years ago but guessing it has to be older as Scott Sylvia is shown in the background tattooing there as well??? It was posted by a user named xhooliganx and I know we have a user on our tattoo forum by that name as well so if it is the same, thanks. Since the video is labeled part one is there a second one that shows the tattoo or do you have a picutres? Part One Here are some other threads with Rock of Ages talk and/or pictures: Was tattooing as popular 100 years ago as now? What's your favorite tattoo on your body? Full Back Tattoo Designs Religious and Spiritual Tattoo Designs Fastest Tattooers New Tattoo Idea, Rock of Ages Lets hear and see them......

Anybody have any? ever thought about it? i'll be getting this badboy (or something like it) at smith st. when the big day comes. graduating from college in May -Dylan

My name is chris i am 34,currently live on the west coast, and have been getting tattooed since i was 19. This seems like a good medium to share tattoo experiences and perhaps find a answer to my current query. I'm wondering if anyone happens to know where Timothy Hoyer is currently tattooing (if he is right now) I know he briefly guest spotted at kings ave recently. He's been tattooing me off and on for the last 9 years but I've lost his contact info. And want to finish some stuff we started several years ago, he last worked on me @ Brooklyn adorned in '07 or '08 I think.

@Turquoise Cherry I think it's 'context sensitive' some places it seems right that the staff have visible tattoos, others not. It varies from city to city and job to job. Visible tattoos don't belong in M&S. That above article didn't make it clear what charity work the girl was doing nor who for. It did make it clear that she became argumentative. If I argue, even as a customer, they have the right to ask me to leave. If I was volunteering, you could be damned sure I wouldn't argue with the staff who were playing host to my charity work. Just because you work for free it doesn't mean you can be a dick about it. There's still some responsibility to be professional. I guess my perception of 'tattooed people' is different from most. The majority of my customers are at least skilled professionals, some are craftsmen, some are lawyers, bankers, accountants. Many are self employed or own a business or company. Most of them don't discuss their tattoos with their co-workers, even more don't show them. You can bet most of them don't show them outside of our shop, conventions or maybe the gym. These are the kind of people I have respect for. The kind who don't flaunt their tattoos at the grocery store. then complain when someone doesn't like it. @Dan S once you decide to get a tattoo, for yourself, you are weird. I dont care what anyone else says. A freak is somewhere between that and a bodysuit. except me. I'm normal and everyone else is weird. - but really, your question doesn't have a standard answer but that doesn't weaken my point. Believe it or not, we at Frith Street have a "dress code" If you don't have tattoos, you can't work with us. We think that's fair. To be honest I find it sorta dull and small-minded to discuss the pros and cons of if adults who deliberately chose to do something they know isn't totally acceptable across the board, should bitch and whine when someone points out that it's not totally acceptable. An extreme example: If a nudist who likes to hang around without clothes, does it at a nudist/naturist beach or resort, good for them. Adults exercising their freedoms and hobbies in a mutually agreeable, non-harmful manner. If they do it at a schoolyard at playtime... Context is everything.

@jade1955 awesomeness they dont make em like that anymore lol ...

@Gregor :cool:

Amazing stuff . Was only recently I found out he was the same Duncan X from Sheep On Drugs , I remember seeing them live nearly 20 years ago lol

I skated most of my teens/early twenties (ever the Pushead fan, I usually had multiple Zorlac decks set up) but these days I probably only skate a few times a year.

@Reyeslv man, I'm more sorry to hear about your loss... is always hard to know what to say, but I appreciate the kind words homie :) and you hit the nail on the head - there is NOTHING better than Moms ;) I look forward to seeing the amazing piece you'll get for her though

Cheers @kylegrey it should be a really cool trip for the guys, and anyone that comes along checks out the exhibitions and/or gets a tattoo - good times! ;) Thinking maybe the Brisbane show could be the first ever Brisbane/Australia LST Meet up! But we'll see lol

As far as I know, at least at the American Apparel in Toronto, they have never hired anyone with visible tattoos. In fact they make a point of not hiring people with tattoos there and have since it opened on Queen St. They take a polaroid of you when you apply and the hiring of sales staff in store is largely based on appearance and looking like and American Apparel ad in the flesh. Anyways, I agree with Stewart, and have felt that way for a long time. It's unfortunate that people don't accept other people for a variety of reasons including having tattoos, but any adult should be able to recognize that in society, realize it's not changing any time soon, and then make the choice about how far you want to stand out from the crowd.

LST you guys rock, i am seriously a little overwhelmed and i do not mean to gush, but your suggestions of artists are breathtaking, and in a few cases, exactly what i was looking for. i have scoured the internet via google for quality artists but the majority of results returned by my searches were those shitty websites that sell tattoo designs. plurabella seems to be an utter gem that had escaped my notice in the queen city. i have been a member of many forums, none so helpful and open as this, and ive been a member for less than 24 hrs! keep up the excellent fuckin work people, i am so glad i found this community

The shops that are mentioned are all good.Plurabella has the most talent in one shop.You can't go wrong with any artist in that shop.You can also check out Designs by Dana Tattoo Dana Brunson is an old timer that does real nice work.His son Jason is good too.And Carter,& Nate do nice traditional/Asian work. http://www.flying-tiger-tattoo.com/ Mason works here on the weekends. http://www.tattooedtv.com/ This shop has some good tattooers in Dayton. What style are you looking to get?

You should check out this site, such good flash/art: https://www.tattooeliteinternational.com/

A Japanese Version I nabbed a pic of at True...

I have observed that sometimes the Tattooers here at LST are a little cold to folks that join the community looking for feedback, tips, pointers, info etc etc...

@Duffa, Good stuff man ,good artists visiting good shops .

Welcome to the forum! Go see GRIME at Skull & Sword! But yeah....you are seriously lucky to have a blank canvas....and the understanding that you should only cover it with the best artists around......and there are so many around you too! I look forward to watching your progression too, doll! :)

Your drawings are really nice. You have a good understanding of light source. I would really spend some time looking at the classics, because once you get those fundamentals down and learn the mechanics, you'll be able to experiment with lots of styles. The obvious starting points would be Cap. Coleman, Huck Spaulding, Paul Rogers, Sailor Jerry, Stoney St. Clair, Hardy, Zeke Owen, Thom Devita. Then from their, Dan Higgs, Filip Leu, Timothy Hoyer, Grime, Richard Stell, Scott Sylvia, Lehi. And then dudes like Danny Reed, Andrew Conner, Will Lollie, Brian Bruno, etc. Immerse yourself in these people's work, b/c they know what tattoos are, and they know how to make them. All this hot shiny stuff that people are doing now won't hold up over time, so enjoy it for the art. A tattoo should look like a tattoo. But, this is just my humble opinion. I know there are many others.

I'm really sorry to hear that, I hope she gets better! I am doing a Mom piece myself at the end of April, I lost her in January. Nothing better than the Moms!!!!!

I can vouch for this, I just got the most magnificent drawing of an elephant for the word "tusk"

@dirbab - very, very nice! I just got this from [MENTION=2486]lukemuller[/MENTION] at True Love Tattoo (Brisbane) maybe an hour or so ago. No idea how long it took, but it couldn't have been any longer than 2 hours? (no time limit etc so we just cruised) I got it for the most amazing, awesome and wonderful woman I know ;) I apologise for the bad photo, but my camera just didn't want to do as it was asked lol. I'll get a better one from Luke asap

There are a ton of great tattooers in the bay area you are lucky. I would follow the advice of Blackheart for sure. In addition to Tim Lehi, I would check out Jeff Rassier's portfolio (also at Blackheart). Also in October the State of Grace Convention brings some of the top names from all around the world to San Francisco for a weekend, so in conclusion San Francisco is a great place to be if you want a tattoo.

Bryan Burk yesterday Dark Horse, Los Angeles

Just the outline but I thought I would throw it up there Regino @ Invisible NYC

Holy shit. I really need to start keeping up with the introduction threads. This one is a real peach. Honestly, it really reminds me why I enjoy this forum so much. It would be really easy to go down the line and trash the new guy, but instead honest opinions are being given with thought and consideration. Here is mine. Drive to Austin, TX. Take about six thousand dollars. Go see Jason Brooks, Chris Trevino, Steve Byrne, Jay Chastain, and Tony Hundahl give them the six-thousand dollars to tattoo you. Then go back to Weathorford. Save up another thousand dollars and drive to Mesa, Arizona. See Aaron Coleman. Give him the thousand dollars to tattoo you. I checked on Google maps and that is about 40 hours round trip driving from Weathorford for both trips. Then sit down and look at the seven-thousand dollars worth of tattoos you have just purchased, and try to figure out how they did it. Then cry yourself to sleep, and burn every piece of tattoo equipment that you have ever bought on Ebay. At least this way you will have a few good tattoos to show for your efforts. I am sorry that I have not been as kind as the other members on here, but it has been a long day, and reading your insulting posts made it that much longer.

Stewart is more than ''so called''. some of us are a little harsh sometimes. Brutally honest maybe. I see so much weak lettering, I worked for the source of fine tattoo lettering for a lot of yrs, fonts are not where its at. Charlie and I where talkin on the phone, yeah ,a land line, the other night and we were discussing how it seems most don't understand that you have got to ''draw that lettering''. my advice to anyone, including to myself is,always work on the Art and the Craft. Oh yeah , My mom told me namecalling isnt nice.

Hi guys, I'm very new to the tattoo game. Besides two little flash special guys, this is my first and something I'd been wanting for a while. Eli over at Smith Street did it this past Wednesday. It's not healed yet, but I wanted to get a picture before my leg hair grew back. So stoked on this!