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I'm talking with Robert Ryan about starting my thigh; his days off and my days off are the same, but he's being a sport and seeing what he can work out. It's on a totally blank thigh, so we're going to go all out and do the whole front.

This was the first issue I worked on, so I always get stoked seeing my name in print. Those guys are super rad to work with.

fuck, i would take a shitty line on me any day to have witnessed that story and be able to retell it until i'm 85 yrs old.......and you have proof!! you'll never forget that one. LOL.

The Letter of the Law: Laws for Lettering and Tattoos « Occult Vibrations I recently reblogged an article on lettering that you might want to check out; Anisya hit the nail on the head- you can always simplify the words into an image...

I really like this from Katie Sellergren, even if it's one letter short of the standard eight:

Or maybe he's gonna put an N on that pinky then paint all his fingernails black?

;)

Hey guys, long time lurker, first time poster. I am currently two session into a Chad Koeplinger back piece, for anyone that follows him on Instagram, I have the peacock and snake fighting which is being done at Frith Street, London. I look forward to posting more and getting involved in this forum. Regards.

Hey all, so I am new to this forum (you can see my introduction post I just did) and I recently had a terrible experience with a tattoo. I believe I have been pretty smart in making my decisions as far as what tattoos I get, making sure to do my research on the artist, actually paying the right price as to get the quality of work I expect etc...I also give myself a 3 month rule, once I decide I want the piece I set my date to get it 3 months from that day, and if I still feel the same way about it, I go ahead. I am a sporadic person, but definitely not when it comes to tattoos, I think because my grandfather got a tattoo in the Navy in is youth on a whim and he hated it his entire life and would talk about it frequently...anyways, back to the main point. So I just came to my three month date of my newest tattoo and went in to get it done. The artist checked out, the shop was legitimate, the price for the time/size was just about right...everything seemed great right? We start on the piece which is another 8 bit video game tribute 9see my gallery if you want to see some of my other pieces) So while I am getting the tattoo from the artist (I will not name the shop or artist as I think it is wrong to bash an artist and or shop unless they purposely screwed you over, plus artists have to start somewhere, not everyone is going to be the best artist in the world overnight), his girlfriend/booty call/baby's momma/whatever comes screeching off the street in her car and plowed through the front of the shop!! It happened so abruptly that the artist jumped and his hand slipped drawing this scattered, crooked line due to the movement of his hand. So now I am sitting here with a tattoo that is maybe 25-30% done and 8-bit so the lines have to be perfectly straight in order for it to look good, and there is this botched "line" if you want to call it that, where the artist's hand slipped while the motor was running so it looks like Morse code cause the needled traveled across my arm and botched it. So to get even better, the artist completely turned his attention to this crazy girl that had just driven her car through the front of the shop!!! She gets out of the car and starts screaming bloody murder and of course the artist begins to yell back! They were yelling your baby this and cheating on me that etc...so I am sitting her like "uuuhhh hey man, are you going to at least say something about that line that completely just ruined the tattoo!?" This is when everything got really out of hand! She straight up linebacker tackled the artist and they began to get into a scuffle. I am sitting there in complete awe of what I am seeing all while looking at this tattoo that looks pretty good thus far on one side, then the other side is clean, up until the giant line due to the car crashing through the shop. I was so confused and flustered I did not know what to do and I did not want to wait around but also I did not want to not pay the guy (I feel that would go against my integrity, because hey, it wasn't really his fault, well not directly at least) so I left $75 on the counter and got out of there. We were the only ones in the shop so it's not like I could really resolve the situation with someone else. I have called the guy multiple times since and no answer and he is no longer working at the shop (I really hope this chick didn't go postal on him!) So the situation I am in now is that many artists do not want to finish the work because a decent amount of the outline is done, but this line is horrendous! It completely ruins the original idea because now I have to have someone use that existing line and work it into the piece. I know it is not that big of a deal, but to me I wanted it to be a complete reproduction of the piece, now I know I am going to have to slightly modify it. On top of the, with the 8-bit work, having the lines be perfectly straight is what makes the tattoo...I have no idea how someone could fix this to make it straight (although I am not a coverup artist so I am sure there are many geniuses out there that could do it...I just need to find one...I live in the Los Angeles area, any suggestions would be soooo appreciated! It sucks because all my pieces, as I said earlier, are perfect in my eyes...this tattoo kills me to look at as I feel it takes away from the others... Does anyone else have any crazy mess up stories that are like this or...if possible...crazier!? I would have started a new forum in regards to this, but I am new to the community so I cannot post new threads...yet :) I apologize to the OP...I only posted in here because I have people suggest having the messed up line Laser removed then finish it properly...thoughts? I will post pictures later tonight or tom morning of this craziness. BTW, can't wait to start really being a part of this community, hopefully I have found a new home!

Aloha LST'ers, We have launched a new section on LST where you can rate and post reviews of all of the tattoo shops you have been to: Tattoo Shop Reviews | Last Sparrow Tattoo If you see a shop missing, just click the yellow 'add another tattoo shop' button at the top right and submit the shop name, location, and other details requested in the form and we'll add it to the list. Notice that there is an option to upload a picture of the tattoo that you got at the shop you're reviewing. Unfortunately the images are not linked to the LST Tattoo Gallery system at this time. Try it out and let us know how we can make it better!

Later today ill have a full bodied tiger on my forearm thanks to Stell

aaaaaand it's booked.

Instead of getting the whole verse just get the book and chapter. (ex Psalm 66:9) No one is going to read it anyway so it will be "for you" so you might as well get something that can be a nice tattoo rather than have a bunch of words scribbled on your arm.

Yeah, you don't want too many tats.

Here is my back after session four, just added the claw and girl, still a fair bit to do !!

1) Go to Immaculate Tattoo in Mesa. 2) Get tattooed by everyone there, starting with Richard Stell (who's there for a few more days) and then by Aaron Coleman, Jay Cavna and Mando Rascon. 3) Soak up every moment of your experiences there. 4) Post pics here.

welcome river post a pre cover and post cover pic for us if you would good sir.

I believe yall mean she. Because if that's a guy then David Bowie is Rambo.

I really enjoyed that article, but at the same time, certain artists do such nice lettering that it's beautiful on its own. Freddy Corbin, Katie Sellergren, Grime, Ben Grillo, Juan Puente and Nick Colella, to name but a few.

I would ask out of curiosity only, no way I'd give up my place on the food chain at this point. CG

Saw this a little while back. Thought I'd share...

Schaefer and Rheingold were two of the best beers ever, until they moved them out of Brooklyn and it turned into wolverine piss. This was in 1975 or so, it ain't been right since. CG

Holy shit! A new Gypsy Gentleman episode AND news of Tattoo Age returning for a second season before my first cup of coffee!?! If jesus is coming back I bet it's today.

Little bits of my arm. Loving it. Instagram Instagram

Shit, thought I was on Craigslist when I posted this, sorry guys, ignore.

I was hoping for a sexy Craigs list ad when I clicked on this. Ground control to major bummer.

Got this Panther of No Man's Land today, by Ashley Howell, Acme Tattoo, Portland Oregon, Good times.

I don't think about the sullen brand.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH wow. your girl = hot the tattoo = not, but you already know that I dunno what I'd say to the person with the tattoo, i'd feel bad and also flattered that they got a tattoo of me, but man does it suck hahahaha

I signed up for a Topless Kim Jung Il headed pinup doll with a chainsaw in one hand and giving the shocker sign with the other. I said i wanted it on my calf. If i make the cut, I will say i wanted it to fill out my squid pantz. And call the artist a tatty wizard.

This is starting to sound like a plan... BUT, any LST'er who makes it onto the show MUST be the worst client ever and exclaim at some point that their tattooer smells like taco meat :cool:

Contestant: Ink or paint flash, Build/ assemble machines, make needles, make pigment and then do a clean tattoo. In less than what ever ridiculous time constraint they give you. Then you are #1 INK MASTER !!! Until then it is just people doing there job on television. They really should have people do stuff pertinent to the trade; but not show it on television. I wonder if they made a reality show about grocery store baggers if people would watch it. Like who could bag the most items in a minute. Paper or plastic. Have not really watched the show though, I know Shane O'neill won and that guys work is awesome. I don't think either way on this show, good, bad whatever. If any one has ever seen Louis C.K.'s stand up about "white people problems", spending time hating what you decide to watch or not watch on T.V. could be one of them.

Sweet sign me up. I've done two tattoos and one was on Oliver so I think I've got a good chance!!! I mean, it's not that hard right? Those other people learned in two weeks at tattoo school......

My sleeve by Scott Sylvia is finished. So I'll enter it into the April contest. Thanks Scott!!!

Sarah Schor

Stewart Robson

I'll throw my hat into the ring this month... Oliver Peck!

An interesting Grime back piece Skull & Sword The patterns/details in the skull are really crazy, they look almost like vortexes or something? (especially in the cheek bones)

I just flash my penis and growl.

Tim Lehi "Vagina Reaper" for the win (I'm not sure if it fits within this thread, but it is awesome haha) TIM LEHI BlackHeart Tattoo San Francisco

Some tattooists should not attempt Japanese. I don't tattoo but I know it is the hardest (arguably) style to master and when its done right it looks amazing, when its done wrong it looks damn awful.

I don't know why, but I seriously can't stop literally lol'ing at this ;)

I have 3 "13" tattoos. Each tattooed by Valerie on a different Friday 13. 2 of them are the same as the ones other guys at the shop have. That time I was walking through the Tenderloin in SF and that crazy-looking, face-sleeve wearing, South American, gang-banging motherfucker was fucking staring at me across the street... I bet it wasn't because he could see the three small number 13's, between the tattoos on my arms, under my shirt and jacket. I've never been mistaken for a member of a South American gang because of my tattoos. As a side note, friends of mine with finger tattoos and visible lettering have been asked, by airport security, about gang activity when visiting the States.

*shakes head* ps. i should really expand on my reaction as in i have nothing to say about his tattooing and his persona that could really describe how it all makes me feel. dispair is one of them. the less publicity that shit gets the better