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started today with my boss... we decided that since we put a backpiece on my chest, we should do a chestpiece on my head. EDIT: just realized i forgot to mention... by Josh Cruse, of JP Cruse Professional Tattooing, in Wichita, KS. i'm used to posting things to my friends on Facebook, where i don't have to clarify as much.

so cool!!!!! I bet you had an awesome time over there next to Zach too haha- did you see his photo of the inkmaster asshats - - - Updated - - - 2 this weekend- Went to Richmond Saturday and had a great time meeting folks and hanging out with good friends, and finally got to meet @CultExciter who is indeed a true gent with an amazing sleeve and now a good start on another! First up is side-o-neck by Matt Bivetto, my go to guy and one of the finest and most humble people (and artist) you could meet. So after getting back to Roanoke at about 2AM I headed up to Keepsake in Arlington the next day to see Tomas Garcia, another one of my favorite people and a visionary artist- I was going to do the other side of my neck but it was too swollen soooo Tomas crafted me an amazing portrait on my calf: I am clearly into super tough guy imagery :-D

Consultation at Yellow Blaze tomorrow. Glad I'm not under the needle till the weekend- couldn't sleep last night due to the time difference. Got out of bed and went for sushi at Tsukiji fish market at dawn.

He's 63. For his first tattoo he should get a badass eagle chest piece ;-)

As a tattooer and shop owner I pay particular attention to how I am treated when I walk in to a tattoo shop----- I 'm older and i'm not particularly cool, hip looking, overly attractive, and I normally don't walk around in a tank top and shorts, with exposed tattoos. That being said, I shouldn't have to give another tattooist a resume to expect good customer service, as a customer or fellow tattooist. If able, you should be kind and courteous to every one that walks through your door. - - - Updated - - - -----------Unfortunately, or fortunately - I've found many tattooers are often without boundaries and are verbally expressive.Many that I know wouldn't willingly go out of their way to hurt anybody- but their choice in music and speech borders on insensitive---- Whether it's talking about specific sexual techniques, religion, politics, gender preference, stance on euthanasia, vegan vs carnivore etc. rarely have I encountered a "PC" shop. Our shop has a sign on the door stating "graphic images and colorful language spoken here"just in case. We share a building with a religious - charitable organization and are right next door to a Baptist Church. One of my husband's ( the reason we have the sign) customer's was going to make a sign for my husband- " if you don't like the language here, go next door!" But i'm definitely not making excuses or saying you should subject yourself or friends to an uncomfortable atmosphere.

Might as well post this here: The start of my sleeve by Thomas Hooper. Two hours in at this point, next session in January.

Just wanted to let everyone know that I did a series of short interviews for Tattoo Artist Magazine. They've posted 11 of them so far. Here's the latest with Chriss Dettmer from Black Hole in Hamburg Germany. Chriss Dettmer London Tattoo Convention Interview for Tattoo Artist Magazine (VIDEO) « TAM Blog Luke

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. Something like this?

this one from greg christians instagram today:

http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/gallery/uncategorized/10817-rock-of-ages-.html Done by Jason Brooks back in 07. My thigh.

@CercleRouge my point, or at least one of them was that this 'style' is so special and interesting, I'll be sad to see it become a recognised tattoo style that anyone thinks they can have a go at. That's my main point and just because customers ask for it, that doesn't mean tattooers should fill their portfolios and instagram with it. Maybe I should add here that I have done tattoos in this style. I've done a lot of tattoos in a lot of styles with varying degrees of success. I've done tattoos from Duncan X's flash and loved every second but I didn't pass it off as my own work. Same with dotwork mandalas and OpArt designs. I even added them to Japanese style sleeves after Binnie's flash but again, the photos didn't wind up in my folio because I didn't want to make a point of imitating something so fresh and interesting. I'd rather take the mechanism of their layout, approach and influences of their work and apply it to something else because a slightly tweaked version of something new and exciting doesn't make the copy more exciting. Maybe I'm just being crusty and crotchety when I preferred it when the only place you could get any decent work of this kind was In2You in London and LTW in Barcelona. I also think that your little dig comparing traditional tattoos to McDonalds was a little ill-though out and reactionary. Already in this (only 3 page) thread we've seen the 'same' compositions, patterns and images repeated by various artists. I' not trying to change anything. I know that anything new and interesting will be imitated so quickly that it's difficult to tell which came first. I'm not trying to tell anyone what to get tattooed or who to get it from. People like what they like, that's cool. Maybe I should use less words: Just because someone tattoos like Jondix or Duncan, that doesn't mean they are anything like Jondix or Duncan.

Mike Shea. DO IT!

Courteousness is key. It shouldn't matter who you are, how many tattoos you have, what you're getting, etc., you should be treated with courtesy. There are so many great tattoo artists out there that I can't be bothered by getting tattooed by someone who is rude or is a dick. It's also bad business sense. A couple of years ago my wife @Pugilist emailed a very good local tattoo artist about getting a tattoo (for what it's worth, it wasn't the easiest tattoo request) but instead of just saying that he wasn't interested in doing it, he sent a really assholey reply...though, curiously enough, he didn't actually say he didn't want to do it. It was probably good in the long run that he did that because that got her looking into travelling for tattoos, which led her to Stephanie Tamez at Saved who is completely amazing both as a tattooer and as a human being, and who is now doing a full back piece on her. There's a few thousand dollars that the first guy potentially deprived himself of. Obviously, that courteousness goes both ways. To me, that means appreciating the fact that tattooers are often busy and might not respond to my emails as quickly as I'd ideally like, that appointments often run late, that when they suggest something it's often to make a better tattoo, and so on and so forth.

Did they forget, or were they running behind schedule all week and just ran out of time. First impression is if you book an appointment three months in advance that should be plenty of time to prepare, but in reality most drawings get done a day or two ahead of time at most.

I had a dream last night my right arm was done the same way the girl in the 2Spirit Facebook cover photo is (this was done by Roxx. It's not exactly my style irl but pretty cool nonetheless, I definitely liked it in the dream). https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=406784286056675&set=a.293380224063749.67769.137372169664556&type=1&theater

I've always liked Tim Pausinger's tattoos (I believe he's working full time at the Pearl Harbour Gift Shop in Toronto these days). I'm not sure what it is about them, but I think his work has a real style of its own - always some cool touches or a different way of looking at a traditional subject. He's got a couple of cool ROAs in his instragram feed: Traditional, but he does his own thing with them. I like the way he illustrates the women too... Here's one:- I kind of like 'em because they look like they're leg pieces also... For those of us who can't fit a ROA on a back!

Ran across this interesting little teaser on youtube for an upcoming documentary on NYC tattooing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OApQA-ZPaoc Featuring Richie Montgomery, Pete Giaquinto, Ronnie DellAquila, Mike Perfetto and Tony Polito Got another trailer here Looks like it's going to be released early 2013 sometime.

When researching the Zeis book I came across a fair amount of info about Floyd Samson. He was mostly a circus and carnival tattooer. Met Zeis working with the Cole Bros circus. Stayed in contact for the rest of Zeis's life. He settled down in Rockford in his later years. From my understanding helped Milt keep the supply company going for a while. Zeis's daughter was worried something bad happened to him because he just disappeared one day and they never heard from him after that. I assume he got the traveling bug but who knows. I will have to do some digging and see if I can find any info about where and when he died. His flash is really folk art looking but very cool. I would love to have a sheet of it. Sheet below was on ebay some time last year.

I don't that's always a pre-requisite to have both arms finished before having 'permission' to do other spots. I did the entire back of my head when I was heavily tattooed already but in as far as visible tattoos I had a left arm sleeve and nothing on my right arm at all. The people that tattooed me even back then were friends that knew my commitment level and didnt try to talk me out of it. As far as pain level goes, I mentally prepared myself for the worst tattoo I've ever had and that made it easier to deal with when it turned out not to be. IMO my side/ribs were worse, armpit was worse, ass-cheek was worse.

The longest I've sat was 6 1/2 hours from Richard Stell on my stomach (which seemed like a week)... The longest I have tattooed someone was for just shy of 9 hours on this kid for his first tattoo. We did a complete great wave tattoo around the top of his arm onto his chest. I planned on doing 3-4 hours and for some reason made it my goal not to let him get up... He didn't let me down. Trooper!

Hello all, another lurker who has finally signed up! I've been following the forum for a while now and love watching the artist interview videos. I'm Colin from Aberdeen in the North of Scotland. So far in my short life of getting tattooed I have work from Richard Pinch, Paul Slifer, Jason Corbett, Sarah Schor, Andrea Furci and Kerry-Anne Richardson and I am booked in for my next tattoo with Marcus McGuire in January which will be a change from my other somewhat traditional tattoos. Thanks for looking!

Try shooting him a PM I believe he is a bona fide member here and posts under @The Hyena .

This could end up being a "gateway tattoo". Who knows maybe it could spark the idea for an epic backpiece? I know there are some older members here that started late too.

It was the first time I met Mario. He's a true gentleman.

Man, he's 63 and you're talking about him like he's a teenager. Make sure he doesn't get it upside down.

Mario Desa was kind enough to tattoo me at the Richmond Tattoo Convention. I started my clean arm!

Aaron Bell Carlos Torres

I agree, the lines look so solid and clean. I love all the black. As for me, I have black & gray, but my black & gray left arm incorporates a little "dotwork" type stuff in the background. I don't think I put this pic on LST... This is my inner arm after the 4th session w/a Spencer Briggs Style mandala. It's not finished yet and my iphone takes crappy/grainy pics but here it is:

on breaking in to the business of tattooing. A good laugh. Contact me at [email protected] for availability$20 shipped in the US $25 outside of the US

@slayer9019 in with the solid advice. I am not aware of any of the shops in Houston, not saying there probably isn't a decent artist in the area. However...if you go to Austin...oh man. Too many great tattooers to choose from for Japanese stuff. Off the top of my head, Jay Chastain would be a real good bet, and you might not have to wait as long as you would to get in with Chris Trevino.

@CultExciter that was the most painful POSITION I have ever had to sit in haha, didnt take too long though and its already peeling

I really don't like this!! I think her options on covering the original tattoo, we're pretty limitless--- I can't imagine her wanting a solid black square on her back if she were getting something on bare skin. This is a situation where I would have refused to do the tattoo--- not sing judgmental , just exercising my right to decline.

@jayessebee - just...yes. Yes, dude.

My goal of 2013 is to get tattooed by Xam.

eight hour half sleeve

id say to get tattooed by Kahlil Rintye at tattoo city hes an amazing tattooer! last time i visited i got tattooed by Juan Puente at Black Heart and it is one of my favorite tattoos to this day!

This confuses me, why only go to cheap shop for a wrist script? Imagine getting something from say Katie Sellergren. Right off the bat he would have an awesome tattoo that's well written. Sure script on the wrist isn't the best tattoo placement and size wise, but he's 63... even if his wife gets angry so what.

I saw this on instagram, I love it. Definitely going to have to get tattooed by Mario again @ the Philly Convention.

The Dream Team , Reinke , Horiyoshi iii , Whitehead , Hardy , Lehi , unsure of the other cat .

I work at an elementary school. We have had a bar owner in for career day before. Bar owner vs Tattooer... Idk, both are legit careers. Undertaker too, though that would have scared me as a kid. I could see not allowing prostitutes & pimps in for career day ;-) but if I were the principal I'd let a tattooer talk about the profession for sure.

While I can understand some parents not liking the "alternative lifestyle" being promoted or their thinking it is a low-life job. What I cannot understand is these people causing such a fuss about it and getting this parent not to go. I would personally go out and see if they would complain about a Wall St. parent going there and explaining his destroying of people's financial lives. I am good friends with the owner of a funeral home and dated a funeral director before. I would also be pissed if parents blocked them too. All this PC shit bothers me, I mean eventually these super sheltered kids will be adults. Don't people even think of that?

The real thing that upsets me o is if the kid really wanted it and some asshole tells them they cant do it it just makes the kid feel like crap. Its not really about the world of tattooing here for me, more about the children. FOR GOD SAKE WILL SOMEONE THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!!!!!!!!

my backpiece is finished and it was honestly pretty quick and not too painful except for the lasering!. In ways I wish the process lasted longer but I have a bad ass tattoo from a kick ass tattooer.

Okay... I'm elderly. 58, born and raised in Chicago, specifically on the South Side and later, the collar suburbs. Left home at 13, was put into a "youth home" at 15, got out and roamed the country and points south at just shy of 18. Before I was 21 I had lived or spent hunks of time in Mexico, Columbia, el-Lay, and some other garden spots. Trained as a machinist, and worked in shops for many years, now I sell machine equipment made in Germany, to customers from Brazil to Thailand. Got my first real motorsickle when I was 10, a Sears Allstate 49 cc. My next one was a 1947 Knucklehead that I bought as a collection of parts in a basket and made into a chopper...that was when I was 18. Wrecked it and myself shortly after, and didn't ride again until I bought a Shovelhead in 1977...still got that one, but I don't ride anywhere near as much as I used to did-arthritis and kids and all of that. Anyhow, I rebuild and restore old Harleys on occasion to relax myself. Started putting on my own tattoos when I was what, I think maybe 13, something like that, and spent a good amount of time at CTC watching Cliff Raven and Dale Grande work, and then getting my homemade stuff covered. I have a few tattoos now, but I'm afraid I'm not a general collector-I've gotten all my work form people working at CTC. Dale, Miles Maniaci, Nick Collela, and onoe by Mark Miller. Other than that, I've been into martial arts since I started taking Jiu-Jitsu at the local Y when I was 8. I've boxed for the Chicago Park District, and studied a variety of different arts. I was involved with the same federation of schools for about 25 years, studying and teaching a mixture of arts. Still own my own school, and teach classes 3 nights a week. Keeps me from getting too old. That's about it, pretty boring. I listen to mostly the blues, some of what is now called "classic rock", Hendrix, the Doors, like that, and actually saw most of the name bands of the 60's and 70's play. But my heart is with the blues. What I grew up listening to...kinda schizophrenic on that, actually, listened to a lot of old hillbilly music as a kid, and still do. Not 'country", but hillbilly and rockabilly. Merle Haggard, Jim Reeves, Jack Scott, all that type of thing. Then when I left the house, it was Muddy Waters, Junior Wells, Otis Rush, and Howlin'Wolf. I've sat and had drinks with most of them over the years, back before they were all famous and like that. So now I'm elderly, but I sure can't relate to it. Yeah, arthritis and shit, but hey-basically I'm just a couple of 16 year-olds with a 26 year-old built in for a chaperone. Still getting tattoo'ed, still trying to live life-and largely succeeding. Got divorced a few years ago after being married 35 years, and am now with a Lady that shares my life, my home, and my heart. Have 6 kids to keep me on my toes, from 14 to 25, and an 8 year-old granddaughter that is truly a pain in my, er, that I love dearly. That is all.

These are my grandfather's tattoos, done in Cape Town, circa 1956!

This amazing footage is of a guy named Barry all his tattoos are by Les Skuse circa I968 !!

Mike Moses tattoos: Favorite right here:

Shared by a guy named Don , found on Grant Cobb's IG . Tattooed by Bob Shaw 70's Pike , best ever .

I take immodium before doing anything most of the time. The last thing you want is to shit your pants.

say fuck it and quit your suit and tie job? :D