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So, this happened this evening: Done by Richard Pinch in Aberdeen Scotland. Got the Foo Dog done last year and always wish I went bigger. Richard added all the background and more flowers and I think it fits my back a lot better now. Very happy with it. There is another chrysanthemum going in on my ribs that you can't quite see. The flower on my hip will be the same colour as the one on my inner biceps, dark reddish. The yellow on the spots on dog will also be getting more dark tones too, like the mane. Very, very happy with it but also slightly freaked out at the size of the tattoo on my back now!

Hope ya'll like it! Chris Conn Askew Sekretcity Los Angeles

Well this month was pretty badass for great tattoos as well as lots of voting. Thanks to everyone who posted, liked, and got some awesome tattoos! Both people who won got multiple tattoos over a short period of time. The SFO convention wins in general for putting out some of the most liked tattoos for Novembers best tattoo and from that convention we've got a tie..... The winners are: @ian with his skulls by Jeff Gogue & skull by Jondix (post #2), Congratulations!! AND the other winner is @Scott R for his Eagle backpiece laser then coverup by Scott Sylvia (post #17), Congratulations!! It's been cool to see both guys tattoos and process to get the tattoos they wanted overtime so thanks for sharing with us at LST! Bring on Decembers Tattoo Contest....... Winners, PM me your shirt size and address

redletter1 DAVID BRUEHL

more paintings then tattoos, but fun to look at either way...

Hmm just found this and hope you won't mind me adding to it. I'm Erica, 19 year old fat chick from CA. lol great opener isnt it? I am in college right now, my major is Political Science. I absolutely love govt, law, philosophy, all the things which most kids my age hate. I am hoping, once I transfer, to double major in French and Political science. Then maybe get a master's in Security Studies. As far as tattoos go, I've wanted one since I was 12. Everyone in my middle school was getting horrible tattoos, and it was the thing to do. All through high school, people would show off their garage tattoos with pride. Everyone always talked about what they were going to get "tatted" and what deep personal meaning it had. When i turned 18 I started really considering getting tattooed. But I didn't know what I wanted. Then I went to Chinatown in vegas when I was visiting my father and found a Ganesh statue. Then I knew I wanted to get him on me forever. So I searched the internet, Google images, all of that good stuff. I still had alot of predjudices when it came to tattoos. I hated japanese tattoos, i thought they all had to have meaning, didnt think girls should be heavily tattooed. But in the course of my research and lurking, my attitude changed. january of this year, on the 31st, I got my first tattoo. I was in love and I wanted more. So back to the internet I went to lurk on tattoo websites and looking around and learning what a good tattoo was. Found myself here, and I love it. I know sometimes my posts are foolish, or awful, and I do apologize. But I love the vibe of this place, and have learned so much. Changed my ideas about tattoos and tattooing, and it makes me want to go spend all my money grinding images into my skin! Tomorrow I will be getting my 3rd tattoo, in a year, and the 3rd tattoo so far in my life. I just want to thank you all for opening my eyes... and creating a new passion in me!

Eric Inksmith, my favorite tigers of all time. Hands down.

Sir Thomas:

Sneakymitch!

To contextualize, I do believe that just last night we were chatting about how G has the itch, and as I am planning to get my next piece sooner than him, I suggested that maybe he could get something small at the same time if he really wanted. And he said no, he needs to be wise and save his cash, blah blah blah planning all this big work, blah blah blah being responsible, and then lo and behold what does he post on this thread the very next morning? I married a weak man.

Ooh, trouble in paradise!!

I went to see Mo yesterday to talk this design over, we are going with pretty much what I suggested but decided to drop the chrysanthemum and instead to incorporate a silhouette of a bare tree or branch into the design. Work starts next Thursday, I can't wait.

If you're an asshole who can't tattoo it sounds like you should have no problem excelling on there on your own!

Got these two from Chad and Greg Christian whilst they have been here in Sydney

Started reading the books a decade ago. Frustratedly waiting for more! The series is about as good as a TV interpretation is going to get. I was going to get the Stark sigil tattooed on my leg, still thinking about it. The only thing i dislike is the Ironmen. They seem totally superfluous to the story. I can't wait to see the Red Wedding. :D

earth pounding pachyderms !! lurking the stells https://twitter.com/i/#!/StellTattooArt/media/slideshow?url=http%3A%2F%2Finstagr.am%2Fp%2FSs3WeOtFtv%2F got me searching for great elephant tattoos zach nelligan http://www.triplecrowntattoo.com/ and richard stell painting http://www.richardstelltattoos.com/

I'm going to follow misterdflores just to always have access to you singing karaoke, under a disco ball thing.

16th of January 11am 2013, Stevie Edge will be tattooing a shark on me at Hunter and Fox in Sydney, not to sure where on me or how big. Will get his opinion before I decide.

I shot an email off to David to set up an appointment! Squee!

hardcore-ish metal or metalish hardcore, what ever you wanna call it...or just good stuff: and then this which has nothing to do with hardcore

I don't remember what was the first thread I saw here, but what stuck out was the most painful places to get tattooed...someone mentioned getting getting tattooed up till their finger nails.saw that and said wow these guys are hardcore, let me join these guys.

After finally being able to digest the bullshit I so easily got and ate myself, I'll say: I'm sorry, I was an uber bitch, I see what you say now, without the red all over now. I still don't like highway pirates disguised as good guys... Or as anything else, other then "Pirate", I define pirate as.... A person who has no problem with being on the road, dealing with whatever, getting into serious business, or getting into really Non-Serious shit... no matter what type of life one leads, be honest... It's a saying Richard says, he heard it... No idea where it comes from... But: "when living outside the law, one must always be honest." I like to try to live my life like an open book. Hence the reply... I was shitty. I'm sorry. PMS is a bitch.

Just adding my routine for no real reason... Leave the plastic wrap on until the evening, and then take it off in the shower. Don't spray high-pressure water directly on it, obviously, and usually I'll put soap on a part of the body north of the tattoo, and then lightly rub the soap in with my hand. Get out of the shower, and let it drip dry, or pat it dry with a clean towel. I usually sit around for an hour or so before I do anything else. Then I put a THIN layer of Aquaphor on it. Before I go to sleep, I wrap it lightly in plastic wrap, just for the first night. Then I remove that plastic in the shower the next day, put on Aquaphor, and then do my best to keep it clean during the day, wear loose clothing over it, etc... Then at night I shower (so I'll shower twice in one day for the first few days of a new tattoo, even if I normally only shower once a day), and then more Aquaphor before bed. So in total I put Aquaphor on it twice a day for 3 days. After that I use unscented Lubriderm. I apply it more liberally than I would with Aquaphor, as it "evaporates" quicker. I do this for about 2 weeks, even if it seems to me that the tattoo is basically healed. And... that's it! Never had any problems with this method.

Yea I did some "fun" stuff as a kid but I heard some stories in the shop that made me shut up. My father told me stuff he did as a kid that if kids did nowadays they would be locked up in a psychward. As he said "different times." I chaulk it up to being an Italian immigrant in "the ghetto", with "different rules"

You can call them Hoggisms!

Been thinking about these guys lately, one of my favorites from the 90s: They were probably more of a hardcore band than a real metal band, but in that dirty raging grinding hardcore kind of way (ie the way it should be played), so worthy of inclusion here.

I think that (generally) this next generation is definately going to miss and/or not understand the "underworld" aspect of tattoos that most of us older folks do. We, in turn, will be shocked by their casualness to something we revere. Same goes true for many aspects of generational gaps.

If it's not infected, you're just going to have to wait and see (at least a month, maybe 2), but it shouldn't be a scar. If it needs re-touching, tell your artist just like it happened. Shouldn't be a big deal.

Post of the month.

This.

@Johannes, an ABBA backpiece...man, you don't have a hair on yer ass if you don't go for that!!!

Sounds like you got some infected spots for whatever reason. If it's still hurting/seeping goo, you can slather some bacitracin on it and wrap it back up with saran wrap for a day or so. I've had one instance of infection (100% my fault..) and that did the trick. Your tattooer will most likely have to go over those spots once they've healed. What'd you get? Got a picture? - - - Updated - - - Also, for your healing routine, everyone's different, but I've found a lot of folks who incessantly wash and dry and lotion and wash and dry and lotion tend to have problems. All that constant care is just going to irritate it. In the future, the more you leave it alone, the better it will -- most likely -- heal.

@RoryQ Same thing happens every time I get worked on. They always figure themselves out after a week or so...

I think the people are picked more for their "personality" and attitude than for their abilities. Most people interested in the color portrait or new school thing tend to not really care about tattooing. It is more of a springboard for them to be famous or at least act like they are. These are the people chosen for this show. Not the real deal tattooers who can take anyones idea and make something nice out of it.

So while this whole thing is a shitshow, it's really interesting to me that by far the most depressing and pathetic episodes have been the American traditional and Japanese ones. These fuckers get very excited about doing like, black and grey portraits and the like, but across the board suck at these forms. If I remember correctly, the same was mostly true of the first season (although they at least had a decent Japanese guy, if I recall correctly). So, question for the group: why does this keep happening? Or rather, is this an accurate reflection of the mediocre pool of tattooers out there, in that shitty tattooers are more likely to have a background in certain styles over others? Are there no people at the same meh level as these dolts who do Japanese? It seems like the kind of shitty, talentless tattooers that mostly end up on shows like these all come from a particular place stylistically, and I am wondering what that correlation means. I have to say that that terrible fucking dragon mess was one of the worst tattoos that's ever been on that show, which is saying a lot. And that it's hard to respect a tattooer who throws himself a pity party when he's asked to tattoo a DRAGON. What the hell kind of tattooer doesn't like doing dragons???

We're gonna need a bigger boat--I mean, rose. Looks fantastic!

Bitch got crazy face.

yea it does have its ups and downs. My particular job ended up being something I do very well but don't really like the subject so I sold out as fast as possible. If you can bury your head in your work like I do, you can easily skip most of the BS. On a social note I would never be friends with anyone I work with anyway. Not my crowd!

Oh, man. How could I forget? Great artist and a great guy!

Also in Plymouth there's Forrest at Cobra Custom Tattoo.

@Therinx, the Ironborn will matter. They already do. and @RoryQ, you can find the novellas online. They're rad little things. I busted them all out in like a 3 hour session and reeeeeeeeeeaaallly was hurting for more.

The Red Wedding is one of the most disturbing things I've ever read.

Already posted this in Latest Tattoo Lowdown but I thought I'd throw my hat in the ring. 100 Years of Solitude rib piece Artist: Matt Brotka Shop: Salvation Gallery

Incidentally, although I've read the main novels, I haven't read any of the 'Dunk and Egg' novellas that George RR Martin has published seperately. Three so far, with another six planned (in theory). They're set before the events of ASOIAF, during the Targaryen reign, and follow a famous knight of the Kingsguard and his companion ... Or so I gather, anyway. I kind of like how, as the books go on, Martin is sort of changing the history we 'think' we know from the early books. The Targaryens, exactly how evil they really were as a whole, and their fate etc. being a good case in point. - - - Updated - - - Just re-read that post. So nerdy.

After reading everyones stories i feel obligated to share my own. Well here we go. I'm Chris, a 19 year old kid from Leiden, The Netherlands. High-school for me started being the worst time of my life. Being a metalhead since the age of 9 I went to high-school as a 12 year old chubby kid with long hair and a squeeky voice. Since i was the only longhaired metalhead 12 year old the bullies thought of me as an easy target. This led to delving deeper into my music and finding hardcore. Looking back to that time i'm just glad i stayed true to who i am despite all the shit i got for being me. Forward to 16 years old. The hair and the squeeky voice were gone, the bullying wasn't. One day i had enough of it and went apeshit crazy. The little 12 year old turned into a 1,85m high 83kg heavy mass of hatred. No one messed with me after that. Met awesome friends in classes and been hanging out with awesome people ever since. Lot's of parties, lots of concerts. Good times. After high-school i went to University to study law. After 2 months i realized it wasn't for me. Not only was it boring as fuck, the entire system was just build around being a lawyer that makes money of off unfortunate people and i was surrounded by the most self centered people i have ever met. Dropped out and started working at an indonesian take away place where i worked till last summer. I also did and still do vollunteerwork at a homeless shelter. This is where i found what i want to do in life. Helpin people. Started college this september to be a social worker and aced my first testperiod. For aslong as i am into metal/hardcore i've been into tattoo's. All my favorite artists and bands had tattoo's. They were badass, therefor tattoo's are badass. I had to get tattoo'ed. Luckily I waited till I was 18 years old and went to a good local shop. This was last year. I got the crest of the city i grew up in on my left calf. This city gave me my friends and made me who i am. Everything that happened to me happened in this city and it just felt right getting the crest permanently on my body. More tattoo's will definitely follow in the future but at the moment I simply can't afford quality work. Take care, Chris

Some killer stuff in here! for perspective: Done by Greg Christian while he was in NYC at Wooster St Social Club I had made this appt a while ago and was really looking forward to it. Thought for sure it would get canceled after the Hurricane happened and flooded the city, leaving downtown Manhattan without power all week. Luckily, Greg made it to NYC last minute and I got this tattoo from him a day after the power came back on. It was a really cool ending to a very shitty week. Very fortunate.

I don't ever re-wrap my tattoos and I don't typically recommend doing that. If your skin is wrinkly like after a bath then it is definitely too moist. I personally would unwrap it, wash it and then just let it air out. If it seems kinda of goopy and wet then I wouldn't put any type of ointment or lotion on it yet either. Let it dry out a little and see if that helps. I've had some tattoos that have been very heavily packed with black and they get a little goopy like ink is coming out if I pat it with a paper towel. I have always jet let them dry out for a few days (regular cleaning but no lotion) and they have healed fine.

Snaked this from Oliver Peck on twitter,pretty sure it resides in Beppe's shop in Italy.Got the stencil from elsewhere -classic Rollo 1982.

I just can't understand why anyone would care. Honestly. And if they DO care... I've got an ass for them to bite.