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I tried taking a photo of my latest from Javi Rodriguez but unfortunately i have my right arm in a cast at the moment so it wasn't easy. I've settled for pilfering one from his instagram instead. Done at the fantastic frith street on Tuesday.

Here's a thread about how realistic tattoos age: http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/forum/general-tattoo-discussion/2654-aging-realism-what-lasts.html From my perspective as a non-tattooer, the point of the Dan Henk article linked to in the thread isn't that realistic tattoos are shit and won't hold up, it's that there are certain fundamental rules to tattoo design and application that need to be followed if the tattoo is to hold up over time. Dan Henk saw that his tattoos were falling apart and he didn't give up everything he was doing and start doing traditional tattoos, he instead figured out how he could incorporate what the "old timers" were trying to teach him about lining, contrast, detail, placement, etc into realistic tattoos.

Cyanide & Happiness

Hah, my mom tried to stab herself in the mouth with a glass of whiskey when she saw mine ;)

People can be honestly excited about your tattoo even if its not related to the imagery. They might just enjoy tattooing you and talking to you or getting to be a participant in some design that is significant to you or many other reasons one might get excited about it. Its not always about the imagery.

Oi Oi Oi - - - Updated - - - lady head and dagger/globe by Emmet Jace owl by Jessica Swaffer motorcycle skull by Fergus Simms, sorry about photo still healing I'll try to upload the rest later my computer is playing up also getting a chest piece by Nick Rutherford in a week weeeee Thanks for welcoming me guys

"Kneerilla" by Marius Meyer

I think this is the only time that I wish I could see more of your ass.

Grime put it on Instagram so I figured it'd be cool to post here. The ass section of my back... He said he wanted to wait to shade the center of the flower until he sees what other colors are used on the rest of the tattoo. Who am I to question? :D

Just got this little pony from Bailey Robinson.

My mom tried to stab me with a pair of scissor when she saw my first tattoo. Haha

Not wrong, it's a tattoo forum after all! Thank you for your sympathy @gougetheeyes, it is much-appreciated. I've actually been wondering myself how it has affected my tattoo. In short: I think the bug has slowed down the healing a tiny bit, yes. The longer conversation: My last tattoos have been on my rear/side area and have healed extraordinarily well, so well that in a separate conversation I have wondered if it is because of my tattoo artist, the pre-tattoo skin prep I did, the general condition of my skin, or possibly the type of machine she was using. Those rather large tattoos healed without any itching, flaking or peeling - craziest (awesome) thing I ever saw. Well, to be fair there was very minimal flaking - small itty bitty tiny flakes that i barely noticed, just like having a little bit of dry skin. This latest tattoo is on my left arm, right on and above the elbow and ditch - so an area that gets more exposure and movement than my rear/side (um I'm too sick for the jokes that belong in this parentheses right now, but I think I walked right into a few ;)). This tattoo has been super flaky and incredibly itchy. Big ol' flakes just hanging off my skin! I had been prepping the area for a few weeks, but the skin is decidedly less smooth and untouched than on my side, so...is it the initial condition of the skin, the gentle or heavy hand of the tattoo artist, the type of machine being used, or my health as a whole? I think all of these things contribute to how a tattoo heals, but in this case I am not sure which part has contributed to what. My body was already a little tired and stressed from intercontinental travel, and the skin is different in this area than around my never-sees-the-sun behind, so... I'm ready for the itchy/flaky stage to be over. I've been spoiled by how well the last tattoos healed! - - - Updated - - - Oh gosh, good luck to you @chrisnoluck! That sounds like exactly what I went through/am going through. There's a definite outbreak in the states right now, so likely what you had. I couldn't keep pain relievers (or water or anything) down for several days, but have just been able to start taking ibuprofen again, and it is a godsend. I hope your body is up to being tattooed after all of this! I actually had a sick-dream where I was at my regular tattoo parlor and then walked out into the parlor shirtless (???) and they told me that I was obviously still sick and couldn't be tattooed, and I woke up very confused as to where I was and why I had no shirt on and did I miss a tattoo appointment? and then I puked. so. there was that. My doc said to reintroduce food with the BRAT diet - Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, and Toast, so you may try those things to help fortify yourself for getting tattooed and healing in general! I eat a grain free diet normally, which is to say no rice or toast, and unfortunately I did not take that into account when I listened to my doc and it has caused a bit of tummy upset for me - not the same upset from a few days ago, but enough that it's keeping me wrapped up in a blanket and on my couch. The only reason I am even on the comp right now is because i have a writing deadline! And I'm totally procrastinating by writing needlessly long posts and responses here...ughz. Stopping now. Back to bike tire buying guide (gotta pay the bills you know).

Nine days later, looks to be healing nicely. Scabbed up a few days ago, it's still itching on and off. -Joe

A few years ago my brother bought a tattoo kit from china for $150 australian (really super good quality....) so I tattooed this above my knee , and we tattooed a few friends. After two days the power supply broke and safe to say I never touched a machine again hahah I'll leave it to the professionals.

I've gotta admit, I never noticed the lack of black women in flash/tattoos before. I feel kinda stupid now. Done by Dusty Neal (more info at THE STATIC AGE, I started thinking one day how I )

I figured it was just some good ol' fashioned Canadian-on-Canadian hate. I keed! And we're all cranky sometimes.

Matty D Mooney from Melbourne,Aus does some awesome back pieces

Times have changed with credit cards just as they have with everything else. We accept cc, not in a tattoo parlor, but a tool store, and don't have a terminal. Everything is handled in our computer. Type in a cc number and away you go. There are other options, such as The Square, that allow you to accept transactions on any smartphone. Pretty simple. As far as the charge, that typically maxes out at around 2 or 3 percent of the transaction-not a killer. My rule is that while I may use a card for payment, rarely, I tip in cash, always! I'm sure that NO reputable tattooer would evade or avoid paying taxes on his/her full income, so I know THAT'S not why some places prefer cash!

I told @Graeme about it, and he went on an old man rant about technology at me.

OH MY LAWD! I can't keep up with all the cool trendy shit nowadays!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tattoo by Chad Koeplinger done at Frith Street Tattoo in London, England Filled up the spot nicely! (and quickly 2 Hours!)

I shouldn't be allowed outside without a chaperone. My girlfriend and I went out for lunch this afternoon. Since we were right around the corner from The Pearl in Toronto I decided to stop in and say hello. Just a few moments before we got there Tim Pausinger had a couple of last minutes cancellations. Perfect timing! I had a few ideas on my phone and after brief discussion Tim drew up a design and got to work. I had a tattoo done last week that was healing nicely and so I figured what the hell. Let's do it. I've got another appointment on Friday, another on the 18th and two in April. I think I'll take a wee break at that point before beginning the work on my chest.

Norovirus definitely tends to have a seasonal distribution, more common during the winter months when people spend more time in close quarters. Symptoms definitely tend to have a quick and dirty appearance (usually 24-48 hours after exposure), and usually go away within a few days. It is a huge pain in the rear to deal with in a hospital setting, I've seen whole wards shut down within only a day or two since the thing spreads like wildfire (in fact my internal medicine rotation just got switched to a different hospital because of an outbreak). Unfortunately there really isn't much you can do for treatment aside from supportive care, lots of rest, plenty of fluids, and all that jazz. Once you are feeling better I would highly recommend giving everything a thorough cleaning (hot water for fabrics, bleach solution for solid surfaces) since the virus can persist.

i just started looking at knives and the range of stuff that's out there is nuts. better late than never, i guess! i'm keeping it fairly low budget (for now), currently carrying a SOG Trident Mini and a Kershaw Cryo is in the mail. i tend to have an addictive/collecting personality, so knowing that, my wife said, "you should just get ONE!" i'm already up to two (shhhhhhh!) and interweb surfing for more. does anyone check out the EDC website that Jeff Crib mentioned in his LST interview? there's definitely some good stuff on there and it's influenced me to start carrying a flashlight too (fenix E05). again with the better late than never, i'm finally putting together a go bag. one of the first things i put in was dryer lint, per Jeff Crib's fire starting demonstration. after reading this thread, i'm strongly considering the addition of a ka-bar. this forum's full of enablers!

I'm just now getting over something similiar, however i'm not from the UK, nor have I been recently. A few days ago I woke up covered in sweat and couldn't stop throwing up. Then 20 minutes later I would have the chills like crazy, even though i'm sweating profusely. The muscles in my legs were aching so bad I could barely stand at work so I had to take a bunch of pain reliever. I've had no energy for the past few days and I haven't eaten a solid meal since I started feeling like this. Finally feeling a little better today (which is great because i'm getting tattooed at 6 today). Hopefully you start feeling better soon!

Haha so 1 at a time. Again "NO DUH!" but figured I'd see what others had happen. Main reason was the guy I was wanting to do it won't be in town long so I thought about it. Also I wanted them done before summer hit. I hate getting tattooed in the summer and wanted them nice and healed for the season. I'll wait it out and get something else somewhere a little more familiar then. If my job was at a desk all day I might suffer through it but since I'm on my feet for 80% of the shift I'm not going to screw myself like that.

After all but one of my tattoos from a particular guy, he's said something along the lines of "yea, I really like how that came out, I'm gonna need a picture of that one" and used his personal phone to take a picture. The one time he didn't do that, he said he liked how it turned out and used the shop camera. He also commented that he enjoyed the subject matter I choose, because it tends to be classic traditional style tattoos, with a unique twist. That being said, I also wonder sometimes whether he says that kind of thing to everyone, or pulls out his personal phone and acts as of that tattoo is special, to make them feel even better about the tattoo they just got. ALL of that being said, I'm always super pumped with the stuff he puts on me, and always feels he gives his 100%, so at the end of the day I'm not too worried about whether he's super into the images or not.

Five years of surgeries, rehab, etc. He's still alive, went totally batshit crazy maybe 20 years ago, and is living on the streets. Shit happens.

switzerland ;)

They couldn't give her proper sized gloves? Well probably because 7 year olds shouldn't tattoo!!! *smh*

Jessica Swaffer does really nice lady heads - currently at Chapel Tattoo ,melbourne

I think @Mark Bee is trying like a madman to get the rest of that remaining ink.

Just like anything else in life . . . spend some time and effort educating yourself to the history, the process and comparason of end results. Appreciation of art is an informed enjoyment.

beez glad you got that off your chest. and to beez and other replies, thanks :) much appreciated. Those Maris Pavlo tattoos seem insane. ps. How can a newcomer (like me) to the tattoo scene tell a good black and gray from a medicore or a bad one? Well when it's bad... it's bad and I've noticed that some tattoos are really bad.

Great to see Chad Koeplinger in there! I happen to have a Japanese piece from him. ;-)

:D

Love them 80's heart shaped face girls that came of GTC this is by Mike Brown

Well, I've got work that's 40 years old, thereabouts, and I've never done any "maintenance" at all. Guess a lot depends on how they were put in in the first place.

@dcostello I'm worried that we're going to have to get married soon. Forever homo

Joined in Sept. of 2010. In before it was cool.

@Eilin ill call you with my spliff/joint with a face complete with bloodshot stoned eyes, best pic I can find is this after its 2nd laser. Has since been covered and my mates are gutted as they had 22years of taking the piss out of this one. My bat and moon is looking considerably better now its had the crap knocked out of it by laser for the 6th time......me hoping ill have no more bad tattoos by year end...:)

This is probably worst tattoo I have. It's Mike Malone flash (which rules) but it's got some holidays. Oh well. It's still tough. Especially with that kitty cat scratch!

Ok I'll play. The photo quality is terrible but I suppose it doesn't matter much for this thread. I don't hate any of these...but I would have done some things differently knowing what I know today... The black & red fish are from the early 90s, I think it has held up pretty well but it is so small! That was my first tattoo, it was a great experience, and I have no regrets. It's also on my stomach and never sees the light of day. The black cat was my 2nd tattoo and I still love the design, but again, it's a little small. Whatever, I still love it. I got it when I thought I might be stopping at 2. Ha. The black lotus centered under my neck is a little troublesome. It's kind of a waste of space. Maybe I can get more stuff around it eventually to make it better. I don't know. I did go on to get some way cooler lotuses on my left arm. The little owl on my forearm--I still think it's cute but the feet look a little blow-outy. The real problem with this one for me is now I want a much bigger raven up above it near my roses and then I think it's going to look dumb to have this tiny owl near a big raven. Not sure what to do about that. I've been trying to think up ways to incorporate the owl but nothing makes sense. Cover it with a panther? Haha, I knew you were going to say that. Then there's the nautical star with my daughter's name above it. I wish the script were clearer, should have gone to BJ Betts! I am now getting stuff all around it. I believe the white in the star is going to be either blacked out entirely or some stippling will go in. Not sure how it will look in the end but it's a little in the way.

the 45 is for boxes, and this is for self-defense

Seems like that may be a little excessive for opening a box or even cleaning a fish.

seriously?? GO OUT AND GET ONE AND STOP BEING A VOYEUR! (ok, i'm not really trying to be a dick, so don't take it too hard, but your life ain't getting any longer, so it's probably time you took the leap if you really want one. 52 and not tattooed... i can't even fathom.)

from a customer point of view, Im not personally bothered about the artistic skill of the tattooist in terms of making it look real but rather the vibe of what they do and how easy it is to make out. The real full on massive tattoos with loads of color that a few guys are doing such as nick baxter, I do like, but i like it in a photo more than when i see it in real life. I prefer small tattoos so you get dudes with arms that have no real composition to the whole limb with small tattoos everywhere. I find with this you get a sense of where the dudes head was at the time he had each tattoo done! I want a tattoo to look like a tattoo but still want my artist to do more than just regurgitate some very traditional tattoo cliche, i want a traditional looking tattoo with that artists personality stamped on it!

doesnt everyone? it makes me feel like my money is secure and a little bit like a stripper. plus who could resist the pleasure of purchasing something with a fist full of musky cash pulled from their pants?