Leaderboard

I always feel a little weird running to the computer to upload a pic of a new tattoo, I don't know why. I like to savor it for a little. Then I rush to Instagram to pop it up hahaha. But anyway here's what I got on Sunday from Chris Smith at Deluxe Tattoo in Chicago. He took the picture. I stole it because I couldn't get a better shot, it's tough to get a really good photo. You get the idea.

Hello again! here's a little update after my 2nd session with Valerie at Frithstreet yesterday! One long session left before we finish the first part of my back :D Yay!

started the color on my chris odonnell hannya 3/4 sleeve on friday. its amazing how much more awesome it looks with color. no pictures of the full piece yet but i posted a closeup photo of one of the hannyas and a leaf on instagram (tagged it with #lastsparrow) i think i have 4-5 more hours until it is complete. edit: decided to not be lazy and uploaded it here too

@JeffK Nice, Chris is a cool dude. That piece reminds me of a forearm mace piece he did a while back... Really cool. Made an appointment with Steve Boltz in May. Just going to pick something off the wall in Smith St...

@davelang Great post, man. I came across something really interesting when reading up about Bill Reid and formline drawing, which is that a lot of what we see in terms of carvings, jewellery, and paintings originated from Reid's study of traditional Haida tattoos: So, in a sense, tattooing these designs is really taking it full-circle. There are a few really cool things online about Haida tattoos as well, like this: Haida Tattoo - The Bill Reid Centre - Simon Fraser University I grew up on the West Coast of Canada, and I love this style of art, but as a whitey I have a hard time getting it as-is on me so I've been trying to find ways to take some of what I find powerful about Haida art, as well as myth and legend, and interpret it in a way that doesn't feel so appropriative. My (in-progress) sleeve is an interpretation of the Raven myths, and because it's being done by Thomas Hooper it's interpreted through a sort of hermetic lens with some sacred geometry, Ernst Hackel references, and so on. The eye of the raven is referenced directly from Bill Reid's drawing on the cover of the book The Raven Steals the Light. I'm thrilled with it. I've been also thinking of one day getting a gagiid mask, maybe done sort of in the style of a hannya. I'm still figuring that one out though. - - - Updated - - - And just because I love to geek out on this stuff, here's a picture of a print I bought last summer by an artist named Jonathan Erickson. From what I understand, he's mostly working in jewellery right now, but the guy at the gallery said that he's also done tattoo designs...kind of figures that I'd be drawn to art done by a guy who also designs tattoos. Anyway, I think it's super cool. I need to get it properly framed still.

Not sure what you are trying to read, nothing to be read there lol On a more serious note :) No need to be sorry mate, I will probably not even be alive in 10 years lol. I got it for now and however long it lasts, it lasts. I know alot of people specially on this forum are all for the old school type tattoos that do stand the test of time and everywhere that old school tattoo people say the same thing. Its like the Old school tattoo people vs the new type of tattoo art artists are throwing out nowdays. No one is sure really whether they will last, you can only presume, inks are better, machines etc. I am not talking about mine but all of this new type of tattoo work seems to get the same treatment specially from people like yourselves that are into old type tattoos, which I am not. I never wanted an old school tattoo and was only until I saw this new art that I fell in love with tattoos. I can appreciate the artwork but I just don't like old type tattoos even though I grew up around them :) I did ask Dmitriy while I was in Odessa about my concerns and the fine details, so he sent for a friend he did 5 years previously with an intricate piece of this new type of art that people are saying wont last (no outlines etc) to show me how it aged. I have to say it was like it was done yesterday and exactly the same as what I saw on the internet years before. So I live in hope lol Some folks on here said because I have alot of black it should hold up better, either way I don't care, at the time I got it, its a beautiful piece of art whether it lasts or not:)

I didn't realize this was the thread you posted when you quit your job. I stepped down from being the manager of my department at my night job. They brought me in the office to offer me a promotion, and somehow my reaction was to tell them I was done being in a leadership role. I have managed to rearrange my schedule so I can eat dinner with the family 4 nights a week and didn't take a pay cut. Also I have more flexibility to go to the shop when I am needed on my days off from there.

Watch it after every episode. I'm always humored when one of the main characters I'm used to hearing with a southern accent pops up with a British or Canadian accent in real life.

I started on here about a year and a half ago, I would not like to see this site crumble. It seems to me that lately, less and less knowledgable people are commenting,posting etc. It also seems that thier are more lurkers with "I know some shit" attitudes. those that fit this profile should understand that you are ruining this site. This site was started in hope of an intelligent place where some could learn about the nuances of this craft. Stating amateur attitudes on here does not help.Having gotten three tattoos does not make you an authority.

So, many, many moons ago, I got an all-expense paid vacation at an all-inclusive luxury resort at 26th & California in Chicago. Locals will know what I mean. While I was there, I hear from my boys on the street about a guy slingin out of a motel near a local truckstop. He's doing pretty much whatever you want for the price of a quarter-bag. Hey-it was the seventies. Anyhow. New vacationer comes in, he's got this big, funky green dragon tattooed on his arm. "Where'd'ja get it?" "At a party at a motel onna Sout Side" "How much" "Twennyfi bux." "BUT IT ITCHES!!!" Man, that thing was still oozing from a hole in the center about six months later when I had to leave! Turns out I stayed friends with the guy, and that damn tattoo didn't heal for almost a year. Don't know what kind of infection it had, but it would skin-over, then break open and start oozing again. Nasty. Oh, and someone stomped the scratcher and busted up his shit after he put some shabby work on a chick. Sout Side, baby. R.I.P. Gip MPGL

I have a "guy" guy. He is my guy that finds me a guy for everything else.

To quote in a reply, you can just use the "Reply With Quote" button at the bottom of the post, but either way works. I don't have any good pictures of the sleeve-in-progress at the moment and I'll hold off on taking some until it's finished but here's one of the raven's head that Thomas posted on his instagram: I would love to see your Chad Koeplinger raven head if you have any pictures.

Blogs would work, but you really have to look for them. Don't know how many people do. You could always set a certain board, say the "Professonal Tattoers Advice to the Tattoo-Lorn", as a read-only board for all but members of a certain group, like "Professional Tattooer". Not a problem at all. Then anyone could read the board, submit questions via PM, and it wouldn't get clogged with all kinds of "what type of lotion should I use for my zit-on-a-stick?".

I'm telling you merging threads as soon as you see redundant threads. People would get the hint right away if every time the asked a question that was already answered it was moved to a thread where 20 other people asked a similar question, it would promote searching the board and clean up the board. I have some suggested titles What should I get tattooed ( people not sure about design, or people's first tattoo) Who should tattoo me (thread people can ask advice about what tattooers are in their area) This one should probably include links to the shops page on this site and the endless days blog about tattooers and the forbes tattoo list. What is wrong with my tattoo( People freaking out about the healing process) That would be 95% of threads right there.

Oh wow- how cool to log in and see this! Thank you guys so much! Key West was a blast and we're now back to "normal" life :p I caught a shark while I was there, so I've decided to get a shark tattoo to comemorate the event. I'd have gotten one there, but the two shops I saw were not great. I'm thinking of waiting until a Florida artist makes it through town; Eric Inksmith is going to be at Ancient Ink, so that's a possibility ;)

I have a boner.

I gotta say, I have never heard of a plainskin getting their first tattoo in the ditch. Also, that seems like a pretty unique idea...I think you did well on your first one! Now...whats next? Full backpiece?

"My (in-progress) sleeve is an interpretation of the Raven myths, and because it's being done by Thomas Hooper it's interpreted through a sort of hermetic lens with some sacred geometry, Ernst Hackel references, and so on. The eye of the raven is referenced directly from Bill Reid's drawing on the cover of the book The Raven Steals the Light. I'm thrilled with it. I've been also thinking of one day getting a gagiid mask, maybe done sort of in the style of a hannya. I'm still figuring that one out though." That sounds rad! Hope to see those tattoos one day. I'm also in love with american traditional and had Chad Koeplinger put a raven head with a sun it's mouth on my hand at the 2011 SFO convention. (I'm not sure I posted your quote the proper way, I'm still figuring this computer stuff out). I see tons of room for interpreting the stories and legends over a variety of styles. Stories could be illustrated like japanese style interpretations of their legends, broken down and fit within the style of american traditional like Chad did for me and explored in the abstraction of form line tribal, but taken more in the large scale tribal style of the europeans... I'm excited to explore these in the future.

I don't know if he has been mentioned on this thread yet, but I am loving Curt Baer's snakes! Also this through the neck snake by Rodrigo Souto Bueno is ace too!

Your first tattoo is on your elbow ditch!?

Hello everyone! My name is Lee, Although most call me Bunk. I though I'd introduce myself as yesterday was the first day of my apprenticeship at Dragstrip tattoos (UK). It was pretty much the best first day ever. I did a lot of hard work cleaning the entire shop top to bottom, learnt loads about the cleaning and sterilisation processes and how rigorous everything has to be. Also got to watch one of the main artists Duncan do a seven hour session on the start of an amazingly detailed realism sleeve, he then gave me a machine to rebuild and tune, then one of the other tattooists gave me a small tattoo on my leg :D I'll be learning under the amazing artists there Alex Bowron, Duncan Whitfield and Marcelina Urbanska. I feel pretty damn honoured to be given the chance to learn there so will be working as hard as i can to learn about technique, tuning and anything else related to tattooing. The studio has such an amazing atmosphere and all they care about is doing good tattoos so I really feel like I've fallen in with the right bunch. Please feel free to check out my page (i'll be putting my colour works and the stuff i've made specifically with tattooing in mind up shortly on my page) and the studios page, i'm sure i'll be on here a lot more from now on! Bunk! www.facebook.com/bunkink www.facebook.com/dragstriptattoo

Hey Jack, welcome to LST. Have you looked into Cathedral Tattoo in Salt Lake City? They put on some nice looking traditional tattoos, and they seem to get some good guests. I know that Marina Inoue guests there fairly often and she's a great tattooer. It may be too short notice for you, but there's also a tattoo convention in SLC this weekend and the list of artists is pretty ridiculously impressive: Salt Lake City International Tattoo Convention - March 22nd, 23rd & 24th, 2013

Another half-breed right here. But I'm from Alaska, so none of our imagery has come up in this conversation, but here you go anyway...I did a fair amount of northwest native (aka Haida or more accurately formline) style tribal during the first 3/4 of my tattoo career while I was in washington state, but I moved back to Alaska four years ago and really started to research the style. I started working with a local carver and studied on paper first, eventually painting and working my way up into a carving apprenticeship. I know this style is usually a pain for a lot of tattooers and I understand. When someone brings a design of this style in and it is tattoo-able, it's usually still a lot of work and doesn't feel too rewarding until you are done. But after studying it, I love designing formline from the the ground up and tattooing it. I know this is pretty specialized and leans more towards polynesian tribal than whip shaded indian girl heads or navajo designs that are (or were) on trend for clothing and fashion, but some things are the same for all of those different variations on American Native Art. When I see stuff in formline style, now I know right away if the tattooer found it, had to change parts for the tattoo and make up shapes, collage together a few different designs or bullshit something entirely. I image its what a Polynesian tribal artist sees when they look at designs cut and pasted by tattooers going strictly off of visual aesthetic and mixing designs regardless of meaning. "Nice half sleeve, so looking at this, from the parts I understand, your people are the shark fishermen of the mountains? That doesn't make sense". At least now, I feel like I'm learning the language of it enough to design with respect to the culture and not have to worry about if it belongs to a tribe or clan or would offend anybody. It was one of the first questions I asked when I got here "what can I and can't I draw for people?" and was assured by my teachers that an eagle I draw does not belong to the Eagle clan, unless I were to directly copy a house front design, drum, blanket, etc that has been passed down and I appropriated the design without the right to do so. If I draw it and build it from scratch, it is my gift to give to the recipient. And within this style there is plenty of possible abstraction to go even further away from anything that wound be considered disrespectful or clan property. How do the Native artists that I've talked to feel about people around the world getting their cultures artwork tattooed on them? They are fucking stoked. Especially since most of them have been commissioned by their friends and family to design tattoos for them. Just like any artists, they appreciate when it's done right and the medium and design work as one, they hate it when the design is great, but tattooed badly or tattooed well and badly designed. And I think, not to speak for all Alaska Native artists, but I know I'd rather see the art on as many people as possible, especially if I get to design it. I'd rather make the best native tattoos I can on anybody that not do it as much because of some cultural guilt. I know that this is a very specific corner of Native art, but I figured I'd chime in, because I was pretty cautious about the rules and stuff when I began to study. I've been lucky enough to design a fair amount of custom formline and even tattoo some of my carving designs. Lots of times the designs have stories, like the carving of the fish that I got to tattoo. When I carved that design I was illustrating a specific story about how Raven gave the Bullhead fish it's shape. If you look, the body is a Raven head. I won't bore you with the story, but when the customer came in who got the tattoo he asked "do you do that local native art stuff?" I said "'yeah, I carved that stuff right there", he saw that carving and went "that's bad ass. can I do that, but green instead of red?" and I was happy to give it to him. We didn't get all spiritual about the story and he was happy to get it because he thought it looked cool and he wanted some Alaskan art to remember the years he spent here. No problem, buddy. Have a seat.

Got this the other day from Erik von Bartholomaus doing a guest spot in Albuquerque. He is currently working on tattooing in all 50 states, so go get something from him when he eventually rolls through your state.

I'm not sure what you mean by "ethics" here and I'm not sure that it's even my place to be commenting on this thread partly because I don't tattoo, partly because I'm not sure that my contribution to this board, on the whole, has been a positive one, but one of the things that I've found frustrating lately as a "collector" is the number of people coming here wanting quick and easy answers. I think this forum is in a tricky position because on the one hand, it's great that people are finding it and are learning things and getting really great tattoos as a result, but at the same time, I would really like to see this place offer something a little deeper than just how to get a good tattoo. I really like what Stewart wrote about "explorers" and about how learning and discovery are worthwhile pursuits in themselves. Getting tattooed has enriched my life immeasurably because through tattoos I've learned a lot about art and culture, I've met some truly inspiring and amazing people, and I've had what I feel are really profound human experiences and this is all worth the time, effort, and money I've put into it, and I'd like this to be more of a community that fundamentally understands that, rather than just a place for people to come and ask about what to get for their first tattoo and then never return or give anything back to this community.

Got my latest tattoo started this past Friday. Not the best pic. I pulled it off his Facebook. After 4+ hours he still wanted to finish the shading and fix some lines he said, but I was done and couldn't go anymore. I have my 2nd appointment in 2 weeks, and my 3rd two weeks after that so it wont be long to finish. I suspect he will finish the shading and stuff and move on to do some of the colour next time. I am really, really happy with how it looks. Done by Jamie Macpherson @ Unity Tattoo in Vancouver, BC

@JAllen, I'm on here a lot less too, due to my work and remodeling the house and general life business, too. I used to read every single word ever put up on this forum, but it was much smaller then. Now I might not get around to reading something until a month or so after it's posted, but I try to get there eventually. I don't think I was on much or at all during the incidents you mention. Our internet was even off for 10 days at one point last summer, it's ridiculous how far behind one can fall from something like that. I don't mean on just the forum, I mean with life's daily business and correspondence. I know it's no giant secret that the whole "instant access" has it's trappings, but it was more debilitating than I'd like. I've always enjoyed your contributions, and I remember you were trying to sell your house and move to Atlanta, right? Obviously, I'm not a tattooer. But my husband is one of the founders of this site, and his intention was never to be on the forum everyday answering questions about bubbling and bleeding outlines and whatnot. It's not that he's not interested or entertained here, he's just busy. Since we've been remodeling our house, his time online has been generally spent researching building radiant heating systems and studying siding installation instructions, or just checking the local lumberyard hours. I also see him on craigslist looking at fishing boats, small ones that won't provide shade for easily sunburned women or hold a lot of noisy children. Every minute of his non-tattooing/drawing or family time has been spent either working on the house if the sun is up, or building machines when it's down. He also made a roses line drawing book, I think the e-book version of it will be on LST any minute now. But he is at the Reno convention right now, and if there's someone he thinks need to be interviewed for LST, he'll bring it back for us. Or maybe he'll just bring back a ton of stuff from Cabella's. So I can answer the question "where did the tattooers go?" for one tattooer only, I'm pretty sure he went to work and will be back soon. Either that, or he's gone fishing.

A place where tattooers can discuss techniques and information in a private environment away from 'the public'? Sounds great... Wait, I work in one every day. It's called a tattoo shop. Also I travel hundreds, often thousands of miles to go to these places in the real world. They are called conventions. By visiting the cream of the crop of both shops and/or conventions, we grow as tattooers and humans. There is no excuse not to visit if you care about tattoos, tattooing, learning and getting tattooed. LST does something else and does a damn fine job at it.

Nathan Kostechko

I wouldn't worry too much about that. Just get tattoos if you want tattoos.

During my 10 years in the business I have found that any tattoo which is properly saturated with proven pigments in a manner that anticipates the aging of the piece will last. There needs to be black to maintain contrast. (in my humble opinion too much black is almost enough) A heavily saturated section of color will last as long as the pigment permits, though it will only look it's best when dark black is placed near it... One problem is application. Many of these new realism tricks are achieved through a process that will not last, though with the right design, pigment choice, and application color should last... it just won't pop without black. I see examples of realism, both on the web and in person, which were obviously tattooed by someone who is uneducated in the tattoo process. These cannot be admitted into the longevity debate, as a "traditional tattoo" by the same artist would surely disappoint equally. I would love to delve into my perception of the difference in process further, but will stop here so that technique doesn't become public discussion. Another problem is pigment. Many flesh tones, browns, and pastel colors just end up losing out to time and sun. This being said, I have yellow on me that is almost 12 years old that is brighter than fresh tattoos I see from competitors. This yellow in my arm looks virtually the same as the yellow a friend of mine has in his tattoos, which were applied by the same artist 10 years prior to my own! I also have purple which was mixed down with white to fade into my skin tone in the same tattoo and after 12 years the main purple is solid and bright, and the transition to skin is flawless. This in my opinion is due to quality lightfast pigments which were applied in a manner which saturated the skin with the aging process thought of well in advance. This is just the way I've interpreted my observations over the years.

Thanks for the ideas and suggestions here guys - Team LST is having a pow wow about this and we will do our best to implement what you're suggesting. We can merge threads, but the posts tend to intermingle based on their timestamp, so moving them is typically a safer bet. Stay tuned while we pontificate upon your suggestions..

Yes, he's also done an axe! I saw those and felt like I needed some heavy metal myself. A war hammer was a close runner up in my mind when deciding.

THats a nice first tattoo. So what are you planning next?

If he specializes in the style, then he will probably have great reference. As a tattooer, I tell people to bring in any reference they want if it is going to help me see what they are after, but not worry about having to assemble the tattoo for me, just show me things they like. But if he's known for japanese, he probably has a good library on the subject so bringing in a googled koi or dragon might be a little redundant, unless you are showing them a specific element. Even if you are looking to show the artist specific elements that you'd like incorporate, the best place to start (especially if they are known for a specific style) would be their own portfolio. Of course, you're not trying to have them duplicate things they've already done, but with japanese tattooing for example, you can always show them that you like the way the subject matter interacts with the background on a particular tattoo, or a color combo that catches your eye, or a common element like water or flames or something.

Well.... She's not wrong.

I knew almost nothing about tattoos when I joined LST and now I know a little more. I'm sincerely grateful for the fascinating discussions and deeper insights -- not to mention the abundance of kick-ass tattoo pics the board has provided. But if ALL this forum did was help folks to find out "how to get a good tattoo" -- that's huge in and of itself. I see almost nothing but crappy tattoos out there among the general public. If LST can steer some people away from hacks and scratchers and show 'em that there's more to consider when choosing a tattooer than just the price... Well, that's a valuable community service right there. I figure many of the great artists on here don't have any problem finding new customers. But if regular folks were just a little more educated and knowledgeable about tattoos, it's got to be good for the community as a whole -- and spare the rest of us from looking at eyesores like no-outline blobs and upside-down script. Guy at the hardware store the other day was admiring my work, asked me where I got it (and how much I paid for it) and wanted a recommendation for a good shop in the L.A. area. I asked him what style he was into -- traditional, Japanese, black & gray -- and he looked at me like I was speaking French. I should've just told him to join the board and look around a bit, and now I'm kicking myself that I didn't.

Me too. I imagine that most tattooed people (especially heavily tattooed people) feel the same. Which is why I think it's the job of everybody here at LST to try to be thoughtful, insightful, open and intelligent in what they post outside of the deliberate joke/hang-out threads. I like to goof off as much as the next person (see my twitter feed and instagram comments as evidence) but every time I see "Get a ROA!" in a thread, I stop reading. In-jokes and scene memes can be fun until they get in the way of intelligent discussion. There are a few regular posters who I see get stuck in with jokes but also they give sound advice, get good tattoos and seem to know their shit as well as drop pearls of insightful wisdom they learned from personal experience, not gossip on the internet. Those are the guys who keep me coming back here although I first came for the tattooers.

here you are mate

@Ironmask I suggest exploring this site and seeing all of the quality work posted on here. We are always happy to have new people here, however, you may want to observe the way people work around here. This site is here to promote "GOOD" tattooing. As such, it is our missing to post and talk about quality tattoos. Although I can appreciate your enthusiasm, posting the work you are doing on yourself does not and will not ever be "appreciated" here.

I'm seeing a lot good and bad points here. Apprenticeships is not only a vital learning stage under a good tattooer, meaning where you learn good habits instead of taking on bad, which is why a lot of good artists don't take on people who have attempted to self teach, or "scratch" out of the house and develop bad habits that's hard to break. But also apprenticeships help weed out those who won't put in the heart and sacrifice that's required of quality tattooists. Also on that note it helps to be friends, or known by their mentor, instead of being a stranger because they would be more convinced that a person isnt going to waste their time and take what they teach only to go scratch with it. So yes, as a young tattooer in the industry, apprenticeships, i feel, is vital to the continuation; progression, and keeping our history and respects alive in this grand industry of tattooing. And on a final note, with all the attention good tattooers get with tv and such, more people will understand the difference between quality and crap, and those nasty quality shops out there will become less and less and increase in being considered a "pop-up" studios. while more notable artist will take their place who had done right through an apprenticeship, or had enough natural ability to rise on their own. Which can happen too, but is still a long road to take over good apprenticeships.

This is my Snake by Robert Aalbers, Clean Solid Tattoo, Waalwijk, The Netherlands

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 )

Just for fun going to post a panther snake combo I got done last year by Manee Friday right here in Portland.

Can we link this to the "where are the artists" post?

I wish people would stop posting crappy tattoos on this forum.

this has to be one of the toughest tattoos out there. It looks even better since he's somehow had the restraint to keep the rest of the front of his torso clean...

Motorhead Oni - Tim Lehi .

All valid points. Horitoku: Edit: I don't know why it is cropping the picture, so here is one of just the tattooed gentleman.

Pic for reference: