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Got my first skull from Rempe while he was in NYC.

@motsimus it rules!!

With a little luck the pic above will be the mermaid i had done today by Piers Lee who's guesting at Red Hot and Blue tattoo in Edinburgh for the weekend. I'm really pleased with her.. i especially like the placement... its from wrist kinda wrapping to just below the elbow. I love the tattoo and had a really lovely experience. Piers is a really nice guy and took the time to tell me what was going on and what he was planning to do. He took his time with it and i really had fun :)

I believe that was me @Dan S @Delicious To the extent of my knowledge i am the only woman in my whole extended family apart from one cousin (who has a tiny trible symbol on her chest) that is tattooed... That includes men. I started to get the usual grief when i began getting tattooed.. a few colour realism butterflies, a little script that was all seen as acceptable however when i began getting larger tattoos people began to pipe up with their opinions. are you joining the circus? are you going to be a pirate? you are going to look so butch? what are you going to do when this early midlife crisis is over? you look like a lesbian! you WERE such a girly girl and now... etc etc. There comes a point in life when you have to make the choice between expressing yourself how YOU choose to because frankly other people might not be around for nearly as long as your tattoos will be. I've always had hella low self confidence but now when i look in the mirror and catch a glimpse of my tattoos i smile. They make ME happy on MY body. Other people will get over it. Sorry for digressing from the point of the thread. I have had a length discussion about native american indian tattoos at my local shop today and i've realised i am 'supersticious' enough to feel the need to have my indian girlhead and cheif wearing the correct headdress... that's as far as it goes for me though. Tattoos are things i perceive to be beautiful that i want to wear on my body.. n thats about the size of it :)

Delicious, I can only say the same to you as I said to someone else. Get what you want. If someon else doesn't like it, tell them to sod off. If your family has superstitions based on the belief of the cult they beling to, THEY are the ones that need to deal, not you. .02

Finished my chest piece by Nick Rutherford at Third Eye Tattoo ,melbourne on Sunday ,It hurt like all hell could'nt get the best picture of it but oh well.

@Delicious I would add that just because people love you and our on your side, doesn't mean they know what is right for you. At some point I think we just have to gain the confidence enough to disagree with our family and understand that their preconceived notions of what society deems appropriate is not going to determine your happiness, only you can do that. And disgreeing with them doesn't mean you love them any less, just that you have become your own person. Their is that old saying, you live under my house, you follow my rules. Well I have my own house and I say fuck rules.

Is it weird that I haven't been tattooed since January and that feels like a really long time? Like I waited EIGHT YEARS between my first and second tattoos, and now three months feels like a long break. What have I become? All that to say that I am looking forward to my appointment at the Rochester convention next weekend.

I.... don't know.

Thanks for the heads up. I might just do that come convention time. But I still want to visit AWR. Hell, I still want to visit Portland. Dan Gilsdorf moved back up so that gives me another reason to visit. And I hear that the strippers are hipsters. Stripsters, if you wheeel. And that there's a shuttle that takes you from brewery to brewery to brewery. If that ain't enough incentive to visit, I don't know what is.

The Pearl has a deal on this April. They are offering $100 daffodil tattoos with %100 of the cash going to cancer research. That's a special I can get behind.

Its been ages since my last tattoo. I had let it slip my mind, but Nikki Lugo from D.C. is guesting at The Pearl this week. I managed to score an appointment tomorrow to get an old school octopus on the inside of my bicep.

I think it's weird that any shop advertises price PERIOD! I mean "discount" could mean "full price" in reality. I think shop specials are fun. Sailor Jerry day, or Halloween or Friday the 13th. Usually things like that, now a days, aren't on the radio or tv and only popped up on Instagram a few days earlier. The only people who'd know are those following anyway. But I've seen "Get $100 of tattoo work for $60!" banners. It turns me off. I'm already like "what would you consider '$100 worth' of tattoo work?" The best artists I know don't go around advertising their prices, they're always fair and awesome and have no need for that crap. I've gotten a few "specials" at shops that I've gotten full pricers from too. Which reminds me, today's Rollo's birthday (RIP) and there's a special going on....I need a baby sitter.

Interesting topic. I'd like to examine the issue from a different point of view, namely, not the traditional asian one that has been discussed already. I'm a young white woman that comes from parents with roots in Nebraska. But I live in California, and this has created me to behave and believe differently than the older generations of my family. They have their own superstitions, not clearly defined but still there. For example, their views of what is womanly, and what religion allows, have passed down tattoo taboos to me that I am afraid to shake. The idea that even the act of getting tattooed is somehow wrong is something I cannot shake from my dad's side of the family, who are extremely religious. Then, once I got over that, I had to deal with what they had taught me was appropriate for women to get put on their bodies, if they dared to get tattooed at all. No woman should get anything too 'manly'. no options left open to me to except pretty flowers, maybe a butterfly, nothing big and would detract away from what a woman was supposed to be and look like. Even then, to them my tattoos would be best if they were covered all the time, unnoticeable and unobtrusive. So that it would seem that I didn't even have them and therefore I would be acceptable to the world. Also, I've been strongly warned by my father that no man wants a woman with alot of tattoos, so I should be prepared. And finally, a woman with too many tattoos looks like a lesbian, so I should be careful. These 'superstitions' if they could even be called that, (I prefer taboos), have lead me away from alot of things I would consider getting tattooed. Nothing that would offend the tastes of my family, while still remaining myself. It's hard. Even now when they look at my tattoos, they only like the one with my grandmother's name. it's safe, its plain, I can hide it and it "has meaning". Everytime they see my Ganesh tattoo, or my Gatsby tattoo, they tell me how pretty they are, but that I shouldn't have gotten them, that it isnt "meaningful"and that I have too many tattoos. I only have 3.

Highlight last year was meeting Thom Devita.

Finally booked session #5 on my arm w/Spencer Briggs...coming up 5/4! ?

I decided it's nothing but animals for me. My back piece has three. The rest of me will fit 8-10 more.

just realized i haven't been writing in this thread for a while....so happy 420 a couple of days late and here we go, wake'n'bake, black sabbath, morning coffee....

My artist finished the eyes of my dragon last. He said once the eyes where done the dragon is alive and to continue tattooing it would cause the dragon pain.

Mine say "HUMILITY"

More progress on my arm from Thomas.

Tomorrow at noon is the start of the 3rd Annual Daddy/Daughter Tattoo Day for me, and this years should be the best one yet. I can't wait.

Not neccesarily just the eyes, but when somoene is getting a backpiece, usually work on filling in the background before the main image, because most people would be willing to walk around with a finished dragon and unfinished background but not vise versa. I personally like what @reverend1 said better though.

I believe a regular client should be allowed some time slide, I dont think prices should be matched if a new client comes in and drops hints that they have been quoted less, My tattooist started my full day bookings at 1200, now that ive spent so much with him i can get a full day for around the 600 mark, that being said i sit like a rock and i let him run free with it aslong as its bright and colorful lol

I have patience across the top of mine lol, In saying that as an apprentice tattooist we always advise people that finger tattoo's dont really last the distance and require constant attention :)

Back of the knee was pretty hard for me. I had trouble walking stairs and it would itch badly. I eventually had to have the whole thing redone because it healed so uneven. I think it was partially due to my new jeans being to stiff and full of nasty chemicals, but also just from the spot being really difficult to heal.

For the most part I don't want to get a discount on tattoos that I get. My tattooed knows some problems that I've had lately and he wants to finish some things, so he lets some time slide. But I don't like it, but he will use my tattoos as book and magazine pieces so he feels even. It's just not in my blood to accept a deal unless everyone understands the conditions. Say for Friday the 13th or flash sheet page deal.... The tattooer understands that this is what he will do for this price, I'm okay with... Sadly. But he knows what he is getting into.

There's a shop in South Beloit, not far from here, that has a big sign out front, "Tattoos from $40, piercings from $10". You just know it's a high-class operation...I was thinking of blowing off Nick and going to them exclusively. Not.

front of my hips (hipbone to hipbone lettering and swallows) was difficult due to jeans chaffing, sitting creasing etc... I actually took a big maxi pad and put it o the inside of my pants facing my body to stop things from rubbing..odd I know, but it worked.

Even when i plan a tattoo, it usually doesn't have that much thought involved, you know I just pick an image and then add the names of every person I know below it and then we are good to go. But seriously I have been planning a pretty tattoo for some time now and am for once proud for coming up with my own idea, I just haven't been able to get around to doing it, I have been starting at line drawing for months, just need to get started. But at this point I still have a dragon to finish on my thigh and an appoinment Matt Arriola in late June before I can even get started.

In general I would say do what you want, but what I have always been taught is if you run specials, the people that come in are usually just cheapskates, and you won't see them back until the next time you do a special, and if you don't do another special, they will go to a shop that does. They will haggle design, placement, size and everything under the sun, because they are going to try to find some way for you to do the tattoo they wanted in the first place, instead of the flash you agreed to do. Groupon seems like an act of desperation and I would never be involved with something like that. Besides that can you imagine how overwhelmed a shop would be trying to fill all those orders and at the end of the day you are tattooing for free or essentially free and your client won't get tattooed again until someone else runs a groupon. In regards to the artwork rebels deal, the flash is usually 300 and $600 so they are doing tattoos for $150-$300 which is a great deal for people who like good tattoos but a high enough price point to drive out the cheapskates. I can't speak directly for the shop, but I have hung around those guys enough to know they aren't giving anything away. @CABS they have the same deal when doing conventions, you could probably get one at State of Grace. If you are going to give people a special deal, I would say it should be to reward people that have been loyal customers and paying full price the whole time. Make it a shop party invite only, that way the only people that get these tattoos are people that deserve them. I have been to a few of these events and they are always fun.

Getting tattooed by George Campise at the end of May, that's been on my mind for the last couple of months.

Next one two weeks from now. Rock of ages, with the cross up side down on the side of my thigh. By Peter Lagergren at Malmö Classic. Going to be a fun one and the last before summer. Hey, do you guys get tattoos in the summer time too? Being from sweden I can't really afford to miss out on the few months of sun bathing, swimming and outdoors skateboarding so I choose not to get anything new between late May and late August

Further work in progress, nearly finished, koi and Japanese maple leaves by Mo Coppoletta from The Family Business in London ...

Welcome! Would love to see some of your tattoos!

@hollyjoybee I dare say you would/should get extra for undercracker nail services (at least a decent tip!) and I'm pretty sure @SStu and I will be in sometime in the near future to get our nails done lol

Matt Brotka is moving out to Full Circle Tattoo here shortly. That is a win for California!

Walk in style by Wade Hex at Port City Tattoo in Long Beach, CA. I had no idea what I wanted to get. First thing that popped into my head was "geisha lady head". What a stacked crew over at Port City. Vastly underrated. I'd love to get tattooed by anyone at that shop... Eric Jones, Tom Moser, Uzi, Jack Mauk, Renan, Wade Hex... heavy hitters.

I got this one yesterday from Justin Hyde @ Old Soul Tattoo

http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/gallery/showimage2.php?i=13964&catid=member&imageuser=5080 So i'm still epically failing at being able to include images in my post....i should probably go and read the instructions or something *hangs head in shame* This is a cover up of a colour realism piece i had started and never finished. It wasnt a bad tattoo as such.. it just wasn't me. I'm SO pleased with the progress of the cover so far.. can't wait to see him once he's done! Being done by Dan Hartley at Cock A Snook Tattoo in Newcastle :)

I thought this seemed relevant to the conversation. Here's a photo I noticed on Mr. Robson's Instagram from a few weeks ago of extending a half sleeve into a full. From the looks of the half sleeve, thoughts of extending it might have been brought up at the time because it looks like it ended in a way that made it easy to extend seamlessly.

I just want to point out it's only 3 days into this thing. It will take a lot to win this thing with what has been posted. We have to take some pride as a community in the level of tattoos our members end up with.

Nick, looking forward to your new venture, I'd say "good luck", but lucj won't have anything to do with it! I'm sure your new shop will be a success and an inspiration.

..the side of your fridge looks like this:

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

Cool topic. Due to being a broke most of my life, it has taken a long time to get the tattoos I have. Just within the past year have I gone below the elbow and I always felt like I was in some position of neutrality. I was heavily tattooed to most average people, but compared to my heavily tattooed friends I was pretty normal looking. When I was young I would only date girls with tattoos and who were into underground music. These days I have been through some crappy relationships and I am a single dad. I have learned that I am more interested in what is in the girls heart than what is on her skin. I have a handful of ex's who are heavily tatttooed, but the current girl I am dating has no tattoos or piercings. I tell the ladies prior to dating that I plan on getting tatttooed more, I will smoke my cigars and continue to do the things that make me happy. Set expectations and let them know what I am about. Im in my mid-30's know and have experienced a lot, I know what I am about these days. So for me, it does not matter if they are tattooed or not, I care more about them being cool and having a good head on their shoulders. If a girl was covered in horrible tattoos, I may not be able to look past that.

my favorite is on this chick here in town that reads: BEAT KIDS. pretty funny. Mine say open eyes.