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Thanks. As you may or may not be able to tell from the photo I am black, so that provides an extra bit of a challenge to the artist, but as you can see things worked out well. I'm probably around Chris Brown's complexion but A) I have better tattoos and B) I'm not a total douchebag. I thought it was worth mentioning since the issue of how tattoos come out on darker skin seems to come up on the internet a lot. Maybe I should dig up that older thread on here that I saw about the topic. This is awesome. The last year of looking at tons of tattoos has really given me an appreciation of traditional work that I didn't have before.

Another day, another trip to The Pearl. I'm working on filling in my right arm at the moment. Today Tim Pausinger added a couple of smaller tattoos. First, a very traditional "lucky" with four aces above it, and second, a sailor girl head that I've wanted for a long time now. I also had a couple of touch ups done, so I'm sitting here with both arms taped up tightly wondering how I am going to get a fork up to my mouth. /searches for a feed-bag

chewing gum helps me actually ... I don't pop bubbles.. just better than grinding my teeth.. Most tattooers don't want to hear why you are getting a particular piece.. This is not Miami ink.. haha

Chris Garver Invisible NYC - - - Updated - - - not sure how to add a lager pic..

Knives & Needles: Tattooer Deb Yarian... Nice, @Deb Yarian! This a great interview with great pictures! Family + food + a dash of tattoo - what more could you want? Thanks for the meatball recipe! :)

my favorite knuckles ever. so witty, so fancy, super clean.

The article says "Rihanna opted for an Egyptian-inspired ribcage tattoo as one of the many that she and Bang Bang have collaborated on." BUT, that tattoo was done by Valerie Vargas: Frith Street Tattoo | Rihanna Tattooed by Valerie at Frith Street If isn't just sloppy so-called journalism and that this punk is taking credit for other people's work...

This is an original that I bought from Mark last year. I really want to get it tattooed, but that dude is hard to get time with when he travels.

Just got this lady put on me this afternoon by Mina Aoki at Fun City. Now I just need to figure out what to cap my shoulder with and I can start filling in the smaller spots. Three hours out and already planning the next steps....

Got this Rock of Ages from Joe Ellis while he was guesting at Lab Monkey Tattoo:

@CultExciter thankyou :P just finished this one

I find comments at the bottom of "news" articles to be a combination of sad, scary, and entertaining.

Todd Noble Tom of Finland heads:

My first two are pretty bad. First, we have just about every cliche about what a bad tattoo is wrapped up in one image: "Quod scripsi scripsi." Yup. It's upside down (because it's "for me"...). Latin ("what I have written I have written" so as to be as pretentious as possible). In my own handwriting (see the translation in the previous parenthetical). With poorly rendered solid black bands going around my forearm. I seriously planned on getting another band for any significant life event. Happily I didn't get too far along with that particular project. Second, this questionable execution of classic tattoo subject matter: I still have a soft spot for it, and intend to have someone try and save it if at all possible, but it is a mess. I've since been getting much better tattoos. That said, I'm kind of reticent to cover any of them up (aside from reworking the bird). There is a part of me that almost loves them for being really dumb/bad.

Here is cell phone photo of my latest by Jeff Srsic at Redletter 1 in Tampa:

Having another tattooer add to it = fine. Bringing it down into a "sleeve" also = fine. Saying fuck it and just getting other un-related tattoos that aren't tied into it = totally fine! I'd just go with your gut and get whatever you want and try not to worry about labeling anything.

PLEASE we don't need to resurrect old Bubbleberry threads.

haha! its going to be a log while before my boss lets me start tattooing :) you can buy a flash set and get a local artist to do it :D - - - Updated - - - got all these for sale as well!

Whats up errybody? Im a tattoo artist from Akron Ohio. I like long walks on the beach and stuff. QUALITY TATTOOS are pretty important to me as well. Thats about for now.......C/S

What you do with your tattoo is up to you, but I think that tattoos look cool with age.

I will always appreciate a Donaldson tattoo. SCI-FI GEEKS 4 LYFE.

Also, Mike Dorsey. A tattooers' tattooer. Mike Dorsey

Entertainment is entertainment, and nobody can knock ya for that. But just recognize it as such and don't base your personal tattoo decisions on what people in suits think makes good television. I think the best advice that I can give you in terms of getting good tattoos is to spend your time with and take your advice from people who are successful tattooers and collectors. People who really spend a good chunk of their lives around tattooing, those are the people who can give you the best advice. Not TV, not magazines, not your mom's friend's cousin in law. And I'm really not trying to rag on you dude. I just think you might have a lot of really popularized ideas about what quality tattooing is, and I think a lot of it has to do with the rock star edge that pop culture has spun onto tattooers and the way that tattooing is represented to the masses.

I'll give this a shot. Done this past April. Jamie Macpherson Unity Tattoo in Vancouver.

Here's a cool one by Virginia Elwood

Me and @Pugilist are moving in a month but before we do that we're going to stop in at the shop around the corner and pick something rad off the wall. We're considering what @JeffK did with his lady and choose something for each other but I'm not sure there's enough trust in our marriage for that.

one i finished the other day

I saw a midget piercer with "Bite Size"

Or fathers/father figures need to teach boys how to be men; this stuff starts early. Just my .02

Um, dude, we agree with you for the most part, but Tim Hendricks is respected around here. Also, LET THIS THREAD DIE! Started by a troll, so let it die

That guy gives me the douche chills. Seriously. Wtf? How is he gonna claim Valerie's work as his?

@youthcrewalex your paintings are looking great, man! Keep it up dude

I thought Valerie Vargas did the egyptian tattoo on rihanna??? Frith Street Tattoo | Rihanna Tattooed by Valerie at Frith Street

Hi Lynelle and welcome to LST. Tattoo artists tend to be pretty good at drawing and placing tattoos, if you let us know where you live we can suggest some quality artists in your area.

True. And that is also why I am here to ask the best and get more info and discuss with everyone you know?

Thanks Beez. I like to think Ive got a nice little collection going. Still got a lot of artists I want work from though.

Marija is awesome! My wife and I got tattooed at The Sailor's Grave on our honeymoon (although not by Marija), and she recommended a kick ass restaurant and helped us get a reservation for that night. Really sweet lady. Her husband, Judd does some really rad large-scale traditional stuff. Super-sized battle royale back pieces and whatnot. Super cool shop, too. And they have good coffee. And to address the actual thread topic: Mina Aoki at Fun City does a pretty good thing with ladies in general and heads in particular. That last sentence reads a lot creepier than I intended it. Anyway, I already posted this in the "latest lowdown" thread so sorry for the doubling up, but I just got this one from her.

My knowledge of art is as limited as my knowledge of what keeps a plane in the air. Regardless, I can still identify the smoldering wreck of a crash and tell you that something went terribly wrong.

I had a hellva weekend, sad it is over. Date on Friday, Saturday was BBQing/drinking all day, then followed by a late night session at Invisible to finish the background on my leg and get a session set up with Matt to get my knee done, Sunday was wake up to black metal and black coffee followed by oh so much more BBQing and drinking. Finishing off today with heavy doses of metal and a smooth single-malt scotch.

Here's the result of my 6 sessions with James Spencer Briggs at Memoir Tattoo in Los Angeles. He worked around and improved upon the nautical star with my daughter's name above it that was already there.

dude, get what you want, don't get what you think others will approve of. All this tattoo elitist bullshit popping up around here is not cool. Just because you've collected cool tattoos by good artists doesn't make you any better than the next guy.

There's a whole section of this forum dedicated to tattoo designs, try looking in there. Go to a bookstore or library and look in art books. I know you didn't like people busting your balls about your tattoo, but getting good tattoos requires doing some work researching artists, looking at reference, learning about tattoos, art, and design and while this forum is a great resource and starting point, the onus is on you to do something with it. Nobody here is interested in holding your hand through the whole process.

Like this? Paul Jeffries' back done by Eddy Deutsche.

Matt Arriola , Liberty Tattoo

Last night a girl asked me why I had a butterfly tattooed on my hand, I told her "Because when you're an actual tough guy you can get whatever kind of girly tattoos you want."

Josh Stephens- Hold It Down, Richmond VA

Your fat. Don't wear makeup, don't dress nicely, don't have fun, don't leave the house ... period. Just stand in a corner and perform self flagellation. Or, you can just live your life.

I think Abelive's last post summed it up for me: Basically I don't expect to be sitting down and discovering a friend for life when I get tattooed, or be treated to some kind of therapy or show-and-tell as well as getting the tattoo ... But I expect to be met halfway in terms of civility and customer-service. I don't mind someone being gruff or not particularly wanting to talk, but if someone is actively being a dick then for me personally it doesn't matter how good a tattooer they are, I would probably prefer to go to another competent tattooer (and luckily there are a lot out there and I can swing traveling etc. if necessary) rather than give my money to someone who treats me badly. As for people's personal private lives (their beliefs, addictions or lack thereof, whatever), I don't think I would consider it relevant unless it impacted on their delivery of the tattoo and the way they treated me as a customer.

Steve Boltz.