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After a good few years at a shop that has treated me well I am going on the road for a while and putting the wind at my back and gas in my car. Which means someone need to replace me at Cal Tat Co. I'm not leaving for any reason other than to go do me for a while. Someone with 5 or more years experience, a solid portfolio, and a good attitude. Being a team player will be appreciated as well. Obviously the ability to draw is necessary. Very bust street shop, established for over 35 years, and has 3 major military bases right nearby(Hunter, Stewart and Parris Island are all within a 5 minute to less than 1 hr drive). Being the oldest shop around we still get a huge client base from locals and South Carolina and are as busy if not busier than other local shops. I've been there for over 3 years and built up a solid client base, so anyone else with the ability to treat people well and be friendly (as well as do solid tattoos) will get you as many loyal customers as I did. If there's anything I forgot to mention I'll add it later. Contact Jack or Sharon Witt at [email protected] about the job. Personally I will going up the east coast doing spots at Baltimore Tattoo Museum, Kadillac Tattoo in Philly, going west and hitting Trader Bob's in St Louis and continuing west to spots at Bolder Ink and Godspeed in Colorado. Prob gonna do a spot or two in Denver but that would be months away, who knows what will happen by then. Hit me up if you wanna get tattooed in July in any of those cities!

Don't get tattooed.

I'm tattooed damn near all over, and I can safely say that the ribs were far and away the worst for me. Way worse than the ass, spine, kneecaps, and feet. Listen to what Killercook76 says in the post above this one. All of it. But hey, you're 16, and as such, probably don't give a shit what a bunch of old strangers on the internet have to say. Signed, An Old Stranger on the Internet

Why would an artist disrespect their client by letting another tattooer do that same custom design? Please let's keep this forum to real-life things instead of strange flights of the imagination.

I got to do my first dragon yesterday!!! So much fun, I really can't wait to do the color. I'm pretty sure we're gonna turn it into a half sleeve, so that's exciting as well. There are no words to quantify how difficult traditional Japanese tattoos are, hahaha.

maybe in time but definitely not before it's finished. I'd be pissed if someone ripped off my idea and finished it before I do!!

Some of the artists I thought were assholes have become great friends of mine. What's important to me is a hard work ethic, passion for tattooing, and a quality portfolio in the style I'm after.

Victorian Dolphin by R.J. Hitchcock at American Graffiti Tattoo in Sacramento, CA.

This series of videos has been cracking me up:

I agree with everyone here 16 is too young to get a tattoo.. Firstly the only people who will do a tattoo on a 16 year old .. not very good artist.. I would wait and save money to get a tattoo from only world class tattooers.. As far as the pain.. 30 mins aside.. It will not feel like a sunburn!!!!!!!!!!!!! HAHAHAHA who ever told you that is full of ... Being your first tattoo you have no idea so i cannot tell you how it will feel but it is painful. Scale of 1 to 10.. Like a 8.9 lol.. I started out with arm tattoos .. those are like a 3 or so.. I completely understand you wanting a tattoo now.. it's not a good idea on so many levels at your age... Unless your parents are willing to pay for a decent amount of money and only go to the best tattooers/shops. Otherwise wait!

last one for tonight i promise

having alot of fun with black and grey

im sorry that was a bad joke. ill stop now.

So I have decided I am going to get my next piece done by Danny Reed (hopefully) I will be going up to asheville soon but idk when hopefully I can get a tat done by him.

it's so colorful! makes me happy!

It's a fathersday gift to my mom since my dad is an asshole ;)

Snuck down to see Stefan Johnsson yesterday, guys a certified genius, robbed this from his Instagram, cannot recommend him highly enough. [/url]

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....

I think that something everyone should strive for in their tattoos is timeless design. Fashion trends come and go, and it's highly unlikely that you'll have the same fashion tastes at 55 as you do at 21. If you want a tattoo to have a tattoo, go get something really beautiful that has strong imagery done by a talented artist. If you think you may have regrets, don't do it, flat out. The possibility of regret outweighs the short term satisfaction of the process. And research, research, research.

Please dont get tattooed. you'll be doing yourself and us a favor.

haaaaahahahaha, this is so funny and so true. NorCal, man... microbreweries for days and SO MANY NERDS. I love when people invite you to make fun of them :)

getting tattooed hurts a lot and ranks pretty high up the physical pain chart.... I wish I had an appointment tomorrow so I could enjoy the experience again....

When I met my (now EX) husband I already had a tattoo and he didn't have any. He decided to get one but didn't want me to get anymore as he didn't really like them on women :rolleyes: We have now split up and I have recently started dating again and had a brief fling with an old friend who has lots of tattoos. Tattooed people are more interesting naked ;)

I love American traditional tattooing. I have full sleeves on both arms and right leg. Currently working on my back (top of shoulders to bottom of my ass). Instagram @ethermath

I'm also looking for someone to help with a sleeve! A full one though! ;) Let me know if you find an awesome artist!

Thanks @iowagirl! I rang the tattoo parlour and had a chat with the front of house manager. He said it's pretty common and can last a little while so that allayed any worries I had. Guess it's just a weekend of relaxing in front of the telly with my foot up! R

its not about bashing rates, it's the fact we do not discuss prices around here. leads to arguments like the one you had. not saying you were right or wrong, but the best way to prevent those things is not to talk about them. Sorry you're still sore over it

and please dont bash cris garvers rate on this forum. OR ELSE!!!!!!

Cheers bud. Tonight for me is a jack n coke. I have been craving banana bread beer and Mississippi mud though. Tomorrow warrants a trip to 99 bottles.

Steve Byrne at ROA. David Robinson at Spotlight. But most of my work is from local San Antonio artist Kelly Edwards at Element and Chelsea Kotzur at Four Horsemen

@lynellej1 I can't speak from personal experience but I like the work I've seen from the artists at Gold Rush in Costa Mesa, CA

I just finished a session with Garver and it was worth every penny!! He drew up my tattoo in the same day as the consult and was nothing but humble and professional through the entire process. His rates are not what has been posted here on this blog! His fame has nothing to do with the fact that his work is outstanding!

Interesting that alot of the Shige ripoffs are from Korea and China...

and some more i did today

I think the majority of responsibility lies with the artists, I'm not absolving clients who say I want exactly this tattoo, but I suspect most of them think what they are getting is more original than it is. Instagram needs a #shouldhavegonetoshige hashtag.

Holy shit!! Thats so cool! I got a rose yesterday by Joshua at Peoples Art Tattoo in Copenhagen. The banner says mom in danish.

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

You bring the tattoo to show off, I'll provide the BBQ.

Done by Darcy Nutt while she was guesting at Providence Tattoo :)

I'd avoid an asshole, largely because I don't like giving my hard-earned cash to douche-bags. I've been tattooed by all kinds of types. Some are super friendly and talkative and others are the silent types - and a range in between. All are totally cool with me. Just don't be a dick! I've noticed a really unpleasant trend on instagram recently - some artists have taken to posting pics of their clients, mocking them for being fat or ugly, or generally dissing their choice of tattoos. That's fine, I guess, but I sure wouldn't go to their shop. It strikes me as an odd way to do business, but hey, its their choice.

I think the most important lesson I learned from LST is normal, "boring", everyday people are usually the ones getting the awesome tattoos from talented artists. Before coming here I had the silly idea that only creative types with interesting jobs and exciting lives got the best tattoos.

You guys helped me find Kore Flatmo, I owe LST big time.

in-fucking-credible. lucky, lucky (and smart!!) you!! beautiful.

When I had my one lower leg shaded it swelled quite a bit. I would feel a ton of pressure when it needed to be moisturized during the healing process. It was almost crippling! It was shaded the whole way around in one go, so that may be why I experienced the pressure sensation. Pics from the session (2008):

So this is the lady head I had done about 3 weeks ago. I guess I would say it's semi-traditional/semi-realistic...based off the likeness of my wife. My first "real" tattoo in 15 years. Pretty pleased with it.