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After five months or so of getting tattooed at a more or less sane pace, this month I seem to be returning to full-on insanity. Filled in the gaps on my chest with a pair of butterflies yesterday by Robert Ryan--I really love my tattoos from him, and I love going out to Electric, even if it means braving New Jersey transit.

I think when you're super broke someone being able to pay for a "treat" is very much appreciated!

Done by Robert Aalbers @ Clean Solid Tattoo, Waalwijk on ME ! I Don't expect to win I'm just so proud of it !

putting this here because there were all those "parent-child" tattoo days posts recently and I don't know where else this would fit. My daughter's 18th birthday is coming up - we were having lunch the other day and I asked her what she wanted for her birthday and she hemmed and hawed a little bit but eventually says "well, since you're all into tattoos, I was kinda hoping you'd pay for a tattoo for me". Awww! Kinda sweet right? Honestly though, I'm a little bit on the fence about it. What she really needs is money. She's not working right now... she's flat broke and living on ramen noodles and canned green beans... (when I asked her what she wanted I was sure "money" would be her answer) Hmmm... I'm thinking on it... Not sure yet what I'll do.

Looks like it's official. Starting a black metal band with a good friend. Finally!

One more session to go but so far pretty stoked on it =] Work done by Josh Damnit Classic Tattoo Upland, CA

I really hope that nobody opens the copyright can of worms onto tattooing... imagine all of the published reference images or commercial imagery that's used in tattoos. Even if the suit is between two artists, I feel like it would set a precedent for larger entities to totally shit on the tattoo community.

I am 100% in agreement with this. My wife says that she can't wait to Aquaphor my back when I start it so that I know how it feels when I do hers, but fuck that shit, I am dry healing.

That stand-up surfer (or whatever they're called) is awesome! And "they're mine and I like them" is perhaps most important.

. those shots were not so much about the tattoos,but was about the process of being tattooed :) . here are some shots from about 6 weeks ago shortly after some work on the ankle bands & iron cross so they are still healing & not touched up yet,these shots don't include the additional clouds work I got this week, as you can see,except for the niner piece,it's all "island/Polynesian" themed. . . . . . . . I know they are not "world class by world class artists" but they're mine & I like 'em.

Well this isn't something awesome I've done, but I was definitely a part of it. My fiancé recently recorded his first studio album of his own compositions. Some of the songs have been in development for 10 years, so it has been really exciting going through this journey with him. If any one is into jazz fusion (with some rock and Latin influences) you can check out his album on iTunes (it's also on Spotify). He plays drums n the album. https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/tarantula-dance/id660104984 (Sorry for the promotion, but its just so awesome and exciting!)

Seeing as today is Richard Stell Benefit Day eve, check this out: For more info on the benefit (and source of this pic): Update: Richard Stell Benefit This Saturday June 15th | TAM Blog

so,I don't know if this is "awesome" or not,but every year on my & my wife's wedding anniversary,I get a gift for her from the "traditional" wedding gift list,and this year,this is our 6th and it's "iron",so I searched for a while and found a "meteorite" pendant which is 93% iron,to give to my hot wife on the 23rd of june. it's a small chunk of an actual meteorite with a soldered on ring to wear for a necklace.

still a cool thing either way :)

@else just as info, my daddy/daughter tattoo day was funded by me. The kid had her heart set on a Homeward Bound tattoo, but was resigned to putting it off this year because of trying to remodel her house. It was a unexpected treat for her and a great memory for me. (And I got Woodchuck Norris!!!!)

Haven't done it YET.. but. Departing on a big trip tomorrow: Iceland for 10 days, boat to the Faroes, two days there and then boat to Denmark, train to Berlin, 4 days there and last 4 days in Prague. Will be traveling with a friend from across seas. With the same friend I just spent 4 days in Paris with (came home yesterday). Also booking London Tattoo Convention trip with my brother for this autumn, and then on to Amsterdam and then I travel alone to Serbia to meet some friends, train past Trieste (Rudy Fritsch, yeah!) and last to Florence to pick olives with my X. Probably going to Chile this winter too. 2013: the year of traveling.

I laughed when I read this @CABS !! I've had pretty much the exact same thoughts in my head about it!! :D

Here's the next day, Marcus tattooing the same piece...

About 7 weeks ago, I got my first tattoo, which was the words "Love will tear us apart again" written down the centre of my forearm. Almost four weeks ago I got my second tattoo, the reading of the first discovered pulsar, also the cover of Joy Division's "Unknown Pleasures," completing the piece. A little background on the piece: when I was 16, quite a few serious events unfolded in my life. I was a foster child at the time, and I had some mental health issues that resulted in me being volleyed about from hospital to hospital as psychiatrists picked apart my brain and my behavioural problems. At some point I ended up at a hospital in up-state New York, where I saw the movie "Donnie Darko" for the first time. To cut the story down to size, I identified with the movie. One song in it particularly caught me: Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart." I listened to it daily. Fast forward a year, give or take, and while living in a group home, one of the boys I lived with gave me the "Unknown Pleasures" CD for Secret Santa. He never got the help he needed, or the family he needed, and wasn't as fortunate as I was. So while this piece is also a tribute to one of my favourite bands, it is mainly a reminder of a time in my life, and of how lucky I am. I've already had several kids in big glasses and flannel come up to me in New York and complain that "Love Will Tear Us Apart" isn't on "Unknown Pleasures." Having to deal with them is probably my only regret about this tattoo. EDIT: Sorry about the huge pictures. Is there any way to resize them so they don't punch everyone in the face with how big they are?

Went and visited my buddy at his shop today and he had cancelations all day so I asked him for a little foot tat, he gladly obliged :D

The big day is July 7. I'm really looking forward to it!

Haha. My guess is he'll wait a couple of weeks for it to heal and then sweep July. ;)

El Carlo Aloha Tattoo Spain

I don't condone copying people's tattoos, but I am not really digging this thread. One it's not really any of my business to call out people for this kind of thing. Second, I would be hesistant to do so, because there is so much reference material outside of tattoo realm, that I couldn't be sure that two people weren't copying a piece of art from another genre as a tattoo. Third I have never gotten a tattoo that I expected to be or thought in any shape or form would be custom. I like running into people that have the same tattoos I do, I like the look of traditional tattoos and I am under no delusion that I am somehow "special" despite what my mother told me. I don't worry when someone tells me they are going to draw something for me, and they really just go trace it from the Ed hardy flash book and pass it off as their own, because I know most people aren't familiar with the design. Even is someone does copy the tattoo you have, it doesn't change the fact that you have a badass tattoo that most people would be jealous of and want to wear and you will get no sympathy from me, in fact i might make fun of you for complaining about it.

I know it's not nice to play favorites, but I think you are officially one of my favorite posters on here. That is fucking hilarious. - - - Updated - - - DON'T DO IT DON'T NO

I got some more work on my left leg,pics when it's healed, the thing is I do photography for fun and I carry my camera with me 24/7,I document my life,so anyway,this is a pretty cool perspective IMO. this was shot with my Canon 50D & Sigma 10-20mm Super wide angle lens,(so there is an intended lens distortion)I love this lens for that reason, the light from the afternoon sun in the window made for crappy shooting conditions,so I did the best I could with all the contrast. :rolleyes: .

so,I'm completely naked right now, . . . . now I know what yer thinking, . . . . and I agree, . . . . that it's not normally an issue, ,, , , but the thing is,it's hot here today,,,, , , , , , and I'm sitting in my leather office chair right now ! :( , , , and well,you can get the mental image of the sweaty part ! , , , , , , lol :rolleyes:

Fusion has been my favorite genre for the last 10 years or so, so thanks for this and just downloaded. Love the fact they're using a lot of acoustic piano and clean guitar. Really nice, actually. If Mike is the kind of musician who does not avoid listening to his contemporaries, have him check out Johnny Vidacovich and Astral Project. I think he'll enjoy it a lot.

I thought it sounded weird at first too. "Collecting" tattoos, as if you could find some nice ones at a garage sale... but truthfully, it is similar to collecting paintings from different artists...and the term kind of fits.

Awesome! When you record something be sure to post it here!

I really like those ankle bands. And all the little fun tattoos is cool, too. I don't have "world class" tattoos either. Got some crooked and blown-out lines, coverups and inconsistent styles but I don't care. I like my tattoos, too. Want more.

Sounds nice! My husband and I just celebrated our 6th on 5/26. We have been going by the list (choosing from either "traditional" or "modern") until this year... I didn't want anything iron so he just got me a shirt I wanted, but I did get him a shaver he wanted that's metal so that was close enough for us haha. For paper I got him Red Sox tickets, that was a good one. Happy anniversary!

It's really hard not to say anything on these intro threads when a new tattoo artist joins, and is basically a scratcher like the op, or like others on here, when they have been tattooing for a while but they still suck ass and then go around advising others or posting when their work is at scratcher level.

I was booked for a huge rib piece that I unfortunately had to put off because I didn't have the finances to do it and my sleeve simultaneously but the artist recommended taking a muscle relaxant before sessions I think not so much for pain management, but more to counter the body's natural impulse to tense up. And yeah, if that's going to help me to sit and will allow the tattooer to do a better job and result in a better tattoo, then I'm all for it.

Gotta get down on those ass cheeks Marcus!

I love this so hard!

was at barnes and noble last week, a whole group of old ladies ( 60 and up) were giving me the eagle eye, because my tattoos were showing. They move into a different aisle and start talking. I expect them to talk crap, but then they start talking about the tattoos that they want, (it was butterflies and ladybugs for them all), and that they liked mine. I thought it was pretty cool.

Yeah, I've never really liked the word because it seems weird to apply to tattoos but I don't really know what else to call what I'm doing. I don't really know why "collector" was the term that caught on instead of "enthusiast" or something but I didn't make it up and it's started sounding less awkward to me the more I've heard it. In my mind a collector is someone that is getting pieces by different artists more for the sake of having their work on them rather than a specific image. Almost the difference between buying a painting vs having your house painted if that makes any sense.

Hey Guys!!! I've been missing y'all!!!! I left my contract in Central Texas and am back home on the farm in Oklahoma for a little bit. The internet there is spotty and best, I've barely been able to check the activity stream and posting is pretty much out of the question. I'm in St Louis for the weekend at a conference so will do my best to get caught up on what's been happening around here. Really and truly missed you guys :D

As requested here are a couple of photos of my Chris Garver tiger.

What the hell. Chris O'Donnell. NYC. - - - Updated - - - @Graeme, I expect to see that arm up in a day or two :)

The great Stephanie Tamez. @Graeme and I feel that bleeding right next to each other for hours really strengthens our marriage.

First off, I want to welcome you to LST and I hope that you find yourself a happy contributing member of the community. This place has become home to many for some really great reasons. Secondly, I'm sorry that I'm going to end up being THAT asshole, as I don't mean to offend you but maybe provide some clarity into your situation. Everything that I'm about to say is going to be hard to hear, but when we take this sort of advice gracefully, we always grow. I think that your attitude about tattooing is horribly entitled. Nothing about tattooing is easy. Not drawing tattooable designs or script, not the clients, not your boss, not how your machines work, not getting into a good shop, nothing. Being good at these things takes years of really hard work!!! Now I'm willing to bet that your neighbor tattooed you out of his garage, so I'd imagine that it does look pretty easy to make a garage turd(I assume garage because you said neighbor, not neighbor who tattoos). I am also an artist who works with a wide variety of media, and the first thing that hit home for me when I did my first tattoo was "holy shit, this completely different from anything I have ever attempted in my life and it is HARD." I have noticed that the hard work ethic aspect of tattooing gets lost on a lot of people who have not served an apprenticeship. I also live in an area that is hypersaturated with great tattoo shops, and let me tell you something. *F*T*W* Tattoo - Oakland - CA doesn't even own a computer. George Campise of War Horse Tattoo is an accomplished illustrator and graphic designer who drafts everything he does by hand including t-shirt designs and skateboard decks. Of course using illustrator and Photoshop saves time, but it also cuts corners and ultimately limits your skillset as an artist. Nobody is going to hold your hand through this, if you want it, you have to truly want it and put in the proportionate work on your own. Again, I say this to help you out, and I do mean it gently. I would start by studying traditional tattooing and immerse your mind in traditional tattoo designs and history. I wholly believe that if anyone is to be a half decent tattooer, they need to be able to lay down a solid traditional tattoo. The design theory and application principles of traditional work apply to every other style of tattooing across the board. And also what @BrianH said, watch the interviews, do some reading, and commit yourself to learning about what it is that you do.

Wow! That's the attitude that every great tattooer had when they started. I've never worked in a tattoo shop with Photoshop. I've never showed a customer digital mock-ups or proofs. I can show a customer a sketch and have them in the chair before I could even open the file in Photoshop. That's not 'cos I'm old and slow (I was a graphic designer for a decade before I was a tattooer) I use a copy machine % +/- every day. but sometimes it's much quicker, ant the end result fits better if I draw it on the skin with pens or markers. Nobody was born great at lettering but you can bet your paint-bucket tool that they didn't get good by tracing fonts or typefaces.

I've never been called a "collector" in a shop before, but I have been asked if I was a tattooer on numerous occasions. My response is always that I'm just trying to do things right and support the tattooers I look up to and who are in it for the right reasons.

To me, the difference between a collector and the average client is that the collector does their research... They have plans for what they want and where, and when they plan a vacation they probably visit a shop or two if funds allow. I like the term, personally; I'm actually surprised so many don't. I guess I just never considered that people might find it a snooty term. Someone mentioned an artist feeling pressured/nervous tattooing near existing top notch work... The other week I did a tattoo on a talented tattooer (already stressful!) about six inches above a full lower leg piece by Rubendall. I was simultaneously stoked and sweating like crazy. And damn, that Rubendall piece looked PERFECT... Absolutely stunning. I felt privileged just to get to see it!

slightly intimidated by the talent in this thread but none the less here are a few of my more recent ones

I would like to see a Eastern Europe/Russia episode. I think it's high time some of those guys doing mind blowing work out there get a little love.

here is a couple by herb auerbach,who used to work with stefan johnsson,now he is with thad at california electric. you can see the style connection but he still nails it.