Leaderboard

Got this Panther head by Fergus Simms a couple of days ago and had the Flaming torch by Johan Ingemar done about a month ago , I also took these photos of my current progress ,still got a while to go

My 9 year old daughter, after learning how much her grandmother hates tattoos, told me, "well, that's her problem then." :)

WE GOT IT! So fucking stoked!

Ah what, the hell, I'll give this a try this month. This was done by Thomas Hooper in five sessions between October 2012 and June 2013, mostly at Saved but with one session at the Rochester Convention:

I think I met someone, he's pretty nice, not sure where this is going, but enjoying myself for now :)

they see me trollin' they hatin... i really wish we would we wouldn't justify this clown with any response.

Check out the galleries and look at some good tattoos in there.

My father, who has no tattoos and is Catholic, asked me what would happen if I met the perfect man but he hated my tattoos... My response :"If he is the perfect man, then he'd love my tattoos." He also used to teach me as a kid that tattoos will make you go to hell, but has since reversed his opinion on that.

Great idea for a thread! I'm sure I'll think of many things to add to this thread but the first one that comes to mind is how this plainskinned girl at work was asking about my tattoos and she was super complimentary about them, really appreciated that they're nice, well made tattoos and then she commented that I clearly cared a lot about my tattoos "unlike those other people who get them on dares". Other than the fact that it seems most people who have a tattoo or two put way too much thought and meaning into their tattoos, I am kind of offended by the comment because I would get a tattoo on a dare.

Things people say to us about our tattoos have been mentioned in many threads, but I thought it might be fun to read quick snippets of what people say all in one place. We were just on a 2 week trip visiting family in MA & CT. We swung by Custom Cobra while in MA, nice shop but we didn't get any tattoos. Here are a couple one liners from the trip: MIL to hubby, "You're thinking of getting another one?" That struck me as funny because of the word one. FIL to hubby during same conversation, "You know what they say...sometimes less is more!" My friend's little 5-year-old son saw my arm and was impressed with the tiger (his favorite animal) but still said, "You're gonna be sorry." My friend told me he got that from his uncle. I set him straight. Friend of my husband's family saw my sleeve and asked, "Is that a real tattoo?" None of the comments were mean-spirited and I'm not easily offended, they were just kind of funny to me.

Mental effort. Hard work and repetition. In my opinion drawing (like most 'creative' endeavours) is roughly: 30% physical, 60% mental (around two thirds of this percentage is learning to 'see' the rest is thinking and analysing) 10% talent.

Chris Garver did this punk rock girl on my calf today. He's a seriously nice guy and a total pleasure to be tattooed by. I'm absolutely thrilled with the result. Loving the Docs!

This is how I spend my leisure time:

I agree. Eagles, wolves and badass roses need to explanation other than "Because its cool".

"So you must watch Ink Master/ Miami Ink/ or other tattoo TV show, right?!" "You have tattoos by more than one artist?! How does that make the artists feel? Are they angry?"

I would have told him, yeah, my cellmate said the same thing.

I've got an appointment with Paul Dobleman in September, planning on getting a girls head on my thigh. Depending on finances I really want to get back to Frith Street Street to get my other calf started,it's looking a bit bare next to its tattooed partner :-)

im going to be the grumpy old curmudgeon who offers nothing to the thread on topic save for mentioning my absolute hatred of the term plainskin. My friend Shannon tried to start that as a phrase years ago, not sure if this is the ripple from that, but its like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. Sorry for interrupting.

I get a lot of "I never would've guessed you have tattoos!" often followed by something along the lines of "but you look so nice!!"

No I do not. I also don't understand what you are trying to get at with this thread.

wow that's quite a question.....perseverence from an early age.....tattooing is not a reason to start drawing in my opinion, drawing for the sake of drawing ,awesome....but I should hope that's not youre angle.

Congrats on winning! Please know that we'll cut the sleeves off before sending out your shirt. Can't be hiding any part of that sleeve.

This monster of a kirin is a oneshot from Marius Meyer.

I know this probably doesn't count for this thread, however I thought I would share Tanners front piece that wraps to his aforementioned back piece. eyeofjadetattoo.com

I think the "meaning" issue is a real barrier for people when it comes to getting tattoos. At least it was for me. Before I had any tattoos I kind of didn't bother because I didn't know what I would get that would have enough meaning to have it written into my skin. My first tattoo was about my family a couple of years after the birth of my daughter. With my next few tattoos I was still kind of over thinking it and coming up with wild stories to tell myself about why what I wanted was a good idea. Now that I am more comfortable with tattoos in general (I've realized that nothing horrible has happened) I am more able to find enough meaning in just thinking it's cool.

Nope, we sure didn't. @Delicious this never happened, rest easy! But good to know that @Nagua ... you'll be done here today.

He doesnt need sleeves on his shirt he already has one!

Instead of plainskin, my buddy calls them Rawhides. :p

Too bad you didn't learn anything about etiquette in all that time. Wrong again. We like Delicious. You ... not so much. P.S. You're friends are wrong, those tattoos are not good.

In the process of hunting down artists in the northwest who do Japanese traditional (for the purpose of eventually starting a back piece) I came across this gentleman from Vancouver, BC. http://www.waterstreettattoo.com/tattoos (Stace) A couple of examples.

If you ignore the subject matter and just look at the work, you will see washed out color. A few of the tattoos look like they are 15 years old. Line work is inconsistent, and some of it is strangely drawn. The last dragon is really odd. What is going on with the belly scales? It looks like and over stuffed sausage ready to pop.

But his wife is from the Dominican Republic......... Btw, did you know his wife is from the Dominican Republic?

I've been digging some new (to me) women tattooers as of late... Guen Douglas Annie Frenzel Jasmine Wright Emily Rose Murray Kim Ahn Nguyen Alix Ge Mark me a feminist, but I love getting tattooed by women being one myself. :)

I had a similar experience where I answered the door wearing a dress and my neighbor was like "I never thought a conservative woman like yourself would have tattoos." I responded with "what makes you think I'm conservative? And why can't classy ladies get tattooed?" He has a hard time answering considering you shouldn't judge people after only talking to them once or twice!

sorry @ShawnPorter, it cracks me up. I learned it here, along with squidpants, though I've never used that one in a sentence until just now. I find it to be a pretty good quick way to describe a non-tattooed person. It is impossible to please everyone w/our word choices. I get it, there are plenty of words that annoy me, too.

You would probably get more response without the attitude. That's an honest opinion. And no I don't like them. Too generic.

This is not something that has explicitly been said but I get a strong sense that my family thinks my wife's tattoos are cool because she is an artist but my tattoos are dumb because I'm just a regular guy who suddenly started getting tattooed at age 38.

"Does it feel funny?", followed by "Can i touch it?" Never say that unless you're prepared for a dirty response. :D

I am a total nerd, I spent a bit of time at .@thinkinktattoos (THINK INK GALLERY) 's Instagram photos | Webstagram - the best Instagram viewer today and got to catch up on the guys travels and some tattoo history. I realize some of you get to do this often but it genuinely was a great time for me. I would have been happy to spend the whole afternoon talking tattoos but didnt want to be a "hang around"

yes find a good tattooer....

"Do your sleeves keep your arms warm?" "Are they done with ink?" "How long do they last?" And the only one that annoyed me "Why are you covered in tattoos if you can't change them?" (after I told this guy, who was looking to get tattooed, that you can't just remove them and replace them with a different design if you change your mind for any reason)

We are having a benefit to raise some money for Rio and his family. He was recently diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. The benefit is August 19th at the White Owl Social Club. Thanks to Relapse records and Sizzle Pie. Talent by: Poison Idea, Witchburn, Justin Kagan and friends(members of the oregon symphony), the Peacock's eye belly dancers. There will be a silent auction and raffle. FOR BREVITY: Rio DeGennaro started tattooing in 1962 under the watchful eye of his father, Lou Lewis, and legendary tattooer, Bert Grimm. Over the next 50 years, Rio travelled from the Pike on Long Beach, to San Diego, to San Jose, and New York, until finally settling in the Pacific Northwest. In 2002, he joined former student, Don Deaton, at Sea Tramp Tattoo Company, After taking over the Sea Tramp Tattoo School in 2003, and renaming it the Oregon School of Tattoo Arts, Rio continues to educate and instruct the next generation of Oregon tattooers, He encompassing all aspects of the tattoo history, process, and business, and helps new tattooers lay their ground in Oregon.

Something a bit different to the tattoos you usually see on here. I know you guys love the Traditional stuff, but I like too many different styles to stick to just one :) Tattoo by Remis Cizauskas who works out of Dublin Ireland, but is currently "On The Road" guest spotting and attending conventions worldwide.

I live in an apartment building that has rooftop access. Sometimes it's really nice to go up there in the morning with a cup of coffee and just look at the bay.

What's up LST?! After a few weeks of being urged to join from a forum friend Ian, I finally got on. I currently reside in the suburbs of the dirty D, Detroit Michigan. At 14 years old, I took my fake ID, skipped swim practice and went and got my first tattoo at a flea market. I purchased a piece of flash from the $40 board that at the time took up my entire shoulder. Now 20 years later its a four leaf clover the size of a quarter! I tell people the guy gave me a magical shrinking tattoo and deny gaining 90lbs. But hay, that was freshman year of high school! Anyway, I've been hooked on tattoos ever since. Being indecisive and picky as hell it took me another 15 years until that needle pierced my skin again! Five years ago I got a half sleeve with my pec done. One year ago I did the other side. Currently working on extending the one sleeve down from half to full, with just one more session to go. I then plan to extend the other side to the wrist as well. My only regret so far is that I didn't do it from the start. Anyway, that's me.....short story mode. Currently hunting for a new Japanese style artist. Spending nearly every night for the past 6 months wide awake in bed searching the net. Looking for an artist to help bring my visions to life. Looking to do a full back piece next neck to cheeks. Anyone have any recommendations near Detroit? Maybe in Chicago etc. Thanks for having me.

Nobody in the world cares about my tattoos. But I really like them. I've got a bird friend on my shoulder who will be with me always. Poor little Squeaky, the real bird, died when I was away. I never got to say good-bye and now I don't have to because Squeaky is always there on my shoulder. I've got a story of hiking a long trail on my leg. If I ever get Alzheimer's I will probably at least remember that experience since it's right there on my leg to remind me of all that I saw and did out there. I've got big blue roses. Lots of color. I was hated and criticized mercilessly all my life for being ugly but now I have pretty colors on my skin to make me happy. And finally, my butterfly. First time I went to a tattoo shop the artist there told me of giving an old lady a tattoo of a butterfly on her arm because she had always wanted one. There are so many things in life I've always wanted to do and it took me a while to realize that someday never comes. Do it now. And even though a barely-graduated apprentice did my butterfly, he cleverly mirrored the motif of the leaves of my roses and tied it all together. I feel like I carry a flower garden and a little bit of spring around with me wherever I go. I claimed my body from those who had prior claims, defined it my own way, not theirs, and made it my own. Nobody cares about my tattoos, some people probably scorn me for them, and for that I even feel more grateful because against their disapproval, here I am, taking up space with my garden and my memories, just being me.

There are also a few older threads about this, so search the forum.

sick tat bro

Finally have a new finished piece to enter the contest! Not expecting to win, but it's a good way to show off my finished tattoo by Kore Flatmo! The pictures were taken in May by Kore when we finished up. Yay! :D