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Haven't posted in a bit... Session number... 7 or 8, I think, from Mike Rubendall today. Finally hit the ass, which made my ribs seem like a breeze. About two months ago Thomas Hooper finished my torso: And then one from Scott Campbell about 3 weeks ago:

Don't stand a chance but here's my tattoo from Mike Wilson, inksmith & Rogers FL 1 hour 45 min, inner arm

I'm back from my honeymoon in Chicago and it was brilliant. Chicago is a gorgeous and incredibly friendly city. I can't wait to go back. I went to Great Lakes Tattoo for a couple of sessions. The first (hand of glory) was with Chad Koeplinger and the second with Mario Desa (torch). The shop itself is stunning. It's in part dedicated to the history of Chicago tattooing and the legacy of Tatts Thomas - you feel connected to history going there. What an amazing collection of artists in this space. I was at the opening night party, though only for a little while, as my wife was ill that night and I didn't want to be away from her for long. I saw a ton of familiar faces from instagram, but being generally a little on the shy side, especially as I don't actually know many of the people there, I didn't meet as many people as I would have liked. Some, whom I later recognized from here, I wish I had introduced myself to, but oh well. It was a great time anyway. I'm already planning a return trip.

Some progress photos on the piece Martin Lacasse is doing for me at Olde City Tattoo. Just started color at the end of the last session. Excited to start seeing it come together.

I´m stoked to tell that I got an appointment with Ichibay.

I think you need a snake tattoo. Maybe a snake with a dagger through it will properly express your feelings towards snakes.

1 Shot Rib Tattoo (5.5 Hours) by Tim Hendricks at Gold Rush Tattoo .

Sending an email or calling the shop never hurts, but also pay attention to their instagrams because tattooers will often put their plans on there. Chad Koeplinger, for example, posted that he's doing walk ups only at the London convention so if you want to get tattooed by him you probably can if you show up early enough.

This is a great idea, but I am also going to suggest going to Ron Henry Wells because his wolves are super amazing, especially if you want the weirder side of things:

Jesus was the first tattoo recipient. Haven't you seen the famous pictures of those big old fashioned needles that they used to tattoo his hands and feet?

the trick is going to be finding an awesome artist. Don't just settle.

If you went to Bert Krak and asked for this....he would draw you up something you would love....I am sure of that! Good luck with your search.....

Stopping at the butt, but leaving it somewhat open-ended (no pun intended) in case I want to continue it in the future.

reposting for @eisen777 cool tattoo!

Got this beauty from Frank Carter at frith street yesterday :D Nabbed the pic from his instagram. @Iwar here's the pic you wanted

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:

And I am also stoked to tell that I got an appointment with Mike Rubendall too.

I don't want to be a dick about it, but if you think that Beppe's tattoos and that Mario's tattoos look more or less equivalent, you really need to learn about tattoos. There are plenty of resources here on the forum--I would start with this thread about what makes a good tattoo--watch the artist interviews, watch Vice's Tattoo Age series and the Gypsy Gentleman videos, read Guen Douglas's guide on how to examine a tattoo portfolio, and then come back here, because it's a waste of everybody's time to suggest other shops and artists to you if you don't even know how to look at tattoos in the most basic sense.

Beppe Strambini in Verona, Italy. Ink Addiction

I completely understand, but i will say this. Two words: @Iwar Fundoshi lol He has now set the bar pretty high though

Yeah, that's me. Two more sessions and it should be completed. Then on to the next piece.

I'm so happy I can visit this thread and not be bombarded with images of snakes! Biggest fear! I started shaking scrolling through the last page yesterday... I was like when does it end???? I had to cover my eyes and try to click away Haha sorry to every one who loves snakes...

@CercleRouge - there are no words.

LOL ya ! it did hurt like hell to take it off !

Hey guys new to the forum but have been on here for a number of years now. This is my latest tattoo done by Capilli Tupou, awesome work and a really nice dude! .@capillisoos | Draw on rose @hunterandfoxtattoo | Webstagram - the best Instagram viewer

This?

Very nice Inntrospect is it by Diego? - - - Updated - - - I had a session on my back at Frith Street today, while I was there Stewart managed to squeeze me in for a qucky, and I so glad he did, I love it

On Sunday, @Paul A. Dobleman added three horsepower to my right leg. I'm still stunned at how beautiful it is. He just added it to his LST gallery: pharoahs horses with rope Tattoo Picture | Last Sparrow Tattoo

Got started on this last week. It's going to be a long term project but at least it's finally started.

Today was the third session on my Tamatori-Hime sleeve/chestpiece. It took 5 hours to put in some background on my upper arm :) (There is some old kanji on my upper arm that's in the process of being covered) And this is the complete picture of how it is now:

Mike Wilson did this last friday at inksmith & Rogers wraps abit :P

Here is a little piece of mine :-) This dragon sleeve has been done last year by Bonel of Corazon Santo in The Netherlands, which is currently working on my other arm (and a Phoenix backpiece on my wife :-) )

Stoney by Steve Byrne.

Hi! I think it's great that you are trying to get feed back from people that know their tattoos! Tattoos have many styles but this particular one would be difficult for an artist to do. If you want to get the best result then find a tattoo artist with a style you like, then give him this image and tell him to make it his own. You should feel comfortable enough with the abilities of the artist to trust his vision. If you are trying to save money or assume every artist can draw then the artist will give you this exact design to please you and it probably won't stand the test of time.

@Wilhell you fucker!!! So jealous!!!!

@Wilhell that is some winning at life stuff right there. Congratulations!

Martin makes such nice tattoos.

Hello and welcome! I'm 57 and would gladly accept a free ticket to Melbourne!!!

Robert had my appointment rescheduled for next Tuesday. Thankfully. I'm slightly under the weather but would have pushed myself. Glad it worked out the way it did!

If you have Mike extend it in the future, have him put more water. Some of the BEST finger waves in the business!

@CercleRouge Looks FANTASTIC! Love the Hooper roses as well. I'm back in to see Rubendall in October.

My girlfriend and I will be there on the Saturday... our first time at a tattoo convention! How do people generally get appointments with artists for these things? Just e-mail around who you're interested in getting tattooed by, way ahead of time? It would be awesome to have some work done, but I'm sure it's probably way too late to sort something.

Here is my first and only tattoo, so far that is ;) It was done in about 3 hours on my inner arm by Pat Patterson at Aces High in West Palm Beach, FL

1974, just days after I turned 18. Skinny, long-haired rock-n-roller. In some name-unknown parlor on Chippewa Street in Buffalo, NY (which at the time was skid row = Junkies, Prostitutes, rank bars and tattoo parlors). Flash from the wall. As with the times, I don't remember much if any of the experience. Here's what's left of it:

@TrixieFaux -- you can have a push tattoo as long as it's an armpit shunga like the one @Stewart Robson gave to @jade1955.

Hey guys just joined the forum, however have been following last sparrow tattoo for a number of years now! This is my latest tattoo by Capilli Tupou, awesome work and nice dude. Very stoked on this one! - - - Updated - - - I hope this works..not great with computers! :O

Both of these are by Clamore Wolfmeyer at Amillion here in Austin. I didn't get a shot of the Higgs Druid, but here is my wife's pillowcase the next morning! Haha! Boldwillhold!

My personal problem with this stuff is that it doesn't deal with or derive from the basic motivations of humans or society. All the long-lasting tattoo imagery addresses or springs from some basic element of humanity. Which is why they've lasted a long time. My opinion is that this style of work (trash polka et al) is created with the main motivation to stand out from the crowd or be 'different'. The drive to be original, different or special, is fundamentally flawed and certainly short-lived. If tattoo designs derive from deep-rooted human drives and archetypes it's pretty much impossible for the concept to become dated. The execution is a different matter. In my opinion all the best tattoo imagery comes from or symbolises basic human drives, or the needs of humans in society. Skulls, pin-ups, powerful animals, flowers, hearts, religious imagery, daggers etc, etc. Most of the flash or portfolios (including tribal) in a decent tattoo shop will succinctly encompass the interesting bits of the human experience. That's why the work posted in this thread rings hollow for me, regardless of the difficulty of the application.