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All healed; done by Chris O'Donnell. I couldn't be any happier with it and can't wait to start on my back in 2015.

There was a thread about "dotwork" a while ago and I got fairly involved and possibly upset a few people. Check it out, I think I already answered the question posed by your thread title. Also, the word "fad" is inherently insulting in modern usage - but you knew that already. While researching tattoos, tattooing, tattoo styles, tattoo history and tattooers is interesting and probably fun. It's still kinda like researching swimming. Most of it's value comes from being involved, taking part, doing it, getting it done and having it be part of your life. Then again... On a long enough time scale, ALL tattooing since Ed Hardy opened the first appointment-only studio is a fad. Sailors going to war, getting tattooed in Honolulu was a fad. High-Society Europeans shipping esteemed Japanese irezumi artists over to tattoo dragons on them in the 1800's was a fad. Internet forums will be seen to be a fad. Finally, tattoo customers stressing about being period-correct like vintage clothing aficionados will be seen to be a fad of the early 21st century.

Getting good tattoos is a current fad, but I'm buying into it for the long haul.

I don't usually post in the contest threads but I thought it would be fun to have a Henning vs. Rubendall showdown. Done at the Montreal tattoo convention last week:

Bit more done on my back by Diego Azaldegui in Leeds, UK. This is after two sessions.

Getting a piece from Tim Pausinger at The Pearl this weekend...beyond stoked! Will post when done.

You can't learn to swim by reading a book. To expand on that again, tattooing is best experienced first-hand. Many times, here on this forum, in the shop I work at and conventions etc, someone has mentioned that they wish there was a book that had all the information they were looking for about a particular subject at that moment. It usually doesn't exist. You have to find it yourself. With regards to tattooing and "tattoo culture" We're living in a folk art culture. We should embrace the folk art tradition of oral storytelling and first hand knowledge and be relieved that we not (yet) shackled by the literary bounds of other art movements, cultures and historical societies. But to be more on topic, in a general sort of way... I'd stick my neck out and say that any style of tattooing (until maybe around 2000-2010) is influenced by the popular culture surrounding the people who get those styles. Sailor Jerry cribbed movie posters and other advertisements for many of his designs between the 40's - 70s. Mike Malone used objects and paintings he found in Chinatown as reference for many of his popular designs. It stands to reason that Charlie Wagner would have used Edwardian style filigree ornamentation (from a variety of sources, jewellery included) in his designs. The dotwork thing is slightly separate. During the first decade of the 21st century tattooing entered a more post-modern, referential phase where most styles of tattooing referenced or were influenced by earlier styles of tattooing. Except dotwork. I consider the work of Thomas Hooper, Xed Le Head, Jondix (I'd extend that to Duncan X) to be the only "new" style of tattooing since biomech in the 90's - but that didn't seem to catch on outside of tattoo culture the way their work did. That's why I still bother to get involved when someone refers to dotwork as a "fad". While it is imitated ad nauseam, we've alive to witness the birth of a new tattoo style that was influenced by disparate artforms outside of tattooing to the point where it works and it's possible to have a coherent bodysuit of that style. Pretty exciting stuff.

Managed to get an appointment with Grez to do a traditional Gorilla head on my right foot on Sept 25. Stoked to say the least. Now my right foot won't look naked in comparison to the left.

Booked in with Henning on the Saturday. Namakubi back of the leg. I'm really looking forward to this one.

Not getting something because it is a trend is just as bad as getting something because it is a trend.

here's some balance:

@Hospitelli: I said "WOW!" out loud when I clicked the thumbnails. Absolutely stunning.

I like all of y'all. When I joined up here, I had no idea what to expect. It's weird, from here and Instagram, I've been able to see into the lives of people I have never met, but I honestly think the world of.

This is from Henning Jorgensen. done at Royal Tattoo. enjoy!

okay sorry.. maybe i'll have something new in a couple of months.. - - - Updated - - - Okay here is one of my older tattoos. Not finished.. By Phil Szlosek at Kingsave NYC

Hahaa I said, "OoOoOoOoOO!" @Hospitelli WELL DONE. The flames, so nice!

I guess the funniest part about it is going to be when someone brings in a design they paid 100 bucks for and the tattooer just trashes it and starts over.

Look at this profile, this can't be serious. Can it? http://www.tattoodo.com/profile/55652

Stipple-shaded traditional is, in my opinion, absolutely a fad. I feel like they're the kind of tattoos you'll be able to look at and pinpoint a two-year window in which they were made. I don't think there's anything wrong with it as a technique as such (a large part of my forearm is dot shaded) but I don't trust anything where the technique is put before other considerations. In other words, a tattoo isn't cool just because it's dot-shaded. It still needs the characteristics of a good tattoo concerning the strength if the drawing, silhouette, placement, composition, etc.

Yeah sounds like the spot. At that time there were about 3 shops in the surrounding area ; Tux's, Dragon Moon, and Gypsy's; your description fits the shop location Tux had at that time. Right on man.

I highly suggest you definitely get tattooed by Dana Brunson and Debbie Lenz....well....all of the tattoo artists you listed as well....But I had great experiences at both Dana's shop and Debbie's shop during my Ohio trip two months back! Not just great tattoo artists but also really awesome people! - - - Updated - - - It was a really great decision....at least for me.....to seek out these artists who had put in their time and were very happy to just sit in their shops and tattoo whatever walked through the door on a daily basis! Some of these people were in magazines back in the 70's...80's....90's....but they would have tattooed regardless....and really didn't seek out fame! To them it was a job and a way to support themselves doing something they loved doing! And it's my opinion that is what tattooing should be about!

I was inspired by Graeme's Instagram account when he posted that dude getting a backpiece in 5 hours. I've decided I would like a backpiece in a day as well. Trying to save up enough money to pay for two tattooers work on my back at the same time. Tax refund season couldn't come sooner.

Can husband and wife win in consecutive months?????

There's a bunch of folks who I'd let tattoo me that may not be on anyones list of "mindblowing" amazing, trend setting artists. But they're awesome people and the tattoo is just a permanent memory of that connection or time and place. Hell, my favorite tattoo was done by my daughter when she was 7. I've sought out certain folks because of an artistic aspect as well but that's not always the motivation. There's a time and place for everything and its a tough call to make when you're just an observer. I'd also say that art might not be subjective, but if someone likes it or not, IS. I know plenty of folks that don't like basquiat. I'm not a fan of frida but I do like lots of folk art and crude imagery that most would discount as not being any good. But then again I'd rather listen to darkthrone than iron maiden.

Booked in with Claudia De Sabe for a Fudo myo lady on my thigh yesterday! Very exited about this one! Another girl-head in my collection :D

Guess I'll throw in with my dragon head by Will Lollie at Empire Tattoo. One is my pic, the other was taken from his IG.

You can never go wrong with a dragon back piece! I too am going full back and pretty much gave Chris freedom over it with the guideline of to go dark. I told him my interests were deities, demons, malevolent creatures and that it would cool if it came from Japanese folklore. In the end though it's going to be whatever he comes up with. Start in January 2015 with a session every month except for June, July, August and September with the same scheduling for 2016 till completion.

and many are not actually into art at all - but only into the lifestyle. - - - Updated - - - Great 1st tattoo!!

Peter Lagergren:

I'm stoked I got to see this thing drawn on. So good dude!

Why in the world would you get a severed head tattooed on your chest? Also, that's awesome.

I can't even come up with a clever joke about how bad that is. It did make me laugh out loud at work after a sleepless night and rough morning, though, so thanks for that.

@Iwar. homie!!! 7 days until we'll be pulling into SF!!!! Your cell phone is on the way, you're all dialed in! -The Wolf

Some dickhead from this season now lives in Portland, a burger joint is trying to drum up business by showing the show on a big screen and having him attend weekly. The funny thing is they thought the tattoo shop a couple doors down would be stoked to come in and watch the show, they got an invitation to bring the whole crew. The subsequent amount of f bombs that followed, oh dear. I think the best line out of the tirade, was "why don't you stick to making Milkshakes or better yet actually stop by our shop sometime and you can see how a real shop runs, we make money, not drama.

A couple years ago a guy came in and showed us his new Lum tattoo and point out that it didn't have any dicks in it (his other Lum tattoos clearly had dicks in them). Well it didn't have any dicks in it, but the fish he got couldn't have been drawn more like a dick, but we let him have his victory. On the other hand i have seen quite a few Lum tattoos lately that don't have dicks in them. Ashley keeps talking about setting something up with Lum, and I say I will tag along and get a little souvenir tattoo, but at this point I just need to set something up and drag his ass down there.

Yeah, just read that. Also a another good one (for the uninitiated, like me) on the process of a custom tattoo.

you are crazy

I haven't seen more than a handful of photos of Dave Lum's tattoos, but did he really *hide* the dicks in those?

I don't know if it's a matter of skill. I have a friend who got his first tattoo over the weekend at the convention. He's wanted a tattoo for a while and I invited him along to the convention because it's a great place to look at tattoos and get a sense of what's out there and he went to the convention's website, followed links and went through portfolios, got a sense of what he liked stylewise, contacted artists he liked with his idea, and he ended up with a really rad tattoo from Bobby Tripp and had a great time. Fundamentally, he wanted a great tattoo and he understood, without any prompting, that getting great tattoos takes time and research and work. And I think that's rad. I guess with that tattoo I posted what bothers me the most about it is that it really speaks to a lack of curiosity. Like if you love this tattooing thing so much, don't you want to learn as much as you can about it? Don't you want to get tattooed by people who are doing things that inspire you and make you want to be a better tattooer? Filip Leu is guesting at a shop a couple of blocks away from me right now and he's tattooing a bunch of tattooers who are already doing amazing tattoos but who are probably going to learn things from the experience that they're then going to bring to their tattooing so that they can do even better tattoos. That makes me excited. That's the kind of stuff that I love. But yeah, I basically agree with you that you can't really force people to get good tattoos. They have to want it.

I stopped trying to help people who don't want to listen. If they come back and show off their sub-par work I just say "cool". I suggest artists to people who would do a good job of their tattoo based on the style they want, but they never listen. It's always "yeah but I want it this week" or "my buddy can hook me up". Why do people cheap out on tattoos of all things? Tattoos are one of the few things you can get that change your appearance permanently and give an outward impression of your personality and your taste, and you decide to go to the lowest bidder! FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I did all my research on my own, so I have a hard time feeling sorry for people who hate their tattoos, especially nowadays with the internet. No excuse!

Don't google Dave Lum's name at work. :)

Hi, welcome! I think your best bet is to reference from the source. We can always help you find an artist who would do a great job on the tattoo you're looking for. My suggestion is to do some research and find as many photos as you can of ancient Greek armor or old paintings of Greek battles and bring those in to your artist, let them know what sort of style you're looking for, what kind of mood you want through the piece, and just let them do their thing. When getting a tattoo, you are essentially hiring someone for their talent, vision, and creativity. Giving an artist a general idea while trusting them to follow through is the best way to get a totally fantastic tattoo. Let us know if you have any questions and I hope you enjoy it here!

Here comes another of my "Out of the Norm" submissions. This tattoo was done on the 1st September and is still driving me crazy. (My legs heal terribly). As usual, something different to the norm around these parts. Based on the Constructivism propaganda posters designed mainly in the early 20th Century and done by Gray Silva of Rampant Ink Nottingham @ Teesside Charity Tattoo Show, in about 5 hours, at a guess.

In the battle between snake and tiger, your nipples lost. YOUCH, dude! But that looks awesome and tough as hell.

Nobody is gonna top Bunny in this thread As far as myself; deVita Tux Higgs Sonny Tufts

Ha ha ha.......well this is truly what I have focused my "collecting" on! Can I ask why pick the year 1985? I am just curious...... - - - Updated - - - Here are a few off the top of my head..... There are probably several more but I am not sure they have made it to the 28-30 year mark just yet so i didn't include them...... Debra Yarian Debbie Lenz Gale Watkins (my mentor) Tony Polito Mike Perfetto Steve Delgatto Jerry "Reds" Donohoe Ronnie Dell'Aquila Richard Stell John Black Tom Beasley Ritchie Montgomery Dana Brunson Jennie Peace LeDan Peace Stan Moskowitz Marvin Moskowitz Ernie Carafa Jerry Swallow Juli Moon George Benjamin Mike Skiver

I posted this in the latest tattoo thread, but I'll put it here as well. Done by Todd Noble at Right Coast in Fenwick Island.

I believe the word you want is callipygian.

This one was a lot of fun to do. Pluto forever!

Cool thread! I've been tattooed by Mike Malone (RIP), Bill Salmon, Bob Roberts, and Horiyoshi 3. I think Freddy Corbin started tattooing just after 1985. Man, @Bunny Switchblade is gonna crush this thread!