Leaderboard

My wife and I both got tattooed by Capilli Tupou today. First off, he is one of THE nicest tattooers I've ever met. Just an incredibly good guy. My wife got her knee cap and I got the back of my knee done. Because, you know, we complete each other. Hers: His:

This happened today. Tattooed by Adam Warmerdam Totally unplanned. Got a heads up on Friday night that he is in London. Super nice guy and a great tattooer. I absolutely love this.

I just got home from an weekend in Chicago where my wife and I both picked up some pretty cool souvenirs at Great Lakes Tattoo. Beautiful shop. Mine was done by Mario Desa. Here's a picture taken minutes after it was done.

Done by Tim Pausinger at the Pearl...in 2 hours flat!

Finally got a decent snap of this one healed...shitty spot to capture

getting tattooed by Chad K on wednesday and Adam hays on thursday ... im a complicated mixture of excited, scared, awesome and stupid with a smidge of soon to be very poor

I'm finding that it's easier to walk the day after a knee cap tattoo than the day after a knee ditch tattoo. Horitaka once told me not to do both of my knee ditches the same day, because then I wouldn't be able to limp. He is a wise man.

got two new kitties. one from a shelter and one that was a stray kitten in our backyard.

This isn't directed as a dig at the OP, because I understand how hard it can be to try to book an appointment, especially when we are talking about an international matter, but just maybe some insight on how to approach getting tattooed. That being said, is there anyone who books appointments over Instagram. I always see people commenting on posts trying telling tattooers to call them or email them if they have an appointment available or expecting them to comment back with a price quote of an idea that only exists in their own mind. If you want tattooers to take you seriously (and not just ignore you) you should always look for contact info on people's social media page, most of the time the easiest and prefered way to get ahold of someone is posted clearly, secondly if possible always go to the shop in person (if possible), if not call the shop and ask the best way to book appointment with the person you are looking for. 99% of the time you if you follow this, it's end of story, but if you have to contact someone through social media, make sure it's a private message and make sure you mention that you tried to contact them through conventional routes. Be clear, concise, and let them know you are willing to lay down a deposit to your paypal to secure time with them. Also give tattooers a week to respond before you send follow up emails, or call the shop again.

Just made my appointment to get my knuckles tattooed by Norm when he's in Portland next month. Pretty pumped, for sure.

Saying you want a certain shading technique vs just saying you want a traditional tattoo are two different things. I was using the needle grouping example to try to illustrate that point. Also I have always contended that the best advice someone can give on the internet about tattooing, is get off the internet and go into a reputable tattoo shop. I didn't learn what I know just hanging out in tattoo forums it required some in real life trial and error at real tattoo shops. There is no book or iphone app that will make you a savvy tattoo customer and 99% of what's on the internet is misinformation.

Yeah, man! One of the best dudes ever, for sure. We got there around noon and didn't leave until close to 6. Total pleasure spending the day with him. I pulled up your Instagram account and said, "So your boss did this guy's back?" He lit up! "How do you know Mike? He's got an incredible collection." He also said that, amazing as the photos are, your back has to be seen to be believed. The gray veil over the face, in particular. One thing that we thought was funny: he kept apologizing to my wife because he felt bad for tattooing a woman's knee. She's tough as nails and sat like a rock, but he still kept saying, "Sorry, sorry." Then when he started on me, he said, "I'm not apologizin' to you, mate. I'm just gonna go!" Haha. He was super efficient. - - - Updated - - - He's gonna be in LA at Captured, then in New York for a few weeks, then back in the Bay. Flights from Portland to SF are about $200. Signed, Your enabler

That guy aye!! Glad you two got something from him he truly is a top bloke, always friendly and genuinely interested in what you have to say. Awesome tatts too, go the Samoan Kiwi!!

jeezalou the lighting in our kitchen is horrendous. Least you can see her better.

Had some really odd ball comments when I went to the Electric Zoo festival. Favorite one was...... "Bro, seriously sick friggin tatt dude. Like I just want to drop acid and stare at it all day. By the way ya got any?"

Here's what I had Myke Chambers put on me today. I'll take some of my own pictures when it heals up.

If you want to be able to hide a tattoo putting it on your head is one of the worst places you can choose.

Haha after I read this I looked over at your profile pic and just imagined you sitting on a couch With the same expression on your face

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.

got this from Todd Noble in Montreal yesterday:

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

It hasn't even been a year yet for me here on LST and low and behold I'm being nostalgic and waxing poetic already, hahaha. Needless to say it has been an amazing experience getting tattooed and sharing with kindred spirits here on LST and Instagram. All of this would not be possible if it not for some really awesome people here on LST. So without further delay, here's my way of giving back to LST and paying it forward. Some of you may know that a couple of months back I won a contest on Instagram via the killer staff at Tattoo Culture Magazine and Tattoo Artist Magazine. Received three fantastic prints from three stellar artists. I was super stoked when I got them but then realized with the limited space I have in my place (small NYC apartment and my lady just moved in with me too!) that I would not be able to enjoy these as much as someone else. I want these to go to someone who truly appreciates tattoos and are amazingly cool people. @hogg @slayer9019 @gougetheeyes @Iwar As mods, you have made everyone on LST feel so welcomed and it is a thankless job that all of you have for making LST such a cool spot to chill and share our experiences. I want to send each of you a print of my choice (yes I won three, but I have a fourth sitting around). A small token to say "thank you". Please PM me your shipping info (promise this isn't a scam, hahaha). @slayer9019 and @gougetheeyes since you two are local to NYC, happy to meet up and pass you the print. Cheers to the LST crew!

Go see deano cook

@Jade1959 Hang on a minute you were on your own for most of Sunday. ;)

I got the whistling Felix the Cat on top of a 13!

I saw this on Mario's instagram the other day. Very nice indeed. Such a great shop.

I know a couple other of you are in Oslo besides @Iwar and just in case you wanna go out and listen to some music on Wednesday night the 18th, my good buddy Jon DeRosa is playing a set at Mir(?). He does really awesome croony tunes, kind of ethereal and kind of lounge-y. He's also an all-around rad dude and has some great tattoos! Jon DeRosa

Onlty a few but i plan on adding Lal Hardy and George Bone to the list asap Dennis Cockell Chris Barnes when did Mike Wilson start tattooing?

Looks amazing, i love his work. So upset i wasn't able to get tattooed by him whilst he was guest spotting at Hunter & Fox.

No name kitty. Terrible picture but she's still roaming everywhere and hasn't been still since we got back. Can't really see her face..she has bright yellow eyes. Now we have three Tortie kitties. All because of Bella Jo, our original tortie. So, we have Britta Rose, who is 11.5, Clementine Isabelle that I got from this same shelter last November, and then this new one with no name yet. (we also have a grey and white cat named Opilio) Seuss Mirabel Goose Mirabel Oleander Mirabel (would call her Ole) I also thought about Seuss Goose b/c then it rhymes like Dr. Seuss. I considered Turtle, but then I'm sure we'd just call her Turtle head and I don't want that! Husband wants Goose.

I'm visiting home in North Carolina for the first time in a couple of years next week. I have an appointment with Danny Reed at Hot Stuff Tattoo on the 19th. It's for a hot stuff devil/aloha monkey mash-up

I'm leaving my academic teaching gig to take a job as a scientific illustrator for an excavation in Brazil next year. I get to do art for a living for a little while, and I am so fucking stoked. I'm also taking a printmaking class this semester, and it's the most fun I've had in any class, ever. Not sure why I love this really hard, really time-consuming process, but it turns out I think lithography is the shit.

where would you be going that you would need to hide it, that will allow you to wear a hat? and a hat that would cover the space behind your ear would be a stocking cap I assume?

I usually say thanks without stopping. Actually I wear long sleeves more often for sun protection and to avoid questions about tats and sick ink.

I just tell em where I got them and leave it at that.

If you're going to a reputable shop and experienced tattoo artist that you trust I see no reason why you'd have to be a witness to them opening up sterile packages. If they happen to set up in front of me that's cool but if they are already setup and ready to go it's no bid deal for me. I'd like to think that these guys are professionals and will do everything in their power to give you the best tattoo possible which includes making sure that there is a clean work environment and that the equipment being used has been sterilized. Bottom line though if you don't trust the artist and have to question whether or not if everything has been sterilized then maybe you shouldn't be getting tattooed by them to begin with.

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:

Worked on my front today with my boss/mentor, Josh Cruse. Adding a tail for the snake next month, as well as more snake details (I assume scales) and hopefully starting color. EDIT: and once I can avoid insect bites on my forearm during the dog days of summer living in the country, I'll post my Stefano ship from June. Had a few ingrown hairs, then got eaten alive by mosquitoes after some recent rain storms... should be later this week.

That's cool.....I just wondered if for some people they saw 1985 as some pivotal time in tattooing or something and my first professional tattoo was done in 1984 by Juli Moon..... - - - Updated - - - I don't really know why or what got into my head one evening BUT.....I just decided that I wanted to seek out some of the people who had been tattooing 30-40 years and begin to add their work to my body! At the time I was not even thinking I would ever pick up a machine and tattoo but to me it truly was my way of being able to honor those people who had put their time in to the craft and community I loved since I did not tattoo! It really hit home to me that this is what I felt I should do once I was tattooed by Dennis Watkins....the hubby of my now mentor Gale Watkins! Dennis apparently was dying at the time unknown to anyone but himself and had really stopped tattooing totally. I asked a friend to see if he could convince him to do something small on me....and he agreed to do something! That one tattoo turned into three.....Myself...my hubby....and my son have his last three tattoos! After his death I asked a few well known tattoo artists who I was fortunate to be friends with who were others who had this kind of time in and got back a wonderful list I have been chipping away at for some time now! I try not to really draw a lot of attention to myself because I am really no one special.....I have just taken the time to have been tattooed by a lot of really wonderful people who love/loved what they do..... I really would urge others to do this as well if you are just going for smaller pieces here and there on your body rather than larger mural style pieces!

In the vast ocean of shit online, I think it's safe to say that Last Sparrow is one of, if not the friendliest place on the internet. At least from what I've encountered. The level of civility here is second to none, and our strong community is build up by members who are truly passionate about keeping LST what it was meant to be from launch. A friendly place for enthusiasts to talk about, share, educate and promote good tattoos. Our community is in fact so strong that the site in most cases moderate itself before any of us has to step in. We're all pretty much on the same page here, and that's rare by internet standards. Sentimental shit aside, I think I'm just trying to say that having this place online to hang out with likeminded people is a reward within itself. I will however say that @steve1461686340 is much more deserving of this than I am. He has kept this site running and improving since the beginning, but since he's kind of a "behind the curtains guy" he rarely gets any credit for it. The hours he's put into building this awesome place deserves to be recognized, so if it's cool with you @ironchef I'd like him to receive the print you're giving away instead of me. Donations to Last Sparrow is also a really nice way to give something back. That way Steve won't have to dig into his own pockets when the server needs replacing or the domain bill shows up in his mailbox. Thanks for being a part of our community @ironchef! It's contributions from members like yourself that makes this site great!

My buddy @ian has hooked me up with a prepaid phone that I'll be using for my entire stay. For anyone interested in meeting up while I'm out there, my phone number will be 805-403-2812. Thanks Ian (aka "The Wolf")

You paid how much????? I had my baby in a friend's kitchen for $20!

Yeah, this reminded me of a time I had a conversation with a friend's friend. I think she asked me about my tattoos initially and it somehow segued to Hardy. At that point she spewed some trash about Ed Hardy thinking of the clothing. I responded by trying to inform her that he's actually a great artist, a legend in the tattoo world, and a great influence on people despite what feelings there are towards the clothing design. Also that it was Audigier who she should probably be disgusted with. In her elitist arrogance, her look at me turned to disgust and saw me as a huge douche for even trying to say anything positive about the name "Ed Hardy". That pretty much ended the conversation and we happily went our separate ways. I might not necessarily be a fan of the stereotypes wearing the clothes but I'm far less interested in the people too elitist to have an open mind and who trash others they know nothing about.

Thaaaaaaat! Thank you very much. And @Avery Taylor is right: you can see it pretty well in that surfing scene toward the end of Tattoo the World.

I just booked with Stuart Cripwell to get my other knee done. It's not until late August, but I'm really excited about it.

Currently healing a sun and moon pair of knees from Trevor Taylor at Liberty Tattoo in Seattle... based on some Bert Grimm flash (his idea).