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My appointment with Matt ran late, which is par for the course at conventions. It also allowed me to go to an impromptu LST dinner with @Reyeslv and his wife, @cvportagee and his wife, @ian, @Scott R and @Lance. Three Jill Bonny backs at one table! When we got back, Matt was ready to roll. He drew on the eagle and banged it out in no time. It was fun; I had Thomas Hooper on one side of me and Steve Byrne on the other, while @Stewart Robson and @Valerie Vargas were right across from me. The eagle, by the way, came out great: And @beez, your back looks great! You were handling it like a champ. - - - Updated - - - And @MoistTowelette, don't make us beg!

One of the highlights for me was meeting this guy: He has a full suit--neck to ankles--from Chris Brand. I wish I'd taken photos of everything; it was really difficult to take it all in, and every part of it is jaw-droppingly beautiful.

Only a few more days until i make my journey down to Kings Ave, Massapequa. Just a little excited about it!

Someone put up a gallery, found it on Facebook. I think some LSTers are in this: Bay Area Convention of the Tattoo Arts 2013 - metroactive

Ended up getting something from DJ Rose yesterday. I gave him a fairly vague idea (and no descriptive imagery whatsoever) and he came up with the perfect tattoo. Like @hogg above, I was in a pretty great vantage point: I had Henning (doing a dragon head on some fellow's hand) and Rubendall (tattooing a fellow's head, I didn't see the design) on one side, and Grez on the other (working on a big squid on a girl's thigh). Instagram

I found this on Reddit. And it made my day.

I immediately imagined this piece by Filip Leu:

Man, I'm really kinda bummed I didn't run into anyone else from the forum. It was great to see @Reyeslv, his lady, and @ian again, but I wish I had seen more of you guys!

Here's mine tattooed by Jondix last year. Painful is an understatement. I broke out into a sweat the moment the needle first came into contact with my palm. Jondix is such a nice guy though and has a really calming persona. The healing and aftercare is a bit different as well. I was told it was important to keep the fresh tattoo well moisturised, to stop it cracking. As it heals the dead skin, which is quite thick starts to peel and you've got to be careful not to catch the edges. Planning to get the other done in the new year.

@MoistTowelette you must have *just* missed us; we didn't stop til sometime between 515-530! I hope your Gogue appt tomorrow is awesome! It was nice meeting: @Scott R @ian @Lance @cvportagee @ reyeslv @hogg - who am I missing here? The LST shirts did it for me each time! Junii had a last minute idea she wanted to run by me before we started, so instead of doing snakes this time we are doing a snake and a peeking hannya mask next time. We added some rocks, waterfalls, clouds and colored in my peony from last time. I met: @Deb Yarian (we met In the elevator!), Jill Bonny (when I got my book!), Lil Roy, Jack Rudy, Chris ?(tattoo land), Shige, Chuey, Horimitsu, Thom Devita (he tattooed Matt (dr claw) right in front of me!!!!! Out of this world moment), & Stephanie Tamez - all who came by to see Junii while I was being tattooed and she was so very gracious and introduced me by name to every single person - WOW!!!!! It was really cool to meet all of these people whose work I have long admired from afar. Insane! I also met Robert Ryan, when he gave me a bad ass tattoo that I do not currently have a pic of - never fear, tattoos are forever and I'll have a friend take a pic (of the back of my arm) when I am all settled in Seattle. I got one of the cat books (signed!), but when I went back for prints later the sets were sold out so I snagged the two that were left and still available! What an awesome experience. I was immediately overwhelmed the first day and had sort of an out of body experience - overstimulation from noise and colors and art and so many people I'd seen only from afar - I had to leave in order to literally bring myself back to my body. It was nuts! I am not usually good in crowds, so this was a brave experience for me! After being tattooed all day and then getting the one shot by Rob Ryan, I was in crazy weird endorphin mode where all my words were garbled and I had trouble speaking complete sentences. The first stop where this was apparent was when I stopped by the Tattoo City and bought the incredibly affordable Tattoo Time set from Doug Hardy, the second uncomfortably garbled stop was when I impulse bought the bodies + sleeves set from Analog Tattoo (signed and shipped!). I was definitely having trouble communicating at that point (this is sort of standard for me post-tattoo, and normally it's not in a bright/shiny/crowded environment) and I hope the guys I spoke to didn't think I was too weird - there was a definite struggle for me with complete, coherent sentences! Expensive but well worth it, and these books have been on my list since publication. I'm over the moon guys. This was a new and exciting experience for me and overwhelmingly awesome. And now they're telling me we're boarding early! Seattle, here I come! Enjoy the final day, guys. Can't wait to see what you have to say. PS - more pics coming soon. I def took convention pics!

DEEEEEENNNOOOOOOO at the Bay Area Convention of the Tattoo Arts Dude was so cool, I had such a great time. I also got to practice my spanish and many laughs were exchanged. I asked about some of his tattoos, he asked about some of mine, overall a lovely experience. Also, my forearm now somewhat resembles a balloon. Ha

@MoistTowelette yup, that's me in 53! @Delicious good eye!! The yellow dog looking thing (you are not the first to describe it is a such!) is a karajishi or fu dog. :) And it's a peony, not a lotus, but it is just barely visible, so kind of hard to see!! I'm impressed that you caught that much from the photo! Too bad you couldn't make it this time! That blank spot on the back of my arm is also now home to a sweet little snake/hand/mandala joint by robert ryan (i'm just gonna say that 800 times now ;P), and I'm feeling stoked and lucky indeed. - - - Updated - - - Definitely! I'll be around in January. TattooLunch.

is photo 53 you, @beez ?

Haha, every time someone says something like that around me, I join in and say something like "Yeah what a bunch of degenerates." Since I am fairly soft spoken about my tattoos at my job, and they are all concealable, there are a lot of people that don't know I have anything. - - - Updated - - - Someone was telling me they had a female acquaintance who had a snake tattooed up her leg. They were insistent that it was insinuating that it meant the acquaintance was a whore because she has "snakes aka penises" going up her leg. I wasn't even heard when I tried to say that snakes are incredibly popular imagery, and the front of the leg is a great spot. Then I mentioned the snake on my butt and then they clammed up, haha.

- - - Updated - - - oh the bay and the low ceiling, I just got home after my SFO was severely delayed taking bart to Oakland then flight to San Diego onto Phoenix finally home to okc. I really enjoyed meeting the gang, @cvportagee and his wife were so nice and it was good to get to know them better. also cool to see BOSS @hogg @Reyeslv and his wife @Lance @ian @9Years and @beez [

Hopefully they'll make a book out of it.

pretty sure the comment wasn't aimed at the tattoo, rather that the inspiration for it was the movie adaptation and not the book...

Ben Rorke from westside tattoo Brisbane Australia is working at this show, well worth checking his work out, well I like what he does. Pic stolen from his instagram, tattoos he has completed at this convention. Wish I was there.

I am also stupidly broke and I feel like I did not even make a tiny dent in everything I wanted to buy. Also I'm a genius and forgot my camera at my coworker's house and my phone died so I didn't take any pictures. BUT-- I met Thom DeVita, Ed Hardy, Jill Bonny, Valerie Vargas, Deno, Jondix, Micah Caudle, Dawn Cooke, Deb Yarian, and ran into a whole bunch of other people I already knew. It was overwhelming, to say the very least. I had a blast though, everyone was just so damn nice.

So this is what happened yesterday, last tattoo of the year and until scottish convention in march (if I got extra cash by then) Tattoo by Iain Mullen, original design by myself. It is super strange, but it makes me super happy, that some tattooers that I REALLY like pressed "like" on this tattoo. When I checked yesterday it also had Thomas Hooper and Greg Christian on the list. I mean, who am I?

Some shops actually do this. At Idle Hand in SF, they have a "Get What You Get" day. You pay $60 and get a little plastic bubble from a gumball machine. Inside, there's a flash design. And you get what you get.

I just finished the shading on my chest piece. Two or three more sessions and it'll be done.

Oh, man. I'm really sorry your flight(s) home were so jacked. And I read the above as "Reyeslv and his wife Lance." Can I take your order, ma'am?

waiting for @peterpoose to chime in here. This guy is mental, 16 hour sessions every day or two. He must have gone from no tattoos to 60% coverage in less than a year? Correct me if I'm wrong Peter. All his work is by top artists as well. I just want to meet this guy to shake his hand.

well jeez @beez, sounds like you did the convention right! A little envious and a lot happy for you over here!!! edited to add: @MoistTowelette please do not "spare us" any pics! I don't have any traditional tattoos, I think most ppl here regardless of style like to look at any good tattoos, and I'm assuming yours is.

Boom! Teaser shot until my sesh on monday! Gogue tomorrow! I will spare u guys pics of my robert hernandez piece I got on friday since I know this forum is traditional biased, but I will say that its sick as fuck! - - - Updated - - - I stopped by the diamond club booth but I got there a lil after 5pm and junii wasn't tattooing anymore so I missed u... :(

New one from the Krak/Wilson book tattooed by Paul O'Rourke @ All-star in Limerick,Éire. Gonna add another animal head from that book in a couple weeks.

Head Shot of my Panther by Chris Garver , Invisible NYC. Adding Roses next session!

@Avery Taylor here is my ladyhead added to the arm ditch by Jack Rudy.

From quotes to the other extreme: inkblots! Definitely a pretty original idea, but the finished product might look exactly like that.. a bunch of blobby black that you may end up regretting as much as the original quotes. Tattoos don't need to be literal. That's why you can get a reaper and have it mean death or life or party time or nothing at all. If you're going for full arm coverage start checking out some large-scale work. LST is a great place to start.. Maybe start with a portrait of Rorschach himself if you're really into it. I mean, he's not an unattractive man: Hermann Rorschach - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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.

Hi! So, new to LTS, but not to tattoos or tattoo forums in general :) 22 years old from Norway, been getting tattooed for longer than I should have.. I've got a couple tattoos; Full sleeve on my right arm that is currently being touched up massively. Originally done 4-3 years ago, but my artists has gotten so much better with color since then, so he decided to have a proper go at fixing it up a bit! Also have my left upper arm done, a piece on my back, stomach/hips, back of both legs, shin/side of one leg, some small ones on the inside of my calves, a piece on my thigh.. Some large pieces, some small and silly pieces! All in color, but a few different styles. Put up some pics in my gallery, feel free to check it out :) I've worked as a shop manager in a tattoo shop for a bit over a year as well, and love it! Other than that, I'm a loud, foul mouthed freak at times, but I'll try to be on my best behavior! ;) So.. yeah. Hi! :)

from the convention ;p

Ha ha! That's what happens @cvportagee when you're a 5'-8"ish cherubic faced Asian with long straight hair, I guess. You end up being called ma'am when people take your order, and @hogg and thinks you're @Reyeslv's wife. Then there's @Scott R who wants you to take your clothes off. He wanted to see the back piece but it was hilarious. Oh the things that happen at the SFO convention. Not to mention meeting @ian too and then seeing him tough it out, getting his chest tattooed Sunday. Oh and I cannot forget to mention meeting @beez punch drunk on tattoos. It was awesome. You're a mad woman getting tattooed all day. @MoistTowelette, I saw your post too late. I saw you getting your ribs done by Gogue but I didn't know it was you. That Hannya is jaw dropping impressive. It was great meeting everyone and their spouses. I would have liked to have met the rest too, next year for sure. Like Scott R my flight out was delayed too. It was annoying cuz all I was thinking was how I could have stayed till the end of the convention instead of sitting at the airport, then again waiting in the plane sitting on the tarmac. Awesome convention though. The busiest one I've been to in the last 4 years. And the Shige seminar was awesome. I'll try to post something on that later. Let me also add that all of you who got tattooed from what I saw was awesome and cvportagee, Jill's back came out great and Horitomo's is bad ass already. I'm incredibly jealous, but it's going on a good guy. Can't wait till December/January when it's my turn.

That was a laugh out loud moment during dinner. That waiter was definitely flustered after that one. I also want to thank all of the awesome people I had a chance to meet this weekend. My wife and I had a great time hanging out with @Scott R this weekend and introducing him to the Swan Oyster Depot. We had a lot of fun during dinner and talking with @hogg, @Reyeslv and his wife, @Lance, and @ian. It was nice to meet you too @beez and your back is looking beautiful. The convention was a blast and hopefully everyone can do this again next year!

i put together another little zine of drawings & paintings. full color on cardstock, hand numbered out of 13 (just in time for halloween). if anyone is interested you can send $3.50 to [email protected] via paypal (as friends/family) with your address in the comments and i will send you one.

you stirred up an angry mob.

Mr moist towelette please post some pics.... I've checked your IG, the other forums and your facebook and nothing

well I'm not biased,I want to see the other pieces bro !

Done by Charlie Cung in San Diego. Instagram

I feel like it's a lot of witchy witchy stuff. I don't know. I love seeing these though. This is my Mucha's The Moon done by Kyle Proia. I just realized that most of the color in her face and hair has disappeared over the years. That's a bummer. But her starry garment is still lovely.

Yeah man I got that huge devil we got a lot done over the last 4 days.

Ishmael Johnson Austin Tattoo Convention 2013 Interview for Tattoo Artist Magazine (VIDEO) | TAM Blog notexpected please watch the whole thing or at least skip to about 6:00 mark or so

Nice @trill been noticing a ton of boxer babes lately, too. My wife got one from Virginia the same week she just happened to do two others. Next trend: lady owl boxers with wolf hats and monocles and geometric patterns.

Sexist

I decided to extend my trip to Chile in the coming spring to also include Japan, New York and Barcelona. Feels like a very exciting decision! Except for Barcelona I know people that I can stay with :) edit: that is, if you want to go from Japan to Santiago you need to transfer some place, NYC is the cheapest. To fly back to Europe it is less expensive if you land in Barcelona. Basically I get three more destinations for the same price as my original plan. Nowadays I make sure to plan my trips out with Rome2rio: discover how to get anywhere, very practical!</shameless plug)

getting tattooed by robert hernandez on saturday, jeff gogue on sunday, and shige on monday at diamond club!!!! gonna the best week of getting tattoos for me!

I just re-read this thread and it reminded me of something funny. The first tattoo I showed my parents I had a much nicer reaction than when I show them newer ones. I usually get the "Ok, show me the new tattoos." When I visit. Although I can say they are getting much more bold, and bigger.

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.

After going big, I go home; I prefer to shower there.