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Operation Double Dobleman Thighs is now complete: Between this and my Pharaoh's Horses, I couldn't be happier. (No jokes about what's actually between this and the horses, please.)

Had a ton of fun at the Lowbrow Tattoo Convention in Killeen this weekend. Met a lot of great people and got some cool tattoos. Devil Head from James Clements Panthgle from James Yocum Tex Avery Whistlin' Wolf from Paco Cendon (Won tattoo of the day on Sat!) I'm happy but I can barely walk today.

picked this up yesterday from Danielle Rose, so happy with it

Caught Dani Queipo while he was doing a guest spot at 3 Kings. That gap on my arm really bothered the shit out of me. Way stoked on this one. Skulls and butterflies are now tied at 3 (I think I have enough butterflies).

my kinda thread. me and my best friend have 6 matching tattoos and counting. he started getting tattooed a couple of years after i did, and one of his first tattoos (he got two in the same day his first time) was a matching all seeing eye from bradley tompkins about 3 or so years ago now we then got a lil friday 13th tattoo from some matty d'arienzo flash (also in the other picture) next up was a pair of rokurokubis from ash davies (mines the one with the pipe) we got two during our visit to NYC. first we got some bert krak flash. mine from eli and my friends from steve and a fun NYC memento from tron last ones we got were this summer. another fun one, some grimm reefers from rose whittaker i look forward to all the ones we get in the future together. they're all definitely my most sentimental tattoos as they're reminders of fun times blah blah blah

For years I always advised people away from getting tattoos for anyone other than your parents, siblings or children, for obvious reasons. As I've gotten older and more heavily tattooed and the designs I wear progressively weirder however, I've found it really fun to get little bro tats and the like, to sort of put a timestamp on really important life events. A matching Mr. Burns head with Mike and my brother, my best friend's initials (she has my portrait in the same spot) and a fun little 'honey moon phase' tattoo with my girlfriend, the Party's Over tattoo with Ron... The kind of stuff that I'd warn other people about and here I am, getting them all over the place. So. I thought I'd start a group thread for Bro-tats, His/Hers (or His/His, Hers/Hers, Theirs/Theirs) etc so we can all revel in the bad ideas! Honeymoon Phase by Nik Lynds. - - - Updated - - - Matching Skull in a party hat with Ron Garza. Tattoo- Nakota Garza. BT/SP- Bethany and Shawn tattoo. Tattoo- David Bruehl.

This is what went on yesterday at Memoir w/Kim on my raven/roses/jewels arm. I am in love with it!

Sorry to be off topic with the way this thread turned out but regardless of any "witchy witchy" (whatever that means) or other current tattoo trends. Sometimes we gotta take it back and look at why?... Not just why you got a particular tattoo but why certain symbols are grouped together in the first place. Female figures and the moon make more sense than most associated designs. - As a side note, Diana worship became very popular in Europe in the early 19th century as part of the revival of earlier religious ideas by the middle classes (who had more time on their hands, probably because of the Industrial Revolution) which led to more works of art, visual, written and performed that included these ideas and symbols. These are often the very works that modern tattooers appropriate. Remember that some tattooer, somewhere knew this when they included a moon in a design of a lady head. (or they took it from an illustration by someone who knew.) Then it was imitated because it looked cool or resonated in some way. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I strongly believe it's a tattooers job to understand the mechanism of symbols and apply them to create relationships that have a deeper value than just looking cool. There's nothing wrong with looking cool and often I don't bore my clients with a lecture about the historical connections with the symbols I include. I just try to make their tattoo look cool. Hopefully one day they will discover the meanings and connections behind the symbols and realise it makes the design slightly richer. Sorry to derail yet another thread with a boring self-righteous rant...

I believe he works out of Brooklyn NY appears to be well respected locally. My opinion is that he does decent work based on his gallery and Instagram which in full disclosure I do follow. If you are set on tebori work and you're out on the west coast, I would give heavy consideration to making a trip out to San Jose to see Horitomo or Yokohama Horiken

Hello and welcome. If you want to do a coverup/rework, you should first find an artist and ask him or her what will work because that isn't something we can tell you on the internet, and generally speaking, you need to be very flexible with a coverup. However, without seeing the tattoo, I think it may be better to just leave this tattoo alone for the moment and get that next one you want. Adding things here and there to an existing tattoo that you're not happy with isn't necessarily going to make it better and I think in the case of adding coloured flowers to an all-black cat on a moon, it's just going to look muddled. When you get that next tattoo you'll also focus less on that first tattoo and it won't bother you as much. Who is this artist you've found?

Put this up the other day in the full back piece thread and forgot to put it over here. Last session in for 2013 and starting back up in January. All work being done by Rodrigo Melo at Northstar Tattoo NYC. Mike

Got this today from Nick Colella at Great Lakes Tattoo I can't say enough nice things about him!! And I'm beyond stoked on my dragon! Completely smitten with the thing! :) (slurped from Nick's instagram) Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk 2

I really like wrist and neckband tattoos ,But I'm having trouble locating pictures.It would be sweet if you guys had any to upload,heres some by daniele ceyen I really like.

Music I've been listening to lately:

Where would we be without your self righteous rants, Stewart? I for one (usually) enjoy them. I interviewed David Bruehl back in 2008, and he had some similar thoughts on the more abstract concept you're talking about: "I take on the role of the educator. We live in an entire world of symbology, and I think everyone who chooses a tattoo does so because it resonates with them, albeit sometimes on a very subconscious level, so I don’t judge. They likely may not know the specific significance, but a part of them speaks the language." - Bruehl "On the same subject, but an even more light-hearted note: Every time a person has ever come in wanting to get a yin yang tattoo, I’ve joked with them that I won’t do it unless they tell me what religion/philosophy it’s associated with. In my seven years of tattooing, I’ve never had someone correctly answer “Taoism” or even “Chinese” philosophy. So they may be ignorant of the origins surrounding the symbol, but they do correctly seek to realize the balance that it represents." -ibid

Getting my leg filled in by Kore Flatmo. I know it's been said many times, but visiting Plurabella is such a freaking great experience. Still have the back of the thigh and the shin to do, but that's all I could take. Day 2 we just worked more on the cover up he's doing on my arm. I dont have any good pictures of that yet.

Here are a couple of shots of my ankle collar done by Nathan Draper at The Pearl in Toronto. I'll post the chest pics when Tim gets a little more done in the next few weeks. Sadly they are upside down and I have no idea why. No one is rushing to hire me for an IT position, that's for sure.

First off, you asked the same questions, twice, on another forum, and didn't like the answers you got (laser it first). The answer hasn't changed. You DO NOT like what you have now, so laser it as much as you are willing to, then get a REALLY GOOD artist to cover the whole thing with something you really want. Really good artists are not necessarily close or cheap, so bear that in mind. Adding work from an artist you do like near a tattoo you do not like will just make it that much harder to ever change or cover the tattoo you do not like.

Brian Bruno, anyone??

Go get yourself a Jef Whitehead tattoo at Taylor Street Tattoo!

I was making a joke by suggesting that the only reason someone would get tattoos is to appear tough, and therefore it should be a good thing that people think you are tough because of your tattoos. Admittedly, these types of jokes don't work well through text (in fact, I've found that even in person people often don't catch my sarcasm). If we really wanted to look tough, we'd be getting shitty tattoos that nobody would bother us about (mayber because they would feel threatened). Instead, like an idiot, I just have to go out and get tattooed by good artists, and then I get old ladies bothering me about them in grocery stores and shit.

Hi all So I’m currently in the market for a half to a ¾ sleeve Japanese tattoo. Because I already have my forearm tattooed, I do want a sleeve that goes from the wrist up to the elbow/a little bit beyond. I want to leave the bicep/shoulder area as free real estate, maybe adding to it later (tebori possibly). Not sure if this is a common practice, as almost all half sleeves I see are shoulder to elbow. This tattoo I have now feels incomplete and weak, so I do want something more badass/masculine. I’ve been toying around with different ideas of how to fill it in, but can’t seem to find visuals that I really dig. I have perused the Japanese/Chinese tattoo gallery, but I don’t want an oni mask, koi, or dragon, so that eliminates a good majority of what you guys shared. The idea of a samurai would be pretty bad ass, or maybe some sort of mythical creature/beast? Anyone know of a good place to look? Reference books are rather expensive, and I can't seem to find a site that has quality images. I have decided that I want to go check out The Diamond Club in San Francisco, as I am a big fan of what their artist’s posts on their Instagrams. Anyone have any experience here? I’m from SF, but am at school in SoCal til December so I can’t meet for a consultation til then. Until then, I want to be as prepared as possible so when we meet I can best get across what I want to them. (step one being figuring out exactly what I want) Stumbled across this forum, and figured since I don’t want to create a new thread elsewhere, this little thread could act as an open online journal. I am pretty damn tattoo noob, so my bad if I commit any tatoo faux pas. Cheers guys. Ryan

Nice! I am digging this by Thomas Hooper...only in my case if I did something like this I would have to stop at the wristbone:

My favorite so far has been, "Were you drunk?" Because I would totally ask for a custom tattoo while blasted...

I'm not a tattooer, but I have never liked script on a banner. My $0.02.

was wondering if shawn would make this thread bro tats

Well, since you asked, here are a few of my recent concoctions! I'm still getting the hang of watercolors, but I'm pretty happy with my progress.

I have two matching tattoos. My sister and I both have my grandmother's name, but mine is in a traditional style cursive script while hers is more like a black and grey fancy script. Then a good friend and I, we both have matching gatsby flappers. I tried to post pics but it didnt work

I have one other tattoo on my forearm, but smaller. I understand the forearm is one of the easiest spots but I could have laid there for hours. But I'm not naive and realize 1) The back is more painful, 2) After a certain amount of time the body reacts in ways you wouldn't expect and just says enough, 3) Back to back is going to be even more sensitive and painful, and 4) I realize I'm going to feel like I got hit with the bad flu after my body goes into shock for that week. That's why I asked about the antibiotics to helps counter act that. So . . . am I prepared for this . . . absolutely not, but this is kind of a part of this personal journey. Probably stupid and will do nothing but I've been laying on a bed of nails to build up tolerance to long periods of discomfort. I've been hitting the gym and eating well to get my overall health and immune as good as possible for the trip. Got all my vaccines up to date. Been doing tons of research and I've had ongoing dialogue with the artist and she's pretty confident on the process for the week. Also the design/style will be very spread out, so there's no real concern about going into the same area. But with all that said, I know I'm going to be in for a rough experience. Above it all I HATE long flights!! The longest flight I've been on was about 10 hours. This will be another 5 hours plus the way back with a fresh tattoo is going to be hell! I probably should have joined the forum sooner, but I figured I get the remaining questions out there in these next couple months.

I just cancelled this past Friday on 1 days notice. My wife was scheduled for major surgery which got moved up a week on VERY short notice even for us. I called the shop, but will stop in within a few days to see if they want any $$ from me. BTW, the surgery went well. Rob

Yes, I LOVE printmaking!! I work at a university, so I get free tuition and took a litho/silk screen class this fall. I let the print shop eat up basically all of my free time, and I'm happy to do it again in the spring. Good work, please post more prints!

Really great, Paul Dobleman is one of my favourite tattooers/painters his flash is so damn good.

Obviously not a tattoo as yet, How good is this going to be when done Artist is Matthew Houston recently posted on instagram.

When you started this thread @Delicious, I didn't think I had a moon, then I remembered I did have the faint outline of a crescent moon shaped jewel. Today Kim shaded it in along with some other stuff, this is a pic taken from the table: (better pic now on Latest Lowdown)

Can't remember who initially posted these, but I've had them on my phone at least a couple-three years. Not sure when they were done, but they're old, and by the man himself.

This picture posted Jill Bonny on her Instagram-profile 36 weeks ago. The man on the left is the same person you can spot in Ed Hardy's Tattoo Time - Music & Sea Tattoos. The back is from 1980 and still looks absolutely amazing.

This happened in Subway about a month ago. Some inebriated guy came up to me as I was ordering: "Woah, look at your tattoos...your sleeves...you look dynamite! Can I lick your arms? I want them on my tongue!" I said maybe another time and he gave me a high five and left! Hahahah

@heathenist Attract mates and repel rivals.

Hi Ry4n! If you haven't already, check out the Fine Arts Library on your campus. If you are lucky, they may even have an Asian library or collection. And don't stop at your campus. Most colleges allow general admittance to their libraries and California is chock-a-block with institutes of higher learning. I have enjoyed several UC libraries this way (including Berkeley...they have some of Horiyoshi's books including 100 Demons...that was a really fantastic day:D ). It's old school but still my favorite way to find inspiration. Take a day. Do a general search ("Japanese art" or whatever). Get an idea of where your subject is and walk the rows. Pull the books that seem interesting/have a lot of pictures and sit and flip. When you find something you like, photocopy or cell pic that bad boy. There are things in university libraries that you will never come close to finding on the internets...magical things...:rolleyes:

Beautiful work/tattoos from Junii, @beez. Love how it has grown, for lack of a better word.

This is a not very good picture of what I've been sporadically working on for the past couple of months. When it's finished I'll try to get better pictures: This is my first attempt at working with oils, other than a little bit of dabbling with it when I took art classes as a kid, but I don't really count that. I'm pretty happy with some things with this painting, but beyond my obvious technical limitations, it has quite a few significant flaws that have largely to do with me being too excited to start painting that I didn't properly work out a sketch beforehand and figure out composition, perspective, light sources, use reference, etc. My next one will be better.

i'll have one of what he's having...

Another session down with Dana, picture stolen from his IG of course.. Next session is color! The fundoshi massacre.

@Killercook76 interesting. yeah tebori was just an idea im entertaining . seems like a fun experience, but i had no idea it took double the time. perhaps youre right in it not being ideal. i do follow most those guys on IG, and boy do they have some neat stuff. ill keep an eye on them and their colleagues. i have a separate IG where i only follow artists, and have thus far racked up a couple hundred followings. thanks for sharing bud. @beez yes! that makes me so excited to pop by their shop. i just stalked your profile. are the snapshots from DC's IG your ink? thats fucking rad. i love kevin and claws work, so its fantastic to hear such great things about their work environment and their personalities. ive looked at a couple of online portfolios of nearby shops (i.e. picture machine, freddy corbins place, state of grace) but none have caught my eye quite like DC has. a little bonus being that one of their sites icons is a lucky cat :rolleyes: @Gregor woooah dude im actually going to seriously keep that in mind. theres some killer sketches of him on google. thanks. any other suggestions? gonna peruse some Japanese deities. overall, thanks for the warm welcomes guys. my first tattoo was eh, sorta sporadic. i dont dislike it but it feels incomplete and looks rushed. im trying to figure out how to best compliment it with some good work, but feel kinda overwhelmed and lost. its great to come into this place where you guys are all so invested in what you wear. cant wait to learn a thing or two :)

started this yesterday! by Marius Meyer 4,5 h

got this hot momma a few weeks ago from eli quinters

Sexist

Just Paul. And Theo Mindell. And Stuart Cripwell. And Bryan Randolph. And Aaron Hodges.

Should we start a new hashtag? #lastsparrowcats ??

I also like this flash sheet from Theo Mindell