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Awesome stuff, everyone (as usual). El Monga added this to my leg today! Picture stolen from his Instagram. I'm now realizing that I never posted a picture of the last one he did on me, because it wraps and I can't seem to get a good picture of it. I'll try to do that soon.

Tomorrow! I'm getting my back (back of the neck to back of the knees) tattooed by Chad Koeplinger...SOOOOOOO FUCKEN STOKED!!!!!!!!!!!!

back cover credited to Bob Wicks c.1930 there is a larger photo in the book. cool book that is well worth the $30.

Not sure why I thought to do this tonight, but I decided to see how long of a drive it is to New York City and also to Montreal. Found out that from my house it's almost exactly the same length of trip (6h35mins vs 6h38mins). Driving to NYC to get a tattoo is something I definitely want to do someday, but it has always seemed so far away - I really thought it was more like an 8.5hr drive. Montreal, on the other hand, I've driven to several times (mostly for hockey games) and would definitely do again. I have the feeling that this knowledge is going to cost me money in the coming months/years.

There is most definitely a "vibe" or "resonance" with anything Higg-ish... If the tattooer doesn't know the art off the top of their head or the shop doesn't have the actual real flash, I would say, "bad vibe"... Higgs is a language, you wouldn't wan't someone that can't understand or speak the language to go interpreting something completely foreign on your skin for you, especially, if YOU know what you want.

If your artist doesn't know who Higgs is or doesn't have any of his/her own reference for it, and it's probably not the right artist to get the piece of Higgs flash from. The right vibe just won't be there.

To answer the original question, if the shop you're in doesn't have the aforementioned Higgs flash, then you're probably in the wrong shop. Or just say you want a "Higgs mummy" or "Higgs druid" or "Higgs bat", etc. I'm hoping the tattooer will know what you're talking about. At the same time, I would want someone that's stoked on Higgs to do the tattoo as well, or like others mentioned, someone that may even know him. There are tons of tattoos I want in the new Eleven Fourteen book, the Zeis book, the new Great Unknown book, 400 Flash from Rodin and Miller, etc. I haven't bought those books, but I wouldn't lift any of those images off the Internet neither. If I see flash that I really like, I'm just gonna track down that tattooer and get tattooed by them. Or hopefully the shop I'm at has the books and I could just pick out an image from there. Totally rambling at this point.

Just wanted to give you guys a heads up about a new book we are working on. Lost Love is a collection of vintage tattoo flash presented in a 200 page 9×12 hardcover format. This book represents a handful of private collections and is full of never before published sheets of antique flash along with acetates, sketches, and photos. The images in this unique collection were selected to embody the rich and diverse history of tattooing. Our goal was to show everything from folky to fancy. This book will contain unsigned flash sheets as well as images from Cap Coleman, Paul Rogers, Sailor Jerry, Stoney St Clair, Percy Waters, Milton Zeis, and many more. The first 200 Lost Love pre orders will receive a limited print of vintage flash with their book and it will be shipped in hand silk-screened packaging. Pre orders have already started and the book is expected in early Feb. can be purchased at Yellow Beak Press Here is a small video teaser for the book.

When I wanted something higgs influenced I had an idea of people I thought would do it justice. I waited a little bit just to see whats what. When I meet Jason Scott I found out Dan Higgs worked with/for him...did a bunch of tattoos on him including a fucking GREAT back piece. THEN he told me he had a book of a bunch of rare higgs flash,drawings and pictures etc and then it was obvious who I would get to do these higgs influenced tattoos. I told him my general idea and he came up with something heavily influenced but "new" with integrity. Certainly hes not the only one in the world to have this kind of contact but I think hes a great person/tattooer. Is he into as much of the mystical ideas behind the tattoos....NO...but he speaks the language via his tattoos stronger then those who have no contact with higgs. Hes more a fan of tattooing and strongly looked up to higgs. I think its a BIG factor when it comes to something like getting a higgs flash or something based on his style. I would have been bummed just walking in with a print out of some higgs flash and asking someone with little knowledge to pop it on me....but your free to do as you wish. Plus the great stories you get from a tattooer who knows the guy make it worth the going out of your way.... Good luck. ps. I could just be a fan boy....but I dont care. Everyones a critc.

Agreed! Some styles are so unique to the specific artist that any attempt to capture it from a different party will fall short 99.9% of the time no matter how qualified or talented the 2nd tattooer is. Can anyone else do a deVita tattoo? Nobody can channel that. Not entirely unsurprising that Higgs falls into the same 'lineage' of styles that can't be duplicated. Probably 50 other artists that I'm not taking the time to think of and list. That's enough of me seemingly like putting anyone on a pedestal; partially because those people wouldn't want that and also because I'm not trying to seem like a fanboy. Just someone that appreciates tattoos with soul. My 2 cents sorry if I derailed the thread.

Interesting discussion, kinda wish Dan Higgs would weigh in.....

In progress by Tomo at Yellow Blaze. Painful to say the least, but it's taking shape after 4 sessions. Home tomorrow! From his Instagram.

Hello all… …so a brief introduction, I'm 27 and live in London England working as a graphic designer / illustrator. So glad to found a site where tattooers and enthusiasts can come and talk. i don't have many friends who are into tattoos (apart from my wife) so would be cool to meet up at conventions talk, drink and chill. Also I love the insightful but down-to-earth interviews with artists I admire and hope to be tattooed by some day.

I'm getting a pair of foo dogs with peonies wrapping around my lower leg.

Nah, won't happen.

While there are some really cool pieces of flash I'd love to get tattooed, I'd really want to get it tattooed by the artist that did it. If it is impossible (retired, or no longer alive), I have a hellva good excuse to buy some more books. I love having new books, and sometimes my wallet needs justification.

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.

When I got a portrait on leg, I told Josh Brown (tattooer) I wanted it to be loose and Higgs-esque. I trusted Josh because, I knew what his tattoos looked liked. I also liked the fact that his full back is from Dan, one of a handful that I know exist (I haven't seen it, because he refuses to show it to anyone, it is that sacred to him). Good mojo all around.

Looks like I need that book. Thanks guys. If I get the tattoo in the next year Ill post it. Ive been getting lots of ideas but I should really get my big work finnished. Who knows....I dont have a SATAN/DEVIL yet..and I need one before im done.

Oh, you have no idea how much this idea scares me when I remember that everyone (except felons) can vote...especially after working a customer service job in my younger years.

You should do it! Let us know, maybe we can have a little LST meetup that day if you head in.

About the co-workers... these people vote and sit on juries... scary.... Rob

Well...welcome aboard....

@hogg @TrixieFaux @jpm06 @dirbab @RoryQ @LastOrders @MadeIndelible Mindblowing stuff!

@BrianH With my rose morph I didn't supply Chad with any pictures. I told him that I wanted a panther rose, kind of like that famous Hardy backpiece, knowing that he would know what I wanted. Chad drew it on me with Sharpie. It was pretty amazing to see him just draw something like that on with no reference, but that's why I wanted Chad to do that tattoo. Basically, I agree with @CultExciter here about wanting to promote the best in tattooing. Sure, people are bringing in things they printed off the Internet to get tattooed, but there are also tons of people who want words tattooed upside down and I don't think we should talk about and promote that as an idea here either. And sure, there's plenty of grey area here too. Sailor Jerry stuff is maybe one thing, but the mention of "modern flash" in the original post bothers me. Anyway what I think about this stuff doesn't count for much.

It's a faux pas for sure. You would want to go somewhere who could encapsulate the vibe, or hell, might even know the man personally. Otherwise, you might lose the soul of the tattoo. There is so much more Higgs flash than what you can find on the internet. Go somewhere that has real copies of it.

The general public......and the tattoo community are two separate concepts. I don't try and push people around with what they should and shouldn't get, I'm not a social worker...... But I do try to present them with options when I can. I still give em the haircut they ask for....... I just try and comb it real nice for em.

Got something from Scott Sylvia yesterday. I'll post a picture in a few.

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

Hey guys, my name is Evan. I've been lurking here for about a while now and I figured I should go ahead and make an account. A little about myself, I have a small number of tattoos and I've only started researching good tattoo art in the past couple of months. I'm really excited to get started on my first large piece that I'm getting done by Katja Ramirez at Perfection here in Austin in a couple of weeks. I guess that's all I've got right now, but I'll post some pictures of the beginnings of that tattoo after I get through the first session.

Hahahahaha. Best of luck to you, good sir. I don't know what route you would take, but the I-87 through Upstate New York is a really beautiful and easy drive. It takes 7-8 hours for me to drive to NYC from Montreal and I've done that drive enough that it goes by pretty quickly. Realising that it really isn't a big deal to get there was really great not just in terms of getting tattooed, but also just in terms of realising that going to NYC can be a weekend trip. I feel that people here tend to think of it as being so far away, but it really isn't. And yeah, considering how many AMAZING tattooers are there, you'd be foolish to not go.

I had a tattoo done that came from a piece of artwork. I knew who the originator was and I contacted him to see how much he wanted to sell me a stencil or line drawing of what I wanted. His response was that he sent me a very good picture of it and only wanted a picture of the finished tattoo in return, which I did. I'd feel bad if I walked into a shop with a blatant ripoff of someone else's hard work. Rob

I took a little trip to LA a few weeks back, mostly planned around an appointment with Tomas Garcia at Sid's in Santa Ana. Couldn't be more pleased with the experience and the result: http://instagram.com/p/gRp00EkhUV/ http://instagram.com/p/gRqNqGkhU5/

This is spectacular. (As are many of the other recent posts.) Holy moly, there are some crazy great tattoos popping in this thread. And I'm not the least bit surprised. @RoryQ - that piece is incredible.

Damn, pugilist should shave her legs. Must be like going to bed with a yeti.

Are you talking about flash that you purchased, or of pictures that you printed from the internet? Because there's a difference.

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:

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.

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

With all the recent Pharaoh's Horses talk I thought I'd share mine. Done by Grez at the Bay Area Tattoo Convention.

I'll throw my hat in the ring too this month :cool: Bob Roberts, Spotlight Tattoo. That El Monga piece is SICK @9Years

At the risk of sounding like a savvy turd, I've been living here for enough years to know that this is not a "cultural thing" that I have to understand. Chinese are, in principle, much more worried about keeping up a standard of formalities and a strict customer-service provider relationship. This also goes for tattooing (and I had this experience the first time) where the collector respects the artist for his craft, and the artist respects the customer for the flattery of his trust. And, absolutely, for his money, that he wants and deserves. Despite accomplished tattoo artists actually being called "master", by employees as well as customers, they are fully aware that they're selling a service and that a forthcoming and polite service attitude is of the utmost importance. If you're selling something in this country, you need to be convincing people that it's amazing, always, or potential income is out of your door before you know it. In principle. For example, my first tattoo artist gave his apprentice a massive amount of shit for not answering the phone politely enough, when I was there. This is not Japan or Korea, but relationships and formalities still can have a very artificial look to the Western eye. My grasp of the Chinese language is far from terrible, but the fact that I was speaking Chinese with him actually made it worse, because it's not common for an expat to speak it. I should have actually stuck to English, but then again his English wasn't competent enough to understand something like "I don't like water splashes too pointy and transparent." Me speaking Chinese made everyone more curious about the words coming out of my mouth. You know, screw it, maybe he was having a bad day, maybe I was having a bad day. It just didn't work. He's a fine artist and I'm sure he's going to make a lot of people look better. Someone earlier said I don't have to like someone to get tattooed by them. I couldn't disagree more. He's not my nurse, he's not my doctor. It works both ways: I don't need his tattoo. I just don't feel like making someone richer with my money, if I don't like them. That story with the roses... speechless. Thanks for sharing.

One other thing, Richard read you entry... He said FUCK EM. He has an amazing portrait tattoo of his son on his leg, the tattoo is 20 years old, looks amazing, and done by an ELITE European tattooer, and even though it still looks great. He really doesn't like the tattoo, due to the experience... Just his two cents.

@WideOcean, can't you just go back to the polite and serious plumber? I think humility and sensitivity go an awful long way. If your chinese is terrible, maybe he could speak with you in private instead of in front of other customers? I also expect my tattooers to know which elements will and won't work. My husband (who won't tattoo me 'cause I'm a pain in the ass) will be the first person to tell me if I'm "trying to shove 3 lb. of shit in a 2 lb. bag." Or he'll ask "How big do you think your arm is?" when I'm telling him my ideas. I'm sure the tattooer meant no harm, maybe it was a culture/language thing, maybe he misunderstood what you were asking about the added element? Either way, I'm not sure it matters if he's pompous or you're paranoid, you need to be comfortable. Customer service matters. I've never gotten a tattoo from someone I didn't like, enjoying someone's company and conversation make the time go faster. (Unless you're married, then dinner and a movie will go much better than a tattoo.) I say go back to the plumber or find another plumber. You don't need a souvenir of an unpleasant experience covering valuable real estate. That's like hanging a picture on your wall that you don't like from someone you don't like just in case they visit your house. How about just not letting them in? Go get the positive experience you deserve. - - - Updated - - - @HaydenRose, that color thing would've made me insane. Mr. Color Guy should know what looks good. I made a tattooer back out some lime green on something and replace it with pink, and you know what? The lime would've been cooler. If my dentist asked me to pick the shade on a fake tooth to match the others, I'd find another dentist. Of course I'll ask for certain colors/ color themes, but it's their job to know their stuff, my job is to shower, brush my teeth, and not jump around all over the place.

Regardless of what you hear about a tattooer and how much you love their work, if you feel uncomfortable with them, then definitely do not get a big, multiple session piece with them. Not only will the actual sessions be stressful, but if you're anything like me, you will worry every day until your first appointment and in between each subsequent session if the tattoo will be what you want or if this guy will ease up and offer any artistic input. I had a similar situation, but in the US. We finished the outline and then started talking about colors. The artist had briefly talked about what colors would work before we got started. (Also important to mention, is that when I came in for my consult I said I wanted black and white, but he was adamant about doing it in color. Looking back, I think that was the guy at the desk's fault because he recommended this artist based on what I told him and the artists is heavy into bright colorful floral tattoos). So after the outline was finished, he literally opened his cabinet with his ink bottles and asked me to choose what I wanted. I said flat out, he should use his judgement since he was the tattooer. By then, we had already narrowed it down to red roses, so it was a matter of choosing the red and a highlight color, like pink. He had all different values of red and pink and greens and wanted ME to choose each one. I kept trying to refuse, but he really wanted me to decide. It was my first tattoo and I felt extremely uncomfortable and overwhelmed. Long story short, I left without getting the color and 6 years later still have an unfinished tattoo. In my opinion, with my experience it was more bad "service" to expect a newcomer to tattooing to know how to choose inks, because we did vibe very well at the consult and leading right up to the outline finishing. But I think you're situation was a combination of bad chemistry/bad service. If you ever feel uncomfortable, just run! Tattoos are a commitment, and to me, the experience is part of the package. If you have a negative experience with a tattoo, then you will have a reminder forever. I know I do.

One time I was tattooing this girl's ankle and she meowed her way through the whole tattoo as her 'pain management.' It was a trial.

There are plenty of people I missed getting tattooed by because of when I got into it. There will be plenty of people I'd love to get tattooed by but won't because I won't have space or won't be into getting tattooed anymore or whatever. That's life.

This has always seemed staged to me... and if it wasn't, she shouldn't have been allowed in the chair.

As info, some of the pics in the article are NSFW