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Today I have exchanged text messages, emails, and numerous Instagram messages with people that I have met through LST. I feel privileged to be part of this forum. Happy Holidays to all of you.

Yay! Happy Krampus everybody! Super glad to be part of this little internet tattoo family, you guys rule.

My first is from my buddy who is an apprentice. Second is from Craig Brown at Historic Tattoo in Portland. And I just got this from Beau Brady at State of Grace in San Jose. That's the only photo I have uploaded at the moment. Jill Bonny at State of Grace. I'm counting down the days!

Happy Christmas and a big HAIL SATAN ! To one and all !

Merry Festivus and Happy Kwanzaa!

I am really liking seeing other people's faces! Definitely a lot of beards. I'm here to contribute another lady face. And actually I'm real excited cause I just cut all my hair off again last Monday. Hello.

Very nice and I couldn't agree more. Best of the season to everyone here!

I love tattoos so much I got super drunk last night on account of it. Now I am back at work...AAARGGHHHHHHHHHHH

Heres a photo of me with my girlfriend and my two best mates.

Indeed! Thank you all for the hospitality, and may everyone have a happy holiday! Cheers!

totally, Merry Christmas guys!

Me and my lady before a concert this summer.

Hoping everyone's Christmas was killer, and wishing everyone a happy New Year!

Philip Yarnell!

Now I want people to start photoshoping subtle penises into the photos they put on line so that they get copied.

A baku, and I'm just gonna let her do her thing with the rest of the arm.

flash is to tattooing as standards are to music, shapes and formulas, composition to leap from. Plagarism will always exist. Its part of cultural growth.

Done

Happy Christmas, as you lot say: By Matt Staydohar, Anvil Brand Tattoo, Marysville, CA.

How's it going, everyone? I'm Josh, from just outside of San Jose. I'm not sure what makes a good introduction post, so this will have to do. I got my first tattoo almost 3 months ago after 7 years of talk. I've always liked tattoos, but I never could quite figure out what it was that I liked about them. One of my good friends started his apprenticeship at a local shop and I think that helped refined my taste. After I got settled in at my new job I decided to commit to it. I get my fourth tattoo this weekend, and start my sleeve in two weeks! It's awesome living in the Bay Area and being around so many great artists. I'm stoked to start my collection. I'm also into stand-up comedy and cool clothes. Cheers!

This is a great place to discuss tattoos. In addition to that it's been a great place to meet different people from all over the globe. So too everyone on LST and those of you that are my IG buddies, MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL!!!! Have a safe and healthy holiday season!!!!

lets pretend i still look like this...

That was where I got my last tattoo

@Dan that's a beautiful tattoo, however , when I broke my hand it wasn't as swollen as that. Lol the pain we go though to make ourselves beautiful :P

I really like this one,it was done by Seth Leibowitz on one of the regular artists that does work on me,Jennifer Leonardi

Got this yesterday.

Just got these two from Dusto at Tower Classic in St. Louis as a Christmas present to myself

Good for you for taking charge of your health. I have also gotten myself into better shape over the last few years and have found that this makes getting tattoos all the more fun. I have a tattoo I really like on my shoulder and I enjoy wearing clothing that shows it off (in the summer, it's below zero temperatures today). Three years ago I would never have worn sleeveless shirts. I feel like there is some kind of mutual incentive with all of this- I want to be fit so I can enjoy my tattoos and I like to get tattoos as an inspiration to remain fit. Get something you like and that you'd like others to see. You will know what it means to you and no one else will probably even care. I saw a wonderful quote recently that said something like "you will worry less about what other people think about you once you realize how infrequently they do so."

A buff Phoenix punching a bipedal donut in the face.

Took the wrap off and got it cleaned before bed. Now, am I imagining things or is there a line missing? On the bottom right as you look at the picture, a line to mark the side of the petal?

Very touchy subject I have actually been to court for. It use to really bother me when others would not only copy my work. But they would use my actual work for their advertising. Its even trickier with tattoo work as many assume it is all fair game. These are reasons/excuses I have heard. Isnt tattoo flash all about copying other Artists work? (My answer: Yes but I purchased that flash and have permission to use) Anything on the net is fair game! I suppose if you water mark the work then it is an implied copyright of sorts.However some judges will even laugh that out of court. There was a case with Andy Warhol copying a Campbell's soup label. A famous court hearing that apparently changed everything for artists after that. Like when a cover band plays your song. "Its considered a tribute or Artists rendition" Andy Warhol won that case even though his painting was an exact copy of the Soup can. It was considered a tribute/ Artist interpretation. Even under copyright laws it had enough differences to not infringe. Andys Painting was on canvas and not a can, his painting was done with oils and not ink, his was hand painted, his was larger. Thus enough differences that it did not infringe on any copyrights. A copied tattoo may look exact however a good attorney could find the 7 differences. may be 7 lines that are slightly different sized. maybe a different needle or ink brand was used, maybe it was a different size person, with different skin type. "NOT worth fighting as they will find differences". Something even more disgusting is that if the person copying your work posts to a time stamp website or uses in advertising before you. Its considered thier work. "Ive actually been sued for using my own work in my advertising" So be sure to get proof you are the first by posting your work on a site that keeps track of the date posted. There are free copyright sites just for this, also water marks are free as well. Or I believe photobucket, Youtube and other big sites automatically keep track of the dates you post a picture of your work. Sorry to babble so much but I thought maybe this could save an Artist from the hell Ive have to go through.. One last thought is that tattoo customers will many times bring a photo of a tattoo they want. In these cases I do understand how tempting it can be to copy. Especially if your rent is due and the customer wont let you change it. What I tell customers is that I dont copy other Artists work out of respect. But I can design something similar with my Artistic style. (Still copying the premis is unethical in many ways but one can not copyright premis " The concept" ) Thats why when someone created the first feather to bird tattoo a million others had their versions of it. Or the lace face dead women tattoos. Most dont give credit to the originator nor do we usually even know who the first was.) Its all a fine line and letting it eat us up is a waste of time. I try and take it as a compliment and move on

I definitely agree. You are nailing it, Carolyn. Richard Smith did this cool ass reaper on my thigh, and he can't be older than 25 or 26. As a 24 year old, I enjoy getting tattooed by people close to my age. When he put this on me he said he had been tattooing for two and a half years.

We are all one face tattoo away from a lucrative modeling career. I kind of like this thread, gives me something besides an avatar to associate people with.

^ Nonsense.

Got this from Kirk Jones yesterday, birds wing look distorted but it is just the photo. Awesome guy, it is a shame I don't have another shoulder to get tattooed, easiest spot so far.

here's some stuff I painted yesterday:

At least 4, maybe 5 of mine, when I walked in the door for my appointment I had no idea what I was getting. The rest I had an idea ("how about a dragon?") but I've never seen sketches or anything ahead of time. I like it like that, I like surprises! :)

I am happy that you think this crowd is in any way normal!

Im liking Craig Ridley's work , he has gone from strength to strength since moving to Brighton.

Go out and get good tattoos.

deleting. sorry, not the place for me.

Just finished last night! Chris Garver , Invisible NYC Timeless tattoos Rock!!

On the copyright comment above -even though I don't think it's cool to straight copy somebody's tattoo - the fact remains that copying is not theft. ".

I don't condone copying people's tattoos, but I am not really digging this thread. One it's not really any of my business to call out people for this kind of thing. Second, I would be hesistant to do so, because there is so much reference material outside of tattoo realm, that I couldn't be sure that two people weren't copying a piece of art from another genre as a tattoo. Third I have never gotten a tattoo that I expected to be or thought in any shape or form would be custom. I like running into people that have the same tattoos I do, I like the look of traditional tattoos and I am under no delusion that I am somehow "special" despite what my mother told me. I don't worry when someone tells me they are going to draw something for me, and they really just go trace it from the Ed hardy flash book and pass it off as their own, because I know most people aren't familiar with the design. Even is someone does copy the tattoo you have, it doesn't change the fact that you have a badass tattoo that most people would be jealous of and want to wear and you will get no sympathy from me, in fact i might make fun of you for complaining about it.

I always think it's funny to imagine the LST cocktail party where everyone has to make sure their most recognizable tattoo is showing or else no one will know who they are.

Like @Graeme said, I rarely get this one anymore because we live in a neighborhood where it's more common to be tattooed than not. I also keep my tattoos covered up a lot of the time. Usually when people do ask, it's because they are friends or acquaintances who know I've recently gotten tattooed and want to see and are curious. I would say that most of my tattoos do have meaning to me, but not in the literal, very specific way that they're represented on TV. For example, when I recently got a dragon on my thigh, it was because I'd been feeling really drawn to dragon imagery for how it depicts both luck and strength, and I'd been feeling like I needed a bit of both on me. I think of my dragon tattoo as my little good luck charm. Also I just really loved the design and couldn't get it out of my head! It was the right thing at the right time. I think when serious tattoo folks talk about tattoos having meaning, it's often in that way--some really beautiful imagery that just speaks to you and feels right on your body, like just what you need. Even my less obviously meaning-laden tattoos are still meaningful because they serve as reminders of the time/place I was in when I got them, and who I was at that time. These meanings are often pretty ethereal or abstract. When we make fun of the LA Ink style meaning thing, it's often because people go so literal, rather than letting the power of tattoo imagery speak for itself. All that to say that when folks ask me about what my tattoos mean, I am happy to get into it if it's close friends, but it is pretty annoying if it's people I don't know very well. Because there's no good answer. If I say it doesn't mean anything, then that's alarming to the tattoo noob (I think they mix up meaning or lack thereof with how seriously you took the decision to get tattooed, as though if it isn't obviously meaningful, then you must not take tattoos very seriously. So misguided.). But if the tattoo is super meaningful to me, then why on earth would I want to share such super personal stuff with someone I don't know very well? Part of the tattoo TV problem is that it assumes that even if we are getting tattoos that are profoundly meaningful, that we're also all super confessional exhibitionists who like, want to announce all this shit to any stranger we meet. Nope.

How about just say, "It's open to interpretation. It means whatever you want." I think I'll go with that next time and leave it at that. That's art. What they mean or don't mean to you can be personal--you don't have to explain yourself to anyone. The last person who asked me why I got a tiger I just said, "I liked it." There are things that I associate it with but I just didn't feel like saying any more. Isn't that enough? That we get images that we like. Yeah. I think so.