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I got my first spur-of-the-moment tattoo last night, and it was really fun! I was biking through the neighborhood, and started thinking it would be cool to get a going-away present for myself in the form of a tattoo (I've been in DC for a decade but am moving next week). Anyway, so I went into Tattoo Paradise, and Dave Cavalcante put a neat little black & gray compass on the top of my left thigh. I don't have a great photo of it yet, but I like it! I told him it was my first tattoo that I hadn't pondered over for months -- or even years, ha. Definitely a new experience for me, but it was fun! Incidentally, I think I'm done getting tattoos anywhere close to my crotch. jesus it hurts.

I have posted this in other spots here but I guess this is actually the correct spot. here is my newest tattoo. My tattoo before that was from the same artist, Rev J.R. out of Vicious Ink in Rochester Hills MI. I also got a tattoo at Vicious Ink from one of their apprentices Tim. All of my other work is older and not worth posting :)

Thanks guys, you pretty much summed it up. For me personally as I started getting tattoos at an older age in 20 years time I don't think I will give a shit what they look like, that's even if I am still alive. Had I been younger then maybe I would have thought about it more. It isn't just the tattoos but the experience, the traveling the meeting new people, seeing new sites that is all very much part of it for me and that will always stay with me whether the tattoos do or don't :) I was at Randy Englehards shop last week for a VIP party and there was every top notch artist you could think of there, so I did look at aged stuff and it still all looks fabulous, so I guess there is hope :)

Only just now watched this and I'm glad I did. Cool stories aside, what he said about line weight vs size of tattoo is something I would echo any day of the week. Not everything needs to be done with a sharpie. Or even a 8 or 9. Right size for the job is the key. One thing that I see a trend of is that some tattooers have become so isolated on one style that they have come to rely on thicker lines; names respectfully not mentioning. I can watch someone nail a tradish tattoo with a baggy 8 or 9 but completely blow it with a 5. Thick lines hide shaky or less-than-awesome linework and I see what some people are doing as turning into a crutch. There is a difference between 'this is my style' and 'this is all I can do' and that is what makes a more skilled craftsman than the next guy. In my opinion. Of course there are always exceptions; sometimes an artist unintentionally gets pigeon holed. It can't be helped if you just wanna do a smooth b&g tattoo with a 3 once in a while but everyone walking through the door wants to get a Japanese sleeve because that's the only stuff people see you do.

I lost twenty pounds in December and continue to lose weight. Wake up and walk to the beach in Santa Cruz every morning. I moved to Santa Cruz Dec 1 after living in Oakland and San Jose my entire life and am loving it here.

One from last week. Lots of painting lately so I have a bunch more to show...

My fuggin ass. From Dana's Instagram. I'll post healed pics later.

My experience here is limited to what I've seen pictures of on the internet, and I'm not sure we're talking about exactly the same thing either, but I've seen pictures of 20+ year old black and grey Brian Everett portraits that still look fantastic. You'd never be able to tell that the tattoos are the age they are. So realistic black and grey done well has the potential to hold up and look great over a long period of time. In any case, I think the attitude @peterpoose has towards his tattoos, which is that they'll last as long as they last, and in the meantime he's getting tattoos that he's excited about and enjoys getting is something we should all feel about our tattoos.

Done by Miles at Frith Street Tattoo, photo stolen from his instagram, taken just after he finished. Tried to get a healed photo but its too awkward

here's stuff I did over the past week, the one flash sheet is all nkc stencil copies.

I got this fun Ladies head from Tj Day at Tabboo Tattoo in Melbourne , she is a very pleasant and humble tattooer. the picture doesn't do it justice

My back

Tattoos are for degenerates and evildoers.

Cheers :-) Alright then, there is still loads to go, even just planning certain bits out we haven't finished yet, need to get the fingers finished, bloody loads to go on the lantern, try to fit the background into the Jess Yen work on the left thigh, then put lots of sweeping hair across the face - but here's our start! Will be full colour in the face/hand/lantern, and loads more black in the background. Will take quite awhile, trust me! I will update as we go if people are interested, cheers :-)

I've finally, albeit tentatively, uploaded a bunch of photos of my half sleeve to my profile! I only say tentatively because they really don't do it justice. I'm fantastically pleased with it, was my first tattoo and had no idea they could even look like this back then. Hope you guys enjoy :)

Small Paul just did a Hyottoko mask with a huge amount of white packed into it, and I believe Valerie Vargas did a rose that was packed solid white recently. As long as the expectation isn't for a lifelong snow white tattoo, it's not the worst thing in the world.

@polliwog - That's why you only work on one cheek at a time. And it still sucks.

finally got a new phone with a working camera. back to using just my old friend black black black

I'm looking for a black & grey ocean animal theme on my shoulder/upper arm. An octopus, eel, jellyfish or squid but with some unique patterns, symbols and additional elements. Maybe a dagger, skull, necklace, etc.. Something original and different. I went to NY Adorned and Saved Tattoo. Both shops said to contact my artist of choice direct via email. Waiting for an email response from Anderson Luna and Yoni Zilber.

Ha it's a valid question though. We all know tattoos fade over time, so you would think that something light and highly detailed wouldn't hold up. Truth is, this highly detailed style either hasn't been around long enough, or hasn't been prominent enough that there aren't a lot of great examples out of ones that are aged, I'm basing this solely off of what I have seen thus far. I have to say though, I am glad that @peterpoose started a thread where he is updating the aging of his arm. It sounds silly, but I don't think anything has been documented like that before so it will be a good thing to take note of. Also I think that comment started off as a backhanded compliment from people who just don't like the style, and then people who don't know any better keep perpetuating it. "That looks great, but how will it age?" can also be read as "That is going to fade and look shitty in a year, so that means my solid line tattoos are better." Not to derail the thread.... I guess we can discuss it more here. http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/forum/general-tattoo-discussion/2672-healed-new-pics.html

My suggestion would be to find a tattooer who's style you're really into and ask them the same thing, as a client its okay not to be creative, there's a reason these people are paid to create art. There are tons of great artists in New York to choose from, I'm sure someone here can suggest someone who you'll be more than happy with.

Here's a healed shot of the rose and dagger I got from Scott Sylvia at the Richmond Convention.

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.

I have plenty of bare skin so maybe I'll get a tattoo from both. Yoni responded to my email pretty fast. Have a consult mtg with him next Monday. Still haven't heard from Anderson. I was surprised to find out Anderson has only been tattooing since 2007. To my amateur eyes, his work looks amazing. Can't imagine how good his future stuff will be as he gains more tattoo experience. I have some ideas in my head, but not sure if they will convert to a good tattoo.

Hmm, well I've been going at a steady clip with 1 session a month since last May. Average session maybe about ~5ish hours. I'd guess I'm about 40 hours in. It's all that black! Really all that is left is 2 little strips on my hamstring of wind bar, then ALL color and touch ups. Dana says color sessions fly by, so even though it looks there is still a ton left, he doesn't think it will take long.

People here are way more traditional biased. It's a waste of time posting your tattoo here. Though as I mentioned in the other forum, I like it.

@Cork tough session brother! Mike

OOF!!! That's the spot! Oh yeah, that's a warm fuzzy feeling right there. No fun.

@Cork! SPICY Bro!!! Looks great though.

Not looking forward to that particular session when the time comes for me! I love that piece dude, I would kill to get something from Dana someday.

@Deb Yarian wrote about this for TAMblog: Flattery, Thievery, Or Just Plain Business? | TAM Blog

Claudia De Sabe is really killing the girl head game as well

If we're talking about tattoos without outlines then yeah they will break down (relatively) quickly; even Gogue says that his work doesn't really last longer than 10 years under the scrutiny of how we expect them to age.

I don't know, there are so many images that could represent love or family--and you would know that it represented your adoptive parents and the love and respect you have for them without being limited by that flat design. A cluster of roses, for example, one for each of you... or, well, the possibilities are endless.

Got my walk in at Frith Street yesterday. Happened to get Oliver, he was an absolute gentleman, was a really nice experience overall. If any of you guys know the shop, Dante, Jordan and everyone else were hanging out joking, was so chilled. And I came out with a perfect tat :)

I am gearing up to move into Oakland or SF in the coming weeks. And I have started a zine project. Also, looking for a new job/jobs. Big life moves for me, but nothing extraordinary.

I have work that was done with a standard 5 over 20 years ago; it's been holding up just fine. To assume that tattoos done with middle line weight won't hold up would be incorrect. More relevant is type of skin, location of the tattoo, exposure over the years, what black the tattooer used, etc. plenty of other factors besides line weight.

not the best picture but i got this from Josh Adams yesterday while he was guest spotting @ Old Soul

Interesting comments on thick outlines in this video (starting at the 5:20 mark). Some pretty cool history, too

Keep it dry and clean.

Healed pic of my Scott Sylvia (BlackHeart Tattoo - SF) roses from Dec 2013. Happy New Year, everyone!! :D

While we generally don't like to talk specific numbers/prices around here, I would say it makes sense. Most people have no idea what a quality tattoo costs. It is going to be on you for the rest of your life - going cheap makes no sense at all.

Here's my tattoo. Done by Lillian Chen in Yorktown, VA at Ancient Art.

I like it when it's done in conjunction with and contrast to normal outline in the same tattoo. I think Dusty Neil uses that technique.

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

I think it's because jellyfish are so cool looking.

Tattooers are the worst at taking care of tattoos. All those things we tell you to do? Most of us don't do any of that shit, mostly because we're lazy. I've never had anything heal poorly no matter what I did or didn't do for aftercare.

I think it's straight up plagiarism for sure. The only time I guuuueeess it's "ok" is if the client is dead set on wanting it... Even then if I were a tattoo artist I would try everything to convince them to go a more original route.. What kind of respect do they even have for themselves as artists if they do things this way...