Leaderboard

This was done on the 16th of January. I'm the owner, the artist who did it is Dano, from Black Cat Tattoo in Schwerzenbach ZH, Switzerland.. Fresh after getting stabbed to death and back to life.

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

Saw this today - BBC News - Japan WW2 soldier who refused to surrender Hiroo Onoda dies

Got this compass & rose a few days ago by Avi Nassi at Psycho Tattoo in Tel Aviv, Israel. Will add colors in the next session. Sorry for the crappy pic...

Was at the shop yesterday to get a Leopard head. Here's what Dano, the artist, came up with. Needless to say I was stoked, even tough it wasn't what I originally had in mind. However its over 9000 times better than what I had in mind and I was very open to suggestions. Which I think he appreciated, you could tell he had a lot of fun doing it and during the smoking breaks, he was constantly checking it out thinking about it. He said while tattooing he's in another dimension. Soo... bold will hold, here's the finished tattoo right after getting stabbed:

Guess I'll throw in another Scott Sylvia... from richmond - - - Updated - - - How to I post the full pic instead of thumbnail?

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

For your consideration. Just got this yesterday from Beau Brady while he was at Invisible NYC this week and a few forum members suggested I put it up in here. Thanks!

Not sure if this had made a full circulation. Can't wait for April!!! HBO.com

Heres another one of mine, inks on arches paper.

One more session down ) Spent about 4 hours on the raven. Those damn feathers, ugh..

this series is fantastic. very inspiring. these and the tattoo ages get me excited about tattooing all over again even on days where I don't want to hear the word "tattoo" one more time.

It's almost time for another season!!!

I was considering a jellyfish after I saw this article on Boing Boing. Incredible creatures they are. http://boingboing.net/2010/06/17/photo-from-peter-sc.html

Jon Larson -

Yup, there it is. Thanks @TrixieFaux. That's a great one! Haha.

Thanks, @MadeIndelible. I can't say enough good things about getting tattooed by Scott. He absolutely knocked it out of the park. I love it and stare at it regularly.

cameltoe!

posted my neck eagle and wife's eagle a few times already: Chris David, Government Street Tattoo Victoria, BC

Made a lot of mistakes making this one but it was fun to do and I kind of like it.

Here is a photo of my second "bro tat", this one shared with my Mom! Done 3 weeks ago, by Arno at PSC tattoo in Montreal. It's her first tattoo, at 64 and she didn't even flinch;)

The search is over: http://www.kingsavenuetattoo.com/

I recently finished The Terror by Dan Simmons, which I enjoyed a lot. The book didn't entirely work for me because I think it could have stood alone as a speculative historical novel without the added supernatural element, but that didn't get in the way of it being a great fun read. I haven't read Dan Simmons before this, but I'll be sure to read some of his other books, especially with what @Mark Bee said above. I'm currently reading Black Wings of Cthulhu, edited by S.T. Joshi. It's an anthology of contemporary "Lovecraftian horror", and it's about what you'd probably expect from that description, so basically a few good stories, but a lot of pastiche. Caitlin R. Kiernan's story I thought was really strong, and I've read another story of hers in a sword and sorcery anthology that was excellent, so I'll have to pick up her books and comics. Though I've previously read the Laird Barron story in this book ("The Broadsword", also published in his book Occultation) it stands up to a reread. I'll have to get his new collection of stories because he's one of the best people writing this kind of horror right now.

What the fuck are you talking about?

I saw that on his Instagram too and was hoping the same thing. Looks incredible. @Graeme @DJDeepFried

@DJDeepFried I'm going to assume that Seth only lined one dragon 3/4 sleeve while he was guesting at Memoir? Goddamn dude, you must be so happy.

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.

Mine is really simple. I shout from my station to my colleagues station 'I've had a cancellation/no-show too. Do me a tattoo NOW!' Then I spend the next hour pissing and moaning, accusing him of specifically trying to hurt me, saying how I'm sure I don't hurt my customers this bad, asking what have I ever done to him to deserve this terrible treatment, and swearing profusely. I then go back to work and moan to my customers about how much I hate being tattooed, which really helps them suffer the pain I'm sure! Tattooers make the worst customers. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you! @ironchef, you would be absolutely correct. Laying down in his space was a great experience to be had. He's a very nice guy too. I'm not sure if it's been mentioned previously but both Horitomo and Yokohama Horiken have rooms to work in while everyone else at the shop works in an open plan. The rooms are raised platforms and you remove your footwear before entering. You lay out your towel on the floor and he sits to tattoo. Very traditional. Being able to lie there and see him work, see his drawings for ongoing or upcoming tattoos/paintings, seeing his reference materials, and the little sculptures of Fudo Myo-o was a great time and while laying there being poked on the feet may not sound fun, I'm pretty sure I was wearing a goofy smile the whole time. BTW, if anyone was wondering, to me, shading by tebori didn't feel as painful as by machine.

Thanks @Wilhell! Gotta love Scott Sylvia's roses (well, actually I guess Scott Sylvia anything :) ) I love all of your Marius Meyer...so badass!

Found another great Hardy backpiece on an old computer I haven't used for ages

Thomas Hooper does my favourite squidmitts. A couple of examples stolen from his instagram:

Try that with any other professional. Like an architect - design my house. If I like the design I'll pay you.

Please keep in mind that I am in no way trying to attack you, as I don't get any sort of malice or any other such tone from your post. The problem with this is that you're asking people to work on spec, and then maybe you'll pay one of the people involved. This is all going on your word, of which, keep in mind, no one here has any examples of the integrity. For future reference, it rarely comes across as anything other than rude and condescending to suggest that an artist of any sort work on spec. It suggests that what they do is simple enough and that so little work goes into it that they shouldn't mind whipping something up on the off-chance that the prospective client likes it. I, for one, won't begin a piece of art for a prospective new client without a significant deposit.

sounds interesting.

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

How shitty is that new Sabbath single that's been getting a lot of airplay lately?

Todd Noble Tom of Finland heads:

Love the way that dragon fades into skin, then back out. Really nice use of negative space!

This backpiece by Marius Meyer is on a guy from this forum. Amazing piece!

..and some more progress on the background.

Some people have better luck than others with how their skin holds pigment. I still have some white holding strong from a tattoo by Jef Whitehead from maybe 1999/2000, I think it'd be gone for most people by now. I also still have something on my palm from 97/98, which at the time was something people said wouldn't last, but it was Dan Higgs, so execution played a strong role in its longevity. I also have to say, I know plenty of people with backpieces 3 layers deep, who's to say the option to retouch or completely cover tattoos gotten in our youth is a bad move? Not that I'll get to find out ever again, any one I get work from now only does tattoos that are built to last. But isn't everything temporary, really?

Seems like everyone is wondering how we will survive/adapt to what reality television and the Internet has turned tattooing In to. It's no secret that EVERYONE you meet either tattoos or want to learn how. Honestly every 3rd person I meet with a tattoo is some form of a self proclaimed tattoo artist. What people haven't realized is that the recent rush of new tattooers is putting tattooing in a dangerous state. It's simple economics...supply and demand. When 100 customers in one city want a tattoo in a day and there are 200 tattooers in that city..well half the artist are going to starve. This isn't anything new...we all know the mass media has glorified tattooing and made it accessible to every kid that can sign his name. This won't change but what can we do about it. 2 years ago I moved to a city of 15,000 people and opened the only shop in this city. I assumed lowering my bills and cutting out all the extra expenses would be the answer. It may still be but at this point I'm not sure. I enjoy not having to tattoo in a scene. I really love tattooing people that have no expectation of what their tattoo should look like. If they come in for an eagle they don't try to micromanage what the eagle looks like. The clients in small city's just truly appreciate the time and care that I put in to the tattoo. My problem is I've worked hard since 1992 and I'm still sitting on my hands most the week. It's really got me thinking if this was the right choice and if I can survive what tattooing has become. I have thought of two scenarios that may help those of us that have put in the hard work and want to survive. 1. Take tattooing underground.. (private studios..no signs and make customers find us) 2. Create power shops...( gather the top 5-6 tattooers in one area and open 1 shop) Sorry Power shop sounds cheesy as shit. Larger cities already seem do this. Let's just take a city like Reno as an example. With out mentioning names there are really good tattooers there. For the most part each shop has a decent tattooer in it and a bunch of hacks. If all the legit guys got together and rounded up all the best talent In Reno you would defiantly see some shops losing clients and closing doors. The mediocre tattooers that were left would more then likely get a majority of their work at the "power shop". It would be a force to be record with. Since there are so many people trying to do tattoos and getting I to it most of them would want to go to these big shops to be tattooed. Shop owners are hiring one good tattooer and filling the rest of the spots just to line their pockets. We can stop this. If all the good tattooers left these types of shops and banned together and took control of tattooing we could make a difference. I know too many great tattooers that are broke and bouncing from shop to shop or working for piercers. It shouldn't be this way. We honestly need to take some responsibility and take back tattooing. Strong shops can and will survive. But if we are all spread out it's going to destroy the market for tattooing. Sacramento is a great example of this. There are under 3-4 great shops in Sacramento out of almost 200. Most of these shops are dog shit. There are a handful of decent tattooers that opened their own shops and just filled 3-4 stations with hacks. Why are we doing this!?! This only promotes that more people become tattooers. I know this isn't ground breaking or a new idea. But I do think that there is a large percent of good tattooers that haven't had the opportunity to work In A shop like this. And let's be honest once shops like this are made people tend not to leave. Bottom line is we have to use the thing that has put us In this position. Take advantage of the Internet and stay united. We are the ones that have to set the standards and come to gather to take back what we love and what was once sacred. Sorry about the rant...there aren't too many people to discuss thing like this wish in mid Missouri. It does feel good to get it out though.

Chris Lombardi from HOD on myself.

love this Chris Conn girl