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Oh man... really sad to hear that. Honestly though, I was expecting to read about how one of the shop employees had raped a customer, and I'm really glad that wasn't the case. Until now, I've kept my political and social views separate from the board as many people would consider them fairly radical and I do not wish to create any animosity, but since this has already been brought up, I'm gonna throw in my two cents. Being that women make up 51% of the world population, I think it's safe to say that everyone has women in their life that they care about, be it relatives or friends. I fully believe that every single person has a moral obligation to question and deconstruct the reasons why violence against women or further, femininity, happens with little to no repercussion. I'm sure most people, when asked to do so, would say "what are you talking about! I don't think violence against women is acceptable, that's ridiculous!" And surely, I think that most people do feel that way on a superficial level. It's just way more subversive than that. From calling our possessions (cars, power tools, tattoo machines, etc) "she," to Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines retaining consecutive airplay and VMA performance after heavy criticism, to scented tampons, to rape jokes (see video below), and dismissing women's valid emotions and opinions as hormonal craziness, we have a huge problem with dehumanization. And if anyone who wants to take a little trip back to any world history classes you've taken, I'm sure you'll remember that objectification and dehumanization are age-old tactics for conditioning soldiers to feel no remorse in the midst of combat. I also fully believe that nobody has the power to change any world but their own, so if that article bothers you and if violence against women bothers you, then make an effort to change the way you think about femininity and feminine empowerment. And fo real, thanks for posting that article.

Wow @RScott that sleeve is amazing!!! And @Synesthesia that rabbit is looking so nice! Here's the fox I got yesterday from Ron Wells, tough to get a good photo. Was supposed to fly in, get the tattoo, and fly back out last night but due to the snow storm I'm now stuck in NYC until tomorrow. So getting this little guy has turned into an unexpected vacation / adventure / chance to hang out with old friends.

Finished up this piece with Martin Lacasse at Olde City Tattoo in Philly. Based off of a Yoshitoshi print from 28 Famous Murders With Verse. Couldn't be happier.

Here's a fully of the progress so far, not just butt teasers from Dana's Instagram (though no one was complaining.....). I had a little fun and struck my best rear "relaxed" pose from my bodybuilding days. My internet personality is way more interesting than in real life. But hey, we're all just in it for the "likes" anyhow, amirite?! :cool:

bryan burk dark horse, los angeles

Aaaaaaaaaand I booked an appointment with Civ for the West Texas Tattoo Convention in a month. Steve Byrne hand and Civ elbow filler on the same arm. Probably going to see about a dagger on my shoulders from someone as well, depending on budget and who has time. Stoked.

Photo heavy post... I'll include the captions from the Life article where appropriate. Not going to post the whole Irezumi book because there's lots of images, and there's something magical about flipping through that thing... some things are best discovered through some digging. These are by far the coolest shots from it, though. The tattooer they cover is called Apache Harry. There's a shot of his travel kit and flash set up on the first page. He has a sign reading "Tattoos Removed Without Scars. Apache Harry. #22 Bowery NYC." "For decorating 'Six Ring' Dutch and other clients, tattooist Apache Harry makes $3,000 a year." "Front view of Michael Brandmaier. His 300 designs by Apache Harry are worth $400." "Rear view of Michael Brandmaier. It took four years to tattoo him all over." " 'Professor' Wagner is responsible for this girl's condition." Irezumi, 1966.

@irezumi Those sculptures are so cool. Looking at the New York Botanical Garden website, it seems like this is an annual thing? I'll have to get down for it at some point...if the King's Ave de Vita thing is an annual thing as well maybe I could go down and do both on the same trip. Those sculptures remind me of a topiary exhibit the Montreal Botanical Gardens had this past summer. I thought it was super amazing to see this stunning examples of this art form that I only vaguely knew existed. Here are some pictures from it: The pictures don't really get the scale of them, the way they move in the breeze and fit in the landscape, but it was pretty incredible stuff. Sometimes people do some really fucking cool things.

It's months away but I'll be spending a couple of days with Henrik Grysbjerg Instagram during his visit to Off the Map Northwest in August. I don't have what I'd like set in stone yet but I'd like to start working on my squid pants. I'm super stoked that things are coming together with him. I contacted Jeff Zuck about a funky Poseidon on my other leg during my visit to Michigan in March. I'm going to start an off the wall greek god theme on that leg. I also thought Prometheus, one hand holding fire and the other petting an eagle on his shoulder would be fun. Jeff opted for Poseidon, probably a wise move. Nothing is set in stone yet so hopefully everything falls into place. I am also dangerously close to finishing my Dragon 3/4 sleeve with Matt Cowell Instagram which has been slightly less than a year in the making. Only a couple of sessions to go. Matt is such an awesome guy and it's been a blast getting to know him. My wife booked an appointment with @whitneyfromm - whitneyfromm's Instagram photos | Statigr.am out of Bonney Lake, WA for June. Whitney is super nice and my wife is stoked. The only person I've contacted that doesn't look like it will be panning out is Adam Hays. He's changed up his scheduling process recently and has been getting quite selective with what new pieces he will be starting. No worries though. Derek Noble, Jesse Roberts and a bunch of other rad artists just opened their own shop in Seattle Instagram. I'm going to pop my head in there soon just for fun and to see what Jesse's schedule is like. Love his work!Instagram Wheeeee!

I really hope so too, here's to quality profiling. Son, I know you did not just call women the weaker sex ;) But yeah, people are shitty to each other, to the planet, to animals, to themselves, to their loved ones, to basically everything. I fully believe that our conditioning in regards to entitlement and disposability is to blame. I struggle a lot with my feelings of helplessness in regards to how humanity is systematically destroying all life known to us, and then I come back to my previous sentiment on how nobody can really change anything or anyone but themselves. So there it is. And also, in regards to specifically talking about women, rape is largely a crime committed against women. Although, rape of men does happen and is talked about even less, which I find to be really disturbing. I think a lot of that goes back to how western culture treats femininity and vulnerability, which are traits innate to everyone and largely viewed as undesirable in men. Like think about how many times in your life you have been told to "man up." Like what does that even mean, tangibly? It serves no other purpose than to belittle and silence someone. My mom talks about being a humanist instead of a feminist and it bothers me. Not because I think that being a feminist is better, but because I think that to try to tackle a broad spectrum of problems before addressing smaller disenfranchised groups can overshadow very real and demographic-specific problems. Anyway, I hope that answered your question. Thanks for contributing to this discussion, I think it's a really important one to have and is not had often enough.

Excuse the awful picture, I'm out of town visiting my boyfriend and had to use his phone to try to get a pic. I'll have to try to get a better one when I get home. Had this done yesterday by Jason Reeder. This is my second piece from him, it's on the inside of my right leg (he did an owl and mouse for me on the outside of the same leg). The ears KILLED and that was by far my most painful tattoo experience thus far; it might be hard to tell from the pic, but they creep up to the side of my knee and the back one almost goes into my knee ditch. I thought this would finish off my leg, but I have a patch of open skin on my shin and the back of my calf is still open, so it looks like I have some more work to get done before the project is finished. Probably throw some moths in some of that space, and Jason is trying to talk me into getting a bat, we'll see. :D

Having only recently become a tattooed individual, I realized that I've started to look at myself and a collection of tattoo-able shapes. And damn if too many of them aren't still empty! I've got my sights set on Spider Murphy's for my next. I haven't made an appointment, yet, but I really want to get in to see Heather Bailey. Her witches and demons and assorted fiends are top notch. I'm thinking of a variation of the classic 'devil holding naked lady' image. I've been wanting to get a tattoo of a hand as well; I might combine the two. Maybe the hand holding a lit match with smoke coming off the tip and swirling up to encircle the devil and lady above. I dunno yet. I'm sure that the artist herself will have a far more educated opinion. I'm looking forward to this one a ton. And after that, I'm gonna need to get something by Stewart Cripwell. As seems to be the usual case among all ya'll, this forum is forcing me to need more tattoos. Bah! :p

A few new acquisitions I can photograph tonight and post later... much like the old Life magazine with the "Jap gamblers" I posted images of awhile back, I have a 1936 issue with a two page spread covering some American style tattoos. I think there's a lady with a Charlie Wagner suit in it. Also, I got a copy of Irezumi by Ichiro Morita and Donald Ritchie... don't ask what that took. I'll try to get some from that one up as well.

Elbow is going to suck but no matter how much it hurts you'll still have to STAND STILL (Sorry not sorry)

I'll also echo @Joe Shit that not everyone gets work done by separate artists because they are "impatient". I have a 6+ year old tattoo that is an outline and I plan on getting it finished/reworked by someone else... well, someone better (first tattoo mistakes). I believe the original poster is looking for something similar. Also, the guys at Kings Ave and similar artists are usually into reworking old stuff, even bad stuff. They want people to have good tattoos, so turning down a customer and knowing they will have to go to an artist with lesser quality doesn't really compute.

Bad tattoos are timeless!

Juan Puente posted this Tom of Finland tattoo on Instagram a few days ago:

I took this picture of Civ at last year's Montreal convention. He attached a little reading light onto the guy's shirt, how cool is that? I believe he was drawing on a heart with a "MOM" banner.

@Graeme I definitely am excited... I wish the convention would just start today. Really... I can't wait one minute more to get to Texas.

I have 3 star wars tattoos and a mechanical owl . geeky enough ?

Gonna ignore everything wrong with the post for the moment and focus on this statement; don't start off with 'all I can show you is my early work'. Sorry but nobody cares (by this I don't mean us here at LST) a whole lot about what you did years ago; impress someone with what you've been doing lately. If you have nothing recent to show then it doesn't seem like its a serious enough commitment to spend 200% of your extra time and money into a career. On that note, I sense less of a passion and note of a 'business' perspective. That's the biggest fail of anyone trying to 'break into the business'. If you're not ready to live and die in the chair then it prob ain't for you. There isn't any retirement plan for tattooers; either you work until you're dead or you due from some fucked up social disease. You ready to smell people's dirty ass feet? Be a foot any from some gross stinking armpit sweat for 5 or 6?hours at a time? Breath in aerosoled blood all day? Lot less glamour than what's shown on TV. Spend every free dime getting tattooed and every free moment drawing tattoos. Pastel portraits are nice but doesn't mean shit as far as basic tattooing. Get sleeves if you haven't already. Spend every dime at the shop. Best advice.

Please read the forum rules:

From Tony Caporusso in Ann Arbor.

had to cancel this one... But I did get an appointment today with Scott Sylvia for later in February.

A place to post pictures of yours or ones that you drool over. There are few things better than a well thought out and executed full back piece. So much potential as it's the largest solid flat plane on your body. I'll start with this one that Thomas Hooper just posted on his blog as in progress. So awesome! For those who aren't familiar with Hooper he works at the great shop New York Adorned

Hey Folks, Just wanted to share my experience from a few years ago dealing with contact dermatitis after a new tattoo. Back in late 2011, I had started a thigh piece on my left thigh which covered basically almost the entire front and side of the left thigh. After a couple of days, I developed a bunch of red spots on the back of my thigh, all outside of the tattoo itself. It wasn't a localized rash as it ran up and down the length of thigh and was in random areas but nothing on the ink itself. My artist unfortunately was just doing a guest spot locally and returned to his country. Best I could do was send me him pictures and even he was puzzled to the point where he recommended I see a doctor. But before seeing a doctor, I luckily had the benefit of three very good friends to contact. These were old college friends, all of whom were pharmacists and have encountered all types of ailments. One was even tattooed, so I called her first. She hit the nail on the head with her initial diagnosis. She asked if the spots were small and if any had popped and oozing clear serum. When I confirmed, she knew it was contact dermatitis. It basically happened because my skin is normally sensitive and was subjected to the trauma of tattooing. Add to the fact I normally wear briefs and switched to boxers to be comfortable and let the tattoo breathe but by doing so, added new cloth material contacting an area that was already irritated. Plus the shaving and the tape holding the saran wrap in place didn't help either. The fix? Good old Benedryl, both in pill and topical cream format in over the counter form. Within a couple of days, all the spots cleared up. More info on contact dermatitis from WebMD: Contact Dermatitis Causes, Symptoms, Treatments, & More I know everyone wants their tattoos to heal up without any issues and try to be diligent about aftercare. I know I do and sometimes verge on madness since it is a permanent investment in my eyes. I did myself a huge favor by getting to know my own body and what works with it. There's no one true formula or cure all that's ideal for everyone. Speak to your artist and the shop management about their recommendations for aftercare and then turn it into your own personal regime that suits you. Ideally, if at all possible, share your experience with the tattoo community so that others can benefit from your experience. Cheers.

Haha you are right! I am in Edmonton. I definitely know of a bunch of tattoo artists in the province I admire a lot.

Lately I'm liking these guys .

Oh wow that's cool, I love the horses. Yeah it's annual; the month of December and through a little of January. This year it came down on the 9th and the deVita show was on the 10th. I didn't do both of the same visit but it would've worked our perfect if I had. Not sure if the dates are the same next year but you might luck out. - - - Updated - - - The first paragraph here has a link to a neat video of the making of the buildings and landmarks http://www.nybg.org/home-holiday-train-show.php

Any pics of your first tattoo? Congrats on your first one by the way and welcome.

I'm afraid to show my daughter those acorn/twig structures, @irezumi. She already picks up every acorn and pine cone she sees (for her "collection").

Damn @embers! That's pretty frickin' sweet! Burk's work is so good. I hope I get the chance to get tattooed by him someday. Are you still coming to Oslo to get tattooed by Marius by the way?

Consult with Yoni Zilber yesterday. He will be doing an octopus on my right shoulder. Anderson Luna never responded. Found another artist, Cheo Park at East Side Ink. He will be doing a whale shark on my left shoulder. I like Anderson's work and I might persue him again in the future. Just was not in the mood to chase him down for what I am currently looking to have done. Judging from his instagram page, it looks like lady heads are his preference, which is not what I am looking for right now.

@ChrisvK well....what can i say? i like music...and tattoos and...doing stupid things and.....haha!

Picked up a copy off Amazon it worked out about the same cost as 2 pints of beer !! For anyone thats interested Shoko's tattoos are from Horiedo.Here's a link and examples of his work.http://www.horiedo.com/

From Jessi Lawson at Leviticus Tattoo in Minneapolis.

Got this done at Black Garden Tattoo in London by Tutti Serra, super stoked with it

whoops. looks like I exceeded the bandwidth on my photobucket account. lets try again.

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

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

I spoke to another Veteran at my work yesterday. He was pretty covered, and out of curiosity I asked him politely where he got his tattoos (or pieces of crap, as he called them) done at. He couldn't remember the artists who did most of them, but he pointed out two specific ones. He told me that he got two (on his outer biceps) done by Charlie Wagner in Portsmouth, Virginia. He told me Charlie mixed the ink with his spit then said "tattooing has changed a lot from those days". I wish I could have spoke with him a little more, but I didn't want to keep him from going about his day.

This?

Ok, I'll join in with the turn this thread has taken. I just got a chance To do this yesterday with my Kevin Riley liner. I'll post a pinup girl in the near future too.

Here it is. My first two tattoos. Shipwheel is still in healing process. Quite stoked on how they turned out and looking forward to finishing the chest and venturing from then on out BTW, this thread is full of so much amazing work and had a good time lurking through. Props to everyone

Past few months, sorry about the pic quality Diego Azaldegui Mostly healed back fresh (not healed) Cobweb off Diego again (healed) Frank Carter fresh (not healed) Sara Schor, not healed swollen and flakey :D I need to get some healed photos soon

3rd session on my 3/4 sleeve. Anchor and ship colored. Photos taken with my phone about an hour after the session. Going back on Tuesday to finish color and fill on the rest of the forearm; dots and stars. Looooooooots of dots and stars.

Got this last Friday - By Bugsy from Melbourne, Aus

dont know how I missed this on my first few passes through this thread but this is very nice