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I turned down an invite to Vegas, because I am taking a month off of work to go to an outpatient rehab for a helluva coke habit. I haven't mentioned anything about it on here, because I didn't want to bring something like that to a proper tattoo discussion, and it wasn't really needed. But, now that I am actually having good thoughts and actions towards getting help, I feel it's okay to say something to the rad people of LST who have shown me so much love and support in my tattoo endeavours. I'm definitely struggling, and I really am in deep with it all, but I have my older sister who is my best friend supporting me in all this, and I think it's going to stick. I know of one other LSTer who no longer posts who went through some similar stuff, and his example has crossed my mind more than once over the past couple of months. Posting here helps me, because I am an introvert, and actually putting myself out there convinces me more than it convinces others that I am actually doing something positive. I went to the bar tonight to talk to someone who helped me with my resume a while back, and he is putting me in contact with a rather elusive tattooer for my magazine. At a time like this in my life, I am glad that tattooing exists to help me feel like I am still worth something more than having this cocaine addiction. Bought my ticket to Lee Fields at The Fillmore next month since @CultExciter was so kind as to post his music. Ordered the catalog for Perseverance, after some long weeks of spending way too much money on non-tattoo things. That's my awesome struggle update.

I can see the end, possibly one sitting left. As you may see in the dragons belly, my body doesn´t like the the powder blue pigment Marius used in it, so his going to blast over with the same blue color that he used in the sword.

Wow, maybe we should have a separate thread for those of us who abstain from intoxicants... It could counterbalance the "posting while inebriated" thread! Also, if AA/NA doesn't do it for you, there are Buddhist groups and recovery options that are pretty rad. I quit drinking several years ago. What seemed hard at first is now just a way of life...and a great way of life, at that. Not boring, not humorless, as I once feared. Wishing you strength and peace @MadeIndelible.

Rodney Raines posted this yesterday. It's a good example. Not the oldest tattoo in the world (17 years), but it shows what is going to hold everything together.

The response on here is amazing. I don't know what to say. Thanks, everyone. Also, I don't think it would be a bad idea to make a recovery thread. I just made my assessment appointment for Friday. Looks like there's a 2-4 week 6 day/week program. It's an outpatient program, which is nice. Then there's a continued 12 week long program that they give based on results in the former. This is there website (the website is a bit outdated according to the guy I talked to on the phone): The Sequoia Center @Breakme @SeaSea @Zillah @Mark Bee @HaydenRose @Boiled Dove @TrixieFaux @irezumi @CultExciter @Colored Guy

Same here! I did have one drink in the last year but it was a very special occasion. It was feuerzangenbowle night and there was a group feeling of Gemütlichkeit.

What the fuck happened there?!? That's not a panther cover up; that's a combo of a panther eating a black rose while wearing a black top hat with a thought bubble contains black flag bars with the whole thing surrounded by black clouds.

A fucking tattoo... Like, shunga?

Having a tattoo that looks like a fucking tattoo.

Best of luck and positive thoughts @MadeIndelible , I'm another one who's struggled with addiction. You've already done the hardest part by realising it's a problem and taking the first steps. You've got to hit rock bottom to find your way back up as they say. Well done x

during the 6th hour please hold my hand and tell me i'm beautiful.

I wanted to staple a swatch of low-pile carpeting on our wall so i could lean into it and scratch away. My wife vetoed the idea.

Best wishes Myles, you can get on top of it. Coke is one of the worst substances on earth. Personally with my wife being quite ill, I haven't had a drink myself since she came home from the hospital last week. I have a prescription for pain medication which I'm doing well by not abusing it, I take it as directed. I'll eventually have to be professionally detoxed at some point in time. Rob

Lasering. That was a serious reply, not being snarky.

I think people are calling that style “watercolor”. It’s a newer, trendy style of tattoo. There is some doubt about if it will age well and some think it’s just a passing trend. As you can see, a lot of people who are into more traditional styles (most of this forum) don’t think highly of it, so you won't find any info on that here. You can google artists like Amanda Wachob and Sasha Unisex as a starting point to find out more, but I'd encourage you to look into more established styles that are known to stand the test of time.

@MadeIndelible You're taking the right steps man. Good luck. Just hold yourself fully accountable, and you will promote yourself to a standard that you deserve. I personally have wanted to give up booze completely several times in my life. Possibly it has to to do with the regret I feel towards my True Til 21 days. No time like the present.

You can do it @MadeIndelible, and you have a cheer team here. I beat a 10 year alcohol addiction problem 11 years ago, it turns you into a new, more resourceful person with better coping strategies. Perseverance... keep reaching for that next rock to pull you out of the hole. Hugs.

I bet that was hard to write, but thanks for sharing that and trusting people here with that. Good luck @MadeIndelible - don't forget during the tough times the fortitude it took to get yourself to this decision. It's a huge step to a journey that's more than just getting off the stuff, but getting yourself back.

My boys having a weekend snuggle with me. Martin is the tabby and white, and Tuxy is the tuxedo cat. We adopted them from the shelter when they were 13 weeks old, think they are 4 now. They are brothers from the same litter and are best buds.

To me it makes no difference. I will like tattoos whether they are trendy or not, whether there are shows about them or not. I also don't really care whether people are getting them "for the right reasons" or not. Are there right reasons and wrong reasons? Maybe to each person it's different. We live, we die, we get tattoos...or not. I'm having a live and let live moment, sorry to interrupt the bitch session. :D

Let Gary Busey out of that headlock!

My first tattoo was 5 hours at a busy convention. I'm normally not comfortable with being scrutinized by a bunch of strangers, but I was in so much pain there wasn't any room for anxiety in my brain. I also thought of it more as people watching a tattoo being created, not watching me. Tomorrow I'm going to get my second tattoo, I'm going to the Torchbearer to get a rose by Noah Moore.

don't be so harsh. that looks like a good foundation for a black panther cover up piece.

Looks like my "full day" of getting tattooed at convention is going to either be Friday or Saturday. Really hoping the convention atmosphere helps distract me from the joys of a ~7 hour session.

Army town is gonna be exactly what you need, lots of skin time and a variety of fairly standard type of tattoos. I worked in street shops for a long time and it was a crucial thing for me. I still use every skill I learned walking the floor and handling people, both pleasant and difficult clients. Good deal man, applause. - - - Updated - - - Imo the best place for a REAL critique would be a different forum; I recommend you check out Tattoodles forum. It has a large 'pros only' section that has threads for critiques, painting trades, networking, reference sites, classifieds, guest spot opportunities, etc etc. It's not real easy to get on, be prepared to give all of your professional information and they will cross check your employment at a real shop.. This is a good thing so as to keep out the civilians and scratchers. Critiques can be brutal there; keep your head high, stay strong, and listen to everything said without making explanations/rationalizations/excuses/defending etc. Just listen and absorb. It's definitely tougher love than here and maybe an asshole or two. Whatever.

@MadeIndelible good luck with the outpatient treatment...Going to meetings will definitely help..I went to rehab when I was 23,but when I got out I isolated for years,and used again.I was listening to the radio yesterday,and they were talking about Parents calling the cops on their kids,and this guy said he did because his son was getting high,and stealing from them.The guy said their sending the kid to rehab in CA,and that the place gives this treatment called Ibogaine,and that supposed to help with the cravings of addiction.This might be the place he was talking about... Ibogaine: An Emerging Therapeutic Treatment

@MadeIndelible Awesome to hear you are doing something about that problem. Remember that many of us here have gone through similar struggles and have come out the other side all the better for the experience. There was a lot that i missed out on while wallowing in my addictions but I would not really change any of it because, as hard as it was to come out of, that is what made me who I am and gave me the perspective I have. I also learned a lot about humility, pride, and how to ask others for help and none of that was easy or came naturally to me. It does get better if you stick with it. One of the awesome things I did recently was to go to a live performance of Welcome To Nightvale with my wife and daughter (15). That was a lot of fun.

@MadeIndelible Good luck and best wishes. It can be beaten and life will improve. You have a ton of support here and we are all pulling for you. Work your program!

Best of luck @MadeIndelible, addiction is so insidious, but you can get well again and get your life back.

Good luck with the rehab Myles. Nothing worse than having that monkey on your back man. As negative as it is, it's part of a journey, and one you'll build incredible internal strength from when you make it through. Respect. [emoji106]

as part of a healthy eating challenge I haven't had a drink since May 3rd.

Man, I think I love you. I *love* some of these watercolors. But after learning more about tattoos, I'd never get one. But just looooove the look of some of them. While this isn't a watercolor, @CultExciter just posted this - check out how the red has faded. Now imagine just that color being the primary structure of a wing, for example. Now wait some years, and Poof! No more wing! http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/forum/general-tattoo-discussion/2654-aging-realism-what-lasts-page8.html#post94780 Asking for a reference is one thing, and you got an answer. Implying that we be your research bitches is another. Maybe this isn't the site for you.

I think by the end of it all we will have to carry you to the poutine place and have it blended into a slurry for you. At least, that's the shape I'd be in after sitting that long.

I'll have to see, but I'm leaning pretty strongly against getting tattooed at the convention this year because I'll be two sessions into my back and I think it will probably be smartest for me to put my money and energy into that (unless, of course, I find that bag full of money), but that means that I'll be around to offer moral support, witty banter, snacks, and the like. Drinks will be on me afterwards.

I've never figured out how cats seem to magically become pieces of lead when one tries to move a contented cat from a lap. Calvin puts on about 40 pounds when I try to move.

He told me that it's Doug pushing him to reprint them, not his own desire to milk anything. Said he hadn't even considered reprinting Tattootime until Doug said he should. The profits from book sales is probably 1/100th of his income to be honest. Even Taki says that book sales are usually not the cashing-in type of income.

You're not far from wrong and I feel compelled to help people out just like I do at work but it's basically wasting my time. I think I just need to spend less time in the internet. - - - Updated - - - I used to work with Rus; he's a rad dude and a great friend. We worked a booth at the Montreal show together a few years ago.

Heaven forbid that you should move a cat off your lap or from any other place where they're sitting.

The tattooer who did my first tattoo, Rus Laich had this picture of a tattoo that's essentially shaded with cross-hatching. I think it looks great. I imagine it'll age to a soft grey with barely-distinguishable lines over time?

sorry, I was just thinking about the stupid shit I thought was cool before I knew about what makes a good tattoo and thought I could help a bit.

Does anyone that likes this style look at pictures of old tattoos? Junior, I recommend that you look at photos of vintage tattoos as they are today. There's a great one on IG called @vintagetattoos. Go figure. What you'll see is that when all the color eventually fades (it will) all that is left is the backbone and foundation of the tattoo. Meaning, all that is left is the black. Which is why whether it's 'traditional' or any type of (well designed) tattoo there is a good structure of black in it; preferably 1/3rd imo. That photo you linked to will have eventually have a few bits of crooked black lines and look like shit. That's not a debatable topic, the proof is in the pudding and there isn't anything being done today in tattooing that changes the very nature of our skin and epidermis. Meaning that this is a fact, color fades and as long the damn skeleton of the tattoo is there it will be better looking than without it. edit*looks like you already got some replies on that while I was typing. I'm pretty slow at that.

That was supposed to be sarcasm. I prefer tattoos with lots of black and didn't know there was any such thing as too much, so I'm curious about what was meant by "too much black"... like if something weird can happen as it ages.

That style is called a total piece of garbage.

We'll figure out the meet up closer to the convention, but @Shaun1105 if you need to leave town earlier than Saturday night, I am totally up for arranging an LST pre-convention brunch on the Saturday morning, or any other plan that's going to include as many people as possible.

I haven't been getting tattooed nearly long enough to have any credibility to say this, but fuck, I hope tattoos go out of style really soon.

I just wanted to reply to this thread, as I haven't been on this site in quite a bit. I took people's advice to heart, branched out and networked, and am now tattooing in a military town in TN surrounded by fantastic artists. I've been able to improve my skills while building a client base, and feel like i'm finally starting to find my way in this industry. I've attached two pictures of recent tattoo's that i'm in the midst of and would like to hear any constructive criticisms. Thanks all again for the inspiration and kind words.

@RoryQ That might be a fucking tattoo that looks like a tattoo? Amirite? :P

Basiiiic Biiitchheeeesss! <channeling oprah here> Maybe that's a bit of hyperbole, but the need to label and band together...as I write that I'm like wtf is wrong with that, hah - but anyway it just seems like another "look at me" thing and not so much about anything else. It's for the BBs, ladies, and I and most of you (or at least whoever I'm thinkin about sorry for my lack of specificity) do not qualify, which is prob why we're all like "nah".

it is amazing how much adult life = alcohol tough day at work = beer sunny day in the backyard = beer playoff hockey = beer family cookout = beer new tattoo = beer i'm thirsty = beer

Start networking man. Do some painting and send them to people around you. Send an actual letter to tattooers you respect. Work hard on your art. Developing connections is a super important thing and something I struggle with. There is a great deal to be said for pursing a relationship with other tattooers. Sometimes those relationships can be started with just sending them a painting or something and a thoughful letter.