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I never got around to posting this Eddy Deutsche tattoo I got at Temple... What an amazing experience this was!!

Can't remember if I posted this here Sundancer but Valerie Vargas, Frith Street Tattoo

Katie Ryan @ Anthem Tattoo, Gainesville FL

Picked up this lil' thigh giblet while on vacation in Japan in 2013 from the (then) Hiroshi Hirakawa at Three Tides Tattoo, Osaka

Give it a little bit of time before doing anything. You posted recently that it hadn't peeled yet, and often when a tattoo hasn't totally healed the lines don't have the crispness that they will once the tattoo is properly settled in. This is maybe a tougher pill to swallow, but sometimes, even if there are bits that aren't perfect on the tattoo, that's okay because you're talking about something handmade on skin. It inevitably will have flaws and imperfections and that those are beautiful in their own way.

Well, why not. My handsome masked dude by Ron Henry Wells, done at the Montreal Convention '13. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Grez just made this one on me a few hours ago... I'm in love.

I wonder if sometimes people want to assign meaning to their tattoos as it validates them choosing to be tattooed, if that makes any sense. Maybe being able to say it's a tribute to who/whatever makes it more acceptable to have a tattoo than just getting one because they want one. I've noticed that I've been asked "why" a lot (after "did it hurt", always an odd question!), as if a "sensible" reason is expected. Maybe that ties in with @scubarons point. I wonder if some people need an excuse to get the first tattoo, as maybe they see it as a big deal. Maybe it becomes easier to just get them once you've broken that barrier.

I just booked my first appointment of 2014 (which is hard to believe): I'm getting an uchide no kozuchi (as referenced here) from Horisuzu at Dark Horse in LA on August 2nd. I'm also going to the Perseverance exhibition that day. I can't wait!

@LadyGabe Don't walk in and ask for an apprenticeship........ask them to look at your art work and see if they can give you advice! Ask if they have a night where they get together and draw and if so if you can come draw with them so you can get better.......ask them if they need some help cleaning up around the shop or if you can maybe hang out when you have free time! These are just suggestions..... It is my personal opinion that a person should be offered and apprenticeship......not really need to ask for it!

I wish I weren't going bald so I could rock that hairstyle. Instead I'll just settle for the fatter, ulgier, tattooed Jason Statham style.

I also had a fantastic time kickin it and meeting you! Thanks again for getting tattooed and breaking our Higgs cherries! It was seriously such a blast, and I too am forever grateful to LST for connecting such rad folks as yourself. Cheers Kevin!

Well, I just landed back in Virginia. Today was a long day. I can honestly say that I had an amazing time visiting San Francisco and Oakland, but the two most rewarding aspect of the entire trip was grabbing food at Taqueria Vallarta on Thursday night and having incredible conversation and laughs with you guys. And secondly, spending an entire day at FTW watching the homey Carolyn work (on top of getting tattooed myself). I am so glad to consider you guys friends. I'm honestly returning today with a drive to work so much harder because of this experience. From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much LST.

Couldn't resist booking a little one with El Monga while I'm in Barcelona. I'm getting a frog because I really love frog tattoos, and I really love El Monga's tattoos so it's going to be super cool and fun.

Tough competition this month, but I guess I'll throw my hat in the ring. Panther from Aaron Coleman. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That thing looked so killer in person.

Getting tattooed by Thomas hooper at the bay con I'm pretty fucking stoked - - - Updated - - - Thinking of him doing a fudo on my neck. His fudo heads are so cool and he seems like a humble guy

I read this article today and was reminded of some of the things discussed on this thread, as well as a friend's father who studies addiction and has proposed an alternative to the disease model. Worth a read, I think. I do have a close friend who's been helped tremendously by AA and passed his 4-year mark recently, so I have no agenda here. I just hope that we ultimately create a society where there are many options available to anyone seeking help.

Torture aside got the call about a cancelation today. Picked up another 2 and a half hours tomorrow night. Really hoping this finishes background off. Would make me so damn happy to know color is incoming

So great to meet some LSTers in real life -- really fun night, guys! :) Glad you made it back safely, @CultExciter!

My wife and I were just admiring that yesterday, @Piers Suckling. She's getting a (much smaller) sun dancer on her thigh next month. Yours is one of the best I've ever seen.

Next update in the series lol I know its only every 6 months or so but I keep looking for changes, I don't see any yet still really. The thing I look at most is the females dark face, where Dmitriy put just a very slight nose shape/face, its really delicate and presume that will go first as ink spreads. Here is a fresh shot next to the one I took today, still has the same slight face. And the usual 6 monthly update. I managed to resize it so if you want it bigger just click on the photo and the on the photo on the next website to enlarge it if you want to :)

^Agreed. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Some trends are right on.

Hey don't hate on my steez. (Okay my beard's not that massive but I'm working on it.)

Picked this up from Bryan Burk. He was a great guy, and I love the tattoo. My wife got tattooed by Adam Warmerdam, they both are both at Darkhorse in LA, and Adam was super cool as well. Darkhorse is a great place to get tattooed, and I highly recommend it to anyone that is in Los Angeles.

Filler done by Chad Koepinger a couple of months ago:

little dragon foot by Chad Chesko at Fat Ram's Pumpkin Tattoo in Boston, MA:

Throw me L side in. Crocodile (from my Croc fighting days :)) & my ugly looking bat. Tattooer CP, Australia. @polliwog. I love that Eagle. F_uck_ing rad.

Since my girlfriend moved to Canada I have been teaching her how to lift weights properly, she hit a 135 squat and a 200lb deadlift, I know it wasn't me that did it but it was great to see how excited she was after, she couldn't air squat 10 weeks ago

You mean like one of @cltattooing eating pizza and giving me the finger. Haha. I'll have to let her share that one. - - - Updated - - - My friend, the door is always open to you (all of you for that matter). Good times will continue to be had.

I found out I have the same t-shirt as Paul Rogers.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. Sounds like an interesting approach. We grew up being scared about falling peril to the evils of narcotics. I mean, to the point as I've mentioned, literally being petrified about growing up and becoming that very person I was told that was so bad. Experimenting in activities that brought nothing but death and despair and that how "bad" it was and how bad it would make you feel. So, from that initial experimentation...treading very carefully, and then you discover how good it made you feel, contradicted everything that was installed by fear. No one ever told you that this shit actually makes you feel good. How can something that makes you feel good really be all that bad? Pffft! Maybe we just approached the whole education behind it from the wrong angle. I don't know, and I probably never will. And maybe I look too deep for an answer why it all went wrong. Never the less, as long as I can try educate my children with an open book as opposed to a closed one we can make a positive difference. Anyway, interesting article. Appreciate the share.

So happy to be posting back in this thread! I felt lost with nothing in the works. Just had a consult and will be starting my right arm late October with Clare Hampshire. First two sessions for a forest lady, third session for a mallard duck.

Hey y'all. Longtime visitor here, not sure why it took me so long to sign up. Can honestly say that every time I've needed advice, resources or, just another reason to appreciate tattoo culture, I've found it at Last Sparrow. Thanks for having me. Anyways, I'm a 30 year old furniture maker in Dallas, Texas. Got my first tattoo in Iowa in 2002 . Twelve years later, I've been tattooed almost 40 times by 13 different tattooers in seven states. I'd like to thank my dear friend and tattooist Dawn Grace for instilling in me a great respect for the craft. Oh, and for refusing to tattoo a lot of my dumb ideas on me. This place rules, thanks again. -Matt

Yep. And people think New Zealanders fuck sheep.

Such a good backpiece, probably one of my favourites ever. your allover standing on the shoulders of giants episode 2 @hogg I'm trying to convince my girlfriend into a sundancer aswell

I hate to state the obvious here, but...we need a picture!

We had a blast, dude! Thanks so much for making it happen. Come visit any time.

Money is a sensitive topic. ALL Americans don't feel the same way about anything... But for many, talk of money or how much we spent on things can make us uncomfortable. If if doesn't make you uncomfortable that's great for you, but just know if you are planning to ask others they may answer politely but still feel uncomfortable without you realizing it. If it's your close friends and family that's usually fine. Although I wouldn't want my mom asking me because she hates tattoos. When my husband and I bought our house, the first time we met our neighbor across the street, the first thing he asked was, "What'd you pay for it?" We answered because it's information you can find publicly on zillow.com anyway, yet we walked away from the conversation thinking that guy was rude. How about a "hello and welcome to the neighborhood" for crying out loud?!!!! I don't like talking about how much I paid for my tattoos either because it's a personal thing. To some people I spent too much. Clearly it was worth it to me. If they are really curious or want to know because they are saving up for their own tattoo I'm happy to tell them the artist's general hourly rate. I guess it really just depends on who's asking and why! Nothing is black and white. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

@9Years I've seen a bunch of his frogs on his Instagram and I love them. They have a really great feel to them. The shop guy at Aloha was excited to see what Monga is going to come up with because he hasn't seen him do a frog before, and then he showed us this tattoo he got from Monga when he asked for a squirrel and it's this squirrel being constricted by this snake/dragon kind of thing and it's amazing and probably not the first thing that comes to mind when you think of squirrel tattoo. So who knows what this frog is going to look like but it's going to be great.

I had a little stumble for a couple of days and slipped into an old, bad habit. It was just a little stumble....a very tiny one. But it was a reminder that no matter how solid you think you become, little cracks can appear from no where. Oh, and I maxed out my phone credit with 10 days still remaining. That's fucked.

Just got this bake neko started today by Josh Damnit at Classic Tattoo in Upland, CA. I am dead!

I only have to walk ten minutes out the front door to the local park and see forty of the things, Kangaroos that is , not crocodiles. also @Sparky Polastri that cat is blowing my mind.

Everything is so good this month. Edit: Also, and not to say that crazy backpieces aren't great and deserve to win often, but it's nice when they don't scare everyone else off in the first ten posts. Haha.

ok, I wasn't really gonna out it on the interwebs but me and my so kinda recently got engaged and shit...now i need a captain of a ship to wed us...

My wife and I are celebrating 16 years of marriage having been told by everyone we were doomed from the start since we were young, foolhardy and poor, I've had some really good single malt scotch lately (Talisker Storm and Ardbeg Uigeadail), my frustrating bike (66 Triumph) is about to be back in proper action soon and I've lost 60 lbs.

Yesterday marked 1 full year of living together with my girlfriend and we still like each other.

I knew it!!! I bet you had that bodysuit done to cover up all the scars you got from brawling with those beasts. Sick ass tattoos man. Your whole suit is pretty damn amazing!

Guess I'll throw this in for this month. The only black & gray piece I have, and hopefully not the last. By Yoni Zilber.

I'll enter this one because I love my eagle. Happy to see her every day, and she has a name :o By Chad Koeplinger at Congress St. Photo from his Instagram.