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got my second tattoo from claudia de sabe today needless to say i'm extremely happy with it (and sore) on the back of my upper arm

I did! Kind of. I made it to Three Tides in Tokyo where I had a wonder experience all around and ended up with a nice little dragon head by Ganji. [/img]

Hereby banned for using one of the worst words of all time!

My cousin is a lovely, intelligent young man, but he just asked me for shop recommendations and then described a project that combines almost everything listed in the "most hated tattoo requests" thread. I'm trying to gently persuade him to describe what he wants to convey and leave as much of the actual design to the artist as possible. And to get tattooed with me in Portsmouth so I can buy him a drink afterward. (He just turned 21.)

I think I've found a design for my knee coming up on the 25th with Franz Stefanik. Had a hell of a time figuring it out.

When I first started researching tattoos I had a bunch of dumb cliche symbolic type ideas. I looked through a bunch of online portfolios looking for an artist that made tattoos similar to my idea but I kept thinking "wow these japanese pieces are really cool/powerful. i wish i could get something like that...." Then I got a koi half sleeve, then some traditional pieces, then a hannya sleeve, more traditional, more japanese. So I think the solution is to force your cousin to look through portfolios and instagram accounts that are overflowing with great tattoos.

session number 4 on my back this friday :cool:

Thank you @cltattooing :D I'm very pleased with them. I must get round to posting a photo of it all healed. And my leg & foot. It's been an exciting couple of months, tattoo-wise!

I drove through West Chester yesterday, im actually only a few miles away. Beautiful little place, but there for a minute I thought it might wash away last night! And I finally booked my first appointment of the year, which I realize is very slacking. Its with @cltattooing in Oakland in a few weeks, should be pretty rad!

I'm getting really tired of the conversations that start with "Oh I like your arm... even though I'm not really into tattoos... [going into a long discussion of why they don't want my tattoos]" Honestly if you aren't into tattoos why do you feel the need to talk to me about them? That and the "I'd get a tattoo but I'm afraid of needles..." le sigh....

I'm gonna wait til I get a better pic to post, but Grez did the whole back of my leg today. Topped off with the back of my knee. One of the longer sessions I've had in a few years, but it was totally worth it. We also got to talk a little bit about my left arm, which he'll be sleeving starting in January.

Got my rose morph today... am super happy with it

From the Needles and Sins blog, a short video from TED. Really neat! Needles and Sins Tattoo Blog | Tattoo 101: What makes tattoos permanent?

Reallllly bad picture, but I got this lady from Steve Turner while he was guesting at Live Free. I'm super pumped on it.

@bongsau Such a bittersweet day. My thoughts are with you and your family, I hope the coming times are of little stress and much closure. Great tattoo though! @Orangutango you are a beast, that thing is no joke. Kinda jealous that you got to spend so much time with Andre, he's a really great dude and has a great sense of humor.

Rock of ages with a dragon added in! I'll probably post a picture on instagram after all the lining is done to see!

Yeah mate I went for a hawk and pine tree scene, which I havent seen any amongst his portfolio so im excited to see what he comes up with, ill keep everyone in the know when it goes down I owe it to LST

I got tattooed at Aloha Tattoos in Barcelona last week and one of the many cool things about that shop is that it's also a "tattoo art gallery" with lots of art and prints for sale. Currently they have an exhibition of Matt Bivetto's drawings, which are really fantastic and I wish I had the spare money to buy one of them (and/or get down to NYC and get tattooed by him). I did pick up this really cool print from El Carlo though: The website for La Cobra Negra is here: La Cobra Negra Tattoo Art Gallery — Home and they have a bunch of prints, originals, flash, sketchbooks, etc., for sale. There's a lot of really cool stuff there.

In addition to the tattoo I got from Grez today, I'm getting tattooed at my local/regular shop (X-Treme Ink in West Chester, Pa) by Keith Reed tomorrow! After that I think I'm done until January.

This is a really terrible picture but I got this cigar smoking frog from El Monga at Aloha Tattoo Barcelona yesterday. I am super stoked that he decided to attach himself to my leg because I think we're going to have some good adventures together. @bongsau Really sorry for your loss, and my deepest condolences. Sometimes it's the silly little tattoos that have the deepest significance.

well. i did not get my touchups. but i did get a new tattoo which did involve a tear-out: My pug. Winston. Riding the red rocket. Which was really hilarious. Until I got a call 3/4 of the way through the tattoo that my mother passed away. Shout out to my pal Ollie for working like lightning to finish the tattoo before my ride showed up to go see my family. So some more to add to the arguement that a tattoo is more than just a silly picture on your skin. It's not just about "what" the tattoo is of or the "why"...but the "where" and "when" and "who" of the experience is of equal importance. A colourful timestamp for this lifetime. And now I'm left with a lot of sorrow to deal with, a good laugh and a great tattoo. Laughter is the best medicine. And my Mom really loved my idiot pug. But I think my next tattoo will be little more serious and carry a lot more weight. Peace.

Jason, WE ARE TOO OLD FOR THIS.

MACROPHAGE - "Me Again!" Cracks me up every time :-)

I got this the other day, but the "excuse" was pretty funny. He's older now (>50) and he'd wanted a tattoo as a late teen and came home with a cross on his arm that he'd drawn on with a permanent marker. His father, as expected, assumed it was real and hit the roof. As he described the scene and the layout of the dinner table area where his father discovered the travesty, he was clearly boxed in by the radiator and the wall and the rest of the family. His father then proceeded to grab steel wool and scrubbed it off his arm, along with a layer of skin before he realized he'd been had. The teller of the tale said he didn't want to get a tattoo after that. All-in-all, not a bad excuse and completely forgivable because he told the story with such vigor and humor!

I loooove this, the eyes are magical!! Most important part of a dragon

Started my back with Aaron Coleman last weekend.....shit hurts so bad haha. Got through 4 hours of lining the back and butt, next session lining the thighs and hopefully some background.

@BrianH, this was my first thought.

Thought I'd throw this in. I hope no one minds as I've not posted too much on here. Done by Stewart Robson - Frith Street Tattoo

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 was reading through some of the older pages of this thread the other day and was startled by how many members here, who I'd assumed had been getting tattooed for a long time owing to their knowledge and the quality of their tattoos, got their first tattoos while on this forum. I was sort of surprised anew by what a cool community you all have built here. I wish I'd spent more time here lurking and less time posting, particularly as a new member, but thanks for letting me hang around.

I believe Matt Arriola is based out of Boise, Idaho now. I imagine he could make a bad ass unicorn tattoo. Much more bad ass than anything you find by google imaging "unicorn tattoo design"....

many will disagree with #2 and #3

So I have been away for over a week on vacation, no internet. Logged on today, saw that there was a bunch of posts in this thread, and started to catch up. Got halfway through @mmikaoj 's post and decided to leave it until tonight after my son's soccer practice. While there I was talking to my buddy's wife, who apparently hasn't seen me in shorts since December. So I proceeded to answer just about every single question on here - pain, cost, meaning, where, why, etc., etc. Started out like this: Her- "Whoa, when did you get that?!? Me - "December" Her- "What's the meaning??" Me - "It means I have an awesome panther on my leg. With a sword. And some roses." Her - "Oh, three roses! For your wife and two kids. Me - "Uh....OK" I felt like the conversation was happening because of this thread.

There are too many great replies to quote, but @cltattooing, @mmikaoj, @suburbanxcore, @smiling.politely, and @DJDeepFried are killing it. @Steele, to quote one of cinema's greatest characters, "That's like, your opinion, man." And you sound like a missionary trying to convert us. So stop doing that, stop scratching, and go get on Carlos Torres' waiting list. PS You diss Ed Hardy, you diss yourself.

Dude comes on here, introduces himself as a scratcher, and we argue art with him? We can do a lot better than this, folks.

thanks everyone. family friends and strangers showing a lot of love. - - - Updated - - - @Zillah wicked! rose morphs and tearouts are my fave style of tattoos haha

It doesn't matter how many cats he does. Every time I see one i'm amazed haha.

http://instagram.com/p/mX8dC-wVB6/ He looks like a Viking and it kinda turns me on. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Husband got this part of his done yesterday. He plans to continue it down to the elbow, and maybe a little more on the back, not sure. He got the first part done in May, pics back several pages. I don't get to go back until next month so I had to sit there and be sad. - - - Updated - - - Oh, and Josh at Big Brain in Omaha, NE is doing the work on husbands.

Ha! First, I have to admit that "while looking between hogg's legs" is not a phrase I've heard before. Second, I have to admit that those are my wife's books. #SoIMarriedAHistorian

Looks fine, the top pic looks like a little much on the aquaphor, I use that stuff as well and less is more usually, but that's definitely not a big deal. Like graeme said, tons of variation. My first arm tattoo was all peeled in 4-5 days, the one right under/next to it took almost two weeks. Same artist, some just take longer. I've noticed in general it can depend a lot on the climate. Seems when it's colder, my skin is drier and takes longer to heal.

Filler done by Chad Koepinger a couple of months ago:

Got this one from Stevie Edge to top a good week of getting tattooed.

Flowers...camouflage for the tattooed ninja!

the inthernetzzzzz is fool of troof.

Claudia,Lauren,& Tracy,do beautiful work..A few more artist to check out.What are you thinking of getting done. Instagram Instagram

Sept 14th will be the 2nd session on my arm tiger...Spencer will be adding some mandalas to the background and layering on more shading and a darker outline. First session was 5 hrs...next one will probably be a little longer. I am psyched!

I have a little "new ink test pad" on my ankle consisting of random little triangles/squiggles. Think I am going to experiment with the peroxide theory. I will post the results, before/after healing.

Some stupid lady went and soaked her feet in hot ass salt water four like three hours after getting a tattoo. "Why does this look so awful?"