Leaderboard

I'm in Stockholm at the moment and joel madberg did some more on my arm. There is some space left on the wrist and a candle waiting for color in the inside of the elbow. We will finish that in belgium hopefully. Cheers [emoji4]

You're #41 (but #1 in the hearts of LSTers everywhere). #42 is next week: Brian Kaneko.

@hogg , you have ok taste in tattoos.

I knew what he meant, and I passed it off jokingly. I made it clear what tattooing is to myself, my coworkers, and those who take it seriously. As I said, some people don't know how to phrase what they mean, and I helped him learn, hopefully. Also, whenever I hear someone say "Do something you love, and you'll never work a day in your life" it strikes me as infinitely uninformed... I love drawing, painting, and tattooing, but it's very hard work. Who knew that all those nights with two hours sleep drawing the same thing 20 times in a row didn't count as work? And it implies that you're supposed to hate your job (and, of course, usually do it to a subpar level because you don't care about it), which is a poor mindset to have as a standard bearer.

Things have taken a weird turn. The aunt for whom I am a caregiver and whom I have been spending time in the hospital as she fades has had a turn of events. Her kidneys had stopped and that was the end. But, two nights ago, they started working again. The doctors were astounded. After a second day and a battery of tests, they moved her from palliative care into "recuperation." Today they were talking about physio to get her back on her feet. They are talking about when they can release her to come home. Who knows how long this will last, but I've never seen anything like it. I am stunned by such a dramatic turn of events. Family had come from across North America to say goodbye. We had the bedside vigil going. And now, well, for now at least a few more happy days and weeks. Hopefully years. - - - Updated - - - @Pleadco I just saw your post. I am so sorry to hear about what you and yours have been going through. You have lots of support and best wishes from me.

Some of these pictures from Heartbeak Ink are pretty fun! (Like Filip Leu getting his hands tattooed.) @Eilin you're in one towards the bottom. 10th International London Tattoo Convention | heartbeatink.gr

King Missile - Detachable Penis:

Oh man. As a bookstore worker I hear "you must sit around and read" at least once a week. It is a nice job, but...nope. Seems like a lot of these envious comments are directed towards people who essentially work manual or retail jobs. Re: loving your work, that's only ever made it harder, in my experience. The expectations you set for yourself tend to be higher.

TRUTH!!!

@hogg hahaha!!!! I did actually!

I'LL DO WHAT I WANT! And damn, already at 28? Impressive. I hope you counted yourself.

Psh you can't count it if you haven't gotten tattooed yet!! Anyway, I just ran down my list and I'm at 28 people, woo!!!

Did Andre Malcolm make it to this list? His peonies are quite nice too... ANDRÉ SKULL&SWORD: Work

Stevie Nicks portrait above my Fleetwood Mac quote! Got Stevie because I've always wanted the portrait, it's a beautiful design. I grew up with Stevie. In her Rhiannon period, where this portrait is from, she just held the upmost magic and beauty and I can't think of anything I adore more.

@hogg always has the inside scoop.

ahaha, that gif

And some people don't really know how to articulate their compliments and phrase what they want to say well. This was a case of that. "Man, it's cool you guys found something you're passionate about." "Man, it's rad how much fun you have at work." "Man, this doesn't even seem like a career, just a hobby." One of those doesn't fit the other two in terms of how it sounds. Also, if you think I'm looking for something wrong in what people say to me, or have a negative disposition, then you don't know anything about me. My signature and my username sum me up pretty well.

True to a point @BrianH. Most cider is targeted towards the trend drinkers today, but cider has been around for as long as beer has, and there's some real good ones out there that are more like a "brew". The Monteiths is a N Zed cider and fits this description. Not too sweet, not too dry but with that real brew palate happening. They also do apricot & pear blends, and a Summer Berry. What makes these trendy alternatives different to most exotic tasting ciders is that Monteiths actually use Berry & Apricot wine for the flavouring, not preservatives for the flavour. The Kiwis really do their shit well. Then you have like your Westons Old Rosie's cider. It's flat with floaties. Packs a punch with a high % and is bitter on the taste. That's an acquired drink. Definitely not for the easy drinker. "Booze, Blues & Tattoos"

I know nothing about it. But there does appear to be more "craft" ciders here in the US. Downeast cider is popular here in Boston. I like one or two occasionally but too sweet for me to get proper drunk on just cider.

3 very excellent choices "Booze, Blues & Tattoos"

Your artist has a foo dog painting posted on his Instagram. Seems like a perfect fit.

Now would be an excellent time to pick up a consuming hobby to distract you from the tattoo. Ultimate fighting, competitive crocheting, you and your 3 year old dressing up like master-blaster from thunder dome to terrorize the neighborhood.

Thats a good shout @CABS Matt Houston does some rad stuff and who doesn't like a trip to Amsterdam!! I'll do some perusing of his lady heads this afternoon :) @BrianH cheers man, I have Valerie in mind for another piece, I want this one to be darker.. In saying that she would probably still kill it!"

I got 64 Corvette Stingray Emblem with a 2015 Stingray fish emblem added to it placed on forearm. I got it cause growing up I've always remember him working on old hot rods and stuff and he bought my mom a 64 Stingray so I guess I got the tattoo a little thinking of both of them. My dad is still alive unfortunately my mom passed away little over 2 years ago &we still have the Corvette he built for her when I was young. I tried posting picture but not that computer smart yet. Loaded it in Gallery just couldn't figure out how get it on here. Got it done Fri. It's my newest one.

yes i like it but for me i would like a smaller koi and a bit of background a bit of a story to it if you no what im on about thanks for the picture though. like it ;) - - - Updated - - - your so right with that cork this is what im trying to get to it may take some time to get there but ill keep you lot in the loop.going to the jam in the morning. i also wish to know about the best healing process for it being on my back it cant be wrapped like an arm as such so its another point ill be asking about tomorrow. ill be taking camera. im 48 and im like a kid waiting for santa. couldnt sleep last night thinking of where to start and how to remember all the stuff artists tell me. ive had an email from Blink laser people. im well pleased upto know as the lady said its good news already as my tattoo is 30 years old and the ink would of been differant in those days so it should fade wellwith one pass over it fingers crossed if i need it at all. ill be seeing a few artists first to see what they say first before i let the moths out of my wallet lol well great to see people helping me i sort of lost hope in people over the years and you lot have really helped. i just wish i could of gone to the jam with some one as it will look like im billy no mates tomorrow. thanks for all the feed back. phil :)

Good decision so far, just remember that it would be best to let something be designed for you, instead of picking a koi off of Google and saying "Do that one." Especially since this is a coverup. The important thing is to trust the artist, they are the experts.

Rhiannon was playing last night while I was being tattooed and I remembered your intro. I like your tattoo. The multi-blue shades give a black & grey feel with added dimension. Hopefully they will hold up well. If this link works, it is the tattoo Sarah Hurst did last night. Concentration of people on earth. Thru the ether from my LP2

Cheers dude, was just wondering if design would look right? I'm hunting for a tattooer to do it now. Would love to go back to Paul Dobleman as I love his stuff but I'm in the UK so could be tricky..

I say find a tattooer that you are really into, like I mean really into. Like every single tattoo they do is fantastic. Then put a deposit down for that tattooer. I always have really general ideas and placements in mind, then let the tattooer do the rest. My .02

Just bought the Family Business book for 10 bucks. Currently reading "Wear Your Dreams" by Hardy.

And welcome. http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/forum/general-tattoo-discussion/915-tattooers-little-no-tattoos.html

It's more that it's a disrespectful and ignorant statement, due to how hard we all do work. A hobby is a passing interest... Playing guitar is a hobby I really enjoy. Just because you're having fun, doesn't mean you're not working extremely hard.

At a recent convention, it DID look like at least 75% of the artists were having fun. I mean, you are artists, you have the talent and you have found a medium that you can make a living with. Beats driving a taxi, doesn't it? I was blessed with an OCD engineer brain. I can fix any particle accelerator, but I can't draw a round circle. Of course, the cyclotrons don't squirm and throw tantrums (often).

Tattooing is so easy! I get similar comments every once in a while about bar tending. "It's like you guys get to party every night! Must be awesome. You must be wasted every night!"

Fun one from a client's moral support... "I mean, this doesn't even seem like work. Just seems like a hobby... you guys are having so much fun!"

I am slammed at work, yet I just read this entire thread. And I'm glad that I did, because there's some great back and forth in it. Thanks to everyone who posted something good here. I don't count my tattoos, but I do keep a list of who has tattooed me. Two weeks from today, I'm getting something from someone who's been on my wish list for a few years now. He'll be artist #42 for me. Then again, I started getting tattooed 20+ years ago. Some of the names on that list are very well-known. Some of them are complete unknowns. One of them is no longer alive, two of them have since stopped tattooing, and three of them were shit on in the this thread's first post. ;) Not a single name on that list makes me better (or worse) than anyone else who gets tattooed. But every one of them is a part of a story--my story. Just as every tattoo I have comes with a story of its own. I love meeting people and sharing stories, which is part of what I love so much about getting tattooed and hanging out with awesome people like so many of you. I'll stop rambling now, but thanks again to those of you who made this thread worth reading.

Dave Regan added some maple leaves to the namakubi he put above my knee at the beginning of July. I apologize for the awful day after picture. I really can't sing Dave's praises enough. He's a talented and funny fellow that makes getting tattooed a joy.

Cool! Just FYI, there is a specific story involved w/ the back piece subject posted. A lot of the japanese subjects have stories involved so tweaking it to a woman would not work in this particular case. There is a story regarding "Tamatorihime", often depicted with a dragon so if you want a japanese style tattoo w/ a woman + ocean + creature, type of subject that could work. I don't know of any particular story involving a woman struggling w/ a koi. There is a Hokusai image of the Buddhist diety, Kannon, standing on a giant koi though. Otherwise a large koi all by itself could work just fine as that's just a generic subject not particular to any story. Of course you could also disregard the stories and get whatever you want. I just mention the above just in case you may or may not have been aware.

thanks for the feed back. i will keep you up dated. one thing that is the problem for me. Is i have now got to 48 years old and i have seen lots of work done. the quality is mind blowing on some. i dont want a dragon now. i just dont see what i want any where. i would travel to the other side of the world if i could find the right artist. im only beggining to see whats out there. when i have it done it will be a world class piece. not just 3 sittings and done thankyou all for your help so far. i was very moved by what people said i thought i would of got laughed at. but i can see your all pro's on here thats what ive been trying to find. great to be on the right road.

I've really enjoyed reading this thread so far. I think a few things are happening here: - If we're talking about people who take a collector's approach to getting tattooed (and I don't necessarily mean that in a negative way), maybe interest in big names could be seen as roughly similar to getting books or music that are fairly "correct" but express little about a person. I know I own a lot of music like this, but I don't regret having it because it's helped me seperate what I like from what I'm supposed to like (and may still appreciate somewhat, but that doesn't viscerally excite me like a favorite album or novel). I think this is a phase that many folks need to go through when they discover a new interest but haven't really begun to inhabit it yet. -Most of us who aren't tattooers always need to spend money on this hobby (or whatever word you want to use). We're not trading art. Maybe there's an anxiety that this isn't any different from purchasing other things, even though it's a lot more intimate. Are my tattoos ultimately just an expensive suit? Am I just buying my way into something? I think there's also a point at which "good taste" becomes suffocating. I hope this makes sense and that it isn't just rambling. A lot of this is overthinking and I try not to worry about it and to just get what excites me. I can't control how it comes across to others, and you can tie yourself in knots thinking about your own motivations.

I want to get tattooed by people who do tattoos that I can feel in my gut, which is to say that when I see an artist's tattoos, or look through their portfolio or on their instagram or whatever (though more and more for me I want to see the tattoos, and not just pictures of them) I want to have a deeper reaction than just thinking that it's a good looking tattoo, and I want to have a good time getting those tattoos. I've been tattooed by some "big names" and I've travelled a fair bit to get tattooed, and to be honest, I feel a little self-conscious about it because--and maybe this is only in my head--I fear coming across as somebody who buys into that kind of almost celebrity culture that sometimes goes along with tattoo collecting that I think @Pugilist articulated very well. Because for me it's not about that and it was never about that. I just want to get rad tattoos.

Finally back at it. This one from Xam at Seven Doors, taken from Instagram:

For fun, my peony by Wendy Pham done as guest spot at Red Rocket Tattoo in NYC

isnt that a bit of chest ink right there

There is nothing in my career i have learned more from than GETTING tattooed. Period. Vegan chefs make shitty steaks, If you don't have tattoos you shouldn't tattoo.