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Finally finished. Ever since my first "off the wall" flash tattoo in 1989, I have always dreamed of a full back tattoo. It was a year long experience that I'll never forget. I'm happy it's done and really happy I won't be in a constant state of healing anymore!

I think it's also worth noting that the "labour of love" thing is also often used as a cover to underpay/overwork people, i.e. if you are doing it because it makes your soul sing or whatever, then that is reward enough. Loving what you do does not mean you don't deserve to be properly compensated for it! You get a lot of that shit in academia too.

Looks great. I really have to check out Trophy. I heard its a nice spot right by (under?) the new Crow's Nest. I picked up a couple end of the season tattoos from Tim Pausinger at The Pearl in Toronto today. I'll post in three pictures. My left leg is really coming together now. I hope I can find good employment soon, because there is still a ton of work to be done!

Done by - Mike Bialek, Okey Doke Tattoo Toronto ON & Trophy Tattoo Hamilton ON

Hawk knocks a drone out of the sky

Well, I'm officially inked. :o This thing took 9 hours to bang out, I couldn't be happier. Jesse is so damn talented. Already got the next 3 appointments booked, going back in on November 7th to hopefully finish the top half of this sleeve so we can start working on the bottom half in December.

@hogg articulated real well what it's all about. alot of times i post the tattoos i got coz i'm stoked about them but after a while i pull that shit down because my thinking turns to something along the lines of this is my tattoo and it's for me, my experience and our ideas...so some stay up some get pulled...just depends on my mood really and it's probably kinda weird at the same time. few rarely stay up on instagram for sure. i only have few tattoos from big name dudes. stell is one, and honestly, as i was thinking about that i didn't really think many of his tattoos are what i'd want on me, but he seemed like an interesting dude. i ended up with a rad tattoo but more importantly, stell is a rad dude and it was a fun experience. yeah it was fast, kinda loose and not the cleanest but it has soul and all the proportions are right, it looks proper from a ways back like it's supposed to. as far as eddy and horiyoshi losing it, you gotta do your part too, come up with a good idea and don't overdo it. i see that shit all the time on steve byrnes instagram, people asking for so many things that it just makes the tattoo ridiculous and it loses soul. like the person ordering a custom whatever and they decide well since it's custom, i'm gonna get all this shit and really go all out...but damn maybe that's the tattoo they need coz that's their personality and that's the tattoo they deserve. i'm rambling now, i should've just said i like to get tattoos from dudes i like to hang out with. the fact that these dudes aren't all over instagram is huge fuckin bonus. - - - Updated - - - makes me think of this

It comes down to how YOU communicate your expertise. Your in the prime position to help educate. The average collector/ enthusiast without any understanding or artistic knowledge needs to seek their ideas from somewhere.,.dont they? Do you just expect them to come in with a blank idea and you magically come up with the same interpretation, or expect to only tattoo what you want to put on their skin. That comes with time and trust. It's like an old time piece of flash, it's been duplicated a million times. Isn't that plagiarism to a degree? A panther is a panther is a panther. I understand to a point what your saying, a custom one of a kind piece, well maybe, but pieces say things to people and can capture exactly what that means to that individual as well, so it could mean more than just wanting a copy cap design. It's like my smoking wizard with the starburst from the pipe as the background. I had wanted a wizard for 20 years, but no wizard captured that exact pictorial message, until I came across this wizard on the net. I took that picture in to my tattooer and said...man, after all these years I found the one. I can understand if you need to change it, but it's emulates something quite specific. His response, and knowing me for years was...man, your right, it captures you perfectly, I couldn't make it any better. We slightly changed some aspects like hat band & colour, but why try and reinvent the wheel on this occasion? It was perfect. Is this wrong? Fuck you to anybody who thinks it is, this is one piece out of my entire suit that had already been captured, it speaks volumes, it's my favourite tattoo next after my back tattoo. There's also been times I've taken an exact design in and said ...man, something like this...and from there we come up with a complete new transition, sn even better custom piece. Maybe next time someone comes in with an exact picture and turning them away (only to have it tattooed by someone else without any education) you can say...man, that's a great design, I can see why you chose this. What's it's meaning to you?...dig a little, become a consultant, tap into that individual a little and say, ya know man?...leave it with me, I reckon I can come up with something even better for YOU without doing s copy. That person may just walk out of there with a little bit more knowledge than they did prior to them entering, and maybe you EARN a loyal and devoted customer for years to come. I'm no tattooer, I'm also no artist, but I've learned a lot from my tattooer over the years because he actually took the time to help me understand. This is the 1 reason that he has been responsible for my entire suit, and the rework of everything he didn't originally do. I'm just offering a different perspective on this subject, not having a dig. We all help educate each other, because my tattooer had mentioned to me the same, that over the years has learned to appreciate where his clients come from also. "Booze, Blues & Tattoos"

I just wrote this whole long rant but then I reread the thread and realized I couldn't say it any more simple or eloquent than this. If we're being honest, aren't all our tattoos a form of narcissism to some extent? Also, if we're talking "famous," how many tattooers can the average person name? Kat Von D, Ami James, maybe Bang Bang (who's famous mostly because he tattoos famous people)? Totally agree with the idea of seeing tattoos in person vs. tiny closeups on Instagram. Seeing Shige and Jeff Gogue tattoos up close and personal at the Perseverance opening blew my mind – like I had no idea how powerful a tattoo could be. It's like looking at pictures of paintings in books vs. the real thing.

I got this big ol cat from Luis Campos today at Empire tattoo in Asheville. Great guy and beautiful city. Also pic pilfered from his IG

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]

Tiny Lady Tattoo Font #27 :D

Ooh, I love that book with the blue cover!

Yesterday. Sorry if it's too big.

It was funny looking through Tim's portfolio at the Montreal convention because I swear half of it is pictures of your tattoos. Great ones as always, and I especially love that frog. I hope you find work too because the only thing worse than having a job is looking for one.

OK so I tried to put this post up about three days ago but whilst I was doing it a power line nearby got struck by lightning and we lost power for a while. So that was the end of that. Now that we have power again and I have a bit of time I will try again. I had the fourth session on my back last Monday. I was hoping it would be the last session of outlining but that went straight out the window when Ian started the session by asking me "How do you feel about Tibetan skulls?" Luckily enough I think they are cool and the design that Ian had drawn up was pretty killer so we went for it. The result is that I now have a Tibetan skull on my my ass cheek and the back of my leg. I love it and am very happy to have it on there and we definitely have only one session of outline left. So after 12 hours of work so far my back looks like this. I have included a close up of the skull as well.

I worked once in a bookstore and while I liked that job, it was pretty much entirely shelving books and answering really dumb questions from customers. I don't even remember how many times somebody asked me to help them find a book when all they could remember about it was MAYBE the colour of the book's cover. I brew beer for a living now and pretty much everybody in the world thinks that I have the greatest job ever, because apparently grown-ass adults think that brewers sit at the bar and drink beer all day. Which isn't what I do. I think I've had a proper sit-down, take the time I'm legally entitled to lunch break maybe two or three times in the seven years I've been a brewer, because I don't have time for breaks in a regular workday. If I may go on a tangent here, I think you're right that there's a lot of envy here and a misperception that there's something, I don't know how to express this, maybe more "soulful" about working with one's hands. That book "Shop Class as Soul Craft" that came out a few years ago and was fairly popular despite being overall pretty terrible was a big purveyor of this kind of bullshit. I think also Richard Florida and the whole bullshit notion of a "creative class" and the idea that we're all involved in some kind of creative enterprise (you know, like working in a big box retail store, and just make sure that this so-called creativity has an economically useful function) hasn't helped with the idea that artisans have these wonderful jobs. Work is work, it's a means to an end.

Yeah haha hence the 'may have bitten off more than I can chew' part! Erin seems to think she'll be able to finish in the three days, and I'm stoked. Though I did say I was prepared to wait half-finished until next time she is in New Zealand. Luckily I'm not a large girl, so there's not a huge amount of actual back area to tattoo, which will mean less hours; and we aren't doing down to back of thighs, just top of shoulders to below trouser line (half ass?) .. I don't really know though, she can do what she wants haha. Her work is amazing, and I'm so excited that she's able to find time to tattoo me! I emailed her last November after seeing her at the NZ Tattoo Festival asking when she would next be here and if I could book a bunch of time, so have been patiently waiting for her return (while finishing my left sleeve with my local artist). The finished back piece will definitely be worth the pain! I don't know entirely what I'm getting yet, I have given her a bunch of subject matter to work from in terms of images etc.. A bunch of old Salvador Dali sketches, some Greek mythology imagery, and stuff.. But basically I told her that she has free reign. It would be a shame to tell her what to draw I think, she's so talented that I trust it'll be amazing whatever she comes up with!

LST, Been coming here a while to read up on tattoos and watch the videos. Finally decided to create an account so I can interact with the community a little more. Really enjoy the website and look forward to sharing with y'all.

Oh, and does anyone know anything about these photos? Found them uncredited on line but they look maybe Burchett-y to my untrained eye. Pretty sure they're the back nad front of the same man These are indeed photos of the same man. His name is George Smith, of Sheboygan, WI, and was tattooed by Amund Dietzel. The photos I've got are dated 1928. and nearly every tattoo he's got, can be matched to Dietzel flash. The back piece as well, 'The the Ascension of Christ' was a personal favorite of Dietzel's. There are at least 4 examples of it in photographs, and it's mentioned in a newspaper article as well. http://solidstatemilwaukee.com/books/

My folks saw my new tattoo today and my mom said it was pretty, remarked that it went together well with the other one on that leg and then said her usual "please don't get any more/I don't understand why you're doing this" piece. Still think she's gonna end up with some flowers on her shoulder some day. She thought Chad Koeplinger was a very nice man...

I really need to make it to this one year. Dave, who is doing my back, works it and he talks about how it's such a great convention. No nonsense, just loads of great tattooing. I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again, but stupid tattoos taking up all my money so I can't travel to get tattoos.

No advice, as I am one of the people you would undoubtedly turn away, but one of the reasons some people do it is because they can't get any visualization of what is going to permanently be put on their body otherwise. They are afraid to trust a stranger with their skin and they're not willing to let their skin be an open canvas to whatever. So they do their own research (feels like part of the tattoo journey to mostly non-tattooed people) and pick a design that they love and that looks flawless and they fall in love with it for its specific details, and why it spoke to them. Also, I have been turned away from shops because I didn't bring a design Id picked out already. So sometimes a person can't win no matter what. I will say this, at least you turn them away instead of tattooing different than the design without telling them. Cuz it sucks when that happens.

I'll admit that when I got in to tattooing, I was directed to Richard Stell without knowing a damn thing about him. The guest spot news was broken on this website, and I was pushed by several members to take the plunge and get something. Should I feel dirty about that by going to a big name and not knowing his legacy? Maybe. I put my trust in the knowledge here on LST, and I never had a doubt I was making a poor decision. I wanted to be part of a community, and experience the things that other people were experiencing, so I just went with it. Was asking him to do something uncharacteristic of his style wrong? Some people may think so. Asking an artist to do a different style could be considered sacrilege to some. In my naivete I asked for something he doesn't generally do, but damn if he wasn't excited to do it. I have no regrets, and I also learned that you don't really understand someone until you meet them. You could follow artists on Instagram, and hear about them in other shops from other people's experiences, but until you sit with Stell and hear him, first hand, talk about his old biker days and how he had pet alligators and all the other crazy stuff, you can't fully understand. I would hope that people who seek out big names, solely for the name, have a better respect for that person afterwards instead of just, "Yeah I got XX to do this."

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.

Awesome! Frogs are great for tattoos!

A back piece in three days?! Best of luck. I've seen some too notch Erin Chance work in person. At least you know it'll be worth the back to back sittings.

Knit one, pearl two is all i got! SENT FROM MY LG G FLEX ON THE NOW NETWORK FROM SPRINT!?✌

Looks awesome bud, grats :)

Congratulations! It always starts with one...

Welcome! You down south somewhere?

The masked Dietzel girl was an instant classic. And still going strong. Favorite part is that unlike most designs of that era, I've yet to see another tattooer having done it. All Dietzel.

YESSS! A Sick Of It All dragon never gets old!

It's an imperfect series, but great all the same. Enjoy! Probably the ultimate in farmboy-hero-coming-of-age epic fantasy. I think one of the reasons it catches so much flak is that people do care about it (or did, because it's done and dusted now). If no one was bothered then there wouldn't have been so much complaining about Jordan taking it down a cul de sac for 3-4 books towards the end. It's not even that he wrote anything crazy... It just slowed to a crawl. The last few books, which were written by Sanderson, actually tie it up better than I expected, although there's a fairly noticeable transition in writing style and a sense of urgency ("I've been paid to wrap this up in 1000 pages, here goes").

Interested to see what an organic line is. Welcome!

Welcome! I like the content - it flows nicely.

Brian Kaneko?!?! As @rozone says, " @hogg wins again". And again! And again! And again! And agai...

I got a piece of tribal many years ago...stretching from my big toe right along the side of my foot circling below my ankle bone. It's fucked. It fell out post heal, & cause I was 400kilometres away, I had a "mate" "fix" it up. He butchered the fuck out of it. I was blind fuckin drunk too the night I went into the shop and consuming rum while having the tattoo done. All I remember was A. It fuckin hurt. B. She tried to overcharge me to the roof for it & C. I was required to do some fast talking negotiating on the price when the big fucker walked out of the back room saying "have we a problem with the price *unt"! My negotiation skills prevailed that night as I didn't pay the bullshit price she tried on...ha, but that's a story on its own. So, I got a hoe toe...God dam it! I'm in two minds with this one. Either blast over the fucker with a solid black panel then sleeve the rest of the foot with kick arse solid tattoos or laser the fuck out of it. I'm thinking the black panel. Least it's on the side. Anyway, we've all made slight judgement errors over the years, but the moral of what I'm saying here is, even though that tattoo sucks arse, it has a pretty cool story attached to it and makes for a good yarn from time to time when someone quizzes me about this shitty piece. All of a sudden, the focus isn't on the fucked up piece of tribal but the near death experience in the Goldfields late one night with an angry biker run tattoo shop and its enforcer. Good times. "Booze, Blues & Tattoos"

He should do one of dudes with "old school" tattoos that are a couple of years old making fun of dudes with tribal tattoos. It would be funny because it's true.

I knit. And am a nerd :D Those gloves are great. I'm self-taught, very slow, only been doing it a few years and not very good at finishing things. I tend to avoid anything that requires coming out as a certain size, and tend to focus on things that are monster-based, like so: Crochet Cthulu and Day of the Dead bride and groom: Knit monster in a swing My next project will be some stripey fingerless gloves. I'm currently focusing on yarn-bombing a nasty old pole in my garden which we use as a washing line. My toddler likes to peel the paint off it, so I'm hoping prettyfying it will stop him!

This thread really makes me only want to get tattooed by people older than me like Bob Roberts and Eddy Deutsche. I realize it wasn't your original point (I too am wary of the star culture in tattooing) but your misinformed dismissals ('there are limits'!) are so offensive to me that I can't get over it. In the end I realize it comes down to different sensibilities and what I'm looking for in tattoos is obviously very different from yours. BUT, if I can add my 2 cents as a person who's been tattooed by both Eddy Deutsche and Bob Roberts, Eddy is the most 'PMA' guy ever (if that's what you're after). If you're looking for an 'experience' or stories, Eddy and Bob have plenty. The flash at Spotlight has bullet holes. (The fact that the stencil is made from the original flash push pinned on the wall alone makes it almost worth getting the tattoo to be a part of the history.) Nothing 'soft' or 'squiggly' about my Bob Roberts tattoo. There's no question about Eddy's technical ability. I think every respectable tattooer would disagree with you on this point. I think people with 'perfect' tattoos look uptight--not what I'm going for (not interested in putting computer graphics on my body either). Any imperfections will add to its beauty.

What @Iwar said! I think what this is coming down to is a difference in what one is looking for in a tattoo. I am not sure you are 100% getting what I'm trying to say, @mmikaoj . The reason I am bringing instagram into this is because: 1) that tiny format where you are zoomed in on the tattoo and so don't see how it sits on the body, how it looks in natural light, how it moves, how it heals, etc., means that ALL you see is any technical imperfections, which leads to people overvaluing the 'cleanliness' of a tattoo and undervaluing its, well, soul, to keep using that word. The most perfect tattoo is not the most beautiful one. 2) I have been tattooed by several people who tattoo in a "looser" style. This is definitely a matter of taste. What I LOVE about that style is how natural it looks on the skin, like it's always been there, like I was born with it. It feels powerful because of how it moves, how dynamic it is, etc. Social media CANNOT CAPTURE THAT. So all we talk about is shit that's "clean". Whatever. There is a reason why some really technically proficient tattooers choose to loosen up their styles, and that's because of how the tattoos will sit, move, age, etc., on the actual person, not on instagram. That was my point about how we judge people. I am lucky enough to know a tattooer that got a beautiful Horiyoshi III tattoo in the past 2-3 years. When I look at her arm, I do not see any squiggly lines or jacked up shading. His work is so powerful, I just see this amazing tattoo that looks like it was meant to be on her skin. It's bold, elegant and stunning. You don't get the whole story when you look at instagram, and I sure as fuck don't get tattoos so that people can analyze their technical merits on social media.

Jut finished my Valkyrie tattoo a week ago. While at work the other day one of my coworkers asked me if the girl tattooed on my arm was supposed to be me... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

@MrToby Yes, that was me with the kindle. I think I saw that white rabbit on Instagram? Nice. Although it was hot in the dock I almost think that was better than it being chilly if you were getting tattooed, but I guess it's a fine line.

Wow, great day today... I think this year's line-up lives up to the hype. Saw Ed Hardy just chilling but I didn't want to bother him. Freddy Corbin was floating around and tattooing, cool to see him in the flesh after loving the Vice episode on him. I got tattooed until evening by Tomo and made a bit more progress on my front. Next year will see it finished (kind of sad about that, the Yellow Blaze experience is kind of sweet, sad to call it a day in some ways). Most importantly I met @jade1955 and @Jade1959 ... Nice to shake hands and say 'hi'. And now I'm drinking a nice Brewdog 5AM Saint...

Unofficial observations about tattoos on folks of my generation (roughly ages 21-35) in Portland, Oregon after spending a week there: Freaking EVERYONE has tattoos. Everyone has a bunch of small and randomly placed tattoos all over the place on their limbs. Often it looks like they just enjoy doodling on themselves. Most people look like walking sketchbooks. 50% of the tattoos any given person has seem to be ironic. Approximately 1% of the tattoos I saw would be considered American Traditional. Conclusions: Go big. Be bold. None of this wimpy "arrow on my forearm" bullshit. Side note: Getting even more excited for my appointment with Dennis del Prete in September! Lady head allllll over my right thigh. #winning

Not sure why you would want to pass on the tattooers at Frith Street, Into You, Seven Doors, and all the other great shops, but welcome to LST.

Well . . . maybe not so "traditional" . . .