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Round 2 with Chad yesterday. Sorry about the sideways picture I can't fix it on my phone

Last minute appointment at Kingsave NYC with Chris O'Donnell

Got this from Theo Mindell while he was visiting Austin for a few days. The guy might be the straight up nicest dude I've met in a long time. And Paco Cendon at electric13 was super nice too and has an awesome shop. I very much underestimated the pain on the back of the thigh, just above the ditch of my knee. It's 3 days later and I'm still limping around.

Front of my El Monga leg. Done at Tattoo City in March. Pic is from today (healed). Entered the back of it a few months ago, figured the front needs to toss its hat in the ring.

Got this German Kaiser wolf today by Murray Sell at Flying Tiger Tattoo in CT. I love it and it's definitely unique.

Just managed to sit through my first tattoo, finally, yay! Done by Anthony Cole at Silver Needles in Southend. Very happy with my choice. Thanks so much to everyone on this forum for helping to create such a great resource, I learnt a lot here.

Why not... Horizakura peony/junco from last year:

This is a really cool thread and I've really enjoyed reading people's responses. I haven't been getting tattooed that long, but it's been long enough and heavily enough that I find it difficult to make a clear distinction between myself and my tattoos anymore because they're such a huge part of my life and my experience. With that said, here's some cool stuff: Travel. I think one of the greatest things about getting tattooed, and especially by getting tattooed by a lot of people who don't work in my city, is how much traveling I've done to get tattooed, and how it's made travel to seem like a much easier and much more doable thing than it did prior to traveling to get tattooed. Going to New York City seemed like a somewhat daunting trip before; now I realize that it's an easy 7-8 hour drive down a pleasant stretch of the I-87 and can be a weekend trip. While I was working on my sleeve and @Pugilist was working on her back, I think we made five or six trips between Montreal and NYC in a year, and that was unthinkable before tattoos became a priority. If it wasn't for Electric Tattoo in Bradley Beach (now Asbury Park) I never would have considered visiting that part of the Jersey Shore, or probably the Jersey Shore at all, but it was great and I'd love to go back. Barcelona is a great place no matter what, but getting a little tattoo from El Monga when I was there this summer made that wonderful city that little bit better. One of my first thoughts when hearing about a place I haven't been before is figuring out who tattoos there, because tattoos make the best souvenirs. Art. I've always been interested in art, always drawn to some extent or another, always made a point of visiting museums to look at art, I read about it, and so on, but tattooing has really helped me to broaden my perspectives on art. I would guess that I'm not that different than many of you in that it was really punk rock and skateboarding that exposed me to the first art that really blew my mind. That Corey O'Brien reaper deck Jim Phillips drew is my favorite thing ever and has been since I saw it in ads in Thrasher magazine in I guess the late 80s and early 90s. Those Pushead graphics on those Zorlac decks in that same era; the cover art for the Noise Forest skate rock tape, that stuff all still rules. I'm probably not the only person here who was first exposed to Scott Sylvia not through anything tattoo related, but through the H2O album cover he did. My first encounter with Dan Higgs had nothing to do with tattoos, but was through Lungfish. And somehow despite all that, I guess I still thought that art was something that hung in galleries and museums and spaces like that, and that the illustrations on record covers, skateboards, t-shirts, comics, and so on, were something different entirely. It sounds really lame typing this out, but tattooing has really helped me to see all of this stuff as legitimate forms of artistic expression, and that it's totally as acceptable to be in awe of a Greg Irons illustration as it is to be in awe of a Rembrandt painting. I have plenty of time for both of those. I really love that interview Ed Hardy did of Mike Malone in Bulls Eyes and Black Eyes where Rollo talks about coming from the New York art scene, doing projections and shit like that, and then eventually coming around to imagery that really blew his mind from his childhood, like biker patches and stuff like that. I get where he's coming from there. Tattoos have also made me really appreciate technique and craft. Lately, and this is in a roundabout way coming from seeing Shawn Barber's paintings, I've come to really like realism in art, especially as it contrasts with super conceptual stuff that isn't about skill or technique at all. I have absolutely zero interest in realistic tattoos though. Body image. Now the thing that I like least about my body is the amount of open skin I have left. Not that I'm in a rush to cover it all right away, because I want to get tattooed for a long time to come. Spirituality. We've talked a lot about meditation on here, but I think beyond that there's something spiritual (maybe you'd choose a different word, but I'm using spiritual) about tattoos. I don't mean in a direct way, like tattoos of crosses and Jesus heads or Buddhist iconography or whatever, but more about the way that tattooing seems to be a fundamental human drive. When I was getting my arm worked on there was a moment in a lengthy and brutal session where I was laying on the table, I could smell my own blood from the work that had been done on my shoulder, and there was this sudden understanding of how weird the whole thing was: I was there bleeding and in pain, totally voluntarily, and paying somebody a lot of money that I had worked hard for to do this to me. It isn't behavior that is entirely rational; that's part of the appeal of it. Before having experiences like this I was a lot more of a rational and logical person and getting tattooed has opened me up to the possibility that we don't always do things for easily explainable and comprehensible reasons. I think that's a positive thing, personally.

less is more is my mantra with the healing very curious to see how this looks in coming months obviously like others have said - see the doc see the artist and like i said - hope you stay with it when i had my tattoo go south like this though the consensus was it wasnt my aftercare or the ink it was that i got butchered but i chose not to judge - wouldnt have helped i moved on and trust the processes very much now

Getting tattooed this afternoon by Murray Sell in CT, see other post in upcoming tattoos. Should be cool and unique, hope to post pictures later.

The only thing that is official for me at the moment is James Tex at the Summit Convention! Super excited as the line up of that convention is insane. Also have Victor Portugal but we haven't set a date yet. He asked me to go to Poland the same weekend as the Bay Area Tattoo Convention so I couldn't do it. Nikko Hurtado is tattooing me, I think, at ink n iron but we haven't set dates 100%. Verbal commitment from: Adrian Lee, Grime, Domantas.

I'm finding I'm a big fan of hard negative space. Maybe shading would be appropriate for whatever you might go for, but that tattoo is so solid all on its own I think it's earned the clean buffer. IMHO.

That rules, @fairgreen. Seeing it on Instagram was one thing, but finally seeing it bigger on my computer screen is something else. I can't wait to see it when it's finished. So sick.

I wouldn't touch that one, let it stand alone. To add to it, I'd just get different pieces to fill in the space around it. Maybe in a similar style so that it all flows together. Just my opinion.

UPDATE: Two days of brutality on my back with Henning. This go around we started coloring in the phoenix at Kings Avenue Tattoo. 7 hours on Friday in Long Island, then 6 more hours on Saturday in Manhattan. Henning thinks we need one more full session to complete everything. I think probably 2 more including any touch ups. By the way...I really really hate ribs...and spine....THE WORST. Enjoy the pics.

Theo is a very awesome dude on top of being a great, great tattooer. He's fast, too, which is nice for areas like that one. I knew that was a Mindell girl before I even read your post.

I understand what you are saying. I suggested John specifically because he works at Saved with Anderson - I considered it "keeping it in the family" :-) . I swear I've seen a compilation or two between artists at Saved (and other shops too). A Yoni back piece is enviable!

@MoistTowelette BEAST MODE!!!!

did you use the same healing method for your first tattoo?

here are the pics of my first session with Jeff Ensminger. small cover on each shoulder given a whiteout after the line work was layed in. next session in a couple weeks

Thanks for the suggestions so far. Have not heard back from Anderson and my wife agrees with some of you to leave the area as is and let that tattoo shine on it's own. When it comes to tattoos, I tend to get a little scattered. Old ideas bouncing around in my head mixed with new things I see on the internet. Funny, in my work life I am solid, focused, organized and decisive. I probably should shift my focus towards my upcoming consult with Yoni Zilber for a tattoo on my back.

Getting tattooed this afternoon by Murray Sell in CT, he's doing an original design of a traditional wolf head wearing an authentic German military helmet.

Oh my... Considering that the black portion of tattoo is perfect, it looks like a fierce allergic reaction to red ink. I have found this: "Cinnabar (mercuric sulfide) used in red tattoo inks can lead to allergic reactions and scarring. Tsuruta et al. reported a case of a 40-year-old Japanese man with a red tattoo who developed a whole-body rash after eating 250 g of raw swordfish and alfonsino.19 In this case the mercuric tattoo pigments caused the initial sensitization to mercury in the patient, producing a delayed hypersensitivity reaction." Did you visit a doctor??? I had a contact dermatitis. After aprox 7 days, but it doesn't look like that. Still it could have been triggered by black ink. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/73768496/IMG_7719.JPG It was itchy. After 4 days of "Betametasona Loratadina" and antistaminics, it started to fade. All this allergic matter is really underestimated. If I’ll go trough other tattoo sessions I’ll surely ask for an ink patch test.

Welcome! http://ukiyo-e.org/ is a great site to get lost in. The Perseverance book is a steal at $20 and it fucking rules. What were you thinking of getting?

Take it easy!

I don't even know why I read these contest threads anymore. All they do is give me ridiculous tattoo envy.

Healing 3 tattoos at the moment. What is wrong with me.

Cover it up with a panther?

@MoistTowelette Although it would be well deserved, it looks like your need for shirts is almost over :cool:

Waking up with your shirt glued to your tattoo because you were sleeping directly on it, and having to soak it off, wash and reapply salve at 3am. That was awesome.

Was able to get a three legged money toad (Jin Chan) from Takashi Matsuba (IG: traditionaltool) last night. The shading was done by hand (tebori) which is a first for me. Also the first piece I've gotten where the artist drew it on first as opposed to using a stencil. Can't wait to see the white all healed up and yellowed a bit. That's also three tattoos in three weeks. Feels good to have a break and be able to plan my next pieces :).

My new piece from Matt Houston done on a trip to Amsterdam at Salon Serpent. Real nice guy and had another great experience in this shop. I tried to get in with Matt before in Vancouver but time was against me so super happy to nab an appt this time. Flames go up back of elbow and still healing ( it sucks!) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

was in sf last week got this from jeff rassier. super happy about it reaper1 reaper2

I hate posting the same pic over and over again, but i want a LST shirt! Done by Shige. Pics do this piece no justice.

3 full days back to back with rob Richardson in December in the UK, stoked and scared at the same time

OK, I'll bite @ironchef. My first leg tattoo. Got it at the London Convention. By Eli Quinters, Smith Street Tattoo.

I've definitely contemplated a trip to see Aaron Coleman. Good taste! Welcome!

Penises are like boats... you're probably better off to have a friend that has one rather than owning one yourself.

Please do, I'd like to know more about that too. Was the practicing artist performing the procedure as a professional service or as an experiment? I can't imagine that anyone in a medically-related profession who is worth their salt (see what I did :P) would put a handful of sea salt directly onto an open wound. That is total madness. Also, most tattooers who have some knowledge about what is happening with their equipment will know why tattooing without a medium will bog down your machine and traumatize the skin. Saline solution in itself, when mild, is completely harmless to humans. I'm not questioning your claim so much as the legitimacy of who was doing it. I think is counterproductive to set standards to subpar practices. Also, I am not coming from a place of trying to delegitimize or replace laser removal. I don't think it has to be one or the other. I want to know more about saline removal because I think it would be nice to have viable options and alternatives with tattoo removal. For me personally, I would prefer to do something like saline removal on smaller tattoos because it would be easy to sit for, and less painful than laser removal. For larger pieces, I'd probably go the laser route because you can cover more ground in less time.

My opinion, avoid this. It looks similar to Tatt2Away® by Rejuvatek Medical, Inc. (Official Site) | Tatt2Away® Natural Non Laser Tattoo Removal System, which I also don't trust. Here's the thing. Who out there thinks it makes sense to open up a tattoo (create an open wound) via tattoo machine with no ink in it, then pour salt in it, or use saline (salt water) instead of tattoo pigment? No one. Ask your family doctor what they think about this, and they will tell you the possible side effects, you'll walk away. It's non-FDA regulated. There's no governing body on how this is to be done, or instructional information. There's nothing saying who is and who isn't doing it right. It's also invasive. Whenever you open up the skin, you are opening yourself up to long term negative effects.

I have heard and people using saline to remove tattoos for some time and have witnessed the procedure a couple of times. Those couple of times I haven't been able to develop an opinion about whether it works better than laser. The first time I saw it happen, it was to try to remove a couple letters in a tattoo that was misspelled, after a couple of sessions the tattooer covered it up with the right letters, secondly was a guy who was trying to get his whole sleeved zapped so he could get a japanese sleeve by someone else. He only did one session, but it removed a good amount of black from the tattoos on his arm, but he still decided to go the laser route, . I am not sure how they use the saline to remove the tattoo, but I saw it done with a coil machine, so methods could be different, but if that is the case one thing to consider is that laser sessions hurt a lot but take a lot less time than having somone go over your whole tattoo with saline, and the process hurt more than being tattooed, so which is really worse?. Like I said this could be a different method with same substance, but that is my insight from what I have seen.

I have a lady head in the ditch of my right arm, and it's really well designed so that there is minimal distress in the hot spots.