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Had a massive 20 min session today. Added some more Germanic Runes.

Hi all, been slacking on my updating on here so heres some bits and pieces: Most recent thing I've had done was continuing this, was cool to chat to Brad Fink briefly prior: one session to go, hopefully soon although it will be hard not to get something else by Andre. Also got this from O'Donnell back in July: Both shameless instagram thefts.... As usual this thread has blown my mind with the awesomeness that LSTer's choose to get...

You have all probably seen this all ready but here is the session on my back piece from a week ago when I was visiting Rudy Fritsch at his shop Original Classic in Trieste, Italy. Had a super good stay in the city and the shop is truly amazing, I could be there for hours just looking at all of the originals on the walls from some of the best in the culture and also from Rudy himself. We had lunch the day after the session and he sure is a very interesting and inspiring person too. Beyond happy with how this is progressing! Next session with Iain Mullen, who is the other part of this collaboration, will be in Stockholm quite soon and then the three of us converge during the Scottish Tattoo Convention in Edinburgh early next year to put the finishing touches on this project. I am a lucky guy :)

I asked my son to keep it within the confines of a button down shirt until he knows more about the direction his life will take. He knows he's going to have an interesting holiday with his dad's side of the family. His dad and aunts are tattooed, but his Grandma will be disappointed. My mom asked to see it. He has a video game tattoo. I would not have it, but it is well done and important to him. He put it on the back of his upper arm, and he'll be able to expand it fairly easily, and highlight things that will be more important to him later in life on his shoulder. I just can't understand being so upset with your child over something so - unimportant. If a tattoo is 'the worst thing you've done' then you are a pretty good kid :)

Nearly finished the anemone and shading and side corals, and shadows along the bottom. The red is the huge bruise already starting. The clownfish were already there, and the crab first pass was from the last session. I am so amazed at how this is all turning out! Two more session until we're done!

Any time @Mick Weder mentions getting a new tattoo, I'm always surprised he has space left.

Not sure if I posted this, but I'm getting tattooed by Linsdey Carmichael during the holiday. Stoked! I have no idea what to get.

Little Uncle Alan reaper head on the side of my knee. Really cool shop to get tattooed at- probably the most unique / nicely finished I've seen.

Some of yesterday's work, on the top parrot and bamboo from original Ed Hardy acetate. Juan Arreguin, my artist, got it from Nervio who worked in San Francisco for a long time. The next two were taken from Percy Water's book, done by Kemer Rodriguez. Done at Superfly Tattoo in Leon, Mexico.

Hi, my name is Louis aka Grolou aka lobogordo I´m a french tattoo artist, working and traveling in south america and europe since 8 years ago. My friend told me about this web, he said it is a good way for meeting new people and making new clientele. I´m planning to go to Canada in march and I´m looking for some places to guest in USA. I let you to discover my work, I like to do a different kind of tattoo, a mix of graffiti and street culture, more psychedelic and crazy! I hope you like it! If you want to see more, take a look at my instagram : LOBOGORDO

Here's something you don't expect to see under the santa suit! Santa Claus is Coming to Town -- and He's Covered in Tattoos - NBC News

@DragonFanSa - if you haven't been happy with the sessions so far, and you think the artist knows he didn't do good work, why would you do any more sessions with him? If you are not happy, stop and reassess. You are not obligated to complete work with an artist if you do not feel comfortable with it, and it seems that you are not.

someone more knowledgeable than me can certainly answer this, but because the colors are so muted would a blast over work? It kills me that your such a dragon guy a didn't get a balls out solid Japanese dragon piece. But I am very biased

my wife and i had an interesting convo from the potential future parent of a tattooed child perspective - huh? basically my kids are 12,9,7 and my wife has no ink - i have tatts 10 and 11 upcoming in dec and jan this morning we were discussing the idea of our kids wanting / getting tattoos as they got older my wife was not thrilled with the idea at all - haha she only likes a few of mine very honest up front lady i love her! :) anyway - i of course would welcome the idea of the kids ultimately getting ink my only wishes (of probable future advice) includes: - be at least 18 - do your homework on the artist / art / etc. - pick a spot that will be easily covered for those first few to see if indeed the whole deal is for you and to give consideration for occupational directions that might be on the table for your future

@CABS yeah I get that a lot, exes saying they don't want me to get any more work done, which is why they are now exes. Even dating, rarely get passed the 1st date because of them. But fuck, it it's their problem. @Tornado6 I've a video game tattoo and I plan on getting more :) I love it so much. Still in bit of shock... A few minutes ago my mum asked me if I'd ever get the scars on my inner left forearm tattooed. I replied with, it's something I might consider, yes. She just nodded. Maybe she's starting to come around? In her own quiet way.

“If your parents begin to like your work it's getting bad." -Charles Bukowski

@keepcalm you have some great responses here! I have had a similar experience with my mom. She hates tattoos and has made snide comments for years... but recently I feel like we have finally made progress. Basically, I would just argue with her about it a little each time she would make a comment, and then drop it and go about my business of getting tattooed as much as I liked. Then, this last time I saw her (over the summer) she was upset about a comment I made about her being mean to me over my tattoos. She said she has never been MEAN to me, but was just stating her opinion. I told her, "I already know your opinion so constantly restating it is kind of, well, mean! The tattoos are here to stay so get used to it!" Since then she has stopped with anything negative or any mention of them. For a long while there she wouldn't "like" any pics of me on facebook if my tattoos showed (whereas she "liked" all my pics where they don't show). Quite recently she liked AND commented, "I love this" on a picture that clearly showed my whole right sleeve. PROGRESS! I wasn't expecting to crack through her shallow, cold, hatred of tattoos, but it's happening! Or at least it's not in my face any more. Yay. Hang in there. You gotta be you.

Can't believe I forgot to post this one! From Chris O'Donnell's LA trip a couple weeks ago. Left forearm. Blatantly stolen from Chris' Instagram ( codonnell_nyc )

Be confident, embrace who you are and show love no matter how anyone treats you.

My buddy jaie came to town so i had him stick this dagger on my shin.

I can relate, I feel ya My parents reaction to my first tattoo was OMG why why why...it's so big...why did you do that to your body... Then I got some bigger hidden pieces. I never disclosed because they clearly were not interested in acknowledging the big pink (well, purple, blue, battleship grey, etc) elephant in the room Then I got both arms done. And some legs. I wore long sleeves and pants to family dinners for years after the fact...then eventually my parents said, look, we don't really like or understand tattoos but we know they are obviously important to you. And we don't want you to feel uncomfortable when you come visit the family, you are loved and accepted. So please know you can wear a short sleeve shirt and shorts when it is summertime and be comfortable with us. You are our son and we love you, regardless. What I'm trying to say...your parents love you. And hopefully they come around. Change in perception can take time. And mom and dad did come around...after 10 years. I came home from a trip with a screaming eagle on my neck. They weren't that shocked which actually was super-weird! But then we finally had a conversation where they gave me an opportunity to open up briefly...about why and what tattoos give to my life, what it means in my heart, the confidence in my body Why your neck?! Well, easy mom n dad! because there is no space anywhere else! But until they do...remember your tattoos they are about YOU and they are to worn with your CONFIDENCE. Own it! So don't waste your energy trying to convince your parents, family, whichever people that aren't genuinely interested. That's their friggin' problem, not yours. Good luck :) about your Mom...Moms don't like seeing their kids in pain, which is all my mom could see in my tattoos. Pain. Until I talked to her. Open from the heart. Then my mom saw them as colourful and beautiful. The pictures on our skin are a reflection of what's inside us and where we have been. So talk to your Mom openly. Tell her all the positive things the tattoos have given you. And in time, let's hope your mom/family can drop the negativity and have an open-mind, to accept you and accept the things that are important to you. In the meantime, remember - your tattooed skin is thick and colourful now. don't let the negative vibes stick to you. Tattoos are temporary...and so is life :)

So half sleeve is coming along nicely - foo dog and goldfish recently added. Sleeve by Daniel Innis at the Pearl in Toronto.

That's awesome, I wish that I had been able to find a local guy that could do what I was looking for (I am also in Edmonton), but ended up in a situation where I've been flying back and forth between here and Toronto. I've got 4 sessions done so far this year with hopefully another 4-5 next year to complete. Your tatt concept sounds pretty cool, reconsider your stance on not posting pics!

The itching is never fun, but I'm weirdly more annoyed by the hazy/cloudy/milky look this time around. It's really intense on the inside of my arm. I don't usually have a second peel to speak of, but I'm pretty sure this time I will. It is interfering wtih my ability to admire my tattoo. Go away, skin haze, you're lame.

I must say I do love this thread, hearing about people's experiences is refreshing and ideas at about how to overcome such problems.

@iowagirl, I have a similar story. When my mom accidentally saw me getting tattooed, it went a long way towards helping her accept, if not necessarily approve of it - I was never in danger of falling out with my family, but at various points she'd called it "creepy" and "aggressive." (I like "aggressive" actually - we've mentioned the attitude that women's bodies are for public consumption as being linked to some of the particular bullshit tattooed women get, so in this context taking your body back by marking it is an act of aggression. For parents maybe it's a different kind of aggression - like you're further distancing yourself, after all the normal ties that get severed in your 20s, by permanently changing something they made.) It eased some of her worries about pain and sterility. @keepcalm, I like the idea of writing a letter to your mom and seeing if she'd be willing to explain what exactly bothers her about the tattoos. Can you involve your dad in this discussion without making him feel he's being used as backup? Maybe a harm-reduction approach is best - focusing on changing her reactions instead of her attitudes, like getting her to at least stop the silent treatments. Silent treatments suck.

I hate to say it but he pretty much gave you exactly what you wanted. Some images just don't translate to the skin. This is why non-artists shouldn't design their own tattoos. Next time find an artist you like and give him/her a little more free rein.

Yeahhhhhh sigh. They bruise like mad. The other one last session was pretty bad. I am currently sitting with an ice pack jammed between said love handle and the back of a chair :) Thanks! I am so excited!

I don't know, you wanted a water color skyline and then you say it looks muddy? That's what you asked for. Throwing in random blue dotted lines would confuse the whole thing. Instead of trying to have so much control over it, why don't you get your artists opinion on what he would do. I'm not sure why you would give him a reference picture of cotton candy coming out of a volcano and then be angry at the result.

LOL! You know, that is a really good idea. One of my dive friends is a great underwater photographer - if he's going on our next trip, I think he'd love to do it. Thanks for the suggestion - that would be really cool!

I love your post, @beez. BUT DAMN. She kept the skin for you?! Your mom wins everything ever.

@Pete tattoo freak I've gone to | TattooBeGone SFTattooBeGone SF a few times and have had good results. Do me a favor, if you end up going here could you tell them Greg Paull sent you. They give referral discounts. My buddy has started going to L Plastic Surgery - Charles K. Lee, M.D. - San Francisco, California and seems to like them.

Right on @SeeSea! There are no perfect tattoos either, just as there are no perfect people... Hoping that my next tattoo is with Virginia Elwood, that would be awesome. I've only been tattooed by men thus far, and my husband's first tattoo is scheduled to be with a woman. Interesting dichotomy!

This may or may not prove useful / interesting, and it may or may not be too much information to share on the Internet, but below is an exact word-for-word copy and pasted conversation I had with my dad a few years ago about my tattoos. Needless to say, this is the last time tattoos have ever been an issue between us, and I'm happy to say that both my dad and stepmom are cool as hell about my tattoos now (even after seeing me with my hands and fingers covered in tattoos for the first time when I went back to visit them a few months ago). This whole ordeal started when I got a text message out-of-the-blue from my stepmom that said this: "I thought I would pass on to you my critique of tattoo art. It is one dimensional art done by mediocre art class dropouts whose work, if not embedded in skin, would eventually be sold at a garage sale for a dollar to some lady in pink shorts." Needless to say, I was pretty frustrated / upset, and ignored the message entirely and sent no response. A week later, I got this message from my dad: "Just read what Kel sent to you on the "tattoo" ... Unless its a picture of Libby [their dog], I agree" After becoming even more upset, and after stewing over these messages for about a week, I finally responded to my dad, and the following conversation took place... Me: "I want you to know that I'm pretty unimpressed with the messages you and Kelly sent me last week." Dad: "We didn't think that you would jump for joy. Just an exercise of concern on that line of expression and the view of 56 (28x2) years of experience... Didn't expect you to necessarily agree, but wanted you to know we are concerned about you... Its of course your choice, but we are allowed to voice concern... I think we are anyway, love does that kind of thing..." Me: "That's fine, but I want you to know how I feel about your approach. First of all, I don't appreciate the unprovoked, passive aggressive attack in the slightest. Secondly, I don't expect you to like tattoos or understand them but I do expect you to have some respect for me. If you take offence to a decision I've made, or something I've done, or an entire industry for that matter, I expect you to be adult about it and have a discussion as opposed to making misinformed, uneducated and insulting jabs about a topic you clearly no nothing about. That being said, you're entitled to your opinion and I respect that. I don't expect you to like it, but I do expect you to be a little more tactful and treat me like an adult if you have an issue. I love you guys and it really hurt me to be treated that way." Dad: "Sorry Mike, you know we had no intention in hurting you and respect is certainly not an issue as we respect you implicitly. Yes, we know that Tat's are a form of expression. We just want to make sure that as you add them that it is something you really want as we know so many people who a few years later are sorry they didn't think the choice through a little further..." Me: "I appreciate your concern, and I take no issue with you guys feeling that way. Like I said, the issue I had was with the way you guys chose to say it. The nature of our relationship seems to be that we don't speak very often (which is too bad, but for whatever reason that's how it's gone) so I cherish the times where we do talk so much. It hurt me that your comments came so out of the blue and seemed to take the place of us being able to catch up as people because everyone was so caught up in outward appearances. What I'm trying to say is that I love and miss you guys, and I was upset all week about the way that that situation went down." Firstly, I consider myself very lucky that he was so open to my point-of-view and was willing to discuss it, but I firmly believe that open and honest communication is the key to remedying these particular kinds of situations. Either way, good luck @keepcalm!

Outstanding! One of the best backpieces I've seen in a long time. I think Iain Mullen does some of the best black & grey around and is very underrated for it. Too many artists use too much black (heresy, I know), but Iain's pieces always has that perfect balance of greys, black, and skin so that it's very readable from a distance.

I'm sure her general reaction towards your tattoos comes from a place of love and her not quite being open to "getting it". Parents sure can be funny sometimes and it's interesting how much their approval means to their seemingly smart adult children. I use to be jealous of my friends who's parents yelled at them for coming home with Black Flag bars or whatever tattooed on them. I think it just means they give a shit. Getting tattoos on your body just probably doesn't follow the bogus script they've had in their head for what you'd be like as an adult. Doesn't mean they are not proud of all your other accomplishments. Maybe have the talk to end all talks about them, an open and honest conversation from both ends. Then the topics off the table. Don't let your parents opinions on something so simple as tattooed skin cause strain on your relationship with your mom. My parents were never surprised by my getting tattoos. I came home when I was 14 with a kitchen scratcher tattoo by my friends older brother. Who, not all that surprisingly, was not a tattooer. I showed my mom it with pride right away. Her response was along the lines of, "well that wasn't the smartest way to go about getting a tattoo". That was it. A few days later she pointed out that poor people, especially women, already have enough things stacked against them, no point in making myself look like a criminal and killing my potential. (Thankfully I moved far away from kitchen tattoos well over a decade ago.) My mom may not win any mother of the year awards, but she has a good heart and I know now that she meant well with her bleak commentary. She's just always been blunt and said it how she saw it, no matter how misguided it may be. Parents have their faults. She had known since I was 10-11 that I loved tattoos. I'd always check out all the tattoos on the bikers and scumbags that hung around. I sat in awe across the kitchen table from my mom when she got one (a terrible blue rose on her chest) when I was 8 or 9. I'd get paid to babysit with tattoo magazines. We moved regularly and always being on the go meant I had few belongings, but my mom would occasionally find a new tattoo or music magazine in a gas station somewhere that would keep me distracted. I can go home with a new tattoo and my mom will usually ask to take a peak. I'd say the real shocker and bone of contention was just my decision to grow up independent and sober, build some financial stability, and earning myself a comfortable middle class life. I'd say that causes more waves and tension. But, you know, different strokes. TL;DR: Just hug your mom. Tell her how you feel, have an open conversation, and actually listen to her response. She'll get over it, they always do. Then hug her again.

Was lucky enough to get some work from Chris Conn last night. 1st session, halo and color next time. Ill try to post a better pic later. By the way.... one of the nicest guys I've ever met.

It will take years @keepcalm. My folks too are so disapproving. But, I never seeked their approval to begin with. I use to wear longer sleeves and long pants so I didn't smash them full view, and slowly after time...well, I was just having a beer with mum last night in a pair of shorts and a singlet [emoji4] ...and they're both 78 years old. The comments only stopped within the last under 12 months. I would address them immediately, tactfully, respectfully though stern. See, you won't change that good person in you, and oldies are funny from that generation, they judge big time because their world was so square, but they were raised with impeccable values. You keep on chipping away and out shining with those same values, and after time, a long time, your actions will speak volumes to which they will realise doesn't match what their visual expectation is. Good luck [emoji4]

when I think about a mom and their kid getting tattooed, i think of Marcellus Wallace during The Bonnie Situation sayin, "Oh, no fuckin shit she'll freak." I did the same thing as @sophistre but after I got my first tattoo... sent a long ass heartfelt email with a photo of the tattoo with some explanation about it and she called me soon after saying she understands. that broke her in easy, but she had no idea the coverage that would later ensue. ;) I think what a letter (or email) does as compared to a conversation is allows you to clearly get all of your thoughts and points out to the reader rather than having the listener rebut, interrupt, or shut off altogether. it can't turn into an argument and you don't have to deal with emotions. you can get all your emotions in writing and the reader can let their emotions flow as they read, soak it all in, and reply when they're ready (if at all). either way, it found it to be a bit safer and more effective for my mom. just another option, depending on your situation. good luck!!

If I were in your shoes, I would try to truly understand why your mom hates them so much. She hates them just because they are trashy? It must be more than that for her to act so serious about it. I'd sit my mom down with a bottle of alcohol, and I would force a clean answer out of her (my mom prefers avoidance of issues). And you have to ask the right questions too. This might seem silly but root cause analysis is a valuable life tool, use the "5 Whys". "Why don't you like tattoos?", "In your mind, what makes them trashy?" I'm not going to role play this whole thing out, but I hope you get the idea. Then explain your side, why you like tattoos, how tattooing in this day and age is very different than tattooing in hers, etc. In my own experience, I see a lot of it come from pressure from our parents own peers. If your mom's friends hate tattoos, then that makes her look horrible as a mother that she raised some miscreant that likes tattoos that would embarrass her in front of her friends. You have to see it from her side. If you were on her side of the fence, what would it take to change your mind? I can tell you, sure as shit, if I were to go to the beach with my mom, she would immediately be fearful of what the people around us would think about my tattoos. She can't help it, she is a mother. She wants all her kids to be seen in a respectful light, and that is her opinion of what respectful means. My older brother rocks a mohawk. It looks good. My mom hates it and it embarrasses the hell out of her because her friends see her son with a mohawk and she feels ashamed.

I finally get to give this a shot! Dana Helmuth, 95% completed at Read Street Tattoo in Baltimore, the rest done in his private studio.

Congrats, Bunny! I imagine finally getting that tattoo after seven years of waiting is a very satisfying feeling. Greg and I didn't get to two tattoos last night, since we got an unavoidable late start. We did go with the creepy Lo Pan hand holding a dragon that we were joking about the last time I was there. It's pretty much all a result of talking about Big Trouble in Little China with he and his coworker when I was the last one in the shop on my last appointment.

I got my first-ever hand-poked tattoo last night from our own @cltattooing: It's also my first scorpion. Let's be honest: I needed one.

I trust that you gazed longingly, @Cork.

Tattooers tattoo over all sorts of scars, stretch marks, etc. Don't feel embarrassed or worried! This is the job, what makes it challenging and interesting. They have seen it all! I felt self-conscious when I started going onto my thighs because I have lots of cellulite. I wasn't sure how designs would turn out. The answer is obvious: my thighs are ten times cooler now. :)