Leaderboard

Finally get to post in this thread!! Screen capped right off Instagram. Karl Lark/Bert Grimm? lady head flip by Jason Phillips at FTW in Oakland, CA. Ribs are brutal. But I'm stoked on the end result. Felix by Adrian Sanchez at FTW in Oakland, CA for their 14 Year Anniversary Party. I've always wanted a Felix tattoo. It fit perfectly in the spot.

Today I capped my other knee with a demon head by Franz Stefanik at The Okey Doke in Toronto. Its always a great experience with Franz. Interesting conversations with a great guy who also does amazing work. I'll have to update my legs in the Squidpants thread soon. I'm really looking to forward to getting some filler work around some of the larger pieces on my right leg now.

I wonder about this myself, and it's been more present as a question since I've been working on my back. There's something about getting such a huge area of my body tattooed in a relatively short period of time that makes running out of space seem like a very real possibility. I still have a lot of space left, and I've found that I find more and more gaps on the spaces I previously thought were filled, but I need to be thoughtful about what I do get and not just get tattooed for the sake of getting tattooed. That said, I'm finding that more and more for me that getting tattooed is only partially about the tattoos. I want to get stuff that looks great, that's going to age well, that has that intangible quality that gets me super excited, but it's also about a larger experience. I think when you say, @CABS, that you're sure that your taste in tattoos will change, I completely agree, but not just in terms of aesthetics. My tastes have changed somewhat since I started getting tattooed, and part of that is understanding that I can appreciate some tattoos and kinds of tattoos without necessarily wanting it on me, but I also want different things out of tattoos now than I did when I started. I feel really fortunate about how much getting tattooed has enriched my life: not only do I have some really beautiful tattoos, but I've also met some really great people, made friends, traveled, heard stories, learned about art, and so many other things, and that experience is as much a part of it as the physical tattoo is. A large part of that comes through getting tattooed pretty regularly and filling up those empty spaces. I don't think there is any single right or wrong way to get tattooed, and everybody wants something different from tattoos.

whatever... Jamie Sawyer Immortal Ink Clinton NJ first time with Jamie awesome and fast artist great convo does it get better on a 'sick day'

Got some more work done on my Bakeneko by Josh Damnit at Classic Tattoo Upland, CA

Beautiful lady arms! Here's mine, along with some unasked for lady back and butt (in progress). All of mine are done by the same tattooer, Gemma Pariente at Full Circle. I don't think sleeves are masculine on a woman, get what you wish, epic tattoos are for everyone.

Resurrecting this thread. I've been told a couple of times by friends and a tattooer that I respect that I may be going too fast. I've thought about slowing down. But for what? I've also had a tattooer tell me to get tattooed while I'm young, because they hurt more when you're older. I've also had a tattooer tell me to just get them whenever I feel like it and have the resources to do so. I kind of want to finish ASAP so I can move on to Ross Hogg status and just buy prints because of the lack of real estate left. I've also had a good talk with Kimmy Beeeeee about slowing down, that way all my tattoos aren't from the same "era", so to speak. As time goes on, I'm sure my taste in tattoos will change. Thoughts?

@marley mission I got a walk-in from Eli in 2011 and it's a cool shop. What they do isn't really what I'm looking for anymore, personally, but it's a neat place, the flash is gorgeous, and it's totally the sort of place you can go without having anything in mind. That's what I did and I ended up with a cool wolf head. There was a sheet up that I believe Dan did that had the headless Acéphale man on it and I've toyed with getting that at various points over the years, but the idea doesn't sit totally right with me. Anyway, there's a LOAD of great stuff on the walls ranging from tried and true classics to stuff that's pretty far out there and still looks classic. I'd also recommend that you check out Electric Tattoo in Asbury Park. I haven't been to the new shop, but the old one in Bradley Beach is one of the neatest shops I've been in. It has walls covered in hand-painted flash too, there are great tattooers there (I got tattooed by Tom Yak, my wife got one from Robert Ryan), but it feels far less "Brooklyn" than Smith Street is. There's really good vibes at Electric.

hey friends! Short little session on Saturday with Scott at Sugar shack, I was feeling quite sick so we only did a bit, background down the left side and gave the tiger some stripes. Really wished I could have gone longer. Since finishing I havent been able eat much without puking. Its been a shitty couple days. Really hope to have a good long session next time, hopefully finish background down the ass and thighs.

I've thought about this quite a bit, as another LST'er who gets a lot of work done. I'm 43 and not getting any younger. I used to worry about this more, but as time goes by and my legs fill in, I'm confident that I'm being true to myself and I am getting tattoos because I really want them. I'm committed to the look at this point lol, but at the same time, despite significant coverage, I can cover up pretty easily (sleeves, squisdpants, chest piece, legs) and nobody is the wiser. The biggest worry for me is that my taste will change, but I have tattoos that go back 25 years, and they are a different style, and I don't regret them at all. My biggest regret will likely be that I've run out of space. As long as no one is pressuring someone else to get tattooed, then its all good.

@TrixieFaux absolutely love your arms...so beautiful...fits perfectly with you :) - - - Updated - - - oh...and my arm so far...

Here are my lady arms! My right arm in the left pic was still in-progress. Not too masculine for my taste.... but I guess it all comes down to personal taste. Get what you like! I also don't know what a deco-ish googah is...?!

Welllllllll....if it makes you happy get another one, right?! Went and saw Paul Dobleman at Spider Murphy's last week...please excuse the inflammation Hope everyone is having a great New Year so far!

Whoa, with all the awesome tattoos posted in the Lowdown thread recently I'm surprised no one's posted here yet. I'll kick it off! Here's my thigh by Seth Wood, started at Temple and finished at Saved.

Finished watching season 1 last night. it is a fun show. after dinner i would say to my girlfriend: "Do you want to watch another episode of the bad acting zombie show?"

Aaaaaaah that is awesome! Your Triceratops made me LOL. I love it. I actually find it kinda inspirational...I'm a total weirdo. :D Thanks for sharing!

Mostly I watch Timberwolves basketball- which is a horror story in it's own right. Seasons two and three of AHS were the best in my opinion. I also have been watching a lot of Bob's Burgers lately because it's my six year old daughters favorite show for some reason and I could watch Arrested Development on a continuous loop.

Funny that you chose to resurrect this, because what I just posted in the post-tattoo blues thread probably belongs here. I don't think I'm getting tattooed at a particularly fast rate relative to a bunch of folks here, but that's not a realistic comparison for me to make. Like, I've enjoyed pushing past my comfort zone, but I can probably be a little more laid-back about it - my skin isn't going anywhere. Getting travel tattoos has been a lot of fun, but feeling spooked at how fast they've filled up space is probably a sign that I should put a little more planning into my next couple. Dealing with a bounty of contradictory advice from well-informed people can be way harder than tuning out all of the bad advice out there.

Ask and ye shall receive.

Heading up to visit Mr. Noseworthy on thursday for my first session. He has been very open to input and willing to bounce ideas around while the idea jells together.

When I'm not getting tattooed, I work as a brewer, currently for a chain of brewpubs. Right now, the company is having a brewing competition between the brewers in all the restaurants worldwide where we had to create, brew, and market our own beers to be sold in our individual restaurants. When I got into brewing professionally nearly eight years ago I wanted to gain a little bit of experience and eventually get into writing beer recipes, but it turns out that outside of small brewpubs with very little brewer turnover, the reality of commercial brewing is that you're brewing the same recipes over and over and over (which is a challenge in its own right because you want to same results every single time even though you're working with raw materials that can vary pretty greatly). So it's been a really cool opportunity and challenge to be able to think up a beer, write a recipe for it, brew it, and then serve it to people. Though that last part is a little bit stressful, especially when your peers are drinking it. I'm really happy with what I brewed though. I brewed a Belgian-inspired brown ale--it isn't brewed to any particular style, but I used a Belgian yeast and Belgian malts so I'm calling in Belgian--with a low bitterness that is balanced out with sour cherries. It turned out really well: it has a nice fruity character without being sweet; it's complex without sacrificing drinkability. Anyway, as this is a competition, I'm also asking for your help and support here. The first round of the competition is decided by public vote and then the finalists then go to France to have their beers evaluated by a panel of judges. The winner then gets to go to the Great American Beer Festival which is being held in Denver, CO (if I win, hello Lifetime Tattoo!). While I would love for all of you to come to Montreal and taste my beer, you don't actually have to try it to vote for me, so if you are so inclined you can vote up to once per day until the end of the contest via this link: http://maitrebrasseur.les3brasseurs.com My beer is called The Belgian Cherry. I am the worst at coming up with names. There is a hilarious picture of me in there though, if you need an incentive.

My arms are still in process but here's the 1/2 sleeve so far

Wil Murray banged out a filler on my arm this past Saturday.:cool:

I think @AverageJer posted a picture of a Sailor Jerry fish he got a couple days ago? I hadn't been on here recently and wound up getting a similar tattoo on Saturday. It's from Rollo flash tweaked by Josh Arment at the Aloha Monkey. You guys, I can't begin to do justice to how cool everyone at this shop is. After some very, very embarrassing last-minute indecision I went back to the first thing that had caught my eye on the wall (and learned a lesson about not overthinking things). Sorry about the picture quality.

Just got this blaster today by Ron Henry Wells while he's in town at Lombard St. Tattoo. A somewhat new take on his drippy wolf designs - I'm so happy with it! Photo taken by Ron and stolen from his IG - Instagram

Finished my back on Friday night (well, Saturday at 5:30 am). It was a hell of a ride - it took almost exactly a year of sessions every 2-3 weeks. We'll do a final session after this heals to tie the bow on it. This tattoo was made by Sean Zee out of Brick, NJ from pictures I've taken while scuba diving. I gave him 50-some pictures and a wish list, and he selected about 15 shots to create this scene. These pics were taken on 4 continents from 1998 through 2013 using (mostly) a Nikonos V underwater camera with an SB-105 strobe, UW Nikkor 35mm, 28mm, and 15mm f2.8 fisheye lenses, Sea & Sea (no relation) macro kit and Nikonos closeup kit. Sean is a great guy, dedicated and amazingly creative. It boggles my mind how artists just "see" stuff like this and make it happen. He put up with a lot of questions and "what ifs" and "why nots" from this nearly virgin canvas (as he likes to say, "this woman only had lil kitty paw prints on her shoulder before this"), explaining to me all the ways this tattoo would NOT work, and ended up just putting it on the table that it really needed to be a full back if I wanted so many references. And to prove it, he designed the whole thing superimposed on a picture of my bare back and emailed it to me. I remember the moment I saw it for the first time and it shorted out my brain. I committed to the full back about 20 minutes after I got the email. (And I admit at the time I did not understand in the least what I was in for...) Kinda funny, thinking back on it, how all the chatter and uncertainty and 14 years of wanting some sort of tattoo with my eagle rays were completely silenced and resolved in a heart beat. Anyway... So, the critters making appearances, starting at the top right and going clockwise are: two moon jellyfish, two Moorish idols, two clownfish and anemone, a batwing coral crab and mustard tube sponges just behind him, a leopard moray eel, two squirrelfish hiding in red sea fans that cross my lower back, a sea snake in lettuce coral (very poisonous, which I didn't realize until after I'd crawled up in his face to take the picture and then been admonished by the divemaster after the picture was developed), a queen angelfish and a hammerhead shark. In the center are two spotted eagle rays and the broken mast of the Nippo Maru, a Japanese supply ship sunk during WWII by US forces in Truk Lagoon, Micronesia. When I look at this, I don't just see a tattoo of fish. It's a diary of my favorite diving experiences. Each part has such different memories of the location, the people I was with, and the experience on that dive. (Yeah, poisonous sea snake. Whoopsie on that one. And the clownfish was actually guarding a little ring of day-old eggs. And trying to photograph moon jellies in a surge without being hit is like playing a 3D video game. And that I really really wanted my spotted moray eels but Sean said the pattern wouldn't age well, so with resigned sadness, my handsome spotted moray had to morph into a leopard moray. Sniff Sniff.) All of this flooding my brain at the same time. And then I get this goofy grin on my face thinking about walking around with this huge awesome back piece that anyone I know would be shocked to learn I have. He put up a little video where you can see the ribs, too: Video of SeeSea's Back. Healed pics coming to an LST contest near you. I want a T-shirt, dammit :D

Not mine (my arms are blank as of yet ;-)), but gorgeous: by Andrea Ottlewski, Slave to the Needle

I scored a consultation appointment with Brett. We are going to discuss the work I want and than set a start appointment if it all plays out. I am excited to show him his first years work.... w00t! :D Thanks again @Joe Shit.

All right guys, you've convinced me that money is no object. There is just one more thing (I think...I hope...) I want to check with you guys before making a final decision. I'm not sure the tattoo I'm looking to get is really Justin's style. I'm looking to get a semi-realistic to realistic (read: not too cutesy or cartoony) owl in a bright color like blue or orange (think red phase eastern screech owl), which I realize may not be up everyone's alley (not only because it's an owl, which I guess is pretty overdone at this point, but also because it would seem some artists are averse to mixing realism and color). I'm worried that I'd make an appointment with Justin and wait till September (since the consultation doesn't happen until only a few weeks prior to the initial tattoo date) just to be told that he doesn't do that kind of tattoo and I'll have to take my business elsewhere. Is that a legit concern? Or do you think Justin is versatile enough that he'd be cool with that?

We just started The Fall with Gillian Anderson. Really into it. I suck at watching a show and actually finishing the season.

I just finished watching the first season of AHS. It was ok. Parts of the story really drew me in, but then other times I was like WTF? It seemed to me like the writers didn't have any plans on how they were going to progress and end the season when they started. And it was kind of abrupt in the end. But overall, I liked the story. My favs of all time are Game of Thrones, True Detective, Breaking Bad, Orange is the New Black, and the Shield.

You could try having yourbtattoo artist draw up a design like that one if you like it but not as cartoonish

I would change that price range.... Artists like those at Kings Ave charge that much because they are worth it. You could end up paying that lesser amount but the talent could possible be much less then the 75.00 difference. You should wait and save the money you need to get what you want. Your skin isn't going anywhere and you will have whatever tattoo you get for a LONG TIME!

Welcome from a fellow Long Islander and a kings ave victim :) Save up and get exactly what you want nothing is a race and you don't have to meet a deadline. Some people on these forums have planned tattoos for quite some time. Heed the advice of the people on this board I know I have learned a lot reading their suggestions

Is that little bit extra a hour to much over the course of your life? If that's who you want it by just be patient and save up, he's a great artist, you might have to wait longer for him anyway in which case you could save more money for it,

I can't back what @CultExciter is saying enough. No excuses for bad ones in the greater NYC area. I haven't been to the LI King's Avenue, but I obviously can't say enough good things about the Manhattan shop.

Got this lil lady from Shawn VanOven! Thanks for lookinh

Here is some pics. Still work in progress. Sorry for the shitti pic.s...

That is seriously epic!

Happy you liked it dude. We should meet up over a beer or something sometime, living in the same city and all. - - - Updated - - - @ItsNewport thanks my friend! Looking forward to hanging out again soon. - - - Updated - - - Thanks @xcom. Not my art or shop though. All tattoos shown in the video were made by Morten Transeth (with the exception of those of his co-workers and the stock photos of Dietzel, Norman Collins pieces etc) I merely shot and edited the thing. Happy you and your son enjoyed though :)

Wow, that snake and roses is so cool. Here's a little one I got yesterday from Kurt Melancon at a fun Sailor Jerry birthday event at Leviticus in Minneapolis. Obviously not on the same scope as some of these but it's a quality tattoo and fun to share.

Finally started my left arm with Grez at King's Avenue NYC yesterday. We got most of the outline done, but there are still some spots to finish lining next month. I'm doing at least one sitting a month, unless they can squeeze me in elsewhere. We'll see. I'll probably post little detail shots along the way, but not really the whole thing until it's done (or close to it).

Congrats on just now making Seth's instragram feed!

here is my finished panther and roses tattoo by Jebb Riley, done at Congress St Tattoo in Portsmouth, NH. (finished last friday) I keep forgetting this is actually a coverup. The butt / thigh covers up an originally well done celtic knot that was touched up HORRIFICALLY by another artist after I moved from miami to NY in 1995. Lived with it for almost 20 yrs before covering. Not sad to see it go. Very difficult to photograph as it wraps around my arm and starts at the top of my shoulder, ending below the ditch in my elbow. Jebb did a nice pic stitch so I stole this from his instagram. Still, with the glare, and the bleeding, this pic doesn't even come close to doing justice to it. Started in July of 2013. Panther outlined right before my second and last session on my chest with Chad Koeplinger (he was running late, so why not?). Sessions were spaced very widely apart due to me starting my backpiece with Chad last year. Jebb has been very understanding. Total time on this is about 9.5 hours. Jebb Riley is a super great tattooer and and even nicer dude. Super stoked with how this all came together.

What is this horseshit? Remedy that post-haste.

Above is a picture of me laying like a passed out pale seal on Iain Mullens table. Today was the second to last session on my back. Can't wait to see it finished. We're doing the last bit and touch ups with Rudy Fritsch at the Scottish Convention in the end of March. Going to be fun/hell. Todays session was nice except for a few bits. I can't believe how quick this piece has been. I got the idea to start my back in April last year, asked Iain about it and then we started in mid June. It really helps that both him and Rudy work super quick and make for good company + conversations during the sessions. Secret bit of knowledge exclusively for LST (I know people love that exclusiveness, I sure do): that ain't a dark red, but actually a light gray wash looking bloodied and irritated. Haven't got a piece of color on me, except for a few patches of gray and white.

My mum came over to stay for christmas and I'm not good a keeping secrets from her (and there barely is a reason anyway). I didn't want her to 'accidently' find out about my first tattoo, so I thought it better to tell her about it. After having read about so many rather negative reactions on here, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I was sure she wouldn't be super angry with me, but major disappointment would have been a possibility. So, the two of us had an evening out and the conversation went something like this: Me: Mum, I actually bought something with the money you gave me for my birthday. Her: Oh good, what is it, something nice? Me: Well, I do think so, but I'm not sure you'll like it... Her: It's your money and you can do with it whatever you like. What is it then? ...[her being really curious now and trying to guess]...a gun?!? [We're German, so this would have been very unusual and rather unpopular. And yet, I found it rather odd that this was the first thing that came to her mind.] Me : Hell no! Her: [Comes up with another totally weird guess which I can't even remember] Me: No, nothing like that....I got tattooed.... Her: Ah...I see...what is it? And where? Can I see it? Me: I got a lynx head and some flowers on my thigh. [And no, I couldn't show it as we were in a public space.] Her: Does it have a special meaning? Me: Not really, I just fancied it. Her: So it's more like decoration? Me: Yes! Her: Fair enough....Are you gonna wear hot pants in summer? Me: Err....what? No, I wasn't planning to. I'm not a teenager anymore... Her: What about a swimsuit, will it be visible then? Me: Well, it would be, but you know I don't really go swimming very often. Her: So it's pretty much always hidden?!? Can I see it later? ... At the end the of the day, the hardest thing to understand for her seemed to be, that I wasn't planning to show off the tattoo as such. Phew. Could have been worse. When I later mentioned that I was indeed thinking about getting another tattoo, this seemed to stretch it somewhat though. I guess little bits of information from time to time will be a better approach in this case... ;-)

It was so awesome to meet some of u guys! I had so much fun, as usual! Hope to catch u guys next year! I'll be Carlos Torres' booth bitch next year so come say hello.