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

I have my next backpiece session 5 days before i go to see Black Label Society in concert. That was not the best piece of planning i've ever done! Think i'll be planting myself firmly away from the pit for that one

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

@cibo, your arm is looking so pretty! Ooh, yours is rad, too @El Dolmago!

Is this guy really a millionaire? Say it ain't so. I think people get bad tattoos because most people don't see tattoos as art. They see it as a way to customize their bodies and feel like they are unique. A lot of people just want the self-image that goes along with having a tattoo. It's the same reason shitty mass-produced wall art sells like hotcakes at Ikea. People want to decorate themselves, and they either don't know, or don't care about, the difference between mass-produced garbage and something that an artist has put their time, skill, and heart into. EDIT - And, ya know, there's nothing wrong with Ikea wall art. And there's nothing wrong with unoriginal tattoos, assuming they are executed well. They both serve a purpose to the consumer. Not everyone has to have a refined palate for artwork.

Agreed. I say just go to Kings Ave. - - - Updated - - - Good tattoos ain't cheap. Cheap tattoos ain't good. Save money. Get the best. It'll be on you FOREVER.

wait longer, save up the adequate funding. You'll be MUCH happier 10-20-30 years from now.

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

My only complaint about the Tattoo Age stuff is that there isn't a new one every week. I love them!

=== Hi Everyone! Started this in Late October 2014 and just got it Finished on Jan 03 2015 6 Session of 4 Hours Each - Traveling back and forth from Montreal to Toronto... Tattoo Artist is Tony Hu from Chronic Ink Tattoos. http://instagram.com/tonyhutattoo Completed and Done! 龍 - Dragon by davidcwong888, on Flickr

Franz Stefanik from the Okey Doke in Toronto.

I had my favorite tattooer in the world, Erick Lynch do this on Friday at Redemption in Cambridge Ma. My girl and I have been together for 7 1/2 years and got married in October…. So, I got her name finally :-) I'll have to repost this when it heals.

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.

Hi guys. I haven't posted anything in ages, but that doesn't mean I don't stop by regularly and check out whats new. The past year was kind of a rough one for me health-wise, but I'm cautiously optimistic that things are looking up. I only got one tattoo in 2014 but that's okay, as it was the last big spot I had left open. I spaced out getting this tummy tickler done from May through October. Just now got around to getting a healed picture (and a shitty one at that) of it. Done by my local dude Paul Pearson at Bright Ideas in Murfreesboro TN. (P.S. Although we used a print of the original Pharaoh's Horses painting for reference my plainskin Missus prefers to call it a three headed horse with a gunshot wound).

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.

Blue enjoying her front seat view of the tree on Christmas Eve.

Merry Christmas from Aurora & Tomo! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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.