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Can't go wrong with a Lehi tiger.

Made quite a bit of progress today with Fil Wood at Black Crown in Leeds https://instagram.com/p/0dTv7zmzSG/?taken-by=fil_wood

I did my first tattoo. I have been in my 2 year apprenticeship for around 7 months. Apprenticing has been one of the most challenging and humbling experiences of my life... until today. All of the grapefruit, melons, and synthetic limbs in the world could not have prepared me for the intensity of tattooing a person. In the words of my good friend, Albie Rock, "that first line is a real gut-check, m@therf#$er!" With the support of my teacher, and the confidence of an amazing client, we all made this Ohm symbol, together. My head is still spinning and I have yet to fully process the reality of what happened today. The highlight was receiving this picture from the client, thanking me for choosing her for my first tattoo and saying, "I love it! It's perfect!" I mean, we both know it's not perfect, but, in a way, it is. I learned so much about myself as a person today. It's not always about completing a flawless piece, it's about being a part of someone's journey. It's about being real with someone for a moment in time. Anyway, I don't know if this is appropriate for the Introduction section, but this is truly my introduction. I have so much more to learn... but that ever crucial tattoo #1 is in the books. Here's to many more. Thank you for reading. I'm spent!

Got this tiger shark on my calve 3 weeks ago from a dude named Brad Dawe who owns Hell or High Water in Moncton, New Brunswick. Finally healed! But still a bit shiny.

If you want something bad enough and you put in the time, patience and persistence...it will happen. I waited 2 years to finally get a spot w/ my tattooer. Well worth the wait if you really want it!

in all seriousness - maybe the idea would be to leave this tattoo alone for awhile - put some ink somewhere else

First one since June (aside from a little Halloween special). Matt Arriola.

i tell you what - i was putting off upper body work until my body looked the way i wanted it to - and then i was like - well shit - maybe this is as good as it gets - glad i decided to dive in as my upper body ink - especially torso - makes me enjoy what i see in the mirror more than ever - just go for it - aint none of us perfect looking

I was going to DM you, but I suppose this is universal. I am not fat but was overweight for many years. I am older, and have the delightfully attractive back flaps. Not bad, but you know we obsess about things that we focus on more than others do, so of course, that's where my eyes went. HOWEVER, I was/am amazingly delighted how my back tattoo hides them! My tattoo artist placed the long dorsal (top) fin of my eel right along that area, and it's gone! It even gives eel life in a way. There is another thread somewhere around here - maybe it's actually this one or the ladies thread - that talks about tattoos as cosmetic surgery. I've also got the dreaded batwings - but I see women with some awesome upper arm tattoos, and you know what - the batwings end up so secondary to the tattoo. A tattoo completely changes what you and others focus on. Try not to escalate it into something so encompassing. Believe me, when you get that tattoo, the focus is gonna be on the art, not on back fat. Hugs.

Just made an appointment for May with Josh Peters in Saint John, New Brunswick to get a swooping eagle on my forearm! Stoked! Here's a chest eagle he just did.

Finally finished my back last night. Yup @a1steaks - back to running next week - congrats on yours too! I'm going to wait and post healed pics so I can show the sides too, but Sean posted the straight-on shot on his instagram. All sorts of funny milestones have been going through my head. The last 5 am drive home. I just took my last "first" shower. Coincidentally, the bottle of Dial soap is nearly out. It's the last week of smelling like Redemption. The last week of red welts from the painters tape on my stomach. The last week of really uncomfortable sleeping. I was somewhat out of my mind with exhaustion and chills at the end - I actually said goodbye to the massage chair. ::rolls eyes::

Finally finished. Now I'll start working out again. On Monday. I promise.

The lady and I went down to Dedication Tattoo for their 2 year anniversary party yesterday, they had a huge sheet of designs to choose from drawn up by them and their guests for the day and we had a lot of fun just getting spontaneous tattoos and hanging out at the shop. Bryce Operandi put a rose on my elbow, and she got a butterfly girl head from CJ Fishburn. CJ talked her into doing black and gray and I think it looks rad. Elbow wasn't as miserable as I expected either so that's a bonus.

If you try hard enough no artist in this world is hard to book..

Post your devils/demons/etc! Planning to get one from Craig Boxcar Chazen next week, but for now here are some of my favorites. Luke Jinks Theo Mindell Chris Marchetto Boxcar

A dragon from your upper arm to chest would look sick with the koi on your forearm. https://instagram.com/p/0cD35CEC0G/?taken-by=johansvahntattooing

I'm very self-conscious of my body, especially without a shirt. My artist is very professional. Any good artist should be. By my third session on my chest I was completely at ease and enjoyed the session. -Rob

Wow I'm sorry that's the reaction. Monday is gonna be a great day and I'm sure you'll love the results Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

@Patrick Bateman - Jason Kundell is the artist.

I concur with @bongsau A great artist is worth the wait. I too waited around 24 months before I got a consult with the artist who is doing my work now. I had almost forgotten about contacting him and being on the wait list when I finally got the call that it is my time to come and see him. :) Worst thing was I was on holidays for about 6 weeks when he rang so had to postpone it further. :( Waiting sucks big time when you want the art now, but from my experience even a 2 year wait has been more than worth it.

I been following you for a while... Cool flash bro!

@a1steaks Looking Sweet, who is the artist?

Following you now bro.

Thank you. "Humble" is definitely the word. We have a lot of clients that are social workers; that's a whole different type of intensity. That must have been really eye opening to handle your first case.

My first lady head, Plan on getting more. So sad Kim Ann has no space to tattoo me this week while shes in NYC. -cries

Gonna send in my deposit for a Monmon Cat this weekend :)

Jody Dawber does some really nice traditional/neo traditional locket tattoos, and I've seen some good realistic lockets done too. Here are a few from her I've got saved on my phone from her instragram...

Another one by Brian Via, picked a drawing off his wall of stuff he wanted to do. Inner bicep and it hurt like hell, especially the stuff by the top near my armpit. So happy with it though.

I've been avoiding my ditches as long as I could, but a few sundays ago I decided it was time. jason ochoa at greenpoint tattoo put this rose in there and now that it's healed, I'm stoked to do the other arm. it didn't hurt nearly as bad as I expected and it was pretty much healed within a week or so using tegaderm. definitely a believer in that shit. if there's a thread discussing that stuff, let me know and I can share my experience. anyway, here's a healed pic:

here's a devil I got last summer from the bowery book done by jason ochoa at greenpoint tattoo

The classic Bert Grimm butterfly lady head might be a nice basis for the portrait of your mum. The whole project sounds really interesting, I can imagine it working really well. For what that's worth. - - - Updated - - - I can't help wondering if the use negative space as opposed to background might (potentially) have quite a role to play in creating the feel you're after - the rhythm and rhyme of the thing, if you will.

Mom of no mans land?

Thanks to me not being diligent about booking new sessions, I now have a mishmash of up and coming sessions. This pic is the result of my last session on Saturday which was at the Sydney Tattoo Convention. Only a small 2 hour session but was cool chatting to different people wandering past asking about my work etc. Was also my 1st attendance at a tattoo convention/show. I got to see alot of people getting tattooed by many artists and the main thing that surprised me was how few engaged with the artist and chatted. So many had headphones on or were playing with iPads with no interaction with the artist. For me that is a big reason why I "enjoy" getting tattooed and keep going back for more. To me a big part of getting a great tattoo is connecting with your artist, chatting with him/her, chewing the fat, disagreeing with him/her and at times arguing with your artist. (Something I have done once or twice.) Not sure what all you LST's do but my job is very technical and most would class as boring. Is another reason why I enjoy my tattoo sessions, I get to connect and chat to artistic and creative people. Much more interesting than the crap I deal with at work. :) Anyway enough of my rant, here is the latest pic. Cheers Jason

I and my husband have a one cat :) big fluffy cat which name is Belfegor (abbreviated - Belfik). Animal was take from street and brought to home where we fed and treated cat. And if Belfik like that: Now like this:

Inspired by Bradley Tompkins' BRIGHT_AND_BOLD takeover, I decided to make an account that features good, healed and settled in tattoos. It's really niche I guess, but I have always enjoyed seeing tattoos that have been lived in, and I'm sure there's a few others out there like me. I am also hoping to maybe get some enthusiasts to do takeovers and show off a few of their tattoos, accompanied by stories about their experiences getting them. The account is called "Lived in Tattoos" (@livedintattoos). Check it out!

I was once 360 pounds. I can write a book about every type of scenario and the painful feelings you can imagine with regards to an overweight person. It has happened to me. Even at 230, I still have a good amount of those feelings no matter what people tell me. Anyways, tattoos are cool to look at on anyone. :cool:

critique an owl for being an artistic interpretation praise an octopus for being an artistic interpretation

I endorse this sentiment 100%. The issue here has very little to do with the actual tattoo and almost everything to do with self-confidence. @2bacanvas if I have come across as a dick on this thread it is because I am a mean and hateful bastard, but you have mentioned that "people say it kinda looks like an alien", that you "get allot of mixed reviews on this tattoo. Some like it and some criticize it." If you get hung up on what other people think about your tattoos, you are ALWAYS going to be unhappy with them. Fuck what other people think because 1) it's on you and it's permanent (you're never going to laser off a little bit of it and have the guy rework it so let's just drop that notion); 2) most people are stupid and uncreative and have no idea when it comes to art and don't especially care either, so if you ask the average non-tattooed or lightly tattooed person what they think of tattoos they're probably going to prefer the bird silhouettes that are contorted into their children's initials and look like a pile of shit over a beautiful Japanese tattoo that has no overt meaning. So basically nobody with any sense should give half a shit about their opinions. And that includes the people here. If you're not going to be confident in the tattoos you get you probably shouldn't be getting tattooed anyway. Tattoos aren't for everybody, and that includes a lot of people who have them.

Did you post what reads like a bad Yelp review on a takeout chicken forum afterward? Because that's what I would have done.

This reminds me of the time I ordered some chicken from a takeout place down the street. I called ahead with specific directions about how it should be seasoned (no sauce) and cooked (fried). When I got there to pick it up I was so hungry that I ignored the fact that it was covered in BBQ sauce and grilled. It tasted really good and I ate it all as soon as I got home but it wasn't what I specified so I returned a few days later to demand a refund.

Have we given up on the Latest Tattoo Lowdown thread? Because I like a thread where everybody posts their new tattoos instead of these individual threads that will be forgotten about within days.

It looks good to me - who's doing the criticizing and how trustworthy are they?:confused:

The client will blame the artist every time, but that doesn't mean that the client is right. If anybody has experienced any differently I'd like to hear it, but for every tattoo I have, every tattoo my wife has, and every tattoo I've ever seen happen, it's always been the customer who has to give that final okay before the tattooing starts. If a stencil goes on that has spelling or grammatical errors, it is ultimately up to the client to catch that. I'd really like to hear, for once, a client taking some responsibility for getting a bad tattoo.

Finally finished this backpiece by Valerie Vargas at FST :)