Leaderboard

DOne by Tony Hundahl at Oklahoma tattoo convention. Had a blast all weekend drawn on one shot

Got this ass sucking Kappa when I was out working the Vancouver Tattoo Show from Chad Woodley. Healed beautifully. Great tattooer.

save your money for more tattoos. leave the tattoo machines for the tattooers my $0.02 :)

One thing I've learned at LST, if you aren't sure whether you should ask a question about the industry insofar as how to break into it, buying inks/machines/etc, or any other hair-brained questions that can be thunk up: just don't. Think before you ask, if it revolves around the industry, if you wouldn't ask your tattooer and be met with a reasonable response, you don't ask it here. Period. Don't be a smart ass, or think you're trying to shake things up and break the mold, or turn into a lawyer who minces words and parries with semantics. I am here because I want to share with others my love of getting tattooed, and talk about the history and culture of it. I'm NOT here because I want to talk about how to acquire the tools of the trade without actually being in the trade. It isn't my business to do so, nor do I think it is anyone's who is not a tattooer.

last jar folks! by jamie sawyer @ immortal ink in clinton nj

One I did. The wearer has one sleeve already. Started this one from the bottom up.

I can only speak for myself but I think you'll find the overwhelming majority would agree that if there is such a thing as intruding into our industry (and there is), collecting the tools of our trade is the definition of it.

Matt Arriola pantherized my last big spot yesterday at Spotlight. He couldn't quite get it to fit, so he decided to add flames. Always a good call. I have some inner thigh/tenderloin spots and a few tiny spaces on my legs, but if I said "I'm done" now, I don't think anyone would fault me. But we all know that I'm not done.

How about we let...

Done by Bradley Tompkins at Frith St. Great guy and great shop (borrowed his IG pic)

I grew up in a country whose language, laws, system of government, architecture and God knows what else (see what I did there?) were forged on the anvil of Christianity. I'm atheist to my core but those Christian influences go to my core too. If everything else in my life is influenced by Christianity, why shouldn't my tattoos be? I can't imagine anyone would think me Christian just because I had a panther head wearing a crown of thorns on my arm any more than they'd think me Christian because I said "bless you" when they sneezed.

Hi I'´m Hampus Samuelsson from Sweden. Long interested in cultural tattoos and collected a few as well. It all started in the beginning of the 21th century when I traveled to Samoa for my first time. My girlfriend at the time had her family there. Her father worked at the hospital on Tutuila so we visited them during christmas. They knew this tattoo artist there, Wilson Fitiao, and he did my very first hand tapped tattoo. After that I needed to get back. And so I did in 2007. This time I had to meet up with Petelu Suluape. So the search began about a year before the trip. I talked to Heidi Hay in my home town, she were about to marry Paulo Suluape which tragically ended up in him being murdered :(. But even if she were close to Petelo, she could not help me. So I started calling to the US, tried to get hold of Freewind Suluape but failed, talked to a bunch of artists and customers but nothing. So I searched the internet. There I found I guy on bebo, an australian facebook version at the time. He was family to Petelo Suluape so we started chatting a bit and some phone calls. Eventually I could speak to Petelo himself. His english was not as good as I thought it would be, so I got suspicious. Talked to Heidi again and she also thought it sounded weird, Petelo speaks good english. Turned out I had been speaking with his brother, they shared the same name! The rumour says he was born Alaiva'a but took his brothers place in school and been called Petelo since. Anyway, time was running out and I left for New Zealand with still no contact with Petelo Suluape. Four month went by in NZ and I sat on the plane to Samoa about a year after I started my search, with nothing. But while walking the streets in Apia a saw an american that I recognized from the site couchsurfing. There were only two registered couches in Samoa so I had read both their profiles. This guy, Peter, had his wrists tattoed by Petelo. I called out his name, and he was much surprised that I recognized him. I asked him if he knew where I could find Petelo, -Sure, he's a shop right around the corner, next to Spoons (the ice cream shop)! A whole year of searching and it was this easy? I went straight to the shop where I met, another, Peter. He was the son of Petelo and a very talented artist. I asked him if I could book a time with Petelo. -Petelo? no, he's in Hawaii. *doh* -He'll be back on Thursday. *yay Got his cell number and waited for Thursday, called but no answer, friday nothing. Saturday morning, finally! I described what I wanted and he sounded interested. -Can you come tomorrow, 10 o'clock? -Hell yeah. It was finally happening. Took a taxi down to Faleasiu and we went through my ideas. He grabbed my arm and twisted it around almost to breaking point. Then finally said. -It's a big tattoo........ OK! Six (!) hours later it was done and they smuggled my out of the village in a minivan and dropped me of at the highway where I had to hitch hike back to Apia, manuia le kerisimasi. Why? It was Sunday and he wasn't allowed to tattoo on Sundays or he have to pay a fine to the church. Eight years later and my tattoo still rocks. Solid black and sharp lines. But, that's not the reason I came. I've done some viking reenactment in my days, about ten years, and met a lot of interesting people. Some of them tattoo artist working with hand poking techniques. Peter Walrus, Kai Uwe Faust and Colin Dale to name a few. Being a hobby videographer I ended up doing a short interview with Colin Dale that I'd like to share with you. Hope you like it :) Watch it in full HD here: https://vimeo.com/abacrombie/roots Maybe something for your video section @slayer9019

No, one cannot.

@dcostello I was the guy who came in around 2 and found out I got double booked. Your knee looked killer when it was finished, have fun healing that beast. Here's what Chad put on me just a couple hours later:

Done yesterday by Mr. Chad Kopelinger at Rock of Ages... In 1.5 hours... Someone needs to do a study on how he can tattoo so god damn fast. Really awesome experience all around. - - - Updated - - - Such a good tattoo. We both had a nice painful day yesterday.

To balance out Matt Arriola Jesus, I'll throw in my Theo Mindell devil. Finished a few weeks ago at Spider Murphy's in San Rafael Ca. Photo stolen from his instagram

To: @DavidR, @cltattooing, @jen7, @bongsau, and @Abellve. Thank you for all ya'lls reply. I am around. This thread got to me a bit and I just need to sit back drink a beer and relax for bit. Thank you gals/guys. @jen7, Engineering background (By trade) here as well. Metals/Engines/Electronics just fascinate me! The knowing of how it all works.

Originally, maintaining "symmetry" was the mission objective for my tattoos. Now...10+ years and 201 hrs later, on the homestretch to full-blown donburi ! Overall look...live up to my Jamaican street name "Colouring Book" :cool:

like the kid in junior high who built one out of a bic pen tube and a walkman motor ;)

I have no idea if you will find a tattooer willing to let you buy a broken machine but I do know that if you want to get into the dirty of tattooing, the internet isn't the place to look.

If you want to get a phoenix on your arm, go see a reputable tattooer at a reputable shop. If you tell us where you live, there's a good chance someone here can point you in the right direction.

Yeah that is seriously badass. I feel the tattoo jealousy rising within me once more! Edit: Oh god dammit i shouldn't have clicked on the previous page. You people are killing me here!

A new flash sheet I'm working on. I know I still suck but these are for you @Graeme. Baby steps buddy.

Tim sounds like he had a stroke. Vinnie cracks me up. Dude hasn't plugged his guitar in for probably close to 30 years now.

Watching this was enjoyable but I feel like it really strayed from NYHC. Also, would have been much cooler if JJ, Stigma, or Freddy Madball narrated. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Because he's clear and easy to understand?

With respect to cohesiveness and advance planning, I did a reverse approach to my tattoo suit. I didn't get my first couple tattoos with the intent to do a bodysuit, I just got some tattoos and then continued to balance side-to-side to maintain my symmetry. I had arms, legs, ribs, stomach, chest, neck/shoulders and thighs completed before I started my back, which is an opposite approach. That's just the way it worked out for me as my interest and excitement for tattooing grew. I got tattooed by 14 different guys over the years. I had one session in particular in 2009 (my chest, during my 100th hour) that the shop had a full house of heavyweights. Me working on full size chest piece and 3 other cats working on backs (waist up). Everyone hit the day rate, after 5 hours was no charge, and there was some magic in the shop that day. From that moment seeing backpieces in the flesh in progress, I knew that's where I was headed tattoo-wise but wasn't in a place in my life to commit to the time/money nor had I an idea for a subject I felt strongly enough that I could carry the weight of on my back. I was headed there all along in hindsight, just sometimes in life that direction you're headed does not reveal itself fully to you until you are ready to become aware of it. I've been to China to further my kung fu training 3 times since 2008, the last 2 times (2011 and 2014) to train at Shaolin. The first trip is when I finally knew I wanted a monk on my back, similar to the murals etched in the walls of the temple and the design on the back of the training vest the monks wear. I connected with the tattooer and the correspondence for the back began in 2012. In the meantime I worked on some other spots like the tiger in my belly, some thigh tattoos, collar/neck while I patiently waited for the green-go-light. Because of my existing tattoos though, there were certain spots I wanted to complete first in sequence to frame and layer my works the way I desired. There was some other life-shit that went down in the meantime, namely my Sifu - my kung fu master - passing away suddenly and one of his dying wishes was that we take the students again to Shaolin and continue our relationship with the temple. That's an intense story on it's own and it just heightened the desire, cemented the idea for my Shaolin tribute. It wasn't something I picked out of a comic book and was like yeah that's cool -there's nothing wrong with that!-but I wanted something ~heavy~, you know what I'm sayin? I know what I'm sayin! So ffwd to my first back session. Seeing all the crazy stuff and bright colours I have going on all down the front and arms/legs, my tattooer designed my backpiece to be simple, bold and black (as fuck) to balance it out, align the horizon lines and gravity of the water in my tattoos, really attract the focus, make the tattoo powerful and tie everything together. Because I had my ribs done prior, it made my back canvas a bit narrower to work with, which is why I ended up with 1 monk in a kung fu pose instead of the original idea of 2 monks in combat. It all ties together, maybe not as clean as a bodysuit from japan, but nevertheless ties together my stories and experiences, 14 tattooers and 69(?) sessions. And whether you are tie-ing pieces from one artist or many, a full body tattoo has people mesmerized and going "what in the fuck" because it is not a common sight to see in public. It's going to look cohesive because it's YOU! And I am very happy I waited. It has made the experience more exciting, I'm more tuned into what's going with the tattoo-process and most important of all it has made it all more meaningful to me. so @knucklehead211 to answer your inquiries and add some other points: 1. how to prepare? MANIFEST the idea of tattooing your back. the subject/theme/motif will come to you in time. 2. acne? i can't comment on that, see a dermatologist and deal with your issue now in preparation. 3. Do from shoulders to at least below the belt and onto the bum. No biker backpieces (jokes)! You don't need to do your front either. 4. Don't sweat the cohesiveness, as I wrote about above. 5. Let the tattooer make it fit your body, an experienced tattooer will. 6. Don't rush! See #5, I know a lot of dumb-dumb friends who I pointed in the right direction and vouched for to get proper tattoo, but people these days get very impulsive and gratified, so they rush out and get some half-baked poor tattoo because they can't wait a month or a year. 7. Know what you want and be able to articulate it. Keep it simple. Manifest the idea until the idea is solid enough and you are 101% behind it. 8. Start saving now so when it's go time, you've got money in the bank to keep up with the progress i.e. weeks between sessions not months. 9. Get inspired! And I don't mean scrolling instagram every hour or even LST. I mean get inspired by the real world. Go to the library, research old wood block prints and illustrations, go to the museum when the samurai armour exhibit is in town. Spend time in the mountains and rivers, go to the gardens in your city. Travel. Go to the art gallery. 10. Try and get the piece started in the fall so it will be worked on/healing in the winter, done by summer. 11. Plan long-term, plan in advance and be patient. 12. Have fun and enjoy the whole process. There is a reason why not everybody wears a backpiece and even fewer have finished backpieces. It is a big commitment. It took 2 full years of correspondence to make mine happen. The most rewarding things in life are the things you work for and wait for. cheers

Here's an update on my back piece from my last session with Fill Wood @ Black Crown Tattoo in Leeds. I'm getting close the end- maybe another 2 or 3 sessions to finish Hoichi's gown, the detail in the Biwa and a few other bits. Link- https://instagram.com/p/15lGppmzSi/

I'd like to add Andrea Giulimondi to the list. He works at The Family business in London. I love this girl in particular!

Man, where do you get your ideas?! My favorite has to be the triceratops "whatever one.

this isn't all those other trades. each industry self regulates as it sees fit. @xcom if you're still here...the "sin" is in doing it. Asking is how you get to know something, nothing wrong with that... and your English doesn't have to be perfect for your questions and contributions to be worth something here.

I just meant that your best bet is to get tattooed a whole lot by one person, pay your respects with a lot of time and money and maybe they will sell you one? Who knows, it's a gamble.

I was kidding about that.

This is the kind of pretentiousness I've always hated about tattooing. If someone wanted to collect hammers/speculums/plungers, no carpenter/gynecologist/plumber would care. Go buy some on amazon and put them next to your other memorabilia - I don't care and none of my tattooer friends would care. Bad grammar on the other hand...now that's a real shame.

@hogg @dcostello @Scott R and everyone else getting killer work.. Well done! I've had to hoard money like a crazy person for this move.. can't wait to get to start getting tattooed again, going a little nuts.

"Every religion is true one way or another. It is true when understood metaphorically." I am a chaos magician/shamanist and I have Loki tattooed on my leg with a planned half sleeve of the Greek fates. I think a lot of imagery from the bible is really great, in metaphor and art history, but the context of these lies in text. My favorite is jude 1:13 they are wild waves foaming at the mouthes, wandering stars for whom the blackest darkness has been reserved forever." I have also thought about something like "even God had to rest on the seventh day." Maybe even revelation 3:11 "with justice and judges he makes war." Song of songs 1:2 "kiss me with kisses of the mouth, your love more delightful than wine." I think getting a quote from the bible/relating to Christianity is cool even if you aren't christian. It has permeated cultures for thousands of years, been translated into thousands of languages, just because a use it is not your creed does not mean it has no value as instruction, history, or entertainment. I think with quotation it might be slightly more context restrictive for the heathens though... for example, I wouldn't be getting john 3:16 "for God so loved the world..." Or any of the verses more specifically deifying Jesus, or setting forth the tenants of the religion. Personally I would find that disrespectful if it was not part of the individuals faith (at least at the time of the tattoo) I think religious text is a wellspring of beautiful and meaningful quotes, but perhaps some prudence on how far we are willing to stretch for its beauty, but of course, as others have said, all of this is individual.

Thank you @Iwar :) Yes I'll let you know when the Oslo trip is coming up! Not until after summer. Healing armpit tattoos has to be hard enough even when it's not hot out hahaha... Remember my interesting thread about other ideas that turned into a thread about if Eddy Deutsche was still making good tattoos? Well, I I've been looking at his stuff and people like Walter McDonald since then and.. I kind of changed my mind. It rules! (But they, as any other tattooer, sometimes makes pieces that I do not care for at all) Would like to see your Eddy tattoo, that is!

I have pretty much every colour on my arms, including a big bright orange fox down the length of my outer forearm surrounded by many coloured fruits. I was quite worried that my clothes would clash with my arms as my wardrobe consists mainly of prints and florals in purple, pink and green, and I don't have any orange clothing at all, infact I hate the colour (except for my tattoo of course) ;-) I thought I was going to have to buy a lot of pieces in black and white and started to stress myself out. In the end, I just kept wearing my printed pieces as they are too beautiful not to, and over summer just gone I lost count of the number of people who came up to me to comment how much they loved my tattoos while I was out and about. Not one person said to me that they didn't match my clothes. Infact, last weekend at dinner the waitress commented that my tattoos matched my top, which I had not planned at all. Just wear what you want and what makes you feel good. You could always try wearing a print that doesn't match and see how you get on. You might be surprised.

i actually lol-ed that time.

This thread so far is quite an interesting read, it is, as already been said, very refreshing to see such respect for the artistic imagery that religions throughout time have brought us. I used to feel, that even though I lean towards Buddhist teachings, if I were to get any of the imagery tattooed on me, I would want to do it right, to travel to places of strong Buddhist faith, visit some monks, and really have the experience to go along with the tattoo. I see now that I don't have to do so, but I have had apprehensions of cheapening someones devout faiths and whatnot. Basically, nobody wants to feel like a poser. But I have a much stronger respect for art, and powerful art it is. But really, who hasn't gone into a church/temple/mosque and not shuddered at how fucking beautiful the architecture, art, sculpture, every image is. As someone who does not follow a faith devoutly or believe one should, if these images make you feel that way just by looking at them, being in their presence, they deserve to be tattooed. - - - Updated - - - Also...holy shit thanks for reviving this is beautiful.

@Lance Thank you! Well, the way I was treating my body for a week: sickness was well deserved :) Surprised it didn't come earlier. Too me it shows that eating and drinking properly goes a really along way! Crucial part of surviving on a low budget tattoo pilgrimage: hit up health food stores in every city you visit, drink water and stay away from alcohol. //Vegan Health Nut, signing out

Panthers! LST Panthers!!!!!

No way dude! I saw him post that on Instagram. Such a solid piece! LST dude/dudettes need some sort of a general LST tattoo to we all recognize each other! And thanks. It feels horrible right now.

Pineapple Panther!:cool:

it looks unfinished thats not black and grey - thats an outline and neo traditional is more than outlines now if you like just getting outline work done then god bless but i think you need to take a minute to consider what you you really want if you really like negative space - then stop getting tattooed sorry - not trying to be an ass - just think you need some honest feedback

@Pleadco DAMN dude! That is most excellent. Really like the use of negative space in the antlers. Very unique tattoo and it fits your body like it was always there. kudos

i've had some tattoos heal like that before. not ideal but not the end of the world.

Yep, tattoos heal in all sorts of crazy ways. Some will look like the color fell out, some will peel, some will change color. All of this while healing. Once done, though, they go to looking the way you expect they will. So be patient - it's only 2 days old - it's gonna do a lot more stuff. Give it 2-4 weeks at least.

The entry here is the knee demon done by Franz Stefanik at The Okey Doke in Toronto. This is the best pic I have of it, so please filter out the surrounding work.

Can I suggest finding a tattooer who does really nice script and just getting their names done simply and beautifully? I don't really understand all the posts above suggesting the necessity of finding a representative image here: it's your child's name, it has way more potent symbolism on its own than any design you could think of.