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Chris Conn, done yesterday. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My sister snapped this photo of me today at the beach. So weird. Now I think I finally understand the whole never feeling naked thing, hah. And yes, all the sunblock reapplied non-stop, and I was only on my front for like 5mins while texting, hah. I feel like I need to justify the bare back in sun to you fine ladies. And no, it's obviously not done. Not even close. :'(

Oh what the hell. Might as well post my finished back piece. A year long process has come to an end and I can't wait to start another piece! Done by Stacey Martin-Smith at Golden Age in Austin, TX.

I think there needs to be more than two entrants in a given month - even though one of the above two will end up the winner. I'll throw my chest in and hope to have a chance at the 'best one-shot tattoo of the month' ;) edit: Done by Steve Byrne at Rock of Ages in Austin.

Follow The Wizard Forever Two Wheels For The Women Find The Way Free The Weird Or my favorite shop in Oakland :cool:

Maybe change the name of this subforum to "Don't even fucking think about posting anything"

Speaking only for myself, @Graeme being a dick to people is one of the few things that keep this board interesting these days -- aside from looking at pics of y'all's lovely tattoos, that is.

From last Saturday at Great Lakes Tattoo in Chicago Nick Colella -big-ass eagle (chest) Mario Desa - rose of no mans..tribute (ankle) Frank Willian - pocket knife filler (inner arm ditch) It was a good day.... besides getting 3 killer tattoos, I got to hang out and bullshit with Chad Koeplinger and Robert Ryan and the rest of the GLT crew plus it was Robert Ryan's "The Radiant Name" art opening downstairs. GLT is probably the nicest shop I've ever been in and everybody was super nice and fun.....

my personal favorite Fireup The Weed

Just had a great weekend at the Bristol Tattoo Convention. Thoroughly recommend it to anyone interested in quality tattoos next year. Awesome list of great artists, well organised and everything focused on tattooing without the extra stuff that comes along with some conventions these days. The result of the weekend for me was not only did Ian Flower do another few hours on my back piece, but I also got a cool little gap filler from Duncan X on my shin. Gotta love an Ichthyosaur. We will finish the colour in the Tibetan skull during my next session in July. It's exciting to see more and more colour going in.

Ask and ye shall receive! @Graeme @OutOfIdeas so glad you guys like the shirt!! Need to do another run on those

I've been on this forum for a short time, and I do have to say that when the majority of the posts are not actually about tattoos, I log right back out again. And, we all don't have to like each other here, that's what the "ignore list" is for. And, if you have to think about whether or not what you are posting is appropriate for a tattoo forum, it likely isn't appropriate. Oddly enough, we've had a similar scenario/conversation from a few weeks/months ago. This seems to be a recurring theme here of late.

Hahaha you turd! Temple and 13 are tied right in second, it's so hard to pick favorites in this town but obviously I am biased :) @xcom FTW has been a common addage in tattooing from its' earliest American days. You can find one somewhere on a sheet in almost every traditional shop.

Ha ha! Yes @BrianH ! I am hoping to start something either in Montreal or at some point next year. Artist and subject matter are still up for grabs yet.

Just got an appointment with Nathan Kostechko during his guest spot outing at Rock of Ages in August. Boom.

Glad I brought an umbrella for the shitstorm that is this thread :rolleyes:

That was quite a storm. Good thing I'm in LA. :cool:

The forum sure is going through a weird phase right now. Emotions seem to be running high this week already. "Let's critique these poorly done and cliche tattoos in the section for poorly done tattoos." "No fuck you, you might offend someone." "Hey guys storm is coming, be safe" "No fuck you, go post worthwhile content." "No fuck you, I'm out" "No, please stay. I just wanted to tell you to fuck off but you weren't supposed to be offended by it." That about sums up what I've read today so far. Yeah yeah, I know, forget all this and lets get back to talking about getting good tattoos. Because this forum only has 1 section, and it's only about that.

Forgot to get a photo right after the tattoo. But it is definitely in the healing phase. Ran out of Tegaderm too, waahhhhhhhhh. Back to Aquaphor for this one. Gap filler little demon head (with a badass mullet) by Jason Phillips, FTW Oakland CA. He had two cancellations that day, and I just happened to pop in randomly. Right place right time.

Ok DUDE. Here is the thing. When you post in a public place, just like when you have a public conversation in real life, people are allowed to criticize you. They are allowed to disagree with you, find you annoying, whatever. That is how freedom of speech works. This board does not allow for abusive language, but that doesn't mean everyone has to like everything you say. THAT IS NOT "GOING AFTER YOU". It is people reacting to the words you write. You are also allowed to not like them and to criticize the words they say, so it's hardly unfair. I just find it baffling how on a tattoo board where dudes like to talk about how tough or whatever they are, they so easily complain if people call them out for anything, like the fact that yes, on a message board that literally has posters from around the world, maybe people find it kind of strange to post your local weather forecast and wonder what that contributes to the board. No one is obligated to like your posts or think you are a good poster. That is just not how the world works. Toughen up, people.

Freaky Tattooed Weirdos

Fine Tattoo Work

Try losing an hour to Rachel Dolezal thinkpieces...in shitstorm terms this is a brief shower. (NB I don't actually advise doing this.) Really, things get ugly fast elsewhere online. Like, stomach-churning, stay-with-you-all-day bad. I appreciate that even during tense moments here, people generally stay civil. A little brusqueness is not the worst thing in the world. And in a more general sense, if I didn't routinely get straightened out by people who are savvier & smarter than I am, I would be pretty fucked.

The thing is, I was snarky in that first post but otherwise I was trying to start a conversation that would hopefully get people thinking about how they contribute here. I've had my balls busted on here plenty of times and as humbling as it is to hear somebody you respect telling you that you've posted some bullshit, it's a valuable learning experience. Anyway, the thing about being married to a moderator is that I have somebody often in the next room telling me not to be a dick on here because it makes her job harder if she has to hand me a warning.

I'm not trying to run you off here, but you know how you said how you feel about this place sometimes? When I joined up there were a lot of great tattoo artists posting here, serious and experienced collectors, people like me who lacked a lot of experience but we're eager to soak the discussion, the interviews, the stories. Now I feel that this place has lost most of that richness and when I instead see threads about the weather...it's grey paint, man. I've learned a lot about tattoos from here and this place has heavily influenced how I get tattooed and I hope I've managed to contribute something positive to the site in return, so it bums me out to see yet another completely uninspiring post or thread that contributes absolutely nothing to the purpose of this site, which is to educate people about and promote good tattooing.

A reminder, every backpiece is different. Design, subject matter, linework, colours, details, finer details, ink saturation...your stamina, that tattooers stamina, your height/weigh, your skin and health, the tattooers' experience, work flow, skill and speed, the needle clusters used, how many smoke breaks you take, the frequency of sessions...a lot of variables at play.

@PackMan - looks awesome! We must have been in there around the same time, cause Will finished this one off over the weekend. Back of calf Kyosai/monmon frog mashup: edit: apologies for pics being rotated all funny, no idea how to change it

Latest and last session on my sock. Better pics later. I also got another tattoo I collected this week end... Will post when I get better pics of it.

Got this finished this up a couple of weeks ago, is by @willem666 from one of his paintings. (Skin is somewhat fucked from my pregnancies)

@Mark Bee @Rob I For the Win is a gamer term that came from the advent of mmorpgs and is still used as a term of encouragement and approval among gamers and nerds. Among tattooers and bikers, the term has generally meant Fuck the World. @Pugilist I'm on it!!! Say, it's Wednesday, isn't it... ;D

Also wearing my FTW Tattoo shirt today, i wear it alot. Shit's comfy! Also, Feed The Walrus.

what this thread really needs is an FTW tattoo!

Friendly Turtle Wave

I was worried for a moment that I was the only person here who noticed that her ear piercing and your nipple piercing looked similar.

@Rob I I am really impressed with your back, sorry the time it's taken has been a source of controversy around here. But I do think the subject of backpiece times is interesting to read into, I haven't even decided who I'd like to tattoo my back yet so I can't really weigh in on that one yet but I know after about 6ish hours of Chad drilling on my front that your tattoo is well earned to say the least.

@Rob I do you have a plan for that offensively blank arm? :)

Sounds like a glass of wine (or whiskey), a nice hot shower, an ibuprofen and a nap are called for!

It was a great experience, what a cool guy Chris is. It was interesting--I left a lot up to him, size/placement/his take on the photo and what he wanted to use from it. But I was imagining it in color (just based on his other work)...even though my arms are all b & g. I hadn't mentioned it, though. So at one point he said something about being psyched to do b & g, since he usually gets asked for color... so I thought, cool then, it'll be b & g! I figured, if he was psyched to do it, and it's what he visualized after seeing my arms, then that was the right choice! - - - Updated - - - Yes, this was her response when I tagged her on facebook this morning: "Whoa! Speechlessly flattered! Love the worshipful gaze, it reminds me of many things...!" <3:)

I do have pretty strong opinions on it, but not because of the usual honor code stuff which goes along with neck/hand stuff. My beef is more along the lines of her attitude of entitlement and attempts of defamation. Her shitty, spoiled rotten attitude is so pervasive in our society right now that it sickens and saddens me at the same time. All businesses have the right to refuse service, for whatever reason they deem sufficient. She has her right to complain and all, but I'm glad it backfired and that it all got handled properly.

In my experience I have found it best to completely neglect the number of hours I am into my back already. It isn't a race or a competition for me. Sooner or later the journey will be over and you will not be able to believe that it is finally done. I imagine when that day comes it will be a bittersweet one.

or Tattoo Blogs | Last Sparrow Tattoo it is a nice place to post random thoughts and keeps the "recent forum posts" section a bit cleaner.

My second piece. Collab work by Wil Hilderbrand and Jon West. Note: Sorry for the shitty pic.

Foo dog sleeve progress by Will Lollie. Peonies colored.

Desert rose on my U2 arm. William Kasper @ Iron Tiger Tattoo

@clttattooing congratulations on starting your back piece! I would also like to see the progress if possible. My instagram is @robieva A few here know that I had my fifth session with Chad Koeplinger on my back last Saturday at Congress St tattoo in NH. This past session he shaded and colored all of my lower back. Whew! I am glad to get that part over with! There are blood drips in the tattoo, and one of them is mighty close to my butt crack. That spot felt like FIRE. I can't IMAGINE the horror of getting the full butt tattooed. I salute ALL of you with your full back tattoos!!!! @BrianH I read your comment about your tattoo being finished faster and cheaper if you were shorter. I am so happy I am short for this endeavor!!! I've never particularly been bummed about being short or anything, but in this case, it's a super advantage. I am super pumped with what Chad has given me and he thinks one more session, maybe 2 small ones. Total time so far, tallying up these sessions is about 10 hrs and that is rounding UP. It's probably closer to 8.5-9 hrs, but i'll call it an even 10. IN the end it will probably total 12 hrs. It has been an absolutely awesome journey. I love Chad like a brother and cherish the time spent with him. I am sad to think we are winding down, so I will probably have him tattoo something else on me soon enough (not my ribs. I told him never my ribs). Also the time spent hanging out with Jason Scott and Jebb Riley during these sessions have been awesome. I feel very at home at Jason's amazing shop. He employs only the best people. They are all great tattooers, but even more, amazing and awesome people. He's clearly got a good "douchbag radar" and hires accordingly. Next session is in August, and will possibly be my last, but I am certainly not putting pressure on it to be so.

sailor jerry sick day fun by Shannon Pagliarini Crown and Anchor Pt Pleasant NJ

What a beautiful tattoo, @TrixieFaux

Dude, look up what political correctness means. It is not the same thing as being polite. You can talk however you want to talk, but then you can't bitch when people find you annoying. Them's the breaks of social interaction.

Chippin' away at the ol' front. https://instagram.com/p/3pzXp1MVGD/

By Tim Pausinger, Pearl Harbor Giftshop, Toronto. I don't have experience with the most painful spots (ribs, back, butt). This was not as brutal as I expected but certain spots closer to the armpit felt like hot pokers up and out through my shoulder haha !