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Got the itch this weekend and scored a walk-in with Gus Martinez at Ocean Ave Tattoo. I really dig his pin-ups, they're very Nagel-esque:

Thanks @suburbanxcore, @ItsNewport, @polliwog, and @CABS. I had a lot of fun doing that, even though it was kinda weird to just blast two dozen photos of myself all day. It was really nice to revisit all the times I got tattooed and the stories and experiences that went with each piece. And the kind comments from people like you all (and others who I don't even know through LST) really had an impact on me. @Iwar has started something great, and I already have several ideas for people I want him to feature in future takeovers. :) - - - Updated - - - You saw my bedroom tribal post, right? ;) And I didn't show all my tattoos in the takeover, so you can just assume the ones I didn't show are terrible.

They should get a tattoo of a brain exploding to commemorate the experience! Edit: And from my own experience, the most annoying tattoo to be questioned about is the all seeing eye. I get so much illuminati bullshit thrown at me it's unreal

I never even thought or worried about something like this honestly! I got tattooed for me and most of the time I never think of myself as a "tattooed person".....I am just another human being that instead of adorning myself with gold and silver jewelry and the "latest fashion" decided to add some color to her body! I'd like to see people move past seeing others as "tattooed people".....nothing special....nothing different! We're all just people..... My 2 cents

I didn't know where else to post about it, but this is sorta some newsworthy "lowdown" on tattoos. But Ross Hogg CRUSHED IT with that @livedintattoos Sunday Takeover, holy shit.

When I tell people that 90% of my tattoos have no meaning, their brains explode.

Resurrecting this thread from the dead. I have the itch right now. Last time I got tattooed was last month, haha.

Now I think I want an exploding brain tattoo. It'll be so next level when they ask what it means...

well - today was my first day "occupationally" with a visible tattoo i have stuff that pokes out here or there but this forearm piece was out for the masses and it will stay that way as i wear short sleaves at work in fact I have another forearm piece on the other arm coming in august interesting day - sept is sure to be even more intense as the summer program is small in comparision with less parent interaction only a few comments from the kids (i work in education) but the staff were all about the questions "whats it mean" was on the top of the list lots of compliments and good questions that i didnt mind and thankfully i didnt get asked my pet peeve of questions the dreaded "how much" to which i never directly answer anyway - no regrets

I know I posted it on one of the photos, but I feel bad for whoever has to follow @hogg's takeover. That was incredible. I had a friend who just kept texting me throughout the day every time a new one came up. Haha. I'd seen a lot of them from the gallery on here, but the stories were great and gave terrific insight.

Another 6 hours down on my back piece. Feels so close yet so far to being finished!

By Franz Stefanik, Okey Doke Tattoo, Toronto.

I did much research before deciding to do my coverup. After watching television shows showing what could be done, it was encouraging while at the same time, you don't want to trust just anyone. As great as the internet is, I have seem far too many bad cover ups although many were simply amazing. My first attempt at research was disheartening as after asking several shops, I simply got too much conflicting information, people simply too eager for business, or simply my gut telling me something wasn't right. Finally I saw some coverup work on a tv show mentioning an artist from Dallas. After a quick search I found that he was a few miles from my house. At this point I went to his shop, but he was on the road. Talking to the shop manager and explaining my situation, I mentioned that if possible I would like to do a Captain America tattoo. Once I said that, I was quickly able to set up an appointment with the owner/artist. Although very high in demand, apparently if you are wanting something that they want to do as well, I have found that artists can shift schedules if there is a type of tattoo that they want to do. Fortunately for me, I later found that the artist was a much bigger superhero fan than myself. Over the next month, I spent wakeless nights admiring his work and many of the comic stuff he has done and spend many hours downloading comic images trying to conceptualize what would work for the coverup. My consultation finally came and after asking me what I wanted, I kind of hesitated with questions as to what my limitations were. His response was, not to worry about it, just tell him what I wanted and he would make it happen. So, I gave him my top 3 comics. We set an appointment and I left trusting him to come up with something. It was kind of crazy committing to something without knowing what exactly I was going to get until I showed up, but I trusted my instincts and research. I was straight up blown away with the results and feel I learned quite a bit along the way. - Older tattoos are better candidates for coverups than relatively new ones - Non-recognizable shapes are easier to cover than geometric shapes I don't know why some artists try to just go for the simple black out with no detail, like a panther head. You do not necessarily need to go darker for coverups, blues rock! - You should anticipate going at least 2x the original size. Bigger is better - Detail will help draw attention away from the orginal tattoo, so some slight detail show through - At least for me, the skin where the old tattoo was scarred and bleed a bit more than fresh skin. These area scanned more. Anyway, if anyone has any questions, shoot away. PS.. I was still a little bloody on the yellow lines, but you get the results.

There were too many comments to reply to each one, but that comment was the best part of the entire takeover. I'd argue that it's hard to latspread while holding a one-month-old, but let's be honest: latspreading requires lats.

I went camping here (Alberta Rocky Mountains) with 10 of my kung fu bros: I took 2 hits of LSD and dove off a 75' cliff into glacier water. It was awesome!

Yes....and every time with a straight face I tell them that "It was to honor the sacrifice of a baby to satan" If they don't run away......I let them know that while a lot of people now do get tattooed because there is some story behind it.....that a lot of tattoos have no meaning and are just cool things people just wanted to get....

ha that was me, but its only a C+ amongst all the awesomeness he posted. @hogg do you even latspread bro?

Whichever one of you it was that said Hogg's lat spread was a C+ at best, I was dying.

The green borneo roses story was my favorite. Like it's helpful to have a reminder that @hogg is a mere mortal.

here is a better pic - one that Sheila took - along with some others she did yesterday

My standard response to the "what do they all mean" question is....... "it means I REALLY LIKE TATTOOS!

echoing whats been said lowers leg tatttoos take a long time to heal i got a shin tattoo 6 weeks ago its still healing in one spot i would say forget it it may not turn out to be what you wanted but its on ya so i would say learn to love it or not anyway - go get more tatts :) you'll feel better and maybe its not a shop or artist that gets a return visit from you

Picked mine up from Cassandra Frances (at black garden at the time but i believe she's now at 2 nakes in Hastings). I'm far too lazy to work out how to link a pic from the gallery so you can check it out there if you like!

Pharaoh's Horses by Sheila Marcello @ Electric Tattoo in Asbury Park they had a traditional flash weekend event @ the shop as I was getting tattooed by Sheila I was a few feet away from Bert Krak and Robert Ryan doing pieces there was many other big names there as well - place was packed seeing Bert up close I couldnt believe how big the guy is - he looks like he could suit up for the NY Giants if he wanted very cool vibe at this shop though I would say I prefer less of a crowd pic is shiny - meh

I agree about the meaning-thing. Someone just was admiring mine the middle of last week and she said she just hasn't found anything that means enough to her yet. And everyone wants to know what the meaning is behind mine..."Um..I really like flowers and they make me happy. I love water. And I wish I could fly so...yanno..wind.." Someone did ask me years ago tho why I had Tony the Tiger tattooed on my ankle and I about came unglued. TIGGER. Get it right. And even still, the only "meaning" I can find there is that Tigger makes me happy and speaks to the kid in me who will never grow up.

"I really want a tattoo, but I don't know anyone that died..." People watch way too much tattoo shows on TV...

I don't know why I haven't gotten any shit from anyone about being tattooed. I'm probably the least imposing person in the universe, physically, so maybe that contributes, but I haven't had a negative experience yet. I'm sure I will someday. But, I dunno. I'll be 34 this year. I have a rad life and great friends, and I guess I'm just at the point where that kind of superficial judgement from other people just keeps those kinds of people out of my life, which I'm fine with. If it came from someone I knew and cared about it would surely hurt like hell, but from strangers...I just dunno that I care. I wish'em well, but I don't need their approval, and mostly it just makes me sad for them. So, I enjoy seeing my tattoos, and showing them to other people! They're beautiful, and half of the people I meet have never seen tattoos like them, and say as much. It's not really 'showing off' so much as...I dunno...enjoying them openly? Like the way a good haircut or something makes a person feel. Just...good. Better.

my question is, how did we get to post #13 of this thread with no photos or even a single request for a photo. all these words are gettin' me down! i don't have any work from him, but i've admired it for some time. here a few for our viewing pleasure. I'm pretty sure these will all age alright.

Since we're sharing progress, here's what we did on mine last week. We have to put the greys in some of the water and then do the details in the faces and the tiger's paws and things like that but we're getting super close to wrapping this up.

Shao Lin Monk backpiece made by Steve Batt in his private studio in Edmonton, Alberta 32 hours, Dec 2014-Jun 2015