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There's nothing you could do to that tattoo that wouldn't completely overwhelm it. Cover it with a real tattoo.

Pretty sure the correct answer is HAIL SATAN - - - Updated - - - Finished up a leg with Lehi. First two sessions at Blackheart, final session at Temple. Last year I got tattooed by Stewart Robson at Blackheart and I was saying I wanted to get some big work from Tim. Stewart told me flatly that I had to get a tiger. Turned out Ok I guess, if you're into that sorta thing... This is about 3 weeks healed (photo taken today). From his IG

Okay, fine. Here's the latest progress.

I found this short video about Tony D'Annessa online and figured that people here would be interested in it. Tony tattooed in New York City before tattooing was outlawed in 1961 and you can find him talking about NYC in Michael McCabe's New York City Tattoo book. He opened PSC Tattoo in Montreal in 1976 and the shop is still going strong and these huge roll-up sheets of his flash hang on the walls. I've been getting my back done there and Tony is there pretty much every day, occasionally doing a tattoo, but mostly hanging out, watching TV and making wisecracks. I got tattooed by him about three and a half years ago and I would definitely recommend getting tattooed by him if you're ever in Montreal.

Let's go to that yakitori spot again!

Hello all! Not been on for a little while so thought I better jump on and give a bit of an update. Firstly @Graeme your back is looking great. I'll be that far along soon. Ian reckon's we could be done in 3 or 4 more sessions. In the mean time this is the progress from the last couple of sessions. Reposted from Ian's instsgram.

Hellloooo everybody!! It's that time of year again...where we all start oohing and aahing over the lineup for the Bay Area convention and some of us start talkin' travel. @sophistre and I met up yesterday and decided that it would probably be fun as hell to go, so the PNW will be representing for sure. Who else is in? Any plans? I'm just hoping to get the conversation going!!

So here is the remainder. Kongo Yasha Myo-o in his full glory from Dana Helmuth. This was pretty much the home stretch at this point. Once all the shading was done, the color was only about 1/3 of the remaining time I spent with Dana. I love Dana's snakes. Once mine got colored in, I couldn't stop staring at it, I still can't. Also everyone loves the blue, and so do I. It's bold, and it'll be awesome for a long time. I spent a lot of time at Read Street Tattoo in Baltimore and it was a great shop. The final session was in Dana's tattoo lair at his home in Maryland and it's a true honor to be a member of his back piece club. And the final obligatory baby picture, because I want to be as cool as @hogg.

Well I've always been of the mindset to give the people what they want. It looks like I can only bundle 20 pictures per post, so here you have the first half. Of note in this set of pictures; My back is really only my third tattoo, so I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I just knew I always had an interest in this type of stuff, and it was something I had to do. The very first lining session reminded me of the pain of my previous tattoos, but the worst part was the hair. I distinctly remember clutching the table as the 5th hour rolled around and it was time to start the hair. 30 minutes later, soaked in sweat, I can say I did what needed to be done. After that session, Dana says that he is notorious for pushing his clients, and that if I really needed to take a break, to just let him know. The guy is a machine and just rolls on forever once he gets started. Once that love handle got hit, I knew I had to turn to chemical relief. The average session was 4-5 hours and I didn't want to let Dana down by tapping out early. That may be frowned upon by those who never turned to relief, but anyone who has turned to pain killers will tell you that it hardly does anything. It just takes the edge off and lets you breath a little. Make no mistake, you definitely still feel it. Kudos to anyone who goes through the ass without any assistance. I don't think I could have managed sessions any longer than 2 hours if so. We did a ton of lines and shading. We both got a little bored with it and decided to color in some fire before finishing the shading. We were both itching to see color and it was a great change of pace. One major thing to note, and I want everyone to take notice about how a tattoo changes and you just roll with what works. At first, Kongo Yasha was going to have a nice yellow aura, and the lines were down to lay the path, but that changed once the fire got started. Since Kongo Yasha is an angry ass dude, we decided a full fire aura would look the best. Dana put some lines down and I think it was a change for the better. You can hardly even tell what was originally intended.

Welcome and I'm sorry that you've gone through some difficult things lately, though it sounds like you're well on your way to figuring out how to prevent things like that from happening in the future. With that said, I would caution against getting a tattoo for the reasons you expressed in your post. I understand the idea of wanting to have a permanent reminder on you, but tattoos don't really work like that. I think you should get a tattoo because you want a tattoo, because you like tattoos and the art of them, not because you think that tattoos will make you a better person.

I went around between Instagram, my phone, and the back piece thread and pulled together as many shots of my back progress as I could. Anyone interested in seeing the process? The only reason I ask is it is a lot of gratuitous ass. Like, a lot. Obviously it's all already on the internet, but just seeing it one folder on my hard drive seems excessive as it is so I figure I'd gauge interest here before posting.

First Session 8hrs. All done. Tony Wayne from Imperial Tattoo Company.

@Graeme Oh man, you are so close!!! that looks positively outstanding!!!! @MrToby fantastic! I love the blue

I'm gonna get Frank Carter to do a new and BETTER one, so I don't really care! Haha. - - - Updated - - - Yeah, I don't mind the old tattoo to peak through, I was really wondering how it will look in a few years. Stiil good or will itt all "merge" together?

Totally HAIL SATAN. Man, sounds like I need a Lehi tattoo ASAP. FUCK!

I'm an old fart too. I'm all about "cash is king." However, I'll use PayPal to send a deposit to someone that isn't local. I've done this a couple of times. I've also received a Visa Gift Card for Christmas a couple times. So the first idea that came to mind was to put down a deposit somewhere that takes Visa. Safe to say that my parents never gave me a Visa Gift Card for Christmas ever again.

Found this the other day, pretty much sums up my view on it:

@Graeme is right: a tattoo as a permanent reminder only works if you remember to reference that part of your body before you do the thing you are habituated to do before you do it (which you won't). Or if you have a great movie edited in reverse chronological order where the protagonist can't remember anything for more than a few seconds. What are the odds of that? I tried to link to a badass David Parker tattoo robot ray-gunning some poor sucker as my suggestion for a tattoo, but I suck with the technologies (it's awesome though). That's what I think you should get. - - - Updated - - - Aha, here it is: (my wife gave me a leg-up on the tech) by David Parker who is at Blackheart Tattoo in SF.

A musical symbol that indicates a hold or pause is a fermata, which is a cool symbol. A friend of mine got one to commemorate a time in his life where he was extremely ill and unable to conduct his life for a time.

We talked about having the snake's head curving back so that it would be a more evenly matched fight, but sketches didn't flow right. Besides, of course I want the tiger to win.

This!! Best tattoo experience. Don't sleep!!! I (WEAR A) BACK (PIECE BY) EDDY!!!!

@CABS I thought the belly was easier than the top of my chest, I know everyone is different but I think you'll be fine

Yes!!! I'll be there, naturally. Can't wait to see you babes :o I probably won't be getting any tattoos though cause for obvious reasons I can't afford it haha. Although that's kind of a bullshit reason cause it's impossible to leave that show with any money in your pocket.

I just look for the closest bank to the shop I'm going to. I make that my absolute last stop before getting tattooed. I try not to travel with the actual tattoo cash in hand. Also, you could PayPal the tattooer as much you can before hand. Wiring money can be expensive. As of right now PayPal is a cheaper option if your tattooer accepts it. Healing with Tegaderm while traveling is the best! Note to self: Mug Graeme before his tattoo appointment(s). =) Note to self: Mug Lance before his tattoo appointment(s). =)

PEOPLE JUMP ON THIS. I BACK EDDY FULLY. *Thanks Taro for showing me the way.

Eddy Deutsche coming to Smith Street Aug 27-Sept 3.

got my hand tattooed by mike wilson yesterday @ the pagoda city tattoo convention. soooo stoked on life right now even though my hands the size of a catchers mitt.

Got this from Chad Koeplinger last night in DC. Sorry the pics are shitty, it's still really swollen and bruised.