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Hi, just joined LST and thought i'd share my latest tattoo. Done by Tony Hundahl at the London convention, great guy who does awesome tattoos.

awesome stuff from Robert Ryan @ Electric in Asbury good times good times

We completed my arm last month (last pics I promise). Added a dark grey wash background and a few more floating petals, coloured in the sun, went over my elbow again and some minor touch ups. The sun needs a couple of touch ups, will do these next year when I am back in with Clare to continue with my other arm.

I thought a lot about if or how to respond to this comment. At first I drafted a nasty, sarcastic response, but I thought better of it and decided to be more charitable. I can say with absolute certainty that I did not make the wrong decision to get tattooed. I got tattooed because I wanted to, for my own reasons. I happen to absolutely love my tattoos. The only regret that I have is that I’m not totally covered. When I first got tattooed, I had no idea what was ahead. I was going to get one tattoo, hidden, even when wearing a bathing suit, and that would be the end. It was to be a private thing. That was the way I wanted it, and I was happy with that. I never imagined that I would get more than one tattoo, much less several. And even as I got more tattoos, I intended to keep them private. The were to be for me and my husband. Even when I completed my half-sleeves, they were calculated to be coverable. But I never imagined how much I would like being a tattooed person, I never anticipated how much I would come to love the way I looked with my tattoos. I never imagined how happy they would make me. And I never thought that I would love my tattoos so much that I would sometimes like to share them with the world. This whole discussion would never have happened if I had decided to keep them private, so to suggest that I made the wrong decision simply because of my concern about what people would think is rather unfair and uninformed. I’m not a person that is saying “Hey, I’m thinking about getting my first tattoo. I will cover my whole forearm and back of my hand. But I’m worried about the reaction of others.” in that case it might be appropriate to ask if the person if they are sure that they are making the right decision. But I am a person already happily tattooed and am now simply trying to become comfortable with letting them show in public. I like LST because most people here are understanding and helpful. They are (usually) not judgmental of the tattoo decisions that others make. If a woman posts that she is getting a backpiece and want to wears something that will not be too revealing while the work is being done, you get dozens of helpful suggestions from women who have already dealt with the issue. No one says “If you are afraid of showing you body in the tattoo studio, then perhaps you shouldn’t get a tattoo.” Quite honestly, the comment is exactly the kind that I might expect to hear from a rude person who is a tattoo hater.

Brilliant post, soraya! I think many here can relate, including men. For me, this paragraph in particular: On a separate yet slightly related note, I just finished reading an article by a woman who was dealing with another woman (non-tattooed) who stated "tattoos are essentially down to vanity". The writer said that the definition of "vanity" is in fact the opposite of how she and her friends feel about themselves. She went on to say that they were not entirely content about their appearance and lacked self confidence, which drove the desire for more ink. "Rather than getting ink because I have a high opinion of my personal appearance, I get ink precisely because that high opinion is absent. ...I am still on a journey to become comfortable with my own body." Skin Deep Nov. 2015 issue I know this may not be how others feel, but I thought it was interesting and worthy of sharing with LST.

Long before pinterest and instagram, we went to libraries, museums, flipped through art magazines. Hell I found a reference for my dragonfly tattoo from a magnet on my mom's fridge. I've found inspiration from old church stainglass, science/biology text book illustrations, art books from asian bookstores, logos, paintings, album covers, etc etc. Used bookstores are great. There is so much in this world that can inspire a new tattoo aside from other peoples tattoos. We need to remember tattooers aren't mind readers. I think you need to have a better understanding yourself as to what you want tattooed on you and define it for the tattooer...aside from the vagueness "i just want something beautiful". That conveys the message that you just want the tattoo for the sake of having a tattoo. What do you really want? Flowers? A skull? Hot Stuff riding a unicorn? A shunga demon? These can all be beautiful tattoos...it sounds like the tattooer you've chosen truly wants to personalize a tattoo for you. Which is great! There are other tattooers that will slap on whatever off the wall and do a great job, and that's fine to if that's what you're looking for. You've got 6 months to really understand yourself what you want and figure out how to express, articulate and communicate that to your tattooer. Good luck!

If you have read this thread, you know that I am very hesitant to display my ink in public for fear of reactions of others. This thread made me more willing to give it a try, so I thought I’d give you an update. A couple of weeks ago I decided to test the waters at the local farm market. Normally in that situation I wear a long or 3/4 length sleeve and push it up just above my elbow. Since my half sleeve tattoos stop slightly above my elbows, nothing shows. But that day I picked out a longish short sleeve tee so about 1/3 of my tattoos showed. Not just peaking out, but about 3” of tattoo showing very clearly. As I was leaving the house I almost grabbed a sweater in case I chickened out, but then I thought “No, I'm going to do this without a safety net." I got to the market and it was pretty crowded. I was a little nervous. I started shopping, talking to vendors, checking out produce and flowers, and started to fall into my usual routine. Since I had tattoos on my mind, I noticed a few other ladies with tattoos, so I felt a little more at ease with my “sisters.” I got more comfortable and at one point I thought a lady next to me at stand was checking me out so I politely said “excuse me” and reached in front of her to pick up an item so my arm was right in front of her to see if she reacted. No reaction! Since she was a perfect stranger, I sort of secretly hoped she was shocked! That is a weird aspect of my reluctance to show pattern - I sort of like to shock strangers, but fear shocking people I know! As I paid one of the vendors for a purchase — a woman I often buy from, and who has a tattoo herself — she said, “I never noticed your tattoos before. Very pretty!” I thanked her and said that I usually don’t let them show. She said “Oh, just let ‘em show!”. That was a good feeling. All in all the whole situation went without incident. I really felt good, felt very free and alive, as if I was letting myself be me. A great first step for me. The big test would be being somewhere where I see people I know. That could have happened at the farm market — I sometimes see friends and colleagues there. I saw a few “familiar” people who I know enough to say “Hi” to, but I don’t know their names, but no one whose judgement I fear. I’m still not sure how I’m going to feel when I see one of my co-workers or bosses.

Hello, I have discovered this forum few days ago and since then I have read quite a lot of topics and I'm amazed by the friendliness of people here. I decided to register to be able to add my opinions (occasionally) and ask questions (more likely). I'm a female, after 30, from the middle of Europe, not native English speaker, please forgive my mistakes. I got my first tattoo 7 years back, tribal phoenix and I had it improved/partly covered last Friday. There will be one more session after two months, when we can see how it heals and how the colours settle. I had two more tattoo sessions this year, watercolour sparrow on my inner forearm and small text on the inner ankle. I plan a tattoo of owl for the next year to add to my sparrow. And I don't think it will be the last one :D - - - Updated - - - This is my sparrow :)

this reminds me of the funniest things i remember Garver saying on Miami Ink (i apologize for being a tattoo TV watcher). anyways, he was tattooing a tiger with cherry blossoms on some 18yr old kid and the kid's mom was there the whole time. as he was coloring it, he said he added the surprise of an all pink cherry blossom for the kid's mom. the mom thought it was cute and they were all laughing it off and Garver slips in, "what's wrong with pink?! some of my favorite things in the world are pink." The mom and kid didn't catch it and Garver just had a sly smile. OK.. back to the topic. i was kinda interested to know when koi swim upstream, so i asked lord google and this was the first link: http://jamesthen.com/the-rules-of-the-japanese-tattoo/ there's a lot of information out there online, but as @Cork mentioned, the right tattoo artist will know these answers. One of the right tattooers just so happens to write books. This is a good start for $20... Bushido: Legacies of Japanese Tattoos: Takahiro Kitamura, Katie M. Kitamura: 9780764312014: Amazon.com: Books when i got my dragon koi from Jill Bonny, she let me know that it is actually a Chinese legend, not Japanese. makes sense, since the legend takes place in the Yellow River in China. mine has maple leaves. you can try to find pics of body suit pics from reputable traditional japanese tattooers and see what kind of themes they stick with and what kind of themes they mix. but again... find the right artist and trust 'em.

Got this done by Chad Koeplinger today!

Hi everyone! My name is Lars, i'm 27 years old from Bergen, Norway. Tattoos have always been fascinating to me, and caught my interest quite early. I got my first two tattoos at a shop in bergen when i was 15/16, some sweet tribals brah. Since then i have gotten a few better thought through tattoos, and planning on getting a bunch more. Looking forward to getting some new inspiration! Ill add a photo of one i got 2-3 years ago, Tiny reaper done by Phil Holt at Bergen tattoo convention.

I'm Jennifer, 41, in eastern USA. Married Mom of two teenagers. I got my first tattoo at 19 at a Farmers Market and loved it so much I went back the next day and got a second. Not the finest work in the industry but I didn't know any better. About 10 years later I had the second tattoo covered by a much better artist in a bona fide tattoo shop. Unfortunately due to stretch marks (thanks kids) and other reasons I don't remember, I never got the work completely finished. I wasn't working, instead I was a stay at home Mom so I never felt comfortable spending money on tattoos. Earlier this year I went back to work and my desire to get more ink is really strong. Last weekend, on a whim, I went and got a small piece on my ankle and not only do I love it... I want MORE. I've spent the past 12 years envisioning a tattoo and thinking of more so I think it's time. I enjoy reading forums of people with like interests so joining here seemed like a good idea. attached is the picture of my recent tattoo.

Welcome! I have a good friend in Baltimore that you may see some day on the streets. He will be on a bright red GoldWing trike. Beware this guy! He has a personality bigger than you can imagine. We call him "Wheels". With two teens, I imagine it is restful to go back to work!

Welcome. Go to Read Street Tattoo in Baltimore! The crew there is great.

Hello and welcome!

@marley mission saw that on IG too and couldn't stop staring at it! I'm a real big fan of Robert Ryan's work, but that piece really stands out.

back in the early 80's it was still cool to pick pieces from the flash on the walls of the shop.

My late friend used to always say "be more like Christ and less like Christians."

Just got this one done a couple of hours ago. Done by Nik Moore at Scarab Body Arts in Syracuse, NY. You guys might not be a big fan of it but I told him I wanted a unique koi that not many other people have. i think he nailed it and I love it! Gonna go back in a few weeks for him to make a few minor changes if need be.

Felt like I should sign back in just to congratulate you on a really awesome tattoo, I also love how your collection has grown since you joined last sparrow

That Mike Tyson pidgeon is fuckin DOPE Anyway, I can't find it within me to hate on Jon Boy. I mean for all intents and purposes it's not like they're bad tattoos so at least there's that, plus I'm sure the dude is making a fuckload of cash so I can't really hate on that either. It's just that as a tattooer, I cannot possibly imagine how that is rewarding work in any capacity. I like doing small tattoos as much as anyone else, but when there is no challenge to progress and do better, where is the gratification? I'll take my fairly short wait list and Oakland prices over that shit all day long.

I'll just leave this here. By Jim Sylvia.

hahaha that made me spit out my soda! new signature right there

that term makes me cringe every time

Not sure if you're just trying to be funny, but that's a little gross, dude. Women are just as capable of having faces tattooed on them as men. Their life doesn't revolve around what they look like naked, and what men think of them. It took me a long time to realize that. If that's the tattoo they want, they should get it. Personally, I wouldn't want a photorealistic face of someone I don't know, but that's regardless of my gender. It would bug me having everyone who sees it ask me who it is.

got one too when he is in hamburg :o - - - Updated - - - sorry for getting back at this again, but this is the raddest tattoo on this board i have seen. the combination of motive, placement, size and artist...cant't get better!

@peterpoose I didn't realize you've got a full open sleeve waiting there . . .

A couple of pics taken professionally at the London convention, my first professional pics taken, some girl just grabbed me and took me into a room and said strip off lol Still got two days with Victor as he is not totally happy with my back piece, not sure what he wants to do. Its for a magazine, cant remember if its skin deep or one of them. Anyhow here are some stunning shots of my superb body!

Turns out that the only photo I can find of my back is stolen from my Facebook where I was making a silly collage to show someone the progression. Ah well, better than nothing! Will have to make the husband take a better one some time.

I think, while there are of course many people who dislike tattoos, for the most part--people don't care what you do with your own skin. As you shouldn't and probably don't care what they do with theirs!

it gets interesting when you go forearm which i did this summer onto both forearms - i wear short sleeves at work (school counselor at a primary school) and as i predicted the kids love them and the adults have a multitude of comments and questions which have mostly died down its funny as my overall coverage increases i get more comments and let me tell you it is quite a revealing experience in terms of the social skills defecits that many adults around me have i myself feel that i have quite good tact when speaking with others - understanding what topics or commentary are in good form or poor taste, etc - but those around me - wow "how much did that cost, how can you afford that?" "why would you do that to yourself?" "what do you think you'll look like when you're 80?" and of course "what does it mean, it must mean something?" but i have no regrets going below the elbow and i intend to add more :) its funny though - i'm telling my wife how so many times in conversations that peoples eyes dart around to my tattooed areas and how that feels weird - she said - "now you know what it's like to have cleavage"

Well, I took it to my artist and he did his thing. Here is a photo of the outline. I'm pretty much in love with it. - - - Updated - - - Here is the photo.