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"Yknow what's awesome about this budd?...you have a whole bodysuit of tattoo and MY tattoo is going to be the one everyone is gonna ask about haha" Keepin' it real w/ King Len, guest spot at Champion Tattoo in Edmonton, AB Deadly placement, deadly evening, deadly tattoo. But holy fack did this one sizzle and rattle.

ok to clear this up once and for all. my comment was a blanket statement. it wasn't directed at any one person. basically imo if you make the decision to get tattooed you will be judged by others period. so if being judged by others bothers you then imo you shouldn't get tattooed...simple. I personally dgaf how others feel about my tattoo's. stare all you want, make all the comments you want. I didn't get tattooed to get others approval. I got tattooed because its my passion. my house is filled with tattoo related stuff. paintings and prints etc. being tattooed to me is a lifestyle not a fad or fashion statement. so being called a rude tattoo hater was absolute comedy to me. especially after that person looked at my profile and seen that I am heavily tattooed. so if my comment bothered some my bad. but I meant what I said and stand by it 100 percent.

I think it's safe to say EVERYONE has a different reason for getting tattooed and ALL are absolutely valid. I've come from a different era of tattooing..... one where it was still pretty underground and unknown unless you were in the military or some type of deviant (prison/biker/punk/etc.). Unless you lived in a major population center on the east or west coast, most straight people didn't have a clue about tattoo culture other than the occasional Geraldo Rivera news report about gang violence or bikers. The general population treated tattoos with nervous stares or clutched their children/purses and mostly avoided you. It was rare to get ANY comments from people and if they did muster the courage, it was usually a derogatory remark like "were you in prison?" I don't want to make this a "back in my day" rant but, things are certainly different these days, especially for women with tattoos. That is not to say that everything is A-OK and the general population doesn't still act foolish/rude. I completely understood what @Pete tattoo freak said as I've lived 30 years being heavily tattooed and it has been somewhat of a mantra for me. Everyone who gets into tattoos has their own journey..... Maybe a better, more forum friendly, way to say it would've been: Do what you do - for YOU.... Don't worry about what ANYONE else thinks. If your "thing" makes you happy/confident/proud etc, that's what matters the most. Remember-YOU are the only person that lives in your skin.

Looks great, @bongsau, but the very sight gives me a sympathy headache.

The Watcher on the backside of my left arm, elbow to armpit by William Murray in Columbus. Sorry for the crappy cell phone pic. I have a friend who is a professional photographer and is coming for a visit this December and we will get proper shots of my tattoos.

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.

I love showing off my tattoos. Both of my arms are sleeved, my back is done, and I have several on my legs. I do keep mine covered up while I am at work for the most part. I do work in the medical field but I often roll up my sleeves when working on a patient. I always get positive feedback. I do cover up my tattoos when I go on interviews or have business meetings. My boss knows I'm covered and has no issue with it. I wish I could show my tattoos all the time but I realize they are considered unprofessional to some business people. Tattoos are beautiful!

dont cover it - just get something else - its a fun tattoo

Lately I've noticed that people are expanding its usage beyond just low-back tattoos to legs and arms and whatnot, because people are both stupid and love to insult women, apparently.

Opaque grey is actually black mixed with white pigment, diluted black is just greywash. greywash: opaque grey:

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

if you worry about what people think of your tattoo's. you probably made the wrong decision to get tattooed.

My right leg is starting to look like something, with two semi-big tattoos by Rudy Fritsch and Iain Mullen. Now let's pray to the internet gods I will manage to post the two pictures I want this time... edit: the juzu around my ankle by Bunshin Horimatsu too! #tebori

Hello, First of all,thank you for having me. my name is David. I'm 27 & i am a 5 year tattooer from Dallas Texas. I love bold traditional timeless designs. Something you can see from across the street, and say "daaanngg that's a rad piece". I love talking to almost anyone in the industry. If you listen long enough you can pan through the words for tattoo gold. I honestly wish the entire tattoo community abided by the rules on this site. We work in a house made of each other, don't be the weak foundation. David Nash

Hi :) 1. My English is bad. so I ask for forgiveness :) 2. I have a crappy tattoo like Tweety bird from cartoon... please don't say anything about couse I know, than this is the worst decision that I can make :) 3. I want to cover this shit, but i don't know for what... please, help me, I don't want to depend on artist, I wish to have something ready, when I will be visiting him... Best regards, Simon

Robert Ryan again 12/6 @ Electric in Asbury NJ can see a break coming though - getting pretty filled up and of course - funds running low after this next one - but also I think I need a break... ...or do I;)

just got this handsome dude from Phil Tworavens (@lustandconsume on instagram) to kick off the leg stuff

Ah, but she was on Ink Master Redemption this week! I ended up missing the finale while on vacation. I've looked at the pieces on line, and can't believe Matt turned in such a weak final work. Did she tap out on him? Cruizeman did his usual safe piece with perfect execution, but Chris' piece was the best I have seen on the show. I'm sure Cruizeman's was Oliver's pick as it was as full-on American Traditional as I've ever seen in a backpiece in my short couple years of paying attention. I'd hate to have to pick a winner between them.

Now Hicks is healed, need to add stuff and boost color etc. Sleeve will continue in few months with Baphomet. Here's the Sagan, also need more work obviously and will continue to a sleeve. We didn't finish all as you can tell. Now few months old. Pictures aren't that great, sorry.

@soraya it's just baby steps, keep on keeping on and you'll get there and wonder what all the fuss was about ☺

my initial plan was to wing it, but the convention's IG just posted that they found out Marc Nava was attending 3days ago. took that opportunity to book a 6pm spot for Friday. drop by and say what's up! i'm gonna try to be there when the flood gates open, so i have some time to take it all in and wander around.

We only have so much skin, which puts a premium on getting good work. As has been said already, well known artists usually get that way by doing high quality work. On the other hand, getting a tattoo is about more than the finished product. For example, my first tattoo artist was a young artist who's been doing tats for about 2 1/2 years - the same amount of time I've been doing my profession. There was something about that similarity that appealed to me. We're both still learning the ropes so to speak. We connected right away and had pleasant, entertaining conversation while I was getting my tattoo. When I look in the mirror, I like what I see. When i went back to the shop, he remembered me and was excited to see how the tat healed and we bullshitted some more. Now we have a sort of connection. I mean, we aren't best friends or anything, but we're cool. I like that hes relati ely new and young and that i have some of his work. I do think it helps the community grow. I wouldn't change that for anything. Ultimately, there's enough skin to get great tattoos from well known artists and also get tattoos from lesser known artists as well. Just do what's comfortable and what you don't mind seeing in the mirror. Hell, if someone doesn't post on this site, they likely won't know the difference between Frith street and smith street any damn way.

Thanks for the comments - especially the example of greywash vs. opaque grey. My source crow is from a coat of arms which was done in solid black which I thought would look too "heavy" without something modified e.g. more feather texture at least.

So cute :-) Mini Tattoo Machine https://www.etsy.com/listing/221675690/mini-tattoo-machine-kids-handmade-tattoo For the child curious about mommy or daddy's tattoos, or for the grown up that loves funny little accessories-the handmade wooden Mini Tattoo Machine! Handmade and hand painted by North Carolina based tattoo artist Emily Rose, she originally designed one for her own daughter to use. Seeing mommy tattooing at work had made the young child want to copy mom so this is what she came up with! Here is the story and video on the woman who makes them: Triad couple creates toy tattoo machine for children | myfox8.com I found this product after I saw this Very Important Public Safety Announcement and started searching around:

This is just a personal bias, but the whole point of a crow/raven is that it's black. That's a great part of what makes them striking. Doing it in grey kinda diminishes that for me. With that said, they come in black/white combinations that are also beautiful. That might be a good route to go as well. Again, just the highly subjective opinion of a person with multiple crow/raven tattoos. (And @cltattooing - Thanks for the explanation!)

Seconded. The size/placement/the fact it's baby Tweety makes it kind of endearing.

The only upside of this being such a common derogatory remark is that now, since I have a handful of tattoos, I get to verbally eviscerate any untattooed idiots that say it when I'm around, and they can't say shit. Never had anybody suggest it about me, personally, but my friends do have excellent survival instincts, as a rule.

I'm just glad they're not bringing back Tatu Baby AGAIN. The new season looks like yet another desperate grab for ratings. Not interested, but I'll still watch it because meh. Oh, and I'm pretty happy with the outcome of this season. :)

@The Tig ...yknow I think I actually met the Mung bass dude in Nelson, BC at a hippy houseparty like 13 years ago! He gave me a Mung demo tape, we got super stoned and we played air bass to Mr. Krinkle by Primus. It was totally bizarro. If you do go to Cuba, check out Santa Clara, Sancti Spiritus in the central part and Trinidad on the south coast. When my old band played a gig in Sancti Spiritus it was a young gals 16th birthday. And I butchered happy birthday in spanglish on the mic to her. Meidy turned 18 and wrote me a letter, thanking me for the happy birthday song, which she still remembered. She said I inspired her an her friends to get tattoos, and she got her first one on her 18th birthday...of spongebob squarepants lol ! VIVA CUBA! - - - Updated - - - small world

People who call tattoos on women "tramp stamps" & think they're using a hilarious and novel insult are the best. You got me pegged, dudes. I am SUCH a ho.

I don't dress to show off my tattoos on purpose, it just happens that I usually wear sleeveless dresses and tanks in summer as I don't like the feeling of my arms being restricted by sleeves. I will wear a thin cardi with sleeves though if I know I'll be out in the sun for a period of time as I hate to feel my skin burn. Initially it was a huge step to leave the house with visible tattoos as I'm not someone who likes a lot of attention, however over time it became easier when I realised it wasn't as big a deal as I was thinking it was. And compliments from strangers certainly didn't hurt either. My experiences at the gym lately have been interesting now that its warm enough to wear tank tops. I've had a couple of guys approach me and ask if I watch (insert whatever tattoo show here) which I don't mind too much as long as they are respectful and not interrupting me mid-set. I don't watch any of them so my answer is usually "nah" and that's that. I've also been asked to spot guys (big muscly guys with no tattoos) when there are other guys in the gym, so not quite sure the reason on that one. Maybe tattoos make you look stronger, ha! I had a really great experience about a month ago, I went to a 3 day Hot Rod and Classic Car festival called Chopped in which we camped onsite for 2 nights with around 10,000 other people. I have never been in one place with so many tattooed people and have never felt so at home in my life. There was every kind of tattoo you could imagine on display, no one cared, no one stared, it was the most free I have felt and it was awesome. - - - Updated - - - @The Tig that's a really good point. I know that part of my reason for wanting to be tattooed stemmed from a lack of feeling comfortable with my body. I started with my thighs and realised not only did my new tattoos look awesome, but they do other amazing things like cover cellulite. :D I then moved onto my right arm because it was covered from shoulder to hand with broken capillaries and I was very self conscious of them. They are still visable on my hand, but it's not such a big deal for me anymore.

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.

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!

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.

Got this done by Chad Koeplinger today!

Latest and greatest- Great guy out of Portland. Dunno if he wants name dropped or not, but Im sure you could figure it out if you wanted. Almost tapped @7hrs, but a 15m break and 2 fantas later, I was back in action. Had another tattoo re-done on the inner forearm during this sitting. 8/9hrs total.

For me when i was first getting into this industry it was Dave Fox who always made me drool, everything he did just had this perfect layer of TOUGH over it, with just the right amount of exagerration

I have a really frequent client, female, who comes in and goes, "So. I want a cutie mark." I looked at her and all that could go through my mind was, "You can`t say that in a tattoo shop..." It hurt my mind. Sent from my SCH-S968C using Tapatalk

I am slammed at work, yet I just read this entire thread. And I'm glad that I did, because there's some great back and forth in it. Thanks to everyone who posted something good here. I don't count my tattoos, but I do keep a list of who has tattooed me. Two weeks from today, I'm getting something from someone who's been on my wish list for a few years now. He'll be artist #42 for me. Then again, I started getting tattooed 20+ years ago. Some of the names on that list are very well-known. Some of them are complete unknowns. One of them is no longer alive, two of them have since stopped tattooing, and three of them were shit on in the this thread's first post. ;) Not a single name on that list makes me better (or worse) than anyone else who gets tattooed. But every one of them is a part of a story--my story. Just as every tattoo I have comes with a story of its own. I love meeting people and sharing stories, which is part of what I love so much about getting tattooed and hanging out with awesome people like so many of you. I'll stop rambling now, but thanks again to those of you who made this thread worth reading.

I want to get tattooed by people who do tattoos that I can feel in my gut, which is to say that when I see an artist's tattoos, or look through their portfolio or on their instagram or whatever (though more and more for me I want to see the tattoos, and not just pictures of them) I want to have a deeper reaction than just thinking that it's a good looking tattoo, and I want to have a good time getting those tattoos. I've been tattooed by some "big names" and I've travelled a fair bit to get tattooed, and to be honest, I feel a little self-conscious about it because--and maybe this is only in my head--I fear coming across as somebody who buys into that kind of almost celebrity culture that sometimes goes along with tattoo collecting that I think @Pugilist articulated very well. Because for me it's not about that and it was never about that. I just want to get rad tattoos.

I wouldn't say that man. You're just new around here. Alot of us are not new to tattoos at all and we spend alot of our time around them. I think honestly, if we knew a little more about you, and the things you like and don't like, that would be a much broader and less trolley approach. I've been tattooed by Eli Quinters, like a lot of people on this forum (and people here have been tattooed by Shige and Horiyoshi 3) so it's a little like slapping us (and some really rich tradition and history) in the face.

This thread really makes me only want to get tattooed by people older than me like Bob Roberts and Eddy Deutsche. I realize it wasn't your original point (I too am wary of the star culture in tattooing) but your misinformed dismissals ('there are limits'!) are so offensive to me that I can't get over it. In the end I realize it comes down to different sensibilities and what I'm looking for in tattoos is obviously very different from yours. BUT, if I can add my 2 cents as a person who's been tattooed by both Eddy Deutsche and Bob Roberts, Eddy is the most 'PMA' guy ever (if that's what you're after). If you're looking for an 'experience' or stories, Eddy and Bob have plenty. The flash at Spotlight has bullet holes. (The fact that the stencil is made from the original flash push pinned on the wall alone makes it almost worth getting the tattoo to be a part of the history.) Nothing 'soft' or 'squiggly' about my Bob Roberts tattoo. There's no question about Eddy's technical ability. I think every respectable tattooer would disagree with you on this point. I think people with 'perfect' tattoos look uptight--not what I'm going for (not interested in putting computer graphics on my body either). Any imperfections will add to its beauty.

I have things to say on this thread that will have to wait until I'm done work and have the time to write a proper response, but in the meantime can we try to distinguish between seeing tattoos and seeing pictures of tattoos? Because the two are not the same at all.

Lynch mob on the way. Eddy Deutsche is in my top 5 favorite tattooers of all time. I'm getting to the point where I don't care who has a bigger name or the most Instagram followers. People like Mike Adams and Amanda Wachob have thousands upon thousands of followers but I could care less about their work. (YES, I AM PUBLICLY SHIT TALKING.) I'll take Mike Roper over just about anyone everyday. Edit; I'll also take Joel Long, Mike Dorsey, Andrew Conner, Mike Rennie, Will Lollie, Virginia Elwood, Bart Bingham, John Henry Gloyne, Josh Arment, Dave Regan, Matt Brotka, Katie Davis, Ishmael Johnson, John Rippey, Eric Brooks, Jason Phillips, Carolyn LeBourgeois, Sean Perkinson, Chuck Kuhler, Aaron Coleman, Josh Brown, and a gazillion other people who are well known or completely unknown that kill it constantly. Tattooing is a rich community. There are so many people that do good things that it is impossible to narrow things down like people were able to 20-30-40 years ago. There used to be like 2 conventions a year, and now there is one every weekend. I suppose what I am saying echoes what @CABS had to say. The experience and the radness of the person will trump just about everything. I'm a young tattooer, and I fully realize I'm not very good at this right now, so I will do my best to make sure my friends get a cool experience and can always look at those blownout lines and holidays and smile saying "That was a good day."

I got this done on wed (09/25) on my right knee by Sam Shaw at http://kulturetattoo.com/public_html on Kauai . . . . .

you could be the one to resurrect this style, you know the late 80's are going to be the new fashion rage

Done in Petaluma, CA by Clayton @ Electric Oni Tattoo. My cousin Tori passed away, leaving her husband and 5 year old boy behind. She was the best addition to our family and she will be missed. She had the same tattoo on her forearm, but hers said "Angel's Wings Carry Me Home" From Social D. "Bella Demise" was her nickname, which suited her perfectly.