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Little filler to pass the time between back sessions. Chelsea Kotzur at True Blue in ATX.

Jay Thurley (@jaysoos on IG) put this panthernator on my shoulders yesterday. These neck tear-throughs are tough to photograph, didn't get one from above my head to show the whole effect.

buffalo by bh robinson. good dude~ pic is sideways bc i like to be as horizontal as possible

I got the Gorilla Fudo Myo-o from Marc Nava last Friday at the Bay Area Convention. Definitely a nice addition to my squidpants.

dude - lion on your chest - you're good tattoo regret is normal when its your first plus you look at thing with magnifying glass dont you? now that you got the first outta the way lets talk about your next tattoo :) and the one after that...:)

wow seriously? Thanks for the feedback, you can't imagine the hell I went through with tattoo regret...I guess different people have different opinions...if anyone else has any opinions positive or negative please share. You are right though, at the end of the day its all about what I think.

Finally lost my cherry today. A great experience and I love my new tattoo. By Bradley Tompkins at Frith Street.

"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.

Great tattoos will always look good around other great ones. Nothing will clash with the dark colour, but even if it did it would just draw the eye even more!

Hello everybody I'm new to the forum, nice to meet you all! I'm a lady from the UK with a longstanding passion for tattoos. I have really enjoyed watching the artist interviews from Lost Sparrow which lead me to this forum. Hoping to share experiences, learn more about the art form and hopefully about some new artists here. I have 6 largish tattoos at the moment and really enjoy the process of getting tattooed. All my tattoos are black and grey and vary in style but my main love is traditional - especially traditional with an eccentric twist. I'm planning a US trip next year so any recommendations on traditional black and grey artists would be great!

Each first time I see this Jeff Srsic snake & peonies back piece, my jaw stays dropped.

nice meeting you too Dan!

Some from the past year. I think I did them in this order too. Watercolors and black marker. It's fun to look back and see what you keep doing over and over again, and what you would do different now.

welcome couple things lets see your first tatt second lets talk about your next tattoo idea right here third - free time? - go to the interview section - tha'll keep you busy...and entertained

Agree that it looks awesome and as far as tattoo styles go it's bold and solid. Definitely don't go with your family's opinions, since their opinions will be skewed on seeing you change in general and how they feel about that, rather that the aesthetics of it.

Meet "Odie", AKA: Odie Capote AKA: Poh-poh Odie was found as a puppy with his sister in a trash bag in a dumpster by my step daughter. He's mostly a terrier mix and was born with only a nub of a tail. He's super affectionate and loves Ziggy dog like a brother. He's on the left awaiting some turkey scraps: On hind legs: The other curly white dog is Maggie the poodle. She was a confiscated puppy mill breeder that we adopted from the city pound. We knew that no one else would pick her so we took a chance. She's turned out to be a very sweet dog who adores me. She's quite a hunter that loves to wrestle with the other dogs. Here's the before photo when we got her home. It took several hours of hand clipping to clean her up. Beast! After, with a new toy. And "Lucky Pete" the parakeet that landed in our back yard to eat the seeds we put out for the wild birds. He's lucky I was there to prevent the dogs from eating him since he was not afraid. He obviously got out or was released. I put my hand down and he jumped up on it! We looked in the local CL and for signs, but no one was looking for him.

Our youngest and the "granddog" Rocky at church Wednesday evening. Yes, Rocky goes to Bible study and pays close attention!

This series of backpieces by Chris Brand fits nicely in this thread.

Thank you so much for your input! I'm already feeling so much better about the tattoo after the overwhelming support that I've received on this forum. I'm very much looking forward to looking into the artists that you've mentioned. Thank you so much for providing them. I really appreciate it. Thank you again, it really does mean a lot! - - - Updated - - - Thanks David! I think you and the others stating similar opinions are right. I should probably stick put for now or start planning my next tattoo. Thank you so much for your input! It really means a lot. I'm starting to feel a lot better about the tattoo after all the positive feedback that I've received on this forum.

Welcome! If you're going to Austin it's basically a requirement to visit Rock of Ages.

just passing through. thanks for looking second one down is part of a split set in progress with my mentor curtis. apparently this weeks colours are silver grey and salmon pink

I think it's a great piece. Personally I think you should stick with the black and grey for this style. It's timeless, beautiful and will be easier to match with other tattoos in the future. Regarding adding a background, I think you could look at the work of Tamara Santibanez, Kane Trubenbacher, Spider Sinclair and Ruby Quilter for inspiration. They all create fineline black and grey work and they have work which is made up of several elements (like a back) similar to the style of yours. They also often add background detail which is very soft and beautiful. I also have a pale complexion and I have several tattoos which came out a little darker than expected and initially wasn't happy with but love them now. Yours already looks like it has softened a lot and will only soften more with time. Take care and enjoy your lovely piece.

Thought I would also upload and share this dope action shot. Plus you can catch a peak at my backpiece that's about 5 months settled in as well as Len's great hair lol ;) Another reminder that it is the tattoo experience as whole - that truly makes the tattoo. that's what matters. Tattooing is a very powerful, deliberate and permanent act and series of events. Last Wednesday was an incredible day. My work in the morning. Popping into the tattoo shop to just to say what's up and casually flipping through Len's book - I have 3 tattoos from Len now and each one was a spontaneous act with permanent results. Going and getting a dope haircut so I didn't get a cheap $25cent razor fade (found a new barber, an older black gentleman, he shared his cool snake tattoo on his dark skin, he got in 1967!). My tai chi practice in the park. An encouraging doctor's appointment. The boys keeping the shop open into the evening to accommodate me (shout out to Champion Tattoo Edmonton). The stencil and re-stencil to get the placement just right. The first 30 seconds when I thought holy shit man, this is brutal have I gone too far? Bishops Green on the stereo. Tattoo talk with the boys. Sweating through the table. Feeling my nose about to get crushed sideways on the table. the post-tattoo newport smoke, the vulnerability and the satisfaction with the end result. The morning after when the shower water hit the back of my raw tattooed skin. Even today walking down the street, walking proud and tall with this new tattoo. Hearing the lady behind me in the crosswalk whispering out loud 'damn that's a nice tattoo' to herself. Seriously, I am really buzzing off how this one turned out. The butterfly symbolism is pretty obvious. But also this: I dreamed I was a butterfly, fluttering about, to all intents and purposes a butterfly. I was conscious only of my happiness as a butterfly. Soon I awakened, and there I was, myself again. Now I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly, dreaming I am a man. -Master Zhuang I became aware of this taoist quote the morning after receiving my tattoo, and I too had the butterfly dream leading up to this spontaneous tattoo. I found it very fitting, not just in the context of the rest of my tattoos, but in terms of some personal growth I have been making over the last few months. And here comes this profound tattoo experience from a simple design that carries some complex symbolism to me, providing enlightenment when I needed it the most. Thank you LST for providing a medium to share the tattoo experience together !

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.

Japanese manhole covers