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i've heard it called the bent back girl or bent back skull. first time i saw it was in this animation called "The Devil in Denim." oldest reference i've seen is from Milton Zeis, Tattooing As You Like It. there are some awesome versions of it. this DETH version tickled my fancy, so i copped it. can't remember the title of this piece at the moment, but i'll track it down.

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

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

sounds like a plan! plus good artists will help you with placement and composition type of concerns - when i was at smith recently getting a piece from steve boltz i saw eli working with a customer and he was real thoughtful and patient in collaborating with the client about the pieces he was putting on her - they want their work to look good too - those guys are pretty cool over there have fun!

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

I'm not sure if I should post this here or in Shitting Things. Looking at winter races and having this weekend open, I succumbed to a free registration and an encouraging welcome from a bunch of friendly runners I've never met and signed up for a 24 hour ultra. As in, running for 24 hours on a 1 mile loop with 136 other folks. It's this Saturday/Sunday and I'm questioning the idiocy of this decision.

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.

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.

By Todd Noble, at the Montreal Tattoo Convention. Sorry about the sideways view. Was right-side up when I took the picture. Anyways, you get the idea.

Welcome Hassan! Never heard anything about tattooing in Pakistan. Would be very interested to hear about how common it is and what kind of attitude people have towards it over there. What kind of styles and motifs are popular? Are people doing tattoo adaptation of traditional Pakistani folk art? Do you as an artist, and people with tattoos, face discrimination? I have a lot of questions. Any info and stories would be very interesting.

i hope you get some answers / insights - kinda fun question

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.

Just had my left elbow capped by Biz Matos. I'm very pleased.

WOW! That skull tune-up is amazing!! Really like what he was able to do with that, congrats.

Had a great time Saturday at a "plow day" on a farm about 45 miles away. Lots of people brought old and new garden tractors and plowed a field. Some great old tractors were ambrosia to this old gearhead. Returning home, I reached the 100k milestone on my GoldWing. Next year I'll take our tractor.

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 !

bongsau, have you ever heard of a Canadian punk band, Mung? My long time internet buddy Peeker plays bass in the group. I'll try the solidarity rock website from home since it is blocked at work. My wife and I have been wanting to visit Cuba for years and will try to get there before McDonalds and Starbucks show up after everything opens up for U.S. travel. We were in Jamaica and Grand Cayman last week and sailed past Cuba on the way home.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Did a couple days of riding with my wife through the GSMNP and Blue Ridge Parkway. Both are national treasures, and if you get the chance, see one or both. We've been on the BRP four times, and it never gets old. Spring is gaudy with flowering bushes, and autumn leaves were near peek this week. Tomorrow our 45 year HS reunion will be a cool end to a great week off.

Got this done by Chad Koeplinger today!

Finished off my second rib panel today with Dave C. at PSC tattoo. I'll use the royal "we" and say that we knocked this out in three sessions starting in late September, about 8 hours total. I'm super stoked on it, the colour in the tiger really pops! Dave is a great guy, and his work speaks for itself, seek him out.

December appointment with Marie Sena.Getting a mermaid.

was in search of my first singing bowl and came across these amazing videos. find 10min, a quiet spot, a good pair of headphones, press play and get some heart chakra healing!...

@heathenist I think "a trippy Jesus head" sounds pretty good as a request. Way better than "I want something to represent my family, my place in the world and how I developed as a person. Please also include a shark"

It really depends on the particular tattooer. In my experience, most want some direction, but it comes down to how individual tattooers prefer to work. With that said, I do believe in the idea that people more or less get the tattoos they deserve. Nobody begins knowing anything about tattoos and knowledge is gained through getting tattooed, though spending time learning about tattoos, looking at them and so on. So if you feel that you don't have much of an imagination when it comes to tattoos but aren't actively trying to improve that imagination, then just wanting a cool tattoo probably isn't going to hack it.

I redrew some daggers from a sheet of 1920s flash by an unknown artist that is in Flash From The Past. I had a lot of fun with this. And here are a couple of other things I've done that I don't think I've put up here. The hannya is from a couple of months ago, the roses I did sometime last year.

I'm about 3 months into my apprenticeship. Last week my mentor says "Set up a machine and draw up some small designs right now, I have someone coming in for you to tattoo in about 30 minutes." "Are you sure this is a good idea? Who is coming in?" I asked. "Just some big biker guy I know." I was shaking so bad that I could hardly get the machine set up. Hell I hadn't yet been taught how to use a machine. I wasn't sure if this was for real or a joke, but this is definitely the kind of thing he would line up just for the sake of fucking with me. I imagined some gnarly big dude he met at the local dive bar. I'm sitting at my station frantically drawing a spider and a skull and I hear the back door ring and my mentor say "Hey man come on in, he's just finishing up your drawing." I walk over to the station shaking and see a grapefruit sitting on the chair.