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Got this little memorial for my father from Tim Pausinger at The Pearl in Toronto on Monday. Its been a long long journey.

Haven't posted in a while, but I've finally gotten tattooed again, so I thought it would be a good time to revive my account. Anyway, the talented Johann Ingemar recently started working at my favorite shop in Copenhagen, The Sailors Grave, so this one was a no-brainer: Dragon in a nice big gap on my lower leg. Just healed and still shiny, so sorry for all the glare in the photo. EDIT: Why won't my picture show up as an actual picture in the thread, but just as a link?

Hey guys...I'm not on the boards too much lately because frankly, I'm kind of tired of even thinking about tattoos at the moment. This current project I'm working on is the most grueling yet. Once I finish this piece, I think I'll go back to traditional one shots on my arms, because this thing is burning me out. Anyway, I met with Sam Warren recently to work on doing some coloring (so far we've done one for lining, one for black and gray shading, and now one for color). One more session to go next month to finish coloring and maybe do some touching up. Sorry the pic is horrible but have you ever tried taking a picture of your own thigh? It ain't easy. Here's some close ups of the key components:

Just confirmed session #2 of my back-piece. Less than two weeks away. Also more work coming up with Theo Mindell Apr 1. Working thru some bigger pieces so not many pics yet but I'll post em up as we finish up.

Here is the piece I just got in Springfield, Oregon at the Evergreen Tattoo Invitational. It's not quite finished but will get it's final touches in Vegas in a couple weeks. It's a collaboration piece done by Christian Buckingham and Dwight Bulb who both work out of Revolt in Vegas. Christian did the black and gray realism of Archangel Gabriel and Dwight did the Neo Traditional Jasmine flowers. Ended up sitting for almost 11hr over 2 days and had a blast! It was my first convention and was such a great setting to get a tattoo. Had originally scheduled with Christian who did my first 2 tattoos but when he asked if I had any interest in doing a collaboration with Dwight I felt honored and jumped at the opportunity. I'm amazed at how nicely the Neo Traditional works with the Realism and it really does frame out the angel is such a stunning way....basically two great tattoos in and of themselves. Dwight did all of the flowers freehand and they fit my arm so perfectly. In June this sleeve will be continued onto my lower arm in some way. I want to have a cavern with a devil and maybe some dead trees and/or wilted flowers...?? The art isn't decided yet but will be a Heaven and Hell sleeve basically. Will have Christian and Dwight collaborate on the lower half too so that it carries well. Hard to get all of the piece in one pic but will get some nicer pics after the work is done and it's healed. I'm so completely stoked about this tattoo and feel like I got such a great one for it being my 3rd piece.

Hi SStu, thanks for the welcome! Here is a link to my Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joyce_tattoo/

made a trip to michigan over the weekend jeff zuck @ name brand tattoo. not sure why the picture looks weird at the top of the flames alex boyko @ sunhouse then today on my way home i swung by old soul and got this from john hill

Greggles and I did a thing today. Haven't been in a tattoo shop since last summer. I dunno if that was the reason, or if this spot was just really tender, but holy crap, I feel like I just got hit by a truck! Poor Greg. I was unusually squirmy. Worth it though, as always. https://www.instagram.com/p/BCmDYNNzBHG/ We set the appointment to line my back for April 9th. I am legit scared of a day that consists entirely of lining! Haha. Especially since we're aiming to line the whole freakin' thing in one shot. Excited, though.

So yeah i'm not great at introductions but much better online than I am in person my names Jo :) i'm 22 and I got my 1st tattoo last november/december time and my 2nd in January 1st Tattoo: Just after it was finished - https://www.instagram.com/p/_cxpObJiQr/ All healed up - https://www.instagram.com/p/BAaMUlqJiVe/ it wraps a bit on both sides so it's hard to get a photo but you get the gist 2nd tattoo: Just after it was finished: https://www.instagram.com/p/BAxQatPOFF5/ mostly healed (video): https://www.instagram.com/p/BBckockJiab/ I'm hoping to get something done by Jef Small when I'm in Amsterdam in May and i'm currently emailing a local artist about having something done at the end of June. Unreleated to tattoos i'm a "mature" student who's doing history at un, my dream job would be to open a cow sanctuary because cows are great but i'd also like to travel too. I also really like pizza and most other animals except bees and moths they can fuck off.

@rufio yeah i've run the spectrum on healing got 30 pieces under my belt and this is probably the toughest heal i've had i've also had a few others that barely pealed at all i heal the same way every time - aquaphor day 1 and 2 - then pretty much a dry heal after that its all good though for me location seems the key factor my lower extremities are a much tougher heal thus far - - - Updated - - - @rufio yeah i've run the spectrum on healing got 30 pieces under my belt and this is probably the toughest heal i've had i've also had a few others that barely pealed at all i heal the same way every time - aquaphor day 1 and 2 - then pretty much a dry heal after that its all good though for me location seems the key factor my lower extremities are a much tougher heal thus far

Tattoo ink naturally "migrates" a little bit over the decades, and some people think that tattoos with borders (ie: black outline) will be more discernable over the long run - but there are many other factors that will affect how well it holds up, including but not limited to: a/ ability of the artist b/ overall design c/ how well you take care of it (healing, sun exposure and such) this is a subject that has been gone over quite a bit. You should be able to find at least a couple of historical threads for perusal.

I say get what you like your tattoos will age some more gracefully than others but hey look your tastes may change maybe you end up with tattoos of different styles along the way picking a good artist though is more important than the style why worry what its gonna look like in 10 years aint no day promised to ya but the one your living besides - they look good "lived in"

Just booked in for my first tattoo of 2016 going to see Steve Byrne for 3 days in December pretty excited about it, it will also be the first time il get to enjoy Austin rather than flying in getting tattooed and flying out

I just got a larger tattoo than my last one every single time... By the 5th or so tattoo, I realized I needed to be getting huge pieces, so I did my whole back and front and told myself I would never get "visible" tattoos.... I started my full sleeve two months ago though. Going for a full suit now and I'm about 85% there. I would never have imagined that i would have a full suit when I was younger, but now i cannot wait.

OW! Ok I don't think I've ever complained, or rather, commiserated on here before........but this thigh tattoo still hurts 8 days later. Certain spots are acting up and when I stand it gets worse. Boooo hooooo. Arms and back were not like this for me. I had to stay home from a kid's bday party and I ordered groceries to be delivered today because I just couldn't bear covering it or going anywhere. But I love the tattoo. So, there's that. :)

I love this thread. Thank you everyone here for sharing your journey so far. So much incredible work. This truly is a crucible, and it has really been sinking in more and more just how special it still is.

Finished it today !!!

Oh I've got a few, some laughable some not, but I'm definitely not ashamed of this one First tattoo I ever did, at Tux's studio in '99. I was so nervous telling him & his wife the night before; I asked them to meet me for coffee and got it off my chest that I was ready to do this. He tried to talk me out of it by mentioning no heath benefits, no retirement pay, high-risk occupation, "why don't you be a vet or something, much easier. That's what Alex Herman did after quitting the biz". I could not be swayed. So he said"OK, show up at the shop tmrw and you can tattoo yourself". That really surprised me, I was not expecting that. I was prepared for "what the fuck, you shouldn't be doing this get the hell outta my sight". He had a legit rep for being rather brash and didn't pull punches. Chased a few people out of the shop looking for apprenticeships. When I got there I realized I had no idea what to put on myself. That part had not even crossed my mind, just "Holy shit Tux is gonna let me tattoo myself". So I said, "what should I pick?" He handed me this one and said "That's the first one I did on myself" which may or may not be true (once upon a long time ago he did the borneo scorpion on Higgs and told him he drew it himself hahaha what a classic fibber) but I didn't ask twice. He set up 2 Percy Waters, loud as hell, told me they were worth more than my life, showed me some basic info and turned me loose. That was one of the most exciting moments ever up to that point in my tattoo experiences. Best design ever? no. Best job ever? No. Some good blowouts? Yup. Something I'm proud of? Most definitely.