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I've been busy recently! First up I got this really cute cat and umbrella from Wendy Pham at Brighton Tattoo convention. I've been after this piece of flash for years so happy he's now mine! Next up (and also at Brighton), I got the side of my knee done by Jody Dawber. This was the most painful tattoo I have ever got. I was whimpering like a baby (and I usually never make a fuss). I had to dig deep to get through it! Thank god she's fast. And last but not least, my latest addition (again on the side of the knee) from my super talented co-worker Lucy O Connell. Had my eye on this babe for well over a year, so happy to finally give her a home.

Down with my demons Done at Electric City Tattoo, NJ by Caz

That is some weird looking shit.

Got my the lower part of my sleeve worked on today - Dragon scales done and the colour done on the Jizu and on the Kannon. After 3 appointments of solid lining, I'm happy to have some shading done.

I'm now at the point where I feel like I am leaving a trail of colored DNA behind me wherever I go.

Inside of my right upper arm. Adding more floral elements to connect the inside and outside at my appointment next month. We both got tired, and the shop was closing. :-) Hurt like a fucker. That unexposed baby skin inside my arm (as you can see, I'm very, very pale) was excruciating.

It's very tender. It isn't really painful as such, but because of the location, I am always moving it. Hope the swelling goes down soon.

this is all sounds very complicated...and I'm not just talking about the OPs tattoo idea

It was totally deliberate. I love it. Honestly, I don't know how many people will even notice it because my lower legs are pretty well covered so it's one tattoo among many, I avoid wearing shorts outside unless it's very hot out, and really the only time people take a good look at my legs is at the tattoo shop where they're not going to think I'm a weirdo dirtbag for having a tattoo like that. And if a member of the general public does see it and think that, they're not far wrong I guess. @oboogie Of all the spots I've been tattooed, inner bicep is still pretty much the worst and I've had my ass crack tattooed. Yours looks great!

I'm glad it was deliberate and it wasn't just my dirty mind interpreting it that way! But maybe it could be some type of Rorschach test for how people view it...?

I found this online and think it applied pretty perfectly to this particular heal: day 1: excuse me while i go wash this off and then do absolutely nothing for the rest of the day -muffled screaming from the bathroom- day 2: the lotion hurts me. the washing hurts me. but i must do these things. I will survive. day 3: im fine until i try to APPLY LOTION ASDHFFGH day 4: oh yeah, probably need to put some lotion on this GIANT BRUISED DRYISH PATCH OF SKIN Day 5: is that peeling day 6: I PROMISE THERES A REASON I AM SLAPPING MYSELF day 7: its so pretttyyyy.... except for those clinging peelies on the edge, haha, but OW BUT ITS STILL SORE Day 8: it will stop peeling one day. ONE DAY. day 9: Are we done now? day 10: Yes. We are done. Back to forgetting I even have this.

Here is some full frontal nudity from my Lived In Tattoos - Sunday takeover, wanted to share on LST though... Falcon - Bobby Tripp 2009 Escher Dragon - Steve Batt 2005 Polkadot Dragon - Scott Rusnak 2012 Psych Tiger - OllieXXX 2012 Dragon Eyes - OllieXXX 2013 Collar Snake - Shawn O'Connor 2013 ...this illustrates how it looks when tattoos from multiple artists blend together. also what happens when you tattoo your ribs first and then the front after (i.e. space squeeze) - 2 questions that have been asked on this forum in the past.

Thanks for the comment @Graeme !

Not fully inside mine, and it felt like she was using a soldering iron. I call it the "tender white meat". Felt fine once she was finished and I've never had pain in healing.

first - dont cream up and take pics - clean it up let it dry and then have someone else take some proper photos - i like the wolf i see bruising and iritation as for the red flames? i think we need a better pic perhaps once the tattoo is healed a bit if you are concerned about there being some kind of infection or reaction then by all means see your local doc but i think it looks alot like bruising i myself though would be disappointed by the gratuitous use of unnecessary use of background color but whatever right you might want to take careful consideration of your next move with this tattoo and if you want this particular artist to be a part of it

This isn't the place to ask that. I'm hoping you aren't being serious but incase you aren't, the answer is no.

I wasn't upset at all, just pointing out that your way of thinking is a little fucked. You really think we "came at you" with attitude for no reason? When there are more than a couple of people that have a problem with things you have said, it's not them, it's you. Don't act like you didn't do anything to get that kind of reaction. Maybe you should scroll up and see why people thought you were a jack ass. Going back to the topic, I think the guy you posted the link of, Gabriel something I believe, seems pretty bad ass. He could probably put something together for you.

It looks like a skin disease. I'd be worried, too.

@Devious6, I've been told a local artist from around here is on, too, but I didn't see him in any of the clips. I will be cheering on Team Peck all the way. Really, really don't like Nunez. I was also happy with the winner this year. Absolutely spot on.

Just saw that a local artist, Ryan Asley Malarkey, will be on Season 8.

@oboogie It's funny, I had my shading done last week and I was sitting there gritting my teeth and white knuckling the chair when they were inside my bicep. At one point I look over and a girl 20 years my junior was getting a mandala on her inside bicep, and she didn't look like it bothered her in the least. I guess everyone is different. Nice ink!

@bongsau That Devita painting I have is more like this patterned negative space panther in the midst of these huge and powerful black brush strokes. Somehow managing to do something like that, maybe not with heavy black, but some way of differentiating the space between panther and not-panther could be super cool. Also crazy though.

I have pimples around and on a healing tattoo. I might have over did it with the lotion. Should i use acne medication or just leave it alone?

I've now been thinking of ideas for a 2nd layer...considering a black panther blastover squinched between the Dragon Eyes, incorporating the arcs into the flow so they aren't completely lost. Salty Walt did a cosmic panther recently also @Graeme posted an old Devita painting of a panther which both illustrate the vision I had in my head. Also thinking of a bright lemon yellow burst behind the falcon. I'm not in a rush to mess with my front though. What do you cats think? Too crazy?

Yeah I think I will not worry about it :) Thanks t all of you :D

I don't see scabs. I see skin healing and starting to settle. Tattoos look weird when they are healing and some look weirder than others. Those are pretty thick lines. May take a bit to settle. Its so easy to get freaked out by a healing tattoo. We all do it. Try and relax and I am sure everything will turn out well.

I think I'd have to take it by a case by case basis, but in general, I'd say no to this. I don't like the idea of getting tattooed being used by a business to sell something that isn't tattoos. The last tattoo I got was posted on the Black Claw instagram to show how good their needles work, and that's cool because that's tattoo-related, but fuck a bunch of "tattoo lifestyle" bullshit like hipster beard pomade or whatever fuckery people pitch at tattooed people. That seems really vulgar and tasteless, and not what I want from tattoos.

@BrianH, maybe I'm just lucky to be pals with my artist. We have lots of discussions. He just sent me a text last night about my tattoo for today. I love everything he does, so it isn't like I tell him what to do. Anyway. To each their own, of course.

@SStu @Rob I @zetroc @ChrisvK Thanks fellows! I have a bunch of tattoos from Ron because I hold him in such high esteem as both an artist and as a person, but this tattoo is way beyond my expectations. It also means that I'm going to be wearing pants in the summer for the rest of my life because, let's face it, I have a vagina monster on my lower leg, but if your tattoos don't bother polite society, you're doing it wrong.

no way i'm funding a tattoo of an animal in a top hat with a monacle. or a watercolour tattoo.

Just sorted out my appointment for the Quebec City convention and I'm going to be getting a golden eagle from Trevor McStay. I'm stoked. I'm getting tattooed by Ron Wells at his shop on Saturday. Also stoked.

Hi, First off - welcome. Glad you found this place. It's a great resource. Second - This isn't the thread for your post. Make a post in the Initiation section and introduce yourselves. Third - this is not a good idea. If you want something and can't afford it, find a way to earn money until you can. Get a job. Sell your extra possessions. Recycle aluminum cans. But don't start an e-panhandling page and join a forum for the express purpose of getting complete strangers to pay for your tattoo. This plan of yours makes so little sense it's hard for me to understand how you thought it would be a good idea. Delete your begging page and start reading. Again, welcome.

Did some shading with Greggles today. Not even in the same league as lining, though anytime he gets close to that one area on either scapula I have to bite leather. That will probably always suck. But hey - since we focused on the upper body this time, I didn't have to be completely naked in public for a whole day! Bonus. I am finding that 4 hours is about the time that I consistently have my pain response start to fail. Tattoo flu every time.

Got this dragon head from Greg Christian when he was at Congress St tattoo! I have always wanted a dragon head from him and I absolutely LOVE this one. This was done on Saturday 4/30. The very next day Jason Scott finished up the background on my left arm. Super happy with the results of that as well and I will post those pics soon. It was super annoying to heal two arms at once, especially considering the Greg Christian piece is almost my whole inner forearm, and Jason Scott's work was from my elbow up to my armpit and shoulder. It was all worth it though in the end. Greg recommended using Tegaderm to heal the dragon head. Jason Scott had a roll of it, and between him, Greg, and Spencer Scott, they managed to get it on really well. I guess the stuff wasn't cooperating at first and it took a few tries (painful tries... put it on, take it off....) and a few different hands to get it on in the end. That stuff seemed to work like a charm. I've included a mostly healed pic as well. I say mostly healed because you can still see a few flakes of the second peel in that pic. I would definitely use it again. I healed Jason's stuff the normal way and that turned out really good as well. Very relieved and extremely happy as I find healing tattoos pretty stressful all around.

I had my first sitting on my knee with Grez the other night. We ended up sorta running out of time because he had to leave right when the shop closed and it took a while for him to draw a lot of things on when we started. But he got done the outline and shading and it looks fuckin killer. The real highlight of the trip was after we wrapped up though. He had told me last year that he was going to show me his tattoos from Hardy, Higgs, and Conn (his three favorites). So Thursday night he showed me tattoos he has from all three of them. Then he asked me if I wanted to see the art he keeps at the shop (aside from all the insane shit he has on the wall). He showed me a shitload of originals from all three of them, from flash sheets to commissions to sketchbook pages. He also showed me a bunch of originals from Sailor Jerry, Mike Malone, Timothy Hoyer, Tim Lehi, and a ton of others. It was absolutely bonkers.

easy brutha - you just got into town here lots of good info here for you but if you come out swinging you wont get much help here

why arent you just asking the tattooer

Got this panther from Steve Byrne when he was guesting at invictus in Oslo.

I don't think I've posted this here--Todd Noble made this lady in a rose a couple months ago. I really enjoyed getting this tattoo; he has a good bedside manner and just seems like an all-around good human. I can't get an un-distorted photo of this but you get the idea.

I've had a bunch of people want to touch mine, as well. But, the reason is that they don't believe it is real. Despite posting pics on my FB page during the process of having mine done, people still think it was an April fools joke and it was just temporary. They want to touch it to prove that it is real. Now that I'm healed, I honestly don't care so I'll happily pull up my sleeve and let them look/touch. I enjoy seeing he reaction on their faces when they realize it IS real.

I guess it is because tattoos are so much in the public consciousness, but I don't understand why people feel so comfortable coming up and touching my tattoos, and asking personal questions, completely out of nowhere. This is similar to when I have been pregnant and strangers feel quite comfortable coming up and putting their hand upon my belly. EXCUSE me? I have been stopped in public by strangers and asked to raise the sleeve of my shirt so a better view can be achieved. ????? How is this different than if you had a really nice piece of jewelry or outfit on, and I just walked up to you and touched the collar of your jacket or fingered your watch/necklace, asked you where you got it, how much it cost, etc.? How about if you had a nasty scar on your arm and I couldn't quite see the entire thing, and I asked you, a stranger, to raise your shirt sleeve a bit so I could see it all. It would not be acceptable behavior. I realize that people assume you have tattoos because you want them to be seen, maybe, and you want to share them with the world, but not necessarily!

How about all those people asking 'should I get this tattoo?' If youre asking someone else or even strangers on the internet, you probably shouldn't

Got my first just a little over a month ago - but at 61, retired Army officer and current college president I'm not in the usual group of folks most people think of getting a tattoo. Mine is not visible unless I'm wearing a sleeveless shirt. As people have learned about my first foray, they've been very positive. I get some of the "why would you do that?" One colleague asked if I was going to start drinking shots of whiskey again/ My response? I never stopped.

Here is a pet peeve: Just got my first visible tattoo. And I really hate all the comments that suggest it is my first one. "Wow, going big for first tattoo!" "Wow, when did you decide you wanted a tattoo?" "Bold choice for your first tattoo!"

Just finished Jack and i couldn't be happier with it! So excited! Done by Zaed from Radical Ink in Bucharest.

Almost everything that can be said about this case has been said. But when it comes to price I allways either tell the artist my budget, ask for a rough price before we start or agree on a price on forehand. Telling an artist your budget or agreeing on a price isn't and shouldn't be anything to be afraid or ashamed of. It's a business, and you're a customer.

hot n fresh out the kitchen by Scott Rusnak / Lucky Strike Tattoo / Edmonton, AB, CAN

The amount of jealousy I feel over four monmon cats is approaching a level that I don't even wanna get into thinking about....

now i m living in China, and if a man has a tattoo, it means he is from mafia :(

I'm going to try to post a picture from my phone here: By Steve Byrne at Rock of Ages. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk