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Finished my lower leg with Grez at King's Ave NYC. He added the (bloody and swollen) lighthouse and ROA piece to go along with the clipper ship from Russ Abbott. I couldn't be happier with how he was able to tie it all together. Sorry for the giant pic, I'll post healed shots in a couple of weeks, there's a video on my IG: wedge45.

My tattoos that like the best are the ones where I gave the vaguest ideas to my tattooer! I'd say don't worry so much about the specifics of the art - but it's your tattoo so whatever it takes for you to love it, go for it. Who the tattooer should be and where on your body they go are both pretty important though :)

a 2 year wait to get my backpiece started. which was great in retrospect. it really helped me solidify and articulate what exactly I wanted. it made the end-result that much more meaningful and the act of tattoo more powerful as well.

I don't like small tattoos. I don't like tattoos that are self-consciously tasteful. Tattoos should be large, bold, and at least somewhat obnoxious.

I guess my biggest one is just seeing some of the shit that pops up on my Facebook news feed from my friends getting tattooed. I have a friend who just got her first and was extremely proud of it. It's a tribal butterfly that isn't even symmetrical. Like, not even close. How do you even screw that up? Just draw half of it and then fold the paper over! It was a bad concept, badly drawn, and badly applied. It blows my mind to see otherwise intelligent people I know just losing their minds when it comes to tattoos. Tattoos don't HAVE to look bad, you know! And in this day and age, when you can look up thousands of tattooers on Facebook, Instagram, etc and get a feel for what can be accomplished. I just legitimately don't understand. Ultimately people can do what they want and good for them for being proud of what they get. I just hope that they'll see the error of their ways soon for my own selfish reasons because I want good tattoos cluttering my news feed, not shitty ones.

Finally finished this huge thigh piece a few days ago, loosely based on the cover for one of my favorite metal albums! Pictures taken a couple hours after when I was still ridiculously red and swollen. I'll be sure to post better pics once it's done peeling. Done by Sam Warren at Dreams Collide in Lancaster, PA. Pic from the front/side: From the back:

yes,I have waited a year before,and I am not a patient person ! LOL

@Dan waiting can suck ;) have you been on quite long waiting lists? I've not experienced that yet, I am pretty certain I would drive myself insane with the anticipation and excitement. @Synesthesia , it can be tricky working out what to get can't it! Hey why not go for the whole dagger through the animal... two birds one stone ;) have to agree with @Shaun1105 though, this last tattoo I gave a general idea and let him design it how he wanted and have to say it was the best outcome. I am sticking to that approach :) @otisc !!! Looks like you will need another project to keep you occupied ! @bongsau I am hoping that I get the same result by the time I do start my thighs :) It does reassure me, reading that's how it went for you with your back! (off to stalk and see if I can find a photo of your back now :) )

My only road block is that after two sessions, my artist is going to Europe for 9 weeks, so I have to wait all summer to complete my sleeve.

Personally I'm not very into Disney and this kind of style and cartoons-like tattoos, but I think you should hear your artist's advice. I guess you might run the risk to end up with a bunch of different objects which don't relate to each other. Would you do the cloud and the baloon similar to the Disney style of drawing? I know that tattoo is a very personal and subjective thing, but I'm afraid it might end as one of those kind of tattoo you might not like in like 5 or 10 years...just my 2 cents on this topic!

Lately my biggest issue is with ideas. I have tons of vague ideas (a dagger! more animals!, etc) but I have a hard time narrowing down what exactly I want the tattoo to look like, who I want to do it, and where it should go. I've been debating the same pieces forever it seems like, I just can't make up my mind about specifics.

i like the goofy tattoo i have my share of questionable content :) in my tattoos but i also feel like ...do you really wanna build a whole sleeve around a tattoo thats....well...goofy -- no offense why the need to add to it like... why not get another tattoo somewhere elsewhere on your body and go from there

@agadan93 not gonna judge the content here of what you are looking to do but my main thought is that this discussion is really for you and a tattoo artist to have - contuning to debate along this thread serves no point really imo

I agree. I know I started off with some really bad tattoos and I'm sure I'm not the only one. That is one good thing that came from me spending all of my younger money on booze and drugs is that I did not get more bad tattoos than I did. Then I had kids to raise so when they grew up and i could spend money on myself again I had learned what good tattoos are and can be and now I have some fantastic pieces. I know the person with the tattoos didn't start the thread. And I'm not sure that I see tattoo shaming in any better light than slut shaming (or any shaming for that matter (except Trump shaming, that is totally legit)), but I think any opportunity for tattoo education can help people. I wore some godawful tattoos for over 20 years so if I can be a part of helping someone to not go through that I think that is a good thing.

Finding the balance between work, fun, and musical tastes. Thursday night was Reagan Youth. Friday morning in a shirt and tie working in a client office, Friday night a house show with Austin Lucas and Adam Faucett. And today I'm cleaning the apartment listening to rockabilly radio. 16 year old me would be so confused.

who the hell cares - why do people make threads like this

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.

My hubby is that way too! He is the one that first suggested that I consider getting a tattoo. It was kind of sweet and awkward and funny because he went out of his way to be polite and respectful, and he sort of hemmed and hawed before he got the words out. At first I wasn't at all interested, but decided that it might be a fun adventure, and it would please him to boot. Of course I loved it and one thing led to another and I got many more, and will continue. My husband is very attracted to heavily tattooed women, so it works for both of us. I would like to be totally covered front and back, except head, neck, hands, and feet, and I know that he would squeal on the inside if i did that. But professional considerations must rule for me. I have half sleeves but probably won't extend them beyond the elbows. But I am planning a back piece, and I'm toying with the idea of getting the whole front of my torso covered Japanese style. Then maybe legs to my knees. We shall see... I have told him about my thoughts and he contains his glee pretty well, but I know he would love, love, LOVE for me to be covered (and so would I)!

A girl I work with just came up and touched my very fresh, not-totally-healed tattoo. HUGE pet peeve. Do. Not. Touch. Me. But especially don't touch my fresh tattoos.

I hate it when people with 1/2/no tattoos give me tips on how to heal my tattoos..

@LizBee no one asked you to lift up an other part of your shirt for a better view?

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!

c'mon what about smallest tattoos? LOL

You find experts in anything you do. People generally get excited about what they like and want to appear very knowledgeable. And with tattoos they also want to appear tough - "like I sat for 10hrs straight", I hear this brag statement so often for the most unsubstantial tattoos it is nauseating. I'm like, good for you that must have hurt! But when it's obvious they got grey lined, then lined, then re-lined again and then delicately grey shaded I'm like suuuure bud that must. have. hurt (your pocket) ! But whatever, I know what's up with my tattoos and my tattooists and what it really takes to go the distance, so good for them. I guess my peeve is people asking about your tattoos. They don't sincerely ask about your tattoos. Nobody gives a shit about your tattoos. Maybe I'm being a little melodramatic...but 90% of the time being asked about your tattoos is simply the unsolicited invitation for people to just talk and show off their own. It is a penis-measuring contest. People love to talk. And love hearing themselves talk. And perhaps I'm no different. I mean really I post here at LST often because this is one of the very few outlets I have (aside from the tattoo shop) where I can wax about tattoos and my experience with honesty (and feel like I have an audience haha). So peace to the LST cats for reading my words, whether you reply or care. Or you can just scroll past, who cares! There is a lot of ego and attitude in the tattoo scene. So perhaps the lesson for me here is to ask people about their tattoos (in person) more often when i do see something cool or fresh. Everybody has their own story to tell. It's all good though. Just keep getting tattooed because you enjoy it. Enjoy it for yourself. The people who truly are ass-deep (literally) into tattoos no what's up and will keep the culture thriving, pet peeves or not.

I’m new here, in my sixties, planning a back piece and partial sleeves (my introduction HERE). I’ve been doing a lot of research about healing here and elsewhere. I think I want to heal using Tegaderm or a similar product. I will be traveling for my back piece, and because of expenses and schedule, my wife may not be able to join me for all sessions, so I won't have any help for immediate aftercare. So is it reasonable for me to even consider using Tegaderm if I have to apply it myself? My understanding is that normal procedure would be for me to come back from my session, removed the artist’s dressing, wash the tattoo, and then apply the Tegaderm and leave it on for a few to several days. I’m fearing some sort of comedy scene result with me all wrapped up in saran wrap in my hotel room, unable to move, tapping out 911 with my nose on my cell phone to call someone to cut me free, followed by an article in local online press that goes viral.

One tiny little touch up/detail session left next month!

No apologies necessary. I love coming into this thread and seeing rad stuff. Here's my contributions for today. All by Tim Lehi. I wish these pictures were better so I could see more of the detail...