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Here are the end results of my trip to Denver. My wife got some balloons and I got a praying mantis. Both by Destroy Troy at Til Death. Great shop and fun artist. Also, The Cure was fantastic, the beer was cold and I used Saniderm for the first time.

@oboogie here you go :). Done today by Mr_rom3o

i love the mash up of styles on a body nothing against those who go for the full back piece or bodysuits but for me - i just love the mix of styles and content after you get enough tattoos on ya - it really doesnt matter what you get imo that said - it helps if you're getting tattooed by solid tattooers

welcome @kitti your grace neutral piece is cool, i like the honesty behind what she's saying and doing. i've got a lot of mileage from 15 different tattooers to date. some traditional, some japanese style, some bright and colourful, some black n grey, some shitty, some old, some new, some weird. I think the individual and how they carry/wear the tattoo is an important aspect of making tattoo cohesive (subject matter and beyond). we are the tattoos. obviously there are technical things that skilled tattooers will do to tie multiple tattoo borders together or you can just fill in gaps, tile in tattoos, overlap, blast. some folks want that hyper-cohesive singular tattoo coverage look which is ok too. the point is it's up to you how you define cohesive. my tattoo experience is an on ongoing project and will end when I die, that's what makes it cohesive for me...not to get too faaar out and philosophical haha ...and flowers (in any style) make an excellent tattoo subject and go with everything !

My right bicep is healing nicely. We'll have a few places to touch up, but I'm ready to do the next part! June 30 seems too far away.

A friend of mine was in the car with his son, and his son farted and was embarrassed. My friend said, oh, that's okay, sometimes you just have to let it go. His son looked perplexed for a minute and said, "IS THAT WHAT THE SONG IS ABOUT??!!" (Little boy, no volume control.) In other news I am totally happy with what I paid for my Chad tattoo because the cost-per-use is extremely low.

The tattoo I got when I was 17 was a small design on my ankle from a biker named Rocky - 25 years later it's fuzzy, dated and unrecognisable but I still don't regret it. Nervous is natural (I get nervous every time and have a holy crap what did I do moment after) but your choice of design is great and you're doing it right.

I love those crazy bold lines on the balloons

Halfway there by Chris Stuart in Charlotte. Great tattooer, great shop, great experience [emoji2] Sent from my D5803 using Tapatalk

Hi, I'm Ron. I've always loved looking at tattoos on others. I don't have any yet but would like to get one some day.

Hey everyone, my name is Em. I'm new here but I would just like some honest opinions about my new/ish tattoo. I got it done last year September and I personally think it is quite beautiful but I would like others opinions about it. And if there is anything about it that I could get improved? I have some more tattoo ideas for the future but just contemplating if I should get anymore or if I should be content with this one by itself.

Hi everyone, i'm Kitti from London. I've just booked in for a new tattoo in July so have been lurking and finding great suggestions here. Currently I have 3 tattoos, 2 very small bits and 1 hand-poked piece on my back by Grace Neutral I got in January. I'm planning on sticking with Geometric and dot work on my back (some great artists in London for that) but am interested in having slightly different style work on my ribs (Thinking of flowers possibly). How have you managed to get work in different styles without it looking messy / jarring? Its important to me everything kind of works together cohesively.

@Graeme DAMN dude, dat pink ink in the snake belly ...

Thank you for the welcome.

Welcome to the forum! I am a newbie both to the forum and tattoos - just got my first about 3 months ago. Tons of great advice, support and fellowship here.

I was, too. I very rarely like portrait tattoos. So very happy I took the gamble after seeing his other work (he does not have much past work in a similar style) & talking to him about it on FB to start with. I guess it was his enthusiasm about the idea that convinced me initially, and he really did deliver more than I had dared to hope!

You've got yourself a good one there. Really happy for you. I'm always a little nervous about portraits. I can think of maybe one guy I'd let do a portrait on me, and I will get one from him one of these days — Chris Jones from Physical Graffiti in Cardiff. He's going to do a Johnny Cash portrait tattoo on me. I've talked to him about it after we became friends on Facebook. Anyway, WOO HOO! Over the moon for you!

LOVE! It's JUST PERFECT!!! You must be thrilled. I'm thrilled for you!

Or the nasty crap from your lips in a fresh wound. @rufio

Wow! Excellent work on both - the line work IS amazing!

Thanks everyone I think the next one I plan to get is going to be on my hip in similar colours but with a watercolour effect to compliment my owl. I'm pretty excited about it! Thanks for the feedback!

I bring a wad of cash. Give me art. Take my money. Make another appointment. Repeat cycle.

@Synesthesia time to let it go

Apparently me feeling like I ripped myself off because I thought someone would be a lot less cool than they were is grounds for a bashing. Because somehow that's a negative thing against the artist. It's the only time I've ever came in right at the upper limit and I have no one to blame but myself, kind of just a funny story more than anything else but somehow it turned into me ripping an artist I greatly admire. Whatever. So much unnecessary drama in this thread...

That sounds super cool! I love both geometric blackwork & Studio Ghibli, please oh please post some pics here when it's done!

Let's not take the "don't talk about money" rule too far. Perfectly fine to ask an artist what his/her rate is and how many hours it will take and do the math. Bring extra in case it goes over an hour or two and always tip your artist. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You're doing it right. Totally natural to be nervous. You came to a tattoo forum so of course most of us will tell you the same thing: go for it! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Guys, I'm making a point that the only time I felt even remotely ripped off was when I basically ripped myself off by assuming Chad was going to be a dick. Kind of just a funny story about my assumptions more than a complaint against him. I've also said repeatedly that I didn't care and would do it again if I had to.

@Synesthesia poor form ripping chad here about nothing

Welcome Kitti! My advice to the above question is to get high quality tattoos from good artists. Thomas Hooper did one of my arms and my back is Japanese and I think it looks great together. I don't have many good pictures of how they work together, though parts of my back were designed to tie together with my arm--there's a continuity between the water on my arm and the water on my back, for instance--but this gives you an idea:

I find your lack of accountability... revealing. It is so sad to see someone continually shit all over themselves while blaming everyone else for their situation. Grow up, get over yourself and your angry attitude, and just maybe you will learn that you get what you give.

Enough already. @j144, if you don't tone down you attitude and language you will be banned. @oboogie, namecalling has never de-escalated anything. This right here is the kinda shit that every forum in the world is riddled with, but LST used to be nearly free of. This thanks to the respectful and reflected tone that dominated throughout our member base. How about we try to get back to our roots, educate the best we can, or just don't reply to posts we don't agree with, and let them die out. Not groovy, man... (Sorry, I just re-watched Easy Rider)

I'd request a BANHAMMER, but this is pretty good toilet reading, so please continue...

So you are an deeply disturbed and crass asshole! Got it. Thanks for the clarification! Bye now!

The best tattoo you can get is two animals fighting. Unless you get three animals fighting.

So this post isn't about my fresh tattoo but I saw something recently that made me cringe. I was at an aftershow about a month ago. This one chick had a fresh sleeve. She looked at it, pulled out her Chapstick then slathered it all over her arm...then applied it to her lips. How about we *not* do that. She had a purse and god knows that she had room for some lotion.

I'm getting tattooed next weekend. If I post an infinity symbol with "Love, Laugh, Live" in it or some hokey inspirational shit like that in the Lowdown you'll know for sure.

by Gus at Olde City Tattoo in Philly

I recently got this incredible peacock from Luke Jinks at Cloak and Dagger. The picture I pinched from his instagram page also shows a glimpse of a Bert Grimm sun I got from Nick Mayes when he guested at Frith Street back in March.

No, I don't have hair all over me, and they always itch. Slap it. It helps. :-)