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I walked into a shop the other day to scratch that itch and when the tattooer saw my legs he said, "Oh - you're a collector." We then spent 30 minutes talking about the various tattoos and where I got them. It was supposed to be a quick in-and-out, but I ended up sticking around and talking for a while. I've been busy with other things over the last year, so it was nice to get back into it all again. Yup. Collector.

to me a "tattoo collector" is one like me, I consider myself a collector, IMO a "tattoo collector" is one who collects several different styles from several different artists.small and large pieces. I have some tattoos from very well known artists,and some from not so well known artists, I have some amazing tattoos and I have some not so amazing tattoos LOL,but they are mine and I like all my tattoos. most of my tattoos do not really "go together" or stay with a particular theme, I have full arm sleeves,but they consist of many different pieces and styles,some pretty small some large,some very old some new,the same goes for my legs, I have a mix of color tattoos and B&G,I have some fineline and some bold line pieces, I get a idea of the next piece and artist by how I feel at that moment,although I do now have a plan since I am running out of room, my collection started in the early 80's and has been done by artists from texas & california & Hawaii.I like traveling to get work done,I like getting convention tattoos also. so that's my take on what a "tattoo collector" is.

I've got a few to add to this thread:

If I intentionally curate and decide what tattoos to get on me and where (which I do), then I am a collector. It's so weird to me that this is such an issue. To each her own, however. Call yourself whatever you want!

I've amassed a lot of stuff during various bursts of enthusiasm (stereo equipment! impractical shoes!) but I think of "collector" as implying that the person has a very particular taste and is discerning. In a way, it also implies, to me, that there's an audience for the collecting. Like a record collector is different from a person who just has a lot of records, because the former might seek out specific pressings. I've had the good fortune of getting nice tattoos thanks to this place, but I don't have anything like the knowledge or refinement to think of myself as a collector. Mostly I want to spraypaint this old jalopy so that it looks better.

@Dan all a part of getting tattooed - doesnt take away from the awesomeness

Ugh. I hope it lightens up over time!! Still looks awesome, though!

Deitzel inspired lady Head (Glennie Wittall), traditional hand holding flower (Nikki Balls) and a wee Sailor Jerry sparrow (Nathan Draper)

I have other interests outside of tattooing. Motorcycles, knives, guns, and too a very small extent, watches (I say small extent because I cannot afford to be a watch collector, but I do like to look at them) I belong to a few enthusiast forums and this type of post has never come up. If you buy a lot of knives, or even a few select ones you are collecting knives...same goes for guns, and watches. I guess motorcycles don't apply since most folks that ride have one. I bet it would be fun to be a motorcycle collector though. I am more of a motorcycle enthusiast as I have one motorcycle, though would love a garage full of them Nothing wrong with collecting stuff. A lot of us here are pre-wired to do so. That's why we're here. To talk about the new tattoos we got or are getting, new prints or paintings we've picked up, conventions, guess spots, styles, etc.... If you do these things chances are you are a tattoo collector. Never heard it be used in a derogatory way by any tattooer. Most tattooers could be considered collectors as well I guess. Rob

@Dan i'm diggin all that

Blowout can really depend on severity. I have a couple of lines in the ditch that fuzzed out a bit - and you would never notice and I have a simple line tattoo that blew out pretty spectacularly from a good artist who I've seen a lot of work from, it can just happen. There really is a difference between an imperfection (which is cool) and spread (which is not). The significant blowout is on the inside of my bicep - it's fragile skin and can happen. I was brutally bruised and I think that contributed to the spread. My sister got the exact same tattoo, same artist, same day on the inside of her wrist - hers is perfect. I'll admit I was quite upset about it (not at the artist - just that it happened) but wanted to wait to see how much of the blowout my body would deal with on it's own. It's been about 10 months and the spread has lightened quite a bit but it's still very noticeable. When talked to my artist who is working on my sleeve (not the same artist as the blowout) he said it can just happen, that it's happened to him as well. He's is going to try and see if he can help it by disrupting the skin and not adding more pigment - if not we'll just thicken up the lines. I'll let you know how it goes.

This looks badass!!! How was the pain for this linework?

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.

His / Hers eagle tattoos by Chris David - Government Street Tattoo (Victoria, BC) hers: "could you make my eagle more feminine please" his: "just make mine a good ol U S of Eh screamin' eagle"

Hi all - it' seems in the move we've lost all the directly uploaded to the forum (ie not hotlinked from an image site or linked from gallery) images. Also, I was wondering if we could bring that functionality back? There are images I don't really want in a gallery (unfinished tattoos or examples of a problem [blowout]) that I'd like to provide visual examples of without having to subscribe to photobucket etc. Thanks all!

Hi, everyone. Before I introduce myself: Thank you! I've been reading forum archives for about a week - and I appreciate and respect all the information that has been shared here in the past. My name is Chris. I'm 45 and about to get my first large piece. This will be my fourth tattoo -- but my first in almost 20 years, so I feel like a complete virgin. Especially since my other pieces are small and completely hidden. My first tattoo was my fraternity letters on my ankle! I know -- just about as dumb as you can get. Interestingly, they were done by Pinky Yun at Dragon Tattoo in San Jose! In a scene many of you professionals have probably seen too many times, a bunch of us showed up right before closing and asked for the same tattoo. By the time the third one was done, the other seven had lost interest. I didn't have any idea who Pinky was at the time and didn't even know he was famous until the morning after. (This was in 1989). His shop just happened to be the closest one to the university. My next tattoo was almost as bad: the typical 1990s tribal armband. Oh yeah! I know these tattoos bring instant chuckles these days, but I assure you, in 1992 this was awesome. I had a good 2-3 year run until they started showing up everywhere. Good times! My third tattoo was in the late 1990s, another tribal piece, but actually a really cool one that actually flows with my body and doesn't look like cheesy flash. It swirls around my ankle bone and down my foot. It's the only piece I have that I actually love... but the bad ones hold a special place in my heart, and I've passed on chances to cover them up. Like most people who start getting tattoos, I never thought my last piece would be my final piece.... but college turned into post-graduate school which led to starting a family, and honestly tattoos just went off my radar completely for nearly 20 years. Until about 3 months ago. Early this year, I logged onto Facebook and was shocked to see my brother-in-law, a respected attorney, bust out a large piece on his arm. But after I saw it in person, it really stirred something inside of me: the desire to get another tattoo. This wasn't a new desire, but an old one awakened. And it dawned on me: I'm now middle-aged with grey hair. I own a successful business, and it's in an industry where tattoos are very common. I now live in Austin, Texas where everyone and their sister sports multiple visible tattoos. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that the barriers that made me put it out of my mind prior (social acceptance, career, etc). had been mostly eliminated. Any reason I might have previously used not to get tattooed was pretty much moot at this point. I had already decided years ago that traditional Japanese was my favorite tattooing style. A friend's dragon-koi sleeve stirred my interest more than decade ago, well before these became as common on Westerners. Well, I've done my research, realized that I live in a city with more than a few really well-known Irezumi specialists, and decided on Scott Ellis at Triple Crown Tattoo here in town. There are a few other names in this city that may seem like a more obvious choice to some given their fame... but after scouring portfolios and meeting a few of these guys, Scott was my #1 pick. For those who have seen his work (his name comes up in search only a few times on this forum), he does a really nice, bold, Japanese style that I like. And on a personal level I found him much more engaging than others I met with. Had my consultation last week, and it went great. I can't decide how long my sleeve should be so I'm starting with a half. Scott assures me that if he knows I may want to go longer later ahead of time, that this style is extremely easy to extend later. I'm confident that once in place, I'll wish I had gone longer vs. shorter... but despite working in an industry where tattoos are the norm, I am having a hard time fully seeing myself with a visible sleeve. Well, some days. Other days, I see gorgeous Japanese sleeves online and really want one. Then I'll decide that 7/10 is really the ideal length. And then a day later I'm back to wanting to keep it half-length for now. Really, I can't decide. I have an appointment with Scott to do the linework on Friday. I am so excited/nervous, that the tattoo is filling my head in most of my free time. I keep deciding, and then adjusting the length I want in my mind. I keep looking at Scott's online portfolio/instagram over and over and over in order to reassure myself that I've picked someone who can create what I want. I even have moments (fleeting, but they happen), where I wonder if I'm crazy to commit to such a large piece. Sometimes I even wonder if I should expand my artist search to other cities, since flying somewhere to get a piece that will last forever is a small price to pay. I assume a lot of this is normal. I don't want to make it sound like I am on the fence... but I do assume that flashes of buyer's remorse, or last minute jitters, are just part of the overall excitement/tension/anticipation of a (first) large tattoo. Can anyone else share their feelings about their first visible/partially visible tattoo? Or the first time they committed to a significant tattoo (vs. small one-off pieces)? Despite all my excitement, I guess I'm still seeking a bit of reassurance that I've picked a good artist, or that some of these nervous feelings are normal and too be expected. Anyone who wants to comment, I'd appreciate it. Thanks in advance, and of course, I'll be posting some photos later this week!

Finally made a start on my first proper tattoo. It's going to be a bright floral sleeve. So I've got a lovely 4" detailed red/orange rose on my upper right arm. My artist asked me if I'm on any meds that could thin my blood as I was bleeding quite a lot. I'm not, but was then concerned about the healing process. Anyway, I applied Bepanthen regularly as prescribed by my artist and had no problems. After 3 days the tattoo started to lightly peel leaving just some very light scabbing on the outlines. Now at 10 days it looks to be fully healed with the skin looking normal and soft. Just some residual itching which is fading daily. That was after a 2 hour session. My next sittings are 3 and 4 hours respectively. I hope they go as smoothly! Sent from my MediaPad T1 8.0 Pro using Tapatalk

I had some green ink migrate in my inner bicep. There was just a haze around the whole tattoo. Fortunately it has disappeared two years later, so maybe your blowout will look better with time , too.

Enjoy your summer and go swimming a lot. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The longer I've had a tattoo and the more I'm focused on the next one the less I care about small imperfections. If anything they can along with fading be beautiful like a well worn pair of jeans. Tattoos are hand made. That's why I like 'em. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Welcome!!! Of course, no one would EVER just post mindless drivel to get his post count up!!! Oh. Well. Never mind.

Well I guess I'll just post somethings here to get my forum cred up lol

You're welcome!

Thanks much! So do you know if you have to have a certain amount of posts before you can start a new topic?

@Boiled Dove its an interesting thing - the perception aspects somedays i see myself as heavily tattooed as well somedays i just see the empty spaces :)

Welcome, @kitti! I look forward to seeing your next piece of art!

Best unintentional thread hijack in quite a while. Keep up the good work fellas :)

hey welcome aboard Ron @blueblur1997 at some point in their lives, everyone here didn't have any tattoos and got their first. best of luck with yours! cheers

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.

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!

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

"People with tattoos" doesn't exactly roll off the tongue with ease — hence the phrase tattoo collector. ;-)

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

everybody's body has imperfections. and no tattoo is perfect. tattoo has helped a lot of people 'reclaim' their insecurities about the body they've been blessed with. perhaps it can do the same for you. (be forewarned - butt tattoos ain't a joke, not an easy sit)

Lets go with a few more what the heck: Becca Gene Bacon at The End is Near in Brooklyn with the fish rose morph. Becca is really nice and hit homeruns daily. Rob Ryan with the Hand of Glory and Mandala Big Cat at Electric in Asbury NJ. Rob is a super fast and as nice as they come. Steve Boltz with a flying fish at Smith St. in Brooklyn. What a great shop and Steve was filled with great conversation. I thought it was the coolest thing sitting down and having lunch with Steve after the tattoo. Gotta get back to Smith. Sheila Marcello with this flying lady head on my collarbone. Sheila rocks. Electric in Asbury. Rob Ryan again at Electric with some fish mandala knee magic. Lastly I traveled to Maryland to the Wheaton Tattoo Paradise shop to get this fiery eyed lady from Chad Koeplinger on his 50 state tour. Got to meet a lovely LST member as well. A blast of a day (though way too much of it was spent in a car lol). Anyway - love these picture heavy threads with cool tattoos so...lets keep going.

lets see if this worked this time!

Rose of No Man's Land by Chris Ayalin- Liberty Tattoo, Seattle Parrot, Panther head/Rose by Dan Pryor- Seven Seas Tattoo, San Diego Eagle by Phil Hatchet Yao- Master Tattoo, San Diego, Snake by Alfy Iglesias- Seven Seas Tattoo, San Diego

Percy Waters crane/lady by Tony Nilsson at Blue Arms Tattoo

Love that Octopus!

I haven't been getting tattooed much lately because I've been focused on one big piece for the past several months. I expect more traditional one shots in my near future! But here's what I've got so far when it comes to traditional style tattoos, and a little background on each: Eagle and rose by Brian Via at Golden Ages in Lancaster, PA. I wanted something to represent my parents (still alive, not a memorial!). Brian is super laid back and the whole shop is really talented. Also done by Brian, picked off his wall of things he wanted to tattoo. My first skull and not the last. Butterfly done by Antonio Roque in Frederick, MD. Really cool guy especially considering he's kind of "Instagram famous" with over 50k followers...easy to book with, charged me actually way less than he should have (and got a big tip as a result), and no ego at all. Panther and rose by Chad Koeplinger when he came through DC. He's one of my artistic idols and I was kind of star struck to meet him. Fun guy to talk to and I was amazed at his speed (this took less than 2 hours, including all the time we spent talking about movies). But wow does he hurt like no one's business! I wanted him to do this spot (inner bicep) to get it over with as quick as possible, but he's pretty brutal! Anyway, I asked him for a panther and rose and said he could do whatever he wanted with those subjects, so I got my whole inner arm blasted with this.

Hey, all, I'm Jen, and I'm new round here. I've read a lot of posts here, so I thought I'd join in the banter. I am a tattoo collector. 90% of mine are by Joshua Henderson at Brainstorm Tattoo in Fayetteville, Arkansas, who I think is crazy talented. I also have been tattooed by Richard Stell, and I'm getting another from him the Oklahoma Tattoo Convention at the end of this month. I'm a big admirer of Richard and Jennifer Stell, who are two of the coolest people I've had the chance to meet. I've been helping Jennifer with proofreading and updating the tattoo convention website. Good times! I guess I'll post a few of my tattoos in subsequent posts. Thanks for letting me join here, and I hope to become a regular! - - - Updated - - - - - - Updated - - -

It happens. No tattoo is perfect. It's a handmade craft. Gives it character, etc. Chances are it won't bother you so much as time goes by. But at least let it heal. Fixing it could make it worse. Up to you if you want to take that chance. But I'd do what your artist recommends if you trust him/her. The reason why "get more tattoos" is the best answer is because you'll drive yourself crazy nitpicking over every last detail so you may as well put that energy into planning the next one.

As the Dead would sing, What a long, strange trip it's been: