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The Montreal tattoo convention is coming up in September and it's always a fun time and an excellent opportunity to get a great tattoo. The lineup is always incredible: this year's convention is going to feature, among others, Henning, Mike Rubendall, Guy Le Tattooer, Steve Byrne, Paul Dobleman, Bert Krak, Robert Ryan, Mario Desa, Nick Colella, Andre Malcolm, Ron Wells, Chad Koeplinger...and this is only scratching the surface. There are so many good artists working it. And if you needed any other incentive, if you've never been to Montreal, it's a great city to visit. If you have been to Montreal, you're probably looking for a reason to visit again. Lots of things to see and do, great architecture, world-class dining, and for you Americans, the Canadian dollar sucks right now so you can stretch your money. Who is thinking of going? Closer to the date I will plan some kind of LST meetup because it's always fun hanging out with the people from this forum. You're a great bunch of people and it's always nice to meet up and talk tattoos and share our tattoos in real life. http://news.arttattoomontreal.com/ https://www.facebook.com/Montreal-Art-Tattoo-Show-9786505473/ https://www.instagram.com/arttattoomontreal/

Imo, you're doing this kind of backwards. You pick the artist first and then go with their price. It sounds to me like you're comparing two people and trying to decide based more on cost than who you prefer as an artist. You need to pick who you think would give you the look you want better. You're concerned about $100 difference, which is small change for a piece of art on your body forever. I'm also not sure what tattoo you're getting. You posted a picture of a bear on a hand, then a rose, then a wave. Which thing were you hoping to get? Have you not decided yet? Figuring out what you want should be the very first thing you do. I prefer Aaron's style a lot more, but it's up to you. If you want a more traditional style whatever it is you're getting, I think he would kill it.

quality !

Yup.

but the egyptian theme is cool

so... say i decided to come to montreal for the convention whats the 101 on it -best to have an appt? -some days better than others? -good hotels / restaurants in the area? looking at the lineup - whoah so many tattooers i would love to get tattooed by obviously a LST related gathering sounds fun too hmmmm.... EDIT: I should mention too that I have never been tattooed at a convention - not so sure I would enjoy the big crowd aspect so much but who knows

If you are on the fence about going, you should probably pack a bag and go. Its a great convention and Montreal is one of North America's great cities. We will be going, if our September work schedule allows.

I've been waiting months for you to post this thread, @Graeme! I will be there.

@Graeme I definetly am - I have wanted to go to Montreal since I was a kid - grew up a Gary Carter fan and my parents had a trip planned for us to go see an Expos game, be tourists, etc - then...Carter gets traded and I also go to the Mets in the trade :) Trip cancelled anyway - lots of good info in your post - I would guess I would make an appt and go from there btw - you scheduled for tattoos yet? You were trying for Rob last year right?

If you want to get tattooed by somebody specific, make an appointment, but there will always be opportunities to get a walk-up. I wouldn't expect some local tattooers to be completely booked and there are a lot of tattooers here making quality tattoos: check out Arno Schultz, Nick Oaks, or Joel Marlo to name three. In my experience the Friday is probably the best to get tattooed because it isn't as busy as the Saturday, but it's all good. Honestly, I would rather get tattooed in a shop if there was the option, but this is an opportunity to get tattooed by people locally that I'd otherwise have to travel for, so it's fine. It's cool getting to meet and talk to new people and there's a good energy at the convention. There are so many good restaurants in Montreal. It's an amazing food city. If you want fine dining check out Park (I heard about this place when I got tattooed by Chad, he said it's the second best sushi he's had in his life, I don't have as much dining experience as him so it's the best I've had), Maison Publique, Joe Beef, or Au Pied de Cochon. We also have smoked meat and the best bagels in the world. Plenty of vegetarian and vegan options if you're into that too. There are also some great public markets well worth checking out. I know the food here better than I know the hotels but there is plenty of accommodation in the city. Think about it!

Both cats look like they are making decent tattoos but each has a different look. Cheap tattoos, we aren't talking about the actual cost but more if the tattoo looks proper vs looks like it got made in a kitchen with a guitar string. I think you're safe and neither cat is going to give a cheap-lookin' tattoo. The higher price seems completely reasonable and realistic, the other seems like a shop rate for a 15 minute tattoo...wait why are we even talking about cost...If a $100 is the deciding factor you're not ready for your first tattoo. Ok, your first tattoo so we will cut you some slack ;) Step #1 You gotta decide what the hell you want first Step #2 Book the tattoo Step #3 Receive the tattoo Step #4 worry about the cost and tip the tattooer. OR get a rose from one cat, get the wave from the other. problem solved.

Time off work: obtained! Can't wait to see Montreal again, it's been at least a dozen years.

That means they donated, right?

well then, I did not make this post to get a status upgrade, but I'll take it haha !

Hey all, Today I started my back piece with Scott Rusnak out of Lucky Strike Tattoo in Edmonton, Alberta. We are doing something a little out of the traditional notion of Japanese tattooing--a large octopus with some of his rad lightning laid over top. This is only my third tattoo (the other's being only palm sized jammers) and after my four-hour linework sit today, I am humbled. All of the spots feel like bad spots, but now a couple hours after things are feeling good and I'm looking forward to the next sit where we will finish the linework and start some shading, hopefully. We're planning on bringing it down to the knees with some rocks and heikegani crabs. The bare patch near my left shoulder will also probably be filled with some more water and another crab. Ultimately, this first experience was intense but totally manageable and very rewarding.

This made me laugh. So spot on! Hahaha.

I just looked at Airbnb for the convention weekend and it looks like there are a lot of inexpensive options there too.

So my wife got in on the Chad Koeplinger world tour when he was at Aloha Monkey in Minnesota. Obviously I'm happy for her but also I am a little jealous.

One year @BrianH stayed at a place that had a secret passage. Like you pulled a book on a shelf and the passage opened. I say "had" because the place got rid of it, which is the dumbest business decision I've ever heard of because who doesn't want to stay at a place with a secret passage.

I'm planning on going. I couldn't tell from the website (though I didn't do a ton of digging) whether or not there was a hotel associated with the convention that offered a special rate. If not , I'd love to hear about where people have stayed in the past.

Some more work on my arm ...

It strikes me as quite a "teenage" tattoo and I'm not sure how you'll feel about it in a few years. I'd say you will be sick of people asking what it means, it definitely might be better to have it somewhere more hidden, so it's more personal for you. My boyfriend has a quote hidden under his armpit as part of a sleeve and even he gets annoyed with having to discuss it with every randomer at the pub!

8 hours for just that? Nice that he took a 50% deposit than insisted on the rest of the money up front... sounds sketchy.

If you plan to go to the same artist and want to continue with the theme another iconic North American animal like a bear or a wolf could be cool.

I might just go and check it out. I have an idea of what I want to get for my first tattoo...but nothing concrete yet. If I can get off work one of those days, I'll definitely swing by. Reading is only like a two hour drive for me. Who knows...maybe I'll walk away from there with my first tattoo ?.

How about a championship belt?

It's not uncommon to show up on the day of and not know what you're getting.

just re-reading this thread from last year. i'm finding myself thinking more about armpits and feet now that my neck and hands are done (along with every other major spot). i started sweating and feeling sharp pain in the pits just reading the above. shit. tattoos are dumb haha

If you want a certain tattoo but are worried about the design being too trendy one solution is to get the best goddamned version of that design ever. Awesome will never go out of style!* *except maybe the word "awesome" which is probably out of style.

Pocket watches go great with owls.

My view on pocket watches is that I'd rather look at my phone or a wrist watch if I want to know the time.

Short and precise. I like that. Ha ha!

As above: if you're worried about getting something because you think it's trendy, it's probably trendy. But if you really like it, just get it.

Get a skull.

Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should. There's an old David Mamet essay -- he's writing about writing but it applies -- about how some of the "mod" architects of the '60s & '70s built houses with flat roofs that looked amazing when they were first built but collapsed with the first heavy snowfall. Versus how chairs were built in the 18th & 19th centuries with mortise and tenon joints that only made the chair stronger as the wood expanded over time. Some styles just work and while the art of tattooing (or any other art) can't move forward without innovation, there's no point in trying to reinvent the wheel when there are perfectly good wheels available all around you. In a word, it's all about structure. Sorry if that sounded wicked pretentious.

Tattoos are just like us. If we are lucky enough to grow old, our tattoos will grow old with us. Old, faded, greenish-black tattoos look pretty cool to me, as long as the original composition and placement were solid.

Do you work twenty four hours a day? I get not having the internet at home or on your phone but surely living in London you have access to public libraries or internet cafes or other places you can do this outside of work. We all manage it. You're lazy and a time waster, go away.

I work with a lady that has a watercolor hummingbird on her forearm. When you are not looking at it at the right angle and light it looks to me like the papertowel I use while painting to dry my brush or wipe paint. That's not exactly a compliment, and I am fairly certain its a newish tattoo.

Does anyone that likes this style look at pictures of old tattoos? Junior, I recommend that you look at photos of vintage tattoos as they are today. There's a great one on IG called @vintagetattoos. Go figure. What you'll see is that when all the color eventually fades (it will) all that is left is the backbone and foundation of the tattoo. Meaning, all that is left is the black. Which is why whether it's 'traditional' or any type of (well designed) tattoo there is a good structure of black in it; preferably 1/3rd imo. That photo you linked to will have eventually have a few bits of crooked black lines and look like shit. That's not a debatable topic, the proof is in the pudding and there isn't anything being done today in tattooing that changes the very nature of our skin and epidermis. Meaning that this is a fact, color fades and as long the damn skeleton of the tattoo is there it will be better looking than without it. edit*looks like you already got some replies on that while I was typing. I'm pretty slow at that.

There isn't really any doubt about how a tattoo like that will age. Anyway we've been over this kind of tattooing a thousand times on this forum before and if somebody isn't willing to look through the forum, find those threads, and put a little but of effort of their own into researching their tattoos, I don't see why we should put any effort into serious replies.

What the fuck happened there?!? That's not a panther cover up; that's a combo of a panther eating a black rose while wearing a black top hat with a thought bubble contains black flag bars with the whole thing surrounded by black clouds.

don't be so harsh. that looks like a good foundation for a black panther cover up piece.

That style is called a total piece of garbage.