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Part of it is practical. I try my best to protect my tattoos from sun damage and putting on sunscreen is much more of a pain in the ass than it is to wear clothes that cover them in the first place. Part of it is that I like tattoos better when they're secret or partially secret.

@Devious6With respect to body hair, I say get what you want, body hair or not. We have only limited say in what our bodies look like, but with tattoos we can adorn them how we choose. I think one of the real shames with the instagram era of tattooing is that we are inundated with these tightly-cropped pictures of fresh tattoos. It doesn't give you a very good idea of what real tattoos look like on real people: tattoos are for any age, body size or type, amount or lack of hair. You don't need to start shaving your body unless you want to. Unless it's the hottest part of the summer and long sleeves and pants are too uncomfortable I try to keep my tattoos covered up while I'm in public, and them not being visible doesn't change how my tattoos make me feel about myself. If you just want to get your arms tattooed because that's where you want to keep them, that's cool! Just don't think you have to stop there because you have body hair.

@Graeme yup agree on all points man @Devious6 you'd be suprised how well tattoos retain their 'impact' even in hairy areas

Some of you saw this on Instagram already, but my stoke cannot be contained. Fudō crab from Eddy done today at Lifetime in Denver. Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

The classic girl head / web images were surely inspired by the circus sideshow spider ladies? Here. I don't know who drew the first flash though, or when. It's often not possible to track these things right back. But, you can see ladies / cherubs (not sure which) on web, although not enclosed by it, on the feet and ankles of Stella Grassman. All her work was done by her husband Deafy. Photo is from the 1920s. If you're after something a little less 'dark' than variations on the classic design often are, and are wanting to add flowers too, you might want to consider something along the lines of this lovely by Virginia Elwood. Ladyroses are a classic in themselves, of course, the combination of the two works really well, I think. That said. I prefer to hand over a bit of reference and let my tattooer get on with the drawing, rather than give too much specific direction about composition though. Am not a fan of giving other tattooers work as reference, but I can see why you want to. Have you had your consultation yet? Never had drawings in advance of the day myself either, BTW. He'd be happy to make changes if it wasn't 'right', for sure. Hasn't be necessary yet mind. In other news, this, is image absolutely dying to be turned into a tattoo. (from either Punch, or the London Charivari, November 1867) Edit - Agree that it's not a stupid question, @jadore. Not at all.

Or, actually, ribcage excellent choice for first go round, because after that the other tattoos you get will be like a walk in the park! Just wait it out. The artist has to take into consideration your natural skin tone when mixing colors, plus the knowledge of how a particular color might fade initially, so put it out of your mind for the time being.

Spotted this weekend partying like maniacs at the Lucky Strike Tatttoo summer slam: From L-R, made-in-Alberta healed backs and butts by Scott Rusnak (on Steve) Lucas Ford (on Scott) Steve Batt (on Budd) ...it isn't a tattoo party until the clothes start coming off and the drop trough happens in unison. cheers

For a while I just took on 1 big tattoo project a year and spread the sessions out monthly over the winter. Now I try to squeeze in a couple fun small tattoos every year October through April or "tattoo season" as we call it - as opportunities present themselves and the crazy and crazier ideas reveal themselves to me. Life's too short to not get the tattoos you want, but on the contrary life's too short to spend all your time wearing long sleeves, avoiding swimming and feeling like a peeling reptile for too many months out of the year! cheers

this is a great convention. i think i'll be there again this year.

I was admiring this arm by Max Kuhn the other evening. Stunning.

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.

Some more work on my arm ...

Got the pig to go with the chicken from Chris Partain.

Got a little spider from Dylan Homer at Tattoo Union in Vancouver Also, how do you embed instagram posts? I can't figure that out...

This is an unofficial FAQ for Last Sparrow members who want to know more about laser tattoo removal. I've been doing this for 2 years now and feel I have some authority on the subject. I will not be giving industry specific information out but will do my best to answer your questions. I feel this is needed due to the total lack of real answers for people who collect tattoos. There are sites like realself.com but that demographic doesn't match everyone here. Furthermore, 80% of my clients are referrals from tattoo shops, due to the strong relationships I've been able to build over the last 2 years with them. As questions get asked and answered I'll update the this first post so new readers won't have to scroll through pages upon pages of content / risk the possibility of asking & answering the same questions over and over. So, fire away!

The Interview with Bill Baker by Tattoo Artist magazine has some really interesting history in it - Bill's been behind some of the great shops and mentored others who have opened great shops in Toronto, Hamilton and Vancouver. http://tattooartistmagazineblog.com/2013/10/28/bill-baker-interview-part-1/

Ooh look, there's this from this article. Titled: "Sweetheart-and-spiderweb" back piece popular with English officers during the Boer War. From Portland Sunday Oregonian, January 7, 1900, p. 16

I think it looks real tough and you should leave it alone. A badass pirate ship would look cool with that.

They say it takes 3 months for colour to show absolutely true. I've plenty of full colour tattoos and experience has shown that to be about right, for me at least. You'll be able to get a better idea of the final shade after a few weeks though, once the tattoo is under the skin rather than on it, IYSWIM. The changes are subtile after that so you might not notice any further change on something that's just line work. Any chance of a photo @Pier0445?

This is more like FAMILY relationships and tattoos, but I had a new one last night. My sister and I have both been married a long time, me 25 yrs and she 22. We live a few blocks from each other and our families are very close, so we hang out a lot together and at this point my BIL is literally like a flesh and blood brother to me. He's a musician and not a prude, and has tattoos of his own, though he considers them to be part of his misspent youth. He's got an open mind, anyway, and we get along great. Last night we arrived for the usual Sunday evening cookout type thing my sister has in the summer, at the requested time, and one of her son's friends had dropped by unexpectedly with his father to just say hello and introduce himself. We show up, and introductions were made. After they left, my BIL was clearly a bit flustered, laughing awkwardly and smacking his forehead about the timing of it, that he was meeting a parent that he wanted to impress (that he had a safe and secure home for his boy to come and play, etc.) and here I come, "with all your tattoos" and one of my teenaged daughters had buzzed her hair off, and we were looking really "edgy." I have never been in that position with my BIL before, ever, where I felt like I was unwelcome, or that my presence might mess things up for him in his other friendships and relationships. He may have just been joking and I'm taking it a bit more seriously than I should, but it was new. My husband told me I need to get used to that kind of thing, and I suppose he's right!

hey just resurrecting this thread my local watering hole Lucky Strike Tattoo has been documenting some of the Edmonton, AB connection to the Canadian tattoo history. They have some articles written up and posted up on their shop walls along with old photos and flash of Pat Martynuik, Zipp, Roy Johnson, Doc Forbes... Rockin' Roy Johnson of Roy & Sandy's Tattoo on 118 Ave ... Kudos to Sam and the Lucky Strike crew for taking the time to put this together. In the past you've had to go get tattooed and hear the stories to try and piece together the oral history so it's nice to have a story written out, to read and enjoy. Especially cool to see the hometown connection. cheers

I've not been getting tattooed for that long, 2 and a half years or so. Had about a year of (mostly) monthly appointments which was lovely, but it's been 4 to 6 months between times since then which feel like huge periods of waiting. So, in an ideal world of unlimited money and free choice of appointments, I'd love another year or two (or three) of monthly sessions outside the summer months. Same here. Feels like it helps them retain their power or something.

I enjoy showing mine - just one so far - because people tend to be surprised by it. As a retired senior Army officer and now a college president, I enjoy breaking the stereotype. If people push for tolerance, acceptance and inclusion then they also need to overcome their pre-conceived ideas of people who have tattoos.

I don’t know if this fits in this under this topic, but it does involve ladies and tattoos so here goes. Being a woman, I tend to notice other women with tattoos more than men, I guess because I feel a connection with other tattooed ladies. Now that we are in summer weather, the tattoos are out there for the world to see. The local weekly farm market seems to be a place where I see a lot of women with tattoos. I’m really amazed at how many I see, and it makes me feel better about showing mine (another long story that has been discussed elsewhere here). Since I generally tend not to notice men’s tattoos, few weeks ago I started to wonder about the proportion of women to men with tattoos. I decided to count how many tattooed men vs. women I saw. Over about 4 visits, I found that by my count there are between 3 and 4 times more women with tattoos than men! Furthermore, I saw more large pieces (back pieces, sleeves) on women than men. This really surprised me, and sort of excited me too! I think it is so cool that ladies have sort of grabbed the art form and run with it. I’m aware of scientific surveys that show that slightly more women than men get tattoos, but in my observation the split was quite lopsided. Disclaimer: I realize that my count is not a scientific survey, and could be skewed by the fact that in hot weather women tend to show more skin than men, and so it stands to reason that you would see more lady tattoos. Also, the market tends to have a higher proportion of women attending than men anyway. And maybe there is some sort of demographic thing going on regarding the type of woman or man who frequents farm markets, yada yada yada. But I thought it was interesting nevertheless.

In preparation for my Japanese back/sleeve/chest panel piece, I've actually been getting some hair removed on my pectoral area where part of my tattoo will be. I want the tattoo to read cleanly and clearly. To my eyes, hair over tattoos make them look somewhat indistinct.

I have been lucky,I don't have any heavy body hair,not much on my chest really at all.hell,I don't even grow a good beard.

I remember telling my ex that it would be pointless to have my chest tattooed because I'm a hairy guy. Year later I got my chest tattooed. Currently a hairy guy with an awesome chest tattoo. It is still surprisingly visible, and I have no plan on shaving my chest or trim my chest hair any time soon.

"I try to keep my tattoos covered up while I'm in public" with respect,why do you do that ?

Was 61 when I got my first, and at 63 (soon to click another digit) have 4 with one being a composite covering all of my left shoulder from back to elbow. I have no plans for more, but getting my right forearm piece lasered until it can be redone the way I want it. Then no more. If I had desire for more and the extra funds, I'd be at it about once a month but seriously, this is all I want. I do enjoy the experience, even the healing as it is amazing to see how the body works this way.

Mark, above all, thank you for your service. I'm in the 50+ club, too. It literally took me decades to figure our what I wanted. Now, I'm all in trying to get what I want done completed in the next two years. The upside is that since I'm older, I can afford to get what I want and by whom (if they'll have me). :) @Devious6

Getting a little something on my calf this week. Think it will look great, and I'm really looking forward to it!

In jittery anticipation waiting for Horitomo to call me saying its my turn. Could be anytime between July and August, I really wish I knew when. I put all my other tattoos on hold to save up for the initial start of the back.

Reconcile your feelings and move on, in a little while you might come to like it again with other work around it

I like it. Bigger the better. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Thats a badass Tattoo!

The first time I went I had an appointment, last year I just went looking for a walk-up. I agree with Graeme, at least on Friday night there were lots of amazing tattooers who were available (I ended up getting something from Jeb Riley). For me, getting tattooed at a convention definitely sucks compared to a shop. That said, you ARE getting a tattoo so it's still awesome.

I trust my artist. I don't know exactly what I'm getting until I turn up on the day. Never been disappointed.

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

Flashback, anyone?

Turns out that dry healing is so much better for my weird skin. Wish I'd known this about 25 tattoos ago. Hahahahaha.

So far, so good with the dry heal. This may be the way forward. I have an appt. on the 30th. Really excited about what's next ...

got my first tebori from Toshi(Bunshin Horitoshi) the other day. Great experience, and Toshi is a great guy. Went with something simple and classic for my first japanese tattoo

I've got a few new ones over the last 2 months... Very stoked. Have a cool Japanese yokai tattoo booked for Saturday...

Just got my first tebori from Bunshin Horitoshi. Tosi is a great guy! Highly recommended. I went with something classic and simple for my first japanese tattoo

Tattoos like to ride, too.

Started this little fella:

Little late here. Got this one waaayyyy back in November of 2015 from Chad Koeplinger while he was at Tattoo Paradise in DC. Tough to get a good pic because of the way it wraps, but you get the idea.

I booked an appointement with Bunshin Horitoshi in a couple of weeks. I saw the name discussion a few pages back. Regardless of his name I think his stuff is great. I get confused with all these names. I'm really looking forward to getting my first tebori tattoo.

I like Horimitsu of the Horitoshi Family a lot. His colors are also very vivid and bright. His designs take on an abstract approach at times to traditional Japanese tebori themes. I've follow his Instagram religiously. Missed out on an opportunity to get tattooed by him at this past NYC Tattoo Convention. Hopefully he'll come to the next one!

SO JEALOUS!!! That's really awesome, man!