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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.

Just got this hannya giesha from Jeremy Lamos on my thigh. So happy with it. The actual tattoo didnt take long but it was a long sit. Felt pretty sick by the end of it. Had allot of fun with the eyes.

Three new ones last night by Will Lollie! My wife and I got "matching" swallows and I also got the bison head. I've also added a quick picture of my healed foodog.

I have a thing mostly ironed out with Dave for the convention, too! Pretty excited. He does great hannyas, really expressive.

Just emailed my favorite local shop to set an appointment for a tattoo for myself and another for my daughter to have her ears pierced. I'm excited and wanted to tell someone and who the hell else would even care besides maybe LS? Pics in October if all goes well.

Retailer wise, Gomineko is a book seller that focusses on tattoo references. She's an excellent resource for purchasing books but depending on where you are at, it can take several months for books to arrive and there are no notifications of shipping/tracking. Also she is more expensive than other resources. Some people love her due to her inventory, while others not so much due to the price, lag or non-delivery. If you are fortunate enough live near a Kinokuniya book store, their books in their tattoo/woodblock section can range from decent to pretty good. They're a Japanese book retailer and have a few shops across the US. They sell the same books as Gomineko but are cheaper. They can also order books for you if you know exactly what you are looking for. That said, actual material wise, for general symbolism,"Bushido" and "Tattoos of the Floating World" by Takahiro Kitamura are excellent resources. I don't know the name of it but it looks like Horibenny just came out with a new book that at glance appears to be decent for introductory info on motifs too. Check out Amazon for all. For myths, study the source material. Read books on Japanese mythology and books on Woodblock print artists. There will often be descriptions about the scenes in woodblock prints. That can often give you enough information to research further about a subject on your own. Regarding mythology, read the "Kojiki" and the "Taiheiki". Both are translated in english and chronicle stories of the origin of/early Japan and medieval Japan. Another book I've found is called "Japanese Mythology" by Michael Ashkenazi. These books tell stories about deities and ancient heroes that are often subjects in Japanese motifs. I wish I had read the "Kojiki" sooner. Not regretting what I have but I feel I may have chosen different subjects if I had. Things I had written off earlier, I gained new appreciation for after reading more about them. There are tons of information out there. I feel it's much easier to learn about now, than it was even a few years ago. Hope this helps.

@Guerillaneedles I LOVE the Wendy piece. Hard. She's on my list for sure! @oboogie Meh, can't please everyone. Killer work.

@oboogie i dig both those pieces you recently posted - glad the negative reactions weren't coming from the LST crowd - some folks arent gonna dig your tattoos though - no matter how awesome they might be - just the way it goes you know

So I had to run to the pharmacy and bought some tegaderm. They only had the smaller pads so I had to do piece work over this tattoo on my thigh that I got yesterday. This is the second bandage. I took the first one off this a bit before applying this one. There are allot of overlapping areas to make it fit. Should I be fine? Are the areas where its overlapping 1 or 2 times not able to breathe because of the extra layers? Right now it feels pretty warm to the touch.

He is amazing. Both swallows were hand drawn on. Great artist, great tattooer, and great guy!

Booked for 1 PM on Saturday September 10th! I can't wait!!

Everyone has their own opinions and styles. If you like it...it doesn't matter what others think, IMHO. I like the style and I knew immediately it was Johnny Cash.

I hadn't realized I wanted this until I read your post. Horitomo's MonMon Cats book actually does go into detail about the imagery's symbolism and history but, the book is short and meant for flash and the history is more of like a plaque under an exhibit. Its background to improve appreciation of the picture. But I too would love more websites and books.

Wow, looks like everyone's been getting awesome tattoos. Good stuff guys. Got this tiger yesterday from Kike Castillo. Excuse the picture.

I lived in SF for 3 years but now live in LA. For sessions I typically take the 1st flight to SF and take the last flight out. Although this time I spent the night figuring I'd be exhausted afterwards. 2 1/2 years may sound long but since you're getting tattooed by the likes of Rubendall and Henning in the meantime, time may pass pretty quickly. BTW, keep an eye out. "Bayareatattooconvention" IG page just announced someone can win a monmoncat tattoo. They will be announcing details soon.

@polliwog, not here, no. I think some people don't get it isn't supposed to be a realistic portrait or something? Not sure. But I love it. I took the saniderm off today, and it looks fecking amazing!

@oboogieWait, is someone being a jerk about your Johnny Cash tattoo? For what it's worth, I think I prefer that approach to a portrait tattoo.

So I used tegaderm for the first time and really liked it. I'm a week from getting the tattoo today. Peeling a bit in the shower etc. I am going to a county fair with my kids tomorrow. My concern is going into the animal areas and on and off ride. Do you guys think putting some tegaderm to avoid any possibility of infection. Just being concerned. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I just used a combination of tegaderm and saniderm on a large arm tattoo 4 weeks ago as neither were big enough by itself. I couldn't tell the difference when I took them off, so I think you will be fine.

a couple weeks to be safe.

Amazing work! I'm in the process of booking with Will Lollie when he comes out west this fall. Super excited about it. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I'm excited for you! That's not far off at all. Cannot wait to see it.

You best avoid it then. I get the idea that a lot of people aren't digging the style of my Cash tattoo, and that's OK, of course. What I wanted was a simplified, stylized portrait with an American traditional vibe. I think he was successful. I still want Chris Jones to do a photo-realistic portrait of of Cash one of these days

Ooooh great thread. I've just uploaded loads to the gallery but I won't post all at once. Here are some hands I've painted : I'm always up for trades btw.

You have to have a certain number of posts before you can start a thread anywhere else. You can respond to existing posts, though. Welcome!

Totally love the Cash piece, @oboogie! I'm team tegaderm/saniderm as well. One week later, mild flaking and no itching for this girl. One of my pieces didn't even flake/peel/nothing. Score!

And here he is with Amy. Really happy with it.

The young rebel Johnny Cash.

It's been a while since I've been on. But this is my newest addition

Here is my latest done on my birthday by Yushi while guesting in Seattle and under the needle great guy and awesome experience lines by machine and colored by tebori. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I got this one this past Sunday from Horitomo.https://www.instagram.com/p/BI1TiMWgr4q/?hl=en

@Lance, @TrixieFaux & I caught the opening of the Tatau exhibit at the Japanese American National Museum in L.A.'s Little Tokyo last weekend that Taki from State of Grace put together. Saw some live tattooing which was very cool. Takes three people – one to tap, tap, tap and two to stretch the skin. Beautiful traditional Polynesian style tattooing that flows with the body. Definitely not your '90s tribal. Highly recommended. Here's a pic of Chris Nunez introducing the tattoo models.

When removing any of the -derms, pull it in line with the skin, not away from the skin, kind of like when you remove those 3M "Command" hooks adhesive from the wall. If you pull it straight in line down with the wall it pulls off without damage, but if you try to pull it AWAY from the wall you'll damage the drywall. The -derm film is similar to that, and if possible grasp both sides of the film and pull apart, like stretching a rubber band, and it will lift off the skin, just like the wall hook adhesive. My problem this time was that it was on my arm, so I needed someone to do it for me in the parts that weren't already starting to peel. Where it wanted to stick I used coconut oil and worked it into the skin and it slid off. I use this stuff at work so that's how I know a few tricks!

no one has ever given me a large chunk of skin to "do whatever i want" on. ever. I appreciate all of my clients business and i verbally thank every one of them for getting tattooed by me. i am polite and do my best to give everyone a tattoo they'll love for as long as they have it. I draw every thing at the last minute because i can and because thats i like to work. when i'm drawing i make tons of mental notes about how im going to render thet final product(the tattoo). if i draw a tattoo a week in advance then by the time i sit down to do that tattoo all those mental notes are gone. I feel like it brings more creative energy to the tattoo. i like to think that when people get tattooed by me it is because they liked my work and are confident that i am going to give them a good tattoo and not because they are doing me a favor. and that they are paying me for a job well done and again not because they are doing me a favor. just like when i choose a hair stylist, dentist, doctor, mechanic, plumber or etc., etc. i pick them because they have the ability to to the job i want and i dont feel like im doing them a favor.

depends on who youre dealing with really... personally I draw EVERY tattoo the night before or the morning of the tattoo or sometimes i draw it on the client with markers when they get there as do a vast number of top notch tattooers that i know do as well. I've been drawing for 30 years and drawing for tattoos 5-7 days a week for 15+ years. so when it seems like i drew your tattoo in 15 minutes, really i drew it in 30 years and 15 minutes as Bob Ross would say. There are tattooers who can work on a simple design everyday for a week and have it suck and there are tattooers that can draw the most complex and large designs in 5 minutes and create an amazing tattoo. its all relative. like i said it really depends on who your working with. everyone works differently.

And as a client I like to think that my tattooer is so committed to my project that they carry it around in a special brief case hand cuffed to their wrist till my tattoo appt------ but as a tattooer I find it interesting that clients assume that as soon as they make their appointment- i'll be working on their tattoo non stop - till they're in my chair- This isn't directed at anyone who posted--- just a side note.

In defense of your tattooer I have done the same, many times. I take notes during my consultation with my customer--- but because I find that the closer to the appt time we get the more likely the client is to change their design. I do my final drawing just a day or so before the appt. At the start of each week though I start calling clients in my appt book to confirm their appt and a lot of times what they're getting isn't indicated in my appt book. So I might ask what they're getting or need a reminder

I've shown up to appointments when an artist hasn't drawn anything yet and yes I had to wait longer but I still ended up with some killer tattoos. Think about how many people/tattoos he/she has to deal with on a daily/weekly/monthly basis. I'm sure one or two clients are bound to slip through the cracks. If he forgets again on the day of just pretend you're a walk in- in which case you'd have to wait for him to draw it up anyways. I would be more concerned with your seeming lack of confidence in your artist's skill level more than his forgetting what you wanted tattooed.... The majority of your leg is a big chunk to give to someone you don't really trust is going to deliver you something you'll be happy with.