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I've now lost 33 pounds and stabilized around my goal weight. I may try for another 5 pounds but, who knows? All of the college social functions make eating healthy difficult...but I'm determined to hold the line. I've learned that I can have a splurge from time to time, and then just get back to my routine. I am feeling so much better - but now need to buy some new clothes including 34" waist pants....which I have not worn since high school. The weight loss and tattoos have made me much more confident to wear sleeveless shirts and tank shirts..something I've never done before. Why did I wait until I was 61 to do this? Ugh. By the way, did I tell you how much I love this new tattoo?

I got my first tattoo about 5 years ago when my wife decided it was time for her to get a new tattoo after a long break. We decided to get matching tattoos of a terrible drawing I had done on a Mother's Day card of the two of us and our daughter all holding hands. Think of those stickers people put on their mini vans except drawn by someone who can't even print his own name legible most of the time. It is by far my worst tattoo and one of my favorites. I never thought that it would lead to all these other tattoos.

@a_beukeveld I very much want to get tattooed by him again. You close-to-Montreal people are lucky. It was pretty cool to have so many people come over and check in on what he was doing--there's something especially, I don't know, affirming about getting tattooed by someone who's so clearly respected by his peers. You know?

I got my first about six months ago...a month shy of my 61st birthday. Got my second last Saturday. After many years of finding excuses not to do it, I finally decided it was time to make it happen. Where do I go from here? I have no clue...but you never know.

@otisc, thank you! I posted the pics on FB and nobody commented on his tiger, they all made remarks about my hairy leg..so he's like what the hell? But, we don't really know many people into tattoos that can "see" what it's going to look like finished. I'm kinda jealous of how cool it's going to look as it progresses, and he's got sessions to look forward too..and I'm scrambling b/c I want more!

Iowagirl -- love your large piece, especially the back portion... but your husband's tiger/cherry blossoms kicks ass. Can't wait to see that one come to completion. Classic.

Hey, fellow woman with an untattooed partner! It's cool that it's working out for you guys. I tease my BF pretty often about what an ideal backpiece back he has (broad-shouldered, perfect skin). If ever a back were made for a violent tengu slaughter, or a battle royale...

After 3 1/2 years of pretty steady tattooing, usual every month to six weeks, I finished two sleeves, chest panels and full back. I was pretty burned out, so I took about 1 1/2 years off, but went in today for a consult. We're going to do big a piece that goes from my right ankle to my torso and will tie in with my chest panel and back piece. I really needed some time to sit with what I had, can't wait to start.

I've been MIA on the forums for a while now. My last tattoo was a huge thigh piece that really drained me as far as energy and finances, I came back long enough to post some about that tattoo and then took another break. I hadn't even thought much about my next piece until recently. I've also taken another job (and a reduction in pay) and gotten a dog, so money's tighter now than it has been. I've got a few bigger projects I'm considering in the distant future and in some cases, some artists I'm considering for them: - a pharaoh's horses chest piece I'm thinking of getting John Rippey to do (https://www.instagram.com/johnrippeyv/) - some sort of black and gray animal or maybe a portrait by Bryan Merck (https://www.instagram.com/bmerck_ink/) - lovebirds possibly by Dave Wah (https://www.instagram.com/davewahtattoos/) - various other small traditional pieces, no idea who or what

Thank you for that information. It did seem like an Old Wive's Tale but it is nice to know for sure.

I have had many tattoos applied with both types of machines and I have never noticed a difference in healing.IMO it depends more on the artist's style and our bodies and where on our body the tattoo is,and how we handle the aftercare.

You have room to do an awesome tattoo, Jerry! What do you like? (BTW, we kid a lot about panthers...we really do like them along with dragons and roses. :))

Get a pink panther! Although you'll still be able to see that sun through it. ;-)

Haha, I'm glad you approve

Welcome to the forum!!! As a retired Army officer, I approve of your picture!!

First two appointment are October 14 and October 26 to get the outline done, then we'll start knocking out the rest one appointment a month.

I have the same, but for me it shows im logged in as @Graeme whenever I open LST in Chrome. As soon as I click on any thread, it fixes itself and logs me in. Pretty weird haha

Welcome to the forum!! It's hard to recommend anything specific without knowing what you like in terms of style, color, black/grey, etc. But, I bet at least one member here will recommend a Panther.

Hi Jerry and welcome ! that's a pretty tiny tattoo and after 10 years it should be faded a little,it should be an easy cover-up for the right artist.

I think getting anything from Dave is a great idea. He KILLED the Hannya on my arm. Had random tattooers at the con just just pull me in to see it, like Steve Byrne. Crazy stuff. Im leaning towards Tamatori the Pearl Diver and Ryujin. Real big and readable. I would love just a dragon but I love woman just as much haha Best of both worlds. Plus the story is cool. Not sure if it would work on my back tho, as my shoulders are very broud, and my waist/butt area is super narrow. I feel like the strongest part of this design is the dragon on the hips, which is why this is such a good design for women.

I missed/forgot his name because I was getting tattooed at the time (worst time to be introduced to people), but I met a man whose entire body was done by Dave, including a dragon on each leg. Getting a dragon from him is absolutely a great idea.

This is a cover up of my first tattoo, which was shit. (I got in 1996 when I was in college with little to no thought, and I was half in the bag.), so it is really my second tattoo. It was covered up in 2011, and I haven't stopped since. Now I've lost count.

I like the first two quite a bit. Definitely go in to an artist you trust and let that person help you with the perfect placement. What may look awesome on one person's arm in one place may look horrible on the exact same place of a different arm.

Dragons and roses make me happy.

Hey @polliwog. Truth, right? My hubby had never set foot in a tattoo shop until Friday, much less seen anyone getting tattooed. He was fascinated by the process but really shy about watching anyone getting tattooed. He wanted to respect their privacy... such a sweetheart. In February, he'll be with me at least for part of my apt with Dobleman. It will be interesting to see how he handles it. LOL. I was TOTALLY teasing him about getting a giant eagle in his chest...

I like the idea. I've seen cool caffeine and chocolate molecule tattoos! IMO, my concern is legibility over time. Maybe consider doing less and making it bigger so the line work holds over time. Go with what @a_beukeveld suggests...find an artist and talk to them. They'll point ya in the right direction! Me, I'd be looking for an artist that can nail lettering. Good luck!

haha what i meant was that the latest tattoo lowdown is really what its all about - people getting tattooed and showing those tattoos off - like if this forum could only have one thread - this would be it :) i think i was deep in the ipa's when i posted that though so i understand it sounds like a confusing post :)

got my brown belt in Taekwondo a couple weeks ago. performed my second wedding ceremony.

My big piece was finished last night. Sooo now becomes the deliberation of what I want to do next, where I want to do it. I'm stumped. Was going to talk to my artist last night but I was so focused on pretending it didn't hurt.. Husband has put his leather armor on hold and went w/a new artist, starting this tiger. He loves the new artist so that's great. A dragon is going on the back of the calf there and everything will be in color.

It's been my experience that people find the money for the things they want. Also,part-time jobs are easier to find than full-time jobs - the companies don't have to pay benefits. It's your ink, I'm just pointing out that if you want it lazered off bad enough, you'll find a way. Not trying to call you out specifically, but most people will spend more time figuring out the 500 reasons they can't do something than figuring out the 1 way they can do something.

Had a blast at the convention! Was great to meet @polliwog @Fala and was also great seeing @Graeme and @Pugilist. Briefly saw @Shaun1105 which was cool but missed @BrianH due to walking past every booth except the one he was being tattooed at. Feel pretty dumb about that since it was directly behind the one I was hanging out at. Also bummed to have missed seeing Sam whose handle name eludes me at the moment. (Mitslam??) Got this by Nick Colella on Saturday in the same booth and at the same time as @Graeme was getting an awesome tattoo by Robert Ryan. Absolutley love it and had a great time talking to Nick. Such a great dude and awesome tattooer. This is my first leg tattoo. On the side of my left calf.

This thread was cool before I began my back but now I so deeply feel everything that has been said. It's nice going through and empathizing with everyones journey. Just finished my third session with Horitomo and have the majority of it outlined. I learned to breathe for the sake of survival and sometimes I can convince myself that he's simply using a sharpie to draw more lines, and that eases the intensity (sometimesss). It's such a diverse world of pain sensation! Not sure how to get my buns to quit twitching. Hoping shading is slightly less painful but I find it hard to imagine the localized and constant digging in specific areas like the fumunderbuns and spine. Anyway, just wanted to thank everyone for what they have shared.

Got this today - crappy picture so it's hard to see the colors. I'll post a better pic tomorrow after it is a bit less irritated and in better light. This is my 9/11 Pentagon survivor nod. I had the artist perch the eagle on a pentagonal-shaped piece of rubble. Had originally wanted to have the date 9-11-01 in the center but, after getting feedback here, decided against it. I'm glad I left it out. I asked him to create some clouds and show the sun beginning to peak out - really based on my desire to speak to the focus on the future and not just the event itself. I was very, very lucky to survive that day - this piece has much meaning.

Going to be discussing my back/ribs with Dave on Sunday while he tattoos me. With just my own input as of now, Im thinking full "turtle" backpiece extending down the thighs, just before the knees, and wrapping around the torso with 2 opposite images on either rib, with the "river" down the front. I already have a traditional chest piece so we will have to work around it. Im stuck between the goddess Benzaiten with her bowa and a white dragon, the pearl diver and dragon, or just a dragon. As for the ribs Im thinking a Nue on one side and a Kirin on the other. I enjoy the contrast between the two. As for the back of the thighs Im not sure. It depends what goes on my back. Im thinking Tennyo would be nice. I look forward to his input.

Want to know what 1000 backpacks filled with school supplies destined to be given to needy elementary and middle school children look like? Here they are Our College's Registrar Office has been doing internal fundraisers for the past 4 years to fund giving the backpacks out - as well as other supplies when possible - to schools that have needy students. We started with one 3rd grade class and are now up to 3 schools and multiple classes in each. We've given out over 450 backpacks so far this year. But, a local church, Parker Hill Church, contacted us recently to say they wanted to help. Today, the delivered 1000 backpacks filled with supplies. This will allow us to outreach to schools that surround our 4 extension campuses - something we've not been able to do before. It took about an hour for us to carry them in to the storage room - but what an experience. If this doesn't put a smile on your face, nothing will.

So I wasn't expecting another large scale piece. But Steve Byrne loved my basic idea, and I DID specifically tell him, apparently, quote "go nuts". I am a wreck this morning kids. Link to video:

Same as a few other people mention, I'm showing as username "Kill Uncle" on the front page, but myself everywhere else. This is with Chrome on a Mac. Didn't notice any issues on my iPad.

It's not really nudity if it's fully tattooed. Which is my excuse for dropping trou in public places to show people my back.

Second session down! Did want to sit for longer but the heavy shading over the spine did me in for the day. 4 and a half hours here. Definitely feeling better now that the majority of lining is done (although more on the thighs later, but the shoulders are blocked out and it's starting to look more like a backpiece now. Knowing what to expect in what area as far as pain definitely helped make the sit easier and go by quicker.

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.

@pidjones congratulations to both of you! I've been with my husband for nearly 18 years, and one of the very first things we did together was to get a couple of tiny tattoos (tight student budget but that's probably a good thing, who knows what crappy tattoos I'd have now otherwise), followed by the dreaded name tattoos a couple of years later. We'd both always wanted more but somehow they never seemed to materialize until I got another one on holiday a couple of years back, and three more over the past year. My problem is too many ideas, his is too few :D but he's finally settled on getting his first large-ish one next month and I'm really looking forward to it as well. I hope that by now he has realized that I'm probably not going to stop getting tattoos unless I run out of space or money...

@pidjones congrats wife and i hit 20 years in july my wife has not tattoos either i would love for her to get one - even if just to have some understanding of the whole thing but anyway its cool - she doesnt necessarily encourage me to get more tattoos but she understands now that its a part of who i am

35 years celebrated yesterday! Judy has no ink, and was a little surprised when, at 62, I started. She now actually likes a few of them (although I doubt she would ever get one or become a tattoo "fan"), and is growing to like all but the one that I am getting lasered to be corrected. For the same reason that I hate it - too dark and too poorly done. I will then have it redone properly and we will both love it!

I've always found tattoos attractive and it was one of the first things I noticed about my boyfriend. Then after we got together he gave me the confidence to get my own. Now I've gotten the bug!

I've been with my guy for 26 years - over half of my life. I was always crystal clear about my desire to be tattooed. My husband doesn't have tattoo's nor will he ever. But let me just say this...my tattoo's are proving to be better than Viagra. Huzzah!