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Japanese dragon sleeve by Scott Ellis is finished!

Got this rad biker skull guy from @sour_jon Jon Gray at the Moncton Convention yesterday. Turns out its not a german SS skull with a stick grenade through the head, but a biker guy with a piston through the head. Shows what I know about bikes/cars! Still love it. Going back today to knock out a few more.

Here's the start of my jaguar.Unfortunately I have to wait until December to get it finished.....

tattoos are for people, Lotion is for skin. Do what we will tell you, Or else it gets the hose again.

With a muffler clamp at the ready!!!

Sounds like you're looking for more dark and abstract imagery. Find a really good black and gray (I assume) artist who specializes in this sort of thing and let them go crazy. I'll give some suggestions to give you ideas of what's possible. Don't expect to get in with these guys any time soon, most of them are legends booked years in advance. We can give more specific artists to check out if you tell us roughly where you live. https://www.instagram.com/paulbooth/ https://www.instagram.com/carlostorresart/ https://www.instagram.com/josh_duffy/ https://www.instagram.com/grindesign/ https://www.instagram.com/joeyboontattooartist/

Did my chest last Sunday! At this point it's itching like hell. I'm walking around stroking my chest. I wonder why people look at me weird!

My grandparents were born towards the end of the second world war, so none of them faught. My dutch grandfather remembers german soldier mowing down their farm with tanks, and allie forces lobbing grenades, tho. My Canadian grandmothers father was a front-line medic during the war. He returned home after the war, but died quickly of sone disease he cought over there. I forget what he died of. On my mother's side, there are 3 generations of nurses, going back to my great grandmother, who died at the age of 98, and who was named after Edeth Cavall. I understand my strong pull towards nurse imagery, hense why my center chest piece is the World War I image of the Rose of No-Mans Land. Could also explain why I want to be a tattooer now, and why I wanted to be a paramedic before that. That same grandfather of mine has a British made Le Enfield MK. III that he bought at a garage sale in the 70s. Cool gun. Im no expert, so I dont know much about it, but it might have been used during the first world war, because I know they used Le Enfields during that time.

There aren't many (if any) artists here, so you won't find many answers. Good luck with your first tattoo!

My Dad went into the Marines at the end of WWII - this is him in July 1946, just scored as high shooter in his training platoon at Parris Island. His tattoo was a killer skull with a snake intertwined in the eyes and mouth. I wish I could show him mine now - he died in 1997 while I was commanding a battalion in Bosnia - but he was my incentive to finally do it. I'm still looking for that rifle - serial number 2860035. I've come close to it and have several M1 Garands in my collection. I know that he would have never considered putting something on him that reflected an image of Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, North Korea or China. Still, he loved the oriental and German cultures and visited Asia and Europe many times over the years before he died.

Her style is basically just realistic, with a botanical direction. Any good realism artist should be able to reproduce whatever green object you wanted to choose or bring with you.

I think it could be that our psyche was more focused on projecting our own images of strength and patriotism. Flags, eagles, battle ships, tanks, crossed infantry rifles - few people then would have ever considered putting on something that reflected the enemy we were fighting, the enemy our Nation was totally committed to defeat. I think that's why I love my eagle so much - it reflects the strength of our country - the one I served and love. Not perfect but mine. May be it's just me - the old retired Army guy - but images and emotions still matter to me. Or maybe I'm just having one of those introspective days.

I thought the idea of an SS skull with a german grenade through the head was a rad idea. Like something an American GI would get. I actually havent seen many anti-nazi, anti-Japanese american tattoos around. Wonder why that is. I know there's the anti-chinese flash from the early 1910s, but nothing on the axis powers. Strange.

I was talking to Chris Anthon about Chad yesterday and about how much he hurts. He had his face done, and said he practically outlined the whole thong with one pass. No wonder people say he hurts! The long drags are always the worst part!

I suppose I have to get into cars/bikes now!

This happens all the time. Tons of bars and restaurants display "no colors allowed" signs. Funny thing is I've never seen any of the club members protesting or crying to their local news station about it.

So excited to get booked in with Dave Wah at the Austin Convention in January. He's been one of my bucket list artists for a while. Also, my wife and I are getting something from Aaron Is next weekend during his guest spot in Killeen, TX.

@Devious6 pumpkins are hard @a_beukeveld fantastic work!

Yes ask your tattooer but my forearms and hands were swollen for about a week after getting tattooed. Advil and ice are your friend. As long as it's not hot / throbbing / seeping greenish fluid / or red you are probably fine. But always ask your tattooer if you are uncertain

FINALLY, I can strike a name from The List. Mark Mahoney did this rose when he came to Jersey. Yes, shitty cell phone pic. You know what's up.

The tattoo that I was hoping for in like 99% not going to happen, so I'm bummed about that since I worked on getting it booked for 10 months. BUT the cool thing is that I won an award at work (yea!) and had some extra cash that was going towards the tattoo. Anyway, I saw this cool thing that was being auctioned off for one of the charities that I support. I bid. I won. HENRY ROLLINS is recording my voicemail. I am more than a little excited. *drops mic*

Twofer done by Matt "Craven" Evans (of Crooked Claw Tattoo) - guesting at Frontier Tattoo, Cardiff.

Well what else am I going to do with my time at work but read tattoo forums!

Some more on my flowery critters sleeve. This was taken before the addition of a big bumble bee right on the side of my elbow below the Freddie the frog. The bee is taking some healing but should be good for a photo session next time. Going to finish up round the top at the next siting and do some more filling in elsewhere. Some butterflies coming soon too. I can't believe how much I love it. Can't stop looking in the mirror :)

Got this one shot done by Chad Koeplinger today! The chest was way more painful than I thought it would be!

Picked this one up from Marc Nava at the London tattoo convention yesterday. Such a nice guy and i had a great time being tattooed by him. Really wish i was at the convention today/tomorrow as there seemed to be a LOT of artists taking walk ups that had time (Frankie Carracioli, for example, was in the booth with Marc and didn't do a single tattoo on Friday, at least not by the time i left around 8pm). Bumped in to a few LSTers too, wish i knew their names here but it was a pleasure seeing you all, even managed to stumble across my main man @Iwar when i was literally on my way out of the convention.

so maybe that's why it's deserted here lately ,why shouldn't we welcome all these newbies ? won't they eventually hopefully turn into regular smarter about tattooing members ? as they learn when we tactfully and in a friendly manner try and answer their questions instead of being snarky,rude,or ignoring them ? so we can pass on our vast veteran knowledge to these people that will like I said,come here and learn,we have all asked stupid questions at one time or another and I'll guess you did too when you first started getting tattooed. anyway,for me,I don't believe there are stupid questions,there are just questions. so that's my .02

My little birthday present from me ;). "Borrowed" the pic from the artist's Facebook since I 'dermed it as soon as I got home and didn't think to photograph it first. Hand poked (by a licenced tattoo artist at a professional studio). I found the technique super relaxing & interesting, and this will probably not be my last although I'm craving some colour next.

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?

so I went to a tattoo/bike show in Dixon Ca today and met Anthony Michaels,pretty cool mellow dude,and I won 3rd place for my B&G tiger side piece. .

In tonight's episode of Shitty Reality Check: You got face tats, you might get strong reactions!