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My wife and I each have three tattoos and have gone through some similar feelings to varying degrees after each one. Just as a disclaimer, we both love our work, it is amazing, no regrets, exactly what we wanted, etc. Does anyone else feel slightly depressed after getting tattooed? My wife has cried after two of hers (she loves them both) just because her body has been forever changed and she tends to respond more emotionally than I do. I've definitely felt minor pangs of sadness - kind of like a low-level grief that happens after any climactic event. I started an half sleeve yesterday, had months to think about it before starting, etc, and I love the work. Its just this strange wistful/longing feeling that takes a couple of days to go away! Can you all relate? I'll toss up some pics as the tattoo progresses.

I thought we could use a thread that shined a little light on some of the artists we love, but aren't necessarily very renowned or getting the recognition we feel they deserve. Lets get the ball rolling.... I've been a fan of the work of James Tex of Deadly Tattoos inc, located in Calgary, Canada, for a few years now. I'm sure a lot of you are familiar with his work, and some members here might even know him personally and/or have tattoos from him. Anyways, I stumbled across him a while back in another tattoo forum where a member showed off the progress of a Samurai sleeve he was getting done from Tex. I was blown away by his work, and to my great viewing pleasure he had a fairly large online portfolio on his shops website: Deadly Tattoos inc. I'm not sure if everyone agrees with me in that he's "low key", but I can't say that I have read an article about him or seen any pictures of his tattoo except on his website (and obviously the forum I mentioned). Here's a few samples of his work from his online portfolio:

Happy new year everyone! Time for another contest. RULES: The tattoo photos posted in this thread will be submitted for polling of Last Sparrow's Best DAGGER tattoo. This is all in good spirit and fun of course. The submission process opens on the 1st of the month and ends on the 20th of the month. After that there will be an open poll for one week, which will close on the 27th, and the tattoo with the most votes wins. Your tattoo picture must be posted in this thread (both tattooers and tattoo customers can win) in order to qualify. Include tattoo artist name & tattoo shop with your photo/post. You MUST be the one who has the tattoo or did the tattoo. It MUST be a finished tattoo It MUST fit the theme of the contest Each member may submit up to 3 tattoos for each contest. The theme of January is: DAGGERS

Will be attending the Golden State Tattoo Expo in Pasadena 27th till 29th of jan. My first convention in the US. Would be awsome to hook up with other artists! Facebook.com/atlearnesen Instagram: atlearnesen Snapchat: sd_tattoo www.sdtattoo.no Cheers

Do you like it? That's all that matters.

pretty good. not bad. not fabulous.

Will do! Thank you all for the help. I shall post some pictures when I eventually get it!

@Stu It is almost always suggested to wait longer between treatments. I'd personally choose the facility that has proven results, with lots of progress / completion photos. It's one thing to talk about the machine and the waiting time, ask to see results. They are what matter. For aftercare, I'm sorry but I won't discuss it with anyone but clients treatment in my office, for liability reasons.

I have 2 tattoos for 2 dogs that I have loved and had in my life,my dogs are very important to me too,I love the 2 tattoos I have for them and,well,once I have gone through the process of getting a tattoo,I have never looked back or regretted one.ur,uh,well except for a tattoo for an ex wife which is covered up now.One of my tattoos for a dog I had is one I get compliments for all the time even from plain skins.

You should definitely check out the LST Animal Lovers thread and share some photos of your bundles of joy. Even after that horrible sounding experience 10yrs ago, it sounds like you've grown and already made the step of booking an appointment. As far as following thru and going for it, this is completely up to you and how you feel. None of us can speak to your mental state. As tattoo lovers, of course, we say "go for it!" But you're the only one who knows if you're really ready. If you're having any doubts, it's up to you to analyze them and either succumb to or overcome them. If you're ready to be tattooed again and you've chosen an artist who does solid work, there should be nothing to worry about. Good luck with your decision!!

WIP, can't wait to finish it next week :3 Dallas: Mother's interrupted the course of our journey. She's programmed to do that should certain conditions arise. They have. It seems that she has... intercepted a transmission of unknown origin. She got us up to check it out.

I love Christian Lanouette's work. He's out of Montreal. https://www.instagram.com/christianlanouette/ My tattoo artist, Myra Oh, out of Jacksonville, FL: https://www.instagram.com/myraoh/ I don't know if these artists are under-recognized, but I'm pretty intrigued by all of the work coming out of Wonderland Tattoo in Portalnd. I don't know that I will every try to get a piece done there since I prefer more traditional tattoos on me, but their work sure is pretty. Alice Carrier, Alice Kendall, and Kirsten Holliday: https://www.instagram.com/alicerules/ https://www.instagram.com/alicestattoos/ https://www.instagram.com/onholliday/ Another one I'm not sure is under-recognized or that I'd want to be tattooed by, but whose work I really admire is David Hale. His whole approach to tattooing is interesting, though he's taking a sabbatical right now unfortunately. I have a print of his on my desk. http://davidhale.org/flesh/

I can understand the emotions you go through. The before, during, and after of getting a tattoo is very different then anything i have experienced. I know i have stopped and looked at myself and thought "wow! when did i get so many tattoos!" and then think what can i get next!

Oh, you were talking about of work such as Berit Uhlhorn in Germany and Musa working out of Tribo in Prague that I mentioned in context of work I have come around to? That's interesting because I've never thought of them as not looking like tattoos, other than I think they don't look explicitly like traditional or neo-traditional. Also, I imagine there are people getting both modern and neo-traditional work for a variety of bad reasons, but I imagine trying to look cool and clever must be up there as the most common bad reason for all styles. I like to see people like Berit, who also does extensive work in hospitals with cosmetic tattooing (such as nipple tattoos on women who have had mastectomies, or skin shading on people who have had invasive surgery), pushing tattooing art in a way that shows true artistry, rather than scratching away doing other people's flash. My personal view is that Guy is doing something more interesting than Hooper, though I respect them both massively, of course. It's definitely personal.