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Lil' Keith drawing of an angel in honor of KeithHaring by my pal Erik at Odyssey Tattoo. Love him. He's a bit bloody, but he'll look the business when he's healed. He's quite small. Another of my many tiny Keith Haring fillers. 🙂

Thank you! @Gingerninja It's being done by Tom Roy at Seven Tails tattoo in Melbourne, Australia.

One of the truest statements in life, "you get what you pay for"

Bold!

that will probably go away when it fully heals. relax.

It takes 4 - 6 weeks for a tattoo to heal. You can't do ANYTHING until then, so sit back, relax, see what happens. Worst case scenario you go back for a touch up.

Hey there...you need to give it time to heal! Tattoos need four to six weeks (at least) to settle in.

looks perfectly normal for this stage

It is the center of the compass that has to do with the Sword of Fudo.... Immovable... The place that keeps all things in their order.... I believe... The Book "immovable" is what we referenced... When we were drawing the piece up... Weldon was the only person I knew Richard wouldn't be mad dogging the whole time.... Richard fell asleep on the shop couch.... I really love the piece. Never thought I would get anything above the boobs....

LOL. Every tattooist should have that posted on their wall with a sliding scale below - starting at $150/hr on the left and going down to $20/hr on the right.

I got my first tattoo just before my 68th birthday, so at 29 you’re not late to the party. 😎

welcome, 29 !?!?!??!? LOL , I am 59 and still getting and planning tattoos.

Original was my first tattoo from 20 years ago. Met with my artist to see what would work. He took several photos, did an outline tracing and committed to drawing what might work. The old dragon was 20 years old and tired. Got it on a business trip in Chicago at the Jade Dragon Tattoo Parlor. At the time a group of young, enthusiastic managers went downtown to see the iconic tattoo shop. 6 of us left with new ink. Many years later, I wanted something new, fresh and keeping with the dragon theme. My artist carefully explained what colors would work, what design would work and the size of the new piece to effectively cover the old work. Little did I know this was going to be a journey, a process and commitment of many months. Once I saw the stencil and the pc screen illustrating the color choices. I decided to take the plunge. First session was about four-five hours for outline work. Second session was the beginning of shading. (4-5 hours) Third Session more color. ( five hours) Fourth Session-almost done ( Was coming down with the flu and getting cold chills and shaking thinking I was getting cold) close to 4 hours.. Have been back for two touch up sessions and have the last one scheduled this week. If you notice the yellow areas in the whiskers and scales between the horns, a little more color saturation is needed to prevent the old image from showing through. Comments-Cover work can be very complex. Its a blend of design, choosing the appropriate colors that will cover light and dark and going larger to find a design that will obscure the old work. It may never be completely invisible, however the focus of the new work will draw the eye away from the previous work. Detailed shading and design is never one and done. Plan on more than visit to get the deep color saturation you desire and to cover the old areas. I waited 30 days in between sessions to allow my skin to heal and allow my artist to see what really needed to be done next. Learned a lot about what after care products I prefer. When doing a lot of shading work, some products with lidocaine do make a difference. While you might not experience the same level of relief on line work. When shading and the pores get opened up..there is a difference. At my age-(56) five hours is longest I can sit. Four hours is much easier. Having a cool artist that understands you and the end goal are very important. I wont be doing any more cover work but I plan on lots more ink. Have had a couple more new pieces since this piece was almost done. Hope this helps those thinking about cover work. My artist explained he would much rather work on a 20 year old piece than one done six months ago. Just one old guys experience.

I was having breakfast the other morning and this lady kept giving me the stink eye. I got tired of it so finally I just confronted her. I said, "OK mom, that's enough; I know you don't like my tattoos." :-)

Coming to accept the tattoo(s) you have is one of the best lessons I've learned from getting tattooed. There's so much trust involved in being tattooed, because no matter how much research you've done on artist, how many portfolios you've looked at, how excruciatingly you studied the stencil before having it put on your skin, when it comes down to it, you're basically trusting a complete stranger to permanently alter your body and appearance. As someone who generally likes to be in control of everything, getting tattooed allows me to practice letting go, being present in the moment, and accepting things I can't change in a way that few other things in my life can. I only have three tattoos, but I have one that I had a harder time accepting than the others because the lines aren't as bold, the colors not as saturated, and stylistically is just a bit off from the bolder style I've learned that I prefer. I don't regret the tattoo, and I certainly don't hate the tattoo, but the point is, even if I did, it's there now! Nothing I can really do to change it so it's not worth worrying over. I think your tattoo looks lovely and well done. I agree that it would be prudent to hold off on completing the sleeve until you feel more certain that's what you want. I think it looks fine as a stand alone piece.

Does a heavy metal detox include not listening to Slayer for 10 days? :)