LanaZellner

About a month ago, I went to the Portland Tattoo Expo where I got two large tattoos in one day. I don't know what I was thinking when I scheduled this, but it was BRUTAL. First one - was about 5 hours of work on my upper back, then the second was 3.5 hours of work, an hour (and a lot of hamburgers and french-fries) later. 5 days later, I sat for another five hours for a session on my leg... It was a terrible week and a really fuckin stupid idea. But I now have a LOT of awesome tattoos! No regrets.

This is the best thread! This picture was taken a few months ago at my sister-in-law's wedding and I was immediately struck by how much I LOVE the way the tattoo looks with the flowers and the floral print dress. I would like my whole body to look like a floral dress one day -- Since taking this picture I've gotten a few more big flowery pieces and I am slowly inching toward the goal :)

My friend taught me how to spit-shade yesterday :) I basically sucked at it... but it was Day 1 so I won't judge myself to harshly yet.

I definitely have "My Tattoo Artist" at home, but I like to travel and get tattoos from other people as well. I enjoy collecting the different styles and meeting new artists.

I've used Tegaderm for four of my more recent tattoos .... and I have a pretty dramatic love/hate relationship with it. I love that I can feel like I don't have a giant open wound on my body, and that I am not leaking ink all over my sheets at night... but I hate that it never seems to stick properly on areas of increased movement (neck, wrists, elbow ditch). The only truly successful Tegaderm experience I have had was on my thigh, where the tattoo had a lot of space around it and the Tegaderm could get a solid seal around the edges. All other locations, it started to peal up at the edges after it was on for a couple days -OR- my skin would start to get irritated from having it pull my skin around as my body moved (ditch). Both times, I ended up just taking it off and doing a traditional lotion/washing healing method after a couple days. Honestly, even though I rarely stuck through a whole week of healing with Tegaderm, it was kind of nice to use for even just a few days. I liked having it on when the tattoo was the most sensitive and awkward in my clothes.

Thanks, that's good to hear :) Here's my instagram - Instagram

Thanks a lot @SeeSea

Hey dude! Happy to find a familiar face so soon!

I'm not a tattoo artist... I just like drawing like one. I am currently designing a deck of tarot cards - "78 Cards". Here are a few of my favorite cards so far :) The Empress The Devil Ten of Swords Five of Pentacles

Hey All, I've been into tattoos for as long as I guess I could be.... I'm 29 years old, and I got my first one at 18. Style wise, I'm into traditional and neo-traditional work the most, but I also really like sacred geometry and heavy black work as well. Most of the tattoos I have fall within these categories. Perhaps more than actual tattoos, I absolutely love the drawing style of tattoos - heavy lines, bright colors, big patterns. It's great. I'm an architect, and have been for about 8 years. Though, about six months ago I decided to start working toward acquiring a tattoo apprenticeship. Consequently, I've been reading about the industry a lot more and found myself on these forums quite often.... So, I made an account. I've been drawing my ass off, building my portfolio (drawing an entire deck of tarot cards). I've been working on it every single night after I get finished with work, and most weekends it's all I do. Once I realized I wanted to tattoo, I just dove into my artwork head first. It has been non-stop and very intense. I don't think I've ever wanted anything as bad as I want this apprenticeship, but it's super awkward to work so hard with so little idea of if your efforts are paying off. Slowly, I am feeling more confident that it is going to happen.... I'm building a better relationship with the artist I am hoping to be mentored by, as well as the owner of his shop. Regardless, it's all super weird, and feels like hazing, but... I understand why. Here's a link to my tumblr if you want to check out my drawings - feel free to give me some feedback. I would love it. -- Lana Zellner Anyway... that's probably way more about me than any of you care to read, but enjoy! See you all around on the forums :)

I love this thread... it's super interesting to see what kind of work holds the best.

Has anyone purchased the Spider Murphy's tattoo flash book? First or Second edition? Thoughts?