David Flores

My goal is not to be viewed as a member of the circus on a regular basis. On a related note to the topic got a couple of appointments with Mario Desa after he gets back from London on Sept 22 in Chicago. Luckily it dawned on me that my wife's birthday is that week and to make two appointments instead of one.

I would do the tiger and get one rib out of the way. I would kill to have an arm or even a spot on my arm free.

For a minute it seemed like a lot of people were into realistic black and gray portraits. Then I started seeing a bunch of realistic color portraits of Mel Gibson, The Joker and Jack Black and other movie stars. Now I see a lot of people doing what I would consider traditional tattoo portraits which I am really starting to dig. What is everyone's take on the portrait? I attached an example of the traditional portrait I was referring to.

As you can see by the responses, flash books and sketchbooks are pretty easy to come by. There are some flash sets for sale but they are all prints for the most part. Originals can be a little harder to come by and I know that's what you are really looking for.

Saw this posted today by Justin Dion from Portland OR. He did a piece on me last week, but it wasn't this tattoo which is awesome.

Thomas Hooper is unreal, such good black work.

That is a hard one. I have been given a set of flash (prints) but never tried to buy any. Although I did buy a rollo line drawing book at taylor street a few years ago. I figure if its for sale its for sale, but like anything in this world - am sure there are some who feel differently. Buying flash from a person who is tattooing you or asking them if they know anyone with a set for sale might be a good start. My thought is at least they know you are not an aspiring scratcher.

Yeah I'm sure that there are plenty of guys out there messing up people fast and slow alike.

I was just thinking about getting some more black and grey tattoos because of how good they seem to turn out on my skin. I have had some tattooers say it's hard to pack color while tattooing my upper thigh because of the way my skin is, so they had to push it a little harder and it healed a little harder but healed fine in the end. I have heard a lot of tattooers talk about lower back being a good spot to get a good stretch and color goes in nice.

The tattoo Nick Colella did on me was healed in less than a week and never had any scabs. Faster tattoo can some times equal less trauma to skin and better healing. I have had more problems with tattooers going slow and overworking the skin and causing big scabs.

Yeah Shannon I would have to agree with your point I would say some of the best clients at the shop get some of the worst tattoos, but are pretty fun to talk to and good customers nonetheless. Do I wonder how many arm bands one person needs and do I hope some people run out relatives to put in banners but for whatever reason it's nice that people come into a shop because they are treated good whatever their idea is and yeah paying the bills is nice. I was tattooed in a shop earlier this week and asked them about what kind of stuff they do and walk in traffic in their neighborhood and the owner played the whole we only do custom work we don't get people wanting names and we pretty much pick what we do cause we are booked out weeks in advance and we only do one to 2 customers a day. Funny no one else was in there getting tattooed. I have to say the guy that did my tattoo was a nice guy and did a good job but I don't get that whole mindset.

My arms pieced together but full (like impossible to fit another tattoo on them even though i want to) and for me that is the best look. I would also agree that having one tattoo on the hand on bare arms is kind of a weird look especially if the tattoo is colorful new skool piece like the one that started this thread. Even if you are not going to cover your arms at least get something big on your forearm. A grizzled sailor with a couple random military tattoos sporadically on his arm is what I would have envisioned as a tattooed person as a kid. Certainly not the kid with stretched out ears and skinny jeans and one neck tattoo with some noodly script lettering in a banner selling t shirts as Zumiez.

Yeah I have to admit I have cut myself shaving as well trying to save the tattooer the trouble. But I have gotten a little better and try to do a pre shave. I try to focus on the area where the bandage will be because it is a lot more painful if it's taped to my leg hair.

I think you hit on all the key points, as long as the devices are silenced, you are not moving and the cord to your headphones isn't getting in the way of tattoo seems okay. Some people talk while they get tattooed and it's fun to chit chat with those people, others don't say two words, so I can understand them wanting their own music to listen to. I personally like to talk during a tattoo, If I didn't think I had anything to talk about with a tattooer I probably wouldn't want to get tattooed by them, but on the other hand I'm sure some tattooers prefer silence and some situations dictate it. For instance right now I am writing this because I know the tattoo my boss is doing has a lot of straight lines and I know he doesn't want to be distracted. Asking is probably not a bad idea, even though I don't see anything wrong with it.

Sounds like fun! I am guessing that Mario is not doing the convention, well I hope so Because I am supposed to get tattooed by him that week (22-26)in Chicago but forget that was the week of London. I guess I should double check.

If I were you i would just tip every session, honestly it really doesn't matter but I have found in my experience if anyone is going to stiff you it's the guy who says he's going to tip you fat at the end of the tattoo. Not that you would do that but anytime I hear I got you at the end I wonder. The other thing is if you tip as you go it helps you budget more for the tattoo instead of having to come up with another x amount of dollars at the end of the tattoo you have already taken care of it. At our shop the tattooers use tip money for entertainment so it is nice to get a little bit every day, even though tipping is not required. I have never really calculated what the % I tip but 25% seems like a generous tip.

The other thing I was thinking about is all the people I want to get a tattoo from. Now i spend most of my time in Portland, a trip or two to Chicago, San Fran, and Seattle so there are oppurtunites to get tattooed by a lot of good people and even more if you think of the potential guest spots. I don't go out of my way to book appointments but try to get tattooed on every trip. So the idea of being in that situation to meet and get tattooed by someone who I look up to and having them have to tattoo an inch away from my goods or worse not even have a spot to get tattooed is my fear. But I must not be that concerned because I just keep getting tattooed.

Looks fine to me, now its time to fill up the rest of your arms.

Today as I am getting ready to go get tattooed(again) I am doing my ritual cut things out size them and see what fits where so that this tattoo doesn't affect my plans for my next tattoo or the one after that. Also I want to make sure I utilize my space in the most efficient manner. I mean I guess the end game for all of this is to be covered, and while I still have my back piece to finish and my ribs, I feel I am running short on spots to just go and get tattooed on a whim or on vacation. Some people I talk to are sick of the pain and ready to be done, others are more frustrated than me because they literally have almost no room to get tattooed and everything they want doesn't fit. Anybody here have any perspective on this?

I don't know it depends on what people are trading? My kid is pretty cute so I think I could get a lot for him.

Yeah alternative lifestyles I thought referred to gay/lesbian relationships or people that choose to have multiple spouses not tattoos or tits. For me enforcement has always been pretty simple, You ask someone they comply end of story. A few heavily tattooed people, myself included chose to work a different shift to avoid having to cover tattoos mainly because we were tired of sweating our ass off, but the rest just cover them up or wear long sleeves. You approve their vacation and write their work schedule what other leverage do you need.

I am not going to say that having a kid stopped me from tattooing because that was my choice, but basically after spending years hanging around the shop making friends getting tattooed and trying to be helpful, I put the notion out there that I wanted to work there and learn to tattoo. One Month later, I found out Rollo was on the way. I worked six days a week at the shop in addition to my other job making needles, scrubbing tubes redrawing flash and talking to every customer that walked through the door and most importantly learning some of the history of tattooing and the rules that exist. It was a great nine months, and I would do again in a heartbeat, but I knew I had to make a choice and I knew i couldn't do this full time for the next five years or so making little to no money. So I still work at the shop on Fri and Sat (the days that are busy enough for a counter person) and while that door is not completely closed I can't see it opening back up any time soon. I have been tattooed by plenty of people that have kids, but looking at the tattooers I know in Portland not that many have kids. Granted a lot of them are still in their 20's but still I never really thought about it till this thread.

Funny I got an email today from regional VP regarding dress code. My job has never really had a dress code because I work in the middle of the night in the warehouse, but I used to work with the public and up till about 4 years ago there was a clear defined dress code for both men and women that prohibited visible tattoos and piercings other than stud earrings. For whatever reason they took all that verbage out of the employee agreement and now you just have to show up to work dressed "professionally". It really has been a struggle for a lot of managers determining what that means and trying to justify it based upon corporate culture and what other branches allow. Fortunately the email was directed more about girls wearing revealing clothing and being able to see butt crack(he didn't use that term) when they bend over and during day shifts not mine. They did mention that since my crew is more relaxed with dress I need to revisit what is appropriate for our shift. I deleted the email. If he wants a policy then put it in the handbook. Up till a few years ago the guy wore a mullet and tucked his jeans into his boots. Funny story though about a year ago he popped in from out of town in the middle of the night and was watching me work for awhile. My boss said he asked him when I got all those tattoos. He replied he always had them but he just keeps getting more. So I basically hid them for 10 years.

I wish there was a rule that said servicemen have to stop getting tribal and start getting Bulldogs, Eagles and USN tattoos like they are supposed to.

Yeah there stuff always looks good for sure. I like Ryan and Henry stuff I think the best but overall great shop. There are so many people I want to get tattooed by in Portland, I need to make a habit of branching out of my regular tattooers even when not on vacation.