MsRad

MsRad - everyone is allowed to like or not like whoever's tattooing they want ;) I didn't know anything about the dude getting shot. To have gone through that and still maintain a normal life in an accomplishment on it's own. I wouldn't think less of you if you got tattooed by him and not some one else. I'm just picky about who I get tattooed by now because I've got some really really bad tattoos when I was younger. Oh and you are one of the big kids ;)

I think the disagreements over who likes who just comes from people liking stuff for different reasons. Where for example maybe Stewart is appreciating the tattoo from a tattooers light, looking at the technical work and maybe say me or you might be looking at if we like the design or not. I dunno. I just know when I see someone's work I can usually tell right away if I like it or not based on how I feel when I look at the images.

seriously, i'm just having an off day. it wasn't a statement directed at anyone but myself. it's gloomy outside and i'm cranky. wah.

Oh man, totally remember this dude from.. maybe 5 or six years ago? Jesus.

we have a lot of mutual friends but i've still never met him. i think his work is different, and reminds me of a lot of graffiti i like, but is also influenced by traditional western tattoo designs. i know that doesn't make for a good tattoo necessarily, but it's still what i like which is good enough for me.

i'm just going to shut up in this thread though. i feel like i belong in the sandbox, so i'll just keep watching the big kids playground. i'm also having a bad day, so don't mind me.

i walked by some dude yesterday on the street and he said "nice tattoos". i later walked past a different store on the same street, going the opposite direction, and he happened to walk out of said store just as i was walking by. he continued trying to talk to me about my tattoos, walking with me, and then he touched my arm to tell me which one he liked. i kept walking, and he was like "yo, it seems like you're in a hurry, but i think we should talk more because what a coincidence that we would meet back up..." i just said "sorry!" and kept walking on. yeah, what a coincidence.

I find it weird that his portfolio is almost all paintings (which I don't like at all) and only 2-3 tattoos. Seems to me like it should be the other way around, or more half and half.

i think he's rebuilding his portfolio after getting shot in the head and having to learn to tattoo all over again. he used to have more of his older tattoos up, from when he was right handed, but i think it gave off the impression that his tattooing now would be the same as then, which it's not. this is purely speculation though, and either way, i like his work and his paintings, so i guess this is another thing we can disagree on.

I know this is slightly off topic but I thought MsRad's question was interesting and it's not worthy of a brand new thread.

I'm not a historian, so I won't attempt to give dates and I don't know how long everyone has been tattooing but knowing where those guys worked makes it clear that they all influenced each other. That makes it all even cooler to me. I didn't work with all these guys so maybe I'll miss some important detail but I know a few of them and the people they worked with.

Hooper used to work at IntoYou, when Xed LeHead worked there. Jondix used to visit and do guest spots. So did Mike the Athens and his 'student' Tas. Then, Tas' work had much more Thai/Tibetan and Borneo/Micronesian influence than it does now, so did Hooper's. Tomas Tomas moved from a different shop in London to work at IntoYou. So at one shop, including guests/friends you had:

Alex Binnie, Xed, Thomas Hooper, Jondix, Mike the Athens, Tas, Tomas Tomas and Duncan X.

There were of course other awesome tattooers working there who specialised in different styles but these 8 people are very influential in the dotwork/blackwork (non-tribal) styles.

Hooper and Jondix are close friends and have done series of paintings together and a few collaborative tattoos. I see Mike's and Alex's influence a lot in the work of Jondix, Thomas and Tas' (non Japanese) work. A lot of the dot shading comes from Xed and Tomas Tomas, I think Tomas in particular took it further than anyone, to great success.

It's been awesome over the last 8 years or so, watching this amazing work grow out of existing tattoo styles and have other influences slowly added to each person's work and seeing them push themselves and tattooing in general. To me, that's perfect way for new styles to develop, rather than someone deciding that they have invented a 'new thing'.

If these guys weren't awesome enough most of them can do great tattoos in many other styles too. I have learned a lot seeing their work, particularly Hoopers healed work in the flesh and nervously tattooing next to it.

thanks Stewart for the informative reply!

Honestly, I didn't mention traditional in the context of artists "scratching away doing other people's flash" at all so I don't understand how I could possibly be "putting down most western traditional artists." I'd be happy to reply to Stewart's points but I imagine this should move to PM or just die away. I'm happy with both.

you're right, you didn't say it. but it was the first thing that came to mind when you said flash (though there are pages of flash than most of us are probably aware of, many of which are of shitty designs made by various companies and not individuals).

anyways, glad to see that you came to a solution.

no one's mentioned Devon Blood as far as i know, so i'm going to. i think his new work, is actually better than his old work. you can find out more about him, and more about the left hand path here:

Devon Blood Tattoo| Left Hand Path » art

Raskolnikov, were you refering to scratchers or traditional artists in general? i think Stewart may have felt that you were putting down most western traditional artists. Correct me if i'm wrong Stewart, and i'm not trying to speak for either of you. just trying to make sure this doesn't become a major argument on a great thread.

the work by Musa looks really horrible.

oh and was Tomas Tomas around before Hooper? i feel really stupid asking, but i only do because Hooper has said he is heavily influenced/inspired by him. i wonder the same about Jondix, but since i learened about Jondix at the same time as Hooper, i don't really know either of their histories, and his blog doesn't seem to have anything about it. i guess it doesn't really matter, i was just curious.

so here is the list of animals that i hope to add to the California arm:

-CA quail

-Golden Trout

-dog faced butterfly (yeah i know, it's an insect. whatever.)

-possibly a desert tortoise (if i have room)

-possibly a gray whale (pretty sure i won't have room for this, but we'll see)

other animal tattoo ideas as of recent:

- a bat with party hat, a bottle of root beer in one little winged hand, and a party whistle thingy (you know, the ones that blow out and then curl back up) in the other.

- if Jackson and i ever get married, we have decided to both get slow loris' in our armpits, with their arms up because they apparently like to be "tickled" as evidenced by the below video:

http://youtu.be/g9f-6jygRJk

Jackson can't get enough of it. it puts him in a laughing fit everytime, to the point that he can't even make a coherent sentence. i'm totally serious.

i found this sweet dog(pug??) face tattoo in Valerie's gallery. i know it's not any of our pets, but thought it was fitting none the less (and very classy!)

was lurking Valerie's gallery and came across this awesomeness!

@Rory it took the husband 5 years to make a dent in the book hording. I've started shipping books out to family members in what we call the "traveling library". When someone finishes one they sign the cover and send it to the next person. Last person donates the book to a senior center, hosipital or library. Bad thing is I bring in so many that my collection never really shrinks, but it keeps it from growing. Then there are the books I refuse to let go of because I like them. There's a lot of those...

A guy I work with had to have his floors reinforced to handle the weight of all the books he has. He has two rooms with floor to ceiling bookshelve. He's my hero.

i have a friend who's apartment is floor to ceiling bookshelves with books or records, spilling over into some milk crates. it's pretty amazing.

and i love your traveling library idea!

The other type of food I particularly love but can't get here is Okonomyiaki.... I know a small chain in London which is pretty amazing but there's not a single place in Dublin that serves it.

there's not many places here on the west coast that serve Okonomiyaki either (or that i'm aware of at least, though the point is mute since i won't eat the regular version of it) and man, have i been craving it!

one of my roommates and i are conspiring about making a vegan version of it....

also, there was this article in the Chronicle yesterday. you might be interested in it Rory.

Elloise Grace who is a member of this forum has one in her gallery...

Sailor Eddie Jr in Philadelphia. He's been tattooing for thirty years and is apart of a really rich history in tattooing. His family employed Paul Rogers and he worked with Dan Higgs and Dave Gibson. I got a shark from him last week and it's awesome.

you should post a picture of it in the shark week thread!

i saw this same thing on someone's blog... but now i can't remember who's it was!

That sucks cause I really want to put one right above my thumb nail. I guess it'll take probably under a minute for what I want so it might be ok.... Tattooing the sides of my fingers was pretty awful but so quick that it kind of didnt matter

yeah and Scott's experience, if i'm remembering right, is on the top portion of his thumb, not the thumb pad area.

Scott has told me how getting his thumb tattoo right by the nail felt as if the needle was punching through his nail. sounds super gnarly!

i love the tiger/panthers with tattoos! i never would have even thought of that.

Well I have many leather bound books and my apartment smells of rich mahogany. Just kidding guys good work.

it's the second time this reference has been used on this forum! Anchorman, FTW!

i still don't see bucket cat, but i did stumble upon some videos of one of my favorite cats of all time...

Maru!!

i can't see bucket cat :(

I have 4 or so hours coming up Wednesday on my inner arm from my elbow to my arm pit...should be interesting to see which hurts more....

this area was worse than my chest! it tickles and hurts!

it's true! Perez said if i didn't send him kitten pictures, he wouldn't be my friend haha!

Yeah, I'm laughing pretty hard over here too. I cant believe how big of a dumbass oneself can be.

Dan, you're not a dumbass, you're amazing!