TrixieFaux

This is getting into a lot of things... meaning vs. no meaning (personally I don't care either way but sometimes when people insist on the meanings of their tattoos it does sound cheesy to me), content (too much lettering & bird silhouette explosions vs. battle royales or skulls)... whether people like their tattoos or not being all that matter... But a bad tattoo is a bad tattoo and everybody knows it. Look at the "worst tattoo ever" thread or whatever it's called. Shaky lines, blow outs, bad proportions...those are bad tattoos. I think it's kind of pointless to make fun of the subject a person chooses to get. But, take music--put two people next to each other, one who is tone deaf and can't sing and one who can belt it out from the soul... nobody would say the two are equal. If someone wants to get a lot of text, whatever, that is up to them--I just hope they get it done by someone good. When I was getting my tiger worked on a couple weeks ago, Shawn Barber was next to us doing lettering down a guy's side. It was a LOT of lettering. He did a great job, the guy was stoked. Could I read it? I don't know, probably not, I don't think it was even in English, but in that case I do think all that matters is the guy got what he wanted. I don't think it would have been any cheaper than getting imagery though. Text tattoos seem to take just as much time and effort--they still require excellent line work. As for getting something because it's cheaper, I think that is just sad. It's your skin for crying out loud! Save up...pay as you go...it's worth it!

it's rad

Some of my earlier tattoos are rather simplistic and/or lack creativity. They don't follow the trends named in this thread and I actually still think they look kind of cool--but I also didn't know what was possible back then. I didn't do a ton of research, there was no internet when I got my first one 22 years ago...so I just thought I had to bring in what I wanted and get it. I know better now. I think most people just don't know better. They need LST. Or LSD. Maybe both.

@Badtaste & @Chelsea Shonek, I love both of your work! This is where the term "hipster" gets confusing for me. I used to think of a hipster as just a hip person...a cool person, creative, artistic, musical, whatever. The term has definitely taken a turn and these days it seems to mean: a douchebag. Anyway, the people you guys tattoo seem pretty cool to me. They get good tattoos.

Well...it might hurt a little...

Wow, that looks just like my first tattoo... NOT! Nice work.

Holy Sons -- I'm Healed

@sbhikes, I met @ian not that long ago in LA...cool guy...rad tattoos...covered in Jondix, Hooper, Grime, BJ Betts, etc., etc. He's everywhere there's something going on that's tattoo-related haha. :D

Planning tattoos and getting them is fun for me. Then, having them is great, too. So, they make me happy. I don't know if they've changed my life...but they enhance my life for sure!

Spent a wonderful 8 hours at Memoir tonight w/Spencer Briggs. Getting tattooed is fun! This third picture only shows some of the new additions...

BINGO!

Agreed. Good move @hollyjoybee, I'm sure it wasn't easy but you are free!

Great, that's what I thought. Which reminds me, I also love the book Please Kill Me, by Legs McNeil about the beginnings of punk rock.

I really should read more rather than spending all my extra time on the computer! The last book I finished was Freedom, by Jonathan Franzen...it was really good. I also loved The Corrections by him. My next book I want to read is Just Kids, by Patti Smith. We have it, I just need to read it. I know I'm going to love it. Anyone here read it? Sorry if it has already been mentioned, I have not gone back to read this whole thread! PS. Some other all-time favorites that spring to mind are: Geek Love, by Katherine Dunn, Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole, and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon.

Does this guy (kid?) even count as hipster? I think he belongs to a different category but I don't know what to call it...

Well they aren't called "artists" for nothin'! I imagine in most of those cases, the customer went to a tattoo artist they already admired and said, "go to town". Or maybe something like: "I'd like it to have a rose and the shaking hands, but you can put your own spin on it."

http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/forum/wtf-news/2710-tattooed-mummy-reveals-her-2-500-year-old-tattoos.html

^^^ :-D

Hi! Do you have any pics of your tattoos?

I love that, MG. I don't know if I'll ever get to have a mommy daughter tattoo day...I'll have to wait a while and then we'll see, but it sounds like fun! For now, while she's little, we can have manicure days.

I had that same image in my floral tattoo reference folder a while back. I ended up going with black and gray roses up my arm/shoulder, but...it's pretty. The colors are nice. Maybe something similar with black outlines? I'm sure if you bring that reference to a great artist they can create something perfect for you.

Well, I didn't think my hubby was ever going to get any and now he is as into it as I am! I got him to come with me on my 3rd tattoo. Then, he and his old college buddy came with me for my 4th. Our friend and I booked back to back appointments. We were both encouraging @DJDeepFried to get one that day, too. He considered it and brought a reference pic "just in case". He ended up getting his first tattoo that day. It's a small one on his upper right arm. His next tattoo after that was a 1/2 sleeve on his other arm by Kim Saigh. He has plans for more... Yeah! If there is a shred of interest, I think being around it and seeing you get them could rub off on him. My mom says I was a bad influence on dh. I think I was an outstanding influence on him. :D

Some superstitions make me mad because people can do cruel and demented things out of fear. When I was about to get my owl tattoo, I was reading about owls online and I came across this: "While the Greeks believed that sight of an owl predicted victory for their armies, the Romans saw it as a sign of defeat. They believed that a dream of an owl could be an omen of shipwreck for sailors & of being robbed. To ward off the evil caused by an owl, it was believed that the offending owl should be killed & nailed to the door of the affected house." So, people would actually kill owls and nail them to their doors... There were others too, people killed owls in the hopes of either warding off bad spirits or gaining magical powers. So sad. It just made me want the owl tattoo all the more because this is bullshit! No offense to anyone who has harmless superstitious beliefs. I don't believe in them, but it's just the ones that cause people to live in fear and/or do terrible things really bother me. Less offensive superstitions still bother me a little.

Well, if it's weird, I join you in your weirdness. I haven't been tattooed since February and the wait until May 4th feels crazy long! While waiting to continue/finish my left arm I keep finding reference material for an addition to my right arm and things for my back. Oh, and trying to decide which flash to choose from Dobleman's psychedelic stories sheet...and where I will get that and when. The time elapsed between my first and second tattoo was 14 years. Then another 6 years before my third... Now I can't handle 3 months to finish this sleeve I never thought I would be getting in the first place. Life is funny.

Josh Homme got his grandparents' nicknames w/hearts...well that's just sweet! Josh Homme | Flickr - Photo Sharing!