hogg

Thought I would also upload and share this dope action shot. Plus you can catch a peak at my backpiece that's about 5 months settled in as well as Len's great hair lol ;)

Another reminder that it is the tattoo experience as whole - that truly makes the tattoo. that's what matters. Tattooing is a very powerful, deliberate and permanent act and series of events.
Last Wednesday was an incredible day. My work in the morning. Popping into the tattoo shop to just to say what's up and casually flipping through Len's book - I have 3 tattoos from Len now and each one was a spontaneous act with permanent results. Going and getting a dope haircut so I didn't get a cheap $25cent razor fade (found a new barber, an older black gentleman, he shared his cool snake tattoo on his dark skin, he got in 1967!). My tai chi practice in the park. An encouraging doctor's appointment. The boys keeping the shop open into the evening to accommodate me (shout out to Champion Tattoo Edmonton). The stencil and re-stencil to get the placement just right. The first 30 seconds when I thought holy shit man, this is brutal have I gone too far? Bishops Green on the stereo. Tattoo talk with the boys. Sweating through the table. Feeling my nose about to get crushed sideways on the table. the post-tattoo newport smoke, the vulnerability and the satisfaction with the end result. The morning after when the shower water hit the back of my raw tattooed skin. Even today walking down the street, walking proud and tall with this new tattoo. Hearing the lady behind me in the crosswalk whispering out loud 'damn that's a nice tattoo' to herself. Seriously, I am really buzzing off how this one turned out.
The butterfly symbolism is pretty obvious.
But also this:
I dreamed I was a butterfly, fluttering about, to all intents and purposes a butterfly. I was conscious only of my happiness as a butterfly. Soon I awakened, and there I was, myself again. Now I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly, dreaming I am a man. -Master Zhuang
I became aware of this taoist quote the morning after receiving my tattoo, and I too had the butterfly dream leading up to this spontaneous tattoo. I found it very fitting, not just in the context of the rest of my tattoos, but in terms of some personal growth I have been making over the last few months. And here comes this profound tattoo experience from a simple design that carries some complex symbolism to me, providing enlightenment when I needed it the most.
Thank you LST for providing a medium to share the tattoo experience together !

Hello everyone! I am very excitement to be a part of this community! I have too many tattoos to count. My husband is a tattoo artist and I am a collector! I enjoy sharing ideas and stories regarding tattoos and experiences. :)

Looks great, @bongsau, but the very sight gives me a sympathy headache.

Looks great, @bongsau, but the very sight gives me a sympathy headache.

Looks great, @bongsau, but the very sight gives me a sympathy headache.

Looks great, @bongsau, but the very sight gives me a sympathy headache.

"Yknow what's awesome about this budd?...you have a whole bodysuit of tattoo and MY tattoo is going to be the one everyone is gonna ask about haha"
Keepin' it real w/ King Len, guest spot at Champion Tattoo in Edmonton, AB

Deadly placement, deadly evening, deadly tattoo. But holy fack did this one sizzle and rattle.

I am slammed at work, yet I just read this entire thread. And I'm glad that I did, because there's some great back and forth in it. Thanks to everyone who posted something good here.
I don't count my tattoos, but I do keep a list of who has tattooed me. Two weeks from today, I'm getting something from someone who's been on my wish list for a few years now. He'll be artist #42 for me. Then again, I started getting tattooed 20+ years ago. Some of the names on that list are very well-known. Some of them are complete unknowns. One of them is no longer alive, two of them have since stopped tattooing, and three of them were shit on in the this thread's first post. ;) Not a single name on that list makes me better (or worse) than anyone else who gets tattooed. But every one of them is a part of a story--my story. Just as every tattoo I have comes with a story of its own. I love meeting people and sharing stories, which is part of what I love so much about getting tattooed and hanging out with awesome people like so many of you.
I'll stop rambling now, but thanks again to those of you who made this thread worth reading.

Hi everyone! My name is Lars, i'm 27 years old from Bergen, Norway. Tattoos have always been fascinating to me, and caught my interest quite early. I got my first two tattoos at a shop in bergen when i was 15/16, some sweet tribals brah. Since then i have gotten a few better thought through tattoos, and planning on getting a bunch more.
Looking forward to getting some new inspiration!
Ill add a photo of one i got 2-3 years ago, Tiny reaper done by Phil Holt at Bergen tattoo convention.

Workout the day of, sure. Suffer from DOMS on the day of, not recommended. I had really bad upper back soreness on the day of one of my sessions, it was one of the worst.

No problem at all in my experience. I've done some tough workouts the day-of and been no worse for wear.

Last session all done at around 23 hours all up...stoked this is finished !

So... not been on to post anything in a little while. I had to miss a session last month for medical reasons. I would absolutely have preferred being tattooed for 3 hours compared to going to the doctors. Anyway I made up for the missed session yesterday. We did the blue on the back of the left leg and then started to put some green in the leaves around the blossoms. I have another session in a couple of weeks time which will complete the scales. We talked about maybe slowly fading the blue towards the tail so that it ends up super pale, almost white, which I think could look amazing. We are then definitely going to be on the home stretch. After 45 hours it is really coming to life and I am incredibly happy with it.

BUMP.
Re-reading this thread and then reading several recent threads made me realize that the level of discourse has fallen around here. I didn't start this site, but I've been here since the beginning, and everything that @SacramentoDan said in this thread's first post is what I loved/still love about it. If you wanna find strangers being rude to each other on the Internet, go to literally any other forum. LST is different, and as a moderator, I'll ask that you respect and help to maintain that difference. I've met several of you in real life and have really enjoyed getting to know you a little better. Some of you are now real world friends (imagine that). If one of us had made a shitty comment to the other online, we'd both be less inclined to want to meet in the first place.
If there's a poster you don't like, put them on ignore. Have a snide comment typed out that is guaranteed to lower the level of discourse/add nothing? Feel free to delete it. If someone's really out of line, trust that the other mods and I will gladly swing the banhammer.
Thanks.

After going big, I go home; I prefer to shower there.

I do, too. It's a nicely executed black and gray rose--one of the most iconic tattoos around. And I think that your complexion is perfect for it.

BUMP.
Re-reading this thread and then reading several recent threads made me realize that the level of discourse has fallen around here. I didn't start this site, but I've been here since the beginning, and everything that @SacramentoDan said in this thread's first post is what I loved/still love about it. If you wanna find strangers being rude to each other on the Internet, go to literally any other forum. LST is different, and as a moderator, I'll ask that you respect and help to maintain that difference. I've met several of you in real life and have really enjoyed getting to know you a little better. Some of you are now real world friends (imagine that). If one of us had made a shitty comment to the other online, we'd both be less inclined to want to meet in the first place.
If there's a poster you don't like, put them on ignore. Have a snide comment typed out that is guaranteed to lower the level of discourse/add nothing? Feel free to delete it. If someone's really out of line, trust that the other mods and I will gladly swing the banhammer.
Thanks.

I love it when people ask me how much my tattoos cost. I always reply with, "Sorry, they're not for sale."

- - - Updated - - -
here's some, that I have on my computer. I'll post more.

Hey Everyone,
My name is Jeremiah, I'm 32 years old. I'm from Chicago, I work in the music industry/production industry. I stopped touring with bands about a year ago, and now I'm a production manager for a well respected production company. I had a little girl in June and I'll be getting married in September 2016. I've been getting tattoos since I was 17, always in well known shops, by well known artists.
Thanks for having me!
-J

BUMP.
Re-reading this thread and then reading several recent threads made me realize that the level of discourse has fallen around here. I didn't start this site, but I've been here since the beginning, and everything that @SacramentoDan said in this thread's first post is what I loved/still love about it. If you wanna find strangers being rude to each other on the Internet, go to literally any other forum. LST is different, and as a moderator, I'll ask that you respect and help to maintain that difference. I've met several of you in real life and have really enjoyed getting to know you a little better. Some of you are now real world friends (imagine that). If one of us had made a shitty comment to the other online, we'd both be less inclined to want to meet in the first place.
If there's a poster you don't like, put them on ignore. Have a snide comment typed out that is guaranteed to lower the level of discourse/add nothing? Feel free to delete it. If someone's really out of line, trust that the other mods and I will gladly swing the banhammer.
Thanks.

I'm a sucker for a well-executed munewari, and no one does them better than Horitoshi:

And my jaw hits the floor pretty much every time Brian Kaneko posts anything. Example:

Same goes for Drew Flores. The head he's working on is also a nice reminder that tattoos can still be shocking:

I do, too. It's a nicely executed black and gray rose--one of the most iconic tattoos around. And I think that your complexion is perfect for it.

I'm a sucker for a well-executed munewari, and no one does them better than Horitoshi:

And my jaw hits the floor pretty much every time Brian Kaneko posts anything. Example:

Same goes for Drew Flores. The head he's working on is also a nice reminder that tattoos can still be shocking:

I'm a sucker for a well-executed munewari, and no one does them better than Horitoshi:

And my jaw hits the floor pretty much every time Brian Kaneko posts anything. Example:

Same goes for Drew Flores. The head he's working on is also a nice reminder that tattoos can still be shocking: