JAllen

guy*aitchison is in your area. I think his website is still at hyperspacestudios.com

Sure it does...if we are talking about stealing. Theft if theft. But nobody wants to talk about other kinds of theft because it might make them appear to be a hipocrite when talkin about how someone else is stealing something. But for the sake of arguement related to tattoos, remember the guy who did the lion on that ufc guy that was suing the game maker over using his "intellectual property". All kinds of internet opinions were in support of him, but all he did was copy a lion statue (one of which we had in my house growing up which is why I recognized it). And if you looked at his portfolio there were examples of other copyright images reproduced as tattoos by him. Another example is how people got worked up about a guy who copied a nikko day of the dead girl..which happened to be a reproduction of a sylvia ji painting. I think what @G.Uristti is saying is that everyone on the internet is making assumptions as to the reasons why someone is doing a reproduction of someone elses tattoo and there's hardly any way to tell if that opinion is accurate. I suppose when you do tattoos, you at least have a broader perspective as to how and why it happens. Eventhough it may shatter the illusion that tv and ones own personal experiences have created about tattooers being artists, sometimes people just do tattoos. I've resisted even speaking on the matter because I doubt anyones gonna get what I'm trying to say anyway. Its probably a good thing that there's not messageboards for everyones job so that loads of outside opinions about every aspect of ones job can be debated and policed.

This thread has been beat to death so hard that there's pics of stencils bein posted as "the worst ever tattoo"

Society lacks the esoteric connections with totems. Its out of a nacissitic desire to feel like they are some how expressing real thoughts or ideas by putting it on their body. Seldom have I done lettering of large quantity on someone who was say..a person who was really into books and felt a connection to the dialog of a novel or the linguistic appeal of ones writing style. Its usually just a clever quote they saw on social media or a song lyric that they want to mean something but have never even purchased an album by the person/band. Looking for logic in mainstream culture is an exercise in futility. It is however easier to recognize those who know what's cool and those who are just riding the current trend.

Haha, I'm pretty ocd but I suppose its just one of my many "mental disorders". I find that the ritual of setting up for a tattoo, cleaning up after, how I draw, most things I have used my "mental disorder" to be a benefit rather than a burden. The patterns and methodical nature of things involved in tattooing, at least to me, are things I find enjoyable. I wasn't speaking to obsessively cleaning because you can't control it but I don't expect people to understand how my brain works.

Go door to door to everyone in your neighborhood and ask if you can clean their bathroom for free. Every skill you will need to be successful at doing that will benefit you and its not something that most people can figure out. How to talk to people, how to sell and close the deal. how to make someone feel comfortable allowing you to enter their personal space. Cleaning, lots of cleaning and knowing how to clean and which order to do things in...also its real helpful if you develop ocd. I've seen plenty of people who can draw but can't tattoo and also struggle with the interaction with strangers and making them feel comfortable in an uncomfortable situation.

you know it's awesome when someone in the crowd has a butcher's knife

Black Breath, for serious, check them out.

There's an outrageous amount of good stuff that's come out post 90's era. Either you've got super specific criteria or you aint lookin hard enough! Haha. But then again I'm a music nerd.

FTW!!

It doesn't matter what anyone else does. All the things everyone else does that you may not like or agree with are just distractions from focusing on your own goals. That's not limited to tattoo sales.

limitations are a great source for creativity, its a matter of perspective sometimes. you could do real bold traditional style tattoos with hatch "shading" like a wood block print and utilize some solid black in places. or use pacific tribal design elements with art deco structures. ive tattooed some really dark complected folks as well and theres still cool stuff you can do.

a friend of mine showed me a little devil head from '97, he got at the atlanta convention. super

Yeah man, would be interested for sure. Honestly I'm not as interested in just close ups of individual tattoos as I am the pictures of dudes with their work.

As mentioned before, I'd still be interesting in seein some pictures man. If you want I can give you my email address in case you don't want to post them up. I'll keep them strictly for personal reference. I've been trying to compile some jailhouse stuff. It'd be nice to see some from different places.

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Well don't take it personal, I just hear people giving that advice often. For a mild burn I'd probably use witch hazel or aloe. For some kind of allergic reaction/rash/poison ivy/etc I'd use some type of cortizone and or an antihistimine. But that's just me. If its just a rash it doesn't need some type of medicated stuff on it. Overuse of such things can potentially lead to their ineffectiveness. Also, the main reason I didn't recommend any of that stuff as a solution is the fact that I don't know what she's actually got going on as far as the rash. No pics of it and troubleshooting things over the internet like that aren't always going to offer an exact remedy. If its any consulation to the original poster, I DID get poison ivy in a tattoo that was still healing up and it turned out ok. So I wouldn't stess too much about that aspect of it.

Your tattoo is a month old? Do not listen to the interweb or other people, go for sure and see the person who did it. Probably no big deal but "just put some oitment on it" isn't always the best solution. If its something totally non-related to the tattoo..ie the tattoo is healed up it may be something else that tattoo aftercare isn't going to address properly.

My wife is for sure the awesomest person I've ever met. And yes, that keyboard scenario would be a nightmare! Haha! Technology is a double edged sword.

Hey @dari, I know exactly what you mean. My computer died last summer so I can only check stuff here on my phone or at the shop. The house remodeling is a full time job too, and trying to fit that around working a job is consuming. Yep, I'm still trying to sell the house and get back to Atlanta. Last year was a pretty crappy year altogether but hoping something happens so I can get moved. I'm usually pretty patient but I miss my wife and kid. Thanks for your kind works, greatly appreciated.

Keep in mind that you can do tribal or some type of design and it doesn't have to cover the spots exactly to be effective at masking or distracting from the areas that bother you.

Monte Agee in Indianapolis does nice black and grey in a similar style. He's down to earth and a nice dude. Not sure what his waiting list is like but I'd say with any of the folks you mentioned, you might also check and see if they are doing any conventions. You might find that they'll be a little closer to where you live and might be able to tattoo you despite their normal waiting list period. Everybody does their convention appointments different so you might luck out. With all that said, I think its kind of in poor taste to approach getting a tattoo by just posting some portfolio pics from people and then asking strangers if those people will do what YOU want. Go out and visit people in your area. Talk to them, look at their work, and see how you feel. You're not obligated to get tattooed by someone just because you discussed your ideas.

Get a nice little magnifying glass for your bag too. Non expensive and comes in handy for making fire when other options aren't available or are in depleted supply or you have to ration them.

People can be honestly excited about your tattoo even if its not related to the imagery. They might just enjoy tattooing you and talking to you or getting to be a participant in some design that is significant to you or many other reasons one might get excited about it. Its not always about the imagery.

I started lurking more and posting less after trying to encourage people to quit wasting time posting and talking about crappy tattoos and scratchers. The response to what I said seemed like people were determined to call me self righteous and that combined with how the guy flamed @Ursula off the board left me feeling less motivated to say stuff. I've posted occasionally since then but figure it doesn't really matter if I do or if I don't.