Colored Guy

I had one on the top of my foot get infected in 2005. My own fault for sure. I got it early in the week and had to go to work for the next few days. I had a gauze pad taped over it and wore a dark sock over it. Of course the pad slips down and it rubbed against my sock. One crease got infected. As it healed the color came totally out of it with the thick scab. I had it touched up later on. Rob

No legit shop would have him as an apprentice after reading that article. Few shops would even talk to him if they knew he was tattooing, period. It was people like him who got the whole trade shut down in NYC. Rob

I used to see this guy years ago in unemployment. He had a big panther head on his cheek, real old school style. This was in 1980. Small wonder he was in unemployment all the time! Rob

I've seen them in my tattoo books in pairs, not really enough room for another one. I shoulda thunk it out a little better back in 1982. The rest of my tattoo work is fairly new, this was the oldest piece on me and it was getting hard to make out the features on it. The hair could be a little finer now that I look at it, I'll discuss it when I go for round II with my artist.

I have a large peony to the side of it now (see above), done less than 2 years ago. The original tattoo was done in late 1982, almost 31 years ago! Fortunately there wasn't much dark shading in it and the brown went right over the black hair. The dog itself is a light purple, which will come out when it heals up. The flowers will be done in pink and other colors and I'm going for the sleeve. It was done at Studio 69 on Long island, NY by Gina Sherry. I have forged a great relationship with her over the years. She was totally psyched to do it and we made up a lot of the details as we went along. Rob

I have a big one from 2 days ago, the healing process begins. I almost always get my ink done from November thru April. Oddly enough, winter is a dead spot for the shop I use. Most people get tattooed in the warmer months. Rob

I had a big tattoo worked on 2 days ago. Yesterday, I wouldn't have gone to the gym since it was quite swollen and still oozing. I'm going in a bit and will be taking it easy since it covers a big chunk of my forearm. Rob

I just sat for a solid 4-hour session the other night. My kids and wife know better than to ask what it cost... but they are aware of shop rates. Nobody else has been it yet, but the questions will surely come. My standard answer this round will be, $50 and it took 45 minutes. Rob

I sat in the chair for 4 hours last nite having an old fu-dog freshened up. My forearm is still swollen and bruised up here and there. I have the 2nd appointment for early 2014 to finish the whole forearm. Rob

I spent part of Sunday wiping down my kitchen cabinets with Murphy's Oil Soap. Got all the finger marks and spots of food off them. I may go shopping for new cabinet pulls next. Rob

I've gotten some big work done and gone to the gym the next afternoon. As long as your clothes aren't pulling at it and you can work out without discomfort, go for it. The first few days, I use the antibiotic the artist gives me. As soon as I get home from the gym, I wash thoroughly and reapply the antibiotic. Rob

It took me a while to learn how to stay under the cop-radar. I am now a model citizen... I also see lots of cops and firefighters getting inked. Especially post-911. Rob

I have a 3-hour session coming up in less than a week. And now with winter on the way with everyone sick everywhere I go, I'll have to watch myself. I always tended to get as sick as a dog within 2 weeks before Xmas. Rob

Deleted my "drunken posting" comment....

I'm fortunate that my artist was able to find someone to fill my missed appointment. I'll ask her more about her cancellation list when I go there next week. Rob

My sister gets a henna tattoo every summer, but it looks more bluish than black. I tell her that all the $$$ she's blown on those she could have gotten a couple of nice real ones. Then I get the blank stare... Rob

I love that final wipe-down with alcohol or battery acid.. whatever, its brutal. Rob

This about covers how I see it. My nephew who is all of 22 is loaded with shit work worthy of this thread. His brother has nice work on him, so does his dad (my brother), my son, me. So I'd hope he knows good work on sight. Part of it is they get 1/2 in the bag and wind up in someone's kitchen who has the equipment and the requisite lack of talent. Rob

I tout up the shop I use to almost anyone who is interested. But there have been people I have met, NO WAY am I going to send those freaks over to them. Rob

What the hell are they gonna do about it? You are the same person with or without the tattoo. Rob

Fuck 'em... how many hacksaw blades does it take to take down the Eiffel tower? Rob

I'm shy of a felony conviction, but the maybe my past has caught up with me, haven't seen a jury summons since 2009. Rob

I had a tattoo done that came from a piece of artwork. I knew who the originator was and I contacted him to see how much he wanted to sell me a stencil or line drawing of what I wanted. His response was that he sent me a very good picture of it and only wanted a picture of the finished tattoo in return, which I did. I'd feel bad if I walked into a shop with a blatant ripoff of someone else's hard work. Rob

About the co-workers... these people vote and sit on juries... scary.... Rob

Albinos are prolly an artist's dream... they never ever go out in the sun. Look at Johnny Winter, he looks like death warmed over, but his ink is hanging in. Rob