bongsau

Alkaline is a young Jamaican dancehall artist known for tattooing his eyeballs. Jamaican Dancehall Artists are Blinding Themselves by Getting Eyeball Tattoos | NOISEY Also met Matt Gone on the weekend who has both his eyeballs tattooed, among other really bizarre spots. Too extreme, I can't even touch my eyeballs with my own fingers, nevermind getting them scratched out with a needle. Seems like a very risky undertaking.

Asking for relationship advice on a tattoo forum...of course the answer will be GET A NEW TATTOO ! If you are hopeful that it is truly "a break" - then hang on bro but watch out because the heart bruises easily. I would be cautious, because what may happen is you wait around and put your life on hold only to find out she's already moved on. So just like a tattoo, make a decision to what YOU want and commit to it. On a side note, best advice I received from my buds...go bang some other people :p But be true to yourself and spirit, stay pure good luck

ok then...Session #7 on my back just got locked in for Monday! Starting colour and pattern details hooray

There is a tattoo convention in Edmonton, AB this weekend. I wasn't planning on going because I've already got a big project in progress, that is my focus and most real estate is reserved. Also, the Edmonton convention seems to be mostly cup cake and tea cup tattoo artists from the local shops, not really my thing and not a lot of tattooers that impress me. Oh! Jime Litwalk will be there (yawn). But then I see Matt Gone (checkerboard bodysuit) is hosting. I think it would be fun to get some pics with him because I've been following his progress for years. Danny Trejo is the celebrity guest but I'm not paying him $50 to get my photo taken with him. So I think me and my wife are gonna go check it out, see the trashiest and most interesting tattoos in town, maybe enter our matching Chris David eagle tattoos into the best traditional tattoo contest. I think it will be funny too if I show up to the best small colour contest in my underwear with tattoo bodysuit and enter my silver dollar sized mantis lol. My buddy is also planning on going, he's got a Paul Jeffries back/arms/chest plates so I'm expecting him to lay a whooping on the best large colour. No backpiece contest though, but trad, script, realism, sleeve all have their categories...bizarre Also there are a few tattooers I'd be into watching work...Danny Gordey, Seve, Miles Kanne (catch up and show him how tattoos he did on me 7 and 10 years ago have aged!), Stace aka Water Street Phantom, BJ Betts. Hopefully I will see "Snake Man" this old cat in town who always struts around shirt-off in the summer, covered in old school snake tattoos. Maybe there will be some unknown cat there that will catch my eye, maybe an opportunity to get a small tattoo, who knows stranger things have happened! I think it will be fun to walk around with my shirt off and have candid conversations with tattoo lovers. I've only been to 1 tattoo convention...it was in 2005 years ago and I won best large B&G for my Escher dragon. Maybe I enter that tattoo again now that it is 10 years old!

the article lost me at "tattoo gun"...

a tattoo: no software updates, no battery charger and silly accessory cords, no applecare protection plan, will not broadcast your exact GPS location to NSA, and most importantly will not require a genius nerd in a blue shirt to assist you after the damn thing is a year old. the choice is obvious! tattoos > apple watch

Originally, maintaining "symmetry" was the mission objective for my tattoos. Now...10+ years and 201 hrs later, on the homestretch to full-blown donburi ! Overall look...live up to my Jamaican street name "Colouring Book" :cool:

like the kid in junior high who built one out of a bic pen tube and a walkman motor ;)

@Ryan McGinnis You're almost there...the most important step to getting your first tattoo is walking into the tattoo shop, slapping down your deposit and getting your session booked! Half sleeve, very respectable first tattoo experience. You'll need multiple sits. I would guess 2-3 depending on the design detail, tattooer speed, size and your stamina. I would suggest you reconsider colour for your tattoo. Phoenix designs can be very colourful in the feathers. You could also do B&G for the phoenix, and colour in the flames in red-orange-yellow gradients. I don't think you should be too married to the design (link you posted). Find a good tattooer and shop (LST will point you in the right direction). All you need to articulate is "phoenix-shoulder to elbow" and maybe a few finer details about the wings, flames, colour/B&G etc and a good tattooer will take care of you. good luck!

@mmikaoj thanks for sharing your experience! one hell of a story. really pushing yourself to the limits, to the extreme. it makes the end result that much more rewarding. your story really gets in touch with what this whole tattooing journey means. cheers

save your money for more tattoos. leave the tattoo machines for the tattooers my $0.02 :)

With respect to cohesiveness and advance planning, I did a reverse approach to my tattoo suit. I didn't get my first couple tattoos with the intent to do a bodysuit, I just got some tattoos and then continued to balance side-to-side to maintain my symmetry. I had arms, legs, ribs, stomach, chest, neck/shoulders and thighs completed before I started my back, which is an opposite approach. That's just the way it worked out for me as my interest and excitement for tattooing grew. I got tattooed by 14 different guys over the years. I had one session in particular in 2009 (my chest, during my 100th hour) that the shop had a full house of heavyweights. Me working on full size chest piece and 3 other cats working on backs (waist up). Everyone hit the day rate, after 5 hours was no charge, and there was some magic in the shop that day. From that moment seeing backpieces in the flesh in progress, I knew that's where I was headed tattoo-wise but wasn't in a place in my life to commit to the time/money nor had I an idea for a subject I felt strongly enough that I could carry the weight of on my back. I was headed there all along in hindsight, just sometimes in life that direction you're headed does not reveal itself fully to you until you are ready to become aware of it. I've been to China to further my kung fu training 3 times since 2008, the last 2 times (2011 and 2014) to train at Shaolin. The first trip is when I finally knew I wanted a monk on my back, similar to the murals etched in the walls of the temple and the design on the back of the training vest the monks wear. I connected with the tattooer and the correspondence for the back began in 2012. In the meantime I worked on some other spots like the tiger in my belly, some thigh tattoos, collar/neck while I patiently waited for the green-go-light. Because of my existing tattoos though, there were certain spots I wanted to complete first in sequence to frame and layer my works the way I desired. There was some other life-shit that went down in the meantime, namely my Sifu - my kung fu master - passing away suddenly and one of his dying wishes was that we take the students again to Shaolin and continue our relationship with the temple. That's an intense story on it's own and it just heightened the desire, cemented the idea for my Shaolin tribute. It wasn't something I picked out of a comic book and was like yeah that's cool -there's nothing wrong with that!-but I wanted something ~heavy~, you know what I'm sayin? I know what I'm sayin! So ffwd to my first back session. Seeing all the crazy stuff and bright colours I have going on all down the front and arms/legs, my tattooer designed my backpiece to be simple, bold and black (as fuck) to balance it out, align the horizon lines and gravity of the water in my tattoos, really attract the focus, make the tattoo powerful and tie everything together. Because I had my ribs done prior, it made my back canvas a bit narrower to work with, which is why I ended up with 1 monk in a kung fu pose instead of the original idea of 2 monks in combat. It all ties together, maybe not as clean as a bodysuit from japan, but nevertheless ties together my stories and experiences, 14 tattooers and 69(?) sessions. And whether you are tie-ing pieces from one artist or many, a full body tattoo has people mesmerized and going "what in the fuck" because it is not a common sight to see in public. It's going to look cohesive because it's YOU! And I am very happy I waited. It has made the experience more exciting, I'm more tuned into what's going with the tattoo-process and most important of all it has made it all more meaningful to me. so @knucklehead211 to answer your inquiries and add some other points: 1. how to prepare? MANIFEST the idea of tattooing your back. the subject/theme/motif will come to you in time. 2. acne? i can't comment on that, see a dermatologist and deal with your issue now in preparation. 3. Do from shoulders to at least below the belt and onto the bum. No biker backpieces (jokes)! You don't need to do your front either. 4. Don't sweat the cohesiveness, as I wrote about above. 5. Let the tattooer make it fit your body, an experienced tattooer will. 6. Don't rush! See #5, I know a lot of dumb-dumb friends who I pointed in the right direction and vouched for to get proper tattoo, but people these days get very impulsive and gratified, so they rush out and get some half-baked poor tattoo because they can't wait a month or a year. 7. Know what you want and be able to articulate it. Keep it simple. Manifest the idea until the idea is solid enough and you are 101% behind it. 8. Start saving now so when it's go time, you've got money in the bank to keep up with the progress i.e. weeks between sessions not months. 9. Get inspired! And I don't mean scrolling instagram every hour or even LST. I mean get inspired by the real world. Go to the library, research old wood block prints and illustrations, go to the museum when the samurai armour exhibit is in town. Spend time in the mountains and rivers, go to the gardens in your city. Travel. Go to the art gallery. 10. Try and get the piece started in the fall so it will be worked on/healing in the winter, done by summer. 11. Plan long-term, plan in advance and be patient. 12. Have fun and enjoy the whole process. There is a reason why not everybody wears a backpiece and even fewer have finished backpieces. It is a big commitment. It took 2 full years of correspondence to make mine happen. The most rewarding things in life are the things you work for and wait for. cheers

@Pleadco DAMN dude! That is most excellent. Really like the use of negative space in the antlers. Very unique tattoo and it fits your body like it was always there. kudos

I was thinking a bit more about this topic and had some more food for thought... The cut of a tattoo suit (or even a single tattoo for that matter) is very important. The composition and borders of the tattoo needs to match and "fit" the body of the wearer, like it was always meant to be there. We are all different shapes and sizes! And we all have different preferences to achieve the look we desire. Some folks want their sleeves to go right up to the hand, some are content with some space on the wrist. The borders of the backpiece on the shoulders, how far up the collar/throat you go on the front, how low below the belt you (no biker backpieces! jokes). Some body types will look better with the vest style bodysuit, others prefer the full blast across. The emptiness of negative space can have a very powerful impact too, and I've seen lots of backpieces where the negative is very thoughtfully incorporated. The inner thigh, crotch, butt crack and underside is no different. Some may feel it completely unnecessary to tattoo in the crack, just like others may feel it taboo to tattoo armpits, heads or feet even. I know I did not want a stripe. For me, my tattoos (made by a dozen guys) are all continuous and blend into each other, so I knew I did not want the crack stripe and wanted to maximize the tattoo coverage, get a little freaky haha. Go however deep or as shallow into the danger zone that you and the tattooer feel comfortable with and get your suit to cut where it makes sense and for the tattoo to look good on YOUR body. Don't compromise the "cut" of your suit out of fear of the pain. We all know and expect it to hurt. Bite down on the wooden spoon for an afternoon and than bam you are in the clear, looking good and feeling confident. That's why we are all in the mess, ain't it? A tattoo after-all has to fit YOU, compliment and enhance your body and whatever else tattoo-wise you got going on. That's what I love about tattoos, it is very personalized and you can go as conservative or extreme as you desire...no need to response a no one! @Dennis suit - the cut and composition looks great. It fits the body, compliments it. Tattoos (bodysuits and one-shots alike) should look like they were always meant to be on the wearer, this is a fantastic example, very precise cuts and we are lucky to have Dennis sharing an in progress peak. The way the vest cuts on the torso, the thighs, ankles yeah man! wow @Rad Kelham ah i took the photo down off my IG after a couple days which would explain why the link is broken. Backpiece (and 25% of my tattoos) are by Steve Batt in Edmonton. He doesn't put anything online, off the radar type of guy.

@Rad Kelham I'll happily send unsolicited butt pics to my buddies...but I don't think I'm going to post a blurred picture of my asshole on a public forum, tattoo-related or otherwise! The internet doesn't need to be broken a second time this year. ~ PM me your email or DM on IG @Dennis_kool ... as long as you solemnly swear you are not a craigslist dirty pic collector ;) - - - Updated - - - about what? seeing my sexy black ass ?! lol

waves and smoke inside the right a monkey stealing a peach swinging out of my armpit inside the left

@2bacanvas awesome! sounds like you're feeling better about your arm now

I got my underside fully filled in February. Mine goes deep i.e. <1" radius around the asshole, no white skin with my legs together or apart. I think it looks better if you go as deep as you and the tattooer feel comfortable with. Because it enhances the natural shadow of the body (booty). It is very intense. The spot where the ass meets the thigh under the cheek is one of the most painful spots albeit one of the most thrilling sits you can have. Both in terms of physical pain and the mental block of spreading your ass for another person to perform the work in the area. You really need to embrace the vulnerability of the session to get through it. And once your ass and crack is tattooed you will have exponentially increased your no-shame quotient! I could care less now if my tattooed ass is hanging out of my shorts! Kiss my black ass! I was told the skin is very different to work on in this sensitive area. The shading appears to be cross-hatched and I do recall multiple passes, likely because of the type of skin, swelling/sensitivity, hair follicles, etc. I was face down with my ass in the air, like the sexy-wife-pose lol. Thigh hanging off the table at some points to give my guy some more room to work. I got electric shocked a few times too haha. I've got my session-report in the Full Back Piece Experience thread (Crazy Tattoo Stories). In summary, bring a towel or wooden spoon to bite down on.

@hogg yeah mon a fix up! (That would explain why I've never received a PM lol) - - - Updated - - - This is our rasta taxi driver Cappa and our tattooed pal Ali, they linked me with the latest in Dancehall He accompanied us out one night. Nobody stepped to me that night! Pretty rad though to be ballin around the town blaring dancehall from a dropped gold speckled Honda Civic!

Just got home after 2 weeks in Jamaica!! I will spare LST the pain of having to hear about how awesome our holiday in the sun was or how crazy of a place Jamaica was or about how I chain smoked spliffs for 2 weeks straight. I got the nickname "Colouring Book" during our last trip (everyone in JA has a birth name and a street name, my wife and I happen to be "Colouring Book & Rolling Stone" lol). There are a nuff tourists on the beach with tattoos, but as some Jamaicans I was hanging with said, there is only one Colouring Book pon di beach and that's me haha. There were cats that remembered me from 2012 on the beach, or had heard about a tattooed Canadian who was schooled in reggae, a Kartel fan and "socialized with the local people". The average tourist can deflect the hustle, but when you're a white guy with a rainbow bodysuit in a country that is 95% black people you are going to attract attention wherever you go. This big fat rastaman came up to me one morning and said "Wha gwan Colouring Book! You the man with the big monk on your back, we cyan see it yesterday from across the beach yeah mon. Whole heap a tattoo, sick tattoo dem!" Tattoos...you had your beach tourist staples: tribal, polynesian style, fairies, pinterest birds, philosophical rib essays, etc. There was the bro here and there with an unfinished arm sleeve and plenty of gals with sugar skulls. There was the wigger bro at the airport with a tweety bird on his neck. We saw a 50yo woman with a pretty wicked panther head (looked a couple years old) which re-affirmed how awesome panther designs are. I knew what her tattoo was of from across the beach bar. I met this older guy from Montreal who had a bunch of older tattoos. He said some old guy did it. I'm like "wait Montreal? whoa, Tony D'Annessa?" And him, his wife and his buddy suddenly got super excited, as did I, and they started telling me PSC tattoo stories. Got to see a 45yo D'Annessa swallow tattoo (off the wall, to match his Dads!) among a bunch of other cool things like old panthers, dragons and skulls and a brilliant wolf head that D'Annessa did 3 years ago! Also met this big black dude who had maad coverage. Jesus portrait, crosses, script, a two giant panthers on his back. Street style tattoos, intriguing and some were very well done. He was super friendly to me and was stoked on my tattoos. He gave me a branch of ganja, we talked tattoos. Said all his tattoos were done in the Arizona penitentiary! The Jamaicans for the most part are fascinated and get stoked on tattoos and in many ways having tattoos in Jamaica, as explained to me, is a sign that you are successful (money), somebody who commands respect (status) and somebody you don't fuck with (pain, sign of tuff-ness). NAH FI RESPONSE A MAN was a Kartel lyric my homeboy Romie quoted, implying my arm, my leg, my body, my life and I do what I want, I don't have to explain myself to anybody. I repeated that quote when a hustler was giving me a hard time and my homies were like yeah mon, Colouring Book a boss, take no shit. Tattoos became popular in JA because of dancehall artists like Kartel, so if you have tattoos and are down with Kartel than you are going to make some pals and get some respect on the beach in Jamaica. Some of my JA friends had tattoos like skulls/snakes, nautical stars, script. Typical fare. But they all lamented (and laughed) how you can't see the ink under their black skin. I would tell them, white skin, black skin it doesn't matter. A tattoo is a tattoo, you put it under your skin, it's yours and babylon can't take that away from ya. They liked that. We ended up at "Scrub-A-Dub" afterhours one night which we found out was a go-go (strip) club that the locals go to after last call at the beach bars. Intense, pretty crazy experience. Lot of pretty ruff looking characters, guys with thugged out tattoos and some with bleached out skin. The women had a lot of the ink, mostly breast, neck and butt/thigh placement. A lot of it was scratchy, but nevertheless still interesting to see. Sunburned a stripe across my backpiece (lol) I guess we missed a spot with the sunscreen on the day I happened to think I was part dolphin and stayed in the sea for 3 hours. I'm not too concerned though. @hogg I don't know you offline, but I do know you like reggae! I got a stack of latest dancehall tracks (CDRs) like Kartel, Movado, I-Octane, etc. PM me your email I'll add you to a dropbox I'm setting up for my pals once I sort through and rip the new music. Although I was warned not to play some of the music in front of the children or older Jamaicans, it gets pretty nasty and slack. And yeah, Kartel is still in prison yet somehow keeps releasing a maad amount of new material. I guess he's got a backlog of unreleased stuff and (so I'm told) uses a cell phone from inside the prison to get his voice out to his people. Crazy! ...voice of the people in modern day Jamaica...

@beez @Avery Taylor Shad was going to be in Edmonton this week but had to cancel plans, I found out yesterday. Word is he will be back in Edmonton in the fall. No problem (haha I just got back from Jamaica), I'll just get back on track with my backpiece.

welcome nah, you get what you want! YOU - the person - are what ties your stories together.

yeah man, i just keep going. i don't use a lot of soap though, just take as much indirect hot water as i can stand under the shower.ouch!

I think all the tattoo industry aftercare products are snake oil and marketing. I've been using hot showers, Irish Spring soap, lubriderm and generic A&D ointment balanced with fits of dry healing for a decade and yeah, no surprise my tattoos healed and survived just fine! but eh it's endorsed by Horiyoshi III and a hundred and one hashtag variations on the instagram, so what do I know :p

Trailer Park Boys Oh Canada eh