bongsau

Squid stance and all the glory of being a foreigner busting out kung fu steez in front of the famous Beijing Shi Cha Hai Sports Institute (where Jet Li trained):

A lot of my real estate has been filled up and so I've ended up going the unorthodox route of putting multiple smaller pieces on my thighs. So thought I would share a racy picture of me in my underwear...I mean of this bizarro mystical panther I had placed on my inner thigh by Shawn O'Connor (now in Nelson, BC at Timber Tattoo Co). One sit for 4 hours. I'm planning on getting another sit in at the end of summer to add some flames as well as fill in all the thigh gaps with spider webbing. - - - Updated - - - "Don't lick the frog"

I had to have blood drawn for an insurance policy (so they can use my sample against me if I ever have to file a claim. Insurance bastards). I got poked 3x on 4 different occassions, bunch of god damn amateurs (not nurses, just insurance lackeys "trained" to draw blood). So thanks insurance bastards for the weeks of bruising and the comment "we will review your rate in 2 years provided you change your poor lifestyle habits". For the most part, a nurse will try once and if she can't get the vein they will default to the oldest crankiest nurse on the floor who will get it the first time. "Didn't think about that when you got the tatts eh?" is the typical surly response. Most nurses are pretty nice and can get the vein on a tattooed arm first time. But I have had a lot of amateurs poking me and then fishing around for the vein which has left me bruised, so I have a hang-up and a lot of anxiety now when drawing blood from recent negative experiences. And I usually get teased because tattoos seems to suggest I enjoy pain and needles. But overall healthcare professionals are respectful and just curious. - - - Updated - - - Anybody with a lot of tattoo coverage have any MRI experiences?

HOT STUFF RIDING A FLYING PIG by OllieXXX www.goodoldfashiontattoos.com "holy shit, this awesome...but my wife is going to kill me!"

The two ladies of the house: Cheezie Cheetah & Miss Pickle enjoy sarcasm, playing hard to get and Temptations treats. Oh, and sleeping in my sweater drawer and getting cat hair everywhere. Winston the pug is my little prince. Actually he is more of a glorified cat without the agility. He enjoys short walks in the park, sniffing the cats butts, soccer and stealing pizza. He is turning 8 this summer and is gracefully becoming more surly as he enters his golden years.

only tattoo-related experience I had in China was 5 years ago when I accidentally found myself in Jimmy Ho's apartment studio (post coming soon). our group is in Shanghai at the very end of our trip. so if fate finds me near a random tattoo studio perhaps I will come home with a panda bear tattoo haha. so me too! tattoo tips in Shanghai? - - - Updated - - - @beez eh thank you. it's been rough but have made a lot of personal growth having to deal with the loss of a mentor and close friend. but hey, that's life. and life is fragile and temporary. the only thing permanent is the tattoos ;)

My Sifu (kung fu master) passed away 4 months ago. I had been his loyal disciple for 9 years. Before he passed he called me and my Sehing (kung fu big brother) to the hospital to give us his final teachings and instructions for continuing his legacy. So we have been running our kung fu school and it is amazing to see how supportive our students are of the new leadership, in fact we've seen great improvements and consistency with the class, now at 50 students. As part of Sifu's last wishes, we have organized a return trip to the Shaolin Temple. Sifu had taken us a few years back and wanted us to maintain the connection to his roots at Shaolin in order to continue giving the serious students the opportunity to experience kung fu in China and train with the Shaolin monks. In 6 weeks we leave and I will be leading a group of 12 on a 3 week trip to China to pay respects to the master and re-establish our connection with our extended kung fu family at Shaolin. To say I'm pretty excited, well that's an understatement! I was planning on starting my backpiece this winter, however with my Sifu suddenly passing, new responsibilities at the kung fu school and planning the China trip I had to postpone. Which actually is quite alright. My backpiece is going to be Shaolin themed. So my eye is going to be tuned to the wonders of China and I no doubt will be re-inspired with the return to Shaolin! amituofo https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150322232922222&l=a80b81a2f3

Bill Cosby portrait on buddy's ass cheek...no wait...that was the best tattoo I've seen!

The problem I see with this "tattoo style flow chart" is that it enables people to do all their research from the comfort of the home computer. A consultation tool? Whatever happened to walking INTO A TATTOO SHOP! Y'know, feeling like your going to shit your pants when the scary surly tattooer with a cig hanging out of his mouth comes to the counter to greet you with a smile, flash a gold tooth and says "what'll it be kid?". And you say in a shaky voice "uh um uh uh...i'd like a tattoo" and mr.tattooer says "relax kid and make yourself at home, we gots lots of flash on the walls, photo portfolios from our tattooers are on the table" and you say "uh thank you!" and then you sit back and flip through the books, get excited and see what type of fine work this shop is capable of. THAT is research. maybe I'm being a snob. yes, most probably. but part of getting the tattoo is that experience. and I'll never forget the first few times I walked into tattoo shops. some of them i looked around for 30secs and walked right out. some I stuck around for an hour and half and waited to be able to chat with a tattooer who's work struck me. it made getting a tattoo a real thing. so maybe you are thinking about your first tattoo. or second or third. or you're nearly filled up! whichever way I encourage people to get off tumblr and instagram (okay, stay here on LST though hehe) and go into that tattoo shop with the butterflies in your stomach to see what the tattooers within your reach are capable of. don't dissolve tattoos down to binary decision making -- make your tattoo an analog life experience. GO FOR IT! /endrant!

LMAO Holy Christ, why can't a tattoo just be a flippin' tattoo anymore. It's like going to a Chinese restaurant with 400 things on the menu and you're like "uh can I just get some egg rolls man?".

Thinking outside the box...to make it cohesive, you could do something where the top part of your arm implies that the existing black tattoo is a reflection/shadow on water? Like nature/birds at the shoulder with a tree and waves at the elbow? Incorporate some tesselations to give you the "sacred geometry" look. Just brainstormin, you could do something inspired by the MC Escher reflection pieces:

I think this is a legit question, but I don't think we are going to get a scientific answer. Maybe in 40 years we will...when our arms are falling off and we have leprosy from the long-term impact of getting tattoos :p If we were truly worried about possible harmful side effects of tattoo ink (or tattoos in general) you would never have set foot in a tattoo shop to embrace the risk, whatever that risk may be, if the risk even exists. You wouldn't be injecting magic staining potion under your skin and you would live a healthy pure life in your BPA-free plastic bubble. We probably put more bad shit into our bodies from the middle aisles of the grocery store, nevermind tattoo inks. I've had conversations with my tattooers about inks. Responses were along the lines as their inks come from reputable tattooer friends and that the inks are handcrafted. Or the ink is from one of the couple reputable tattoo supply companies. Or they've earned/learned how to make their own inks. You want to know what's really in the inks? WIZARD DUST. And perhaps some bulldog semen in the white inks, to give that ivory sheen in the sunlight. Sounds legit to me :cool:

I have some pals that bring supplies to an artist friend in Cuba whenever they go. https://www.facebook.com/josefrancisco.casanovaperez?fref=ts They bring fresh ink, disposable tubes and needles that we get donated from local pals and our amigo goes to town. Really the only way to get access tattoo supplies in a place like Cuba, pretty raw from the stories. Not something I would even consider doing in the NA, Europe, Japan...bad form...but some of the less industrialized or rural corners of the world, I don't see this as a slag off, but rather protecting yourself. And I imagine some of these 3rd world artists are very good but don't have access to the supplies (like we experienced in Cuba). But good point, if it looks sketchy and unclean, sterile needle or not, do you really want to get marked there? Not worth the risk.

Has anybody travelled overseas to the South Pacific, Thailand, Indonesia, Bali, Polynesia and the like and received a traditional hand-tapped tattoo? (Not specifically Japanese tebori, I think that warrants it's own thread). The wife and I are floating some ideas of where to go on an overseas adventure. I'd really like to find somewhere to explore and experience the history of tattooing. Where are some unique travel destinations where you can experience this form of tattoo? Do I need to bring my own supplies to ensure cleanliness? Is it too risky health-wise? What to watch out for? - - - Updated - - - Something like this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_Bang_Phra http://www.wat-bang-phra.com/ tourist trap?

I regularly request to keep the sketch/line drawing from my tattooers after we are done with the tattoo. My tattooers have all been more than happy to oblige and I think it is ultra-awesome that I have a file folder at home that is filled with the sketches/line drawings from most of my tattoos. I think it all started when received a big bad ass stencil sheet wrapped my whole arm it was mesmerizing. I asked my tattooer what he does with the line drawings afterwards and he said he usually just throws em out. So I asked if it was cool if I kept it, he said no problem! added his signature and a best wishes note on it for me. Anybody else do this? Tattooers, what are your thoughts on this? Do you keep your line drawings or throw them out? Do you have reservations about letting them leave your shop?

"BRO come here" "uh...nah, you come here. What do you want" "SICK INK BRAH. you do time in the Pen?" "do you think you can get colour like this in jail?" "ha ha ha. Good point man. sweet tatts bro. you gotta smoke?" "later bud."

Stretch your body. If the tattoo sting and swelling doesn't do you in the stress on your limb being pinned in an awkward position will. Drink hot water (or a case of beer). top half of the arm and chest, that's a lot of surface area to cover at once. good luck over the collar bone.

...the inner thigh was a real sonofabitch to sit through. gonna take more than a couple fresh tattoos to slow me down...in the slam! going to see Cro-Mags tonite BAM!

Collar wrap is all done and healed! Lion & Snake were made by Shawn O'Connor in Oct 2013 and Jan 2014, respectively. Eagle was made by Chris David :cool:

The gentleman who did my first round of tattoos got some fairly significant work from Mike Roper, that's how I came across his name. I got to see the tattoos in person and it was, wow, really spectacular and detailed. His story about getting tattooed by Roper really confirmed the infamous aura of mystery, cool stuff.

Before I got tattoos I got nipples pierced. Months went by and one day my mom was doing some housekeeping and was flipping all the mattresses in the house. And she found this bag of epsom salts and shooters I was using to soak/heal. Mom was very concerned, thinking I had a cocaine stash and was on the drugs. It was an awkward conversation...lol Tattoos...so much disappointment when my parents found out. They always said if I had money to waste on tattoos then I could afford to pay rent, bills and their share of my tuition. So I waited until the week after I got my engineering degree and got tattoo. In retrospect, I probably would have stopped with one tattoo if I had just got one in defiance. But instead I waited patiently, just as they wished, and then got in way deeper than they could have expected. "Oh Lord help us, it is so big"...which eventually became "Oh Lord help us, well at least they are well done and colourful". I wore long sleeves for 2 years whenever hanging with the family. They thought it was bizarre how everyone was in shorts and hawaiian shirts in the hot summer weather and here I was, Clark Kent, all covered up. They've finally come around after 10 years and expressed how I should be able to feel comfortable, be myself around the family. So that's great. The pink elephant is in the room still. I think it makes them uncomfortable how I volunteer myself to undergo the pain. But I love it, it's cathartic and I think they understand my dedication. Nowadays I think they are more curious but still don't know the extent of how I've covered myself. I'd actually love to talk about my adventures in tattooing but very rarely does the curiousity last long enough to have a meaningful conversation about it. They weren't as disappointed when I chopped my neck as I had hoped, hardly shocking! What a rip! My Mom just got her first tattoo...3 dots across her torso for radiation therapy (yknow that pesky thing called advanced stage pancreatic cancer). I told her don't worry, we can coverup the black dots with a party panther! And we all had a good laugh :)

I'm healing some shading on my belly, touchups on my leg and a hot stuff on my upper thigh from a week and half ago. Getting a big ass panther on the inner/front in 2 days so I am going to be walking around like a tin man for the rest of the week. I don't really get super itchy anymore but I am noticing that I heal up pretty rough, especially on the thighs, the older I get.

Impulsive tattoos are just as meaningful as the well-planned ones. That is the beauty of tattoo...the meaning evolves day to day. And other times they don't need to mean anything.