bongsau

Another observation here...when I got my first tattoo it was an experience filled with mystery. Fast forward 10 years and it is easy to see the tattoo process from start to finish because of accessibility of the internet and other platforms like Instagram. This is a good thing for tattooers and collectors however it has also created a monster. It has generated more interest for tattooing as a viable career path (perhaps maybe to satisfy a youthful lifestyle desire) for the younger generation. What ever happened to young folks seeking out apprenticeships in medicine, economics, engineering, skilled trades...not as cool as being a tattoo apprentice I guess!

I am not a tattooer, tattoo apprentice or have any desire to be...i just like getting tattoos on the regular. Apprenticeship is mentorship. Learn the value of respect, dedication and loyalty to your master and craft. In this day and age a lot of folks have this self-entitlement, instant gratification thing going on. That's the problem. They want something and they expect to get it right away. You don't receive something because you WANT it...you have to EARN it. Why would someone who put the time and experience into their livelihood give it away for nothing? Reminds me of the Sifu-student relationships you see in the old kung fu movies. Do we need apprentices? What we need is more proper Master-Apprentice mentor relationships. Good mentorship to pass down the tradition and experiences and apprentices that value the read-between-the-line lessons and experience and reciprocate with loyalty, respect and devotion. I think the other problem is that there are a lot of skilled people out there, but that doesn't necessarily mean they are skilled teachers. Probably could use more Mr. Myagi and less Cobra Kai types in the tattoo world haha. To relate back to tattoo...spend more time in the shop. I'm not advocating becoming an annoying cling-on or fanboy, but just go get tattooed goddammit! Prove that you will be a good student, a good investment of time for the teacher. LISTEN ASK WATCH and you will be successful in whatever you do. And be aware of any opportunity that comes your way...take it...don't let it pass you by.

C'mon folks, step right up and get your Air Miles with every session on your backpiece! Just seems off to be paying for a tattoo on credit.

i take psychedelic drugs which tend to influence my upcoming tattoo designs

Some of the inks in my tattoos will change in colour depending on the season, how much sun I'm getting and my body temperature. I have a bird that is white as snow in the winter and i get a golden bird in the summer. I wouldn't sweat it, your tattoo looks great now post-healing and a tattoo is going to look even better after it's aged a bit. It's easy to obsess about the details in our tattoos. It's the small imperfections that make each tattoo awesome.

5 hrs total so far by OllieXXX, Lucky Strike Tattoo (Edmonton, AB Canada)

!!! That Matt Ariola dragon-sword-flames backpiece is one of my favourite that I have seen. Hope to get tattooed by that fellow in my future. Well done!

2 sessions, 4 hrs in w/ my homeboy OllieXXX (Lucky Strike, Edmonton, AB) and Three 6 Mafia banging on the shop stereo. (edit: yikes must have put the 'make-it-shitty' filter on my instagram)

My buddy (Jammy Ranks) and I (Mighty Romeo) have reggae soundsystem called I STRIKES SOUND and we throw reggae parties every so often in our town. Here is a quick 70's Greensleeves early dancehall reggae dj mix I made recentley, please en joy and share! listen: https://soundcloud.com/mighty-romeo/i-strikes-greensleeves-edition download! I STRIKES Greensleeves Edition.mp3 PULL UP N WHHEEEEEeeeeEEEEEL SELECTER!

Longest I've gone was 6 hrs on a chest session. There was a lot of energy in the shop that day with 2 other cats getting some work on backpieces. Everyone made the shop day-rate (5hrs and everything above that is gravy) and we were all feeling like a boss. But I felt like I got hit by a bus for the week following. The longest I will sit now is 3hrs maximum. My tolerance for this shit has certainly deteriorated!

You aren't the first and won't be the last to get a rib tattoo. You will survive. That being said I have both side tattooed. One made me cry a single tear (tattooer: cmon man i'm not even hitting you that hard with the shader haha) and the other side made me barf in my mouth at the spot where the rib meets the outside of the stomach. Just gross.

Just started this tiger belly last week. Going to be wild and psychedelic in colour. 2.5 hrs in OllieXXX @ Lucky Strike Tattoo (Edmonton, AB, Canada)

my shark tattoo from OllieXXX, done in 4hrs in 2009

Stock replies for silly questions: "yeah how much did that cost?" ...side note, this is a pretty rude question from a stranger and i usually -pretty rude question buddy -sorry buddy they are not for sale -A LOT -you don't want to know -$50...for everything ;) -140 hrs @ $150/hr...you do the math..."that's really expensive/waste of money"...eh thanks Dad! buddy, that's over 10 years. how much have you spent on blow and fast cars over the last decade? really it's a piss in the bucket. -respond with "hey how much did your <house/car/diamond ring> cost? yeah pretty rude question isn't it?" "what is the meaning/symbolism" ...side note, there is nothing more boring than crappy tattoo with overt contrived meaning. -it means something different everyday. -meaning? it's a fucking <tiger puking blood>. do i need to explain further? -sorry lady, i don't really feel the need to explain the personal meaning of all my tattoos to a stranger in the grocery store line -it's just a fucking tattoo. "did it hurt?" -no, i didn't feel a thing -yes, it is the most horrible pain you will ever imagine -yeah it hurt, so gnarly, i barfed in my mouth (true story) i especially like this one in the tattoo shop..."i bet that hurts eh"...yeah a bit eh, but not as bad as that upsidedown script on your wrist is going hurt! yikes i don't envy you. "yeah man my tattoo took like 8 hrs" -dude, you got ripped off. how do i deal with the stock retarded questions? i don't ;) i wear long sleeves all the time and keep my gentleman art below the collar and above the wrist line. that way i don't advertise the unwanted attention and i don't get called out for being a total tattoo snob haha - - - Updated - - - oh and my personal fave (i've had this same conversation multiple times): "sick tatts brah. you do time in the pen?" "haha you think you can get colour like this in prison" "no doubt brah. RESPEK"

I am getting my stomach covered by the end of the year. Although I can't nail down whether it is going to be the classic Sailor Jerry tigercat, a conquering lion or a sloppy-faced pug. Suggestions? (leaning towards the psychedlic tiger head, pretty timeless).

My friend has a backpiece, chestplates and half sleeves (w/ full sleeves just outlined in) completed by Paul Jeffries. It's pretty epic.

I generally wanted to keep my tattoos concealed which is how I started out when I visited the tattoo shops 10 years ago. Everything fit under a t-shirt and pants. More out of a preference and a clark kent style, still want to look straight-laced in my Sunday best for me Mum ;) My dilemna now is to get my collar bone tops (i.e. small pieces) or go backpiece first. I know what I want for the collars but not a firm idea for the backpiece. Any comments from tattooers? I imagine the backpiece would frame better if the top is empty which is why I am waiting and saving for now.

Wim Delvoye - Artfarm I'm afraid the average compassionate vegan will be horribly offended. PETA is probably losing their shit, the Chinese could give a fuck. I, however, am quite intrigued. Is this more offensive than bacon? Old news?

I've had 4 non-visible piercings in my lifetime and only 1 has survived. Had 14ga stretched out to 6ga nippy rings for 5 years until some twit at work gave me a "tit-flick" and ripped it out. I punched that pretty boy in the shoulder as hard as I could...where he got his very first tattoo 48 hrs before. He was a moron so I sent him to my apprentice buddy who did a decent job but carved the shit out of his arm. And the kid had no idea about aftercare so the thing was a big scabby mess...with a new purple bruise on top. I lost the piercing, tore my nipple and got to watch a 21 year old man (boy) cry. LOL. Got a 8ga septum ring in New York in 2004. The chick who pierced it spoke limited english and I swear to god she went cross-eyed at the instant she pushed the needle through. sheeeiiiiiit. Septum never did sit right. I remember my nose being all bloody and right after I left the piercing studio I bumped into Pete Kohler from SOIA on the street and got my picture taken. Hilarious. I stretched it out and wore a tunnel plug in my nose for a good 2 year run. It freaked tout the squares in my office when they noticed the shiny booger (you could only see it if you were standing behind me). I just liked the novelty of the shock value being able to stick a fork through my nose. Then I started training kung fu and got bopped in the nose for the first time with it, and I realized that a facial piercing will turn into a projectile and do some serious damage to your face if you ever got into a fist fight or in a car accident. I've had a PA for 10 years now, stretched out to a 0ga. I guess it just seems normal now to wear it, serves no sexual purpose in fact I remove it. Plus it's fun to bust out the Mr.Lifto party tricks once in a blue moon. Every seen a grown man hang a butterfly sword off his wang? The Shaolin Drunk Monk Iron Cock technique. LOL WHOA too much info. These days a piercing isn't shocking anymore and makes you look like a hot topic rave teenager. Disco sucks fuck everything. A piercing is temporary, a tattoo is permanent...the reason why tattoo is more appealing and interesting to me.

I've tried a bunch of different painkiller methods: Advil - helps you relax but not much help. Didn't affect tattoo pain, just the muscle pain from holding an awkward position. Tylenol 3 - did not work, made things worse on a ditch session Smoking pot - kinda helped me relax but could put you in the 'ugh don't touch me' mood, cue husband/wife jokes Pot cookies - now this worked great, it kicked in halfway through a chest session and made it hilarious and enjoyable Percocet - I tried this 30 minutes into a knee shading session where I was getting grossed out. Didn't feel a thing, didn't flinch at all and buddy finished the tattoo in record time! Nyquil - i drank half a bottle of nyquil. it doesn't erase the pain but certainly helps your mind fade away from what is actually going on. the side affect is a stomach ache post-tattoo. gross. Alcohol - i drank a mickey of rum, that worked great for a long sesh behind the knee. Except post-tattoo in the evening felt pretty sick. I also have Crohns so drinking hard alcohol was a pretty retarded idea in the first place and fucked me up for like 4 days. Beer - having a beer did the trick. But that could also have been the general good vibes at the end of the day at the shop's new shop. Bactine and magic bandaid soap do help but only to get you through that last push of a good sitting. And after all this...the conclusion of my science experiment is good rest and a strong clear mind is the best painkiller. Don't take anything. You'll sit fine if you are mentally prepared. Add some hot water into the mix to keep you warm and you are golden for a session.

I tried the saran wrap method once. The result was a foliculitis infection on my entire lower leg.

The Force in the Flesh: A Celebration of Star Wars Tattoo Art A friend of mine here in town (Edmonton, AB Canada) compiled this book of Star Wars themed tattoos and published it a few years ago. It's an excellent book. And the author Shane Turgeon, he is a swell guy too...he owns a local shop called Shades of Grey that does tattoos and sells comics and vintage toy collections.

"HEY" "Can I help you with something?" "Sick ink brah!" "Uh, thanks." "You do time in the pen?" "Buddy, you think you can get colour like this in prison?" <we both laugh> "Yeah, no shit man. Take er easy eh."

I've got a couple quickie sessions planned for the Fall. OllieXXX finished this bad ass whale on the back of my thigh and my knee ditch is now blasted in and healed (thank god). Got another short session to join up the other pieces he did on my lower leg. I also got another session or two w/ my pal Casper to fill in the matching peonys on the inside of my thighs. Then time to start bank rolling my cash and save up to start an a back or stomach piece of epicness during winter months. Tattoo season is upon us!

I think though the emotions are embellished otherwise the story would read "21 year old son gets tattoo, mom gets upset, big fucking deal". The mom's reaction albeit a little melodramatic really is not that surprising. I wore long sleeves and long pants full-time at the family house and continued to coverup at family dinners for years until my naive family called me out for wearing pants and a shirt in 30C humidity. I said fine, here you go, this is me. Deal with it. Mom got over it eventually, now she just thinks they are colourful and tasteful. My Dad, he still rolls his eyes and pretends the tattoos don't exist. My sister thinks she is a rebel because she secretly got her belly button pierced. On the flip side, the mother-in-law thinks nice tasteful tattoos are cool and wants one herself. But when the sister-in-law tried to call out Mom for being so stern and harsh when she came home with facial piercings 10 years ago things got heated and weird RFQ. Good thing we didn't start talking about the ship anchor that's hanging from dink.