Graeme

For sure, most people with shitty tattoos got them at shops. There are plenty of shops around here that are putting on utterly terrible tattoos. The girl from the Craigslist as I posted claimed to have been "certified" by a scratcher shop, so it's even worse than them putting on bad tattoos, they're actively perpetuating it. But at the same time, and this is what I was trying to get at before, if you are going to permanently modify your physical appearance, it's your responsibility to make sure that it's done well. That means going around town looking at and comparing portfolios (or at least doing that on the internet), it means doing research into styles and designs, into what makes a good tattoo, etc, etc. There are so many great Internet resources: LST is so amazing in so many different ways and I'ce learned a lot from here. There are some good tumblrs like Dermagraphique: A Tattoo Critique and http://critink.tumblr.com that offer some solid insights on good and bad tattoo design and execution. Guen Douglas wrote some great posts for the TAM blog about how to look at and assess portfolios. There's more information out there than there ever has been, even if it's hidden among a lot of shit. Getting great tattoos isn't that hard if you're willing to put the time, effort, and money into it, and I don't see any good reason why anybody should do it half-assed.

What are you thinking of getting/who are you thinking of getting it from? There are a lot of killer tattooers in Alberta.

No big deal or anything...

I only have a couple of small tattoos on the insides of my lower legs (between ankle and the calf muscle...one climbs slightly onto the calf) and I thought they were the easiest tattoos I've gotten so far. Didn't hurt too much getting them, and I really had no problems in healing them. Now I'm concerned that I've tricked myself into thinking that the rest of my lower legs will be a breeze and that they're actually going to completely suck when I figure out what to do with them.

That's cool. Not at all my thing, but not really any of my business either. I just thought it was weird that somebody popped up here seemingly only with the purpose of defending a blog post on BME, and I was an ass about it.

One of the best things about Europe is how easy an inexpensive travel in Europe can be. You already know to go to Frith Street but you should also go to Deno at Circus Tattoo in Madrid because I'm too booked up with other stuff to travel there or to book anything with him when he guests in the US.

Honestly, that scratchy upside down cross between the boobs is metal as fuck. I dig it.

Nice first tattoo!

There's a thread here on "tattoo removal creams" and the consensus is that they don't work. Pretty good amazon review of them in the thread though: http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/forum/tattoo-removal-coverup/2568-tattoo-removal-cream.html

That's Filip Leu, I believe.

There are some cool photos on this site about traditional Haida tattooing: Chief Xana, this isn't dated but there's another one of him on the site from 1881, so likely some time around then. Johnny Kit Elswa, 1886. Some really cool info there too.

Seth is awesome to get tattooed by, I highly recommend it. Really smart, funny guy.

I see what you're saying and I have experiences that would support that...BUT I really can't imagine seeing some of the shit posted on this thread and thinking "hey, that looks awesome I want one too". I mean, obviously I'm wrong because people do in fact do exactly that.

Darcy Nutt is in Boise, ID and she does great work in a lot of different styles. Chalice Tattoo Studio - Boise Idaho Custom Tattoos

I don't feel sad for these people at all. I don't want to be smug here, but it really isn't hard to find out about good tattoos and how to get them and if, despite all the easily accessible information out there, you're going to somebody's kitchen that you found out about on Craigslist because it's way cheaper than a reputable shop, then fuck you, you just got the tattoo you deserve.

Steve Byrne posted this on his instagram a couple of months ago...Cap Coleman.

Also, this thread: http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/forum/general-tattoo-discussion/2654-aging-realism-what-lasts.html

The expressiveness in those Valerie Vargas girl heads is really unbelievable. Truly great stuff, thanks for sharing it.

You're at Hobos or Congress Street? I got tattooed by Ron Wells at Congress Street when I was there (surprise tattoo from my wife!) and I thought it was a really great shop and I had a lot of fun there. We might be back there sometime later this year...I'll let you know if/when we are!

@Dan S I wouldn't stand by "professional" there.

Nice, Craigslist is a goldmine for this stuff. I found this local artist who provides "affordable, professional tattoos" from her home.

It's kind of incredible looking on instagram and seeing all these really great tattoos and then finding out that they're all on people from here. I saw the leopard head on @hogg and the Hyottoko on @robz and thought both were fantastic...looks like @Jade1959 also got a really great girl head from Mary Joy too. Shit, instagram is almost making this thread irrelevant.

@marymary I apologise for being a jerk and making snap judgements. Please don't take that to be at all representative of this place.

Why the fuck do we have trolls from BME on here?

Some of those motorcycle seats in your gallery were for sale at Jason Scott's booth at the Montreal convention I think...I saw them and they were beautiful. If I rode a motorcycle I would want one for sure. One of the things that really surprised me about Portsmouth when I was there was how many good tattoos I saw on people on the street. You guys are doing something right there. Welcome to LST!