Graeme

Look at guys like Chad Koeplinger. He does fairly simple designs that are super powerful and really amazing without having a lot of detail.

Not inebriated but thinking that I will still probably be hung over somewhat in the morning. Who would ever think that cocktails, wine, and beer in an evening is a bad idea?

Montreal convention, dude.

I take your point there, and get why you would be especially pissed seeing that this guy ripped off one of your tattoos, but unless a) this particular tattoo was directly lifted from Shige or any other artist, and b) that the client asked for a copy of somebody else's work, disparaging comments about people's tattoos bum me out because these tattoos are on people, they have to live with them, and often they don't even know that they're getting straight copies of other peoples' tattoos. If it means that I have no morals because I'd rather not make somebody feel shitty about a tattoo that they're stoked on, then so be it. For what it's worth, my "dickheads" comment was mostly about people complaining about the cost of good tattoos. There's no place for that here.

There's no shame in having to wait to get the tattoos you really want, and if you want to go the full Japanese body suit route, he's one of the best. If nothing else, it gives you plenty of time to learn as much as you can about Japanese tattooing and the conventions, myths, legends, and stories behind the designs. I'm curious, especially because you're fairly young and not yet tattooed, how you came to the idea of getting full body suit? I love the way those tattoos look (in pictures anyway, I've never seen a full cohesive bodysuit done by one tattooer in real life) but the thought of committing to something that huge without having tattoos and not knowing what it's like to get them, what it's like to have and live with them, is just completely foreign to me.

More pictures of tattoos, less being dickheads. Please and thank you.

Welcome! You said in another thread that you're thinking of going to Alex Reinke? Please let us know how that goes.

They're playing tomorrow night I think. I caught them about a year and a half ago and they were so good. In between them leaving the stage and them coming back for an encore a girl projectile vomited from a balcony overlooking the stage right onto Proscriptor's cymbals. He was playing with vomit splashing around whenever he hit them. So brutal.

Bummed to be missing ABSU this weekend but I have another sitting on my arm in a little over a week so money is too tight right now. - - - Updated - - - Bummed to be missing ABSU this weekend but I have another sitting on my arm in a little over a week so money is too tight right now.

I don't mean that you need to hire an interpreter, just that in Montreal most people can speak enough French and English to get by in either language, and I would assume that a tattooer who worked in the US would be able to work well enough in English. Montreal is a great city too so that's another reason to go to Oly Anger.

I've never met him, but didn't he work at Paul Booth's shop in NYC? I would assume that he understands English well enough to work with you on it. I've been tattooed by Bert who works at his shop when he worked at Tattoomania and he doesn't really speak English so that doesn't help much. Don't know about this JF guy. It is Montreal, however, and most people can at least get by in either language.

Yeah, Oly Anger does really good work. I was just thinking about his tattoos the other day because I saw a guy on public transportation last week with a really good black and grey biomech sleeve that I assume Oly Anger did because there really isn't anybody else local who tattoos that well in that style. Good luck and welcome!

I like you guys. Just saying. - - - Updated - - - Now that I have a new job that I don't hate, I don't have to listen to this before work every morning:

You mentioned maybe a snake but you couldn't think of how a small one would work? What about some William Grimshaw flash?

Great backpiece and welcome!

I have three that I got impulsively. One is a wolf head that I got from Eli at Smith Street. I was in the area and thought that I'd drop in and see if there was any availabilities and just check out the shop and he had a cancellation because it was a cold, miserable, and snowy October day. Didn't really know what I wanted going in the door, but the wolf head flash was cool. Got a swallow from Bert at Tattoomania in Montreal for similar reasons...it was my birthday, I was feeling bummed about being a year older, thought that a tattoo would cheer me up so called up Tattoomania to see if they had an opening and they did. He did a great job on it, and tattoos are great cures when you're feeling down. The last is a rose and snake that Tony D'Annessa did. I had a consult at the shop he owns (owned?), didn't know if he still tattooed, but asked and picked a rose and a snake off one of his old roll-up flash sheets because it looked cool and I figured that if I was going to get tattooed by a guy from the real old school that something involving a rose was fitting. He said the last time he tattooed that design was in 1963. I am happy with all of them, but they're all pretty classic and timeless designs. I have plans for more spontaneous tattoos in the future as well (maybe not spontaneous exactly, because I plan on booking with an artist, but choosing the design off the wall the day of) because that can be a fun way of getting tattooed. I also have tattoos that I've put a lot more thought and planning into. Both ways are cool with me.

Absolutely! Anyway, enough derailing this thread, we need more backpieces!

My family lives out there so I'm there around once a year, probably be back next around Christmas.

Nice! How is Vancouver treating you, by the way?

I'd be willing to get pretty much everything that can be covered by a long-sleeved collared shirt and pants, except for my nipples, my cock n' balls, my taint, my anus, etc. It takes a lot of tattoos to cover a body though so I'm sure I'll have far less than that by the time they lower me into the ground. I like hand tattoos a lot, but I don't think I would ever get them done, not because of limiting my opportunities for gainful employment, being even more of a disappointment to my mom, etc., but because when I see people with them in the real world (ie outside of tattoo shops) the only people I see who can consistently pull them off are hard-looking old dudes. These young guys with hand tattoos always have their hands shoved in their pockets like they're tired of being stared at. I'm not nearly tough enough for hand tattoos.

I've only been to the Montreal convention, but I really like it, and the tattooers I've talked to who have tattooed there seem to think it's a good well-run convention as well. Artists are there by invite only so it's only good tattooers. Montreal is a great city to visit too (just don't get it in your mind that you can stay here though): Art Tatoo Show Montreal

Happy birthday, dude!

What about Painless Nell? Stoney mentions her a few times in Stoney Knows How and her name comes up from time to time when reading about the old school. Not really sure when she started tattooing, but she was tattooing in the 40s. She had a shop in San Diego, Tattoo Archive has an address for her in San Francisco, and I think Stoney mentions her tattooing in St. Louis. Lucky's Tattoo Museum has a bunch of her flash available to view online here, but you have to find her name under "flash by artist name" because I can't seem to link to it directly: Lucky Supply Tattoo Museum And I found this picture here, which is of a tattoo done by her in the 50s.

I'll second what @HaydenRose says about tattoos raising up. I'm pale and I have a tattoo that's around a year and a half old that has always had raised bits. Some areas of it are nearly always raised, some raise up when it's hot out, if I'm dehydrated, etc. It's a great tattoo, the guy who did it is a great tattooer, and I'm fine with it even if the raised parts never totally settle in and sit flat, but yeah, just to say that it's not necessarily either because of the tattooers you go to or because of your skin. There's a couple of threads here about this, seems like plenty of people experience it, and that nobody has a sure answer about what causes it: http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/forum/tattoo-after-care/558-tattoo-outline-raised.html http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/forum/tattoo-after-care/2887-tattoo-scars.html http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/forum/general-tattoo-discussion/2448-does-happen-anyone-else.html

BANNED