Graeme

Welcome! Maybe @Bunny Switchblade has some Mike Perfetto tattoos?

That sounds really not cool to me. Stick with the original artist.

Hello and welcome! Either way is going to be meaningful to you. I would say go with the younger portrait because that seems to be more what you want. I'm not super crazy about having her drawn as an angel because I think that a regular realistic portrait without embellishment would be stronger, but ultimately, it comes down to what you want and what you and your artist decide will work best. Who are you thinking about going to for this tattoo?

That rules. That's going to be so good.

Oh man, I'm sure that's killer. I'd love to see a picture if you want to post one. I'm getting a tiger fighting a snake, picture here.

Ah rad, I just started my back with Dave last week. Dave is the best. What are you getting from him?

Hello and welcome from Montreal! Nice looking tattoos in your profile, and I know pretty much nothing about tattoos in Newfoundland so I'm glad you're here!

Oh, we're crazy though. But that's no reason for you to not go to NYC to get tattooed, even if you have to get zapped twice in a trip to make it worth your while.

You're the worst.

Welcome! Check out Stay Gold in Albuquerque.

I don't give two shits about Dave Navarro or this show, but since when does getting tattooed on your arms and chest constitute a "Warped Tour body suit"? Tattooed people say the darndest things sometimes...

We're doing a full background of wind, water, and maple leaves. I believe we're going to line that next session, probably along with the scales/patterns on the snake. @Hospitelli That is great! Brian Bruno is one of my favorites, I'd love to make the trip to VA one day to get something from him.

Nobody here really gets those kinds of tattoos. We get plenty of panthers and eagles though.

Nice looking tattoos, welcome.

I don't like to complain much about tattoo healing discomfort, but mother of fuck, I wish somebody had warned me about how much a healing back itches!

I've been thinking about this. Personally, while I like instagram and the access to so many pictures of great tattoos, word of mouth recommendations are key for me, and I think a tattooer would have to be doing something really special for me to want to get tattooed by them solely on the basis of their instagram account. I also realise that I've been getting tattooed for long enough, regularly enough, and geographically broadly enough that the pool of tattooers who I've either seen tattoos from, or heard good things about, or had the chance to meet at a shop or a convention is pretty large, and that this isn't everybody's situation. I think what I like least about instagram is that the volume and nature of it makes tattoos kind of disposable. I think it's pretty much useless for large tattoos because you can't get any meaningful sense of a back or a sleeve on a tiny picture. You can't capture the detail of a large tattoo on a picture that fits on a phone screen, and you can't really get an idea of how the tattoo fits and flows with the body. Small tattoos seem more suited to instagram in this way. The volume though...like what does it mean when you can see dozens (if not more!) really great tattoos every day? Do we get a better appreciation for the tattoos, or is it just that we glance at them for a couple of seconds, hit "like" or not, and then scroll down to the next one? There have been so many times that I've seen something really cool on instagram and I'll think of it days or weeks later and I can't remember who did it and I can't find it again. Whereas there are tattoos in tattoo magazines I have that I remember even though I maybe haven't looked through the magazine in a couple of years. So basically, instagram is a really great tool in a lot of ways, but like everything with the internet, it tells us a lot less than it maybe appears at first.

@HaydenRose I'm really glad to hear that things are looking up and you should totally come up for the Montreal convention for some quality LST hangouts!

@Mark Bee Looks fantastic! Any plans for the other knee?

I love the placement. I wanted a BIG tiger and I got one. The way the snake is placed and moves with my back is super awesome too, and it's going to be rad when the scales/patterns in the snake are in. It was about 4h30-4h45 of tattooing.

Thanks, man. It wasn't so bad because it was nice to get a break from lining now and again.

Thanks for the comments, and while this maybe seems a little bit silly, thanks for the encouragement on Instagram when I was getting tattooed yesterday. It makes it a little bit easier knowing people are pulling for you. @CultExciter Animals fighting every time.

@BrianH @Mark Bee Gotta pay for these tattoos somehow!

@deadsp0t @Mark Bee @Rob I @BrianH Thanks dudes! It went really well, I totally psyched myself out going into the session thinking that it would be so bad I would die but while it didn't feel nice, and some parts really didn't feel nice (hello where the ass meets the thigh! Hello love handles! Hello tailbone!), when it comes down to it you grit you teeth and get through it because it's all getting done sooner or later. Subsequent sessions will be the ones that kill me. Feeling pretty tender this morning, glad I wear overalls at work instead of pants.

Poster @xcatcatx is getting her back done by Danny Rossiter. Pictures here. @MrToby is getting his done by Ian Flower, I believe. - - - Updated - - - Poster @xcatcatx is getting her back done by Danny Rossiter. Pictures here. @MrToby is getting his done by Ian Flower, I believe. There are pictures of his back on the Full Back Piece thread.

Did the first session on my back yesterday with Dave Cummings. Really stoked on it.