beez

@cltattooing thanks for the pics! I'm gonna check this out when I'm in town @ the end of the month. Maybe lunch if you're up for it? PM me! Does anyone else notice a lot of dudes - and only dudes?! - in the crowd pics? Hehehe

How long does this run? (Short on time to check link but of course will check later)

Heading down to the Bay Area a at the end of the month for some continued work on my back piece! Only actually we're working on my leg this time :p. I think another peony and some rocks to go with the karajishi on my thigh. I have two days booked, so we should get some solid work done :p. Junii is collaborating with 'Horitsukikage' (Shad) on the snake and hannya that will be going on my back, but as he is based in Belgium we prob won't start that til June or later.

For some reason the Krampus pics are cracking my shit up! Maybe it was the Miley reference at the beginning. :-p

I have not read through the thread, but I have been a science fiction nerd since I could read. Anyone applying NOW for a 2022 trip to Mars should be 10 or under or will be too old for that shiz. According to science fiction. anyway. i will now read the thread. sorry guys. weird morning weird post. edit. I thought it was 2010. my maths were off. oyyy veyyyy

Who's growing your tattoo, @Fala? Got any pics?

@KBeee Welcome! I also can't wait to see some pics!

Many thanks! I also have enjoyed how it has grown - and I think that's the best word for it, in fact :p. I am excited to grow it more!! I can't stop thinking about dragons. And how and where I'm gonna fit one in. (Plenty of space available, it's only in my mind that I've run out of room...!!$)

@ry4n yup, that's all me! and all pics in my gallery are Junii's work, with the exception of a traditional piece done by Robert Ryan.

@ry4n I have nothing but incredibly awesome things to say about Diamond Club. As you have noted, the work coming out of the shop is excellent. The environment in the shop is warm, friendly, happy, relaxed, and very comforting. I LOVE THEM!! Junii is amazing. I found the right match for me, that's for sure. I will start fan-girling if I talk about it too much. (although I may have inadvertently revealed my true nerd nature in another thread recently...so...guess that cat is out of the bag, hah!) Matt (Dr. Claw) and Kevin are awesome tattooers and I like talking to them and seeing what they are working on whenever I am there. @petiloi got a cool piece by Matt @ Diamond Club and I think there is a pic somewhere in the threads? Bill Salmon in the house regularly! How cool is that?! I love the vibe at DC. It's just right for me. As @CultExciter mentioned, you have so many options in the SF/Oakland area that it bears checking them all out to see what feels right to you. Honestly - I went by gut. I was checking out a number of shops and tattooers and my gut said "Wtf are you doing, stop looking" so I did. (that is the shortest way for me to encapsulate the years of digging and research before I made the leap and set an appointment). @Graeme if you catch me in my more florid moments, I will go on about Diamond Club forever. ;p

Staggering. Magnificent. Epic. For real!

Hi all - I mentioned in the 2013: The Bay Area Convention of Tattoo Arts thread that when I was all high on tattoo endorphins and adrenaline and whatever the frak else my body generates to get all loopy post-tattoo - that I impulse bought the "Bloodwork: Bodies" & "Bloodwork: Sleeves" set. All 30 lbs of it arrived yesterday. I don't know yet why I'm even writing this now, because I am still overwhelmed by it. So forgive me if I am late to the party, but: Oh. My. GOD. These books are...breathtaking. I'm not even talking about the photos yet. The production and design of the book sleeves, the binding, and even the boxes they shipped in - are incredible. And the photos. I don't even know where to begin. I actually had to stop looking midway through Vol 1 (and I only opened "Sleeves" enough to get my heart racing again before I had to shut it) because I was literally...I don't know...my heart was racing, my breath was short and fast, my body temperature wouldn't regulate, I got tunnel vision...it was like the tattoos and photos and presentation of the tattoos and photos all together caused me to have some sort of...something? I was hot and red and sweaty (and somehow this was NOT a sexual experience, hah!) and had the internal experience of being beset by a kaleidoscope of body suits (no drugs were involved, but this is what happened!). Internal because clearly I was not physically in the middle of said kaleidoscope, but I have a strong impression of that being my situation. It's beautiful. So beautiful. But i feel f*@king crazy. Has this happened to anyone before? Am I going crazy?? I feel very sane and whole etc in every aspect of my life, but this is sort of throwing me through a loop, it was such an intense experience. I had a similar experience at the tattoo convention but thought it was just sensory overload because I am not very good in crowds...but it happened alone in my apartment, when I sat down to begin poring over the photos. Anyway. I figured maybe someone here might have some insight. Or at the very least, having seen the books, understand my geekery/craziness/physical body reaction?!? ;p In any event - well done, Adrian Lee. Thanks for elevating my art experience?!

@Lance - I'm a little late to the party, but thanks so much for posting that!!

LOL. lovin' it. ;)

@CultExciter "I'm fixin' to cut off the lights in here"...

@CultExciter I should warn you that I'm an Okie and grew up thinking that phrases like "He's drunker 'n Cooter Brown!" were normal and everyday phrases...so... ;) "He's got more pills than Dr. Carter!" and so forth.

it's interchangeable! i use both.

@HettyKet if you continue to see good tattoo artists, they will help your tattoos appear cohesive in the long run! I have found that when I leave it to a good tattoo artist, suddenly everything fits the way it's supposed to. Part of that is that I am not a visual artist, in the sense that I don't understand how it all layers together, and it doesn't even occur to me how something might link together, visually and stylistically. Tattoo artists do know, however, and they'll make it work! So trust your one - or many - tattoo artists ;p. I think I also read somewhere in the forum that Daniel Higgs said that basically all your tattoos go together, because they're there? That is a butchering, a bastardization of that quotation, and may actually just be what I interpreted it to mean. Grr, I'm gonna find these and put 'em in one document somewhere! There is certainly something to be said for the full body pieces being done by one artist. I think that their visual impact speaks to this, powerfully. I'm interested to hear what others have to say on this topic!

Niiiiice!!!! @Reyeslv that is an awesome tattoo!Good luck/have fun with your session today! When I book back to back I tend to get sick - load up on some kinda immunity booster if you're feeling weak at all.

WOW!! It looks awesome, ironchef. All sorts of jealousy and sympathy pain are running through my body right now! You have an incredible back piece in the works. I am in awe. Congratu-f*ing-lations, my friend. Well done!

I have had great success with using oxiclean as well as detergent in washing the ink stains out of my shirts, sheets, and comforter. My shoes stayed a little stained until I got them dirtier, so... Anyway, I just tossed my stuff in and made sure it was on hot and added a few of the oxiclean packs. I think that if you do a pre-soak with the powder (there are instructions on the side of the tub!) you'll get even more mileage out of it! That wasn't necessary in my case, but if you are having extra trouble, check it out.