mrmolders

Agree with JeffK, some of my tattoo's on the inner upper arm, calf, knee did the same. Swelling, getting red/pink and also they got warm. After a few sessions on the legs I took one or two anti-inflammatory tablets to help with the healing process and to avoid any inflammation. I am not a big fan of taking medicine if I don't have to but it made quite a difference to past sessions and helped the healing.

My 2 cents to this one is that knee tattoos are quite 'uncomfortable' .. Also I just discovered via Stewart Robson's blog that the palm of your hand must be a bit tricky as well. Check out Stewart Robson's blog documenting how Oliver PeCk and Thomas Hooper deal with pain; HOOPER versus PECKer - The Highlights on Vimeo Interesting and entertaining ..:-)

I only just found this thread.. awesome stuff. enjoying it. As I had all Japanese stuff on my lower legs I wanted to create a clean finish around the knee. Yushi Takei suggested to use an onigawara mask which I find spot on. Had my left knee done in a 4.5hr session which was ok but had to do some DYI the next weekend which was a bad idea as my knee was swollen and looked like an elephant knee.. but hey, was worth it. Right knee was done by Mo Coppoletta and healed all well.

Whilst I go along and agree with what David Flores said, I wanted to offer two examples which show there are probably some exceptions .. Into You in London, owned by Alex Binnie is a great shop with amazing artists. So is The Family Business also in London and run by Mo Coppoletta. Both shops have not a name which immediately identifies them as a tattoo shop but are well known and deliver outstanding work. Probably here we can apply the idiom 'The exception proves the rule' .. :-)

Welcome Conor. Greetings from North London :-). What's your plan for the first tattoo ?

Next appointment for me is the 14 Dec. Booked a 3 hrs session with Snappy Gomez/Kings Cross Tattoo London to continue the arm. Next up is the shoulder blade where a print of Jose Guadalupe Posada will go. Looking forward to it. @smoz; let us know how the session with Mo went. He did both my lower legs from knee to ankle. He is such a great guy. Jose Guadalupe Posada - Seven Deadly Sins:

I give it a shot with this one from Sept 2011. Mask by Yushi Takei..

As promised, some pictures from yesterday's session: The original: drawing by Taller de Gráfica Popular; Andrea Gómez, 1957 And this is the (nearly) finished tattoo

Where next? My plans are currently to get a 3/4 sleeve on both arms. Just started the right arm yesterday.. Or well, in August. Went to NYC and picked up a nice dancing calavera by Philip Szlosek at Kings Avenue Tattoo in Manhattan. After some research for artists in London I settled for Snappy Gomez at Kings Cross Tattoo. He is such a nice guy and has also a big love for skulls/calaveras and Mexico. Will post pictures from yesterday later.. ------ @RoryQ: Mo is incredible great, skilled and funny. He certainly keeps the shop well running and entertained. Very glad I had the chance and honor to get work done by him. - The other guys in the shop are also pretty good. Had a skull done by Steve Vinall in August..

There is/was a message from Henk Schiffmacher on TAM. TAM EXCLUSIVE: Henk Schiffmacher Talks About Amsterdam Tattoo Museum Crisis (VIDEO) « TAM Blog

Hi All, My name is Niels, originally from Germany but in London for the past 12 years. I had my first Tattoo around 11 years ago by Mo Coppoletta whilst he was still at In2U. He did half of the calf on the right and the full round on the left. After 11 years I had my next one on my left knee. Done in a 4.5hr session by Yushi Takei. Mo then finished off the right leg including the knee. I came across LST during my extensive research for my next upcoming tattoos and must say this side, the people, interviews and forum fills me with joy and inspiration. The Tattoo community is such an awesome bunch of people. Open minded, friendly and straightforward. I'm looking forward to some good times on this webpage. Niels