real meta

@suburbanxcore Indeed it was. He said he'll be back in June (for the Nick Cave show ) so you'll have another opportunity!

Got this kitsune from Matt Arriola yesterday.

Another one by Jeff Zuck. This is the tattoo that immediately popped into my mind when I read the premise of the thread. I remember when I first saw this tattoo I stared at the picture for, like, an hour because I just couldn't wrap my head around it.

Thanks man, I'm glad it's on me too. I think David is criminally slept on considering the fact that he seems to do everything well, and it's all tweaked out enough that it shows his personality. Just what you want, really.

Just got this from David Parker at Black Heart Tattoo in San Francisco. Do I really need to say how I feel about this tattoo?

Hey everyone, it's been a while. It's been 2+ years since I've gotten tattooed, but I'm happy to report that I have an appointment with David Parker at Black Heart Tattoo in San Francisco at the end of the month. The current plan is a (white) tiger head with some fire around it. I love everything he does and am super excited.

Muthafuckin' Rose of No Man's Land

Glad to hear he's back in action. I was supposed to get tattooed by him this past weekend, but he had to cancel his trip here because he apparently hurt his back. I'm hoping he reschedules before too long... EDIT: Whoops, didn't see @suburbanxcore's post above. Count me among those bummed.

Can't wait to see what you get. To me, Jef's one of those mythical tattooers where every time you get to see one of their tattoos it feels like a privilege.

I have this hand holding a snake by El Monga. This is his picture from when it was fresh (September 2013), but it's better than any picture I've managed to get of it. Not sure if I've ever posted this on LST, actually.

My thoughts exactly. Are you in LA @heathenist?

Hey everyone, it's been a minute. I'm really sorry for denying you all my deep insights and inimitable perspective this past year or so. I haven't been posting mainly because I haven't gotten tattooed since January of last year, but that's about to change, as I just booked a spot with Matt Arriola during his visit to Philly next month. It's actually pretty crazy—just a week or two ago I decided that it would be awesome to start my left arm off with a tiger head from him (he does some of my favorite big cats, no controversy there I'm sure), but figured I'd have to make it out to LA to do so. But then I got on Instagram today and lo and behold, he's coming here. Planets aligned, etc. Needless to say, I'm stoked.

I really wanted to make it to this convention, but I'm in the middle of moving and all the time and expense associated with that made it unrealistic. Seems like it was a success though, so hopefully I and everyone else who missed out will get another shot next year. It was complete torture knowing that Steve Byrne was so close and I wasn't getting tattooed by him—ever since he did a Rose of No Man's Land on my upper arm last summer I've wanted him to add to it and fill out my arm more. Same thing goes for Chad Koeplinger, I feel like he's never within striking distance of PA. Do you know if he has a shop/convention and dates lined up, or is he just hoping to make it out this way at some point?

I came into this thread with lofty ideas of dropping a last minute tiebreaker...and then liked every single one.

My first tattoo was also a diamond on my right thigh above my knee. Welcome!

Do you have your feet done? If not, but you plan on it...prepare thyself.

A while ago I decided I want to start my left arm with a panther rose from Jeff Rassier. I hope to join your ranks someday.

I'm fortunate to only have one bad tattoo to share—a tiny stick and poke I did on my foot. I was 19, had just read Modern Primitives and was enamored with the idea of "reclaiming" the swastika. It's slightly stylized, and completely shitty, but still pretty recognizable as a swastika. Inevitably I took a bunch of flak from friends when I first did it, but I still spent a while trying to own it, even showing it off at parties if the topic came up and I was sufficiently inebriated. Then I spent a while being absolutely mortified of it and hiding it at all costs, for reasons I probably don't need to explain. Now that I have other, good tattoos around it, however, I've actually started to like the way it looks. That and, since I've gotten into good tattoos, I've seen so many amazing tattoos incorporating the swastika that I've started loving the symbol again and feel much less prickly about it. That being said, almost no one I'm friends with now knows about it, since it usually goes unnoticed even if I'm in bare feet, and I don't have any desire to bring it up. My girlfriend hasn't even noticed it yet.

WOW, I'm absolutely speechless.

Not to mention you need to have an understanding of those principles in order to actually assess them...not very helpful for a beginner.

"That jawn goes hard!"

Damn, those lines are STRAIGHT.

If I were in your shoes I'd probably try to go see Adam Duncan at Honor & Glory in Inman...wherever that is.

If I hadn't already entered I would also post my—you guessed it—Ron Wells wolf head.

Oh what the hell. My leg, done in November by El Monga Sasturain.