Old Rose Tattoo

Im not sure when he dropped the Don. But for the most part I think he always went by Ed rather than Don. I watched a Documentary on him and I always heard him be refered to as Ed

Im not talking bad about tim hendricks i respect him greatly. I was saying he was one that didnt tattoo just for money! And ill let it die i didnt realize the date it was posted until a while after i posted it. Soery for the ressurection!

So everyone in this thead is talking about Ed Hardy or Ami James. Tv Vs. Ed Hardy. The thing is Ya Ed Hardy took tattooing to another level by being one of the first Americans to do Traditional Japanese, but what about everyone else around that time that helped make tattooing what it is? Sailor Jerry was the first to bring purple pigment into tattooing, Sailor Jerry took Ed Hardy under his wing. I highly recommend everyone on this board to watch Hori Smoku Sailor Jerry. The full movie is on youtube. But other that Jerry, Lyle Tuttle, Bert Grim, Philadelphia Eddie (Crazy Eddie), Mike Malone, Stony Sin Clair, Gil Montie, all these guys helped take tattooing to a whole different level. The reality TV crap helped to bring tattoos to the main stream and be more "acceptable." But really is that what the world of tattooing wanted? I think if tattooing was meant to be in the main stream and acceptable it would have been a long time ago. Lyle Tuttle says it best " Tattoos arent meant for everybody and they're too goddamn good for some people." I believe in that statement very much. Being a Tattooer myself, I dont do this for the money or to be famous. I do it for the love of the art. A lot of the TV personalities want to get rich and famous, There are a few that do it because of the art. Tim Hendricks, Megan Massacre, and Cory Miller are some of the few that I can name that do it because of the art not for the money. Kat Von D does very good work, but i think now shes in it for the celebrity and money. Otherwise why would she be writing so many books, having a clothing line, doing a make up line etc. Dont get me wrong I am a fan of her but thats just my observation. So to some up my rambling I think that Ed Hardy, Sailor Jerry, Lyle Tuttle, Bert Grimm, Crazy Eddie, Gil Montie, Mike Malone, and Stoney Sinclair all had more influence than the Reality TV shows.

I think deposits are very necessary! I have had so many people flake on me because they didnt have money at the time they booked their appointment so couldnt leave a deposit. after about 5 of those i stopped doing that because I was wasting my time. Now I take $40 for every $100 the tattoo is gonna be. So a $300 tattoo will be $120 deposit. And also I agree with most on here that its non refundable and one reschedule should be allowed with at least 48 hour notice. Otherwise you are SOL

I couldnt have said it better myself MsRad. I am a tattooer, and to be honest i hardly get tipped. I dont tattoo for the money I do it because i love the art I love the history and all around love the life style. However I put in a lot of my free time to create stuff for people, and some of them arent very greatful. Its hard to pull an image that is in the clients head out and put it on paper without reference. When I tattoo I dont like to talk when i am pulling my lines. Some have told me im very boring to be tattooed by because i dont talk. Once the outline is done ill talk all you want, but i dont really talk because im simply concentrating on creating a nice piece of art. As long as you sit still and dont stink i really dont care much what you do. you can txt talk on the phone listen to music i really dont mind just dont move and dont stink we will be ok! Lastly if you dont like your tattoo or dont like something that was done on the tattoo tell the artist. Most of the time they wont be offended. I have had many clients go home and after a week or two come to me complaining they hate their tattoo b/c this color or this background. If you tell the artist when its done if you dont like it they will do what they can to make you love it. Dont lie and say you love it and then a few days later come back and complain about it! Thats all I have to say about that haha

Im gonna be completely honest here and I might receive some hate from this but I dont care. When I started tattooing 6 and a half years ago, I was seeking out an apprenticeship, but no reputable shop in my area would do it because of the over saturation in the industry. My mom got her first tattoo around the same time i was looking for an apprenticeship. Her co-worker refered her to her boyfriend for the tattoo. So she went to Jimmy Coffin. He has been tattooing for a long time and is pretty well known. I talked to him about it and he advised me to do it the same way he did. Just start tattooing. He said I would eff up a lot of people but thats the only way you can get better. So I did that for about 5 years. My work got better but no where near where I wanted to be. Then a year ago I decided to go back to my roots and become an apprentice. I did that and learned a great deal. Refined my fundamentals and have been working on taking it to the next level. But I did learn something in the apprenticeship. The artist that taught me was extremely lazy. I know that being an apprentice is a lot of stuff no one wants to do and thats fine. Once I started tattooing more and wasnt so much the apprentice he still wouldnt do anything. All he ever wanted to do was try to hook up with clients and party. That is why Im no longer at that shop there was just waaaaay to much drama. He now has two apprentices, he is never without an apprentice because he doesnt want to clean his own tubes, or clean his shop, or sched his appointments, he doesnt want to do anything. He is extremely lazy. With that said I feel that if your going to take on an apprentice then teach them to tattoo not to do all the B work. If someone ever asks to be my apprentice then I will take the time to make sure they learn and are able to do it. Tattooing isnt for everyone and you gotta learn that. Ill be tough on them to see if they really want it and not doing it just for the title of being a "Tattooer". Thats just my take on this and people wont agree on how I started, but thats how my journey went, and I think ya I shoulda done it differently but I cant go back and re do it so I made it better!

I am excited to talk about my upcoming piece. Im going to be gettin the outline of my turtle back hopefully by mid june. Im getting it done by Howie at Traditional Tattoo in Pismo Beach. We are going to do a full Japanese piece, Flowers wind water all the elements. But instead of a tiger, koi, dragon, We are going to put Falcor from the never ending story, and maybe a foo dog that is undecided. but for sure Falcor. Its going to be color and black and grey. Falcor will be white and light blues and all the flowers will be colored and the backgrounding will be black and grey. It will also be a cover up, covering up 5 nautical stars I have down my spine that are so plain I just wanna get rid of them. Once it gets started I will def post some pics of it! Im so excited I cant wait to get started!!

fair enough! i can see that! I also like the show because it gives me some more ideas. My favorite things to do are cover ups and sometimes it just gets hard to think of things that would work good. so i get some inspiration from that show

What do you mean? cover up the cover up as in the cover up that was done wasnt good enough?

I see that happen a lot. I would say you gave him ample time to finish the tattoo that he started. If he really wanted to finish it he would have! and its at a point where just about any competant tattooer could finish it without being able to tell that it wasnt the same artist! Its pretty bad that he would run out on you to get "medicine" I can relate closely with that. The artist I apprenticed under used to do that but he called them "skittles" it got to the point he had clients waiting for a long time for their appointments because he was running behind on his previous. After he started to trust me and let me in on his addiction thats when I bailed. Im not a tattooer to be a tattooer, I do it for the love of the art and the culture. Too many people now are in it for the "Rockstar" aspect of tattooing and a lot of them get strung out on drugs and partying. Im not like that and wont put up with that! When my shop opens up If i have anyone like that they will get the boot to the curb. I want a place where you can just get tattooed by a good respectable artist and get your stuff finished! No one should ever be walking around with an unfinished tattoo after countless times of trying to get a hold of the artist!!

like you said everyone is different. I have gotten to the point when I tattoo people and they ask if a certain spot is going to hurt I tell them that I am the wrong person to ask haha. Most all my tattoos didnt hurt at all. Inner arm i fell asleep, rib cage almost fell asleep, elbos and ditches were easy as well as my knee cap. But i can tell you the one that sucked the most is My thighs. I have one on my upper right thigh that i did 4 years ago and its still just outline haha. The left thigh I know why it hurt so bad and thats because that is my yearbook area. My friends and close people I let tattoo me right there. So its a bunch of work that are from people that have never picked up a machine and just let them do it! it hurt big time but it is def some of my fave ones because the people that have done them!

To me get what makes you happy! and no matter the style you can always make it flow together. There are always ways of blending and making things come together now matter what style it is. I am currently in that stage right now. Im going to have to transition some different things. My lower right sleeve is all traditional work, and the upper sleeve i will be putting portraits of Johnny Cash, Elvis, and Marilyn Monroe. But whatever artist I have do it (thinking Nikko Hurtato or Mike Devries, love their style and their take on portrait work) I have faith that they can make it blend almost seamlessly.

I personally dont like to watch those shows and dont agree with them. Tattooing shouldnt be a competition in the aspect of a tv show and time limits and to win a cover shot on a tattoo magizine. Competitive tattooing is fine, but in the right way. Taking your time to create the best piece you can and going to a convention and entering it the contests there. One tattoo reality show that I do personally think is worth watching is Megan Massacres show Tattoo Nightmare. They do some amazing cover ups on that show! A lot of people speak badly about the amazing artists that are the judges of those shows like Oliver Peck, Chris Nunez, etc, but at least they have great tattooers judging the work! I will say that I do like that aspect of the show. Not to mention some of the artists on the show are really good but I dont agree with the premisise of the show.

I havent heard of many different feelings after getting a tattoo. myself after i get tattooed i tend to get a cold lol. when i get tattooed I get so calm that i get really cold during a tattoo and the end result is a stuff nose and feeling like im sick for a couple days. Its really odd but my gf is the same way. As i get more tattoos i do get a lil depressed but mostly because ill be really sad when i have no where else to tattoo. I plan on covering my whole body with the exception of my face and genitals. but everywhere else ill tattoo. and when i have no more room ill be very depressed. Getting tattoo makes me very happy and relaxed so to loose that ill be depressed. But as for this threat I havent gotten the post tattoo blues, yet. but i do get a slight cold afterwards!

I totally agree with you on that actually. You are right it is just the same as judging someone with or without. I find gals way more attractive with tattoos, however its not a requirement for me. Its just what draws my eyes first. I could date a gal withouth tattoos and be happy, but as long as she is interested or supports how the tattoo industry is a huge part of my life. thats really all I need. But a majority of the time I guess I am guilty of "judging" based on tattoos vs. no tattoos. not in a negative way but just the fact that my eyes are drawn more to the tattoos!

Well from what i have learned from artists and the way my tattoos heal. Different colors heal differently. Red and greens people tend to have the biggest trouble healing. However if you dont cover uour tattoos put sunscreen on them or get too much uv exposure its going to fade your tattoos. The only way to try and keep your tattoo looking the way they did the first day is to nevrr let any uv lighting to touch it! But even then thats not a guarentee. Your skin is always changingm and the ink is always migrating in your skin. Not to mention that your skin is always regeneratng so the tattoo wont always look yhe same! Thats just ny stand point on it.

This is a great thread. When I first started getting tattooed I wasnt into gals that had tattoos on their arms or really anywhere visible. Then when I started getting more tattoos women with more tattoos started to grow on me. Then when i decided I was going to be a tattooer and I fully sumerged myself into the whole culture I then started to find women heavily tattooed far more attractive than woman without. I think it is mostly like everyone has been saying that an untattooed woman wouldnt quite grasp how big of a part the world of tattooing is in my life. If they couldnt share the same passion then it would be really hard to find other things in common. Especially being a tattooer myself, most of the women I meet now days are in tattoo shops or at conventions. Luckily for me my old lady loves tattoos and the culture. I met her when she came in to get a tattoo re-worked. When we met almost a year ago she only had 5 tattoos. She now is almost complete with one sleeve and her back piece is drawn up. She had always loved tattoos but was affraid she wouldnt be able to find a guy that would accept her for her tattoos. Then when she met me she realized that i would love her with her tattoos and she went for it!

I know that everyone has been told different ways of taking care of your tattoos. The way I do it and how i recommend differs from the artist I apprenticed under. The artist I apprenticed under tells his clients to take the wrap off and wash it with warm water only and not put anything on it at all for the first 3 days and let it dry out. then he tells them to just loticn or tattoo goo it. Some peole that works great for, me personally not so much. The way that works best for me and the way I recommend is this. The big question is if re-wrapping a tattoo is good or bad for it. Let me state first that I have tested this on myself first then on my old lady and sister in law and then recommended it to clients. I read this and saw a video of an artist stating this in his video. So here is the way I recommend my clients take care of their new tattoo. After 2 hours take off the wrap and wash the tattoo with warm water and antibacterial soap (liquid dial is the best) pat dry with a paper towel. After the tattoo is dry put a thin layer of aquaphor on it. Now for the first 3 nights after getting the tattoo (first night starting the night you get it) wash it with warm water and anti bacterial soap pat it dry and put a thin layer of aquaphor and re-wrap it with seran wrap. In the morning wash it with warm water and anti bacterial soap and pat dry. Only re-wrap the tattoo for the first 3 nights while you sleep and thats it. The first two weeks wash it 2-3 times a day with anti bac soap. aquaphor the tattoo after every washing for the first 3 days. after the third day switch to lotion. The lotion should be colorless and fragrence free. You will put the lotion on 5-7 times a day for the remainder of the two weeks. This process I have noticed speeds up the heeling process. Usually on the thrid day the tattoo will be peeling a lot. and it makes the tattoos colors brighter. This is what I have witnessed on myself and my clients. Its not for everyone, but It works for some. Any artist will tell you that you have to find what works for you to heel your tattoos properly. What works for one person wont work for another. That is why there are so many different ways. There is no ONE right way to take care of your tattoo. I know some of you may disagree with my method, but it works for me and the people I have told to do it that way. But please before putting it down or sayin stuff about how its bad for a tattoo and what not give it a try and then you can say how it worked for you. Thank you!

Welcome to the forum. And Good job seeking out and getting an apprenticeship. Its great to learn the old ways of the trade to help keep our forefathers that helped make tattooing what it is today stay in tattooing and not push them to just the history books. I met and talked with Lyle Tuttle the other day and having learned the history when i first started I knew who he was and it was so surreal talking to him since he had such an impact on tattooing! But def keep up the good work.

Hey there to everyone in LST world. My name is Brandon and I tattoo on the Central Coast of California. I have been tattooing for 6 and a half years now. I work mostly in color, have done a few black and grey pieces, but most of my clients dont want black and grey. I would however love to do more black and grey work. I have been in and around the industry since I was about 15. Got my first tattoo when i was 18 and that is when i decided I wanted to be a tattooer. Not only did I start drawing more than had been, but I also took up learning the history and learning all I could about the world of tattooing. For me tattooing is not just something that is cool or to be different. Tattoos and Tattooing is my way of life. I am learning new things everytime i tattoo and realizing what works and what doesnt work. I have always drawn and colored with colored pencils. A few years ago I started to play around with acrylic painting. I am still learning how to blend colors and such. And just recently I picked up water coloring. I love the look of flash done with water color so I decided thats what my next project was going to be. Currently I am not in a shop, I had some unexpected bills arise and had to take a step back and get a fulltime job. But while I get things paid off I stay in practice and continue to learn. Im also working on opening my own tattoo shop which will then be named Old Rose Tattoo. Thank you all for coming to check out my post, and I plan on posting more pictures on my profile. For now there are only 3 to look at. I look forward to meeting new artists and enthusiasts alike. Feel free to contact me with questions or comments or just to chat! I would love to talk to you all and learn form all the amazing artists here on LST!