BrookR70

I sat for 5 hours getting the outline done on my mid/lower back. Went home, hardly slept, and then went in the next day for another 6 hours. At some point during the lining session, I learned that the left side of my back is way more sensitive than my right side. It felt like an electric knife going through my back. I had no troubles with my right side. About halfway through my second session, I started complaining. My tattooer told me that there are some people out there that are dying/dead and never say a word about the pain. I told him he was right, so I shut the fuck up and got through it. I was wincing the whole time, though. My back muscles were really swollen and throbbing, and two days later, I'm still really sore. I have another session or two of shading before I'm done, but it won't be for another month or two. I wish I could have just sat for the 11 hours without taking a break. It was much worse going in on the second day as a sleepless zombie.

It's my mid/lower back. Papa Joe Dawson is the tattooer.

Here's a tattoo that's still in progress. So far, I've had two sessions (11 hours) in two days.

Tattoo flash is sold by artists to other artists all of the time. It sounds like Kristen is trying to sell her work to clients directly.

Nice work SeeSea. I kept reef aquariums for several years and I love reef scenes. Anyway... @SeeSea She doesn't want a swallow, she wants a bluebird (not a blue bird). Scientific name Sialia. I already have a swallow that goes with my parent's memorial tattoo. (see avatar) I don't have a lighthouse yet. I'm getting one in two weeks. I could totally see a swallow and a lighthouse going together, but a bluebird and a lighthouse? I suppose, but it's no peanut butter and chocolate, if you know what I mean. It would have been easy easy if she'd chosen a seafaring bird. Maybe way I'm off, but rather than having a bluebird lost in large tattoo with the main focus being a lighthouse, I decided to make her the center subject. And yes, ultimately the tattoo is for me. All of my tattoos are for me.

Partly because I carry this silly superstition that if I get her name tattooed on me, then our marriage WILL end in divorce. Another reason is that she wanted me to add an element to my upcoming tattoo (a bluebird) to represent her. I agreed, but then had second thoughts because a bluebird wouldn't quite work with what I had in mind (lighthouse and ship). If she had said seagull, it would have been easier. So, I wanted to surprise her with something larger and more memorable than a small bluebird surrounded by other stuff. The negativity from comes being practical and watching too many episodes of Tattoo Nightmares where people go in asking for huge coverups of names of their exes that they've had for years. Edit: Almost forgot the most important reason...my father served in WWII and the Korean war and was heavily tattooed. He met his first wife between wars and had her name tattooed on his chest. She died of cancer. He later met my mother. My mother accepted him for who he was, but I'm sure she'd rather not be reminded of my dad's first wife every time he took his shirt off. How do you compete with that?

That's quite a bit of work for 3.5 hours. Your artist doesn't mess around.

I went in for a touch up thinking it would be a cake walk. I was really wrong. My tattoos were only a month old when getting them touched up. My artist said it takes a full 2-3 months to completely heal.

No tiptoeing for you...jumping right in. :D

I'll have to go back and look for more bluebirds. I was also thinking about getting this. My wife has blonde hair. If we ever get divorced, I could change the blonde hair to black or brown.

I started volunteering for a wild bird rescue center. It's literally a crappy job, but I love being around and interacting with the birds. Usually they are baby birds that fall out of nests, or birds that were injured by cats/dogs/cars. I get to clean cages, floors, aviaries as well as prepare food and maintain the facilities. Occasionally they'll have me help with the feeding and care of the birds. So far my favorites have been the hummingbirds. They'll buzz around your head because they're just naturally curious and not too fearful of humans. I also get to work with swallows, ducks, sparrows, finches, pigeons, doves, and quail. I do this for 4 hours per week and it's been very rewarding despite having to constantly clean up bird poop.

My wife wants me to get a bluebird that signifies her in my next piece (ship and lighthouse). I can't find a decent pic of a bluebird that doesn't look girly. I don't want it to screw up my lighthouse. So now I'm thinking about getting a special tattoo just for her. Something that's small that can be easily covered up if I need to. Name tattoos don't sound half bad in that regard.

He lost me when he referred to himself as "moi" and "yours truly".

Ducati Multistrada on Mulholland Drive.

Yelp actually helped me out indirectly. My wife wanted to know how much I paid for one of my recent tattoos and I wouldn't tell her. She looked up my shop on Yelp and read a review where a guy actually mentioned a price that was lower than what I paid. The review was 2 years old. She thinks I'm spending less on my tattoos. On the flip side, you'd think I would be upset for paying more than the other guy, but I'm not. I know what artists in my area charge, and I feel like I'm getting a good deal. <rant> On a side note...whenever I decide to do business that involve more than a couple of hundred dollars (mechanics especially), I go to the BBB web site. I know it's not nearly as popular, but usually there's enough information there to be able weed out bad businesses. These are people with legitimate complaints. They actually have to go through a moderated process to file a complaint and that process takes time and effort. I know that there probably aren't many tattoo shops listed, but it's worth supporting them. </rant>

Post #426

Ha! If my SWMBO saw the place where I get tattooed, she would force me to take a battery of tests before letting me near her and my daughter. OK, so it's not really that bad, but it is very old school, which is why I like it.

Just a follow up to post #345... So, while at my in-laws watching the world cup, I sank deeply into a chair and was just zoning out. My wife yelled out, "What's that on your shoulder?". Apparently, my sleeve crept up and revealed my sweet and sour babies. "Do you have any others? Let me see your back!" I showed her my bouy tattoo. She asked when I got them and I told her the first week of November and that she hadn't seen my bare back since last September. She was completely dumbfounded to say the least. My mother-in-law almost fell over in her chair trying to listen to our conversation. My wife was pretty upset, but not really because of the tattoos. She had gotten used to the idea that I had them. The fact that she hadn't seen them in such a long time showed her that I could be respectful around her. What she was really upset about was the fact that I went to great lengths to hide something from her and what else was I hiding from her. Completely understandable. I apologized for that, but told her that I just didn't want to go through the drama after every time I got one. Luckily she put everything in perspective and she knows I'm a good husband and father. She asked if I was going to get any more. I was honest and told her that I probably was going to fill in the center of my back. She understood that and I only got the silent treatment for a couple of hours instead of a couple of days. She wasn't too crazy about the sweet and sour babies. She critiqued them and thought they were too plain compared to my others. She liked the new buoy tattoo but didn't like the meaning behind it (solitude/being alone). She also insisted that when I get my back filled in, that there be a small blue bird to represent her. I agreed to that. So, everything worked out and I can now sleep with my shirt off again. I'm going to get my center back piece done during the first week of September, while she's gone on a business trip. It's going to be a ship and a lighthouse (the lighthouse of the town I grew up in). I recently sold one of my motorcycles, so I have a little extra cash.

Well then, it appears that we are in the same boat. I agreed to move to Boise from SoCal so that she could be closer to her family. I don't like it here, but I love my wife enough to live here for a few more years until we make a move to Portland. I have been supportive in just about everything my wife has pursued and I have made sacrifices for her happiness. Of course, she's done the same for me as well. Would you dump your husband if he suddenly decided he didn't like your tattoos?

I'm no psychiatrist, so maybe you're right, maybe you're not. Maybe I've decided to fight this battle and let other other battles pass. I keep hearing the word "compromise" being thrown around when describing relationships. Those that have never had to compromise are the lucky ones. I've compromised in so many other ways it's ridiculous. I don't feel that I "deserve" to have tattoos because of my compromises. I feel that it's a harmless way to express myself. My wife sees otherwise. BTW...I would almost kill to be back in Simi Valley. You should be grateful to be living in such a great place.

I did this with my parrot tattoo. I left the drawings out in plain view, was honest and open with her, showed her the difference between good tattoos and bad tattoos, watched Ink Master with her, took her to a local tattoo convention, and kissed her butt until I got blisters on my lips. She wasn't for it, but she didn't seem completely against it...until after I got it. Then I got the 3rd degree followed by the money lecture (we're fine financially), followed by the silent treatment. She eventually got over it, but at the time I knew I wanted three more tattoos. I'd rather go that whole mess just one more time rather than three times. Of course, I could have just put a hold on the tattoos after that, but I (probably) made a very stupid choice and went ahead with it anyway.

Believe it or not, yes. I have a separate bathroom that I use downstairs because I wake up early and don't want to disturb her. I wear a shirt to bed. We have our own routines, but we see plenty of each other throughout the day. My 2 year old digs my sweet and sour baby tattoos and I can't help but wonder if she's the one that's going to out me once she starts talking in complete sentences.

How did she react? My whole thing about hiding them is that I don't want to go through all of the drama associated with getting new ink each time I get a new tattoo. I'd rather get the ink I want and then go through it only once. I'm already saving up for a weekend trip out of state when that happens.

I'm still hiding mine. I've gotten two new tattoos since last November and my wife doesn't know about them. I get tattooed when she goes on business trips. I keep a t-shirt on all of the time so she doesn't see them. It's pretty immature and selfish of me, but it's who I am. I know I will always love them. The last time I got one (my third one...I have 5 total...four in the last year) she gave me three days of grief. I want one more large tattoo down my spine. I keep them covered around her and that seems to preserves the peace. I know I'm going to have to face the music someday, and I know I will catch tons of grief, but I want to be able to say that it's been a year since I've gotten my new ink so that I can show her that I'm being responsible about it. Aside from this, we have a good relationship. And we both realize that tattoos, in the grand scheme of things, are pretty insignificant. But, it sure would have been easier to meet someone that shared my interest in ink. I find women with nice tattoos very sexy.