BrookR70

It's starting to peel and the green area is less saturated than I thought it would be. Adding red may give it a rusty look. My artist is always interested in seeing tattoos after they've healed, so when I stop by I may bring it up then. It won't hurt to ask.

Yeah, if I ever get called out on it, I'll just say that the marker was placed there by renegades to confuse captains and to sink ships and that there are already 5 sunken ships in my tattoo. You just can't see them because they are below the water.

@smiling.politely Thanks...I was afraid of that. I'm glad I asked here before asking the artist.

I love my tattoo either way and it's something I can live with, but if I can get it fixed in 5 minutes, I would be happier.

On my most recent piece on my back/shoulder, the tattoo extends down to the crease of my armpit. That was painful enough, but I had to go back the very next day and have it shaded because we ran out of time. Sonofabitch! The artist even said, "I don't blame you if you think I'm the biggest asshole on the face of the earth right now."

There's a very small area on my tattoo that should be red instead of green. It's not a big deal, but it's more for technical accuracy. Before I ask my artist if it can be done, I'd like to run it by the folks on this forum. It's my buoy tattoo in my profile and the area is the top of the buoy. It should be red like the base of the buoy instead of green. Thanks.

I got this one finished today. I was told that the green in the buoy will settle down in a day or so. The artist is Papa Joe in Boise, ID.

This is in progress and should be finished today. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This was my stash of shaving gear about a year ago. Unfortunately, it's grown. I've since settled on 4 razors (Edwin Jagger is my favorite) and 3-4 blade types. I tried straights but didn't care for them (not sharp enough and too much maintenance). I've been working through my soaps and creams and I have about 3 more years to go assuming I don't make any new purchases, which is hard to do.

Here's my buddy Stanley...a 12-year old Sun Conure. And, of course, the matching tattoo...

Not to sidetrack the thread, but I bet a lot of these tattoos were craigslist specials/barters. If you discovered that a good artist you knew about advertised on craigslist, would you think less of him/her? I browse craiglist occasionally to see if I can score my next tapout special </sarcasm>. I've seen a few good artists post quality work (assuming it was their work) and actual shops that advertise in craigslist. I wouldn't go to any of them, but I can see how this would be tempting to people who can't afford good work or can only barter.

I had these done last November. It was a fun tattoo to honor my kid.

Playing in a dart league, I'm surrounded by lots of people with bad tattoos. A lot of them are working class folks that just can't afford to spend $200/hr. on an artist. That said, when I see scratch work, or when I see someone with a Nike logo tattooed on their leg, I get palm-to-forehead syndrome. I actually find it amusing, but I would never berate their tattoo to suggest to them that they need to find a better artist. For all I know, they could be prison tattoos, and I'd rather not mess with someone who has done time. When I see someone with quality work, I'll go up to them and chat with them about it. It's a great icebreaker when talking to people because I'm normally pretty reserved. I haven't been approached or judged by anyone because my tattoos are covered up 99% of the time. The tattoos I have are solid but not spectacular. I found an artist that I like and I'm beginning to understand his strengths and weaknesses. Right now I value consistency of style, so I'm going to continue seeing him until I decide to change things up. I only have 4 at the moment, but I'm going for my 5th on Tuesday.

I think I'll hold off on the razor until I get a couple of more pieces done unless he mentions razors himself or expresses curiosity about them. I'm picking up a sign tomorrow and will give him a 30% tip. I'm due to get another tattoo in November (when the wife goes out of town). Maybe then.

Yeah...I think it might be. The razor I'm thinking about giving him is a vintage 1940s Schick Injector (they used to issue them to the troops during WWII) and he specializes in traditional american, so I think it would be right up his alley.

My wife asked me if I would volunteer to be a canvas (hate that word) for that show. I thought about it, and NO...I would not. The artists seem to have way too much pressure to ever get into their zone. They're running on low sleep, they're getting harassed by their fellow artists, their getting harassed by the judges, and then they're getting it from their clients. On top of that, they may be assigned a bad tattoo by some dickhead who wants to get them kicked off the show. I understand that they have to go through that BS just to make the show entertaining, but let's face it, tattooing in itself is a pretty boring activity. You're drawing on paper and then transferring that drawing onto skin. The clients are (mostly) cool, and if not, they leave and find someone else, or you kick them out. You set your own hours and work only when you want to get paid. No wonder a lot of these artists on the show produce crap work. And would you volunteer to be a canvas knowing that you have a very good chance of getting a bad piece? I know tattooing is a craps shoot...there are no guarantees, but to me it's worth it to pay a few hundred bucks to stack the odds a little more in my favor. I would wash my artist's car, take his laundry to the dry cleaners, and bring him a cup of chamomile tea before bed if I thought it would improve my chances of getting a better tattoo.

I was thinking about giving my artist a vintage razor (and a $ tip) for a sign that he's painting for my father-in-law. I collect vintage razors and have about 50 of them. I use some, sell some, and display some. What do you think...is this gift too personal? For those that have given gifts, what did you give your artist and how many tattoos do you have by that artist?

I keep getting "but it's for life! (repeated 100 times)" remark from my wife...as if that thought had never dawned on me. Because, you know, I can be a little slow at times and perhaps the concept was completely above my head. So my usual response is "well, it's not really for life because I've already lived over half my life and will only be around for another 22 years because I plan on dying at age 65." ...and then silence.

What the heck. I know many of you have already seen this. Anyway, it's almost healed and was done by Papa Joe Dawson.

I'm kind of struggling with this. I have one on each shoulder blade and one is a bit larger than the other. I'm trying to think of filler designs for the smaller one to try to balance it out, but I'm afraid that it will look cluttered. But since I'm sticking with traditional american, I'm not overly worried because it seems most people with that style have that cluttered look.

I went and checked out the shop and loved it. You guys do the best pinups I've seen in the area.

I find women with good tattoos irresistible. It's also much easier to strike up a conversation with them since we have something in common. But, my wife hates them, although she finds my 20-year old dolphin tattoo cute. In the last two months I've gotten 2 new tattoos and it has caused quite a stir. I've kept them on my back so she doesn't see them as often, but I'm planning on getting one more and then I will be done. But she knows other than the tattoo thing, that I'm a good husband and father and she can see the big picture. But, no matter how many episodes of NY Ink, Tattoo Nightmares, or Ink Master I force her to watch, she doesn't like them. I even dragged her to the local tattoo fest. She still doesn't appreciate them. Oh well, I guess I'll be sleeping in a t-shirt for as long as we are married.