Tesseracts

Congrats on working with him. He got tattooed alot early on in his career by Kore Flatmo and I think he actually moved to Kentucky for a year to work and get tattooed by Kore. You can see the influence Kore had on his work. I also have the privilege of being good friends with the dude Spencer came into tattooing with. If you want some good convo, ask him about getting worked on by Kore. I am sure he will have a bunch to say!
Judging by the company Mr. Briggs keeps...I would expect nothing less than the quality he puts out. Again, congrats on working with him. There are a few people doing that style work and he is very near the top of my list.
I realize this thread is kinda out of nowhere....but most people don't know who Spencer is. Just getting the word out.

I had a painting instructor who does really nice paintings. He's also a tattoo artist. However his tattoos don't look like his paintings at all. There must be a reason for that. Here are his paintings and here are his tattoos. They're different styles and they emphasize different things.
I love paint and I love the way paint looks, but human skin isn't like paper or canvas. I don't think it's just a matter of fading, some things look better on a flat computer screen than they look on an arm.
It seems to be that the best way to get something that looks like a painting on your skin, is to find a good tebori artist. For example, this bird by Horimasa has really nice subtle color transitions, more like a painting than like most tattoos. I also like how well white comes out with tebori.
Dotwork tattoos also look kind of like drawings or illustrations to me, here is one by Valentin Hirsch.

Use the Advanced Search > Search Single Content Type > scroll down > boom

Well, son of a bitch.
site:www.lastsparrowtattoo.com watercolor tattoo
Thanks for beating me over the head with something I already knew.
But that still won't stop me from complaining that the search engine sucks. ;-)

@gougetheeyes - oh well, I thought outlines might have helped. But gee, props to the newbie who figured out big mistake #2.
@irezumi - Thanks, the thought counts. tl;dr is better than nothing.
@CultExciter - I figured. But after wrestling with the sucky search engine again, I said screw it, let me piss off some folks and ask. Maybe there should be a section here called, "Shit that's been beaten into the ground".
@Tesseracts - wow - both are pretty wild. I wasn't looking specifically for birds - they just happened to be two of the first examples I saw that illustrated my question when I was surfing. I wasn't implying I *liked* either one in particular. I was reading about tebori when you posted your tattoo - neat. I really like the transitions - it's more like a painting like you mentioned. Thanks for giving your perspective and giving examples - something to keep in my head for next time. (Oops, did you just put a thought in my head for a third one? O_o)
@Colored Guy - agreed.
Thanks, all.

^WHOA plagerists!! Damn I want answers too now.
Is that an actual structured sentence? I mean I'm not an English major but it sounds a bit odd.
Furthermore, however, consequently, I am curious as to what makes these folks 'pioneers of biomech design and applicators'.
Edit; I just examined more of this site because it's very baffling and vague about who actually tattoos there. So I decided to click on various links under the 'menu' and found that they are posting Mosher's drawings from his books right there online as their 'traditional Japanese tattoo designs'. SUPER FUCKED UP AND NOT OK AT ALL. @Victor I would distance myself from these folks and not post anything else from that site. If you are involved with that shop than I would step back and see that this shop is doing one of the most taboo things to do.

@Victor
Stop being a fucking clown. Is this the website for your shop? Why are you stealing, nearly word for word, the welcome statement on the LST website?
LST:
The Halifax Tattoo Machine:
We want answers.

I had a painting instructor who does really nice paintings. He's also a tattoo artist. However his tattoos don't look like his paintings at all. There must be a reason for that. Here are his paintings and here are his tattoos. They're different styles and they emphasize different things.
I love paint and I love the way paint looks, but human skin isn't like paper or canvas. I don't think it's just a matter of fading, some things look better on a flat computer screen than they look on an arm.
It seems to be that the best way to get something that looks like a painting on your skin, is to find a good tebori artist. For example, this bird by Horimasa has really nice subtle color transitions, more like a painting than like most tattoos. I also like how well white comes out with tebori.
Dotwork tattoos also look kind of like drawings or illustrations to me, here is one by Valentin Hirsch.

I had a painting instructor who does really nice paintings. He's also a tattoo artist. However his tattoos don't look like his paintings at all. There must be a reason for that. Here are his paintings and here are his tattoos. They're different styles and they emphasize different things.
I love paint and I love the way paint looks, but human skin isn't like paper or canvas. I don't think it's just a matter of fading, some things look better on a flat computer screen than they look on an arm.
It seems to be that the best way to get something that looks like a painting on your skin, is to find a good tebori artist. For example, this bird by Horimasa has really nice subtle color transitions, more like a painting than like most tattoos. I also like how well white comes out with tebori.
Dotwork tattoos also look kind of like drawings or illustrations to me, here is one by Valentin Hirsch.

I had a painting instructor who does really nice paintings. He's also a tattoo artist. However his tattoos don't look like his paintings at all. There must be a reason for that. Here are his paintings and here are his tattoos. They're different styles and they emphasize different things.
I love paint and I love the way paint looks, but human skin isn't like paper or canvas. I don't think it's just a matter of fading, some things look better on a flat computer screen than they look on an arm.
It seems to be that the best way to get something that looks like a painting on your skin, is to find a good tebori artist. For example, this bird by Horimasa has really nice subtle color transitions, more like a painting than like most tattoos. I also like how well white comes out with tebori.
Dotwork tattoos also look kind of like drawings or illustrations to me, here is one by Valentin Hirsch.

I really appreciate how well that diagram credits all the artists!! ..................

The artwork and tattoos in those links are simply stunning.

Aaron Coleman at Immaculate Tattoo in Mesa, AZ
Today March 19th 2014
Black horse with flames rearing on my left upper sleeve

If the original post was asking for info about the politics of the Japanese tattoo world in itself (their drama within their own tattoo culture, tattoo families etc), I apologize in advance for this long post about having tattoos in Japan.
I've spent a lot of time in Japan, most of it centered around tattoo-related things. I've tattooed there a good amount, as have many of my friends. I work with a japanese tattooer who specializes in their traditional style of tattooing, working with machine and by hand. Both of us have been tattooed by Horiyoshi 3 extensively, by hand in Yokohama, which puts you right in the middle of where tattooing intersects with the underworld in their culture (Juan could also talk a lot about that I'm sure, having managed to get dozens of Yakuza naked and photograph them). We talk about this stuff all the time, and I've also had many hours of lengthy discussions with other tattooers who've spent way more time in Japan than I have, pre-dating the Japanese "open" tattoo scene that they have now; as well as years of talking to Japanese friends who live here and there.
Given all that, I don't see any reason why people shouldn't discuss this publicly. In fact, I'd say it SHOULD be discussed, so tattooed people who'd like to go to Japan can have an idea about how to behave/what to expect/basic rules of thumb for services etc that might be effected by your having tattoos. I had a customer telling people the other day "you don't show a KOI tattoo in japan!!" which, while at least sensitive, is a little extreme and oversimplified.
The above links have really good info. One of the best snippets I found was roughly "in Japan, the Yakuza are never far". That's really true, but not in the way you might think. In Japan, organized crime is an accepted part of the culture, and frequently they are involved in business that comes into contact with regular people (construction, high-interest cash loans which are very popular, nightclubs, property management etc). A friend of mine's elderly mother needed the roof on her house replaced: she got a bid of around $20,000, contracted the company to do it, paid them, and they stole her money. Although her deceased husband had once been the mayor of the town they live in, she was powerless to do anything. It's not like here where as long as you're pretty much not trying to deal large amounts of drugs on the street, or walking around in the ghetto dressed like 2-pac, gangs are pretty much going to leave you alone, because you're not moving in their world. In Japan, the Yakuza make their living off the normal people (as I understand it), so there's always the threat that ordinary people might have to deal with them.
There are magazines you can buy at 7-11 in Japan that are basically like "Yakuza Weekly", it's that accepted. One of the famous ones is called "Document"
This intimidation is where a lot of their power comes from, from what I can tell. Japan is a very "polite" society, where fitting in is stressed to a degree that we can't comprehend. People are quiet for the most part, humble, keep to themselves. The idea of a thug coming into a small business and making a commotion (most indoor spaces in Japan are small) by shouting or simply threatening to make a scene is intimidating enough that most business owners would want to pay money, monthly, to avoid such a mess. Every street tattoo shop in Japan I've ever asked pays these kind of fees, as I'm sure many, many businesses do. Even extremely well connected people I've met still pay, just heavily reduced amounts.
Asian culture in general is just so much more homogenous than life as we know it, to stand out at all is to really draw attention to one's self. So tattoos not only go against the grain in the larger social sense, but they're also something that touches the ever present "yakuza" nerve in the minds of much of the population. It's like a double whammy for a largely mild-mannered people. An easy way to think about it is imagine being at the library with your kid, or at a restaurant, and seeing some guy walk in with "MS13" or "Slauson Crips" tattooed very visibly on his neck; would make most normal people uncomfortable. In Japan, to SOME people, it doesn't matter if you've got My Little Pony on your arm and you're as white as Howdy Doody, if you're showing a tattoo in public, you're a thug, and probably a criminal. I've had little old men come up to me and call me a Yakuza, and even after I explained in Japanese that I'm not Japanese so I can't be Yakuza (which isn't really true anymore), they just keep pointing at the tattoos and saying "Yakuza, Yakuza..."
But keep in mind, that's the exception. In Japan, pretty much anyone who's not Japanese is seen as kind of a monkey anyway, so even without tattoos, there're going to be things they don't want you doing/participating in. I've gotten dirty looks without anything showing in a Bob Dylan themed bar for merely invading their little world. But I've also been shown enormous kindness with a lot of skin showing by elderly people. Kind of like here, I find young adults and middle aged people tend to be most offended, while kids, teenagers, and the old & elderly are usually interested or inquisitive about foreigners and/or tattoos. I've also seen many Japanese people showing tattoos in public, even very traditional ones.
I'd be happy to answer any questions that I can, but in general:
In Japan, many people live in tiny apartments that don't have a bathroom or even a toilet, let alone a shower (imagine living in a bed & breakfast with no shower). Many people who do have the square, deep traditional baths big enough for one in Japan will acutally re-heat bath water for themselves to save water & heating costs. Because of these constraints, and because it's so nice, the "Sento" or public bath is still very popular. Sento are kind of like an indoor public pool, but it's a bathhouse which has a separate side for men and women. There are little faucets with very hot water that you sit in front of on a stool, next to other people doing the same. Here you wash yourself with soap before getting into the very hot bath, which is usually big enough for 3-6 people. There are also showers, but the real fun is the bath, which feels amazing (there's usually an even hotter one right next to it). Sento is everyone's basic right, to take a bath, so it doesn't matter how many tattoos you have, you're welcome. When you hear japanese tattooers talking about seeing tattoos for the first time in the bathhouse, they mean Sento, not Onsen.
Onsen are the natural hot springs scattered all throughout Japan, almost all of them have minerals that good for your health. Usually there's some kind of facility built up around them, whether it's a huge wooden building, a hotel, a rustic retreat, or even just a vessel that looks like a swimming pool. Some onsen are outdoor, some indoor, some co-ed, some public, some private. Unlike Sento, Onsen is a luxury activity, and a source of much national pride. It's like going to a spa here, many elderly people and families are on vacation, tour groups have chartered busses, schools are taking class trips etc. They want to enjoy the scenery relax, deeply, and they're naked in public (all Sento and Onsen are nude all the time). They don't wanna see Scott asking them to scoot over in some language they don't understand. Therefore, many Onsen don't allow tattooed people, they figure "why bother trying to sort out the good tattooed people from the bad, all Yakuza are bad, period, and many Yakuza have tattoos". If you want to enjoy Onsen, I'd say look for those that are more rural and private, not too fancy, connected to a hotel or inn. I've only been to a few, and the ones I know don't allow tattoos tend to be some of the most famous and beautiful. But I HAVE enjoyed seeing snow fall in ultra hot water under the night air with many naked tattooed guys, so it can be done.
Hotels AFAIK don't turn away anyone, all have private baths. Some have Sento or "rooftop Onsen" which are nice and usually small, so you dhouldn't be shy about using them. Capsule hotels seem to be the exception, as they have a kind of Sento only, and since they're located in nightlife heavy areas, that means many Yakuza, so they don't want tattooed people in the public bath inside.
Many nightclubs in Japan have specific "rules" which, as a monkey, they're going to think you of course don't understand; so you might get turned away, even if you're with a Japanese person, but not always.
In Japan, just be polite, bow your head a little to people, say "Sumimasen" if you say nothing else (excuse me), and put soy sauce on your rice if you want, you're an American.
anyway, I typed a lot & I wanna do something else, but happy to help anyone who has a question if I can

Took me longer than I thought to get in for my first session but here it is. Still need to add color. I wish I could stare at it but it is on my back so that is not comfortable to do. :(

@irezumi ahahahahahaha chortle cackle ahahahaha - I really did LOL in that sequence hehehe.
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@CampB @iowagirl @Moreau @Synesthesia @graybones:
I have also had that experience. For some reason it does seem specific to outlines and black. After reading the below explanation, I now consider it an early warning system! It happens to me a lot when it is really hot, too - but I think I have a bad reaction to heat (i'm sensitive, I guess :p), too.
Go here: Microscopics and thank @else for the link!
The important part reads:
It seems to show you that you are having a slight histamine reaction, yes?
So an antihistamine should help, as would a hydrocortisone cream.

Megan Wilson posted this on Instagram recently with the caption "San Quentin/Folsom Prison Body Suit":

I'm of the anal retentive personality type and did tons of research before getting a tattoo. I found very little evidence of actual problems. Even with red ink, most of the issues, that I found anyway, boiled down to it taking longer to heal rather than long term problems. I look at it like this - approximately 20% of the American population has tattoos. With more than 250,000,000 adults in the US, that's about 50,000,000 people in the US alone that have tattoos.
If tattoos caused significant problems, we would know by now.

TBH, I'm glad you stuck around. And no, I don't think you're a "troll" by any means. Some people come on here and act like they know a lot and we label them "troll", but more often than not I think they're just misinformed. Typically, the ones that stick around turn out to not be "troll"-like and eventually realize most people on here know their shit and its better to just go with the flow. There will always be people in our lives that we may not agree with, or hold different views of the world, but it doesn't mean they are horrible people.

I'm not saying this speech was directed at me in particular (or that it doesn't apply to me at all). However, in my defense, I do not post for the purpose of upsetting others, nor does it bring me any sort of amusement or entertainment when someone does get upset by something I've said. I simply reserve the right to formulate my own opinions/conclusions, and I will defend that right, sometimes bitterly. As a non-conformist, the one thing I cannot allow anyone to take from me is my freedom to think for myself. Sometimes I will drop things because too many people are getting upset. I still have the right to my own opinions/conclusions, and I won't say I'm wrong if I don't think I am. I simply choose to keep certain opinions to myself when I find that too many others have become sensitive to them. But I will never change myself to please the masses, no matter how displeasing I become. However, rather than continue to be a bitter taste in everyone's mouth, I won't continue to force people to listen to my thoughts/opinions when many others find them to be offensive. And I do also attempt to make positive contributions to forums. What I think of as a troll is someone who has no interest in making a positive contribution, only in expressing their own point of view no matter who likes it or doesn't like it. And often it's not just the point of view that's being expressed, but how it is being expressed that's a problem. You can be right, but if not willing to engage in open dialogue with others who's point of view differs from your own, then you're a troll, methinks. Now, that doesn't mean that you have to change your point of view, it simply means that you're acknowledging that other people have a right to express a different point of view, and you are respecting them for it. I don't agree with certain points of view that are expressed on this forum, and I don't understand them and I may never understand them. But I respect people's right to have them, and all I ask is the same in return. We are all respecting each others right to choose how we express ourselves through the art we put on our bodies, why can't we respect each others right to express different points of view? That's all I'm saying. I've been called a troll by people who tried to force their expectations on me, yet refuse to respect the fact that I don't agree with them. I've had no choice but to protect myself from those people by placing them on my ignore list. I will not be forced into a way of thinking that I do not agree with or understand. If you can't or won't respect that, then it's paramount to me that I protect myself from you. People like that will turn the world into a wasteland one day. Everything we've tried to put behind us was brought about by those kind of people.

an investment in cadmium

Thanks for tolerating my questions everyone. I'll be honest, my motivation for starting this is my parents have been giving me a hard time about the yellow ink. I can't find any cases of cadmium poisoning though so I'm not that worried.
PinkUnicorn, I also asked my dermatologist a while ago about tattoos. He was worried about the ability of my skin to heal itself at that time (that problem is now resolved) but didn't say anything about poisoning.

Thanks for tolerating my questions everyone. I'll be honest, my motivation for starting this is my parents have been giving me a hard time about the yellow ink. I can't find any cases of cadmium poisoning though so I'm not that worried.
PinkUnicorn, I also asked my dermatologist a while ago about tattoos. He was worried about the ability of my skin to heal itself at that time (that problem is now resolved) but didn't say anything about poisoning.

Possibly of interest from Scientific American:
In the Ink: Do All Tattoo Pigments Use Mercury and Other Toxic Heavy Metals? - Scientific American
"While red causes the most problems, most other colors of standard tattoo ink are also derived from heavy metals (including lead, antimony, beryllium, chromium, cobalt nickel and arsenic) and can cause skin reactions in some people.
Helen Suh MacIntosh, a professor in environmental health at Harvard University and a columnist for the website, Treehugger, reports that as a result of a 2007 lawsuit brought by the American Environmental Safety Institute (AESI), two of the leading tattoo ink manufacturers must now place warning labels on their product containers, catalogs and websites explaining that “inks contain many heavy metals, including lead, arsenic and others”"
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But perhaps the end of the article is the most use for the nervous amongst us (like me):
Also, for what it's worth, I was seeing my dermatologist for an unrelated matter and asked him about my getting a tattoo.
He had no concerns, except to say that he preferred black and blue inks as those are the easiest to remove!