scubaron

I believe Tamara Santaibanez does guest spots at Rock of Ages. I think she just did this there this week.

True. Customers should respect an artists suggestions. There are a ton of people living here in NYC and luckily, many quality tattoo artists. Enough artists and clients that many artists stick to their preferred style and regularly turn down work. So far, I have 4 tattoos by 4 different artists. Two artists have 15+ years tattoo experience. I like them all, but the difference in the quality of the tattoo is following the artists experience level. Thanks for the kind words on my octopus. Funny story that is applicable to this thread. The artist is deviating from what I said I wanted. He said it would not look good in a tattoo. I am taking his advice.

Maybe my lack of experience is tainting my opinion, but I do think the artist holds most of the responsibility. If someone insists on a design or requirement that will result in a bad tattoo and the artist knows it, why would he still do the tattoo ? People might not make it easy for the artist, but the artist still has the option to turn down a customer. When it comes to original work, is it possible a great artist, a great tattooer and a great tattoo artist are 3 different things ?

I admire your commitment. I've had 3 sessions this month, but they were on totally different parts of my body. Still not easy to deal with. Someplace is always hurting, burning or itching. Coming up in May, one more session on my octopus and one new medium sized 2 session tattoo on my thigh. After that, nothing for a while. My body and wallet need a break. Are you at the midway point in your backpiece ? Pics you posted last month looked to be making good progress.

Thanks. Yeah, so far, all my tattoos are scuba related. Octopus, shark, manta ray. All animals I have interacted with in the wild while scuba diving. I also got a scuba skull. Haven't seen a skull while diving, just thought the tattoo would look cool and still have meaning to me.

1st session of shading and pattern. Red areas will turn grey. 2nd session in 3 weeks, more pattern and shading.

Used Tegaderm 5 times, all went very well, no scabbing at all. Currently using Tegaderm for the 6th time. Tattoo is on my shoulder extending down to my elbow. This time I had a little fluid build up. Decided to peel back a small section at the bottom to let the extra fluid drain. I pushed the fluid to this drain spot. I left plenty of area around the tattoo so the small section that is peeled up is not covering any tattoo. It is going well so far after 3 days. I usually remove on day 5.

I can see Anderson adding from the neck down. His ornamental work is fantastic.

I am new to tattoos. I always thought they were cool, but had trouble getting past the issue of permanency. The funny thing about scars is, they are permanent. Finally realized, a nice cool permanent tattoo is a lot better than an ugly permanent scar.

I have a big nasty keloid scar on my shoulder from surgery. It's an old scar, but still big, ugly and raised. You can still see it, but it's totally covered by the sharks tail. I did make the artist shift the tail to fully cover the scar, so the tattoo does look a little off. This picture is immediately after getting the tattoo. The scar is a little less raised now. I'm happy with it.

Update picture of my Dan Trocchio scuba skull, natural lighting. Just took off the tegaderm after 5 days.

Problem is rush hour lasts more than an hour. In some cases many hours. Plus the location of the traffic changes depending on time and season. The traffic problem affects the whole metro area. Sometimes there is no way to avoid the traffic. You either sit in the traffic or wait it out at a movie theater or restaurant.

Octopus by Yoni Zilber. Outline done, black & grey pattern and shading starting on Monday.

Good questions SeeSea. I turn 49 this year, have tan skin. I've used 4 different artists for 4 different areas of my body. The pain and healing have been different for each. 2 of the artists are very experienced. 15+ years tattooing. They were fast, but also the most painful. Don't know if it was the artist or the area. Maybe the more experienced people can answer.

Nice. I like black and grey. Getting one on my thigh by Anderson Luna next month.

Scuba skull by Dan Trocchio. Have to take a picture with better lighting and color. For you scuba divers, I know it's not accurate. A rebreather doesn't create bubbles, but for my tattoo, looking cool took priority over accuracy.

My wife wants me to do that for our cats. Luckily we rent an apartment and cannot alter it. So just a cat tree for us.

Papa. I am not stupid. 2 small boxes placed next to each other is not the same thing as 1 bigger box. DUH !

From what I've seen, hourly rates in NYC usually start at around $200.

Leopard Moray is on my list. I think snake tattoos look cool, but I don't feel any connection to snakes. An eel is perfect though and the spots on a Leopard Moray are perfect for contrast in a tattoo. I've never been to Truk, but hear it is amazing. Not just the quality of the diving, but the history.

Makes sense, especially with big work. You will have fun showing off what you have to divers. While others might like the artistry, only another diver will truly understand and appreciate it.

Interesting. Some are a lot more successful than others. For me, the ones with a lot of bold colors look strange with the black and gray.

What about Scott ? I think it will be Scott and Sausage in the final.

4 sessions every other week. That's an aggressive schedule. Kudos to you for being able to keep up with it. The healing/recovery and all. I don't think I could do that kind of schedule all in one area. Curious, how long are your sessions. I really enjoyed the diving in Roatan. Very healthy reef/corals and macro life. Utila should be similar.