Raven

My latest and greatest tattoo on my left knee, Had a very personal battle getting this one almost tapped a couple of times.
Artist is WT Norbert so stoked to have him working just down the road from my place

My good friend got me 'Bodies of Subversion, A Secret History of Women and Tattoo' by Margot Mifflin for Christmas. I wasn't expecting it. Amazing present. I can't wait to sit down and read it.

My good friend got me 'Bodies of Subversion, A Secret History of Women and Tattoo' by Margot Mifflin for Christmas. I wasn't expecting it. Amazing present. I can't wait to sit down and read it.

Whoa, with all the awesome tattoos posted in the Lowdown thread recently I'm surprised no one's posted here yet. I'll kick it off! Here's my thigh by Seth Wood, started at Temple and finished at Saved.

My good friend got me 'Bodies of Subversion, A Secret History of Women and Tattoo' by Margot Mifflin for Christmas. I wasn't expecting it. Amazing present. I can't wait to sit down and read it.

My good friend got me 'Bodies of Subversion, A Secret History of Women and Tattoo' by Margot Mifflin for Christmas. I wasn't expecting it. Amazing present. I can't wait to sit down and read it.

My good friend got me 'Bodies of Subversion, A Secret History of Women and Tattoo' by Margot Mifflin for Christmas. I wasn't expecting it. Amazing present. I can't wait to sit down and read it.

Ill throw my leg in! One of em anyway. Artist Lisa Cardenas.

I finally get to give this a shot!
Dana Helmuth, 95% completed at Read Street Tattoo in Baltimore, the rest done in his private studio.

Jun Cha. Unfinished, ran out of time and had to run to the airport. 16 hour session.

Reh, edited with better size & lost the likes.

Here's the latestest update on my back piece after the third session with Fil Wood at Black Crown in Leeds Instagram
I'm not at a computer for a while so an Instagram link will have to do for now

Getting back on topic -
Quick tip for the well-endowed ladies who are concerned about bra straps.... I bought a strapless Wonderbra (the kind with the plastic type hand shapes built in) and it is miraculous! I'd even go to far as say it's better than some of my bras that have straps as far as cleavage goes!!! I've been wearing one ever since getting my shoulder tattooed on Saturday and have purchased another. It's comfy, gives me plenty of support(!) and solves that pesky bra strap issue. The one thing I would advise is to make sure you try on first as sizing can be a little off. These have become one of more wardrove essentials, especially now I have a beautiful tattoo to show off.
(PS, I accidentally posted this in the wrong thread yesterday - I've now moved it to here!)

Haha, I know! Thanks. It's weird how hitting a certain spot on your back/shoulder can cause a nerve to twitch in your leg or hand. Odd.
Only 3 hours to finish what we started today... but typically now I'm looking at it and thinking.... more, we need more... lol

Front of my El Monga leg. Done at Tattoo City in March. Pic is from today (healed).
Entered the back of it a few months ago, figured the front needs to toss its hat in the ring.

Honestly......I really don't see the huge deal with this "I won't do them" posts
If the people know up front that they may need some maintenance then what is the big deal?
Customer walks in....you tell them up front the deal....they still want it....make them sign something saying you told them.....do the tattoo!
My thumbs....including the sides have held up perfectly fine for 3 years now....and I am not talking script...i am talking images.....
If done by the right person then fingers can hold up....maybe not forever.....but just go get them touched up every year or two or three when they need it!
If you work with your hands it is less likely to hold up....of course!
But if you sit behind a keyboard and take care of your tattoos then they will hold up longer!
There are ways of making them last longer......techniques that were shared with me before I even started tattooing to make tattoos hold longer!
If you want it done and you know the possibility is there you'll have to pay to get it touched up in the future......(prob shop min)....then go get it done!
Just my opinion of course!
- - - Updated - - -
Sorry.....this may be based on "science and society" but this is not in every case.....and I don't think it's all that constructive or helpful! It basically is trying to talk people out of getting tattooed in areas this artist doesn't want to tattoo anymore.....at least it reads that way to me!
Tell people up front and let them make the decision!
Now if you don't have the skill to put it in without blowing it out.....that's another story!
Send them to someone with more experience!
Sending them to someone who has the experience to do it shows the customer you truly care about their tattoo and not the money in their pocket!
Society moves forward by those willing to push the boundaries......not falling in line with the rest of the sheeple!
Yes.....inform the people what COULD happen to them.....and let them make their own minds!
If this was written by someone with 30+ years in the craft.....I'd consider the advice!
I was told 30 years ago the same thing.....society won't like it!!!
guess what...they didn't....LOL......and I still have a better job than most of my friends who didn't get tattooed in 1984!

I can only speak from my own experience, but I have tattoos in the area you're referring to. They are over 2 years old and still look clean and tight. The white ink in one has since dropped out, but the shading and line work is fine. In the initial few days/weeks they tended to look a little blown out, but this seemed to sort itself out over time. The only time they look anything less than good is when my skin is really dry - but a little handcream fixes this.

I can only speak from my own experience, but I have tattoos in the area you're referring to. They are over 2 years old and still look clean and tight. The white ink in one has since dropped out, but the shading and line work is fine. In the initial few days/weeks they tended to look a little blown out, but this seemed to sort itself out over time. The only time they look anything less than good is when my skin is really dry - but a little handcream fixes this.

Start of a neo Japanese sleeve by Shawn Van Oven @ Shamens Den Binghamton NY
Shawn is an awesome guy so easy to work with. Met him at the Electric City Convention last year.

Started this last year at Kings Ave. Made progress at the Montreal convention then finished it last week at Kings Ave.

Done by Curt Baer from Iron Mountain Tattoo.

Totally agree with above. I will add that my finger tattoos showed similar 'blow out' in the first few days/weeks, but they tightened up a lot in the following months and now 2+ years later, they still look good.

Promised the tattooist (Randy Muller) that I wouldn't post any in-progress pictures - and after 7-8 sessions it was finished late Sept and now is fully healed:

I'll post this onto the end of my laser treatment thread, too - just to wrap that one up for future referencing.

Totally agree with above. I will add that my finger tattoos showed similar 'blow out' in the first few days/weeks, but they tightened up a lot in the following months and now 2+ years later, they still look good.

My arm by Joel Madberg, Salvation Tattoo Stockholm:

Hopefully this image works.. Just finished my sleeve a few months ago.
Artist: Brent aka Frosty at Jackson Street Tattoo, Petone.
Took approximately 35hours all up I think, hard to remember how many sittings and stuff lol. Worth it though :)