Hello from Chicagoland

[Heidi]

I guess I'm forced to make an introduction here! I googled "most painful area to get a tattoo" the other day because I want to get my ribs done someday, but am 110% sure it will be a nightmare (but then again I'm always 110% sure each tattoo will be a killer, when in reality most of the the hours in the chair aren't that bad). Google led me to a thread on this forum and I found it a great read....and all the votes for full back as one of the worst gave me a little confidence

I have ~50 hours of work and am a longtime regular at Deluxe Tattoo (Ben Wahhh). My husband also has work from him. Maybe I'll convince him to register and post photos of his lower legs--they are amazing!

We live in the western suburbs with four cats, a lot of aquariums and a horse at a boarding barn up the road. I write reports on laboratory work as my job and make jewelry as a hobby. I also enjoy running...I ran ultra-marathons in 2009-2010 but lately have focused more on horseback riding since my mare isn't getting any younger at age 21, and I want to enjoy the years I have with her.

I also LOVE horror movies!!! Good, bad, everything in between. I hope this was enough of an intro!

[hawk]

Hello backatcha homie. Absolutly certain Ben will make it smooth as silk and above all, women are tough! Tell Chris Smith that "Hawk" sez hi! When in the hands of a pro, things will be just fine.
Nice hearin from ya!

[RoryQ]

I think sometimes it's good to go in expecting the worst... It would be worse to go in and realise that you understimated how sore it was going to be.

Deluxe is a great shop, good bunch of artists.

[Dan S]

Chi in the house...welcome to LST, Homer.

[SStu]

welcome!

[Heidi]

Thank you....@hawk, I guess a part of the problem is who I want to tattoo my ribs--I want a realistic b/w portrait of a childhood cat, which is totally not Ben's style, so I need to find someone who specializes in this. So far the only person I have found that I would trust to do a good job is Tom Renshaw.

And yes, I saw the joke about how Detroit hurts the worst

RoryQ, yeah I made that mistake with my back tattoo. Did the whole outline in one sitting, then Ben started shading the lower center spine and I was dying inside. I had to call it quits after only 45 minutes of shading. From then on I went in expecting the worst on my back, and the sessions weren't as bad.

[SStu]

Miles at Deluxe does some pretty decent portrait work:

{ Miles Maniaci }

[Heidi]

Miles at Deluxe does some pretty decent portrait work:

{ Miles Maniaci }

Yeah, he does great work...but I have not seen many animal portraits from him. I am being extremely choosy about who does this particular tattoo, unfortunately. This cat meant the world to me and he will always have a special place in my heart, so I feel that I need to find someone with a lot of experience doing pet portraits.

Hope that isn't too corny.

[Heidi]

Figured I would add a pic of the most recent piece finished.

[ShawnPorter]

screw tattoos... what's your favorite horror movie?