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New one from Thomas Hooper last week

I found a lost dog roaming around while I was walking my dog this morning. It wasn't wearing a collar. I caught the dog and went around the neighborhood trying to find it's owners without any luck. I had to get to work so I brought it to my house for fear that it would get hit by a car if left outside. I then spent the entire morning while at work putting out ads for this dog. I got a couple calls throughout the day but this wasn't the dog these people were looking for. By the time I got home I called my vet to see if they could scan this dog for a microchip but they were closed for the night. By this time it was dark out but I took the dog for another walk around the neighborhood in hopes of finding its owner, still no luck. Just an hour ago I was sitting at my computer and thought I heard a very faint whistle and what sounded like someone calling a name. It is unusual for me to not have the TV or music on while at home but for some reason I didn't tonight and I was able to hear this. I opened my window to see if I could hear it again. I saw a woman across the street calling out a name. I yelled across to her and asked if she was looking for a dog. Sure enough she was, and the dog I found was hers. She was in tears and I was so happy to get her dog back to her. I was so stressed out about getting this dog back to his family. All I could think about was how devastated I would be if my dog was missing. While putting out ads for this dog I couldn't believe how many dogs and cats people are missing in just this city. It really bums me out but I'm glad I was able to get one of them back home.

i got this on my forearm from Mike Wilson at the SOG convention. he was stoked on this being the first time doing a snake with a black belly. (fyi, this is an unhealed pic, one day after i got it)

Already posted this in Latest Tattoo Lowdown but I thought I'd throw my hat in the ring. 100 Years of Solitude rib piece Artist: Matt Brotka Shop: Salvation Gallery

By mike wilson

posted mine in the november thread but my band was in frederick, md recording so my girlfriend and i drove down a little early and got tattooed by Antonio Roque @ Black Label Tattoo Co. its hard to get a good picture but this is underneath the tattoo on my kneecap and wraps up around the inside of my knee.. these are the two that my girlfriend got.

Got this from Antonio Roque today @ Black Label Tattoo Co.

I am a fairly social person but do not like talking about my tattoos with those that I feel are just being nosey. My standard answer... Them," Hey where did you get those tattoos?" Me, "prison" Although my work I think is exceptional and def not prison work(Ive never attended!) this response typically pushes people way from me while they make sure they still have their wallet and/or purse. If you want to be flat out mean and are in a bad mood....When they ask "Did it hurt"....just reply, "not as much as the sex I traded it for."

@missStark has the best feel-good story of the day!

Buying one of those waterbrushes that Valerie mentioned earlier in this thread was one of the best moves I've ever made! haha. Alexander Grimm also suggested getting them and his paintings are fucking excellent. Takes sooooo much stress out of painting tattooy type images. I just apply paint/ink with a normal brush as usual) and a pentell water brush to blend out. Just start to blend out with the water brush, quickly dab the end of it to get rid of paint that has now come on to it, then blend out some more with it. Real easy. Make sure to only use a smallish sized water brush so not too much water is coming out. Also, one other thing I noticed don't fill up the water brush fully with water when refilling it. Only fill it around 1/3 of the way maximum. I've found that if it's completely full then the pressure of the water causes too much of it to rush out when you're using it which makes the blends harder to do. Anyway, hope that helps someone :P I did this quick rose painting with the water bursh and this longer girl head in a rose one with a water brush too. Definitely saving me a lot of time :)

Bonus shot sent to me by someone who saw my finished tattoo on my instagram and commented that they took a pic while I was getting tattooed. This is what they texted to me :D

Awesome things I am doing lately..... Worked my first convention Went to my first seminar and I've made a point of being more honest and true to myself. Goal next year, travel more.

no problemo. inner arm by Jondix. i also got a perfect space filler under my knee by this Japanese tattooer, Hideki Kobayashi, whose book captivated my eyes and mind. he turned the lines from the third pic to the tattoo in the second.

Looking forward to him looking forward to you looking forward to posting. And welcome!

this is fucking balling. congrats, dude.

Am I the only person who thinks this?

I believe these our yours and your lady's. awesome tattoos.

Came to Chicago this weekend and got this one from Nick Colella.

i also started to attempt learning how to watercolor.. here's two i did a in month or so ago.

Like @Graeme said, I rarely get this one anymore because we live in a neighborhood where it's more common to be tattooed than not. I also keep my tattoos covered up a lot of the time. Usually when people do ask, it's because they are friends or acquaintances who know I've recently gotten tattooed and want to see and are curious. I would say that most of my tattoos do have meaning to me, but not in the literal, very specific way that they're represented on TV. For example, when I recently got a dragon on my thigh, it was because I'd been feeling really drawn to dragon imagery for how it depicts both luck and strength, and I'd been feeling like I needed a bit of both on me. I think of my dragon tattoo as my little good luck charm. Also I just really loved the design and couldn't get it out of my head! It was the right thing at the right time. I think when serious tattoo folks talk about tattoos having meaning, it's often in that way--some really beautiful imagery that just speaks to you and feels right on your body, like just what you need. Even my less obviously meaning-laden tattoos are still meaningful because they serve as reminders of the time/place I was in when I got them, and who I was at that time. These meanings are often pretty ethereal or abstract. When we make fun of the LA Ink style meaning thing, it's often because people go so literal, rather than letting the power of tattoo imagery speak for itself. All that to say that when folks ask me about what my tattoos mean, I am happy to get into it if it's close friends, but it is pretty annoying if it's people I don't know very well. Because there's no good answer. If I say it doesn't mean anything, then that's alarming to the tattoo noob (I think they mix up meaning or lack thereof with how seriously you took the decision to get tattooed, as though if it isn't obviously meaningful, then you must not take tattoos very seriously. So misguided.). But if the tattoo is super meaningful to me, then why on earth would I want to share such super personal stuff with someone I don't know very well? Part of the tattoo TV problem is that it assumes that even if we are getting tattoos that are profoundly meaningful, that we're also all super confessional exhibitionists who like, want to announce all this shit to any stranger we meet. Nope.

From Jondix - " They can never copy my migraines or my travels so it will never be the same .... but it could be even better if they wanted " Maybe much like the REAL East L.A. style something that probably has to be lived , maybe it requires living under darkened sky in damp studio flats and is a response elicited amongst the relative oasis of the natural history museum or the like I don't know, mostly I think it stems from a desire to be different . Also like that other style it has a shop , IN2U , as the epicenter in the same manner as that old "gingerbread man " shop , G.T.C . Cool to see Negrete put his spin on it .

You and my wife have basicly the same mike Wilson tattoo. Right on....I love it

Manny was a damn nice guy. So sad to see him go. I wrote a little thing on OV about the time we met. Dennis was a character. Not as sweet as Manny by a few miles, but still a loss.

Actually, this and another laser thread have inspired me to pursue a larger back piece. My 1st laser session is this afternoon, so after 4-5 sessions I'm planning on some new work in 2014. I'll start a new thread with before, during and after pictures in the Spring. Thanks.

Went to congress st. tattoo this past sat to get tattooed by the gentle ginger (Jason Scott). Was a great time with great people who love tattooing for all the right reasons. I got the higgs inspired tattoo (jug fulla sun eyes in it!) and my wife got a great strange UFO/lobster/rose thingy. Got to hear great stories from Jason and see some amazing higgs,whitehead,bink,and bswelt tattoos amoung other things. I love these kind of tattoo trips! . @jasonscott523 | Higgs Inspired! | Webstagram - the best Instagram viewer . @jasonscott523 | Ufo!! | Webstagram - the best Instagram viewer edit: I guess click the @ symbol to see the tattoos, I have a hard time consorting with those of the robot race.

From a En guest spot at IN2U .

Aww- you flatter me :) We made a deal back when he was 15 that if he waited and passed on the sweet kitchen tats his friends were getting, I would help pay for his first tattoo in a legitimate shop. I've been hearing about that promise for three years! He sat like a champ and we all had a good time.

What an inspirational thread! Picked this one up today. Tony Nilsson Blue Arms Tattoo Oslo, Norway

Scott sylvia blackheart tattoo SF done in 2 sittings 4 hrs for outline of eagle and shading 7 hrs for roses and color its also going over old lasered stuff!

I use arches cold press and I love it. I've also recently started using Waverly liquid acrylics (previously I used FW exclusively) and I really enjoy them. I've been doing a ton of marker stuff lately but this thread is making me itch to get back to my liquid acrylics. When I transfer the image to the arches, I use a super fine nibbed pen, and after doing all the shading and color I go over all of the lines with a brush, and that's honestly my favorite part of the whole process. I'm not perfect at it but it's a fulfilling challenge I suppose. Here are a couple I did earlier in the year with Waverly liquid acrylics. Sorry if the images are huge >.<

What an absolutely INSANE weekend! Got to chat with @hogg, meet @Reyeslv and watch @Stewart Robson work on his AMAZING back piece, got to meet @Scott R and see his insane 11 hour back piece as well as watch @Valerie Vargas work on his thigh pieces, chat with Valerie while getting tattooed with Jondix, Hang with @Tim Hendricks while he tattooed my Wife and much more! Here are some highlights... My Wife and I with Jeff Gogue, such a mellow down to earth guy! the tattoo he made on me Jeff drawing it on Jeff tattooing my Wife the finished piece pic from Jeff's Instagram Tim drawing on my Wife's foot, another super down to earth guy and a blast to hang with... Freddy Corbin also hung out for half the tattoo... needless to say, a memorable experience :D Tim with my Wife and the finished piece Pic of the tattoo from Tim's Instagram - - - Updated - - - My Wife and I with Jondix, the coolest most humble guy I'll ever meet and an absolute pleasure to be in his presence... his AMAZING banner The stencil for my stomach lined out and after 6 hours of tattooing, the finished product of which a photo does NO justice here's the tattoo he made on my Wife Jondix shared his booth with Deno and I took this pic for a friend but I'll post it for you guys, this was some original artwork that he was selling words can't describe how amazing this weekend was but hopefully these pictures attempt to paint a picture :D

Hadn't posted in this art thread in awhile- finished this over the Labor Day weekend:

Since beginning my journey into fitness/health (52lbs lost as of yesterday's weigh in!) I've been getting much more inventive with cooking; i'd always relied on fat, salt, etc to make things taste good. Now that Im cooking more balanced meals I've had to really stretch myself to make it interesting and satisfying while maintaining the caloric guidelines I set on myself. I've been really pleased with how things are coming out, and was recently asked to teach a 'healthy cooking' class for my weight loss group. Oh. And I celebrate every 10lbs lost with foie gras and charcuterie, so I'm not a total square!

Aww @missStark I'm glad that story has such a happy ending! We rescued a stray dog this summer who had clearly been intentionally abandoned. (Someone had tied him to the stairs in our back yard! Seriously!) It still makes me feel crazy when I think about it. Luckily he was the was the cutest puppy in the universe and we managed to place him with a rescue almost immediately. And he found his forever home within a week. Yay for good dog stories. :) - - - Updated - - - Aww @missStark I'm glad that story has such a happy ending! We rescued a stray dog this summer who had clearly been intentionally abandoned. (Someone had tied him to the stairs in our back yard! Seriously!) It still makes me feel crazy when I think about it. Luckily he was the was the cutest puppy in the universe and we managed to place him with a rescue almost immediately. And he found his forever home within a week. Yay for good dog stories. :)

I did, 2 back tattoos, hip, wrist, chest, forearms, sleeve, hand, other hand, and next month I'm doing the shaved part of my head.... I have both hands done, on my right hand it's accompanied by a full sleeve, but my left isn't and i think it's looks awesome...but I would say take the hands slow...if you don't have any visible tattoos don't start with your hands I call it crossing a line, the shirt line, lol.

I love the way you described this lol, I get it A LOT! because most of my tattoos are so visible....usually I get, "omg did that hurt" I want to tell them, no, it was a walk in the park I felt nothing at all, but usually I just say, of course, anyone that says tattoos don't hurt is lying, then they say, but isn't it expensive and I ALWAYS say 'yea but you get what you pay for!!' , o what do they mean, 'they all have their own meanings, significant or not' by that time I'm usually walking away, if I haven't already. Lol it gets tiring especially when older more criticizing people try to lecture me on how I'll regret it blah blah blah I always just say when I'm 80 I'm going to enjoy being able to say I didn't hold back and did exactly what i wanted to do.

Thanks for the information. Russ Abbott emailed me back and said he would only do a new piece on me as he doesn't do covers or add-ons (he doesn't like doing them). Gunnar emailed me back tonight and said he'd be happy to add a cobra/snake to the eagle. I really only planned on having two tattoos, so I'm not ready for a new one from Russ (never gave any thought to where, plus I have no new tattoo ideas). I have some faith that Gunnar's addition may not look like my original Gunnar piece. I think a good artist can do work that isn't within their stereotype (Gunnar and I talked about that). A lot of artists, as good as they are, get pigeon-holed into a style, yet they probably could do other styles just as well. But since they're "known" for a particular style, people continue to come and fill up his time slots with a particualr style (or least in the majority).

She's a Lulu FIEND!! :D

Freddy Negrete .

Looks like ill be getting one next year....and I kinda want to do it on a smith street trip and would really love Boltz to do mine.

David Glantz, Archive Tattoo, Toronto. Dude is a hell of a good tattooer.

Marius Meyer

What does it mean? "It means I like tattoos".

Nice job of parenting, Kev. Leading by example is the best way.

My son's first tattoo for his 18th b-day by Ezra Haidet- Triple Crown Tattoo, ATX

Some really great work this month! I thought I'd throw mine in as well. Tony Nilsson Blue Arms Tattoo Oslo Norway Tony did a great job! I couldn't be happier!!! Here's a link to Tony's work via.... Instagram

Reviving this thread partly 'cause I love it, partly because I have something to add in terms of awesome things I've done recently. This afternoon I successfully defended my PhD! Yikes! I am still kind of wrapping my head around the enormity of it, and so spewing my crazy wired energy wherever I can. :)

What do you think about this guy's work...Travis Hulshizer in Fayetteville, Arkansas? Someone on LST recommended him, and I think his work is pretty outstanding...especially for a small market like Arkansas.

i think i might be back. but i can't get too distracted as this semester is the first one doing "real" science and math. August has been a blast! i saw 3 rattlesnakes, learned how to mist-net and handle bats while camping in Tahoe National Forrest, handled 6 bats (5 on the trip and one last Friday during my volunteer shift at Wildcare), and performed my first necropsy yesterday on a opossum that had been attacked by a dog (or at least i'm guessing that due to the large wound it had). it's all kind of creepy crawly science shit, but it's been life changing and i love it!

lol