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I'm a new poster here, and thought i'd say hi in this thread. My backpiece, finished a couple of months ago, by the amazing Stewart Robson of Frith Street tattoo. It was an absolute pleasure getting this piece, and getting to spend time with such a knowledgeable and insightful guy; an experience I was very lucky to have. Excuse the inlarged instagram pic, it's all I have

got this little grimm-tiger back in march from jelle nelemans

Where are my manners? I've been posting in the forum and I have yet to introduce myself, so here goes nothing. I'm 23 years young and as I've said before currently live at home with the parents in Central Jersey and work in NYC. Growing up I always admired tattoos and wanted to get one mainly because of my fathers small winged dragon that he has on his arm that he got when he was young (wish he'd let me snap a pic). Once I turned 18 I knew I was going to get a tattoo it was just a matter of who, what, where and when. If there was one thing I did know..... it was that I wanted a quality tattoo and was interested in Japanese as I was just fascinated by the imagery and artwork. A few years ago I eventually found out about Kings Ave and just loved Justin Weatherholtz work so I booked an appointment for my first tattoo..... a calf sleeve. I told myself and more importantly my mother that it would be my first and last tattoo. A year later I got an Oni on my other leg from Justin. A year after that I'm currently getting a half sleeve with a chest panel from O'Donnell with upcoming tattoos from Chad Koeplinger, Henning, and Rubendall. So much for only one tattoo. Pics below!

Here we go. Apologies for the suit...unfortunately my plans for world domination have gone to shit so I still have to work for the man. Really cool experience. Can't wait to read the book. Ed was super nice and friendly.

first post! continued getting my leg tattooed with only black traditional work. this one is from alex wild. i hate getting my legs tattooed (especially the shin) + healing is not that fun :rolleyes:

Funny you mention short, for the longest time I used to think Chris Conn was really short because I always saw this picture of him hanging up in the drawing room. Until one day someone said he is sitting down dumbass.

Hey now people, let's all calm down. There is nooooooo reason to use harsh language like "Bieber" in here. We're all friends. Sheesh.

El Carlo recently finished my fiance's chest...

Getting some more work from Trevor McStay tomorrow. Finishing off my calf and possibly doing something on the knee. I don't know what to do on my knee, but I do know I want it to be quick.

Some crappy phone pics of my Lehi tiger. He is being mean to a dragon.

The new yoga teacher doesn't know your name yet, so refers to you as "Miss Tattoos" during class.

awesome pieces so far. as for "just one tattoo"...at the end of the day when all your tattoos are connected into one cohesive body suit it will just look like one big tattoo.

If you have more tattoo machines than clients, that is too much. Guy who tried to be a tattooer I know, worked one day a week had to bring his own clientele, always had a new machine to show off, never had anyone to tattoo.

@kylegrey - good spot! It is indeed, 'the Carving Bear', done in the manner of a printers stamp in white ink over the black wind bar. I think it's the second time he used it, the first time on an as yet unfinished Kintaro backpiece.

I'll be in NYC that weekend getting tattooed by Grez.

Hey dude! We've met! I had just finished my leg with Chris O'Donnell and my pal was getting tattooed by Tony Hundahl at Kings Ave. You were starting your half-sleeve with Chris. Good to see you on here!

Thank you to all for the kind words, it's my pleasure to wear this piece. Although any props really should be directed Stewart's way, all I did was lay there!

A number of years ago a tattooer here in Portland did a tattoo on one of the trailblazers. That player had a contract with a local company called Nike. Pretty soon the players tattoo was being used for shirts, and even window decals. Tattooer sued, settled out of court, for years I was behind this guy getting his money for Nike ripping him off. That is until recently when I was shown the design in a Dover Clip art book you can buy at any bookstore for $9. It just showed me that a lot of the times I don't really know the origin of design, and people don't really create everything they tattoo. There are definitely a few examples on this thread of people shamelessly ripping off tattoos, or at least to the best of my knowledge that is what I perceive it to be. I just think iin general I see people getting called out for stuff neither person created and people claiming stuff they didn't do. Do we owe the guy who did the flower exploding birds the first time royalites, what about the first script carpe diem? Even the best shops do dumb stuff that people bring off the internet, I have seen it with my two eyes. I just wonder where we stop giving credit and start. If it's a dumb tattoo or insignificant tattoo is okay? If it's not done by someone with recognition it's okay? If you can do it better it's okay? Is it okay as long as they aren't a tattooer. I don't know? But saying theft is theft is quite an understatement.

It is unethical and perhaps immoral to "steal" someone else's tattoo design -- particularly if you are tracing it and/or passing it off as your own. Unless it is a piece of flash that you have purchased (or traded for or received as a gift). Certain designs are so old or common or general that they can reasonably be said to have fallen into the "public domain," e.g., Day of the Dead skull, Rock of Ages, etc. Of course, artists with their own personal style have put their "stamp" on things, but copying this can be said to be paying homage -- imitation being the sincerest form of flattery and all that. So far no one has been able to copyright a tattoo design and those who have tried -- like the Mike Tyson/Hangover case -- have settled out of court as far as I know. Whether this is a good or bad thing is open to debate. In short, no copyright -- and certainly no laws -- have been broken, and no one has filed a successful civil suit against anyone or proven monetary damages in a court of law. Theft, morally or ethically -- maybe. Legal, no. The rest is semantics.

If I walk in to a record store and choose to spend my $20 on a Justin Bieber CD instead of the new Bluejax CD, am I "taking food from your mouth" or am I simply choosing not to give you food? Because one of them is clearly theft and one of them clearly is not. If I buy the Bieber CD (or don't) and just download yours, your situation is the same - no one has taken anything from you. Copying someone's tattoo almost certainly deserves a good ass kicking. Depending on your moral system, it may indeed be a corrupt thing to do. But it is not theft, and though breaking copyright is considered a crime, it should not be. Let's look further at what extending copyright to works of art/craft like tattooing would do. Under current copyright law, protection lasts for the life of the artist plus 70 years. If that's how it was back in the day then none of us would be able be wearing Pharaoh's Horses tattoos if the original tattooer didn't license the image. And even he wouldn't have been able to tattoo it without the permission of the original artist (John Herring Sr. [maybe] for you trivia buffs). What if someone copyrighted the idea of putting a dagger through the head of an animal? After that it could be a particular style of rendering lady heads or roses. Next thing you know the only option for all of us is text tattoos of bible verses and portraits of our own kids. And infinity symbols. Thanks a lot, copyright. Further reading on a bit higher level than the simple (but catchy) ditty in my youtube post previous: Against Intellectual Property.

I think it's a wonderful way to memorialize those you lost. Do you have an artist in mind? Maybe whoever could help finish it out for you? My dad was a Marine in Vietnam, so I have a particular affinity for that branch of service.

I'll be THAT old guy...

I couldn't get a free sailor jerry tattoo at one of those event things because apparently a 2x2" tattoo "wouldn't fit". Needless to say the tattooers looked at my like I was high.

I frickin love this back piece by Diego Azaldegui. Hoping to get something similar myself soon. - - - Updated - - - Beautiful Kannon back piece by Horiyoshi III

If it ain't a metal shirt, I'm not wearing it.

As requested here are a couple of photos of my Chris Garver tiger.

El Carlo Aloha Tattoo Spain

...you get stressed thinking about what you will do when you have no empty space for new tattoos even though you still currently have plenty of space.

Tomorrow is a free afternoon without the kiddos, so I was planning on visiting a few shops around the Seattle area. I don't have anything scheduled, but I'm excited to just check out the shops and chat with any artists that are available. I have a lot of open space that I would love to fill up with different styles :) John Fitzgerald | Aaron Bell's Slave to the Needle . I really like John's work and wanted to talk to him about a back piece. On a side note, the last time I was at Slave to the Needle, Aaron Bell was there and steered me away from a really terrible collage back piece I was thinking about. Phew! https://www.facebook.com/LibertySeattle/photos_stream I haven't had a ton of up close exposure to american traditional, but I've been wanting a ship and kraken on my right calf. Seattle Tattoos | Jackson Street Tattoo Co. Scott Falbo | Apocalypse Tattoo I was also told to visit cicada in north seattle :). There are a lot of other suggestions that I would love to follow up on from http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/forum/general-tattoo-discussion/3532-shops-pacific-northwest.html . If anyone has other must-go-to places, I would love to hear about em! The family and I are traveling down to Oregon next month, and we will be making a few strategically placed pit stops while down there :) Have a great day folks!

Hello, I am a former Marine... I do have tats, however I never got a USMC tattoo because most are all the same. I always said, once I came up with an original Idea it would go on paper and once fine tuned, turned into a custom tat. Well, I think I am at that beginning point and could use some thoughts and outside ideas. While I was in, I lost some members of my unit. So as a tribute to not only the men we lost, but to all of our armed forces that have gave the ultimate sacrifice. So, I am starting out with the fallen solder memorial. Now here is the twist.... We were always told in the corps Marines never die... Our spirits live forever... So, at the base of the memorial I have a solders arm breaking through the ground holding the eagle globe and anchor. Since it is a custom thought, the eagle is coming in grabbing the rope for a landing. Sure it may sound a bit twisted but I think it will be really cool once fine tuned. My biggest problem is creating a more realistic arm coming from the ground. Here is the first really rough draft... Any thoughts comments or even motivated individuals that would like to sketch out a few things would be awesome... Thanks again and here is what I have so far..... - - - Updated - - - Oh, and I guess I should mention in case the military folks out there tell me the fallen soldier memorial isn't complete... I know. I haven't added the helmet yet as this is a very rough draft in progress. Hell, I still need to add the continents on the globe....lol... Thanks again for any thoughts and or input..

few more from the last week and my Buddy rick williams finished his side of this split!

Salutation in matching font of the Title Page and a highly legible signature. Nice score! Not to tell you what to do but if it were me, I'd put that copy in a protective cover, frame the photo, and place the whole thing in a display case and buy a second one for reading. Think forward 20 or 40 years. You have quite the collectable. (Imagine if you had a pristine signed edition of Sailor Jerry Collin's book)!

@Takeaway Is that Stewart's tattoo signiture on the back of your leg I spy ?

Yeah, I agree to that. But I would say, less than half of the prison ink I have seen, is tag related. Anyway, its all good. I'll try and get some more pics posted when I get a hold of a decent camera

You definitely won with that didn't you... Probably my favorite piece I have seen from Stewart.

Tim's one of the few people who can make really light background like that look killer. You have a great tattoo right there.

@kimkong nice first post! Great piece mate.

I'm hopefully starting my Japanese back piece fairly soon and I'm kind of nervous about the pain involved. Especially the outlining, I REALLY hate outlining. I'm hoping that once that's done the shading will be a little easier.. I hope!

I don't think many of us upload pictures to the gallery. I just use the "Insert Image" button and copy and paste the url from whatever social network (facebook, instagram, etc.) I have it uploaded to.

Looks great, ironchef. I have 2 and I am pretty jealous of yours. I'll trade you a signed one for 2 of your out of print ones :P

Sure it does...if we are talking about stealing. Theft if theft. But nobody wants to talk about other kinds of theft because it might make them appear to be a hipocrite when talkin about how someone else is stealing something. But for the sake of arguement related to tattoos, remember the guy who did the lion on that ufc guy that was suing the game maker over using his "intellectual property". All kinds of internet opinions were in support of him, but all he did was copy a lion statue (one of which we had in my house growing up which is why I recognized it). And if you looked at his portfolio there were examples of other copyright images reproduced as tattoos by him. Another example is how people got worked up about a guy who copied a nikko day of the dead girl..which happened to be a reproduction of a sylvia ji painting. I think what @G.Uristti is saying is that everyone on the internet is making assumptions as to the reasons why someone is doing a reproduction of someone elses tattoo and there's hardly any way to tell if that opinion is accurate. I suppose when you do tattoos, you at least have a broader perspective as to how and why it happens. Eventhough it may shatter the illusion that tv and ones own personal experiences have created about tattooers being artists, sometimes people just do tattoos. I've resisted even speaking on the matter because I doubt anyones gonna get what I'm trying to say anyway. Its probably a good thing that there's not messageboards for everyones job so that loads of outside opinions about every aspect of ones job can be debated and policed.

He is definitely on the short list of tattooers that I want to get work done by.

None of this relates to tattooing.

Snuck down to see Stefan Johnsson yesterday, guys a certified genius, robbed this from his Instagram, cannot recommend him highly enough. [/url]

The article says "Rihanna opted for an Egyptian-inspired ribcage tattoo as one of the many that she and Bang Bang have collaborated on." BUT, that tattoo was done by Valerie Vargas: Frith Street Tattoo | Rihanna Tattooed by Valerie at Frith Street If isn't just sloppy so-called journalism and that this punk is taking credit for other people's work...

That's one of the craziest SOCKS I've seen!!

If I drew this, I swear I would frame it. - - - Updated - - - Actually, I think this should be entered into the next contest. Despite @Pugilist's commandments, I'm bringing this image to my next appointment.

Tux, 1994

I'm getting both my feet tattooed tommorrow. I prefer the matching look, so I'm getting a shishi and a baku.

I show up an hour early, stand in the window and shake with excitement while chain smoking and yelling "COME ON FUCKER. COME ON!!!"