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Aw what the hell. I wasn't going to post this because, most of what I see here is just so epic. This isn't particularly epic but, I like it just the same. This was my first real 'impulse' tattoo. I was hell bent on getting some kind of little banger as a souvenir of an awesome trip to Vancouver. I wanted to get something done at Gastown but they were fully booked so I walked around til I found a place that had time for a walk in. Normally I would be a lot more fussy but, I wanted it right then and there. I had always wanted a sparrow/swallow, and I liked the date so I threw that in too. Vancouver is the place of my birth and although I haven't lived there since infancy, it always feels very strongly like home when I'm there. So, yeah..... :) Oh, and, pardon the nipple LOL

I'm afraid you won't find much encouragement for such a venture here. If someone who is an actual part "the tattoo world" wanted to reproduce a tattoo design on a wall, they would likely go to a tattoo artist, most of whom also paint, and commission them to paint one.

A little late reply, but i just found some more bodysuit information on Horimatsu's website

@DJDeepFried, that would just be too sexy, I'm afraid. I'll have to wear jeans instead. ETA: Ok, so for the meet up...look for a blonde woman in jeans with a tall beardo in a fundoshi. That's us!

Yes -- and all wear fundoshi. You too @TrixieFaux!

My mother didn't find out until I was in my 30's. She came to visit and I had just jumped out of the shower when she knocked on the door. I knew it was her and didn't want her to wait as she drove from SF to Vegas. I opened the door and she said, WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!?!?!.... I broke the news that I've had them since I was 19 and it's time she knows.... During my most recent and meaningful pursuit of tattoos she was supportive and knew how much I loved them... Funny how the relationship changes after time.....

first after a break over christmas

I saw MBV live in 1989 my hearing still not recovered ! Fucking awesome though !

@HaydenRose "I am a god So hurry up with my damn massage In a French-ass restaurant Hurry up with my damn croissants" The man is the poet laureate of our generation. @Graeme Never saw 'em live. MBV was one of the best shows I ever saw -- back in the '90s. (The LSD helped.) Not so crazy about the new album so it didn't make the cut. Disappointing after a twenty year wait.

Hard as nails piece by Thomas Morgan .

sadly our family won 10 euros after investing 150 euros in tickets. O well, guess i have to prostitute myself to make extra money so we can visit

I'll be there!!!! We should do an LST meet up!

Here's mine: 1) Queens of the Stone Age – ...Like Clockwork 2) Deafheaven – Sunbather 3) Parquet Courts – Light Up Gold 4) Kanye West – Yeezus 5) Nine Inch Nails – Hesitation Marks 6) Tomahawk – Oddfellows 7) Red Hare – Nites of Midnight 8) Killer Mike & El-P – Run the Jewels 9) Prodigy & Alchemist – Albert Einstein 10) Atoms for Peace – Amok 11) Dumb Numbers – Dumb Numbers 12) Big Business – Battlefields Forever 13) Jesu – Everyday I Get Closer to the Light from Which I Came

going to try and see the exhibit this summer...with my folks...who don't know i have any tattoos...keeping my back and side hidden has been easy...my 1/2 sleeve...not.so.much. :)

Love Chris Brand's work so much .

Got some shading done last Saturday. Can't wait for more!

A club I rode with was asked by the local 1%er club to take off our vests at a biker event because our logo looked too much like a patch. They were really nice about it, but wouldn't have been so nice if we had refused. I think they would have just started wailing on an SOA wannabe. If you're going to be around real bikers, you had better know the rules.

Me and @Pugilist got matching tattoos again. This is from Doc Forbes flash and was done by Chris Hold at Sacred Heart Tattoo in Vancouver, BC. It was a super fun one and Chris was a great dude to get tattooed by. Couldn't be happier with the tattoo and the whole experience.

I posted this in my intro thread, but I wanna partake in the fun over here! by Beau Brady

I was in a wedding back in September, this is one of the candid shots the photographer took :)

Saw this on their Facebook: Takahiro Horitaka Kitamura: Sharing the Legacy and Artistry of the ... | Articles | Discover Nikkei

@ChrisvK, well it is a job....

I didn't realize that Cultes Des Ghoules album Henbane came out this year; I thought I was last year. MY B. Please add that to the above list.

really cool! i love the girl face in the leaves and all.

Hell yes, with my fundoshi on of course! Um, no. Noooo fundoshi. No blinding. But a huge yes to going.

Thought I would get in on this... @ChrisvK, that's awesome, I could really relate to your story. I'm 22. I too am a metalhead (I guess if you want to call it that, I kind of cringe at the term). I've always suspected I'm somewhere on the autism spectrum, very awkward and shy and find it tough to interpret social cues and all that. I was fortunate enough not to get picked on at least, just ignored by everyone in my school. It wasn't unusual for me to go days at a time without speaking to anyone. I went to Penn State for a year to major in English (always my best subject) and decided I hated the environment and the major. I dropped out and went on to get a degree in human services (basically, social work). Honestly, I've never found a profession that I feel like I could commit to for life, and will probably change professions in a couple years. People think it's weird that I'm so antisocial and yet am a social worker, but I can fake being social for 8 hours a day...then I need to go home and spend time by myself to recharge. My dream job would be just working part time at a music store or tattoo shop or being a stay at home wife, haha. I've been interested in tattoos and piercings since I was about 13. All the bands I listened to were heavily modded in one way or another, and that was my first exposure to it. I got my first tattoo soon after turning 18 (the Minor Threat sheep), and just recently finished my second, with an appointment for the 3rd later this month. I finally have the time and money to pursue these things and am feeling confident enough to do them, so that's a cool feeling.

A shrimp with big ol' arms, wearing a camo bandana, upper-cutting a shark.

And...lost my appetite for this delicious lox and garlic bagel.

Been pretty busy recently. Driving cross country to California with my friend since he is moving there. Gunna hit Vegas for sure. Taking the jeep out for a few days in the pine barrens for camping and off-roading. Possibly picking up a 1969 CJ5 and breaking out the new millermatic to weld up some fun stuff.

Getting back from our road trip down to Cali today. Stopped by Off the Map northwest on the way up through Oregon just to sight-see. Super nice shop/people. If the stars align I'll be headed back down in august to get a piece from Henrik Grysbjerg who will be guesting for a few days. Crossing my fingers for a busy tattoo year!

These were taken right after it was finished, so the black is much darker than it is now. It's faded to a nce contrast from the gray wash and face.... - - - Updated - - - I'm tossing around a few ideas for my next couple of pieces. Something traditional American on my left forearm and a Japanese tiger to finish up the upper half of my arm with the dragon on it.

Mike aul has been wonderful. I've looked through Jeff zuck's portfolio and was blown away. I plan on going to him in the very near future.

Most of the pieces were done by Mike Aul at Leo's shop. I would definitely consider getting something from Leo just out of respect. No idea where I'm going from here though. - - - Updated - - - Uploaded another pic to the gallery

Hi - long-time stalker, first-time poster - I just posted this in my intro but wanted to share it here too. Done by Tattoo John at San Jose Tattoo (still healing):

I'm anxiously awaiting the new year so that I can finish up my chest piece. It will be very nice to finally let the hair grow back. Then hopefully at the end of January I'll get to the stomach piece I've been struggling to get done for the past year. I'm in no hurry to get back to work, though. So I'm torn.

Indeed Happy Christmas to you my old china !

I just got this from my friend Matt Brotka at Salvation Tattoo in Richmond, Virginia. However his full time gig is at Left Hand Black in sunny San Diego. Pic pilfered from his instagram .

George burchett flash dragon done by Cheyenne Sawyer at Atlas Tattoo in Portland

I want to wear those to my office next Halloween, then take them off at lunch and see if anyone notices.

Happy birthday to me! (2 years ago :p ) If I look a bit sweaty, it was almost 60 degrees centigrade.

Here are a couple of shots of my ankle collar done by Nathan Draper at The Pearl in Toronto. I'll post the chest pics when Tim gets a little more done in the next few weeks. Sadly they are upside down and I have no idea why. No one is rushing to hire me for an IT position, that's for sure.

Hey all, I just joined and started flicking about thoroughly enjoying this thread only to come across this guy here! I live in melbourne and the guy with the chad koeplinger in Rough Operators post is my good friend who I was drinking a beer with only hours ago. This piece looks amazing now that its fully coloured and complete, I'll see if I can find a photo somewhere! Small world, great thread! Here's a sizzler from El Bara, from Madrid.

I'm with @Cork in that balance was a huge consideration. Started with a half sleeve which then was made into a 3/4 sleeve on my left arm. In my mind, had to 3/4 sleeve my right arm as well and from there went below the waist to my left thigh, then began a shoulder to back of knees back piece. Eventually will get a piece on the right thigh to balance out the left. Hadn't planned on anything for my chest/stomach area and chatting with an artist about a calf sleeve but it's just a thought for the moment. My motif is Japanese, strictly animals/creatures and florals. As much as I love them, won't consider any gods or demons for superstitious reason in which I addressed in a separate thread on the forum. Placement was a big consideration for the subject matter.

Balance was foremost in my mind since the beginning. I'm a huge fan of the full Japanese styles, and body placement is a HUGE deal. I kind of started on my back piece sooner than I thought I would be able to, but it was definitely in my head as to what would go where, and how I would tie it all together once the back piece was in place. I never thought I'd be one to get a suit, but I think it would just look weird with empty space between my tattoos ;)

El Carlo Aloha Tattoo Spain

Most people don't appreciate barnyard art... was thinkin' of getting maybe a "lambscape" done at some point. Rob

After reading everyones stories i feel obligated to share my own. Well here we go. I'm Chris, a 19 year old kid from Leiden, The Netherlands. High-school for me started being the worst time of my life. Being a metalhead since the age of 9 I went to high-school as a 12 year old chubby kid with long hair and a squeeky voice. Since i was the only longhaired metalhead 12 year old the bullies thought of me as an easy target. This led to delving deeper into my music and finding hardcore. Looking back to that time i'm just glad i stayed true to who i am despite all the shit i got for being me. Forward to 16 years old. The hair and the squeeky voice were gone, the bullying wasn't. One day i had enough of it and went apeshit crazy. The little 12 year old turned into a 1,85m high 83kg heavy mass of hatred. No one messed with me after that. Met awesome friends in classes and been hanging out with awesome people ever since. Lot's of parties, lots of concerts. Good times. After high-school i went to University to study law. After 2 months i realized it wasn't for me. Not only was it boring as fuck, the entire system was just build around being a lawyer that makes money of off unfortunate people and i was surrounded by the most self centered people i have ever met. Dropped out and started working at an indonesian take away place where i worked till last summer. I also did and still do vollunteerwork at a homeless shelter. This is where i found what i want to do in life. Helpin people. Started college this september to be a social worker and aced my first testperiod. For aslong as i am into metal/hardcore i've been into tattoo's. All my favorite artists and bands had tattoo's. They were badass, therefor tattoo's are badass. I had to get tattoo'ed. Luckily I waited till I was 18 years old and went to a good local shop. This was last year. I got the crest of the city i grew up in on my left calf. This city gave me my friends and made me who i am. Everything that happened to me happened in this city and it just felt right getting the crest permanently on my body. More tattoo's will definitely follow in the future but at the moment I simply can't afford quality work. Take care, Chris

Last night a girl asked me why I had a butterfly tattooed on my hand, I told her "Because when you're an actual tough guy you can get whatever kind of girly tattoos you want."

i should mention that i was an anti-racist skinhead, not a bonehead. doh!

Hey Mask0311, First off, I would love to see everybody sportin great tattoos wherever I go but unfortunately there are fewer people out there "keepin it real" and if I go to WalMart I can see a store full of bad tattoos these days. As far as this guy "blowin you off", it's an old game, as old as it gets with "runnin' the scam", some will spot you and size you up to start something at a high price that they never intend to finish when they have a string of butterflies they can knock out and make more on when you may have already paid in advance, basically you will get shuffled to the rear like you got treated at the 9pm bell. NYC went crazy with those scams when it opened tattooing back up and on this subject I could go on and on. As far as the tooth hurting thing, RUN!!! should have been your instinct and this leads me to tell you that there are tattooers out there who relish a challenge of turning bad tattoos into good ones, so don't worry about having someone else drive over the mess you have started. As far as your expecting better treatment/respect for being home from the military, your absolutely right, the military has always been our staple in tattooing and when everybody's home and the wars are all over we will miss that amount of biz and it goes from steak to pork chops for us tattooers and this is not to mention that there are those of us out here that understand your service to Uncle Sam. So, as far as "keeping it real" and to prove that not all of us are like this disgrace to our trade I will fix and finish your dragon at no charge with the stipulation that you provide the steaks that I will personally grill for you at my country home where I have a rifle range that I will provide 500 rounds of ammunition for you to shoot through my legally owned and registered machineguns after we are finished with the tattooing, on this deal you have my word. Your only hitch is to make it by land sea or air to Illinois and provide the bovine. It can be fixed and finished and picture posted to this thread should you come through on your end of this bargain and I mean all of this most sincerely. I can't do this for every person that's received your treatment or I would work myself into the poorhouse but this is my offer to you. Thanks for your service and I apologize for the hack who misrepresented our trade and culture and I hope to hear from you. Sincerely, -Hawk- of Hawks Tattoo's