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I don't have many tattoos yet but I love the ones I do have. New one done last month at Frith Street by Stewart Robson... (I hope it works)

Cheers :-) Alright then, there is still loads to go, even just planning certain bits out we haven't finished yet, need to get the fingers finished, bloody loads to go on the lantern, try to fit the background into the Jess Yen work on the left thigh, then put lots of sweeping hair across the face - but here's our start! Will be full colour in the face/hand/lantern, and loads more black in the background. Will take quite awhile, trust me! I will update as we go if people are interested, cheers :-)

Done today by Paul Slifer at Red, Hot and Blue Tattoo in Edinburgh,

I forgot I posted Louie in this thread, haha. Since then I got a dog, she'll be a year old next week. Louie's friends with her now but it took awhile. Bonnie: Bonnie kayaking: (well, taking a break from kayaking)

Yeah, that's the video. Good stuff. With these kinds of threads I feel that we too often miss the point. When talking about Chad's tattoos, for instance, what makes his tattoos so great is that they have real power. Line weight plays into it, sure, but not as much as that his drawings are loose, they're big and bold, they're aren't picky or finicky, they're just straight up fucking powerful. Fat lines alone isn't going to make a tattoo good.

I second @Killercook76. Definitely tell them your budget and also know it's OK to ask for a ballpark even when the design is in limbo. I ask all the time and they usually give me a range, then I save the amount of the highest figure + tip.

Not to sound too creepy or anything, but I'm always ridiculously jealous every time you post pictures of your arms.

Tattoos are for degenerates and evildoers.

Updated--- 3.5 hours in the chair last night, same shop, same artist.

3.5 hours in the chair last nite at Studio 69 on Long Island, NY. The artist is Gina Sherry.

Not one on myself, but one I put on a good friend recently. He came home for New Year's to surprise his family, and drove three hours to surprise my fiancée before she went home to Ireland. I was the only one who knew of his plans, and thankfully he avoided all the snow issues. Inside of the knee/thigh... or the No Fun Zone.

Healed pic of my Scott Sylvia (BlackHeart Tattoo - SF) roses from Dec 2013. Happy New Year, everyone!! :D

My old boss had been putting money in the stock market for something like fifteen or twenty years planning for his retirement. Then the recession hit. If he'd spent that money on tattoos he'd at least have something to show for it.

Oof, that is annoying. Yeah, I guess it's a bad financial decision if you view it as a financial decision! I have never gotten a tattoo as a financial decision--my 403b account and life insurance were financial decisions. Tattoos are more of a personal decision. Everyone gets to decide what they want to spend their money on. Some women spend thousands on freakin' purses, and I shouldn't comment on that because it's their choice and I have some other material stuff I like buying, too, but at least the tattoos are going to last. They are not an investment, they are a pursuit. You can win--get the tattoos you want and enjoy them.

Be wary of pictures like that. It looks great like that, but how is it going to look healed? How will it look 20 years from now? I think if I was in that guy's position that I'd rather get laser and have far more options. But seriously, talk to an artist and get a professional opinion because all we can do here is speculate on what will work.

Welcome. Respect for your dedication in going to the artist you really want no matter the money or patience required.

Well I don't doubt that the show is lame and shouldn't be watched and that the terminology is a little broad but the image of ganesha shows up as Ganapati and Vinayaka tantric buddhism. Or somethin like that, haha.

Nathan Kostechko I fell in love with this the other day. I would totally consider doing something like this for filler, very neat!

Booked in a few early February sessions with William Yoneyama to punish my ribs today, no prizes for guessing which animal I'm going with. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

sunscreen is good defense...i was pretty overzealous during my early years living with tattoos. then i got a lot more ink, got lazy of lathering and tired of smelling like a god damn pina colada all the time. coverup, wear long sleeves if you are going to be out in the sunshine for long periods, don't stay exposed long enough to get a burn. i mean that is good sense whether you look like a colouring book or not. yknow that pesky thing they call skin cancer... the gent who did my first tattoo told me that tattoos look the best ten years after they were made. they look worn, the look weathered, they have aged gracefully with you. the tattoos have mileage and your stories attached to make them alive. i looked up this tattooer 10 years later and stopped by his shop to show him that decade old first tattoo. and to tell him he was god damn right! take care of your body and keep healthy. healthy skin will make the tattoo look better and keep it looking like a good tattoo. that is the best long-term tattoo care advice i've been given and that i can share.

Healed from the London Tattoo Convention - by Chriss Dettmer

I love this thread. My girls: This is Daisy. She's a retired racing greyhound and is the sweetest, laziest dog ever. We adopted her from a greyhound rescue about a year and a half ago and watching her go from being this dog that had never lived in a home before to being this sweet little girl who just wants cuddles from everybody she sees (except for children, she is afraid of them) has been one of the most amazing things I have ever experienced in my life. http://distilleryimage5.s3.amazonaws.com/a5b74d08dff811e1a2ce22000a1c86dc_7.jpg And this is Susan (grey one) and Willa (orange one). They're sisters. We adopted them from friends of friends who took in a pregnant stray off the street. She gave birth to four kittens. We couldn't decide which one we wanted so we got two. The guys who took in their mother from the street read somewhere that the best way to socialise kittens is to hold and touch them from birth so they have none of the usual cat aloofness and you can pick them up and cuddle them and rub their bellies and basically do whatever you want with them. Willa regularly shits outside of the litter box because she's an asshole. http://distilleryimage3.s3.amazonaws.com/ee70b336e26911e1bb6a1231381f737d_7.jpg

my cat Louie... only photos I have were taken when we first got him from the shelter a year ago. He's got two extra toes on each paw.

Tim at The Pearl finished my left shoulder on Wednesday. My chest piece is now fully connected. There is just a little spider-webbing left to do on my pecs and the chest, she is done. I'll post next week. So close...so close...

Just booked an appointment with Dusty Neal at Black Anvil Tattoo 3/28/2014 and I can't wait. I'm getting a grim reaper with a yellow rose and a banner reading "Death Makes Life Worth Living" on my left thigh. Can't wait!

I have work that was done with a standard 5 over 20 years ago; it's been holding up just fine. To assume that tattoos done with middle line weight won't hold up would be incorrect. More relevant is type of skin, location of the tattoo, exposure over the years, what black the tattooer used, etc. plenty of other factors besides line weight.

I totally agree @bongsau. Assuming the application and execution of the tattoo was good, the rest is just a reflection of the health of your skin, which is built upon a healthy body. Obviously, the sun is the #1 killer of tattoos - but eating, drinking, and living right go a long way as well

The main questions I've had about my lady head are: Who is she? Why do you have a massive womans head on your leg? Fortunately she is based off a character in a book series I love so I can just go with that. My next tattoo is going to be a deer head wearing a big fruit hat, so I have no idea what I'm going to tell people when they ask what that means, haha! I'll think I might have a bit of fun and make some stupid shit up. This thread is giving me lots of good ideas. Hate the questions about cost! So rude!

Hayden, Jun's pieces are the only ones I have..I followed his progress from my mid to late teens and basically said to myself I'm going to get tattooed by him no matter the time or cost. His super hard to get accepted by and given I live in OZ his also really far away and really expensive comparatively... So far I'm happy with the process/tattoos and I highly recommend him to anyone interested in B&G..

Went into the local shop today to get an appointment, thinking it will be a few months (waiting lists are something else here). Went out of the shop with an appointment next week on the 16th. Well. Shop is Black Cat Tattoo, artist will be Dano Black Cat Tattoo - Dano Need to promote the awesome artists of Switzerland a bit, methinks.

Finished my first tattoo 4 days ago. Second session was a nice 5hours of colouring. Sort of a bio-organic thing :) By Yliana Paolini

I trust what you have to say!

Haha, I'm not sure how I'm all of a sudden an authority on good tattoos.

and best ink fails again... because a tattooer tattooed Ganesh on a woman's arm but called it a "buddhist elephant". WTF

Interesting comments on thick outlines in this video (starting at the 5:20 mark). Some pretty cool history, too

Guess I'll throw in another Scott Sylvia... from richmond - - - Updated - - - How to I post the full pic instead of thumbnail?

Welcome to LST! And yes, please share some of your tattoos.

I can't wait to join the backpiece club. Still months to go until I start.

Been a little disheartened lately but heres the first thing Iv painted in a really long time. Ink on arches 15" x 11"

Tattooed by Tony D Chronic Tattoo Elyria Ohio. Thanks for letting me share!

Pure awesomeness ! Memoir is such a great shop I think if I won the lottery the first thing I would do , would be to book a flight to see Shawn Barber his work is just mind-blowing. - - - Updated - - - Got my wife to take some photos of my latest tattoo all healed. The photos are a bit glarey cos of the flash. Tibetan Skull by Ema Sweeney at Custom Inc .

Just finished off my right shoulder. It's now linked with my chest piece. I'll post a pic next week, when I finish the other shoulder. As usual the work was done by Tim Pausinger at The Pearl. I'm also on the cancellation list for Mark Cross who is guesting at The Pearl in a week or so. His schedule filled up fast! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I've just got back from Mexico, WOW! love that place, will definitely be going back for sure. Good food, Bad Alcohol (but lots of it!) I Also spotted Oliver Peck, met Liam Sparkes (nice guy) and physically bumped into Jared Leto. Crazy trip, Bring on the next one. Happy New Year!

Outer thigh finished. A bit bloody.

I kept mine covered for so long, it just got to be too much. I got tired of wearing long pants, long sleeves, and keeping my hands in my pockets. Your mom will always look at you and still see the baby she first held at the hospital; it's what moms do. Change is difficult for a parent to accept. I know I look at my kids and can't believe where the time has gone. I went to my parents and had a very upfront talk with them about tattoos. I thanked them for raising me to be the person I am today, accepting and open minded. I explained why I do what I do. I think while they may not have wanted me to wind up heavily tattooed that they now understand it better. But a mom will always be a mom to her kids. My mom still pleads with me, "No more skulls".

If your artist doesn't know who Higgs is or doesn't have any of his/her own reference for it, and it's probably not the right artist to get the piece of Higgs flash from. The right vibe just won't be there.

Phil Holt (and this was this guys first tattoo): - - - Updated - - - Also Phil Holt and this guy is actually the brother of the guy in the last photo:

Here it is, my naked self on a cold winters night...finished and healed pics of my back by Dean Sacred.

Since my backpiece was posted on instagram I will re-post it here; although the background has not been started. Done by Jill Bonny at State of Grace. The pics were taken from instagram. I may post better pics when healed. (Birds are old tattoos)