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I want to start off by saying I absolutely love this forum. It's introduced me to many tattoo enthusiasts like myself, just all around good people. Not only that I got the honor of spending almost a week in San Francisco with @Iwar. I know I haven't been posting much, I'm going through some personal stuff, including a divorce, and I just haven't been at the top of my game lately. Here's why I'm posting, I've recommended this forum to a few people and while they've checked it out and even posted threads, they couldn't get used to the 'clickiness'. Fortunately @MikeL stayed and as a result we got to see his amazing work done by Rodrigo Melo. The guys that have been here a while are well versed in tattoo etiquette and the guys that stick around pick it up pretty quick. That's great, I'm so glad we can serve a purpose and be a place where people can learn about the Do's and Don'ts, they can learn what a good tattoo is and who to get it from in their area. I really want to see this be a place where anyone can get comfortable and learn a thing or 2 without feeling less than. I want to be confident that if I send people here that they're just bummed they didn't find it soonerT. I guess what I'm saying is that there should be no elite bullshit over here. Everyone should have the chance to learn and share the fun we have over here. I just hope this can be considered when some noob says something stupid. Don't ridicule them, do them a favor and PM them to fill them in. The more knowledgable people here the more fun we can have and the more tattoos we can see. I guess what I'm saying is, if someone says something stupid, think about how to reply in a way that they want to continue to post here. I'll do my best to start posting again, I love you guys and I love this forum :D Thanks all, Ian

New one from my buddy - Christian Peters - Lotus tattoo. Super happy with it one of the nicest guys too.

Hey, good to hear from you! Hope everything works itself out in your favor. I still feel like I say stupid shit all of the time, ha There is a lot of egotism in tattooing in general, it's one of the things about all of it that bums me out the most. I think everyone, myself included, falls into that pit from time to time. Sometimes we get so obsessed over the impression and impact of the art that we don't distance our selves from it and our everyone's-got-one opinions fly out, and words turn into vomit, etc. Thanks for that reminder though :) One of my favorite things about this place is that everyone is really mellow, really nice, and usually has no problem checking themselves. It's rare, especially on the soapbox of anonymity known as the internet.

Thanks to all of you, I'm extremely grateful for all of the support. This divorce is a bummer but it's about as good as it could get considering. There's been nothing nasty about it, I'm glad how it's playing out. As for my post, I'm glad everyone is so accepting about it. I haven't seen anything negative enough to see someone leave but I did hear from a guy that said he didn't feel he was being accepted and I wanted to address it. Even if everyone is doing a good job welcoming noobs, it never hurts to get a reminder. It reminds me of the saying, nothing ruins talent more than ego... or something like that. Love you guys :D

Everlasting jobstopper/liferuiner/diploma burner from Steve Byrne today. Photo taken from his Instagram. Can't express how much I like it in words.

First session of my eagle/rose done this weekend, second session to do the color in a few weeks. Done by Karl Williams. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This is going to be my first convention in America! Im stoked to be working and checking it out! Hopefully get to meet some of you guys who inspire me on here!

"Older folks"!!!!!! :eek:

Good on you bro I hear what you are saying. I have been guilty myself of letting my emotions get the better of me from times and jumping on certain people. On another note my mother in law got her first tattoo today from the best shop in NZ and great tattooer Dan Anderson. I was able to steer her in the right direction and now she has outlines of a sweet tiger on rocks with cherry blossoms on her back, its amazing how a bit of educating can alter the end result. On a lighter note I hope your divorce isn't too messy, at least you know she can't take your tattoos with her....sorry bro I couldn't help myself, head up mate and full steam ahead.;)

Maybe I'm weird, but I wish more people kept their tattoos covered. Tattoos are better when there's a bit of secrecy to them.

Sorry to hear about your personal stuff, man. I just wanted to say that as someone relatively new to posting, I find this forum to be pretty welcoming and helpful compared to many. Having grown up as part of the punk/hardcore scene and being involved in any number of internet forums/sites in the late 90s/early 2000s, I've been around a lot less gracious and helpful people. I think a lot of people have been involved in petty, ego-driven, and overall crappy forums. And I guess I tend to lurk for a while and feel out a board before posting, but this board never made me feel out of place or anything, and I think that's awesome. I've already learned a ton, and people have been quick to give suggestions or comments when I've asked.

Yep. I think a ratio of 8 out of 10 is being a bit generous. It is a bit presumptious to say that people want good tattoos. The majority of people who walk through our door (a street shop, admittedly) just want a 'tattoo'. That's it. Good or bad, they don't know and they don't care. There is a huge number of people who don't see tattoos as art, and they don't have the same requirements as a collector, or someone who loves the art/craft of tattooing. They want their mum's date of birth, or some bird silhouettes, or their boyfriends name. They honestly do not possess that filter in their brain that can identify a good tattoo or a bad one. These people neither want nor require education. It is a bit elitist of us to assume they do. There's too much information out there already, as I'm sure fellow tattooists will attest to, and indeed they have in various threads on here. I'm currently in the middle of a full sleeve on a customer who didn't ever want a tattoo until he started watching Miami Ink, so you can imagine the pain of dealing with him (it's a whole other story in itself). We recently had to sit through three episodes of Ink Master that a customer had on his iPad whilst being tattooed. Too much information. Do you want a nice tattoo? Yes. Then here is some of my work, if you like it, let's get you booked in. That should be the long and short of it. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Honestly I am a bit lazy so......maybe this was answered already but...... Who do you feel should be the one to "educate" the general public? Also.....you can give the info to people....tell them who the best people are to go to....tell them why they shouldn't go to non-properly trained tattoo artist......AND 8 out of 10 times they will listen to what you say......AND still go to their cousin's, brother's, uncle and get tattooed in his kitchen or a shitty shop! I think anyone who has been around tattooing for more than a couple years has been frustrated by their friends who ask but don't listen...... But most of all I am interested in who you think should be the ones educating the public?

@ian - I hope you're doing ok. I am sorry that you are having such a rought time right now. @cltattooing - thank you for your reflections on ego. This is one of the major things that bums me out about tattoo subculture. I always say to @Graeme that it reminds me of the frustration I felt in punk subculture back in the day - that subcultures are supposed to counter cults of personality and celebrity and often end up creating their own. It's hard to find that line between pride and arrogance, between respect and worship, between belonging and exclusion. It's something I think about a lot on both the tattooer and the collector side of things - how can people really love this thing without becoming dicks about it?

@BrianH you're 27???? I did not realize! @iowagirl - I do like challenging people's expectation of "who" tattooed people are. Although I am still very conservative about this myself, and non of my colleagues nor my students know that I am tattooed (at least not to my knowledge). I remember making small talk with a colleague last year about one of her grad students, and she went on a whole schpiel about how bright this young woman was, but you wouldn't believe it to look at her - she was all tattooed and weird-looking! Who knew that someone like that could complete a worthwhile dissertation? I had to try really hard to keep a straight face.

I'm not at that point and I don't know if I'll ever fully be there, but I get what you're saying. For me, the inclination to get work from fewer artists has also to do with that I think there's something enjoyable about getting tattooed over a longer period of time by the same person and kind of having a relationship that builds with them instead of it just being a one-time thing, if that makes any sense. I think I have tattoos from nine different people at this point.

It is done by Robert Aalbers from Clean Solid Tattoos in Waalwijk, The Netherlands.

My chest piece is done:

I just got my haircut by my little sister, who is just about to graduate from cosmetology school. While her bad decisions in tattoo taste are, well, bad, she gives a decent haircut. I guess that's pretty cool. Also, I went to a Pallbearer show for metal homework.

My grumpy old man view (even though I'm only 27) of tattoos in the typical office work place is tattoos (good or bad) are a distraction and should be covered up most of the time. Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk

Thanks, everybody.I wish I could take more credit for how rad the hand is, but all credit goes to Steve. I have one more to share, from today. Hyottoko from Civ, followed by one last pass to get rid of the money in my wallet, then about 10 hours or so back to Kansas. My coworker Jimmy also got tattooed by Paul Dobleman and Stefano (the flower/chain that he posted earlier) to finish his lower arm, and we brought along my parents and got them tattooed. Neither had been to a convention in about 20 years. My mom got a big Texas tribute from Oliver Peck (after I told her an idea she should get while we were in a Whattaburger), and my dad got a really nice rose on his neck from Bobby Padron from ROA. He also won best small B&G with his 30 year old Charlie Cartwright hand tattoos. I doubt we'll ever hear the end of it... in a good way. Also picked up tons of prints, a small Beppe Strambini original, and some stories. Learned through keeping my eyes open as well. Looking forward to next year.

Damn, that's nice. Rock of Edges? ;)

Here is a photo of my second "bro tat", this one shared with my Mom! Done 3 weeks ago, by Arno at PSC tattoo in Montreal. It's her first tattoo, at 64 and she didn't even flinch;)

I'm a little confused by this statement... Am I correct to interpret this as "I am a tattoo artist but not willing to be up front and honest about my background on this particular internet forum?" I ask because I read your posts and they are all very thorough but it is very difficult to truly appreciate your statements without some info on what shapes your perspective of these issues.

Hah! You think we're cool.

100% agree. I think I'm more burnt out from traveling time than actual tattoo time. I have driven at least 50 hours to get a total of about 30 hours of work from O'Donnell (3/4 sleeve plus 1/4 add on) and Henning (1st session of a thigh piece). Sometimes its nice to day dream about getting most of my future work from a shop only an hour away.

My issue here is that while I more or less agree with the idea of educating people about tattoos so that they have the understanding to be able to look at, recognise, and get good work, I still don't want to read the OP's post. It isn't engaging, it doesn't connect with people, and I don't think it even makes a genuine attempt to connect with people. I also feel that one of the things that makes LST a really special place is that there is a tremendous amount of first-hand knowledge and experience here, at this point mostly with collectors, though if you look back far enough there used to be a lot of really great artists posting here too, and @Victor, I've seen a lot of thoughts and ideas from you so far, but you haven't said if you're an artist or a collector, you haven't told us about your tattoos or told good tattoo stories, you haven't posted pictures. Tattoo pictures are like currency here. This matters. Experience matters. It's always better to speak specifically and to direct personal experience. As far as trying to educate people about good tattoos--and I don't mean to imply any kind of tattoo evangelism here, because when it comes down to it, people get the tattoos they get and if people are going to go to hacks and butchers, that isn't going to have any effect on the tattoos I get--I think LST's motto of GET GOOD TATTOOS is key here. In my day to day life, people I know who are interested in tattoos will talk to me because it's obvious from looking at me that I like tattoos and I get good ones, and I can direct them to good shops and artists, or offer them solid advice. I have a friend who recently started getting tattooed who wasn't especially interested in tattoos until me and my wife started getting seriously tattooed because he didn't know that tattoos could look like the ones we get. He thought they all looked like the shitty ones you typically see around. Good tattoos begets good tattoos.

I do a bit of both, one artist for my biggest work(full sleeves, full back and maybe ribs/stomach in future), and other artists for smaller single session or mid-sized tattoos. I learned after doing my thigh that I really didn't enjoy travelling over and over again for big multi session tattoos, and forget about sitting multiple days in a row on the same area, so now with conventions or overseas appointments with relatively big name artists I keep it simple and small(ish)! I've been tattooed by 8 artists I think... I really, really enjoy meeting some of my favourite artists and getting tattooed by them, there's nothing like it, but my local studio is like my second home and family, no matter who I get tattooed by in the world the first thing I want to do is get back and show my friends there!

I'm always bummed out when there are actually good shows at Eli's cause I never want to hang out after I'm off work. Like I might as well just put a sleeping bag in the shop.

@ian, been through that and you know what? it gets sooo much better. and of course a new tattoo eases the process! yeah more kindness in the world would not hurt. LST for the win!

@ian,sorry to hear you've been going through some tough times. And you are right, kindness is never a bad idea.

Check out Chad Chesko at Fat Ram's Pumpkin Tattoo in Boston!

Um, because you can have the best of both worlds, and all you need is the right shirt. Hiding tattoo's are not the only way people accommodate those around them. We all adjust the way we even speak depending on the situation. Why is this so hard for people to understand when it comes to tattoo's. I know that some of my patients would feel uncomfortable if I had visible tattoos. And yes I care about their comfort level with me. It is part of my job to care. My work is a large part of my life. Will I decide then that, "Oh well, I just won't be able to have tattoos" Why should I have to choose between the two, when I can very easily just cover them?

It just sounds like this dudes hot girlfriend went and got tattooed with out him.

None of these trolls will ever match the sheer idiocy and frustration of Bubbleberry... not sure why they even try.

Are there way too many feathers, especially on ducks? The body is not a pillow. What's wrong with these warped pieces of poultry that they don't have any concept of what it means to be a living bird? You're not an eagle that rents grass for piles of snakes and crossbones.

I can say this from me personally. I really don't mind answer the same questions we all had in the beginning of getting tattooed. We've all been there. Yes there is repeat questions, because honestly most people share similar fears or doubts. I know sometimes I (or us as a whole) come off a bit rough when we say "go ask the artist(s)" but realistically I feel that, us "internet strangers" would not be giving the most accurate advice. There is only some much information we know or can share without just basing guesses on personal experiences, which really would be just throwing out opinions. Things like "how long will it take", "How much time was that", "Can this image/idea be done", really are best left up to the actual artist doing the tattoo. I know personally I cannot give a quote for price/time, or tell you what can be done. This I feel applies as well to just about all other LST members (unless they happen to the be artist you are getting tattooed by!). I'd say my biggest "rules" I like to enforce on LST as a moderator are as follows: 1. Be nice! 2. Do not ever talk money! Treat this place as if it was a gathering of friends. Friends don't talk disrespectfully to each other, and I have yet to really start talking money with my friends, outside of the casual "if I won the lottery" conversation.

Yes, definitely waaay too many tattoos. Living beings should never be marked by the ravages of time, their environment, circumstance or human intervention! Won't somebody PLEASE think of The Children!

I think part of what it means to be a living being is not calling other living beings warped pieces of garbage.

@finegentleman You should email Luca Ortis, who did the first tattoo you linked to. He's a nice guy and a very professional and businesslike tattooer. If you're serious about getting a tattoo like this, most tattooers wouldn't mind a few newbie questions. We all have to start somewhere. If you're asking so you can have fuel for a chat session with your buddies, keep asking strangers on the internet. Maybe they'll start arguing amongst themselves - that'll be fun for about zero seconds.

Hi, Yes, I'm the proud owner of the gorilla.

Thanks! I'm going to be almost 40 when I go back! That seems so crazy, to be a...what..44 year old new teacher? I'm assuming it's a 4 year degree. Oof da. I read in Dear Abby years ago, a woman wanted to go back to school to be a Dr. and was upset that by the time she'd be done w/her 8 years of school , she'd be 50 (or whatever), and the reply was "Wouldn't you be 50 anyway?" I'm trying to keep that in mind, haha!

https://www.facebook.com/RumlegsTattooLtd some of my favourites are attached below.

Haha, Mid 70's to a top temp of 0 does sound equally intimidating, weights, measures, etc. can't wait!

Sweet. I came to the right place then...no 100% sure I should ask these questions in my introduction thread, but here goes!!! I'm looking to get mechanical tattoos, not biomechanical (not a fan of the alien looking ink for myself) but mechanical stuff....gears, cog wheels, etc...inside of a clock type of stuff. I do not want the ripped skin look, more of a look that appears real. I've Google'd till my fingers fell off...searched all over. There are some good tattoo pictures out there. What I'm looking for is an artist to create something. A drawing, a fucking brilliant masterpiece. I know it's gonna cost me thousands and thousands of dollars. I'm good with that! What I didn't get at the shop I had a few consults with was: anyone remotely interested in dealing with me, no eye contact, and not listening to my ideas. Now I realize tattoo artists see many different people all day, and I get that some may be semi retarded...add to that, I'm a noob and don't really know the lingo or terminology used in a tattoo shop. So I think lurking here, asking my noob questions here hopefully I can educate myself enough to articulate what I want. Hey, maybe I just did...but this last guy I saw was disinterested. Oh well....too bad too, because I enjoy leaving a large cash tip for work well done. I'm a 42 year old guy with zero tattoos as of right now. I want both sleeves done, maybe half sleeves to start. Can anyone recommend a guy or shop that loves mechanical shit??? Thanks in advance, I'm sure there will be more questions!

Hey @ian, sorry to hear you're going through some stuff. I absolutely agree with you. Thanks for posting your thoughts about this site and to remind everyone it's supposed to be fun for all and also a place to be helpful to one another.

Hearing Mumford and Sons generally makes me upset. ...which reminds me that I know someone with a Mumford and Sons tattoo...

We used to listen to a lot of rocksteady and reggae Jimmy Cliff, Derrick Morgan, Toots and the Maytals, then it was like Buzzcocks, Sham 69, Cocksparrer, Uk Subs, Last Resort, then it was Neil Young, now it's the Animals, The Zombies, and The Sorrows.

I knew this dude that had a T-shirt in the 80's that said "Yngwie Who?" on the front. "Yngwie Fuckin' Malmsteen That's Who!! on the Back. It was Hilarious.