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got my second tattoo from claudia de sabe today needless to say i'm extremely happy with it (and sore) on the back of my upper arm

I did! Kind of. I made it to Three Tides in Tokyo where I had a wonder experience all around and ended up with a nice little dragon head by Ganji. [/img]

Hereby banned for using one of the worst words of all time!

My cousin is a lovely, intelligent young man, but he just asked me for shop recommendations and then described a project that combines almost everything listed in the "most hated tattoo requests" thread. I'm trying to gently persuade him to describe what he wants to convey and leave as much of the actual design to the artist as possible. And to get tattooed with me in Portsmouth so I can buy him a drink afterward. (He just turned 21.)

I think I've found a design for my knee coming up on the 25th with Franz Stefanik. Had a hell of a time figuring it out.

When I first started researching tattoos I had a bunch of dumb cliche symbolic type ideas. I looked through a bunch of online portfolios looking for an artist that made tattoos similar to my idea but I kept thinking "wow these japanese pieces are really cool/powerful. i wish i could get something like that...." Then I got a koi half sleeve, then some traditional pieces, then a hannya sleeve, more traditional, more japanese. So I think the solution is to force your cousin to look through portfolios and instagram accounts that are overflowing with great tattoos.

session number 4 on my back this friday :cool:

Thank you @cltattooing :D I'm very pleased with them. I must get round to posting a photo of it all healed. And my leg & foot. It's been an exciting couple of months, tattoo-wise!

I drove through West Chester yesterday, im actually only a few miles away. Beautiful little place, but there for a minute I thought it might wash away last night! And I finally booked my first appointment of the year, which I realize is very slacking. Its with @cltattooing in Oakland in a few weeks, should be pretty rad!

I'm getting really tired of the conversations that start with "Oh I like your arm... even though I'm not really into tattoos... [going into a long discussion of why they don't want my tattoos]" Honestly if you aren't into tattoos why do you feel the need to talk to me about them? That and the "I'd get a tattoo but I'm afraid of needles..." le sigh....

I'm gonna wait til I get a better pic to post, but Grez did the whole back of my leg today. Topped off with the back of my knee. One of the longer sessions I've had in a few years, but it was totally worth it. We also got to talk a little bit about my left arm, which he'll be sleeving starting in January.

Got my rose morph today... am super happy with it

From the Needles and Sins blog, a short video from TED. Really neat! Needles and Sins Tattoo Blog | Tattoo 101: What makes tattoos permanent?

Reallllly bad picture, but I got this lady from Steve Turner while he was guesting at Live Free. I'm super pumped on it.

@bongsau Such a bittersweet day. My thoughts are with you and your family, I hope the coming times are of little stress and much closure. Great tattoo though! @Orangutango you are a beast, that thing is no joke. Kinda jealous that you got to spend so much time with Andre, he's a really great dude and has a great sense of humor.

Rock of ages with a dragon added in! I'll probably post a picture on instagram after all the lining is done to see!

Yeah mate I went for a hawk and pine tree scene, which I havent seen any amongst his portfolio so im excited to see what he comes up with, ill keep everyone in the know when it goes down I owe it to LST

I got tattooed at Aloha Tattoos in Barcelona last week and one of the many cool things about that shop is that it's also a "tattoo art gallery" with lots of art and prints for sale. Currently they have an exhibition of Matt Bivetto's drawings, which are really fantastic and I wish I had the spare money to buy one of them (and/or get down to NYC and get tattooed by him). I did pick up this really cool print from El Carlo though: The website for La Cobra Negra is here: La Cobra Negra Tattoo Art Gallery — Home and they have a bunch of prints, originals, flash, sketchbooks, etc., for sale. There's a lot of really cool stuff there.

In addition to the tattoo I got from Grez today, I'm getting tattooed at my local/regular shop (X-Treme Ink in West Chester, Pa) by Keith Reed tomorrow! After that I think I'm done until January.

This is a really terrible picture but I got this cigar smoking frog from El Monga at Aloha Tattoo Barcelona yesterday. I am super stoked that he decided to attach himself to my leg because I think we're going to have some good adventures together. @bongsau Really sorry for your loss, and my deepest condolences. Sometimes it's the silly little tattoos that have the deepest significance.

well. i did not get my touchups. but i did get a new tattoo which did involve a tear-out: My pug. Winston. Riding the red rocket. Which was really hilarious. Until I got a call 3/4 of the way through the tattoo that my mother passed away. Shout out to my pal Ollie for working like lightning to finish the tattoo before my ride showed up to go see my family. So some more to add to the arguement that a tattoo is more than just a silly picture on your skin. It's not just about "what" the tattoo is of or the "why"...but the "where" and "when" and "who" of the experience is of equal importance. A colourful timestamp for this lifetime. And now I'm left with a lot of sorrow to deal with, a good laugh and a great tattoo. Laughter is the best medicine. And my Mom really loved my idiot pug. But I think my next tattoo will be little more serious and carry a lot more weight. Peace.

Jason, WE ARE TOO OLD FOR THIS.

MACROPHAGE - "Me Again!" Cracks me up every time :-)

I got this the other day, but the "excuse" was pretty funny. He's older now (>50) and he'd wanted a tattoo as a late teen and came home with a cross on his arm that he'd drawn on with a permanent marker. His father, as expected, assumed it was real and hit the roof. As he described the scene and the layout of the dinner table area where his father discovered the travesty, he was clearly boxed in by the radiator and the wall and the rest of the family. His father then proceeded to grab steel wool and scrubbed it off his arm, along with a layer of skin before he realized he'd been had. The teller of the tale said he didn't want to get a tattoo after that. All-in-all, not a bad excuse and completely forgivable because he told the story with such vigor and humor!

I loooove this, the eyes are magical!! Most important part of a dragon

Started my back with Aaron Coleman last weekend.....shit hurts so bad haha. Got through 4 hours of lining the back and butt, next session lining the thighs and hopefully some background.

@BrianH, this was my first thought.

Thought I'd throw this in. I hope no one minds as I've not posted too much on here. Done by Stewart Robson - Frith Street Tattoo

I wish I weren't going bald so I could rock that hairstyle. Instead I'll just settle for the fatter, ulgier, tattooed Jason Statham style.

I was reading through some of the older pages of this thread the other day and was startled by how many members here, who I'd assumed had been getting tattooed for a long time owing to their knowledge and the quality of their tattoos, got their first tattoos while on this forum. I was sort of surprised anew by what a cool community you all have built here. I wish I'd spent more time here lurking and less time posting, particularly as a new member, but thanks for letting me hang around.

We needed a new thread to get back to talking about what matters. I would say this is pretty dang close to "Latest Tattoo Lowdown" so mods, feel free to adjust accordingly. Bubble-berries need not apply. What is your next planned tattoo? When? And what? I'll go first (even though most of you all know): Working on my Fenris-Wolf by Chris O'Donnell. Next appointment is at the end of September.

Weeeeee that was a fun video (:

I found some in Danville around Memorial Day 2012. Full selection just like this. I ended purchasing a big bottle of the "Red" (notice the flavor is only listed as "Red"). After a long night of drinking while the wife was out of town, I opened her up and figured "what could it hurt?". I can tell you, it hurt.

I believe it is a Japanese tradition to soak for a short time in a hot bath after a tattoo session. And many LSTers have shared that their post tattoo routine includes a hot bath. "excessive" is the key bad word. Light application of lotion works for most and is usually part of the recommended aftercare instructions from most shops.

I'm almost tempted to disagree with #1 too. Maybe this guy was just pulling my leg, though I don't think so, but I know a local tattooer who says that swimming in salt water is great for a healing tattoo and that he learned this when he was tattooing in the Marquesas. He recently went down to Austin and got this incredible reaper with flames from Chris Trevino on the side of his stomach going up into his armpit and he said he went swimming in the Gulf of Mexico three or four days after getting tattooed, the scabs all washed off, and the thing healed up beautifully. I've seen it, the tattoo is bright, solid, an all-around exceptional tattoo. I wouldn't do it personally, but it seems to have worked for him.

Welcome, and you should go to Chalice Tattoo in Boise. Boise Idaho Tattoos Chalice Tattoo Studio

The title of this thread at first made me facepalm, glad I clicked on it.

How did I miss these mantas?!? Love them!

I noticed on IG that you got some more peonies done! Congrats, they're beautiful :)

That thing looked so killer in person.

@Cork You can't go wrong with the minimum upkeep. - - - Updated - - - STEEZ

It's not a library without 50 Shades of Grey.

Picked this up from Bryan Burk. He was a great guy, and I love the tattoo. My wife got tattooed by Adam Warmerdam, they both are both at Darkhorse in LA, and Adam was super cool as well. Darkhorse is a great place to get tattooed, and I highly recommend it to anyone that is in Los Angeles.

Grez just made this one on me a few hours ago... I'm in love.

Experience tells me otherwise, but I'm happy for you.

Rob Mopar is doing a guest spot at FTW through Saturday. Neither of us were doing much yesterday so he made these ladies for me. His instagram is @rwmopar if anyone is wondering.

signature line

I have no words

Haha! takes me back to when I got my first. All of 17 and was living with my GF at the time. Told my mum over the phone. She said never show her, ever! 2 hours later she's dropping over "kitchen stuff", so I was wearing a shirt. Just before she left she said "fuck it!, show me" so I did. She cried, I laughed. It's funny ya know, I'm now 45, still dropping in ink and suited up. My mum now lives with me & my family...and she still hates them, still says "don't you think enough is enough"? I still laugh, at least she doesn't cry anymore. I don't have to explain to anyone why I get tattooed. I love me mum too, but either people get it, or they don't, and if they don't I don't try too hard in convincing them otherwise. She'll just learn to live with them. Yeah, tell her over the phone and don't make a big thing out of it. The more comfortable you are in your own skin, the more others are too if that makes sense. Good luck.

Heres mine. Tattooed by Stefano C, Frith Street Tattoo, London on Christmas Eve.