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Started my ribs/the rest of my leg with Dave Cummings. I'll be in Montreal every two months to get this sucker done. Super stoked.

Hi, I'm Andy Griffin from St. John's, Newfoundland. It's the most easterly point in North America, for those geography aficionados. I tattoo at Trouble Bound Studio, and have been doing so for two years. I joined this a year or so ago, bit have never gotten around to posting. Nice to meet you internet folk.

My oldest daughter wanted to slam some bullshit passage down her rib panel. I said, sweetheart...I love you, but if you ruin prime real estate like that with shit text, I'll be forced to trade you for another daughter with more brains. She's 25 this year and has learned the sound advice given by her father.

You get what you pay for. It's permanent and on your body, how much is that worth to you? Don't skimp. There's probably a reason why your original artist is tough to book with, most likely because s/he is that good and highly sought after. Go original or go home.

Don't listen to other people. (Haha = that includes ME!!!) Go with your gut.

Come out and check it out sometime. - - - Updated - - - I'm getting raijin and a Kirin from armpit to knee. Real stoked. Yourself? - - - Updated - - - Thanks a lot man. Means a lot from a guy with a collection like yours. I have tattoo jealousy, right now haha.

http://m.vice.com/read/no-class-diy-tattoos-fairplay-jesse-brocato-interview-678?utm_source=vicefbus Oh my fuck.

One masseuse gasped in surprise when she pulled down the sheet and saw my back and didn't mention it until the session was over. Then we had a nice conversation because she had some interesting indian-looking symbols. Another younger kid saw it right away and then went on and on about his ambigram tattoo after asking all the standard questions. Couldn't take the nice hint to shut up and get to work. Told me about his idea for a big quote across his back. After the session I had a chat with him about quotes and prime real estate, and told him about LST. I even suggested a bad ass panther instead :-) Maybe he's checked this place out. Heck, maybe I've welcomed him and not known it!

Second session done, going on six hours now :cool: Just Having FUN !!

@Cork My lady treated us both to a couples massage this past weekend. I was expecting some sort of reaction but didn't get one. They just went about their business and it was a new place we were trying and the experience was kinda of "meh". Not the best massage I've gotten. Previously about a year ago before the background was really laid in, I had gone to another couple's massage and the masseuse kept poking at my back to see if the ink was real and/or dry. Pretty hilarious. Plus was the masseuse was great...really beat the crap out of me.

I've been painting pictures...

I want to see a dagger with a dagger thru it...

@daveborjes those 2 negatives reviews were entertaining. the girl's review was the typical "i'm upset because the artist was honest and told me my idea wouldn't work". The guy seems like he didn't do nearly enough research or have proper expectations.

I am looking at going with Steven Wrigley, I've heard nothing but good things about him and I have been following him on an app I have on my phone. I am looking at a Koi carp for the cover up but I need a few more sessions of the laser before it's worth going to see him. Then hopefully he can point me in the right direction on a colourfull design. I don't want to go through with laser again lol the sooner Im finished my treatment the better!

My daughter is five so I have some time before this becomes an issue but considering how much time she has already spent inside our local tattoo shop I will clearly need a strategy when the time comes. I'm thinking that if she wants a tattoo as soon as she turns 18 I will pay her to wait. But I will pay her in money towards whatever tattoo she ultimately decides on. The longer she waits the more money she will have to spend on getting an awesome tattoo. Of course this could backfire and she could end up with a full back piece of an infinity sign exploding into a flock of birds. Life is full of risks I suppose.

Anyone have any stories about massage parlors and the reaction of the masseuse? I went to an Asian place last week and the lady was practically pulling my boxer briefs down so she could see my entire butt. Even when the massage started and she saw my back, she laughed and semi-hugged me. It was an awkward experience. That was the first time a masseuse acknowledged the tattoo.

Oh, we're crazy though. But that's no reason for you to not go to NYC to get tattooed, even if you have to get zapped twice in a trip to make it worth your while.

The was eggxactly the joke I was hoping to hear.

26 years of negglect

Finally got around to getting some pictures of my completed Nue half sleeve and chest plate. This was completed back in March by Brian Bruno at Absolute Art Tattoo and I can't recommend him enough. It's a really good shop full of great people.

Now that this is (mostly) healed up, here is my latest from Grez. What do you do when you love Catholic imagery but haven't gone to church since you were a kid? You throw the best mascot in sports in a virgin Mary shroud. Grez is a big baseball fan, so he took the idea and ran with it, including adding the Liberty Bell in place of the sacred heart. Edit: he also did those cats last fall. They've settled in nicely.

Just finished this yesterday. Artist: Katja Rameriz at Rock of Ages. Looks awesome. Now save some money and get a full Samurai sleeve. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

@Breakme. Fuckin'.....hell! That there's no mate. That's just a breach of friendship morals right there. With mates like that, who needs fuckin' enemies right? Oh, and don't people understand?? Ya don't "fall" off fuckin' motorcycles. You either crash for riding beyond your capabilities or because some retard t-bones ya 'cause the fuckers not paying attention. My old man used to break my balls all the time about riding, until this one day when I was taking the bike out, he comes in & says to me....mate, ya shouldn't be riding ya know fuckin' bla bla fuckin' bla. I snapped at him saying...fuckin' hell mate, I know how fuckin' dangerous it is on the roads with the amount of wombats out there trying to sandwich me out, the last thing I need while I'm mentally preparing myself to ride safe, is you reminding me of how fuckin' dangerous it is. He's never said another word about riding since. Anyway, @Graeme. Ya right. People can stick their latest gadgets, tea towel & spoon collections up their arse. I've got my corner covered, they should concentrate on theirs. - - - Updated - - - Yeah, I forgot to mention. I hate motherfuckers who ask me how much I spent on tattoos. Like, I really fuckin' hate that. I tell 'em, it ain't about the money. I don't count, nor can I put a $ value on it. It's something a lot deeper than a superficial material need. If people gotta ask me how much & why, I tell them now...those types of questions tell me you have no genuine interest to understand the origins of tattooing & what it means, so I refuse to waste my time trying to educate the curious. Fuck 'em.

Yelp is the worst place for tattoo suggestions.

Post #426

my ex used to bitch about me getting a new tattoo as a christmas present to myself even though I was the one earning money. I supported the both of us with a shitty job working 6-7 days a week, sometimes double shift so we had a roof and food. She kept buying stupid shit like shoes n clothes and stuff and then had the nerve to bitch about me getting a new tattoo. Guess that was the beginning of the end and now im a free man again ;) Currently being a broke traveler again but once i get some sort of income again the first priority will be a tattoo roadtrip

I'm planning on meeting with my artist here in a couple weeks, after I finish my summer classes (kinda a reward for finishing them). Thanks for the honesty! I love all my reference material, but at the end of the day I don't want my tattoo to look like a mess of random things. I may save some components for a separate tattoo(s).

Thanks guys. There's a few of us floating around out here in the North Atlantic. I'm actually in MTL fairly often, getting tattooed by Dave Cummings at PSC.

Do what I do, when I look at my tattoos I just think about how awesome they look to me, I don't go over them with a microscope looking for imperfections. I think if you look hard enough you can find something wrong with any tattoo. If I were to spot something I didn't like I would take off my glasses and it would be perfect again!

my sociology teacher gave each student an egg. The idea was that we were to care for the egg over a week, in order to simulate the idea of caring for a real infant. I found my egg the other day. He is 26 years old. I suspect mine is the only one to survive this long.

The Like feature appear to work from Tapatalk, but then when you refresh you'll notice that your like has disappeared. This is an ongoing issue that has not been resolved by Tapatalk yet, several other forum owners are complaining about the same thing. There is even a different 'like' system that I would be willing to switch to, but it also does not work in Tapatalk. Unfortunately there is no other forum app out there that has supports this feature either. I do plan to migrate LST to a new software platform entirely sometime in the next year hopefully, and once that is done, we wont even need tapatalk because the site will be fully responsive and will just reflow to work on any size screen, complete with all the features that work on the full desktop size. Tapatalk will also work on the new version, and the like system does work in that one if you prefer tapatalk over the 'responsive' version for some reason.

@polliwog it is an effort but it is always worth it for a tattoo.

My buddy (@huggernaut) has a folk bird from Mario. (I believe it's in his gallery). I'm hit or miss on them, but the ones I like I absolutely love.

In that case I would strongly advice you to visit a tattoo shop. There's really no substitute for consulting with a tattooer in person, and I can almost guarantee that it's gonna generate the best result for you.

Listen to @exume. Rock of Ages is a powerhouse, and you can't go wrong with any of the guys working there. Check out their website: Rock Of Ages Tattoo Also, Chad Koeplinger will be joining RoA team soon. You should definitely check out his work too: http://instagram.com/chadkoeplinger Other good shops that I know of in the area are Great Wave Tattoo - Austin, Texas and Perfection Tattoo. Good luck!

Last session in last night, minus an upcoming touch up session. Mike

Big fan of kojiichimaru he was a good find!

3 years later all color haha

Did the first session on my back yesterday with Dave Cummings. Really stoked on it.

Traveled from NY to SF this past weekend to skull and sword. Hungout with some of my favorite artists and what happened next is pure magic that only a stellar human by the name of Yutaro can provide. This is my Baku!

Well.. I had planned to get my elbow tattooed but got an awesome deal on a donor bike to replace my the engine in my bike that's been sitting. Over July 4th I did the swap and have been ridding every chance I get.. Already squirreling away more cash to get tattooed, until then it's motorcycle time!

Answering your questions, in order: It's looking fine. It is possible to redo the line work, but it is not worth it. Yes. ;) No removal and no cover up. You're welcome. It looks "sparkly" because it's a fresh tattoo. The top layer of skin hasn't healed over yet. Give it time. It seems like this is the third thread on the same tattoo. If you don't want the conversation to get buried, you can just reply to the old thread and it will bump... no need to keep creating new threads every couple weeks. That being said, there has been great advice in the prior two threads. Go back, read those replies over and over, and try to not dwell on minor imperfections.

Yup @DJDeepFried! As @hogg says, I'll be at JANM for Junii's talk so plan to meet with him before his appointment/Junii's presentation. You and @TrixieFaux should come over too!

I like traditional because it looks fucking cool. Ask anyone on the street to close their eyes and name a tattoo, what will they come back with? Traditional! Japanese! Tiger/Skull/Panther/Rose. These decisions have been made over generations, there is a reason for this. There is an elegance and power in their simplicity, is it not harder to convey a message in a few lines and few colours? They hold up (BOLD WILL HOLD!) So when I'm old and saggy you'll still make out what tattoos I have. When someone comes up to me and asks why I got a tiger/skull/heart and dagger on my arm? I get to say cool shit like ' it's a tiger,/skull/heart and dagger what else do you need to know!' Someone once said to me your tattoos look like tattoos. I thought that was awesome. You can tell what my tattoos are from 5 feet away (back piece 20 feet, take that!) It's a tattoo, its on me, my bodies a temple etc etc but I ain't the sistine chapel. All that said, I appreciate the technicality and application of portraits etc, still not sure how they'll hold up, hopefully very well and it'll prove a few cynics wrong, but it ain't my bag. As for this forum, just a little more tact maybe...

Now I've seen it all. Living Social deal, $49 for $100 towards consultation and deposit at this place. Upper Darby Inkwell - Home I bought it... Obviously.

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]

i really enjoy reviews that use the terms "tat", "tatted", "tattoo salon", etc.

@slayer9019 oh right, we all have tattoos, good call. Desa panther from four years ago (time fliiiies) and J. Pov wolf head from maybe 2011.

Mike Roper. The grey ghost of tattooing. He's in my top 5.