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Hello everyone. I'm David Bruehl. I tattoo in Tampa, FL at RedLetter1. However, for the past few years I tattooed in Oklahoma. I've heard such good things about this site and community, I'm happy to be a part of it and help support its growth.

I'm a snob snob. And honestly, none of you are of a high enough snob-caliber for my obviously unfathomably heightened tastes.

Finally got over some gnarly hip and back issues and decided to start bicycling for the exercise. All I need is a single speed cruiser with coaster brakes. I picked up this 70's era Murray Le Mans in excellent condition yesterday for a measly $70.00. Last evening was the first time I've been on a bike in 32 years! Sent from my iPhone using Forum Runner

Ok here goes. Goofy dragon by Marie Sena (who happens to be the nicest person in the universe) done at the Montreal tattoo convention yesterday. This takes up most of the front of my thigh and only took three hours! She is a wizard. It was a fantastic experience. Inspired by the 100-year-old piece of flash that I gushed about here.

@WeRnDoG Fantastic!! @Iwar, fantastic keeping up the use of squidpants @MsRad, stop being a dick or Ross will banhammer the shit out of you! ;) @tattoovirgin, MsRad is right, go get that tattooooo

seriously?? GO OUT AND GET ONE AND STOP BEING A VOYEUR! (ok, i'm not really trying to be a dick, so don't take it too hard, but your life ain't getting any longer, so it's probably time you took the leap if you really want one. 52 and not tattooed... i can't even fathom.)

I'm a Browns fan. Just do me a favor and go easy on us. We know we suck.

jesuseater

I really enjoyed that article. It got me thinking about just how many tattoos on me came from flash. My first tattoo in 1985 was from flash. I remember telling the tattooer the number written next to the design I wanted, like "A14" or something like that and he pulls a manilla envelope out of a file cabinet and gets the coresponding acetate stencil out and soon afterward he went to work on me. My fathers one and only tattoo that he got in 1954 is from flash in a tattoo shop outside Ft. Bragg, N.C. I got the same tattoo last year because I was able to find the same design on a sheet of Sailor Jerry flash. The style of artwork on well executed flash is what I've automatically associated with what a tattoo should look like since I was a kid.

My Mom's been asking when I'd get one for her. I had wanted Ashley Love to do it, so now that summer is over, I made an appointment. Mom was stoked when I showed her. I believe her exact words were "I love it! I don't like that you get tattooed, but I love the design". :) Looks like a leg, but that's my forearm.

I just got this tattooed at the Montreal convention by Mike Rubendall. We did 4.5 hours last night, and then finished it in an hour this morning. I'm so pleased with it.

Makara Snail Tattoo by Chad Koeplinger

I thought we could use a thread that shined a little light on some of the artists we love, but aren't necessarily very renowned or getting the recognition we feel they deserve. Lets get the ball rolling.... I've been a fan of the work of James Tex of Deadly Tattoos inc, located in Calgary, Canada, for a few years now. I'm sure a lot of you are familiar with his work, and some members here might even know him personally and/or have tattoos from him. Anyways, I stumbled across him a while back in another tattoo forum where a member showed off the progress of a Samurai sleeve he was getting done from Tex. I was blown away by his work, and to my great viewing pleasure he had a fairly large online portfolio on his shops website: Deadly Tattoos inc. I'm not sure if everyone agrees with me in that he's "low key", but I can't say that I have read an article about him or seen any pictures of his tattoo except on his website (and obviously the forum I mentioned). Here's a few samples of his work from his online portfolio:

Welcome to LST! You do great tattoos.. and apparently give great advice on what to eat on tattoo day, too. Glad to have you, sir.

here is my armpit which i posted about earlier in the thread, not bad certainly not like I felt at the end of a richard stell panther on my ribs done by david bruehl while at think ink norman oklahoma / Now at Red letter 1 tampa bay florida

Sounds good- be sure and start a Facebook page for your tattooing and load up your albums with portfolio stuff. Then go out and make friends with all the tattooers you like, and make friends with their friends. Post links to art stuff you dig (like Last Sparrow ;), Tattoo Age, other shops and artists), but also other things you might be interested in- people like seeing variety. A good example is Bailey Hunter Robinson's The Fabled White Buffalo Co. -its a Tumblr that has pics of his art, but also cool things he finds inspirational. Once you do that, you can link your Facebook to your Twitter so all you have to do it post from Facebook and it tweets to your feed on Twitter.

Got mine today, stoked very good quality.

I used to keep a book of bad tattoos people came in to have covered. There was an abundance of work by the same people. Sometimes when talking to people they tell you other shops they have went to or are thinking of checking out and if they seemed cool we would show them the book and stop them from going to certain shops. Until one day someone wrote a bad review of one of these shops on a review site and referenced our book of bad tattoos (even included shop name). Next day someone wrote a fake review about our shop, citing poor work and that they did a lot of cover up work from our shop, they also were trying to say that they were scarred after the tattoo but don't know how to spell so it says "the tattoo scared them". I wrote a short response but it's not the popular review site so I don't think many people have seen it even to this day. Needless to say we don't show that book much these days, and that shop has since gone out of business and owner left town. I would say that is the most snobby thing I have done.

no way man, we don't suck. we just don't always win, but we're a real football team. even if we don't win, we usually deal out some punishment.

While I imagine that most of the regular posters on this board are extremely discerning about the tattoos they put on their bodies (at least in terms of quality--perhaps not subject matter, haha), the idea of being a "tattoo snob" gives me douche chills. Most of my friends are not really into tattoos, and so they are likely to come to me for advice if they are considering one, and I am absolutely happy to help--I want folks to get beautiful work and I want the awesome artists in this city to get the recognition they deserve. But as long as they're safe and clean I have no interest in being some great arbiter of whether or not their work passes my muster. They have to live with it.

I'm a pizza snob.

I've never worked in a shop that was any different than that haha

I case you haven't seen it, this is amazing:

So I was driving through the neighborhood yesterday and spotted this vintage woodframed window with one pane broken on the curb. My first thought was the Broken Window Theory, the old criminology theory that disrepair leads to increased vandalism. So I took that idea and started this project. Each day for a week, I do a quick and 'toy' throwup on the back side of the window, being careful to tape off the broken pane. Then I hit the piece with carb cleaner (remover), letting the piece before it 'leak' through. At the end of the week, you should be able to see pieces of seven different throw-ups peeking through and one 'clean' broken window pane. The end result is a statement on the life cycle of graffiti, how society goes after the art, but never fixes the "broken window", whatever that happens to be; Phase 1: Phase 2: Phase 3:

True- but remember BB is about the extremes people will go to in their quest for what they consider "good" for themselves (or family). Maybe this last season we see Hank go vigilante

Let me preface this by saying I'm an artist, not a tattoo artist... How are your self-promotion skills, g.? Do you have an Instagram/ blog/FB/Twitter that you update constantly? Cards are kind of the old school way of doing- people want to pull you up on their phone- give them that ability. The reason I ask should be apparent. As an artist, you have to view yourself as a brand and a business in terms of income generation. It's the reason a lot of mediocre artists get noticed and greats get slept on. Let's get real- I know about 90% of the tattoo artists I do because of MARKETING- whether that's the web or print. The 10% I know from word of mouth are still out there on the web and in print. When you mention a mass exodus of artists, I'm assuming they're still in the same city, which means people in that town are getting tattooed. You have to figure out how to get those people interested in your work and what you have to offer. And start using your real name and website in your signature- it back links to your portfolio in search engines. ;)

I think you have summed up things quite astutely, and that hold on your current situation is more beneficial than any advice anyone could give you. You know what you want, and you are focusing your energy on it. Nothing is stronger than the will to survive. I hope some of the tattooers on LST who aren't too busy (well, they always are) are able to give you solid advice.

Agree with the above but I remember you posting some of your stuff and you really seemed to have a good grasp of tattoo design , get out and back on track I'm sure many places will see you as an asset .

We can sneak you in some Fruit Leather and tempeh. Those are things, right..?

Got this on Thursday at Blackheart by Dan Gilsdorf. What a great shop and amazing experience. All the guys were great and even offered to let me hang out and explore the shop for the day, but thought it would be better to give my wife a break from our son for a bit. Spider Murphy's was great as well. I would highly recommend both shops not just on talent but just as good people.

Das what I said.

Lots of good artist especially the guys at DarkHorse!

@Iwar i like that. it looks pretty cool.

^^^^^^ That makes perfect sense!

@WeRnDoG that is absolutely stunning!!! Stoked for you man. Who did the squidpants on your left leg? Do you have pictures of that somewhere?

Second hit on my back. Lined the butt and hamstring, put scales on the snake. All outlines on now so should see some good progress after the next couple sessions. Stoked on how this is turning out. Sorry for the full moon shots its the only way to show this off!!

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.

Last week I got all worked up over getting work done on my chest and it wasn't so bad. Yesterday I went in confident thinking it would be ok and was soon put in my place, some days getting tattooed just sucks no matter where on the body it is.

I try to think what I would do in that situation, but it really is irrelevant because the kid is not even a kid he's 21 and I like tattoos and wouldn't have a leg to stand on even if I didn't feel that way. I guess I could look at if my son got a face piercing, but the only thing i would probably say is why didn't you get a tattoo and inform him that piercing is to tattooing as rollerblading is to skateboarding, just to give him a hard time. Then I would remember he was 21 and suggest we go get a beer.

You sure as hell can't trust them with a pack of Marlboros. ;)

There was a saying, "marry a fat tattooed lady and you'll have heat in the winter, shade in the summer and moving pictures all year round.". CG

I can speak from personal experience on this subject. Over the years my weight ballooned to 17stone (238 lb.). I'm around 5ft 6". Didn't stop me getting tattooed in fact it made me feel different about my body. I was transformed from a fat bastard with a couple of tattoos to a fat bastard with a lot of nice tattoos. Great. However due to my size I did feel that getting a nice tattoo on my ribs was out of the question. The change in my attitude towards my body has made me think more about the obvious health issues and after spending so much time under the needle I thought it would be a bit of a pisser to bow out early. So I lost around 56lbs and I got my rib tattoo. I've still got a little way to go and carrying all that excess weight has left me with a bad back, knees, type 2 diabetes and stretch marks (those areas I wouldn't get tattooed although I do know a tattooer who enjoys whip-shading stretch marks as he has a sticker by his work station stating so). My only advise would be to choose a good tattooer, take advantage what you've got and get something a decent size. As for what other people think, fuck em.

When I first started getting tattooed somebody suggested that it was odd that someone so skinny should get tattooed (I'm 5'10" and 140lb soaking wet). Go figure... I say your body size and shape shouldn't matter whatsoever in your decision as to whether or not to adorn your body with art. At the end of the day there are fat trashy people with trashy tattoos, just as there are skinny trashy people with trashy tattoos. The subject matter, artist, choice of placement and how you present yourself are ultimately what matter, not how much you weigh.

have you googled fat people with tattoos? they are are scratchtastic, and they dont look good. idk i wish i could see a good version of it.

I've spent the last 14 months scrubbing bathrooms, floors and tubes to get where I am. It isn't easy to find someone willing to dedicate their time to teach you their craft. You have to prove that this is truly where your heart is and it will be worth it to them. An apprenticeship isn't just learning to tattoo, it's paying your fucking dues. I have never had a problem just going into any shop. I have been able spend time with tattooers whom I really look up to and they have taught me many things even though they were not my mentor. Why? Because I'm doing it right and I've shown them the respect they deserve. That woman treated you the way you deserved to be treated.

I am perplexed by you Brian wermwood. did you want sympathy from this post? after you first realized that being a scratcher meant no love, why would you even think that going into a shop as a random dude not laying a dollar on the table, and spilling your scratcher beans out was gonna work for you? you actually told them your stealing their hard earned food from their table and then go on to say you want to suck up some info from them.. and you thought it would go down any other way? you kinda got off easy! my mentor/shop owner literally refers to me as his bulldog, as its one of my shop duty's to physically remove scratchers/solicters/douchebags from the floor. and i take it personal with scratchers cause im here busting my ass all week for peanuts with a wife and 2 kids and some dudes out there trying to take easy street and by pass the hard work to clock dollar.. basicly your crossing dudes picket line

I'm thinking you might be lucky that no violence ensued. I cant imagine what would have happened had Ursula been there...

wasn't sure where to post this... 93-year-old lens hacked onto a Canon 5D Mark II the hack Today's Tomorrow; The 5DMKII VIEW CAMERA

What about non-tattooers selling all of us tattoo equipment? Some will speak strongly against those who don't tattoo owning shops and swear off ever giving them money, but then will make an order with a non-tattooer owned supplier and unknowingly act hypocritical. I think in tattooing these days, in my opinion, we need good people who care about the business and who bring something positive to the table of tattooing, tattooer or not(although tattooer preferred). I just came back from working at Frith Street Tattoo in London, I watched a bunch of very well known and respected tattooers work there in the last two weeks, not to mention the incredibly talented crew that are residents their. The owner, Dante, is not a tattooer, but he is a good human being and cares for his employees as if they were family. I am proud to say I worked there and as far as Dante(the owner) goes, I would take a bullet for him.

Okay, here's the update. Hotstuff and Panther by Scott Sylvia. Kewpie and White Tiger by Bryan Burke. Both tattoos were done in 2 sittings, black in one sitting, color in the next. Scotts side was about 5 1/2 hours. Bryans side was 4 1/2 hours total. I started Bryans side first but finished Scotts side first. I lagged on Bryan and was procrastinating getting it finished a bit because Scotts side hurt so bad. Bryan actually had to call me up and be like, "we finishing this tattoo we started or what?". Sorry Bryan. Both these guys are quick as can be and for a painful spot like the ribs I really appreciated that. I gotta say the second sitting with Scott i was feeling a little nauseous and almost ready to tap out towards the end. Scott hurt more!