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Just got this today from Johnny Bones at Full Circle Tattoo in San Diego, CA. Edit: I'd be remiss if I didn't mention how goddamn classy Full Circle is. They accommodated a rigid schedule for me (I jumped on an airplane an hour after this) and Johnny knocked out a nice little memento under pressure. The shop itself is gorgeous and their crew were nice as can be. Johnny Bones has been guesting there for a few weeks. He works at Mi Familia in Anaheim. He's pretty killer.

Not sure where to post this, but since she on LST from time to time, I just finished designing Deb Yarian's spread for TAM.

Spencer added another lotus, a lily pad, and some cool background mandala stuff to this last night. He also put some negative space around where my daughter's name already was, by the top... now I have to wait until January to continue. Funny how first I asked for a tiger coming down my upper arm. Then he had all these ideas I liked so it grew into what was going to be a 1/2 sleeve. Now... there have been more cool ideas and it's going to be 3/4. By the time it's done, we should have a better camera.

Speaking of Senor O'Donnell, here's the latest from his instragram:

not the same as the random image thread. this is for posting pics you took on your phone. my porch has crabs. 3rd one I found. how the fuck does that happen? jumbo shrimp - - - Updated - - - Yes, really real. Happened at the previous shop I was at. So dude walks in with a guitar strapped to his back, bible in hand, his pants hanging low enough to see pupes, and basically looks like a weirdo nerd gone Falling Down (you know, with Michael Douglas?). Anyway, he asks about getting tattooed and writes down this semi-long list of bizarre phrases and math equations and shit; 'glue on guitar' 'my left nih' (>btw, I just figured out this was probably his spelling of 'my left KNEE'<)and like 5 other phrases I can't remember. So as one of us is preparing this, he uses the bathroom. When he comes out his face is all wet; I ask him if he's alright. He says "yes I was just getting a drink." pause. I said "why is your face all wet?" repeats that he was getting a drink. longer pause. at this point everyone is kinda watching this exchange. I said "from the toilet?" half-joking.... "yes" non-chalantly "I don't believe you..." he goes back in there and STARTS DRINKING. Long enough for me to snap this picture. double triple whoa. I was speechless for a second. "Dude, you need to get out of the shop; that was pretty fucked up. You really need to leave" Dude says OK and leaves. Holy what the fuck. Best thing that happened that week.

just to throw this out there. i was talking to my daughter yesterday while she was drawing. and she told me that what she was drawing was a tattoo. so i said cool i didnt realize it was a tattoo and her was response was "of course daddy, it has black in it" i never told her that it was her own observation, needless to say i was extremely proud of her. so after all that could be said about what lasts or not i can say this. if a 5 year old can come to that conclusion on her own that its only makes sense to have black in tattoos then i conclude whether things stay or not it belongs there.

I just re-watched the Kore Flatmo interview the other day. I like what he said about magazine features, and awards and such not being validation. He also says some interesting stuff about how mediocre shit(I'm not saying the show is or isn't) doesn't really affect the top notch stuff at the end of the day. It's just a tv show. People's reasons for doing it aren't really any of my business. I'm going to watch it because it's interesting to watch...train wreck or not.

Chris Garver's introduction was awesome. I loved it all the way through

I disagree on both counts. I really loved this one, and having worked as a translator for 3+ years, I can tell you that direct, word-for-word translations rarely if ever work well.

Sternum/lower chest near upper abdomen still makes me cringe.

might as well have another crack, Tattoo around the clouds and Kraken is fresh/swollen in this pic. Tristan bentley, Ocean ink Sydney Australia

Found a coupla pix of my old work before it got blended in...dhon't think I out these up before, but if I did, well, shit-ignore 'em! The parrot is Dale Grande, maybe 1975, and the roses and banner are also Dale, about 1974. And yeah, the images are lousy...they are scans of my arm, not pix, done in preperation for sleeving.

@Androosh that rose is great

I'm getting my work done by Jake at Inkies Tattoo in Fremont, CA. Sorry no State of Grace :( I chose the artist as I wanted someone that was as excited about doing it as I was to get it done. I looked at quite a few places and talked to a few artist but I walked away not feeling it. I only went to Inkies on a whim one day as I passed by as my next consult was not until late Oct and I said WTF. When I went in I met the receptionist and she asked me what I wanted to do. I said it was a cover-up with a weird idea that was in my head. When I told her I wanted a Zombie sleeve she sprang out of the chair and ran off. Next thing I know Jake walks in yelling that he heard someone wanted a Zombie Sleeve. Come to find out Jake is a HUGE Zombie fan. He even hosts a Zombie Crawl in San Jose (now Alameda) for Charity where everyone dresses up as Zombies and goes from bar to bar. Needless to say he was very excited to do my sleeve. We sat down right there are started tossing out ideas. We met two weeks later to start the sleeve. He does not have decades of experience but his work is good and the excitement he had was my deciding factor. As you guys know, when you decide something this large you want the whole experience to be positive. I could not imagine sitting for 7 hours with an artist you didn't mix well with much less letting someone put ink into you where you felt like they would be more exited doing something else. I posted up a pic in the cover-up section but here is another. I hope you guys like his work. I know I do and I have gotten a ton of positive feedback and even a little old lady sitting next to me on the BART tapped my leg to get my attention and told me she really loved my tattoo and that it was original and different :) Gotta love the Bay Area for stuff like that. This is after my 3rd session with at least one more to go for Highlights, Color and Touch-ups. As far as other stuff on the Bucket List. Well there is the mother / daughter threesome to yet be done :)

PRE-PARTY! Let's make this another (informal) LST meetup.

i am there monday and friday with scott, will also make it a point to speak with juan about zeiss repaint he did and if he would like to tattoo it

Oh great, another one from the bay area.. :D Welcome @bravnik!

I'd promised myself no more unplanned tattoos this year, then Ian Flower decides he's going to be doing walk-ins every Thursday til Christmas... definitely getting on that, now to decide what to get!

I just spent at least an hour going through this guys pictures. I don't think I have ever laughed so hard. A lot of the comments people posted were hilarious.

I guess it depends on who you consider "the industry". Winning Inkmasters or Best Ink probably won't get you invited to State Of Grace or Ink N Iron, but could definitely get you a gig as token tattooer celebrity in a lesser known show or traveling convention and stay pretty busy and make some good money. The problem is the shelf life for a reality tv star is pretty short, and when people forget who you are and you can't just be the dude from the tattoo show, then it comes down to if you put on good tattoos.

BHR snakes:

Nick CTC

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=537755179583877&set=a.197285293630869.58055.145111408848258&type=1&theater This is my right arm shortly after my last session. Some parts are still raw in the picture. The back of my arm is a cover up of some shitty script... The artist is Tim Morris at A Brand New Tattoo in Eau Claire, WI. I am honored to be friends with him. He is an amazing person and really solid tattooer.

I really don't give a shit.

I'm with Hogg, the translations weren't exact but they didn't leave anything out. Japanese is a funny language, either very short or very long sentences.... just matters how proper your trying to be.

I unliked this just so I could like it again.

That shop makes me want to go back to SF. I never thought I would have a man crush on a tattoo shop I didn't work at. But sadly I don't think I could survive another trip to San Fran with my two year old, so I just have to hope for him to get a little older for next time.

I'm going and I'm working! I am also taking the Tim Hendrick's seminar on Saturday and getting tattooed by Trevor Mcstay that day too.

I guess my point is who determines who or what the industry is? Their is nothing industrial about tattooing, and the term itself kind of has connotations to Hollywood. To some degree it's like you said it's measured upon talent and respect from a global community, but part of it is a popularity contest and a who knows who game. Bottom line not everyone can be one of the cool kids, but I think your statement has a lot of truth to it, I read an article somewhere about someone breaking down why they didn't go on the show and they mentioned (i'm paraphrasing at best) that you basically now have to deal with people who are more interested in TV than tattoos, among other reasons, I think there is a link to it somewhere in this thread. There were clearly people on the first season that sucked, B Tat, Al Fliction have no business tattooing people, Shane, James, Josh, Tommy at least showed they can put on a good tattoo, maybe not the best tattoo but still, when people forget about the show at least they can rely on their work. I guess the only thing I try to remember is that as big as tattooing has become it's still a pretty small tight nit community among tattooers especially within regions and while these contestants might not be the best tattooers, that doesn't mean they aren't respected or friends for that matter who would be considered top tattooers.

A friend of mine got tattooed by Tiger John in Houston around 1989. He got a small portrait of James Brown on his shoulder blade. When John finished it, he said, "That's a damn good Little Richard, if I do say so myself." My buddy almost shit himself!

This has been doing the rounds for a few years now. It's still funny as fuck. Each time one of us at the shop does a Hendrix or Marley tattoo, someone else dares them to put the other's name.

Another great one. Three Tides is so cool I'm really hoping to make it there someday. Hopefully they talk a little bit more about Hiroshi Hirokawa, check out his paintings if you haven't seen them they are amazing! Looking forward to the rest of this one.

Mutsuo Part 1 up now.

It's a very fresh photo.....and not even a good one....but I had Dana Helmuth tattoo me this past Saturday at Read Street Tattoo and he decided to add a dragon head and claw in the area I had saved for him! :)

Pickup line of the year

Guess some of you will have seen this already, Valerie at Frith St on me this afternoon Asked for a girl head, then today asked for freckles...

These are my grandfather's tattoos, done in Cape Town, circa 1956!

Always. My window on Saturday is about 1:00 to 5:00, and Sunday I'm off the whole day, though I usually end up sleeping til about noon. Lemme know, gents! - - - Updated - - - @Perez @whothefuckelseisinNYC?

Got this from Spencer @Memoir tonight! Session 4 on Weds...

Here is my snake/panther combo on my right forearm. I was taking these pics at my office desk. 4 years old now. Wow. Andrew Conner. Harrisonburg, VA.

It sounds like you are building a really nice portfolio for yourself. Please show us pictures. I would love to get something done by you. PM me the pictures and I promise I wont share them with the rest of the board.

I double hogg dare you!

I gotta see if I have a better picture of mine.. Really like this thread!

This thread needs more black.

22 is young and you have plenty of time to finish your arm/arms later in life! Pick some other areas that can be exposed if you want them to be or covered up in needed to be! You have no idea what you will be working at in 10 years and although it is a lot better now than when I had children.....my kids were kind of known as the kids with the "tattooed mom" lol Slow and steady wins the race......and remember.....get the best tattoos you can afford now because the tattoos you are getting now will be hopefully 50+ years old someday!

First off it should only be referenced to as squid appendages. I got a squid shirt and some squid pants started but only after the tatty zap gun finishes inkin me bro. All joking aside, I use the term (even though I hate it) for lack of a better word to most people, but never refer to anything less than a "sleeve". Half, quarter, third-pounder, all sound like shit.

we're all doomed. This is one of my ladys friends on the facebook. From what I gathered in the comments section, the tattoo cost 165 bucks and she has an obsession with Ed Hardy. Go figure.