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Jason Kelly at Live Free in Atlanta, GA. Nicest dudes. My girl got a sweet hour glass from Miguel O. Back of thigh is by far the worst tattoo pain I've felt. Goes right on to my ass cheek with the tongue, but Jason drew it straight on and was super fast and a true dude to the tradition of tattooing. Walked away with a cool tattoo, some prints from Miguel and a cool ass experience from all of them. Oh yea my appt got delayed because Myke chambers was getting tattooed by Jason. NBD Also, a drunk chick asked to watch me get tattooed so I said yes. She then proceeds to massage me and tries to cop a feel under my shorts all while getting tattooed. Thankfully Jason kicked her out. Fuxking weird

By Phil Hatchet Yau at Master Tattoo in San Diego, CA. What a rad dude to get tattooed by. I met Drew Linden there too, she's super chill! I thought Phil switched to a rotary at one point, but he was using lidocaine instead (which was awesome). I've met only one other tattooer that uses Bactine during tattoo sessions.

Yeah cheapness is another thing to blame on bad tattoos. The impatience to get something "now" without being able to afford a good artist really screws people. I understand not have the cash. I make little enough cash to be able to qualify for government aid for some things. I am not rich by any means. I just save up when it comes to the tattoos. I'd rather wait and get something awesome from someone good, meaning aside, then be impatient and just go get something cheap. I think the impatience some people have is a big reason for bad tattoos. BTW, when I say bad I'm not totally talking about what they're getting, but the quality of it. Will it last, will the design look good in 10 years? 20? 50?

I got this yesterday from Andrew Conner. The first image was bogarted from his Instagram.

awesome.

heres mine

I don't know where exactly I should post up.... But, the party is next weekend, I am keeping my word to my old man... I'm on a flight to JAX, FL... to get the artwork, and taxidermy, and neon, and home furnishings with two fellow Texans in tow.... This last week has been a true testament to the saying Mi Vida Loca.... The only thing I am thankful for is the tattoo family that has created a protective circle of love and support around Richard. It's opened his eyes as well as mine to how precious life really is, and how we are blessed. Crazy. Mad. Love. Love. Loyalty. Respect. Take care of tattooing, and it takes care of you. It's TRUE. Making this last run is about all the energy I have left, then I want to party.

tattood by me (mike harris) at churchyard tattoo studio in hitchin, hertfordshire englad

The way I got better tattoos was continually seeking out people that have more knowledge than me about tattoos, listen to what they say, pay attention to what they do and visit the people and the shops they talk about. People get bad tattoos because they don't do these things and they think they have it all figured out before they walk into a shop right down to how much the tattoo should cost. You don't have to be artistic or cool or even special to get a good tattoo, and having a good tattoo doesn't make you speical either (despite what your mom told you) you just have to be smart and humble enough to let the people who know what they are doing do their thing and be open to their ideas.

Always excited to see the internet working correctly. May as well share my LST success story, ha. I always wanted a tattoo, but all around me I always saw garbage, so I only had really dumb ideas for pieces I wanted done. I also spent all my money on drugs and booze so thankfully none of my bad ideas came to fruition. After I got sober I started thinking more seriously about it and during my research found LST and some blogs with quality work, I finally realized how awesome tattoos could be, versus the shit I see walking around town. Almost done healing my first piece, super excited to collect more!

I'm just much more of a whore than you are, @Lance. And here's the little tattoo I got from Horimasa (at the State of Grace Convention in 2006). He lined it by machine, but shaded it tebori (by hand). Still looks great.

The Letter of the Law: Laws for Lettering and Tattoos | Occult Vibrations Not judging, just some useful information.

Welp... I haven't posted on here in forever and cant figure out how to post a proper fucking picture of this little banger from today. Tom Waits inspired tattoo from the song Lucky day. - - - Updated - - - That looks retarded.

I don't like this complaining about price nonsense. Yes, large tattoos can be very expensive (though because you're not doing them in one shot you're stretching that cost out over months) but there are a lot of truly great, even world-class, tattooers who do amazing small tattoos that aren't going to break the bank. It's a matter of doing your research and finding those artists, and the great thing about tattooing right now is that there are SO MANY great tattooers out there, and making tattoos a priority in your life.

Nothing says hard core like a rose!

" If you watched the whole thing, you are probably also a fan of family guy. I think I'll follow up this thread by sitting down with my family to talk about politics and religion. Whoooo!

I am not trying to be mean, but the way I look at it good Music is creative, tattooing lyrics to a song on you verbatim is not very creative, I would say it's the antithesis of creative. Any good song should inspire strong imagery. There is so much tattoo imagery inspired by music, and vise versa. Look at the Social D Skeleton, Misfits Crimson Ghost, Tron and her Morrissey, Bikini Kill, Jawbreaker flash, etc. I remember the first time I talked someone out of getting a bunch of lyrics tattooed on them. They wanted all the lyrics to pink floyd wish you were here. I simply said why not get two fish in a bowl and the words "Wish you were Here" above it, it was the simplest idea and the first that came to mind, but never occurred to the client and blew her mind when I suggested it. Someone liking their tattoo is the most important part, but ultimately the point of this forum I feel is to open people up to ideas they never thought of, and help people get better tattoos.

In Atlanta GA. And got tattooed by Jason Kelly. Had to wait behind myke chambers to get finished first (no big deal). But I got a snake/skull combo on the back of my thigh and it fucking sucked. The tongue goes right onto my ass. I now see (a glimpse) into the pain of an ass tattoo. The guys at Live Free are stand up guys and was quite possibly the best experience at a tattoo shop I've had. Ill post a pic at the end of my vacation with more details. I do think ill be taking a tattoo hiatus after this considering I've gotten tattooed almost every month this year. And rents due so that's kinda important I guess.

Doug Hardy was here the other day and told us about being in a bar talking to a guy who struck up a conversation with him about his tattoos. At one point the guy said, completely seriously. "Y'know I always wanted to get a tattoo, but I never knew anyone that died." Thanks TV.

Terrible cell phone picture, a little red n bloody, but you get the idea. Yesterday was a blast -- ran into @Perez and an hour or so later got one knee webbed. Hopefully we can knock out the other one next week or soon.. Thanks again dude, you're the best.

At last my koi with Japanese maple sleeve is finished and pretty much fully heeled. The work was done by Mo Coppoletta from the Family Business in London, done in seven sessions between December and May. Pictures also posted on the May tattoo contest thread elsewhere on this forum.

Ok, I'll play, though it is a tough month on this thread once again with lots of superb entries already. My sleeve has recently been finished and has nearly healed, the work was done by Mo Copoletta at The Family Business in London, it took seven three hour sessions which between December and May. I have already posted a few in progress shots but this is the finished product.

Thanks for the idea!

Hi all! im an apprentice from Suffolk UK and would be very greatful if you could take the time to look at the prints and merch i have for sale at Home / nofireinmylungs prints are amazing quality and huge, shirts and hoodies are lovely quality and the stickers are fun! orders of two or more items get a free sticker pack thanks for looking!

Your artist will give you instructions on how to take care of your tattoo and you should follow those.

I have a hard time "wanting" anything with meaning. Sure, i got the kids' name and one for my grandpa, but to me, even getting tattooed with an image/phrase that means nothing to me now, will remind me of where I was in my life when I got it. I guess my tattoos are more "Dogs Eared Pages" in the book of my life. (fuck, that's kinda catchy, huh?) lol

that print is awesome! the shirt too. wish i had a job...haha :) good looking stuff dude!

Okay, okay, okay...who have you NOT been tattooed by??? My goodness you're a walking art gallery of some of the best! Beyond jealous. ...and that tiger head is crazy amazing.

when I got together with my current wife in 2005(we are both 53),I have sleeves and a good part of my legs done & a neck piece,my wife liked mine but did not have any tattoos at all,but ! since being with me & our son & daughter in law were getting tattoos too, my wife,miss "I like yours honey but I will never get one",in 2009 when our first grandchild was born,she surprised me with "I want a tattoo honey" ! so now she has a descent size ankle tattoo with both our grandchildren's names and worked on twice now. to answer one of the questions,it never did effect our relationship in any way because she had none and I had many. IMO if two people REALLY love each other,each has to accept the other one and respect them to make it work. I think tattoos on women are very sexy,but I thought my wife was sexy with or without tattoos ! :D she's a hottie !

This is me, before and after I got my newest tattoo (or, after and before apparently!) :D

plainskins opinions does NOT matter

A plainskin at work was asking me about my sleeve and then said "But you know who has really good tattoos? David Beckham." This is why people get bad tattoos.

Thank you for the link, I love Thai tattoos, and the whole culture, I want to go on a trip there one day, it's on my list of things to do!

Very cool to see. We actually had a few girls around the 20 year old mark come on one night a little bit before closing, wanting to get something small (bro tats, I think), and they mentioned they got tattooed on a trip the summer before. We were expecting what most people would expect, but they each had a mantra on the back of the neck from a trip to Thailand. I don't know if we were more surprised by that, or they were more surprised by the fact that we knew what they were and where they got them.

This is a funny one because on the one hand I see people with people's names written on their necks and few other tattoos, or big paragraphs of text which is pretty illegible and I think 'what in the name of all that's holy were you thinking?!?' On the other hand I think who am I to criticise ? It's their body, they may absolutely love their tattoos. When they look in be mirror that neck tattoo proclaiming 'Shug' for all to see might make them happy. Is that not the whole point or tattoos ? They are for the person who wears them not for us. Not everyone is going to get what I perceive to be a beautiful tattoo and actually that's ok with me. If we were all the same the world would be an incredibly tedious place. I have a few script tattoos. They don't mean anything or sentiment. I'm a big word geek and just love the way slightly unusual words look in fancy lettering. Last night I got 'Vagabond Soul' tattooed script. It won't make any sense to alot of people but I love the way the words look. Anyhow I digress. There's my contribution :)

I find based on questions I get asked a lot from "plainskins" is that people who aren't big tattoo-heads think they have to justify getting tattoos by giving them personal meaning. A quote or a small image is easy to be meaningful. A badass battle royale tattoo probably has no meaning. It's just badass. People can't make that kind of commitment without a personal connection. Just like some people can't have one night stands. (This is just my opinion based on the dumb people I know who get lame tattoos).

Alright, so I got my first tattoo. Marie Sena, Dedication Tattoo, Denver

Call your tattooer and ask him.

I keep popping in and out of this website, but I do love that you guys keep at it! Anyway, here are a couple of photos of my front piece from Filip Leu & Sabine Gaffron, in progress. I'm adding a selfie taken close up while lying on my couch because it cracks me up how I look like a piece of fabric :))

This is a completely personal preference, but christ I hate those "watercolor" tattoos. Also, Chris Smith just posted that he is now working at Master Tattoo in SD.

You're talking about this with your artist, which is what you should be doing. Soliciting advice from complete strangers on the internet is weird, and quite frankly, if you need to do that you probably shouldn't be getting tattooed anyway.

Updated full back progress pic. Pretty much healed up from my last session. Will be seeing Rubendall again in May to finish shading the back of my left thigh. Probably start some color too!

Should have followed my strict policy to "never read the comments"...

this cracked me up..

Question: is there a way of putting photos directly on my phone from here or do I have to upload them to somewhere first? Some pictures I've taken: Parked near my apartment: I might not know much about wine, but I know a cool wine label when I see one. This wine was actually called SKULLS: Canada: Saw this in a book about dogs and took a picture of it to possibly use as reference for a future tattoo: A lighter I own: