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Awesome stuff, everyone (as usual). El Monga added this to my leg today! Picture stolen from his Instagram. I'm now realizing that I never posted a picture of the last one he did on me, because it wraps and I can't seem to get a good picture of it. I'll try to do that soon.

Tomorrow! I'm getting my back (back of the neck to back of the knees) tattooed by Chad Koeplinger...SOOOOOOO FUCKEN STOKED!!!!!!!!!!!!

back cover credited to Bob Wicks c.1930 there is a larger photo in the book. cool book that is well worth the $30.

Not sure why I thought to do this tonight, but I decided to see how long of a drive it is to New York City and also to Montreal. Found out that from my house it's almost exactly the same length of trip (6h35mins vs 6h38mins). Driving to NYC to get a tattoo is something I definitely want to do someday, but it has always seemed so far away - I really thought it was more like an 8.5hr drive. Montreal, on the other hand, I've driven to several times (mostly for hockey games) and would definitely do again. I have the feeling that this knowledge is going to cost me money in the coming months/years.

There is most definitely a "vibe" or "resonance" with anything Higg-ish... If the tattooer doesn't know the art off the top of their head or the shop doesn't have the actual real flash, I would say, "bad vibe"... Higgs is a language, you wouldn't wan't someone that can't understand or speak the language to go interpreting something completely foreign on your skin for you, especially, if YOU know what you want.

If your artist doesn't know who Higgs is or doesn't have any of his/her own reference for it, and it's probably not the right artist to get the piece of Higgs flash from. The right vibe just won't be there.

To answer the original question, if the shop you're in doesn't have the aforementioned Higgs flash, then you're probably in the wrong shop. Or just say you want a "Higgs mummy" or "Higgs druid" or "Higgs bat", etc. I'm hoping the tattooer will know what you're talking about. At the same time, I would want someone that's stoked on Higgs to do the tattoo as well, or like others mentioned, someone that may even know him. There are tons of tattoos I want in the new Eleven Fourteen book, the Zeis book, the new Great Unknown book, 400 Flash from Rodin and Miller, etc. I haven't bought those books, but I wouldn't lift any of those images off the Internet neither. If I see flash that I really like, I'm just gonna track down that tattooer and get tattooed by them. Or hopefully the shop I'm at has the books and I could just pick out an image from there. Totally rambling at this point.

Just wanted to give you guys a heads up about a new book we are working on. Lost Love is a collection of vintage tattoo flash presented in a 200 page 9×12 hardcover format. This book represents a handful of private collections and is full of never before published sheets of antique flash along with acetates, sketches, and photos. The images in this unique collection were selected to embody the rich and diverse history of tattooing. Our goal was to show everything from folky to fancy. This book will contain unsigned flash sheets as well as images from Cap Coleman, Paul Rogers, Sailor Jerry, Stoney St Clair, Percy Waters, Milton Zeis, and many more. The first 200 Lost Love pre orders will receive a limited print of vintage flash with their book and it will be shipped in hand silk-screened packaging. Pre orders have already started and the book is expected in early Feb. can be purchased at Yellow Beak Press Here is a small video teaser for the book.

When I wanted something higgs influenced I had an idea of people I thought would do it justice. I waited a little bit just to see whats what. When I meet Jason Scott I found out Dan Higgs worked with/for him...did a bunch of tattoos on him including a fucking GREAT back piece. THEN he told me he had a book of a bunch of rare higgs flash,drawings and pictures etc and then it was obvious who I would get to do these higgs influenced tattoos. I told him my general idea and he came up with something heavily influenced but "new" with integrity. Certainly hes not the only one in the world to have this kind of contact but I think hes a great person/tattooer. Is he into as much of the mystical ideas behind the tattoos....NO...but he speaks the language via his tattoos stronger then those who have no contact with higgs. Hes more a fan of tattooing and strongly looked up to higgs. I think its a BIG factor when it comes to something like getting a higgs flash or something based on his style. I would have been bummed just walking in with a print out of some higgs flash and asking someone with little knowledge to pop it on me....but your free to do as you wish. Plus the great stories you get from a tattooer who knows the guy make it worth the going out of your way.... Good luck. ps. I could just be a fan boy....but I dont care. Everyones a critc.

Agreed! Some styles are so unique to the specific artist that any attempt to capture it from a different party will fall short 99.9% of the time no matter how qualified or talented the 2nd tattooer is. Can anyone else do a deVita tattoo? Nobody can channel that. Not entirely unsurprising that Higgs falls into the same 'lineage' of styles that can't be duplicated. Probably 50 other artists that I'm not taking the time to think of and list. That's enough of me seemingly like putting anyone on a pedestal; partially because those people wouldn't want that and also because I'm not trying to seem like a fanboy. Just someone that appreciates tattoos with soul. My 2 cents sorry if I derailed the thread.

Interesting discussion, kinda wish Dan Higgs would weigh in.....

In progress by Tomo at Yellow Blaze. Painful to say the least, but it's taking shape after 4 sessions. Home tomorrow! From his Instagram.

Hello all… …so a brief introduction, I'm 27 and live in London England working as a graphic designer / illustrator. So glad to found a site where tattooers and enthusiasts can come and talk. i don't have many friends who are into tattoos (apart from my wife) so would be cool to meet up at conventions talk, drink and chill. Also I love the insightful but down-to-earth interviews with artists I admire and hope to be tattooed by some day.

I'm getting a pair of foo dogs with peonies wrapping around my lower leg.

Nah, won't happen.

While there are some really cool pieces of flash I'd love to get tattooed, I'd really want to get it tattooed by the artist that did it. If it is impossible (retired, or no longer alive), I have a hellva good excuse to buy some more books. I love having new books, and sometimes my wallet needs justification.

Had a ton of fun at the Lowbrow Tattoo Convention in Killeen this weekend. Met a lot of great people and got some cool tattoos. Devil Head from James Clements Panthgle from James Yocum Tex Avery Whistlin' Wolf from Paco Cendon (Won tattoo of the day on Sat!) I'm happy but I can barely walk today.

When I got a portrait on leg, I told Josh Brown (tattooer) I wanted it to be loose and Higgs-esque. I trusted Josh because, I knew what his tattoos looked liked. I also liked the fact that his full back is from Dan, one of a handful that I know exist (I haven't seen it, because he refuses to show it to anyone, it is that sacred to him). Good mojo all around.

Looks like I need that book. Thanks guys. If I get the tattoo in the next year Ill post it. Ive been getting lots of ideas but I should really get my big work finnished. Who knows....I dont have a SATAN/DEVIL yet..and I need one before im done.

Oh, you have no idea how much this idea scares me when I remember that everyone (except felons) can vote...especially after working a customer service job in my younger years.

You should do it! Let us know, maybe we can have a little LST meetup that day if you head in.

About the co-workers... these people vote and sit on juries... scary.... Rob

Well...welcome aboard....

@hogg @TrixieFaux @jpm06 @dirbab @RoryQ @LastOrders @MadeIndelible Mindblowing stuff!

@BrianH With my rose morph I didn't supply Chad with any pictures. I told him that I wanted a panther rose, kind of like that famous Hardy backpiece, knowing that he would know what I wanted. Chad drew it on me with Sharpie. It was pretty amazing to see him just draw something like that on with no reference, but that's why I wanted Chad to do that tattoo. Basically, I agree with @CultExciter here about wanting to promote the best in tattooing. Sure, people are bringing in things they printed off the Internet to get tattooed, but there are also tons of people who want words tattooed upside down and I don't think we should talk about and promote that as an idea here either. And sure, there's plenty of grey area here too. Sailor Jerry stuff is maybe one thing, but the mention of "modern flash" in the original post bothers me. Anyway what I think about this stuff doesn't count for much.

It's a faux pas for sure. You would want to go somewhere who could encapsulate the vibe, or hell, might even know the man personally. Otherwise, you might lose the soul of the tattoo. There is so much more Higgs flash than what you can find on the internet. Go somewhere that has real copies of it.

The general public......and the tattoo community are two separate concepts. I don't try and push people around with what they should and shouldn't get, I'm not a social worker...... But I do try to present them with options when I can. I still give em the haircut they ask for....... I just try and comb it real nice for em.

Got something from Scott Sylvia yesterday. I'll post a picture in a few.

picked this up yesterday from Danielle Rose, so happy with it

27yrs old tattoo artist from Las Vegas. yeah don't know what else to put i'm not that interesting.

Couldn't say no after watching the promo video. Looking forward to receiving this in February!

I think so...instagram. at least jason posted it.

Higgs portraits are great. Seen on in person. Holds up nicely. @irezumi your inbox is full, or it wont let me send. But yes I think it is what you were talking about.

Hahahahaha. Best of luck to you, good sir. I don't know what route you would take, but the I-87 through Upstate New York is a really beautiful and easy drive. It takes 7-8 hours for me to drive to NYC from Montreal and I've done that drive enough that it goes by pretty quickly. Realising that it really isn't a big deal to get there was really great not just in terms of getting tattooed, but also just in terms of realising that going to NYC can be a weekend trip. I feel that people here tend to think of it as being so far away, but it really isn't. And yeah, considering how many AMAZING tattooers are there, you'd be foolish to not go.

Welcome.

I took a little trip to LA a few weeks back, mostly planned around an appointment with Tomas Garcia at Sid's in Santa Ana. Couldn't be more pleased with the experience and the result: http://instagram.com/p/gRp00EkhUV/ http://instagram.com/p/gRqNqGkhU5/

This is spectacular. (As are many of the other recent posts.) Holy moly, there are some crazy great tattoos popping in this thread. And I'm not the least bit surprised. @RoryQ - that piece is incredible.

Bad filtered photo but my wife and I got matching Smashing Pumpkins hearts a couple years ago right around the time of our birthdays (we're ten days apart). There will definitely be more to come..

bob wicks has a real good one I believe

Are you talking about flash that you purchased, or of pictures that you printed from the internet? Because there's a difference.

I'd like to chip in from the point of view of East Asian art. The way this art has been and is handled has a certain importance here, since a big part of tattooing is strongly influenced by it. Someone noted that many copies come from China and/or Korea. That is correct. It would be however very ignorant to immediately dismiss this as lack of creativity or thievery. Traditionally, copying of masterpieces in East Asian art is not just flattery. It's the most important exercise for a student. There is a massive amount of EA art for which it is impossible to determine the author with absolute certainty, just because of how furiously students would immediately start reproducing it, over and over, often creating nigh-perfect copies of the original masterpiece. Every line, every dot, every detail. The original creators' glory would not only remain intact, but be exalted by this. This form of copy is done openly and honestly. Only after many years of copying, slowly, a practitioner of art would come to develop his own style. Ed Hardy and a Chinese guy who is doing my sleeve discussed exactly this in an interview in the last TCM. I think this applies, to a certain degree, to all art forms, Eastern or Western, just not to the same degree. For me the question would be: Is Shige in any way harmed, if a tattoo is copied and people know it's Shige's? Who is, actually, in any way harmed, if a great tattoo is copied? Someone's individuality or personality? Should we give tattoos that kind of importance? Should we give any thing that kind of importance? The ability to say "I am the only one who has this", is not just determined by positioning of pigments, but by the moment in time and the persons involved and the words said and the hours spent on it. That makes a tattoo unique, for me. If I see someone with my exact same tattoo because he saw it on a website, I personally wouldn't care. I might even be flattered, hell, I'm not above pride. On one condition: honesty. I might get tattooed by a Chinese guy who does amazing copies of Shige, and I have absolutely no problem with that, for the simple fact that the second he shows you that tattoo, he say's "This is a Shige design". Yes, it's from Shige, but now it's also his, through his hand and his eye, and it's also the first person's who got that kind of tattoo. And then it's also mine. Art just does that and I like to see it as a continuous, conscious and honest line of interpretations of subjects. I don't care if it's a painting on silk or a tattoo on skin that is copied, there's no difference. It's a tribute to a masterpiece and the acknowledgement of beauty. As long as there's honesty. If you acknowledge your master, you're a student, if you don't...well, I guess then, and only then, you are a thief.

Nice! I am digging this by Thomas Hooper...only in my case if I did something like this I would have to stop at the wristbone:

My favorite so far has been, "Were you drunk?" Because I would totally ask for a custom tattoo while blasted...

This is what went on yesterday at Memoir w/Kim on my raven/roses/jewels arm. I am in love with it!

Put this up the other day in the full back piece thread and forgot to put it over here. Last session in for 2013 and starting back up in January. All work being done by Rodrigo Melo at Northstar Tattoo NYC. Mike

Here is a comment that left me speechless. Not because it was a dumb comment but because it made a lot of sense and it made me think. "Why are you getting a back piece? Wouldn't it make more sense to get a front piece so you can see it easier?" I eventually said I plan on getting a front piece too, but its funny that most people get back pieces before front pieces. Is this because there is a Japanese tradition for the proper sequence to get a body suit? Or is it because getting your torso tattooed is the least fun so everyone waits until the end to get it done?

I like to look at this every time I'm on here( which is everyday) just because it's so badass , especially those eyes

I'll throw my hat in the ring too this month :cool: Bob Roberts, Spotlight Tattoo. That El Monga piece is SICK @9Years

I think the question of big pieces versus a lot of smaller pieces is an interesting one. The extreme of big pieces is a bodysuit from one artist... The extreme of small would be having all one-shots, I guess, or nothing bigger than sort of middling-sized. Guess the grass is always greener to some extent... I really enjoy getting one shots these days, because they're easier to squeeze in more of, and require less planning, but at the same time they don't pack the visual wallop of a big piece. And some designs and styles only really work at a certain scale, IMO....