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I got this from Chad Koeplinger earlier this year. I love it, and I want to share it with you:

Obvious comments about people getting the infections...errrrr...tattoos they deserve aside, this guy is an idiot. Given that it's a pretty nasty feature of contemporary capitalism that it's even harder to make a living as an artist, illustrator, photographer, musician, writer, etc. because increasingly fewer people want to pay for that kind of work--not to mention the number of other careers that now practically require countless hours of unpaid labour in the form of internships--there's nothing at all "refreshing" about working for free. Maybe if these people actually valued artists and paid money for art that instead of complaining about how they, the oh-so-romantic-Jawbreaker-is-my-favorite-band perpetually starving artists, don't have money for things like tattoos (but please don't ask them how much money they spend on drugs), they would have money for things like tattoos. Maybe they'd have to live on tighter budgets, pick up extra shifts at work, wear clothes and shoes a little longer, and so on, to save the money to get tattooed and that it would be worth it because if you love tattoos you'll find a way to make it work even if it doesn't mean instant gratification. Not to mention that if you have a respect for tattooing as a craft, or shit, for crafts and craftspeople in general, that you should understand that this stuff always comes at a price and that the craft isn't less "pure" because of it. I can't wait for the hipsters to be eradicated by a plague of hepatitis.

So during my trip to SF back in October. Our first area we ended up in was Mission, and I was so inspired by the murals painted there. I took a lot of pictures and decided I wanted one of the beautiful traditional roses tattooed on my arm. We went to Oakland at Temple Tattoo, I wanted to visit this shop anyway because well....its fuckin historical. So there was only one artist there that day, Jonah. I asked if he had time for a small walk-in tattoo, and showed him the pics of the murals. Ended up being him that painted those murals! :) We definitely made each others day! So he drew up a rose while we were talking to him, fuckin awesome experience overall. Having someone with 15 years experience tattooing me was epic and especially in that shop. One of the best trips ever. I have to go back to California. <3

Here's the three Higgs on my body. Wedding ring Left arm Right arm

Awwww! Thanks @Graeme , @hogg , @Delicious , @TrixieFaux , et al. I love that picture, I was stunned when I saw it. I was flipping through the photographer's favorites from the wedding and there it was. I hadn't realized she took that picture. (Admittedly, I'd put back a few by that time of the night!!) I honestly had no idea how awesome the tattoos all look together - I never see them from afar like that, never see them the way a distant observer would. It's no wonder I get stopped on the streets!! :)

I got this Cowgirl head from Rich Hardy while he was doing a guest spot at Third Eye Tattoo about a month ago.

I took this photo and a bunch of others at the New Jersey State Fair in Cherry Hill. It was August 12th, 1990. It was a blast meeting Jack Dracula. He had such a crazy mystique about him. There were all kinds of crazy stories about him and I was afraid to meet him but he was a fun guy to hang around with for an afternoon. He rode back into town with us and told us old corny jokes. RIP Jack Dracula and Sonny Tufts.

Second session just finished on my thigh. 6 and a half hours in. Swollen, bloody and inky but here is a pic. Tried to get some details in on the right side pics.

Really love the cowgirl! I got some roses off Rich Hardy last weekend whilst he was back in the UK.

Happy birthday to me! (2 years ago :p ) If I look a bit sweaty, it was almost 60 degrees centigrade.

Here is my back-piece from @Stewart Robson Started - 11/25/2011 Completed - 11/24/2013 The tattoo has 78 hours in total.

I got them in SF back in 90-91. I called Freddy Corbin to do them but Daniel answered the phone. Just a matter of chance I ran into Freddy at the Haight Street Fair in 88 when he was handing out cards to "Find Your Tattoo Reality" I still have it in a box somewhere.

Bleeeuuggghhh can we just remove this article from this forum so as to not spread this spewing uninformed BS. I hate people with that mentality, especially since my fiance is a musician and supports himself the same way as a tattooer. He recently had a regular gig and the guy shorted him because of something he didn't like (but he didn't tell my fiance anything, just gave him less $) and he had to give up the gig, because he can't afford to not be paid or worry about not being paid. That's true among all service jobs.

Tattoo shops smell like the best smells in the entire world. Aaahhh, I miss the shop!

one from today also painted a lady but i fucked it up

Bonji isn't a 'tag' Bonji is derived from sanskrit and is used solely for religious words. A tattoo name or senjafuda is made with Hiragana and Kanji. Many people have made up their own 'tattoo name' Many western tattooers have signed their work too. From Ron Ackers, Ed Hardy, Jack Rudy, Thom DeVita.... etc.

Just for reference folks, Tim is my mentor. The highest caliber of friend and tattooer.

Chances are this guy is lying about his apprenticeship. People do that all the time to try to gain credibility. And it's a real shame that most people reading the article won't be able to read the subtext of what this guy really is saying which is that he sucks too horribly and is too lazy to get a spot at a real shop, and because of that he could never actually charge anyone for his work. He's probably just using this to be "cool" with his jerkoff hipster friends. Yet another crappy side effect of tattoo TV shows.

Thanks to all the LSTer's for voting! Amazingly many cool tattoos this month as always, so I'm very happy to win the November contest! Just look how happy I was when it was announced that I was the winner, haha​​! @Graeme, I think I'm in love with your Chad Koeplinger panther / rose mix. I'm jealous!

Is it a LST record that a tattoo of the month contest only lasted 9 minutes?

Alright... here goes nothin. Pharoah's Horses tattooed by me, finished in October.

And we are off to a brilliant start!

@Kahlan great tattoo and great story!

Johan Svahn from immovable tattoo in sweden.

he should atleast charge some beer for the ink he so smoothly lays down on his bros....i mean, he being drunk doesn't really make anything worse... I'm having a free tattoo party this weekend as well: hep c needles(sewingneedles of course) and some kind of "ink". no need to wash. gloves? a myth....don't need those....pretty cheap too...just give some disease i can give on to the next fellow and we're good! everyone welcome!!(except juggalos)

You are almost correct: Air Freshener 3-Pack | Waverly Color

Go to the Asian Art Museum!!! A must see! Go have sushi at Isobune in the Japan center, and go drink like 5 fresh-squeezed grayhounds at Cafe Van Kleef in Oakland. The botanical gardens in golden gate park are free, and quite gorgeous. The California Academy of Sciences is one of my favorite places in San Francisco, definitely worth spending half a day over there. And if you do go to Oakland, go visit Temple Tattoo, walk around Lake Merritt (super beautiful and romantic and stuff), and end your night at Van Kleef's. Also in Oakland are Tattoo 13 and FTW, and if you can make it half a mile north from FTW, George Campise's shop Warhorse Tattoo is definitely worth a visit. The Mission has the best tacos and dive bars in the city, along with the best street art. Haight is also worth a visit, and if you're down there, you might as well pop into Idle Hand. Hope that helps!

We've got till July 2015 to figure it out... And thanks for the welcome you all. I've got one more by Higgs on my right arm in 91.

On my recent trip home I had the usual light-hearted debates w/my mom over tattoos. We were talking about me wanting to change schools and she said I couldn't get a job at another school w/these tattoos. I said that I keep them covered w/long sleeve shirts. She said, "You can't wear long sleeve shirts all the time in LA!" I explained that yes, I already do...we have air conditioning. Blah blah blah. So then later, she tells me that Adam Levine was voted the sexiest man alive. I asked her if she agreed with that assessment and she said, "Yes." I said, "But he has tattoos!" And she goes, "He's an entertainer, not a kindergarten teacher." Oh lordy. I knew she already had a double standard about it being more ok for men to have tattoos than women. Now I see, it's also ok if you are an entertainer. I told her he is a grown-ass man and I am a grown-ass woman and that my job requires me to be an entertainer most of the time, too. Then MIL told my hubby that if we keep getting tattoos we won't be able to move back to Boston. Oh parents. They are so silly. We are in our forties and these are the conversations we are having!

Cheers @Iwar it's good to be back my friend!! And since you asked so nicely, another travel blog it is haha. Well that was just over 4 hours of "fuck me" lol. 2 days back to back is no joke at all ( @Reyeslv you are a machine) but we got a lot done. Horinao thinks we might even be able to finish on Thursday if we make the session a little longer - and hells yeah I'm keen for that! He's kept the colour really traditional and no bells or whistles but that's fine by me, the original image is perfect anyway (in my eyes at least) @cibo y'all will have to wait until I at least get back home to be able to upload pics ;) but I won't keep you guys hanging. here's a link to the catclaw blog from yesterday http://ameblo.jp/catclaw-tattoo-z/entry-11716915808.html

Our wedding rings. They were a lot sharper when they were done. These were done in 1990 by Daniel Higgs in SF. We talk about getting some new Tats for our 25th anniversary, but Daniel doesn't do tattooing anymore. So I was thinking of getting Freddy Corbin to do the 25th anniversary tattoos. Freddy was working there when Daniel was doing these. It's only right to keep the connection going.

Now if only Dan Higgs would pull a Chris Conn and start tattooing again. That's something I wouldn't have a problem forking up $500/hour for. I'm allowed to dream, right?

Hey, Just Taking a minute to introduce myself. My Name is Timothy Morris. Im a Tattooer at Black Tide Tattoo in Chippewa Falls, WI. As well as a Father To an Awesome little dude! I started watching some of the artist interviews and really enjoyed them. Also enjoy being able to open up another avenue for correspondence with like minded people, Tattooers and collectors. Thanks for the opportunity to be apart of the community!

Fuck, I always forget about tax refund money. Can't wait to blow it all on tattoos, and I can actually afford to do that this year because I'll have money saved up for the summer months. I'm a grad student so the summer is always tough, but this year should be an exception thanks to a first year fellowship in the program I just started. I'm seriously just realizing now that I can probably afford to just blow the entire refund on tattoos this year. Probably not super responsible, but fuck it right?

Although Aquaphor has Panthenol in it, it is not a cream, and it is approximately 99% petroleum in the form of petroleum jelly, and mineral oil. Creams are around 50% water give or take depending on the particular one, and so the petroleum in them absorbs more quickly into the skin instead of sitting on top creating a non-breathable barrier as well as a lovely place for dirt and bacteria to hang out and enter your new tattoo through the wet scab that normally would protect you if it were dry. As far as the science of staph is concerned, everyone carries their own strain of staph bacteria at all times. Some staph infections are caused by coming into contact with someone else's staph and being unable to fight it off, but plenty are actually just flare-ups of our own bodies staph. Any time there is a wound to a person's body, the chances of the bodies staph bacteria blooming into a full blown infection are increased. Staph flourishes in a warm, moist, airless environment which is exactly what you create when you put a layer of petroleum on top of your new tattoo. If you've ever had a bunch of red bumps, or even small whiteheads form on or around a new tattoo, that was your bodies staph flaring up. I've had a few clients over the years have no infection problems with their tattoos when using lotion as a moisturizer, but then develop staph outbreaks within a day after trying Aquaphor. As far as what I know of staph and how it works, the knowledge came from reading a paper written by researchers at Johns Hopkins university about staph, and the most effective cleaning agent to use in the hospital to reduce infections from cross-contamination. One last thing. You wouldn't use Vaseline on a new tattoo would you? People quit using that stuff on their tattoos decades ago because of the regular infections that came along with the use of it. Aside from being slightly less sticky, and having a very small percentage of other added chemicals added, Aquaphor is nearly identical. A little bit of all vegetable oil based lotion is much better for not only your tattoo, but for your personal health overall.

I am very much tempted to send him an email to fish for info on one of these parties and just send it to the health department... But alas, this pisses me off quite a lot because there are artists whose work I really admire who have worked at East River Tattoo, and that is just such a fucking bummer. I guess at the same time, you can't attribute one person's dumbassery to their coworkers. Mostly, this just makes me really sad.

One summer's Friday down the pub after work with friends the conversation turned to tattoos as a 'celebrity' had recently posted photos of her tattoos (roses over both butt cheeks) and it had been all over the papers. One girl at the table went off on a massive rant, something along the lines of "How could someone disfigure themselves like that? It's disgusting." I'm sat there with shorts on sporting my brand new calf tattoos so decide to call her up on it. "So you're saying that I've disfigured myself by getting tattoos?" I ask, as nicely as possible. So began the furious back-peddling. "No, your tattoos are different!" and "That's not what I was trying to say at all!" Which I didn't believe for a second. I also had a weird one from my Mum when talking about one of my sessions. Referring to the tattoo parlour, she asks: "But doesn't it get a bit smelly in there?" After inquiring what the hell she was on about, it turned out she thought that part of the tattoo process involved burning the skin!

Awesome month with the best victory celebration yet! Congratulations!

I was in a wedding back in September, this is one of the candid shots the photographer took :)

Second session yesterday. Was a lot easier this time around, not so apprehensive I guess and also made a point to just focus on my breathing for the few lines that needed finishing. Looking forward to the next session! Thanks again Stewart.

Awesome! Love those! Here is the start to my outer thigh Tsuru Kame [/img]

guy wearing tattoo sleeves, saw my arm and was telling his buddies, that his didn't hurt to get.. pull on ones like this... i mean, srsly, who wears these things???

Reading the original and follow-up posts I don't quite read anything that suggests the artist was flat-out rude or a 'wankstain'. That said, it sounds like for whatever reason the OP is not a good fit with this artist, or vice versa. A bad day all round, some clash of personalities, maybe the unfortunate presence of the other customers... Sounds like there were a few things feeding into it? Either way I think go elsewhere: It's fair to say that for whatever reason he and his studio rub you up the wrong way. It doesn't need to be a big thing, just go elsewhere.

Horimasa Tosui from the Horitoshi Family is my favourite. In my opinion his doing some of the best Tebori oneshots (and big work) in the business. It´s very easy to recognize that his master is Horitoshi 1; These are 12 years old. Look how bright they still are; I got this one from him earlier this year: I also love alot of other Tebori-artists, some of them are mentioned over here. Horizakura, Horitomo..

That's cool.....I just wondered if for some people they saw 1985 as some pivotal time in tattooing or something and my first professional tattoo was done in 1984 by Juli Moon..... - - - Updated - - - I don't really know why or what got into my head one evening BUT.....I just decided that I wanted to seek out some of the people who had been tattooing 30-40 years and begin to add their work to my body! At the time I was not even thinking I would ever pick up a machine and tattoo but to me it truly was my way of being able to honor those people who had put their time in to the craft and community I loved since I did not tattoo! It really hit home to me that this is what I felt I should do once I was tattooed by Dennis Watkins....the hubby of my now mentor Gale Watkins! Dennis apparently was dying at the time unknown to anyone but himself and had really stopped tattooing totally. I asked a friend to see if he could convince him to do something small on me....and he agreed to do something! That one tattoo turned into three.....Myself...my hubby....and my son have his last three tattoos! After his death I asked a few well known tattoo artists who I was fortunate to be friends with who were others who had this kind of time in and got back a wonderful list I have been chipping away at for some time now! I try not to really draw a lot of attention to myself because I am really no one special.....I have just taken the time to have been tattooed by a lot of really wonderful people who love/loved what they do..... I really would urge others to do this as well if you are just going for smaller pieces here and there on your body rather than larger mural style pieces!

fryminister, a bunch of random travelling spam, stupid things I see and bacon. Don't really post tattoos on there much.

Is it weird that I haven't been tattooed since January and that feels like a really long time? Like I waited EIGHT YEARS between my first and second tattoos, and now three months feels like a long break. What have I become? All that to say that I am looking forward to my appointment at the Rochester convention next weekend.

I make tattoos for a living and it's not about me. The only pet peeve I have is tattooers who cannot spell. Don't be arrogant, check the dictionary. Now check it again.