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Today I have exchanged text messages, emails, and numerous Instagram messages with people that I have met through LST. I feel privileged to be part of this forum. Happy Holidays to all of you.

Yay! Happy Krampus everybody! Super glad to be part of this little internet tattoo family, you guys rule.

My first is from my buddy who is an apprentice. Second is from Craig Brown at Historic Tattoo in Portland. And I just got this from Beau Brady at State of Grace in San Jose. That's the only photo I have uploaded at the moment. Jill Bonny at State of Grace. I'm counting down the days!

Happy Christmas and a big HAIL SATAN ! To one and all !

Merry Festivus and Happy Kwanzaa!

I am really liking seeing other people's faces! Definitely a lot of beards. I'm here to contribute another lady face. And actually I'm real excited cause I just cut all my hair off again last Monday. Hello.

Very nice and I couldn't agree more. Best of the season to everyone here!

I love tattoos so much I got super drunk last night on account of it. Now I am back at work...AAARGGHHHHHHHHHHH

Heres a photo of me with my girlfriend and my two best mates.

Indeed! Thank you all for the hospitality, and may everyone have a happy holiday! Cheers!

totally, Merry Christmas guys!

Me and my lady before a concert this summer.

Hoping everyone's Christmas was killer, and wishing everyone a happy New Year!

Philip Yarnell!

Now I want people to start photoshoping subtle penises into the photos they put on line so that they get copied.

A baku, and I'm just gonna let her do her thing with the rest of the arm.

flash is to tattooing as standards are to music, shapes and formulas, composition to leap from. Plagarism will always exist. Its part of cultural growth.

Done

Happy Christmas, as you lot say: By Matt Staydohar, Anvil Brand Tattoo, Marysville, CA.

How's it going, everyone? I'm Josh, from just outside of San Jose. I'm not sure what makes a good introduction post, so this will have to do. I got my first tattoo almost 3 months ago after 7 years of talk. I've always liked tattoos, but I never could quite figure out what it was that I liked about them. One of my good friends started his apprenticeship at a local shop and I think that helped refined my taste. After I got settled in at my new job I decided to commit to it. I get my fourth tattoo this weekend, and start my sleeve in two weeks! It's awesome living in the Bay Area and being around so many great artists. I'm stoked to start my collection. I'm also into stand-up comedy and cool clothes. Cheers!

This is a great place to discuss tattoos. In addition to that it's been a great place to meet different people from all over the globe. So too everyone on LST and those of you that are my IG buddies, MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL!!!! Have a safe and healthy holiday season!!!!

lets pretend i still look like this...

That was where I got my last tattoo

@Dan that's a beautiful tattoo, however , when I broke my hand it wasn't as swollen as that. Lol the pain we go though to make ourselves beautiful :P

I really like this one,it was done by Seth Leibowitz on one of the regular artists that does work on me,Jennifer Leonardi

Got this yesterday.

Just got these two from Dusto at Tower Classic in St. Louis as a Christmas present to myself

Good for you for taking charge of your health. I have also gotten myself into better shape over the last few years and have found that this makes getting tattoos all the more fun. I have a tattoo I really like on my shoulder and I enjoy wearing clothing that shows it off (in the summer, it's below zero temperatures today). Three years ago I would never have worn sleeveless shirts. I feel like there is some kind of mutual incentive with all of this- I want to be fit so I can enjoy my tattoos and I like to get tattoos as an inspiration to remain fit. Get something you like and that you'd like others to see. You will know what it means to you and no one else will probably even care. I saw a wonderful quote recently that said something like "you will worry less about what other people think about you once you realize how infrequently they do so."

A buff Phoenix punching a bipedal donut in the face.

Took the wrap off and got it cleaned before bed. Now, am I imagining things or is there a line missing? On the bottom right as you look at the picture, a line to mark the side of the petal?

Very touchy subject I have actually been to court for. It use to really bother me when others would not only copy my work. But they would use my actual work for their advertising. Its even trickier with tattoo work as many assume it is all fair game. These are reasons/excuses I have heard. Isnt tattoo flash all about copying other Artists work? (My answer: Yes but I purchased that flash and have permission to use) Anything on the net is fair game! I suppose if you water mark the work then it is an implied copyright of sorts.However some judges will even laugh that out of court. There was a case with Andy Warhol copying a Campbell's soup label. A famous court hearing that apparently changed everything for artists after that. Like when a cover band plays your song. "Its considered a tribute or Artists rendition" Andy Warhol won that case even though his painting was an exact copy of the Soup can. It was considered a tribute/ Artist interpretation. Even under copyright laws it had enough differences to not infringe. Andys Painting was on canvas and not a can, his painting was done with oils and not ink, his was hand painted, his was larger. Thus enough differences that it did not infringe on any copyrights. A copied tattoo may look exact however a good attorney could find the 7 differences. may be 7 lines that are slightly different sized. maybe a different needle or ink brand was used, maybe it was a different size person, with different skin type. "NOT worth fighting as they will find differences". Something even more disgusting is that if the person copying your work posts to a time stamp website or uses in advertising before you. Its considered thier work. "Ive actually been sued for using my own work in my advertising" So be sure to get proof you are the first by posting your work on a site that keeps track of the date posted. There are free copyright sites just for this, also water marks are free as well. Or I believe photobucket, Youtube and other big sites automatically keep track of the dates you post a picture of your work. Sorry to babble so much but I thought maybe this could save an Artist from the hell Ive have to go through.. One last thought is that tattoo customers will many times bring a photo of a tattoo they want. In these cases I do understand how tempting it can be to copy. Especially if your rent is due and the customer wont let you change it. What I tell customers is that I dont copy other Artists work out of respect. But I can design something similar with my Artistic style. (Still copying the premis is unethical in many ways but one can not copyright premis " The concept" ) Thats why when someone created the first feather to bird tattoo a million others had their versions of it. Or the lace face dead women tattoos. Most dont give credit to the originator nor do we usually even know who the first was.) Its all a fine line and letting it eat us up is a waste of time. I try and take it as a compliment and move on

I definitely agree. You are nailing it, Carolyn. Richard Smith did this cool ass reaper on my thigh, and he can't be older than 25 or 26. As a 24 year old, I enjoy getting tattooed by people close to my age. When he put this on me he said he had been tattooing for two and a half years.

We are all one face tattoo away from a lucrative modeling career. I kind of like this thread, gives me something besides an avatar to associate people with.

LOL ya she said that was the most painful tattoo she ever got,and she has 75% of her body tattooed.

Some of my favorites are the Nue, Yurei, Kappa, and the Tsuchigumo spider. I also love the story of Watanabe no Tsuna, a japanese samurai who fought the demon oni Ibaraki and cut off his arm.

wow great pics everyone. @Graeme "squidmitts"! Hah! I don't generally seek out dotwork so those Jondix, Weisbeck, and Hooper hands are completely blowing my mind right now. Amazing! Unfortunately if I am ever able to get my hands done, it won't be for several decades. But in the meantime, here's a couple more on other people. Rich Hardy Grez

I am happy that you think this crowd is in any way normal!

All-time favorite is on a friend of mine, mostly because of how silly it is. What do gorillas think about? Bananas, duh. By Drew Rash. Additionally, here are three I've seen on Instagram recently that I've loved. Another Tim Hendricks. Squeezing a readable ROA on there blows my mind. Grez. Does it get better than classic roses on a hand? Grime. And to totally tweak out the classic rose, a rose skull morph.

Horitomo cats & my cats :)

How many local shops have you actually gone into, to check them out? If you are only looking online, yes you would be going about it the wrong way. There's more to things than this 2 dimensional world. Maybe you have been going out and surveying the local territory, but I sometimes feel like this virtual reality is trying to remove the adventure of getting tattooed and turning it into just acquiring a "thing". The limitations are obscured by the vastness of information.

Kyle Sajban from Red Rocket Tattoo NYC. Back hurt A LOT more than I thought it would.

What, that's not normal?

This is my take on it, I use them occasionally and I'll say that the tattoo still hurts like a mofo, you're just in a more relaxed state to deal with the pain. If it's going to make it a little easier for me and much easier for my tattooer, I'm all for it. As far as earning my tattoos, I've got plenty a sober tattoo in some painful areas so as far as I'm concerned, i've earned the right to get tattooed how I damn please.

This is exactly why Grime told me to keep my back piece off the internet. I'm glad I listened to him. Copying flash is nothing like copying a totally custom piece made specifically for the client. You just can't compare the 2. I commented on that 3re pictures instagram and asked if he was proud that he completely copied another persons tattoo. We'll see what he says...

Raybans? Mustache? V-neck? Guys, are you thinking what I am thinking?

i give the standard "some mean something personal, some mean i like tattoos" line. although explaining the straight edge praying hands to little kids at the pool can be fun... since they seem to always think it means something about how i hate Jesus. so, they get a quick rundown on what it really means, then probably go back to thinking it means i hate Jesus in five minutes.

@Graeme so you're saying that because it happens with everything on the internet, it's ok? I have no problem with people trying to do 'fresh' things. In my opinion, this style is still fresh, therefore how can anyone else do something new with it? Maybe it's different because I've been fortunate enough to see the seeds of this style develop from other things in a natural and gradual way that I feel uncomfortable when someone else hops on the wagon when the bumps have been ironed out. Yes it does happen, I know I can't stop it and I'm not trying to. The reason I take the time to post here is because Last Sparrow is different. It's better than that. This place is the real deal and I care about it. It may be just another forum to chat about whatever is on your mind to pass the time, for most here, but for the collectors and tattooers who post here there hasn't been anything this positive about good tattoos and tattooing on the internet, ever. There's been a machine forum that was good for a while and some kinda-sorta fringe industry sites and forums that were good for a while but there's never been somewhere online for just tattoos where quality matters and people who are respected in the real world are respected in the forums. Too often a post/blog count matters more than the quality of submissions and real-world experience. It's different here. Last Sparrow is having a real-world effect and I think it's up to us all to realise the responsibility we have and to try a little harder to be thoughtful and intelligent in our actions online and offline. While I wouldn't wear tattoos in the style Amanda Wachob does, I can see how they would appeal to some. I'm not even sure it appeals to 'tattoo people'. It's not really a new tattoo style either. It's based on a style of painting (wich was once new - over 70 years ago) Ed Hardy did some similar stuff in the 80's too. @TrixieFaux some of the people you mentioned do visit SF. I'm not trying to tell anyone who they should get tattooed by or whatever and I'm not knocking anyone specific. I'm sure 'new' guys give props or shout-outs to Hooper, Jondix, et al. But it still stands that without the guys who developed the style none of us would even want to get it tattooed.