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I'm a little self conscious about posting this here bc I am super naked and super swollen - but to be fair, she DID buy me dinner before taking these pics...I'm nothing if not consistent ;). I will post better pics after the healing is done. Taken from Junii's instagram. Blue peony is on the front of thigh next to the karajishi, everything else is down the leg. Next session is at the end of April to finish connecting the waterfall and adding color to the kingyo. I was expecting only to do my thigh, adding some more rocks and peonies, and had come specifically dressed so that I would not have to reveal my lazily hairy legs (TMI? Sorry folks.) but ended up, as usual, prancing around the back of the shop naked from the waist down. Oy vey. I'll get it right one of these days ;). http://instagram.com/p/lfLoCUBbQM/ Edit: BAH, how do I get the picture inline????

Took me longer than I thought to get in for my first session but here it is. Still need to add color. I wish I could stare at it but it is on my back so that is not comfortable to do. :(

Birthday gift to myself. Tattoo by Matt Howse at Seventh Son SF CA. Photo pulled from his instagram. Stoked.

Hipsters didn't ruin anything.

Here's part of a Troll sleeve Trond Kjørkleiv is working on. Norwegian mythology, folklore and fairytales are crammed with trolls, so they're kind of a big deal over here.

"I want a tree, to me that represents life" very rarely translates to a tree that looks alive and full of foliage. Everyone wants the dead tree and never recognizes the oxymoron

I'm sitting here looking through the Fuck Yeah! Hipster Tattoos tumblr, and ask (my husband) why so many people get tattoos of trees on their arms, and also remarking that I saw a girl on the subway with "Agape" tattooed, upside down, in script, on her wrist today (it took me several minutes to figure out what word was tattooed on her wrist, it was super odd looking.) My husband comes over, looks at the computer screen, and says, "well, because they (the trees) fit the space really well. Why do you have two fish with fangs on your thigh?" Touche.

Two of our tortoiseshells, Clementine Isabelle is the stretchy kitty and Goose Mirabelle is the one w/more orange on her face. Both shelter kitties. Our first cat before we got married was a tortoiseshell, a stray who used a barn on the property where my husband used to live to hide from the coyotes. I used to feed her, and JD said if she could get along w/the dogs he'd let her be in the house. He came home from hunting the next day to find me curled up on the couch w/his three pit bulls and his new cat, by then named Bella Jo. She was amazing, and we had her until a few years ago. She was about 11 when she died, and left such a hole in my heart I went and got Clem, and then Goose. Their middle names are a nod to my Bella. We have a third tortie, Britta Rose, who we got from my parents after we got married-she's a crotchety 12 years old now. We also have a grey and white named Opilio Jo. I love kitties.

Just got an appointment with Eli Quinters for next week and my appointment with Tron in April is getting closer and closer :). Getting a dagger w/ a rose by Eli and thinking about a lady head snake dagger thing from Tron's book

It is a fun thread. Sorry, it's like chips...hard to post just one. I have an up-to-the-minute shot. I was lying on the couch and she came over to lick my hand while I had my phone in my other hand, so I had to take this pic...

Thanks to the kindness and generosity of the one @irezumi, I came home yesterday to quite a pleasant surprise in my mailbox: I immediately found a dowel in the basement, cut it to size, and quickly stitched it into the top of the tenugui: I love it so much. But the real treat--the one thing that makes me feel better about missing the opening--is the catalog. I strongly urge everyone to pick up a copy. It's filled with incredible photos and--huge bonus--what I assume are the lectures that Jill, Junii, and Chris Brand gave at the seminar. I'm still getting over a cough, so I was up reading it on the couch at 3am. Thanks again, @irezumi!

^ I agree, I hate how fetishized tattoos are. Not even just on women, probably half the pictures of guys with tattoos are the smoldering model types. Most of the time when I try to google certain designs, I feel like I'm looking at soft-core porn. I've always thought tattoos are more for the individual getting them (not in the upside-down "IT'S FOR ME!" way :rolleyes:), but this hyper sexual stance on tattoos makes it seem like you get them to get ogled by strangers. I feel more beautiful with mine, I don't need to dress like a porn star to express that.

I'm taking this over here now because I feel like it. And I'm not talking about anyone in particular so if you think I am don't get defensive or flatter yourself. This isn't about you. A "troll" is commonly defined as someone who posts sh*t on the internet to get a reaction -- even if it's something they don't believe themselves, e.g. OBAMA = HITLER. It's very hard not to fall into their little traps and, as annoying as they are, I must admit I have a weird respect for them as pranksters and anarchists. They can be pretty entertaining sometimes (though not often) but it's best to ignore them and hope they go away. Then there's another type of person who makes some kind of inflammatory or potentially offensive statement that they actually do believe. Those people are also trying to stir the pot and get attention – even if it's negative attention, kind of like our six-year-old at times. Those traps are harder to avoid. I think the thing to remember is that some people don't care about having a meaningful discussion or debate – only being "right." And they will never stop arguing until they get the last word. They will never see your point or try to understand your point of view because they don't care. They won't admit they're wrong – ever. (BTW I've also seen a few "success stories" on here of people who stop being bullheaded and stubborn and actually listen to what other people have to say – other people who know a lot more about the subject than they do. Some people just go away which is fine by me, but LST has also "saved" one or two from getting bad or mediocre tattoos by steering them in the right direction, suggesting artists, etc. Actually, I wouldn't mind seeing a thread just about those success stories, but maybe later.) I myself have said plenty of dumb sh*t on here and been schooled a couple of times. I've agreed to disagree on a few occasions and always apologized if I offended someone – or at least tried clarify myself if I felt I was being misunderstood. But really we're all here for the same reason, which is to talk about tattoos, share and look at kickass tattoos, and occasionally debate the finer points of tattoos and tattooing. Preferably in a respectful way without name-calling or singling anyone out. One reason why this board is so great and different from a lot of others is that we've been able to maintain this kind of intelligent, respectful discourse. In part that's because we're able to "police" ourselves and call out the trolls and the haters when they do rear their ugly heads. There's been some talk recently about this board going negative and scaring some people away. I hope that doesn't happen but that's also part of the process of weeding out. Some people need "tough love" instead of telling them what they want to hear. If you've read this far, thank you for letting me get on my soapbox for a bit. I've been really proud of the people who've been standing up for themselves and others – some women in particular – and not letting the haters and the trolls get away with their bullsh*t. But at the end of the day, you can try to slap some sense into some people and all you get is a sore hand.

You got me there! Cannot stop laughing!!!! I am pretty nervous for this one man. It's gonna be a wild ride for sure!

Who in his right mind gets his chest tattooed by Chad and knows how it feels then decides that he's then going to get his back done by him?!?! Hahaha

I like getting tattooed by different artists, but have zero issue with getting more than one tattoo from each. Chad Koeplinger tattooed my chest, and will start my back very soon. Sure, there are tons of great artists out there, and many that are on my "tattoo bucket list" but who in their right mind would fault me for going back to Chad to tattoo my back?!? LOL

Bailey Hunter Robinson in April on his first trip to Australia! Didn't think I would be able to get tattooed by him until I made a trip back to NY so this is the best!!

As someone who grew up with the internet as a huge influence on my life, let me just say, that this article was cool. At least now I won't be looked down on for being a Johnny come lately. Oh wait, that'll never stop.

Calling a tattoo machine a tattoo gun, or a gun, is infuriating. Calling the process of getting tattooed, or being tattooed, getting inked or inked - makes me roll my eyes and cringe at the same time.

This is a super-fun thread.

That's just what they're hard wired to do. I'm glad that only one of our four seems to have the knack of doing it successfully, mind you. (Oops - the cat v bird thing, I mean. Forgot my quote!)

I think I came here just after SirBlazeAlot left. Was definitely here for the Bubbleberry saga. Hey look! Lady Troll!

Dungeons & Dragons thread to the rescue.

I was hoping to see some troll (or atleast onis, demons, etc.) tattoos here...

My first real post and another reaper for the page: Got this today from Kapten Hanna at Idle Hand in San Francisco. Took this from her IG.

This is mine from Fergus Simms. Legit one of the best people to get a tattoo from.

A lot of those look like fun tattoos. Who cares what clothes they wear or what their hair looks like. In fact why should that matter at all?

Somebody please fix the damn title of the thread; we're supposed to be promoting good tattooing here so if nothing else please at least spell tattoo correctly.

Good for business, if the Ami's place is good then the other shops will have to step up. May the best shop and tattooers win.

Good luck to her Gurby!

Sometimes the silence can be louder than words.

I'm getting a snake and rose on my leg. toying with the idea of having the stem of the rose stabbing into a hardy gorilla head.

pat and I got our backs outlined the same day I think two years ago. Nice guy I've been emailing and face booking with him updates as we never got to see each other after that and always wanted to. It's funny how fast chad can be but how slow my back goes because he comes 1 to 4 times a year...but I love it. I missed Robert Ryan's trip to Portsmouth and I forever regret that. - - - Updated - - - Jesus I'm at noon. I guess we have that place on lock down. What are you guys getting??

Believe me, I am having a VERY hard time imagining getting tattooed again this month. I had told Chad that I was hoping to have him line my back this year. I really was hoping it would be much later in the year, but it looks like he might not be coming back for a while, and I just got my bonus, so really, what choice did I have??? ;) Us New Hampshire folks were pretty spoiled for a while. That guy would visit every 2-3 months.

Came this close to having a Ron Wells/Chad Koeplinger month, too, but just couldn't justify it to myself...now wishing I had.

Oh my dear god. Those, woth the exception of the black flag rat, are all horrible ideas. And they're ALL terrible. Is the first one supposed to be pot leaf under the guns?

This is our sweet and funny friend, Aurora. I love her so much. A friend of a friend took in her mom--a stray pregnant cat, and raised the kittens for 12 weeks. Our daughter, who was 3 at the time, wanted to name her Sleeping Beauty so we went with Sleeping Beauty's given name, Aurora.

@SerenityViolet Absolute Art -- Richmond Studio Evolve -- Va Beach Loose Screw -- Richmond Ancient Art -- Va Beach/Norfolk I also just saw a very nice tattoo done on a friend by Charles Berger from Heroes and Ghosts Tattoo in Richmond...... Look at portfolios at these shops and talk to artists! These are the ones I know and would think about getting work from myself.... Hope it helps narrow it down for you - - - Updated - - - My first tattoo was a butterfly.......and it started an obsession that has lasted 30 years and counting! I was also very lucky because I started out with a very solid and talented tattoo artist to do my first tattoo and didn't even realize it! :)

Brian Bruno is in Richmond at Absolute Art.......and I heard someone mention Studio Evolve in Va Beach! Also Scott Sterling is at Ancient Art Tattoo in Va Beach! Honestly what I briefly read sounds like you want someone at Studio Evolve Gabriel Cece might be the right person to check into..... I know Tanane Whitfield does solid work as well although does have an animated overtone to most of the work you will see in his port....but that doesn't mean he can't do what you want! You might have seen Jesse Smith from Loose Screw Tattoo on one of those TV shows! While I HATE those shows....Jesse still does good solid work and he could pull off what you are looking for as well! Not sure what your budget is and I didn't really read the whole thread all the way through BUT you do want to save up what you can and get the best tattoo you can afford! If you have to save a little longer it might be worth taking the extra time....and if you have to wait for the artists I have mentioned or another great one then remember that it is worth the wait for that too doll! There are many good solid artists in the areas you mentioned and I am sure you will find the right one to do your tattoo! Also....I saw something about you getting this tattoo for a specific reason! Please don't take anyone here wrong......most people never really got "meaningful" tattoos.....ones with long drawn out stories behind them why they had to have specific things in them to represent meanings to them......until these TV shows sensationalized it all to give the impression that every tattoo has to have some sacred meaning to it's owner! The people here are more concerned with the actual tattoo.....the fact that you are 18 years old means that when you are 48 years old this will be a 30 year old tattoo! Have you seen a 30 year old tattoo? If so then you know that tattoos age with us and don't look the same as time goes on and while when we are young we say we won't care about it then......well the truth is we will! Great tattoos age well.....good ones not so well....and bad ones age really fast! You seem like a smart young lady...you came here so you did the right thing....just continue to be smart and you will have a tattoo you will love for a lifetime! :)

To re-iterate what you already know: this is great. Go if you have the chance. The wife and I loved it all...the exhibit, the discussions, the people willing to show their stellar tattoos to total strangers, the catalogue etc etc etc x 1000000. It was...moving.

Seems many posts end with "Just sayin" So thought I would make a thread What are you just sayin? I am sayin Tattoos don't really need a big complex story or meaning, if you can relate to it sweet. Just sayin

In my opinion a troll is somebody who upsets people on purpose. Some of the people here seem to lack the social skills to avoid accidentally insulting people. However the outcome is the same either way: people are upset. I have to say this forum is probably the only forum I've been on that feels this strongly about women's rights without actually being a feminist forum, and that's pretty cool.

Go home tumblr, you are drunk.

just squid pants. half squid threequarter squid , or the fulll squid .

Made another

Just got this! First tattoo! Another photo.

Hey guys, new member here! Thought I'd christen my first post with my [/url]first tattoo by Guy le tatooer. It is 3 weeks old. Would love to add more to it a la japanese/traditional sleeve of sorts but going up from the shoulder to the collar bone. Any ideas? Alternatively, I might just have that arm as a trad american sleeve, with just various badge pieces.

Every time tattoos come up at work, my co-workers start talking about getting tattoos from their friends at their houses. And inevitably, it ends with them saying how they don't like their tattoos. Yet they continue to do it, thinking they're miraculously going to get decent tattoos. It's exhausting to even listen to.

I've done it and I think one of the super fun things about tattooing is walking into a shop not really knowing what you want and getting something that feels right at the moment. I'm thinking of trying to get a walk-in somewhere next week when I'm visiting my parents. Spontaneous tattoos rule.