Leaderboard

I have a mini aussie,19 pnds,14" at the shoulder,she is 7 now. . . . . . spay,neuter,rescue.......

Definitely went a little excessive with framing a $20 print, but these were our honeymoon purchase and Horitomo was gracious enough to sign them. The wife and I are very happy with how they turned out.

Got these bonji from Horimitsu today! They were done by machine, too small for him to tebori. Still awesome and very pleased. Please forgive the pic, they are still fresh and only a few hours old. They represent the Buddhist's Bosatsu for protection from evil.

Good one while tattooing a girl's arm today, from one of her friends. "I mean, I know you have to have a steady hand, but tattooing doesn't look that hard." Told him it was the hardest thing I've ever done, with each day being both easier and harder than the day before, a really quick list of about twenty things you have to think about the whole time, and ended it after 10 seconds of awkward silence with "If tattooing were easy, there wouldn't be so many bad tattoos out there," followed by a laugh to make it obvious I wasn't mad at him or anything. He just didn't know. Still... wow.

Hi I'm Piers from the UK, I'm new to the last sparrow forum but have been following the web videos for years. I've been collecting tattoos for about 6/7 years now, I am a regular at Frith Street tattoo. Here's a picture of my back by Valerie Vargas.

Unicorn tears and the souls of dead cats

@Lance I asked for the specific ones in red. Fugen is my birth year and guardian deity. I was born in the year of the dragon and I have a dragon 3/4 sleeve by Henning on my right arm. Made sense to highlight the Fugen on my right arm. For the left arm I chose Fudo Myoo to highlight in red. Being the immovable one and I also I like the flow and look of the written character a lot. The 8 Bosatsu together is a representation of all 12 Asian zodiac animals as well, a circle of life if you will and is basically protection from evil. I've always been superstitious (but not religious) so this all worked out. I know most collectors who get bonji, especially capping sleeves, get them in black. I went in with the traditional mindset but wanted something a little unique and different. I also chose red because I've seen large bonji characters shaded in red with a red outline and it always looked outstanding to me. Only thing I was bummed about is that I was looking forward to having these done in tebori but being that I have skinny arms and the characters stenciled out on the smaller side, he felt it best to do it by machine. I'm still happy with the results and experience and will definitely be getting future work from Mitsu sensei.

Not sure of the specific Bosatsu but I know the characters are the eight variants of Buddha (Fugen, Fudo, Monju, Kokuzo, Senju Kannon, Dainichi Nyorai, Seishi, and Amida Nyorai). If I have room or think of the right place for it I will eventually get the bonji for the Komyo Shingon (mantra of light).

Hi guys I'm back. Just wanted to say thanks for all the recommendations when I first posted. I have now got my tattoo. Here it is Done by Jen at no regrets in Cheltenham. Love it.

I'm feeling a little ill these days.., it could definitely be yellow poisoning, thank you for bringing this to my attention. Might call in sick tomorrow and do some more research on the internet.

Probably caused by the mercury. Thats why the Mad Hatter was crazy.

Should have headbutted him

The prevailing opinion, which is correct in my view, is that said knowledge must be earned the hard way. I know I appreciate what little I do know and thirst to know more because that info wasn't just given to me.

hopefully that worked. This is my black lab, Ella. We've had her mother for 6-7 years, she's now 3 or 4. She was the runt of the litter, we hadn't planned on keeping any, but we just couldn't let her go. She's mostly very mellow, affectionate, and a bit awkward. She also looks funny in this picture, cause she tends to slumped against the couch like that, she's a bit weird. This is probably what I miss most after leaving my hometown, although she's my dog she lives at my parent's house, where she has her mother and two others to play with.

Sounds about right!

"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

Last session for a while now. Drove on as long as we could before shop closing time. Fire, robe designs, more hair, details on the faces.... lots of little thin lines for fun! Dana Helmuth Read Street Tattoo From his Instagram @danahelmuth

This is going to sound snobbish but does anyone else have a really difficult time having an enjoyable conversation about tattoos with a non-tattooed person? It seems like they always push the conversation towards: laser removal, their super meaningful/personal tattoo design idea and the long story behind it, reality tv, infection/disease, or other similar non-sense.

Oh my Brian Andersons tats are sick, Lizard King has some nice tattoos (not much artwork, mostly just random). Bobby Worrest's tattoos are nice also. Yeah, I love going to the skatepark and seeing all the sick skater tattoos that inspire me for my first piece.

Welcome! That backpiece makes for quite the entrance. Excellent work!

No! And people have been getting tattooed for a loooong time. I wouldn't worry.

Awesome man really Awesome ! Welcome

Something like this seems like a good idea.

Oakland is always an option for cheaper living. Lots of cool restaurants that one could possibly apply to.

"Your tattoos suck." That one hurt ahahahah

It seems from your language that you are mistaking LST for a tattoo shop's website. Actually, this is just a forum for tattoo enthusiasts and collectors. On the other hand, Asheville has Danny Reed, who I would suggest for good tattoos.

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

In all fairness, I did say "people" not "hipster" ;) I know quite a few people recently who have talked about getting a tree tattooed somewhere - I find the correlation between the subject matter and us a society spending less time in nature (and destroying it) yet demanding personal growth and upward movement to be very interesting.

She saw a Dermatologist for the second time today and she is scheduled for surgery on the 8th, They are talking skin grafts of the entire area of the UV crap. It's not tattoo ink and they're seriously worried about her liver and kidneys due to the prolonged exposure.

@beez You know when you see something that makes you hold your breath because you want it so badly? Your tattoo just did that to me. That is so beautiful! Very inspiring. If I lived in seattle... Sent from my GT-I8190N using Tapatalk

Hipsters didn't ruin anything.

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.

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...

@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! :)

First picture is my dog Luna, the black one, and her best friend Grace, my sister's dog. Luna was originally my other sister's dog, whom she got at a backyard breeder about 6 years ago. Grace is a rescue from a local shelter. They're two of the best dogs I've ever met. Second picture is Luna and Violet, my sister's other dog.

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????

Kudos on the die tattoo! ... Try taking a picture of behind your own ear. I think I spent 20 minutes trying that one.

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'm totally glad that I am not the only one who was hoping for a thread about the mythical (or real?) trolls. On a side note... was @SirBlazeAlot the original LST troll? @hogg @gougetheeyes ? Or maybe he was just retarded.

I finally got these up in our place. We're missing a few at this point that I hope to eventually add, and I just ordered the Horitomo tenugui from the Perseverence exhibition so I'll have to figure out how to best hang that. I tried using the mounting tape but I guess the one I bought wasn't strong enough so one of the pictures fell from the wall and the frame smashed and it took until last weekend to get a new one and bring out the hammer, nails, measuring tape, and a level to properly put these up. I think they look great.

Our office just instated a new "work from home" policy where we get one a day a month to work from home (big whoop... lol) BUT now I don't need to take a day off the day after a tattoo... I can just hobble around my house instead :) ...and save vacation days for something better HA

Long sleeve shirts are pretty great for covering tattoos at work. I imagine that makeup would get all over the place and be nothing but a pita. I bought some solid black sleeves to wear under 3/4 or shorter sleeved shirts but they turned out to be lame (pic below). The smallest size was too loose on my arms, so they would fall down from the top. They looked weird, too. They might do the trick for some, though. Regular shirts are fine. In the hotter months, light weight ls shirts are perfect, they protect your tattoos from the sun and cover them at work. Once I'm in my classroom, I sometimes pull up my sleeves if it's hot, but my boss has never seen my tattoos.

Since we are posting Hardy backs, this one is from the panther tattoo thread:

Found another great Hardy backpiece on an old computer I haven't used for ages

That's a good point, I'm sure that's where the "1 year" idea comes from. People feel that if they follow the right rules, or make their tattoo sentimental enough, they can be certain to avoid regretting their decision. I bet a lot of people who end up getting (what we would consider) silly tattoos as their first probably go on to get awesome work later once they get that mental hurdle out of the way. I think that's part of what makes tattoos so great though... the commitment, the permanence, the trust in your artist. Because of these things, every tattoo is inherently meaningful just for the process itself. Overthinking it or trying too hard to take the risk aspect away from that tattoo would, ironically, somewhat diminish the sentiment of it for me. I'm rambling now, though... :)

I look back with vivid embarrassment at my first thoughts surrounding my first tattoo... and after reading a post like this, I'm really glad I never really talked about it with anyone, haha. I had mostly come to my senses re: design before the needle hit my skin, thank goodness, but it took so long to get to that point because I was obsessive over everything (design/details/meaning/etc.). I think it's a really common perspective for people getting their first tattoo. Maybe I tend to have more sympathy for these people than others since I basically used to be like that myself. Of course, I still think they need to educate themselves, but I get where they're coming from. Too much attention to an abstract meaning almost always means the tattoo suffers. But when you think about changing your body permanently for the first time, it's probably pretty natural to want as much control as possible.

Hardy's talk on the black panther tattoo at 2013 Bay Area Tattoo Convention. Kudos to the production team that made this.

This would not work with my kindergarten daughter who knows all about our tattoos. In fact she loves to go to the shop we like because every time we go in she gets to feed the koi fish and they give her a press on tattoo. We have had multiple conversations about how our tattoos are with needles under our skin, hurt, and are forever. She said she wants to wait until she is 50 but I guess we will see.

I work as a care giver at a group home for people with downs syndrome and similar handicaps. One of the inhabitants has a father who must be close to 80 years of age. EVERY time he comes to visit and I am there to greet him he will comment on my tattoos. Every. Time. He is probably senile and not aware of this. Last time was different though.. he usually opens up with saying "those are hard to get rid of..", like it is a question. I usually just say Yes, and smile at him. Then he asks me if it hurts, I tell him Not anymore, and smile some more. But this time he also said that he had tried (to get tattooed), on his hand, but that it had faded over time. And then he told me that (my tattoos) where prydsamma, which is a swedish word that translates to "something thats proper and enhances the beauty of a thing/someone". I was flattered for the first time. I didn't know that he liked my tattoos, just that he would always comment on them.