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Started my ribs/the rest of my leg with Dave Cummings. I'll be in Montreal every two months to get this sucker done. Super stoked.

Hi, I'm Andy Griffin from St. John's, Newfoundland. It's the most easterly point in North America, for those geography aficionados. I tattoo at Trouble Bound Studio, and have been doing so for two years. I joined this a year or so ago, bit have never gotten around to posting. Nice to meet you internet folk.

My oldest daughter wanted to slam some bullshit passage down her rib panel. I said, sweetheart...I love you, but if you ruin prime real estate like that with shit text, I'll be forced to trade you for another daughter with more brains. She's 25 this year and has learned the sound advice given by her father.

You get what you pay for. It's permanent and on your body, how much is that worth to you? Don't skimp. There's probably a reason why your original artist is tough to book with, most likely because s/he is that good and highly sought after. Go original or go home.

Don't listen to other people. (Haha = that includes ME!!!) Go with your gut.

Come out and check it out sometime. - - - Updated - - - I'm getting raijin and a Kirin from armpit to knee. Real stoked. Yourself? - - - Updated - - - Thanks a lot man. Means a lot from a guy with a collection like yours. I have tattoo jealousy, right now haha.

http://m.vice.com/read/no-class-diy-tattoos-fairplay-jesse-brocato-interview-678?utm_source=vicefbus Oh my fuck.

One masseuse gasped in surprise when she pulled down the sheet and saw my back and didn't mention it until the session was over. Then we had a nice conversation because she had some interesting indian-looking symbols. Another younger kid saw it right away and then went on and on about his ambigram tattoo after asking all the standard questions. Couldn't take the nice hint to shut up and get to work. Told me about his idea for a big quote across his back. After the session I had a chat with him about quotes and prime real estate, and told him about LST. I even suggested a bad ass panther instead :-) Maybe he's checked this place out. Heck, maybe I've welcomed him and not known it!

Second session done, going on six hours now :cool: Just Having FUN !!

@Cork My lady treated us both to a couples massage this past weekend. I was expecting some sort of reaction but didn't get one. They just went about their business and it was a new place we were trying and the experience was kinda of "meh". Not the best massage I've gotten. Previously about a year ago before the background was really laid in, I had gone to another couple's massage and the masseuse kept poking at my back to see if the ink was real and/or dry. Pretty hilarious. Plus was the masseuse was great...really beat the crap out of me.

I've been painting pictures...

I want to see a dagger with a dagger thru it...

@daveborjes those 2 negatives reviews were entertaining. the girl's review was the typical "i'm upset because the artist was honest and told me my idea wouldn't work". The guy seems like he didn't do nearly enough research or have proper expectations.

I am looking at going with Steven Wrigley, I've heard nothing but good things about him and I have been following him on an app I have on my phone. I am looking at a Koi carp for the cover up but I need a few more sessions of the laser before it's worth going to see him. Then hopefully he can point me in the right direction on a colourfull design. I don't want to go through with laser again lol the sooner Im finished my treatment the better!

My daughter is five so I have some time before this becomes an issue but considering how much time she has already spent inside our local tattoo shop I will clearly need a strategy when the time comes. I'm thinking that if she wants a tattoo as soon as she turns 18 I will pay her to wait. But I will pay her in money towards whatever tattoo she ultimately decides on. The longer she waits the more money she will have to spend on getting an awesome tattoo. Of course this could backfire and she could end up with a full back piece of an infinity sign exploding into a flock of birds. Life is full of risks I suppose.

Anyone have any stories about massage parlors and the reaction of the masseuse? I went to an Asian place last week and the lady was practically pulling my boxer briefs down so she could see my entire butt. Even when the massage started and she saw my back, she laughed and semi-hugged me. It was an awkward experience. That was the first time a masseuse acknowledged the tattoo.

Oh, we're crazy though. But that's no reason for you to not go to NYC to get tattooed, even if you have to get zapped twice in a trip to make it worth your while.

The was eggxactly the joke I was hoping to hear.

26 years of negglect

Finally got around to getting some pictures of my completed Nue half sleeve and chest plate. This was completed back in March by Brian Bruno at Absolute Art Tattoo and I can't recommend him enough. It's a really good shop full of great people.

Now that this is (mostly) healed up, here is my latest from Grez. What do you do when you love Catholic imagery but haven't gone to church since you were a kid? You throw the best mascot in sports in a virgin Mary shroud. Grez is a big baseball fan, so he took the idea and ran with it, including adding the Liberty Bell in place of the sacred heart. Edit: he also did those cats last fall. They've settled in nicely.

Just finished this yesterday. Artist: Katja Rameriz at Rock of Ages. Looks awesome. Now save some money and get a full Samurai sleeve. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

@Breakme. Fuckin'.....hell! That there's no mate. That's just a breach of friendship morals right there. With mates like that, who needs fuckin' enemies right? Oh, and don't people understand?? Ya don't "fall" off fuckin' motorcycles. You either crash for riding beyond your capabilities or because some retard t-bones ya 'cause the fuckers not paying attention. My old man used to break my balls all the time about riding, until this one day when I was taking the bike out, he comes in & says to me....mate, ya shouldn't be riding ya know fuckin' bla bla fuckin' bla. I snapped at him saying...fuckin' hell mate, I know how fuckin' dangerous it is on the roads with the amount of wombats out there trying to sandwich me out, the last thing I need while I'm mentally preparing myself to ride safe, is you reminding me of how fuckin' dangerous it is. He's never said another word about riding since. Anyway, @Graeme. Ya right. People can stick their latest gadgets, tea towel & spoon collections up their arse. I've got my corner covered, they should concentrate on theirs. - - - Updated - - - Yeah, I forgot to mention. I hate motherfuckers who ask me how much I spent on tattoos. Like, I really fuckin' hate that. I tell 'em, it ain't about the money. I don't count, nor can I put a $ value on it. It's something a lot deeper than a superficial material need. If people gotta ask me how much & why, I tell them now...those types of questions tell me you have no genuine interest to understand the origins of tattooing & what it means, so I refuse to waste my time trying to educate the curious. Fuck 'em.

Yelp is the worst place for tattoo suggestions.

my ex used to bitch about me getting a new tattoo as a christmas present to myself even though I was the one earning money. I supported the both of us with a shitty job working 6-7 days a week, sometimes double shift so we had a roof and food. She kept buying stupid shit like shoes n clothes and stuff and then had the nerve to bitch about me getting a new tattoo. Guess that was the beginning of the end and now im a free man again ;) Currently being a broke traveler again but once i get some sort of income again the first priority will be a tattoo roadtrip

I may tune in Ink Masters now and then for the elimination (elimination... nice word for taking a carp..) tattoo. I can do 20 minutes of that. All of the otehrs shows, they're pretty bad or worse. Definitely not doing anything positive for the art.

Just a follow up to post #345... So, while at my in-laws watching the world cup, I sank deeply into a chair and was just zoning out. My wife yelled out, "What's that on your shoulder?". Apparently, my sleeve crept up and revealed my sweet and sour babies. "Do you have any others? Let me see your back!" I showed her my bouy tattoo. She asked when I got them and I told her the first week of November and that she hadn't seen my bare back since last September. She was completely dumbfounded to say the least. My mother-in-law almost fell over in her chair trying to listen to our conversation. My wife was pretty upset, but not really because of the tattoos. She had gotten used to the idea that I had them. The fact that she hadn't seen them in such a long time showed her that I could be respectful around her. What she was really upset about was the fact that I went to great lengths to hide something from her and what else was I hiding from her. Completely understandable. I apologized for that, but told her that I just didn't want to go through the drama after every time I got one. Luckily she put everything in perspective and she knows I'm a good husband and father. She asked if I was going to get any more. I was honest and told her that I probably was going to fill in the center of my back. She understood that and I only got the silent treatment for a couple of hours instead of a couple of days. She wasn't too crazy about the sweet and sour babies. She critiqued them and thought they were too plain compared to my others. She liked the new buoy tattoo but didn't like the meaning behind it (solitude/being alone). She also insisted that when I get my back filled in, that there be a small blue bird to represent her. I agreed to that. So, everything worked out and I can now sleep with my shirt off again. I'm going to get my center back piece done during the first week of September, while she's gone on a business trip. It's going to be a ship and a lighthouse (the lighthouse of the town I grew up in). I recently sold one of my motorcycles, so I have a little extra cash.

Welcome @Robbie Kass! What an awesome concept! Nice work.

The Like feature appear to work from Tapatalk, but then when you refresh you'll notice that your like has disappeared. This is an ongoing issue that has not been resolved by Tapatalk yet, several other forum owners are complaining about the same thing. There is even a different 'like' system that I would be willing to switch to, but it also does not work in Tapatalk. Unfortunately there is no other forum app out there that has supports this feature either. I do plan to migrate LST to a new software platform entirely sometime in the next year hopefully, and once that is done, we wont even need tapatalk because the site will be fully responsive and will just reflow to work on any size screen, complete with all the features that work on the full desktop size. Tapatalk will also work on the new version, and the like system does work in that one if you prefer tapatalk over the 'responsive' version for some reason.

Oh it's a pleasant enough journey, and if you and the Montreal contingent on here can make it to NYC semi-regularly, then someone who lives in MA doesn't have an excuse (other than the city's ability to make money disappear). Guess I'll just have to get tattooed twice while I'm there to make the best use of a trip. It's a hard life.

Listen to @exume. Rock of Ages is a powerhouse, and you can't go wrong with any of the guys working there. Check out their website: Rock Of Ages Tattoo Also, Chad Koeplinger will be joining RoA team soon. You should definitely check out his work too: http://instagram.com/chadkoeplinger Other good shops that I know of in the area are Great Wave Tattoo - Austin, Texas and Perfection Tattoo. Good luck!

Welcome welcome, I feel like you are on the right path for a solid tattoo. I feel like the authentic experience for a ________ cultural tattoo lies as close to that culture as possible. As a positive I hear Copenhagen is lovely.

Welcome to LST! If I was in Texas and wanted that fixed I'd have Steve Byrne (Rock of Ages, Austin) throw a big eagle right on top of it, for the most part it seems light enough to cover

Last session in last night, minus an upcoming touch up session. Mike

Nobody here really gets those kinds of tattoos. We get plenty of panthers and eagles though.

Dead Lift PR today 275#x5

Oh, I see, getting tattooed and not coming to me. For shame! I'm joking, but thanks guys, it means a lot to me that you liked the intro. I don't consider anything I do all that great, but I figure others do. I got a sleeve and some big black work this week to do, so that should be fun. I do like black work, even though you sorta go into yourself when you do it. However, while I was outta town this week I found out a few things: 1. Not the first person in the family with tattoos. My uncle Ole got ink from Coleman in Norfolk (my 90 y/o Grandmother said he called him, in his Norse, "Dat Bastard Col-man!") and Wagner on the Bowery. Never met the old cat, as his idea of breakfast was a pack of Camels and coffee! And my Uncle Frank in TN got work in Phenix City (sp?), AL, and alls I can figure it must have been done by Stoney. He was in that tank killer brigade, in Patton's 3rd Army. 2. My Mom told me I hated pre school too. See, just a mean kid! 3. People say damned nice things when I'm not around. Which is much better that being told I'm a hack. 4. Made some calls, found a CNC shop that will take my frame order and turn it out for me. None of that BS casting or prefab. I used to build guns (the shooting kind!) so I have a bias for 0% flaws, and I hate finish sanding. So I'm thinking that machines will be up for sale, barring my lame illness, in December. Hand wound coils, with your cap of choosin'. Or no cap, getting real old time with silver contacts. And for the brave, with a condenser as used in automotive ignitions. I know it works, as I found a big thing on Walter Cleveland here. Figured might not be a bad idea. Sort of looks like a propane tank on the upright. No rubber band "spring" though. Maybe later. So I was thinking a Waters #2 liner, J frame shader, and Dietzel color packer. Unless anyone has better ideas. Please let me know, and you all take care, you hear?

Did the first session on my back yesterday with Dave Cummings. Really stoked on it.

This is the best advice, and it almost always gets overlooked. It applies to everything.

I like traditional because it looks fucking cool. Ask anyone on the street to close their eyes and name a tattoo, what will they come back with? Traditional! Japanese! Tiger/Skull/Panther/Rose. These decisions have been made over generations, there is a reason for this. There is an elegance and power in their simplicity, is it not harder to convey a message in a few lines and few colours? They hold up (BOLD WILL HOLD!) So when I'm old and saggy you'll still make out what tattoos I have. When someone comes up to me and asks why I got a tiger/skull/heart and dagger on my arm? I get to say cool shit like ' it's a tiger,/skull/heart and dagger what else do you need to know!' Someone once said to me your tattoos look like tattoos. I thought that was awesome. You can tell what my tattoos are from 5 feet away (back piece 20 feet, take that!) It's a tattoo, its on me, my bodies a temple etc etc but I ain't the sistine chapel. All that said, I appreciate the technicality and application of portraits etc, still not sure how they'll hold up, hopefully very well and it'll prove a few cynics wrong, but it ain't my bag. As for this forum, just a little more tact maybe...

Now I've seen it all. Living Social deal, $49 for $100 towards consultation and deposit at this place. Upper Darby Inkwell - Home I bought it... Obviously.

I did! Kind of. I made it to Three Tides in Tokyo where I had a wonder experience all around and ended up with a nice little dragon head by Ganji. [/img]

@Wilhell FANTASTIC!!!! Love how dynamic and powerful it looks and the colors just POP!

Damn @Wilhell this is the best thing I've seen in a long time! Bra jobbet! Grattis igjen! :cool:

I'm with @Shaun1105 on this one. I've never used the term collector, but I don't see anything wrong with the word. It's only a word, a description & probably a description that differentuates between a person that has a tattoo & a person that spends their time being tattooed. Makes sense to me, I don't think the word requires an analytical study of its' comprehension. But yeah, I've referred to myself on the odd occasion as an enthusiast. Like, when some fkn idiot asks me...mate, why so many tattoos? I say...I don't know what you expect me to say mate, I'm an enthusiast. Yeah, I'm fuckin' enthusiastic about tattoos.

This review drives me nuts. It's the one 3-star review surrounded by all 5-star reviews for Memoir: As much as I would love to give a great review, my experience was somewhat of a struggle with Memoir. It was very difficult getting an appointment set up with Kim and getting in touch with her assistant. I sent an email via her website and emailed directly. It took about a week or two to hear back. Kim's personal assistant emailed and left me a voicemail on my cell so I called back several times and left messages as well as email but never received a call back for a number of days. I was very eager so I continued to call until I got an actual person on the line. When I finally got someone on the line, I was able to set up my appointments. Unfortunately, a family emergency came up and I had to cancel indefinitely. I asked if I could get my deposit back and her assistant said she would find out if I could since it was "non refundable" (didn't see that posted anywhere on her site, nor was I told). I still haven't heard back about it. As far as I can tell Kim is a great artist and seems very nice. I was very much looking forward to getting something done by her. I realize she is very popular and in high demand. I have no problem waiting but the process does need to improve. It strikes me as odd since Kim doesn't have an assistant... Maybe she did in 2010, I don't know. They don't even have a front desk or receptionist at Memoir. They all do their own booking. I don't think they have a central phone--they request that you email, then get back to you via email or phone. But more importantly, how can you review a place that you didn't even go to?! Why would she get her deposit back if she bailed on the appointment, even if she had a valid reason?! This is why they have deposits, so their time isn't completely wasted in these situations! Grr. I'm sure everyone who reads it overlooks that one so it's fine, just annoying.

And just came across this pretty cool one by Civ:

I think this is quite sweet (by Andrea Giulimondi):

Mike Roper. The grey ghost of tattooing. He's in my top 5.