Leaderboard

Session two on my back. Mercifully we stuck to lining and shading the background on my upper back. Next time I think we're hitting the lower back, ass, and thighs, which I'm sure is going to be a lot of fun. Can't wait.

We've had two really great sessions, but there's still SO much left to do. We need to line the rest of the background, put in the scales and patterns in the snake, colour the whole thing in...I knew that a backpiece was a huge commitment before I started it, but I'm only now really understanding what that means. It gives me a deeper appreciation of the tenacity and dedication it takes to wear a backpiece, and that there's a lot more to it than just a huge, beautiful tattoo.

Got the peonies put in last week :) My artist took this right after the session, it's from her instagram:

Second session today with my buddy Iain Mullen on his collaboration with Rudy Fritsch. Beyond happy with how this is progressing. We did the lines with two machines almost 2 months ago and I had gotten used to seeing it that way. Now with some of the black in I am amazed by seeing it come to new life again.

The first time I travelled to Asia was in 2008. I was very privileged to have my Sifu (Master, RIP) take me along with his family to Foshan, China to learn about the roots of Wing Chun kung fu and experience Chinese culture. Then we would spend time in Hong Kong to train Ving Tsun with his Master (my Sigung, grandfather teacher). We had some free time and went to explore the street markets one evening. We had been in the area the day before and I noticed the big blue “TATTOO” sign on the busy street. My curiousity had me drawn to it and I wanted to see what it was all about. I would say I was still inexperienced at this time, 5 years after my first piece (maybe 50hrs in?) however tattoo culture was becoming something I had become very fascinated by. If you wanted to see pictures of tattoos you would muster some courage, suffer through the intimidation of ~actually going into~ a tattoo shop; you could see what your punker friends had scratched on each other; you would sneak a peak at the BME website (the internet! Oh my!). I went off on my own at night time to find this mysterious tattoo shop. I had split off on my own, away from my group. My time was limited to explore. I found the building underneath the big blue sign, went up several flights of a dark dingy stairwell. And there it was “JIMMY HO TATTOO”. Just an apartment door framed with classic tattoo flash pasted to the wall. So I rang the buzzer… I thought maybe it would be cool to get a tattoo in China…but I was also very hesitant. Did I have enough time? My group didn't know where I took off too and I had to meet back pretty soon. I was uncertain about the safety of the needles and ink. Healthwise it seemed risky. China isn't exactly the cleanest place in the world. How was I going to heal a new tattoo being in the hot sun all day and then training (contact) the evening? Afterall, my focus in Hong Kong was Ving Tsun. ...I remember being so nervous when I rang the buzzer. Shaky. There was no answer. So I waited for a bit, my curiousity had brought me this far. But what the hell was I doing here? Sketchy. And then a head suddenly appeared through a gap in the flash covered window. This older gentleman opened the door, poked his head into the stairwell to see who else was around and waved me in. I was pretty mesmerized. Here I am a younger, naïve kid, swept up in the energy of Hong Kong at night. Here I was in a sketchy, dimly lit building in an old man’s apartment studio. Old timey flash, certificates, photos, a lot of tattoo history covering every square inch of the 300 sqft apartment. What in the hell was I doing here? “Tattoo?” He said. That was about the only English he knew and would speak to me. He motioned at my long sleeve shirt, I didn’t have any of my tattoos showing. So I took off my shirt and showed him the work I had amassed at that point. Both my arms fully covered. Some leg tattoos. A big dragon on my ribs. He gave an approving half smile and motioned for me to sit down. I think this man knew that I wasn’t there to get a tattoo from him that night. However he made my curiosity feel welcomed in his studio. Looking around the studio it felt like a risky place to get tattooed and I felt I wasn't experienced enough to think otherwise. Not very sanitary by North American standards (but probably cleaner than some of those tattoo conventions haha). The bench pillow was covered in ink and blood stains. I couldn’t see an autoclave. The ink bottles in the corner looked a little crusty. The older tattooer gentleman didn’t have any visible tattoos and there was a serious language barrier. He gave me some his photo albums to flip through. It wasn’t a portfolio. It was more like family photo albums. Very old pictures of some American-classic tattoo designs he had made on people - eagles, panthers, daggers, hearts. There were pictures of him with groups of shirtless Chinese men, dragon and tiger backpieces and sleeves on display. Photos of this older Chinese gentleman with who I would assume to be elder American and European tattooers (I would be to naïve to have named at that time in my tattoo journey…I’m pretty sure there was a pic of him with Hardy, I think Pinky too? I really can’t remember). The whole experience was very surreal, I was nervous and awe-struck. I was going to have an amazing story about meeting Jimmy Ho, but would anybody really believe me? Or care? Afterwards, I did a bit of research (in which there was and still is limited info online). It turns out Jimmy Ho was the son of the late James Ho, who opened up Rose Tattoo, one of the first tattoo shop in Hong Kong back in the 1940s. My mind was blown that I had just had an exchange with a man from tattoo royalty. The next day I was exploring and ended up checking out another tattoo studio “Star Crossed Tattoo”. It was run by two friendly UK ex-pats Ross and Julia. I spent the afternoon talking with them about HK life, punk rock, tattoos, watched Julia tattoo and confirmed a few things. Yes, I had just met Jimmy Ho. He was tattoo royalty in Hong Kong. Hygiene standards were very questionable in Hong Kong/China at that time. Very risky, healthwise. The HK tattoo scene wasn’t regulated by the health board. Later on in the trip I would venture back to the area of Jimmy Ho’s tattoo shop. I didn’t take any pictures inside his shop, I was too distracted by the reality of the interaction - a human exchange about tattoos that happened in spite of a language and cultural barrier - and I didn’t want to be disrespectful towards a man that had let a stranger into his studio apartment. But I wanted to get a picture of the big blue TATTOO sign from the street during daylight. At that time I realized that I must have been a batshit crazy kid (even if I did know some kung fu!) to take a back alley into this area at night time, as there were a bunch of strip clubs, bath houses, massage parlours and gambling going on in the area with Triad looking Chinese (dragon/tiger halfsleeves) working the doors on the block. Not a place a young white tourist would want to find himself alone at night time. No guts, no glory I guess haha. I didn’t get a tattoo on the trip. And I have no regrets about that. But what Jimmy Ho did give me was an incredible memory and experience. Another story to go along with all the pictures I wear on my body. Thank you for reading :) PS If anybody has any further info about Jimmy Ho, James Ho, Hong Kong tattoo history please do share, love to learn more about it. - - - Updated - - - I did find this https://www.facebook.com/jimmy.ho.7127/media_set?set=a.292623604111543.71717.100000917175393&type=3

Please try and not let me stunningly beautiful bum distract you from the artwork :) 10 hours in total, so quick quick this time and I am glad! Some of the arse is brutal, specially where the cheek meets the thigh..... Victor said doing bums is awful, the skin is too soft and for him its not a very good place to tattoo but we are happy with the results. We still have a largish gap for the centre of my bum but we will just fill that next year with just a few shaded bits and pieces. We also have the back of that thigh to do next year. Maybe add a devil horn to the devil hound. My arse is red raw and swollen so sorry for the pics. :)

My first tebori by Horitoshi 1--just finished and still a bit bloody

I'm assuming that coolie means Viet Kong. If I'm wrong, correct me, but I think it is because it was a popular, patriotic thing to do in the 40s and 50s, with the war and all. Not to say that I am for getting a dead kong tattoo, because I think it's highly offensive. I think the image is completely out of place in today's tattoo vocabulary.

Ok I'm just going to write something short about my back piece in progress since I am healing after the second session now and feel psyched about it. Since I first started getting tattoos I knew that I would want to get a back piece. I figured I'd wait and let the idea evolve over time, save up enough money and start doing it on my 30:th year. Two years ago I got tattooed by Iain Mullen for the first time and since we've done something like 6-7 tattoos and they are among my favorites. We also became friends and I usually stop by the shop at least once a week to hang out and talk with him and the other guys. As time passed I decided to give him my back when the time was right. However last autumn I went down to Italy and got tattooed by Rudy Fritsch at his shop and felt like he'd make me an amazing back piece instead… Eventually I told Iain that I wanted the two of them to collaborate. I was a bit uncertain if he would be up for it but the next day when I came in to pay for a tattoo he told me that it was on (!) About two months later it was time for the first session. Up until this date I had not seen the sketch or been allowed to make any wishes about what the tattoo was going to be. I put my trust in them and I am very happy that I did. The first session was two hours with both of them working simultaneously on me. Rudy starting low on the left side and Iain up on my right shoulder. I found being laid face down on a massage bed, having only the floor to look at and no visual way of telling when or where the pain was going to hit… this was the most psychological challenging thing with the whole session. I've gotten some pretty rough spots done before but this was the worst two hours I've had to endure when it comes to tattoos. Two machines are not twice as bad but still a lot worse than one. I'm happy that they both work quick but it also meant a lot of brutality when it comes to long lines being nailed into my ribs in fast succession. I tried to zone out and focus on the breathing but that only made time slow down more, I could not think of anything else. Second session was this thursday, I sat up on a gym bench and me and Iain were talking the whole time through and it was such a walk in the park compared to the first one. I feel good about having had that experience anyway, it was special.

What tattoos do you have? Edit: I feel like LST is a great and simple place to find artists and ideas, why does everyone push a nonsense app that is clearly filling a void no one needs.

Hey guys, I'm a 21 year-old from Birmingham, England, looking to get some work done. I'm quite in to illustration, so I've spent a lot of time refining a concept that I'd love to have somewhere on my back – a combination of a creature from the old video game, Super Metroid, and Giger's Alien. I realise it's got a hell of a lot of detail in its current state, but that's just my style of illustration, and one of the things I'd like to work with or around. I've also spoken to a studio about having one of their artists rework this design to make it more tattoo friendly, but I wouldn't mind the advice of a couple of people with some ink know-how before making any commitment, and so I know what to potentially ask for. This is what I've got so far: Looking around, I worry about how well this thing would age – particularly the lines on the leg and thigh, which are pretty important for that Alien influence. I've messed around with the contrast on Photoshop in order to draw out the boldest lines and help with this. The Size would probably be somewhere in the region of 8 inches across – I'm open to working with that as well, though money is a factor. Anyway, I'd be grateful to know what else I should be considering. Cheers.

I think it looks really nice the way it is, I'm not really an expert on Japanese subject matter but I think it would be best to stay in a similar vein that you're going in, the best person to ask that question would probably be your tattooer. Besides stretching it down, another cool option to extend asian styled sleeves are these wristband-dealios (yes, that's definitely the technical term) there's some cool examples in this thread here. The beads are real classic but I've seen really rad dragon and/or flower wristbands done too.

Howdy all very excited here. Gonna be getting a lot of woek done around the bay area convention. First off I'll be continuing with Matt Deverson on my left lower leg hopefully we will get nice and far doubt we will finish though. My wife will be finishing her arm with him also then I'll be doing a chest plate with Ichi Hatano think I'll be doing a severed head. Then I'll be set to go with Miyazo to do some right leg action and to round it all out my wife will be starting her back piece with Tomo. Goona be an expensive month but we'll worth it. So rarely do you get so many good artists in one place at one time you gotta take advantage. Looks like the rest of y'all are getting some nice work out there

@Graeme you deserve it buddy.

Great progress @Graeme. That's a good chunk.

Fantastic @Graeme! All the progress on the backpieces in here have been making me extremely excited to get started again. Great stuff!

I really want a gu-mi-ho somewhere on my body. It's the Korean version of the kitsune, the folklore is just a bit different. I believe a gu-mi-ho is a fox that lives a 1000 years then gains the ability to transform into a woman. She then seduces men to eat their livers/hearts. Being the man-hating feminist that I am, that's pretty rad. Joking of course..kinda :). Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Alix Ge. Saw this on Tumblr, and thought everyone here would like it.

It almost is like an Oni Tomomori or Tomomorioni. Which should be a type of pasta.

Horrible idea. Tattooing is still very much a face to face industry and it should always stay that way.

Three more weeks until I go see Dennis at Providence Tattoo -- very excited! Been waiting for this since January. Also a little nervous. Originally we booked two sessions (he's covering the top of my right thigh), but my travel plans have gotten in the way a bit, so now we just have one day to get it all done. It will likely be the longest I've ever sat in one go -- hoping I make it through!

Killer @Shaggy !

@Shaggy That's looking amazing. Are you done with the black shading? Second session on my back later today, pictures to follow.

Bethenny, if you really want your back done then do it. We all might whinge about how bad a backpiece can be while getting but i promise that all who have finished a backpiece would do it again. I myself am about 1/2 way through mine and although it sucks getting the work and healing it the satisfaction of seeing perhaps the biggest piece of art you can do on your body is awesome. I dont look forward to my fortnightly sessions but once they are done I cannot wait to get home and see the progress. The end result is well and truely worth it. Btw @Cork love the work, great detail and colours. I wish I was that far advanced with mine. - - - Updated - - - This fortnights update. Most of work was done on right side arse cheek and thigh but shows how he merged the original 3/4 sleeve into the backpiece.

There's no right or wrong answer, but it's tricky given our country's less than hospitable history with its indigenous peoples. In my mind, an Indian girl head isn't so much a Native-American image like a thunderbird as it is American traditional. For some, an overly sexualized image like a nekkid Indian girl pinup could be seen as offensive whereas a beautiful face would not. There's a line to be crossed but it's not always so clear where that line is. For example, I find this: (Cleveland Indians mascot) to be way more offensive than this (Chicago Blackhawks):

Howdy, been a way for a while but my daughter's girlfriend, who lives in a tiny town in eastern Indiana, decided she wanted her first tattoo. I helped her scope out her area and there was no one worthwhile there so I went and gave her a ride so she could see Jereme who did the mushrooms on my leg. I decided I like the mushrooms so much I'm just going to give him that leg so we started talking about what to do next. I said I was thinking of something along the lines of a red winged blackbird perched on a fence post. Both him and the guy that owns the shop started nodding and thinking that would work out well, then the conversation went like this: Jereme: That would be pretty bad ass, but you know what would be better? Me: What? Jereme: A red winged blackbird perched on a skull. Me: Oh fuck yeah, that would be good. Jereme: Yeah Me: And you know what would be even more bad ass than that? Jereme: No, what? Me: A blackbird, perched on a skull, with a fuckin dagger through the whole thing. Jereme: Fuck yeah, now you're takin'. So there ya go, the next tat. Now I just have to gather up some cash.

short trip to portland with the lady got this from whthd Instagram

People won't do that to your face.especially if you're tattooed. It's like the old joke about PETA throwing paint on old ladies wearing fur coats, but never bikers wearing leather. Edit: "culturally insensitive" is a lame term only used by white people judging other white people just get what you like and respect it

@Cork looking nice! Congrats on the progress brother! Your almost there and the rest should be cake for now on. Did about 2 hours of touch ups this past weekend and now I am officially done for a while before I start the front. I am sure everyone says that. Mike

Try this thread @shinobi:http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/forum/general-tattoo-discussion/5481-cultural-appropriation-tattoos.html You'll see that the issue has been discussed a lot around here, and it usually ends badly. Its a good question to ask, though.

@exmember88 Can I ask an ignorant question. If you are affiliated with this shop shouldn't you be a bit more diplomatic to draw positive attention to your shop. You sound a bit immature and between that and the general feedback I as a potential customer would be very turned off to inksanity

I got an appointement booked with Steve Boltz Sept. 19 and an appointement with Brad Stevens the next day! Got to make the most out of my trip to NYC!

Thank you @Reyeslv and @ironchef @SeeSea Honestly the healing is the worst part about the butt. For me the worst pain is lower back.... and that so happens to be the largest part left. Next session is going to be fun!

I don't know what you guys are all complaining about. I look at all the "tattoo pain" pictures on the internet and they all show the butt as one of the spots on the body where the pain is lower. I think you guys are all just looking for attention and the opportunity to show off your backsides and using this forum as a way to publicly admire butts and your S&M tendencies without the shunning of society.

I live in Montreal and I see Yann Black's tattoos around a fair bit. They are 100% not my thing, but it's solid work and you can read his tattoos from across the street. Style and taste is another thing but I think for what his tattoos are they're well done.

Sometimes Yelp reviews are spot on.

So Chad finished my back recently. Here it is.

The knee isn't as hard to handle as you imagine. The knee ditch on the other hand stands up to its reputation.

i think you need to find an artist that has a lot of good biomech pieces in their portfolio.

I think there is a certain nuance that gets lost in discussions about cultural appropriation. There's a difference between cultural exchange (e.g. Western people getting Japanese-style tattoos) and cultural appropriation. There's more to it than just, "did this design come from another culture?" That alone isn't offensive. Does this design have specific spiritual / cultural significance that is lost on outsiders (the Maori Tā moko)? Is this tattoo inaccurate in a significant way that shows a lack of respect for the culture (Native American women in a headdress)? Is the subject of the tattoo from a cultural group that is subjected to oppression or violence today in a manner depicted in the tattoo (gypsy head tattoos [beheading], Native American pin-up girls [sexual assault])? From what I understand, dreamcatcher tattoos generally aren't offensive because they don't have a specific spiritual meaning and have been given to outsiders for decades. Whereas a sexualized woman in a headdress is offensive because the headdress had specific cultural meaning and because Native American women are subjected to sexual assault at an incredibly high rate. Deciding what tattoos you're comfortable getting is a very personal choice... I would not judge anyone here or speak badly about anyone's tattoos. I am only critical about what I would get on my own body. Even if I don't fully understand why a tattoo is offensive to members of a culture, I prefer to err on the side of respect (even if it's "over-PC") than offense. Sorry this got so long, and sorry in advance if I offended anyone. This is something I have thought a lot about.

A review of Wrecking Balm from Amazon. Classic 354 of 434 people found the following review helpful 4.0 out of 5 stars Don't get it in your eyes, January 2, 2012 By Amy L. Brown (WOODBRIDGE, VA, US) - See all my reviews This review is from: Wrecking Balm Tattoo Removal & Fade System (Health and Beauty) I bought this for my wife who wanted to remove a tattoo from just above her buttocks. I believe they call it a tramp stamp. The tattoo said "Ronnie", which is the name of one of her ex boyfriends. So you can understand how I decided to spend the money on getting that damn tattoo removed. My wife didn't really want to get the tattoo removed. Although she denied it, I think she was still into this "Ronnie" character. She would always visit him in jail, as well as send him letters and pictures. So I found this product at a local Wegmans. I didn't tell my wife what it was, instead explaining to her that it was tattoo enhancement cream. I told her it would sting a little, but that was just the stuff doing its job. Now, you have to understand that my wife is a big girl. Let's just say that she constantly wears jogging pants and refers to them as them as her pants. So she couldn't really see the tattoo herself. Even when she tried to use a mirror, it was hard to make out. So I thought everything would turn out okay. Well, the cream worked. Every evening I would apply the cream for her, telling her that the tattoo was looking better and better. When in fact it was fading more and more. I told her that the micro dermabrasion thingy was actually a tattoo polisher. And so I would spend a good 15 minutes every night grinding away at that damn tattoo. And it was almost gone entirely. Then Ronnie got out of jail. It turns out my suspicions were correct. My wife still had a thing for him. I came home from work one evening to find Ronnie and my wife hanging out on the couch. And boy did they look pissed. And Ronnie was a pretty tough looking guy. Apparently, and I'm not trying to insinuate anything here, somehow Ronnie had noticed the now bare space just above my wife's buttocks and had asked her about it. And now he was pissed off because he had bought her the tattoo to begin with. And she was pissed off as well because I had tricked her into having her tattoo removed. Long story short, I had the option of getting my ass kicked, or of buying a new tattoo. So we went to the tattoo place, shelled out the cash for a new tattoo, and winced the entire time as Ronnie and my wife watched me get the words "Ronnie's Bitch" tattooed on my chest. Since then my wife has kicked me out. And Ronnie is now living in my house. And me, I'm on my second tube of wrecking balm tattoo fade system. I can't tell you enough how much I like this product.

snake oil...

That's because your back is weirdly sensitive. Ever asked someone to rub your shin? Nope. But back rubs are awesome because your back has a million sensitive spots, all of which feel super fucking awesome when getting tattooed, especially the lower back. You already know that tattoos hurt, and you seem to be acutely aware that the back will hurt, too. You also know that you're already on this path (didn't you just get your hand tattooed?) and that the back is the ultimate canvas. you just need to figure out what you're getting and who's gonna do it, although something tells me that you have more than a few ideas in mind. While I did find the process to be painful (and expensive), I have no regrets at all about doing it. It was so exciting to see it come together, session by session. There's something about having a full back piece. It's something that I've always admired, but for years, I didn't think I'd be able to make the physical/financial/mental commitment to go through with it myself. Completing it was a big milestone for me, and I have a beautiful souvenir of the experience that I get to wear for life.

I guess I should post mine here, since I've enjoyed this thread so much: By Jill "Horiyuki" Bonny, State of Grace, San Jose, CA. You can also see my Scott Sylvia cobra on my right elbow (with my itsty-bitsy Ben Grillo spider under it), and my left arm, the upper part of which was done by Eddy Deutsche back at 222 and the lower 2/3rd of which was done by Horitomo, also at State of Grace.