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Finally back at it. This one from Xam at Seven Doors, taken from Instagram:

Got started on the back again after taking a break for the summer. Finished the upper background and started on some color to my pleasant surprise!

Carried on to Italy from florian Karg to Silvano Fiato today :) What a true gentlemen and artist! Just came out from his studio. I only went to join the face to my knee but he insisted on working on me for 5 - 6 hours for free including the knee joining. He always thought the first piece I had done by him was very plain and didn't push his skill level and wanted to at least do as much with her as he possibly can. So he reworked her face some, blended it into the new piece, ready for the final piece at the back next year. Personally i liked the previous one but now that he has added more

Got this chest eagle off Steve Byrne last week Don't think I posted these either Fudo of Stewart Robson Leopard off Valerie Vargas Scorpion off Valerie too And this mad skull off Andrea Furci

I think if a full back is even a consideration at some point in the future it's better to keep your back open to give yourself as many options as possible, and get tattooed elsewhere--arms, legs, ribs, chest--in the meantime. That said, I've seen many an amazing backpiece work around/cover/incorporate existing tattoos. My wife, for example, had her back done in a folky Americana style by Stephanie Tamez at Saved and Steph incorporated an old tattoo of a map my wife had between her shoulder blades and the whole thing works, flows as a coherent tattoo, and looks fantastic. If you look at Jo

Nekomata Monmon Cat - By Horitomo, State Of Grace. Done at the London tattoo convention 2014!

Florian is really fast, well fastest artist I've had work on me. My idea of course didn't work lol not enough room so we had a compromise. He has never**done a spider before, so I broke his virginity. 5 hours for this but this place is so painful and sensitive. Shit pics, red raw and swollen. I personally love what he has done. The space was a lot smaller than we thought :) Tomorrow off to Silvano again!

I'm down to meet up, but I'm in Fremont. Perhaps we can hook up in the South Bay after your Monmon cat. Otherwise, if there's a larger LST group meeting up, I can see if I can make it work. - I don't know if there's a current exhibit, but ATAK SF might be worth checking out. - The Exploratorium is fun for kids. - I haven't checked it out yet, but all tattoo heads love skulls! There's an exhibit at California Academy of Sciences. - Before or after Blackheart, you should check out Clarion Alley for a free exhibit of some badass graffiti. You should also grab a burrito while you're over t

You are human after all! ;) Looks fantastic, I really like how he darkened it and I can't wait to see healed pictures once it settles in.

For fun, my peony by Wendy Pham done as guest spot at Red Rocket Tattoo in NYC

Finally got some color in yesterday :)

@Russ that Leopard is soo sweet!! Looks awesome! Had this Eagle and Skull combo done at the convention by Paul Dobleman

Had such a great time at the London Convention on Saturday, didn't get a chance to see much of it but I ended up getting tattooed by Greg Christian on top of my appointments with Bert Krak and Eli Quinters. The frog and fly are from Eli and the eagle and snake from Greg (picture from his instagram). I dont have a picture of the Ed Hardy Butterfly I got from Bert but i'll post one when I do.

Got my first leg tattoo yesterday, at the London convention. By Eli Quinters.

@Wilhell, @Ninab, their 3 year old son Levi and myself will be visiting SF from October 15th till 22nd, and we'd love to hook up with some fellow LSTers while we're there! Don't hesitate to holler if you'd like to meet up with us :) I was also wondering if anyone knew what the best mode of transportation to and from San Jose is. I'm booked with Horitomo on Saturday (the 18th), and I have to get from SF to SJ and back. I'm considering renting a car, but from what I can tell most car rentals are closed on weekends, so I'd have to rent friday through monday if I go that route. Any tips

See the back panels kind of like your rib panels. One nice big feature slamming a panel, then down the track if you wanted to expand, the same on the other panel, then say ya wanted to expand further, a cool theme to tie them both together. I get what some are saying here, I'm with that same concept to back tattoos, for me it's one large theme mapped from the start, but I also get what your saying too. Definitely achievable.

This is just so, so wrong on so many levels. I think there are a couple puns in there, along with fodder for a sexual harassment claim. My tattoo artist would have a field day with this. ;)

Just saw this one. Pretty cool that it looks like it's a "coverup" by incorporating the previous tattoo as an integral part of the new tattoo .. as a hand tattoo. Iain Sellar.

i agree with @Graeme if a backpiece is part of the long term plan keep the space open

Augh, I am sorry @Mark Bee, and to everyone on this thread who is going through hard times these days. I don't talk about this much, but I have been dealing with some scary health issues for the past year or so, that really came to a head in the past couple of months, and it has been a hard and sad and shitty slog. You are all good people whose loved ones are lucky to have (or have had) you. And I hope that things get easier for all of us soon.

It's not selfish to acknowledge the huge impact that this will have on your life. It's hard enough that she is family, but spending so much of your life caring for her just compounds the loss. I lost my mom to cancer, and I know how hard it is to see a loved one slip away. I also know the amount of bravery it takes to stick with them till the end. You are much stronger than you may think right now, and you'll make it through.

Does that offer stand for other people/cat lovers?

@CultExciter @CABS If you two roll into town, I'll take you kids to dim sum and also cheap dumpling joints. 'nuff said!

Grats on the TAM nod you guys. Your butt is getting a lot of exposure @Wilhell ;) Marius Meyer finishes tattoo | TAM Blog

Regino Gonzales of Invisible NYC. He's a cool dude.

My 2º appointment with Unmon at LTW (Barcelona) Only one last session to go!

I really want to do a sheet of wrestling flash after reading the conversation that stemmed from this... Like, Goldberg tribal has to be involved in some way. I also came across my old ECW shirt from high school recently (which fits again, thanks to healthy-ish eating), which is helping to fuel the urge.

My cat was judging my beverage of choice the other night. (A good many of you have already seen this.)

awkward cleaning moments with our fur ball.

Jut finished my Valkyrie tattoo a week ago. While at work the other day one of my coworkers asked me if the girl tattooed on my arm was supposed to be me... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Got this Namakubi from Pino Cafaro on Saturday at the London Tattoo Convention. Pino was a great guy and I'm vey happy with the outcome. It's on my chest so it was hard for him to tattoo given that there was no bench. Tricky to do in a chair.

The Marianas Trench would be a pretty easy addition. To Scubaron, I agree with the other guys so far. But what makes you want one on your back next as opposed to an arm/leg/anywhere else?

Thanks! It was cool of them to share it on their blog. Wilhelm's ass is skyrocketing towards internet fame, haha!

I'll be up your way next weekend! - - - Updated - - - INDUBITABLY!!!! (the Virginia driving to NYC part, you guys probably just want dim sum)

@Pleadco said it better than I could, @Mark Bee - I'm feeling for you - it is a great thing you are doing, just being there. I hope that brings you some solace over time.

I blame you for posting this...I got curious, had a look at the link and decided pretty spontaneously to give it a try. Never ran in my life (except in primary school I think) and always thought I'd hate it. But I need to get fit and this sounded doable. So I downloaded the C25k app, bought some shoes and off I went for my first ever run yesterday! I must be going crazy, because I'm actually looking forward to the next one tomorrow now... :-)

I'm in.

Will do. For those who haven't seen what's been done so far here's a pic Instagram

Tattooers tattoo over all sorts of scars, stretch marks, etc. Don't feel embarrassed or worried! This is the job, what makes it challenging and interesting. They have seen it all! I felt self-conscious when I started going onto my thighs because I have lots of cellulite. I wasn't sure how designs would turn out. The answer is obvious: my thighs are ten times cooler now. :)

if i fits...i sits

Jesus Christ, you have great tattoos, @Russ.

I went up a few days early to get tattooed by Bert Krak at Frith Street the 'MUM' rose, attached. And went to the 'Miniature Ink' exhibition at Atomica Gallery that evening, where I bought the small works on sale by Curly and Alex Binnie. The day after I went to the 'Time' exhibition at Somerset House, I definitely recommend it. The first day of the convention I didn't do too much, went to meet Ed Hardy first thing pretty much. I bought the 'Nurse Mercy' lithograph, and he signed my copy of Tattooing the Invisible Man, relatedly - I was walking around later, and to my surprise - I saw Bill S

Just got home from packing the back of my neck. Fuck me is all I can say. Absolutely drilled the fuck out of me. Not easy going for Ol mate either, belting into that weathered, rubbery skin. Was a solid drilling to pack this area out. Regardless, it's done. We never have to visit this site again. Now, for post tattoo recovery. Hot shower/ cold cider hand in hand.

Finished up detail on the sea snake, squirrel fish and eel, and the corals in the background.

I wasn't planning on getting tattooed anytime soon, but I'm getting a little bit of time with Dave Regan during the Classic Electric 10 Year Anniversary in Frederick, Maryland.

That Cripwell suit is beautiful and so perfectly executed, but I find it a little too perfect for my tastes. Looking at those tattoos, I don't know if I get much of a sense of the person who has them. I guess aesthetically I prefer a more organic mish mash of tattoos where you get tattoos of different ages complimenting and clashing with each other and you get a whole that transcends any individual tattoo.

These newish photos from Cripwell's instagram of The Chap With The Legs need to be here, I think. <swoon>

Agreed, @jimmyirish - lots of good points, here! I think it might also be something I ponder often because I really like tattoos, but I usually don't feel "part" of the culture -- I feel out of place in many shops because I'm not heavily covered at all, and I don't know a lot of the things that people who are into tattoos usually know, like the names of all the Japanese figures and scenes, or what particular styles are called, or many of the most famous tattoo artists, etc. I guess I just usually feel like I'm not quite in the culture, but not quite an outsider either. I do like read

Not sure this qualifies as a "full" back piece, but here it is anyway. This is after my 3rd session with Chad Koeplinger and I'm pretty thrilled with it. I don't particularly enjoy sitting with Chad for super long sessions, or at least I don't think i'm capable to sit for very long sessions with him. With that factored in, he thinks we have about 3 more to go. Happy to break it up in small sessions, as that is more opportunities to spend time with Chad. I love that guy. some insanely stunning pieces on this thread. Rob

Quick appearance on the beach. Still a lot left to do and layers to add, but it's coming together. Back in the saddle on Friday. Dude asked me, "Please don't tell me you did that all in one sitting." :rolleyes: