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Why not... Horizakura peony/junco from last year:

Just managed to sit through my first tattoo, finally, yay! Done by Anthony Cole at Silver Needles in Southend. Very happy with my choice. Thanks so much to everyone on this forum for helping to create such a great resource, I learnt a lot here.

I hate posting the same pic over and over again, but i want a LST shirt! Done by Shige. Pics do this piece no justice.

Front of my El Monga leg. Done at Tattoo City in March. Pic is from today (healed). Entered the back of it a few months ago, figured the front needs to toss its hat in the ring.

My new piece from Matt Houston done on a trip to Amsterdam at Salon Serpent. Real nice guy and had another great experience in this shop. I tried to get in with Matt before in Vancouver but time was against me so super happy to nab an appt this time. Flames go up back of elbow and still healing ( it sucks!) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Started this last year at Kings Ave. Made progress at the Montreal convention then finished it last week at Kings Ave.

Last minute appointment at Kingsave NYC with Chris O'Donnell

I wouldn't touch that one, let it stand alone. To add to it, I'd just get different pieces to fill in the space around it. Maybe in a similar style so that it all flows together. Just my opinion.

Going to the Richmond Convention..... 21st - 23rd Let me say first I am not fond of conventions......LOL....but I go when someone will be there I want to be tattooed by! First I am riding out to VaBch on Thursday evening so that I can wake up Friday morning and be tattooed by Scott Sterling in VaBch..... Then on to the convention for three days! There have been discussions about Frank Mills tattooing his signature (all he does anymore) on me at a shop in town....he won't be going to the convention.... And I have also lined up some small bangers with David Bruehl & Chad K. I also spoke with Mario Desa and if I can scrape some extra money together then I am going to get a small little banger from him as well that weekend! No big huge tattoos......but I am stoked to be getting tattooed but people who have not tattooed me yet.....and by tattooers I consider to be top notch in the craft! And trust me.....if I can add something by Byrne or Hundahl......I will take full advantage of it! I just need to scrape together a lot of money.....ha ha ha ha

Was able to get a three legged money toad (Jin Chan) from Takashi Matsuba (IG: traditionaltool) last night. The shading was done by hand (tebori) which is a first for me. Also the first piece I've gotten where the artist drew it on first as opposed to using a stencil. Can't wait to see the white all healed up and yellowed a bit. That's also three tattoos in three weeks. Feels good to have a break and be able to plan my next pieces :).

Done by Curt Baer from Iron Mountain Tattoo.

This is more than a year old so not sure if it's been posted before. Anyway, it's pretty cool. Tattoo Timelapse - Myke Chambers

in cali all you need is a doctors note to grow a money tree!

was in sf last week got this from jeff rassier. super happy about it reaper1 reaper2

I don't even know why I read these contest threads anymore. All they do is give me ridiculous tattoo envy.

Oh trust me......I am pretty broke! Been buying machines and flash....plus had a few pieces of hand painted flash commissioned.... Hotels for three nights....getting into a convention.....food...gas....etc And then 4-5 tattoos......he he he! I'll be robbing all the gas stations all the way to Richmond.....ha ha ha ha ha!

Yes, what I meant was not to change it, but add another piece on the side of my thigh, have some kind transition or shading between the pieces. The 2 pieces some how relating to one another so it flows. Definitely don't want to ruin the original piece or put something of lesser quality next to it. My artist is not the quickest to respond so my head is spinning trying to come up with ideas. If he says to do nothing near it, I'll take his advice.

Thanks @ironchef and @hogg. I had previously seen the site below and it's good to see that it matches the information in the link you both provided me. I always need multiple sources. Internet trust issues, right? With bonji I just wasn't sure if there was a proper vs improper way. Seems like I could do either mantra or 8 bonji seeds, although I wish the morning star mantra had an english translation so I could understand it better. As for an artist, this may be one of my few opportunities to get a little something from someone other than from Jill Bonny. The plan is she'll do my front. I'm not exactly sure who yet so that's my problem. Would hate to go in and ask for something that doesn't make sense. There are a couple choices and I have a tattoo itch. If I cave in I'm leaning towards Miyazo who's guesting in the relative LA area through November. Don't know if I can make that happen though post Convention splurge. I'm still debating the Bonji bit or mini samurai armor menpo masks around my wrists. I like the idea of a Tengu half mask and other menpo wrapping. Bonji or Juzu beads are more classic looking though. Speaking of, I believe you're right Hogg, those beads by Ichi Hatano are on the woman at his booth. I think she's a tattooer in LA. I like that one and the one by Drew Flores. Simple with solid flat shading. Kokuzo Bosatsu (Akasagarbha Bodhisattva) - Japanese Buddhist Deity of Wisdom and Memory

@MoistTowelette Although it would be well deserved, it looks like your need for shirts is almost over :cool:

I went for my first sak yant tattoo in Chonburi Pattaya Thailand about 9 years ago, I had a small good luck tattoo done on my wrist similar to this: this is from the "home temple" of the Ajarn or teacher A couple of years later I went to a temple in Udonthani Thailand for a Gao Yord tattoo, cost me 99 baht or $3 and some required donations, I added 1000 baht or $33 donation to the temple, I had to "push the offerings on a plate towards the monk" as he could not accept money by hand. I am currently getting a full back tattoo at a local shop here, thats why I joined this forum to get info about pain medication. I have a stash of vicodin and valium from Cambodia bought OTC. I did the first session natural and it was tough..............

@Diehardonvhs Ed Hardy, "Kitsune" (1988) from Tattooing the Invisible Man"

Start of a neo Japanese sleeve by Shawn Van Oven @ Shamens Den Binghamton NY Shawn is an awesome guy so easy to work with. Met him at the Electric City Convention last year.

got this sacred heart yesterday from josh mason @ old soul tattoo. if any of you are ever in the pittsburgh area i definitely recommend checking the shop out, even if you can't get tattooed. best in all of pennsylvania, in my opinion.

OK, I'll bite @ironchef. My first leg tattoo. Got it at the London Convention. By Eli Quinters, Smith Street Tattoo.

UPDATE: Two days of brutality on my back with Henning. This go around we started coloring in the phoenix at Kings Avenue Tattoo. 7 hours on Friday in Long Island, then 6 more hours on Saturday in Manhattan. Henning thinks we need one more full session to complete everything. I think probably 2 more including any touch ups. By the way...I really really hate ribs...and spine....THE WORST. Enjoy the pics.

I got this from Stewart Robson at the Bay Area/SFO Convention :)

Healing 3 tattoos at the moment. What is wrong with me.

this was supposed to happen like 4 years ago with Scott....but I never seemed to be able to make it down to VaBch! I saw the shop was gonna be there so I called to see if he was coming......he is BUT not tattooing at the convention! :/ But he told me to come out to the shop in VaBch.....so we decided to leave Baltimore on thursday evening and just drive to VaBch and get a hotel room on the ocean for the night.....off season rates....he he he :) He'll tattoo me on friday morning and then we'll grab a bite and drive back to Richmond and stay at the Marriott for two nights...... If I can scrape enough cash together in the next two weeks I am going on another one of my tattoo sprees.....LOL

Oh man...this is so perfect.

Gorgeous, could look at that all day

Cover it up with a panther?

I was hoping that maybe I'd be able to squeeze in something small but unless I come across that much desired bag full of money I'm always keeping an eye open for, there's no way I can afford it. Besides, I want something big from Yoni.

@Lance I have bonji from Horimitsu of the 8 Buddhist bosatsu at the end of my 3/4 sleeves. For my right arm, I chose to highlight my birth year character in red ink (Fugen) while the remaining characters are in black. Fugen is also associated with my birth year zodiac sign, the year of the dragon which I also have on my right arm so that goes very well together. On my left arm, I went with the same bosatsu but chose to highlight the Fudo character in red as he is the immovable one and I always love the look of the written bonji character. My own personal research indicates that with multiple characters, it normally variations of the 8 bosatsu or just a few of the characters. There are also mantra's that you mentioned. One I really like is the mantra of light from the Shingon school of Buddhism in Japan. Try this link for a little bit of research: The Mantra of Light Also, do you have a specific artist in mind? A lot of the Japanese artists that I've encountered are very well versed in Buddhist imagery and might be able to make some recommendations. Some non-Japanese artists like Jondix, Yoni Zilber, etc who have studied the Buddhist religion may also be good choices. (Both Jondix and Kiku did separate bonji characters around Troy Denning's neck)

Augh Yoni is the best and that is so gorgeous! I am going to make you pull your pants down to show me in person because I am a creep.

@Graeme Too bad you don't have something lined up for when you are in NYC later this month! Reposted/stolen from Yoni's instagram: http://instagram.com/p/u9m5YGMGjb/ I don't know how to load a picture via instagram, sorry.

@ironchef your back is looking insane! Very impressed indeed, and the finish line is in sight. It makes me very excited to finish the linework on my back this Saturday so we can then move on to some shading in December. But for now definitely a huge congrats on what is going to be a great piece.

Just finished a session with Yoni at NY Adorned, will post a photo when I am less red and bloody! It's a wheel of life with lots of nice colors - oranges, blues, greens, reds. Super short 2.5 hour 1-off session, flew by save for my hip screaming at me for laying on it funny for that long. And dang is the fleshy bit near the hip the pits to have tattooed, I think I'd rather have my ribs tattooed again. Bummed that I don't have anything else planned with Yoni for a while.

I love not checking this thread for a few days, and returning to see the most awesome stuff.

got this one Halloween. A reward for losing 40 pounds. Kind of a spur of the moment thing. I had a couple ideas and really wanted to get one, but couldn't decide on one of the ideas I had, walked around for a couple hours while searching the internet for ideas and other designs, finally picked this one and walked in before I could change my mind. really happy with it. the first one that my mother actually liked, kinda, she still hates tattoos.

Torso progress. 3 days back to back at the Bay Area Convention of the Tattoo Arts this past weekend. Sorry for the harsh convention lighting. Will get better pics once healed. Thanks for looking.

Did 4 more hours today. Was supposed to be a 6 hour session but due to circumstances on both mine and Kian's side we changed it to a 4. I am glad to say it is now time to re-commence my backpiece. For the last 2-3 months it has been all about things and butt etc etc. I had actually forgotten that I was doing a backpiece. :) I am quite tall so my butt and thighs is a substantial amount of area to tattoo. Today we have all but finished up that area and started colour on background elements further up. I love looking at the progress after every session but after starting colour on my "back" I realise I still have a long way to go.

Promised the tattooist (Randy Muller) that I wouldn't post any in-progress pictures - and after 7-8 sessions it was finished late Sept and now is fully healed: I'll post this onto the end of my laser treatment thread, too - just to wrap that one up for future referencing.

Had my elbow blasted today by Juan Arreguin "El Super" at Superfly tattoo here in Leon Mexico. No pain, no gain.

The people who said they didn't think the elbow was too bad are all insane. Or they have magical elbows. More fun stuff on the arm with Greg. Took the photo from his instagram. Feels weird to include something this little this week when there's so much crazy stuff on my instagram from the Bay Area convention, but oh well! The trend of 'never actually doing what we previously planned on' continues. At this point I kinda hope it always does. And now I am done until the end of November!

Looks like I will be going to this one! I refuse to look at the sfo thread because I don't want to know what I am missing....it already sucks knowing I am not there....LOL Anyway.......I am going to go it looks like BUT so far the two tattoos I plan to get will not be done at the convention....ha ha ha! One will be done in VaBch Friday morning.......and the other one will be done at a shop of the tattooers choosing in Richmond! I've wanted to add tattoos from these two gentlemen for at least 10 years but could never make it happen.....so it looks like now it will! There is one person at the convention I'd like to get something from as well so we'll see if that happens!

I haven't posted this on here yet. Session four on my back, we shaded my butt and thigh.

Bunny you are a beast those pics of you getting your head done make me wince hard and you're just taking it like a champ. I can't explain my guy reaction, but side/back/top of head tattoos don't bother me. I wouldn't get one but I've seen a bunch I really like. I hate face tattoos. It only screams I want attention in some capacity. Edit: I agree you are dead on with things becoming "flash" once posted online because it's the easy option for many people

There was a really hot chick at a bar I was drinking at last night with an awesome lady head. I tried to take a picture, but I got nervous when I saw her huge skinhead boyfriend in a fred perry shirt. Thats all.