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My latest and greatest tattoo on my left knee, Had a very personal battle getting this one almost tapped a couple of times. Artist is WT Norbert so stoked to have him working just down the road from my place

simple solution...get both!

ok ok - now I know this is the heavyweight division - the best of the best - major league back pieces - epic sleeves from legendary artists from around the globe - tattooing black belts - you get the picture - but I figure - you only live once - so here is my first ever entry into one of my favorite monthly threads.... Whatever...by Jamie Sawyer outta Immortal Ink in Clinton, NJ

Done, 2d sleeve by Shige : View image: IMG 5047 Next is back in November (or maybe earlier) to complete my mandala. Cheers

Here are some recent ones for me... Got this guy from Alan Berg Started this with Mat Welch and snagged this Bert Grimm horse from Miguel Olascuaga

I hear lots of people around my age (29) refer to themselves as '80s/'90s kids. I usually take it to mean "the decade of my earliest pop culture-related memories" or something like that. It means that people 5 years younger than me are in grunge-retro bands even though they were infants in 1991. - - - Updated - - - Can we bring back "totally tubular?"

Tom Beasley is great. He isn't heavy handed and he is fast. He showed me a lot of the tattoos he got from Ed Hardy. I will get more from him for sure Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I sent him an email and he replied right back. He said "no worries man. They are super fun to do!" This guy is really nice and a solid clean tattooer. I will be sure to post pics when it is done. I am stoked to say the least.:D

I've only been to two conventions so far, but both of them had a fair number of artists who were available for walk ups. Personally, however, I would still recommend doing some research before going. You might fall in love with an artist's work online and be able to secure an appointment instead of leaving it up to chance. Even if you don't make an appointment ahead of time, you'll know which booths you want to prioritize visiting as opposed to walking in blind and trying to see them all. There's a lot going on at conventions, so it can get overwhelming and rushed for time.

I'm always polite. This guy is going to be grinding on my skin!

The subject matter for your tattoo is awesome! Skulls and fire make for great tattoos, but I would suggest skipping the google image searches for now, and instead concentrate on finding the right man or woman for the job. When you find a tattooer whose work you like, get in touch, present your idea, try to have an open mind and be a little flexible if they have any advice or input on your design, then let him or her do their thing. That's usually a good recipe for an awesome tattoo. If you like the look of bold, traditional tattoos, this looks like a nice shop with a solid team of tattooers: HERO TATTOO - Home Good luck!

I've been in a situation like this a couple times before. I simply emailed the tattooer and asked humbly if it was too late to change up the design, and assured them that I would not mind getting what I initially requested if it was too late.

This is awesome. Enjoy.

Here are a few artists I follow that I think are under-recognized, or maybe I am just out of the loop. Cam Davis Instagram THE most perfect roses I have seen Drew Wilson Instagram Really cool "state" tattoos and a kick ass fly fisherman. Dan Pemble Instagram WOW, check out his bears Mark Stewart Instagram I have work from him Koji Ichimura Instagram Really like this style

@MGblues have fun on your tattoo anniversary. I'm going to ask my tattooists every time I'm in from April, when will they have January ready. Next year will be my 40th, and already have a tattoo planned, want to get it done on my birthday, if possible. @KBeee ah! If only I had thought of photocopying. I painstakingly copy drew out the designs, I wanted for reference. Mind you I still doodle out designs, to give my tattooist an idea of what is in my head.

Is it the upside down cross? Any one who is religious will know that Peter asked to be crucified upside down because he deemed himself unworthy to be crucified in the same manner as Jesus. Which is why the upside down cross is often referred to as St. Peter's cross. I know of a few Christians who have this cross tattooed, in honour of Simon Peter. Spot the girl who had forced sunday school religious teachings until mid teens lol some stuff stays with you. Edit: Just thought you'd like some positive info about the upside down cross.

East Coast!!! Venues | Perseverance | Japanese American National Museum Traveling Exhibition Sites Current/Upcoming Venues Towson University February 5 – May 2, 2015 Asian Arts Gallery Center for the Arts Towson, MD 21252 Web: towson.edu Phone: 410.704.2787 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts May 30 – September 27, 2015 200 N. Boulevard Richmond, VA 23220 Web: vmfa.museum Phone: 804.340.1405 Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens February 23 – May 22, 2016 4000 Morikami Park Rd. Delray Beach, FL 33446 Web: morikami.org Phone: 561.495.0233

5th night healing 4.5 hours on the 11th session of a back tattoo. Freaking butt cheeks itch so bad!

Brought a drawing to Sacred Tattoo today with plans for getting a walk-in, after meeting the shop owner a week or so back. Niño was kind enough to redraw my doodle an this is what we came up with. Great way to celebrate the last few months of living in Oakland. Pic lifted from Nino's Instagram. Also, I visited Umami Mart and saw @CABS and that Felix and lady head in person. Great to meet you, Chris. Thanks for the directions to The Trappist!

Got my V-Drums, now I can practice regularly again! Wooowhooo! Also, I have an interview for medical school in a few weeks!

Got some more work done on my Bakeneko by Josh Damnit at Classic Tattoo Upland, CA

Been trying to keep busy painting lots of things, having a slow start to the year but slowly turning that around. Here are a few of my latest efforts.

Just got this blaster today by Ron Henry Wells while he's in town at Lombard St. Tattoo. A somewhat new take on his drippy wolf designs - I'm so happy with it! Photo taken by Ron and stolen from his IG - Instagram

Above is a picture of me laying like a passed out pale seal on Iain Mullens table. Today was the second to last session on my back. Can't wait to see it finished. We're doing the last bit and touch ups with Rudy Fritsch at the Scottish Convention in the end of March. Going to be fun/hell. Todays session was nice except for a few bits. I can't believe how quick this piece has been. I got the idea to start my back in April last year, asked Iain about it and then we started in mid June. It really helps that both him and Rudy work super quick and make for good company + conversations during the sessions. Secret bit of knowledge exclusively for LST (I know people love that exclusiveness, I sure do): that ain't a dark red, but actually a light gray wash looking bloodied and irritated. Haven't got a piece of color on me, except for a few patches of gray and white.

Here a li'l photoessay of our venture to State of Grace. Still pretty jel I didn't get a tattoo or even a lousy T-shirt but the wee one did. /r220/ddglazer/DSC06564.jpg[/img][/url]

Man, everybody already used my smart-ass answers but the Greg Irons quip was funnier than I could have come up with. But back to the original question. This is one of the newer approaches to tattooing that makes me slightly uncomfortable to be honest. Myself and a few tattooers I know and work with have noticed the trend of customers finding a sense of pride in how long they had to wait for their tattoo. As if that makes the tattoo more worthwhile. With some of the currently living/working tattooers mentioned in this thread, I personally know people (not even on the internet) that have tattoos from all of them. Filip, Horiyoshi III, Shige and Mike Rubendall. Yeah, they had to wait a little while for some of them but not as long as you'd think for others. Mike Roper is a different situation because he makes it deliberately difficult to get in touch with him, which answers the question posed above. But that wasn't really the question that was asked and it's rarely the question that gets asked. The question, or at least the implication, is "who has the longest waiting list' or "who has appointments booked furthest into the future". If I were to be snarky "who gives me the most bragging rights". For me the hardest people to get a tattoo from are the tattooers who are located furthest away from me. The ones where I have to get off my ass and do something about it. Time is easier to overcome than distance although patience is a different matter. It astonishes me that people call our shop from the outskirts of the city expecting us to change the way we work because they are catching a train to get here. On the other hand, we are humbled and honoured by the people who cross seas and continents to get tattooed regularly with us. But that's aside from the issue. Why is it a trend that makes me uncomfortable? Because I've heard people brag about how long they had to wait for 'x' artist and wear that information like a badge of honour. It feels almost as distasteful as bragging about who charges the most. Yeah, tattoos are for tough guys and tough buys like to brag and maybe that seems harmless, but it makes me uncomfortable and I have trouble clearly explaining why. Maybe it's because it's a phenomenon spurred on by the internet and the gossipy world of hearsay. Nobody calls and checks with the artists or shops they want to get tattooed at. Nobody travels down to the shop to ask the question. They just ask random strangers on the internet who have a lot of time on their hands and like to talk about something they know nothing about. Then the reality gets lost or twisted and in the end the real information is lost. I see this a lot with regards to the shop I work at. Forums are (or certainly used to be) bursting with 'facts' about how much we charge, how long we take, how far 'x' and 'y' are booked or how long their waiting lists are. Nobody calls the shop to ask and nobody suggests that the person calls to ask. I know that happens with a lot of things but it seems like this is starting to have a real-world effect, however small. People who wanted tattoos that we would love to do heard that we wouldn't tattoo them at our shop because we were so cool and busy and booked up for decades and rolling around in money 'n' bitches or something. We've heard of this a few times and it seems to be happening more. Yeah, we're busy, you may have to wait a little, maybe not. If someone has contact information, especially a phone number on their website it means that they want you to call. I'm not really going to touch on the tone of the "are they a fad or are they really worth it?" comment, except to say that if you have to ask, the answer is "no". Sorry to jump on this fun thread with a rant. I look forward to more witty quips.