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I did my first tattoo. I have been in my 2 year apprenticeship for around 7 months. Apprenticing has been one of the most challenging and humbling experiences of my life... until today. All of the grapefruit, melons, and synthetic limbs in the world could not have prepared me for the intensity of tattooing a person. In the words of my good friend, Albie Rock, "that first line is a real gut-check, m@therf#$er!" With the support of my teacher, and the confidence of an amazing client, we all made this Ohm symbol, together. My head is still spinning and I have yet to fully process the reality of what happened today. The highlight was receiving this picture from the client, thanking me for choosing her for my first tattoo and saying, "I love it! It's perfect!" I mean, we both know it's not perfect, but, in a way, it is. I learned so much about myself as a person today. It's not always about completing a flawless piece, it's about being a part of someone's journey. It's about being real with someone for a moment in time. Anyway, I don't know if this is appropriate for the Introduction section, but this is truly my introduction. I have so much more to learn... but that ever crucial tattoo #1 is in the books. Here's to many more. Thank you for reading. I'm spent!

Another one by Brian Via, picked a drawing off his wall of stuff he wanted to do. Inner bicep and it hurt like hell, especially the stuff by the top near my armpit. So happy with it though.

Finally finished. Now I'll start working out again. On Monday. I promise.

About to head down the road to the Summit Tattoo Invitational, picking up a little something from Mr. Lehi! Roommate is tagging along and is gonna try to score a walk up with Myles Karr.

in all seriousness - maybe the idea would be to leave this tattoo alone for awhile - put some ink somewhere else

Hey everyone, it's been a minute. I'm really sorry for denying you all my deep insights and inimitable perspective this past year or so. I haven't been posting mainly because I haven't gotten tattooed since January of last year, but that's about to change, as I just booked a spot with Matt Arriola during his visit to Philly next month. It's actually pretty crazy—just a week or two ago I decided that it would be awesome to start my left arm off with a tiger head from him (he does some of my favorite big cats, no controversy there I'm sure), but figured I'd have to make it out to LA to do so. But then I got on Instagram today and lo and behold, he's coming here. Planets aligned, etc. Needless to say, I'm stoked.

Hello everyone, My name is Danielle and I enjoy looking at tattoos, and getting them! I hope I can share some of mine, as well as see yours! :o I have some good(some bad) I got my first tattoo when I was 15, and haven't stopped since. I am currently wanting to get a few pieces done, a dagger, a new lady head, and a lipstick. I am looking for inspiration and LOVE traditional. Here are some of my favorite pieces. LET ME SEE YOUR ART <3

Earlier today two people called me sir. Now an older cat. Time for a cocktail. -Rob

@marley mission check out "JapaneseCollective" on IG. Very high calibre japanese tattoo art. - - - Updated - - - Y'all can check the bongsau at "Dennis_Kool" on the IG. Pics of my dog, cats, bad ass wife, reggae records and kung fu crew. Oh, and the odd tattoo #tbt and backpiece progress (unsolicited-tattooed-butt pics by DM only!)

Palm trees, like Left Shark.

My first lady head, Plan on getting more. So sad Kim Ann has no space to tattoo me this week while shes in NYC. -cries

Dude, you want a Fujin/Raijin tattoo, which totally rules.

I've been avoiding my ditches as long as I could, but a few sundays ago I decided it was time. jason ochoa at greenpoint tattoo put this rose in there and now that it's healed, I'm stoked to do the other arm. it didn't hurt nearly as bad as I expected and it was pretty much healed within a week or so using tegaderm. definitely a believer in that shit. if there's a thread discussing that stuff, let me know and I can share my experience. anyway, here's a healed pic:

Thanks to me not being diligent about booking new sessions, I now have a mishmash of up and coming sessions. This pic is the result of my last session on Saturday which was at the Sydney Tattoo Convention. Only a small 2 hour session but was cool chatting to different people wandering past asking about my work etc. Was also my 1st attendance at a tattoo convention/show. I got to see alot of people getting tattooed by many artists and the main thing that surprised me was how few engaged with the artist and chatted. So many had headphones on or were playing with iPads with no interaction with the artist. For me that is a big reason why I "enjoy" getting tattooed and keep going back for more. To me a big part of getting a great tattoo is connecting with your artist, chatting with him/her, chewing the fat, disagreeing with him/her and at times arguing with your artist. (Something I have done once or twice.) Not sure what all you LST's do but my job is very technical and most would class as boring. Is another reason why I enjoy my tattoo sessions, I get to connect and chat to artistic and creative people. Much more interesting than the crap I deal with at work. :) Anyway enough of my rant, here is the latest pic. Cheers Jason

I know she's been mentioned before but I think Kim-Anh Nguyen (https://instagram.com/kimanh_n/) deserves a little more exposure. She works out of Seven Seas Tattoos in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. Here's a couple I stole from her facebook (https://www.facebook.com/bleakandblue):

Hi Chaps, I am trying to plan something original for my other sleeve and I felt like I wanted to try and use famous, common, traditional flash images but in a realism style from 5 different artists. Nikko Hurtado will be doing the main top arm piece as I want my mothers portrait but i cant think of a traditional piece that could incorporate her portrait. Maybe a locket or something but I haven't seen anything like this in traditional. This is the only part that I am adamant that I want (the picture of my mum) I am no expert with traditional even though I grew up with loads of it, so I am hoping you guys could possibly suggest some that could work as realism. This could all be a bad idea lol I know the panther is a real famous one but I just don't think that would be able to be done in realism and not look like its traditional, plus I already have a panther :) The following is just ideas from my limited knowledge. I would like a cobweb on my elbow but done as a 3d with water droplets etc. Other pieces I think are famous and could work are Anchor, Ship, Dagger through heart, fighting cockerel, Devil with Pitch fork, snake and dagger. Thats really where I have got to. Do you guys think this could work or is it a terrible idea? What other images would you suggest? Cheers guys :)

Made quite a bit of progress today with Fil Wood at Black Crown in Leeds https://instagram.com/p/0dTv7zmzSG/?taken-by=fil_wood

Packing tomorrow, driving sunday, getting my back done monday!

I have been thinking about getting a tattoo for about 15 years. As I was approaching my 50th birthday I got my first small tattoo on my chest. And I mean small. I got my second tattoo on my right forearm about two months later. This one is based on the Fibonacci sequence. Since then I have gotten a larger tattoo on the other side of my chest that goes up my shoulder and continues a little down my arm. Last week I got my fourth on my calf. ( yes, a whole different healing process) Each of these tattoos holds a very personal story for me along with a little bit of "just because." I don't know why I waited so long to get my first. Maybe it was because of the big 5-0. Maybe it was just because. I do know that I am looking forward to continuing this journey. -Rob

SHOTS FIRED EVERYONE GET DOWN In honor of your PRs, here is me hitting some deficits. I'm coming back from an injury and plan to leave these weights in the dust soon. The final single is 315. I did it shirtless because look at how beautiful I am. Ignore all the body hair.... *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dl_NsQJFdMk"

The later you start, the better they'll look when you get older. I got my first one at 21, waited 20 years, then got 5 more and counting.

Why leave it alone? Because your octo-forearm-tapus is barely healed, you're not 100% satisfied and there is 10 pages of internet-design-by-committee, constructive feedback, and indecisiveness in your thread. That is why I'd listen to Marley's good advice to let the thought sit until you have more confidence in the direction you want to take the upper arm to tie the whole thing together. Go enjoy the summer sunshine, let the octopus heal and pick up where you left off in the fall/winter aka tattoo-season. What's the rush?

Grats, dead PRs are the best PRs. Keep on trucking.

cool @SeeSea you know in regards to the traditional Japanese tattoos i have to be honest - i havent given them a fair look - and i ought to - just looking at the IG of where you going for your next tattoo i could already tell i have gotta give that genre more IG time - anyway - looking forward to seeing the work you get done - i got something coming too - haha fun stuff

You people keep suprising me. This is amazing! thank you for pointing this out

don't make it complicated by adding too much. do you want a shark or a snake? having a bunch of snakes and a shark together is going to scale down the proportion of the shark on the upper arm which will look small and unbalanced against the proportion of the octopus. $0.02 go for a shark on the top and fill the rest w/ black and grey water and wave background. the background is what is going to tie it all together. less is more.

Finally finished my back last night. Yup @a1steaks - back to running next week - congrats on yours too! I'm going to wait and post healed pics so I can show the sides too, but Sean posted the straight-on shot on his instagram. All sorts of funny milestones have been going through my head. The last 5 am drive home. I just took my last "first" shower. Coincidentally, the bottle of Dial soap is nearly out. It's the last week of smelling like Redemption. The last week of red welts from the painters tape on my stomach. The last week of really uncomfortable sleeping. I was somewhat out of my mind with exhaustion and chills at the end - I actually said goodbye to the massage chair. ::rolls eyes::

So I finally got my chest piece. So happy with how it came out. By Valerie Vargas of course.

Picked this up from Steve Boltz on Tuesday.

Good suggestions here already. Google old maps and sea drawings. Also, ask a good artist/shop what reference materials they have. I got some "wind" filler on my arm based on old French etchings and I think it turned out pretty good. Here's one photo I found just using google:

I like the idea a lot. Are you planning on having the tattoos stand alone or will you have some background tying them together? For designs, I'd suggest looking in books. There are so many good ones out there: the Sailor Jerry books, that Zeis book (the Scott Harrison page in there is something else), the Flash From the Bowery book, the Dietzel and Burchett books, Flash From the Past/Revisited...there's so much out there. Lucky's Tattoo Museum has a bunch of flash you can look at online to give you inspiration. There's so much neat stuff out there and there's probably a lot more variety and diversity in classic flash than most of us imagine. I think the biggest challenge with this idea would be doing traditional tattoos in a realistic style while still keeping the feel of traditional tattoos. If that's what you're going for. There's a bit in that Brian Bruno and Mike Rennie interview that really sticks out where Brian is talking about advice that Ed Hardy gave him about drawing: if you're drawing a tiger, you don't want to replicate a photo of it, you want to draw it how it makes you feel. I think that idea basically encapsulates one of the main differences between realism and traditional (loosely defined here) tattoos, and I wonder how bridging the gap between the two will work. Sometimes the most exciting things that happen in tattoos come from pushing boundaries and trying things to see how they'll work, so yeah, I love the idea.

8 months ago I took on a new position at work on a contract basis. Totally different from what I've been doing for the previous 16 years, but a great challenge and I really liked it. 3 weeks ago the position became available permanently. I applied, interviewed, and last week I found out I got it. I'm excited because the schedule fits my family better (no more shift work), and it does come with a modest raise (for more work). The best part has actually been the feedback from my co-workers, who have been telling me how much they appreciate me in the position and how well they think I've been doing. Now I just have to keep it up!

Welcome to LST :) What does the quote say? :)

I always look forward to the start of the month because it means another 3 hours of work on my back, and another step closer to completion. This session I just could not zone out at all. The whole thing just hurt. On the other hand we have now basically finished the background and I'm stoked with how it's looking.

Eddy Deutsche cover/blastover from a couple of weeks ago in Oslo (Marius Meyer studio). It was such a fun day, so cool! Also met the legend Carson Vester. He told us some crazy stories! Who said he had lost it? New: Old:

hey what about me?;) @marleymission

so today on Kauai we participated in the dog field trip program with the Kauai Humane Society today,they let you take a dog out for the day with an "adopt me" vest on and they supply leash/water/water bowl/treats/potty bags and we took her on a hike and to the beach all day today,her name is Jillian,what a cutie. we had a totally great day with her. It gives the dog a chance to get out of the kennel for the day and it exposes them to more potential adopters. Shelter Dogs on Field Trips | Kauai Humane Society . . .

Lady head on my upper arm by Garret Egles in Calgary.

This is my frontpiece by Marius Meyer. We finished it about a year ago. Two sessions and a total of seven hours if I remember correctly.

Here's my lady done by Shawn VanOven

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

I had one of the best tattoo experiences today and officially crossed the line into weird territory with this by Mando Rascon today. Immaculate tattoo is definitely the best shop I've been in so far and Mando is honestly the best dude I've met, after the tattoo they shouted me lunch and he took me on a tour around Mesa and Tempe and then drove me all the way home to my hostel!!. what a dude.

Got this one from Stevie Edge to top a good week of getting tattooed.

Went to KC for the weekend and managed to snag a walk in with Noah Moore, he filled in a pretty awkward spot with this rose: (Photo stolen from his Instagram)

@Duffa That's the strange thing about Japan, they don't think of the naked body how we do in the west. Yeah, it could be a bit strange from time to time but over all I don't think they think much of it. Seen tons of photos of people getting tattooed on their upper backs, but still completely naked. Example: Talking to one of my female friends about Japanese High School (separate boys and girls schools) and she was saying on very hot days they just take their skirts and shirts off and walk around in their underwear. I was like holy shit I wanna go to that school. Another one is my tattooer came to the bar I work at, met a girl and she said she works in porn. When I went to his studio later that week we started talking about her and it ended up searching in google. Now Im sitting there in my underwear (squid slacks) looking at porn. Didn't pay to much attention to it cause I didn't want it to get any weirder then it was two grown men, one in underwear, watching porn. It's just a culture thing.