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Just had my left elbow capped by Biz Matos. I'm very pleased.

Pets? Yes, we are allowed to stay in our pet's house as long as we keep loving and feeding them. Animals seek us out somehow. We have adopted or taken in off the street all of our 5 dogs, 3 cats, and two parakeets (one that must have escaped his home landed in the back yard and hopped up on my hand so we bought him a girlfriend bird). I'll start with Ziggy, the coolest, sweetest, most adaptable and intelligent dog I've ever had. We adopted him when he was young. At first, we thought he was a mix of Rhodesian Ridgeback and a whippet. We discovered that he is likely a Black Mouth Cur, a fairly rare hunting dog in the Southern US. With Katunda Kate, our sweet ol' greyhound (RIP). With George kitteh. To add, Mrs. T likes to add a bunch of goofy nick names to our pets over time. If I add them up you get: Ziggy Wiggy Wigwam, AKA Mr. Woo Woo (one of his sounds)

Finally lost my cherry today. A great experience and I love my new tattoo. By Bradley Tompkins at Frith Street.

recent glamour shots of our hell raisers: the shy one: the mischief maker: the turd burglar

On the subject of women and aging and tattoos and all of that: My tattoos make me so much hotter. There, I said it. Not ONLY that - I never felt comfortable in my own skin growing up. There was always something wrong every time I looked in the mirror. Part of that was adolescence, part body image weirdness handed down via television and magazines, and part jerky people around me. Anyway - I feel more comfortable in my adorned skin. This, in turn, helps me project confidence, which is helpful in so many different aspects of life. I will feel like a bad ass (70/80/90) year old when I am covered in tattoos! Also, I look better and better as I get older, soooo...I'm stoked. Tattoos on older women are hoooottt and awesome and badass. :D

Hi there, I'm John. 16 hours deep on this back piece in progress! This is my first piece and I have been thinking about this decision for the last 4-5 years. I am 24 next week. It took a long time finding the right artist, artwork, symbolic and spiritual reasoning, and maturity before I pulled the trigger to be on the wait-list. I wanted to be at an age where I could be okay to make large decisions such as this knowing it'll be with me forever. I am just so ecstatic with how things are coming together. Everything I envisioned and more. This back piece will be completed by the end of 2015. I might start a sleeve or chest plate thereafter... Progress: Currently 15-16 hours with another 10-12 hours to go. Final back piece will total between 25-30 hours. Cheers! J.

Our youngest and the "granddog" Rocky at church Wednesday evening. Yes, Rocky goes to Bible study and pays close attention!

thanks @Shaun1105 ! pics will be posted when it will be finished ;) looking forward next February now!

Anyone getting tattooed at the convention today? I'll be at Chad's booth @ 7 tonight. Look for the dude hating his life getting his knee done.

Find an artist. Discuss your ideas. Get a tattoo. Then more. Oh, and start an intro thread of your own. We like pictures!

Welcome - and pictures or it didn't happen.

. . . you 3 will love these pics > These 21 Photos Prove Reptiles Can Be Cute Too

Unfortunately, I'm missing the opening... I won't be in town until tomorrow a bit before noon (then leaving just after midnight... life in the fast lane). My parents are there on their first trip further than Oklahoma or Missouri, having the honeymoon they never had, so if you see a lady with red hair with a long haired fellow with a wolf on his throat, he will definitely be happy to talk your ear off about getting tattooed by Charlie Cartwright 30 years ago!

This series of backpieces by Chris Brand fits nicely in this thread.

Nipple blaster. Ouch. Lango Oliveira at Skull and Sword.

Official notice that I will be attending Saturday only and will probably be hanging out most of the day. Super down to meet up with folks for food/drinks. If knowing what I look like makes things easier, there is a picture on instagram @handoftheforge

Currently reading Richard Dawkins "The Ancestor's Tale". The layout of the book is that he starts with homo sapiens sapiens and goes backwards in time, stopping everytime there is a significant break in our evolution so to speak. I think it's like 30 steps in the end, from us to the very first bacteria. Each stop concerns one specific animal but while he talks about it you also learn a shit tonne of evolutionary theory and general science and biology. Really well put together book and super interesting. Was a bit slow for the first 1/3 but now I'm so in it and enjoying every page. Also reading a volume of the collected short stories of Amy Hempel. Amazing writer and imagination. I can see that she has been really influential on later writers and her stories are so full of clever humor, anecdotes and insight on the human experience. Much recommended!

I had my first session with Alix Ge last week for my pharaoh horses stomach/abdomen tattoo. She did the lining. Unfortunately due to my schedule next session to finish it is only early February...

I must admit, I do watch every tattoo show. Not that I love them, I just love anything with tattoos. There have been some great artists over the years.

Thought I would also upload and share this dope action shot. Plus you can catch a peak at my backpiece that's about 5 months settled in as well as Len's great hair lol ;) Another reminder that it is the tattoo experience as whole - that truly makes the tattoo. that's what matters. Tattooing is a very powerful, deliberate and permanent act and series of events. Last Wednesday was an incredible day. My work in the morning. Popping into the tattoo shop to just to say what's up and casually flipping through Len's book - I have 3 tattoos from Len now and each one was a spontaneous act with permanent results. Going and getting a dope haircut so I didn't get a cheap $25cent razor fade (found a new barber, an older black gentleman, he shared his cool snake tattoo on his dark skin, he got in 1967!). My tai chi practice in the park. An encouraging doctor's appointment. The boys keeping the shop open into the evening to accommodate me (shout out to Champion Tattoo Edmonton). The stencil and re-stencil to get the placement just right. The first 30 seconds when I thought holy shit man, this is brutal have I gone too far? Bishops Green on the stereo. Tattoo talk with the boys. Sweating through the table. Feeling my nose about to get crushed sideways on the table. the post-tattoo newport smoke, the vulnerability and the satisfaction with the end result. The morning after when the shower water hit the back of my raw tattooed skin. Even today walking down the street, walking proud and tall with this new tattoo. Hearing the lady behind me in the crosswalk whispering out loud 'damn that's a nice tattoo' to herself. Seriously, I am really buzzing off how this one turned out. The butterfly symbolism is pretty obvious. But also this: I dreamed I was a butterfly, fluttering about, to all intents and purposes a butterfly. I was conscious only of my happiness as a butterfly. Soon I awakened, and there I was, myself again. Now I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly, dreaming I am a man. -Master Zhuang I became aware of this taoist quote the morning after receiving my tattoo, and I too had the butterfly dream leading up to this spontaneous tattoo. I found it very fitting, not just in the context of the rest of my tattoos, but in terms of some personal growth I have been making over the last few months. And here comes this profound tattoo experience from a simple design that carries some complex symbolism to me, providing enlightenment when I needed it the most. Thank you LST for providing a medium to share the tattoo experience together !

just got this handsome dude from Phil Tworavens (@lustandconsume on instagram) to kick off the leg stuff

"Yknow what's awesome about this budd?...you have a whole bodysuit of tattoo and MY tattoo is going to be the one everyone is gonna ask about haha" Keepin' it real w/ King Len, guest spot at Champion Tattoo in Edmonton, AB Deadly placement, deadly evening, deadly tattoo. But holy fack did this one sizzle and rattle.

Opaque grey is actually black mixed with white pigment, diluted black is just greywash. greywash: opaque grey:

I'm probably biased because he's a friend, but man, damn Dave Regan has been making stuff lately that makes me sit back and smile and then kicks me in the rear very hard because I feel so untalented. Also, Gordon Combs. So good. Showstoppers for sure.

I have a couple of "mini-looks" that I am going for. I want the view from the left side of my body to be the "sweet" tattoos (flowers, butterflies, stars, etc.) and the view from the right side of my body to be the "sassy" tattoos (pin-ups and other sexy stuff). My front and my back views won't necessarily have a theme, but I don't want tattoos to be totally different from each other in one glance.

I've come full circle with my feelings on aesthetics, placements and overall look... When I started 30 years ago, I never had the thought of being completely covered and therefore, didn't have any plan other than WHO to get tattooed by. Once I started travelling to the artists I admired, a lot more thought went into what/where and how it would all work together. At one point I made "tattoo map" of my body. I took a roll of 3ft wide printer paper (used in BIG factory print shops), laid down on it and had someone trace me. I roughly sketched in the work I already had and then put the general idea and name of artist on the spots I wanted to get covered. That "map' hung on the back of my closet door for a few years and I got about 60% of the work I had hoped for (I had an entire body suit mapped out-HA!). At the time I really believed that the total coverage look was the right way and everybody who didn't think in those terms and got random work all over them was an idiot with no planning skills. A bunch of shit changed in my life and I put my map on hold for awhile....which turned out to be A LONG WHILE. Over that last couple years or so leading up to me diving back into this, my attitude towards total coverage has changed somewhat. Now I find looking at people with many tattoos not all tied together and the not-tattooed skin in between them, pretty cool. I still completely appreciate the well planned, total coverage stuff too but I no longer have a "tattoo map" and just plan on getting what I want, when I want and if the mood strikes me, get it all tied together in the end. Overall though, I've never worried about my "look" and how others perceived me. I may have be more aware back when tattooing was not "normal", but now-a-days, lots of neck/hands/face/feet tattoos make me look average..... or at least normal.

Those following on instagram already know about Chuck and her recent diagnosis (osteosarcoma :/) and amputation! But for all youse other guys: I have posted pics of my sweet, adorable, wonderful, loving, [cascade of adjectives here] in the forum before, and here is her debut as a tripawd!

@Dan - you're dog looks to have taken 1 too many hits off of the bong . . .

@Dan never knew Aussie's had to be groomed... haha! My dad has an Aussie/Beagle mix and she has the Aussie colors, but not the heavy coat, so no grooming.

My cat does the same thing....the main difference being that it does actually almost weigh 40 lbs. (Last time at vet it was 37lbs.)

We finally found our furever dog! Meet Ella :) She is 3 months, very small. She is definitely a boston terrier mix, just not sure what the mix is. Already head over heels for this puppy bundle.

Thanks. She is the definition of a mutt but she is pretty awesome. The mom is a beagle/bassett hound/some sort of pitbull mix (that is where the short legs come from) and the dad is a Shar Pei (she has his curly tail). The only one that came out of the litter with predominantly Shar Pei features was the one male. This is a picture of the male and our puppy about a week after we got her when we took her back to visit.

This in my Pappy Grizzle Nuts, sunbathing in the yard...

Animals? Got that well covered. Here is our extended family: Chyna, our fat bulldog Stinky, my 20 year old cat Spike in a do-rag followed by Spike and Arlo the miniature donkeys And finally my wife and Lakota the wolf, who lives at a sanctuary where we volunteer. He is our favorite!!!

@beez - I love your "Selfie w/dog" :D ...you match!! @Zillah - Your bun pics literally made me exclaim "Oh my god" aloud. @SeeSea - You are an inspirational pet guardian. @TrixieFaux - Tomo-kitty update? This is Mirka the Wonderpup. She is submissive "smiling" because I had just found a chewed up piece of cotton pad that she swiped from the kitchen table while I was out. She started doing it as soon as I saw it. People who say that they don't remember when they were naughty or won't know why you are chastising them are soooo wrong! Sneaky-sneaks!

When you get to the point where you don't rely on other people for your self esteem, it's a very liberating feeling. It took me more years than I'd care to admit.

@Synesthesia As a woman who just got a traditional tiger tattoo, which I guess is more on the masculine end of the spectrum, I understand your trepidation. We are who we are: Masculine, feminine, androgynous. Tattoos don't change the execution of your gender, or more importantly, YOU. Keep in mind that subject matter is all about artistic liberty and has a great impact on how masculine or feminine it looks. (I kind of think my tiger looks like a big old queen, but that's cool. I like him.) Your family is right. Your body will ruin. It will age, eat itself, cells will stop degenerating, and your skin isn't going to look like you're 23 forever. Guess what? Happens to the people without tattoos, too. Don't base opinions about your body on what others think, because you're going to have a lot of people in your life who care about you for you, not for the ink or lack of.

I understand where you're coming from, but you've got to do things (like get tattooed) for yourself and not for other people, or worry about your decision's affect on other people. I used to care about what others thought about me, everyone does, but then I decided to do what felt right to me and now I love myself SO much more with tattoos than without.

Girls with tough tattoos are my favorite thing.

This is from when I first got my back done. I got mine at a cloth store. I don't think that's they intended that 8ft piece of wool fabric for but it worked well :p

Yes!! I had to do a thing that scared me earlier this summer... I was totally freaked out about it... nearly chickened out and didn't do it at all. And then I changed clothes into something that showed "Steve" (my knee tiger). Steve is so tough, he makes me feel 10x tougher when I can see him. I skated through my scary thing no problem... Reading this, I think it sounds weird, and people will probably think I'm a nut... whatever. Rawr!!! Me and Steve. We've got game ;)

Not to mention, some of us work out and stop partying and find ourselves in better shape in our forties than we were in our twenties...imagine that?!

So only women's bodies decline after the age of 35ish? Hmmm. Guess I should stop getting tattooed, worry about what my body looks like, and leave it to the men to get all the sweet tats. Sorry, had to go there.

here's some balance:

I like having tattoos so some people automatically assume shit about me. This way I can weed out the stupid assholes from the people who are, seemingly, worth dealing with. They don't need tattoos to be worth dealing with, just not assume stupid shit.

I am digging these pictures that show more than one tattoo at a time. Good idea! Here are my arms. I plan to add to the right arm...filling it out to match the amount of coverage on the left. The owl is a little out of place. ETA: oh darn @Iwar...forgot to wear my fundoshis. I have several pairs. Pairs? Yeah next time for sure.

I never really cared to much about this......my first was a visible tattoo before tattoos became "fashionable." I don't think I ever "planned" to be this heavily covered BUT I am seeing it happen a lot more now than it was happening 15 years ago! People seem to be rushing to get covered for some reason not thinking what those tattoos are gonna look like in 40 years! Take your time.....get good tattoos.....and if you are worried about what others think of your tattoos then you probably aren't someone who should be getting tattooed! (that last comment was not directed at any one person.....just in general)

The one thing I can point out is, you can be very, very heavily tattooed and still hold a job in a Fortune 50 company. This is a fact, and actually a big myth. As a manager I can say this. I would have a bigger issue with you showing that much skin at a job over that actual tattoos. I generally do frown upon this at work already. While men (in suits) generally have the most clothes coverage, I feel woman should also dress very conservatively at work. This means a suit or long dress and at least 3/4 sleeves. With even that you have over 70% of your body covered! The only thing really showing on me at work is my neck up and my hands! The corporate office is not a place for creative dress. (Damn I sound like my dad)

There can only be two explanations 1. You need to take some glamour shots. 2. You don't spend enough time in parking garages

i talk people out of backgrounds and useless additions all the time. i see so much garbage online. people just throw every trick in the book in there. or just tack on a bunch of roses around something, it looks awful. just let the image be itself, it has strength on its own. a gypsy head doesn't need blood splatters, a crescent moon, fog, a tree, roses and fake cholo letters all around it. except for a few people, tattooing is in a sorry state creatively. by the way, the outline thing is a SMITH STREET thing, which has now been beaten to death by anybody with a computer. you can't do anything new and cool without vampires sucking it dry. ok, i'm done...haha