David Flores

So there's some new stuff that isn't in the other Sailor Jerry Books, I take it. I am always surprised about how they can keep putting out more books about Sailor Jerry, but there is always good stuff in them.

I am sure the book is fine, but the promo trailer looks like a Christopher Guest Mockumentary about tattooers.

My general rule is never go out and buy anything special for healing tattoos, I have aquaphor around for my son's diaper rash, so in the event I feel a healing tattoo might need something that is what I use. The other day I got a sample of some tattoo goo in the mail, it smelled and looked just like tiger balm, I can't imagine whatever this product is, that it's that much different or more effective than anything you buy at a drug store. In fact I would imagine mulit billion dollar health and beauty aid companies spend a lot of money making sure the skin healing products they put on the shelf are the best and most effective on the market. Do you really think some tattoo goo company is doing the same or has the same bankroll as say Johnson& Johnson ? I would imagine most reactions to these products are from overuse. If you think you have a magic potion in the bottle then using twice as much will heal the tattoo in half the time right? But then you are left with big scabs from not washing the ointment off before it dries and scabs and clogged pours.

Welcome to Last Sparrow Tron, we talked at the Portland Tattoo Convention in October at the Artwork Rebels booth, hope your move went smooth and you find a permanent shop soon. You still doing appointments at Fortune Tattoo?

There are people who are going to succeed at what they do regardless of what people say and there are those that will quit at the first sign of resistance. I think any non tattooer that has any chance of opening up a successful shop, is not going to be looking for advice on a tattoo forum or at least they shouldn't be. If a couple people on the internet are enough to squash your dream then it clearly wasn't meant to be. The other issue with the situation recently discussed is opening up a shop out of necessity vs opening up because it's a lucrative business venture. Not to mention the fact that no one involved has ever run a shop, so it would be the blind leading the blind. I think people put way too much emphasis on formal education when it comes to business and overlook real life experience when jumping into business ventures. Frith Street and New York Adorned don't happen everyday and they don't happen by accident. In general I stand by the idea that it's not a good idea for a non tattooer to get involved in a tattoo shop, and I am not going to say there are always exceptions to the rule because that would imply some sort of dumb luck for the shops who have succeeded, and thrived who are run by non tattooers, which couldn't be farther from the truth.

I really never considered this a traditional tattoo site, but more a quality tattoos site. Traditional is the sense maybe that we talk about people who have established themselves in the tattoo world, more than recent trends in tattoo design. Although some would say getting traditional tattoos is kind of in style right now, others would say they never go out of style. But ultimately I think people who do quality work in any style get a fair amount of respect here. But I guess this site can be a lot of different things to a lot of different people and regardless of how we see it, we all seem to be a fan of some of the stuff discussed here.

Futurama Head In a Jar App is what it's called I think. I just searched Futurama

So I was poking around on Instagram and saw that Henry Lewis was posting a bunch of funny pics of people as Futurama characters, low and behold I found the app for Iphone and started making some of my own. I did my close friends, family, guys at the shop, then the thought occurred me to make some of my favorite tattooers into Futurama characters. So I will start with the attached guys from Chicago Tattoo Company. I know that some of them aren't the best, but it is an app so there are only so many choices, but thought it would be fun to see how many of these we could do. I would advise that any one of these I make is for pure fun, and I would never create something that I wouldn't be willing to show the person in question in person. Let the games begin.

I thought the same thing about the pictures, the imagery seemed way too familiar, but I think it's just these are the things people get in this style, portraits of the joker, that spider, skulls ripping out of skin. I think the tattoo your friend wants could be a good fit for this guy, but I guess I understand your concern to some degree. I mean if it was me and I was traveling to NYC, this guy wouldn't be at the top of my list, probably because of style, and there are people here in Portland that tattoo in similar, not to say there aren't good tattooers everywhere, but I understand sometimes it's harder to find what you want in some parts of the country.

I understand you concern, as I don't recall Scott Sylvia traveling to NYC much, so a touch up probably not feasible, but I think if you leave it alone, just try to forget about it and let it do its thing. I have had much worse scabs that healed fine. I feel like the pigment is in there and should heal in there as long as it's allowed to do so.

I can only speculate, but I doubt Frith Street was started so someones 18 year old son could get an apprenticeship..

Could be clever editing, but I see an overwhelming theme of arrogance portrayed. I get the feeling from some that what happened it tattooing before them didn't matter because their art just blows it out of the water. No regards to fundamentals even though poor execution seems to be the theme week after week. I felt like Jesse started to get it last week when he did a traditional japanese tattoo, it was the first time someone really acknowledged that it wasn't really about them and their ego or style, it was about showing how well rounded you are as a tattooer. Then this week he started listening to the peanut gallery and now he is disappointed for selling out. The same thing goes for the whole "get some tattoos" conversation. The excuses are bull shit, if you have worked in a shop for 17 years and haven't got a tattoo, you aren't going to start doing it next week. It was just a way to placate the judges and it didn't work. It's a lot easier to convince yourself getting a tattoo is a good idea when you are young. Plus at this point why bother, I would trust a tattooer with 17 years experience that just start getting tattooed last week about as much as I would trust someone without them. In conclusion I don't think they could have gotten a worse representation of tattooers if they set out with the intent to do so.

Dude looks like a solid portrait/realistic black and grey tattooer. What are some of the things that concern you.

I would say I try to avoid companies who I have either moral dilemmas or conflicting viewpoints and in general I try to have the mindset of going to someone local vs a big corporation when possible, not even necessarily for moral dilemmas but for quality issues as well. One example is the Papa John's boycott. Personally I think the way he runs his company sucks and that's why his pizza and corporate pizza sucks in general, but I mean it's kind of a non issue, because their are so many ma and pa pizza joints around that make real pizza, why would anyone eat that garbage. I also understand the right of a business to run it as they see fit, as long as it's accordance of the law, but that does not go without my right to demand better pizza and support companies that are more part of our community. My moral compass does extend beyond the Pizza and even food, but I thought one example was enough.

I am no expert on this subject and not sure well how much support you need, but what about some sort of support camisole.

Upper inner thigh not that bad, not nearly as bad as chest, sternum, back, or foot for me. It can be a little tender to heal, but the tattoo itself not that bad.

I think what you are saying mostly, I just think most top tattooers would be much more well rounded if this kind of scenario ever posed itself. I think a lot of it is people paths into tattooing aren't the same and people aren't as concerned with the craft portion of tattooing as the art portion of it, so they end up just tattooing they way they draw, instead of learning how to draw tattoos. I look at all the top tattooers and I see a strong tattoo art influence even in people who have very unique styles. Look at Thomas Hooper known for his geometric black work, but also has a lot birds and skulls and other imagery you would find in a tattoo, drawn like a tattoo. I am not sure if my theory holds any weight, but it's a theory.

All I can say is fucking Craigslist? Really?

Greetings, where/who do you get tattooed by up in Seattle?

I feel like everyone has styles they prefer to do, but most top tier guys got to be top tier guys by taking parts of different style and making their own. It would seem like before people were known for a style they would have to make a living doing what walked int the door. For example Tim Hendricks is a great black and grey artist, but have seen some amazing traditional work posted by him as of late. Shoot I saw Freddy Negrete started a Japanese Sleeve on someone on Instagram. I don't think anyone expecting people to be flawless at every style, but asking someone to knock out a passable one shot tattoo in each style doesn't seem like that tall of an order. I think the general idea that most of the contestants don't seem to think they need to learn any other styles is the real problem.

Yeah this is the second time in Portland. It doesn't have the greatest production value , but there was some laughs for sure. I like to think they are trying to put on a show that resembles what the show would be like if the characters in the show had to organize a tour.

Last time I checked you would be the first one to follow me.

As do you Brock. BTW I know you aren't the douche I speak of in my first post, a little hyperbole goes a long way when trying to make a point though. Each person life is going to be their own to live and not everyone fits into a mold, but i think my viewpoint has been formed by the observations of the habits of young people today in regards to tattooing. I had a weird moment last night. I hired a baby sitter so me and the wife could go see The Trailer Park Boys live show. My regular sitter was busy so hired a friend of a friend, young girl probably 23-25. Everything went fine, but at the end of the night I noticed she had her knuckles tattooed, I had notice a couple small tattoos on her arms, but this one kind of shocked me. Needless to say my other sitter has a neck tattoo although, it was hard to spot as well because well she is black and her complexion doesn't show tattoos well. I found myself judging her for a second, and I found that weird, but still everything I had said about neck tattoos and hand tattoos applied except we weren't talking about some douche at the mall, these are pretty well spoken young women who I trust to care for my son. Needless to say I still think the tattoo choices aren't smart, but maybe that is what the kids are doing now days and maybe there is some sort of generational gap working even just in my generation and the last, although I would say I probably molded my viewpoint from people about 10-15 years older than me.

@Brock Varty I was trying to convey the accomplishment as something less tangible than a corvette. Anyone can buy a corvette, anyone can get a hand tattoo, but not everyone can create truly become a self made man and not just buy the t shirt that says they are. That is the lifestyle I am speaking of. Hand a neck tattoos should say "fuck the world" not "welcome to hot topic".

For the most part I would side with that opinion, but maybe include rock stars in that mix, but not to the point as I would turn someone away who wanted one, I would try to talk them into getting it in another spot, but adults can make their own decisions/mistakes.