David Flores

Here is my submission for this months contest.
My whole backpiece has been done in a 6-month period (just 31 hours in total) by Bonel from Corazon Santo, Arnhem, The Netherlands.

I also have a full size picture available HERE

I think this and some of the other amazing back pieces on LST are deserving of their own category.
Perhaps an annual contest to honor the insane dedication, time, and art. The winner gets a used, signed fundoshi.
Just a thought.

Never posted on this before but here is my barbershop quartet done by Steve Bryne at rock of ages Austin last July, it's not going to win but thought I'd share it with people

A Native American client put it in perspective the other day. She was looking around the shop and stopped at a sheet with some Pacific Northwest Native Designs. I asked her if she was interested in getting that type of tattoo, because I have a lot more reference in the back of that stuff. She replied "Anyone who takes a look at me can tell I'm Indian, I don't need a tattoo to say it, I want to get a Unicorn or a Pegasus, do you have any of those?" I told her we could draw one for her and she said "I've never been in a tattoo shop that didn't have a Pegasus or a unicorn on the wall." Fast forward, she leaves stoked with her bitching new tattoo.
First of all I want to know what shops she's been hanging out at, cause I want to see some awesome unicorn flash. Two I guess it makes sense, while lots of people get tattoos to represent their family cultures and background, others are looking to differentiate themselves and possibly even rebel against the common perceptions. I can see how some people could be sensitive towards stuff from their culture, but with all due respect if we all got tattoos based upon exactly who we are, we would all have the same tattoos (or else we would all have to join the navy or somehow turn Japanese). Look at most tattoo designs. So many animals tattoos are loosely based upon what they would look like in the wild, but very few would be a spot on accurate representation of the species nor is it really intended to be, plus I don't think they wear funny hats or smoke cigarettes either. It's tweaking old ideas that generate new ideas and keep old ideas fresh and new.

In all fairness, dude probably isn't in to tattoos just wanted that one for his wife. It's not like he was going to cover it with a dragon or a panther. Even considering that the tattoo couldn't get any worse, I think the outcome was pretty good for the guy. To paraphrase Joe Dirt, It's not about you, it's about the consumer.

Couple of sheets from the shop painted by Derek Ward. People have actually gotten quite a few off these sheets. I think he sells prints of these but it's a five sheet set combined with two halloween and one christmas sheet.

I am totally getting my knee webbed, just decided.

I am totally getting my knee webbed, just decided.

The price is the price, whatever it is. It all depends on how bad you want to get tattooed by someone. Just for the record, Chris Garver over Gogue all day every day in my world. I can respect what Gogue does and his artistic ability, but not the kind of tattoos I would want to wear, but again just personal taste. I think the best Gogue tattoos I have seen are on Nikki Kasper from TAM. she wears them well. What can I say I am a sucker for tattoos that look like tattoos.

@slayer9019 I think I could have explained it a little better. For me at least it's kind of when it kind of defines reason. When someone is doing essentially the same thing as other people, but for some reason the way they do it just does it for me, more than other people. Richie Clarke, John Collins, Virgina Elwood all have their own style but they are all styles a lot of people have or are very similar. I guess what I am getting at, is when I see what is essentially the same piece of flash I have seen tattooed a hundred time, but for some reason this one just seems more desirable than the last 99 times I saw it. It may not even be drawn different, but some sort of invisible force around the tattoo just makes me think it's the best thing since punk rock. Keep in mind all this is subjective, but for me Grime doesn't do that for me. I think his an amazing tattooer, and arguably one of the best, but I feel like every time I look at a Grime piece I feel like their was a lot of effort made to for me to know it was a Grime piece the first time I saw it, which is amazing because a lot of the time he pulls that off.

Not neccesarily just the eyes, but when somoene is getting a backpiece, usually work on filling in the background before the main image, because most people would be willing to walk around with a finished dragon and unfinished background but not vise versa.
I personally like what @reverend1 said better though.

Most people I just simply tell them they watch too much TV and I don't want to talk about my tattoos because they bring up a dark part of my life and I paid my debt to society. Either that or that I was really drunk and don't remember why I got them.
In the shop talking to customers, I usually use a sports analogy. I explain that tattoos are what I follow, like most would follow a sports team. Can you imagine being able to book a couple hours with your favorite sports star and have a permanent souvenir. The experience holds more meaning than the tattoo,but the tattoo is a reminder of the experience. I usually let the tattooer pick the image, because I want a tattoo that represents their style, so I remember where I got it from.
They either get it or just continue to mouth breath, until I start talking about their idea again, but either way it shuts them up. I think the most important thing is having people in real life an on the internet to vent about these things and understand we to some degree go through the same things having tattoos.

I couldn't stop laughing when I read this. It's funny how a term sticks. To answer your question in the best way I know how, I would say it's the equivalent of full sleeves, but below the waist. I never really paid attention to the official definition, but that is how I understand it.

Funny I typed "the only way I could see making that better would be to cover it with a big panther" and got distracted and never posted it. So i guess great minds think alike.

Two Koi, one hitting it from the back , both covered in tribal tattoos. On an unrelated note I saw the funniest bumper sticker the other day on a Toyota Tacoma. it said "4BEAR4" and yes their were many rainbow stickers on the back window to verify that is what he meant by it. I thought it was genius, I mean really he likes to hang out with guys and 4 wheel just like any other guy. It's great to live in a city like Portland where people just don't care.

Having my full name is kind of weird, I agree. It kind of makes you go high profile automatically and in my opinino makes me look like I am trying to be a big deal.Would prefer to have a username but now that I am signed up and settled I am indifferent about it.

She looks more like a Camry to me.

She looks more like a Camry to me.

I think it goes beyond the price haggling and complaining, you have to size someone up as they walk in the door, how they are dressed, what they drive up in, what kind and how much source material they have with them, what their other tattoos look like and how they conduct themselves as a person. If they act like a cartoon character or try to come off as super cool or do they interact with you like a normal person. My main red flag even if they pass the other tests is when someone says they would never get something off the wall, that means they might be more likely to be difficult when it comes to the drawing. But we try not to turn away business and deal with most people, i would say price haggling is the only real deal breaker and once a number is thrown out there it never goes down. If someone is going to be a pain in the ass, you should at least get paid what you are worth for it and price will weed out a lot of crazy and hopefully avoids the scenario of losing your cool on a customer. But don't be mistaken, some people need to be kicked out of a tattoo shop, but most people don't they are just sensitive yuppies who need a little extra attention.

Welcome to the forum, Hope you find it helpful.
The first thing that stands out to me is the idea the whole I don't need an expensive artist to do my tattoo, which in part is true, but you do need a good tattooer to do a good tattoo, not all people who are good are expensive and not all expensive are good. I think people assume they they have to settle for lesser quality tattoo. The price of a tattoo is relatively small in regards to how long you will be wearing it, and a cheap wrist tattoo and an expensive one, aren't going to vary that much. Also I have found professionals are way more efficient with their time and end up costing less in the long run, even if their price is more per hour.
Second, what is the image in the tattoo reference you posted. Not trying to be a smart ass, but it's hard to ask someone to create a custom tattoo of a design that really doesn't have a description. I think people gravitate towards these ideas because they can't commit to an actual image on their body, or don't know what they want, I would say this is the reason there were so many tribal tattoos in the 1990's. That being said, these types of designs can make a nice tattoo if you find the right tattooer, you probably just need to find someone with a knack for this kind of design or still has their Spirograph from when they were a kid. Just saying may not be the design to price shop on.
You could draw something yourself, but I have always found it best to advise people to let tattooers design tattoos, even those who are artistic, hence the expression "artists pay double", nothing set in stone, just all things to consider.

I think it goes beyond the price haggling and complaining, you have to size someone up as they walk in the door, how they are dressed, what they drive up in, what kind and how much source material they have with them, what their other tattoos look like and how they conduct themselves as a person. If they act like a cartoon character or try to come off as super cool or do they interact with you like a normal person. My main red flag even if they pass the other tests is when someone says they would never get something off the wall, that means they might be more likely to be difficult when it comes to the drawing. But we try not to turn away business and deal with most people, i would say price haggling is the only real deal breaker and once a number is thrown out there it never goes down. If someone is going to be a pain in the ass, you should at least get paid what you are worth for it and price will weed out a lot of crazy and hopefully avoids the scenario of losing your cool on a customer. But don't be mistaken, some people need to be kicked out of a tattoo shop, but most people don't they are just sensitive yuppies who need a little extra attention.

My first tattoo...the tattooer explained to me that he does his drawings the night before to keep the idea fresh in his head to make the tattoo (and this is very typical from all the tattoos I've received in the last 10 years). So I showed up on the day of the appointment, saw the drawing and asked the gentleman to redraw/fix a few minor details. By the 4th time he said "Look kid, I'm not going to redraw the Last Supper. You want a tattoo today or not". Best advice I ever got and one of the strongest tattoos on my body.
Moral of the story, if you don't ask you will not get an answer. But if you ask for something nitpicky be prepared to accept no for an answer if you still want the tattoo.
Unless you asked last-minute to add a penis onto your tattoo. Then the answer will always be yes.

That makes a little more sense, it was a coverup and trying to freehand a star, I honestly was just at the park with my son thinking no one would try to free hand a nautical star, that would be ridiculous. That makes things kind of complicated for sure. The argument could be made that she did the best she could or something of that nature. As far as forfeiting the $650 deposit, situations like this are the reason you don't leave $650 tattoo deposits, it's just not a good idea, but it sounds everything is on the up and up and your other tattoos should turn out fine. Worst case you are just going to have to get a bunch of tatoos around it so it blends in.

Its been awhile, but thought I would stop by here. I think ultimately you have to pick and choose how to deal with the situation. Our shop we try to show everyone a design that is about 75% drawn before we set the appointment. Sometimes that is not possible because of people traveling, and walk ins we try to just draw on the spot, as long as it feasible. No artwork leaves the shop and we don't allow people to take pictures so they don't price shop with it. I think subconsciously if you make people wait to get tattooed and don't show them the drawing they might be less likely to have you make changes, but on the other hand, but having to reschedule their appointment to redraw something and not making any money is not an ideal scenario either or even worst bumping your evening appt who had no problem cause you had to redraw your afternoon appt.
On the other hand letting people go home and think about your drawing, sometimes backfires as well, you end up with someone who stops in every day the week before an appt with a new idea or something they saw on the internet and you have to try to bring them down to earth and keep them focused. Ultimately the goal is for everyone to be happy with their tattoo and the shop to stay busy and profitable. Redrawing tattoos is going to happen no matter what, so it's just a matter of how a shop or tattooer chooses to deal with it. As a customer I would encourage people to be reasonable and listen to the tattooer, but always speak up before the tattoo is applied, because afterward is too late.

Its been awhile, but thought I would stop by here. I think ultimately you have to pick and choose how to deal with the situation. Our shop we try to show everyone a design that is about 75% drawn before we set the appointment. Sometimes that is not possible because of people traveling, and walk ins we try to just draw on the spot, as long as it feasible. No artwork leaves the shop and we don't allow people to take pictures so they don't price shop with it. I think subconsciously if you make people wait to get tattooed and don't show them the drawing they might be less likely to have you make changes, but on the other hand, but having to reschedule their appointment to redraw something and not making any money is not an ideal scenario either or even worst bumping your evening appt who had no problem cause you had to redraw your afternoon appt.
On the other hand letting people go home and think about your drawing, sometimes backfires as well, you end up with someone who stops in every day the week before an appt with a new idea or something they saw on the internet and you have to try to bring them down to earth and keep them focused. Ultimately the goal is for everyone to be happy with their tattoo and the shop to stay busy and profitable. Redrawing tattoos is going to happen no matter what, so it's just a matter of how a shop or tattooer chooses to deal with it. As a customer I would encourage people to be reasonable and listen to the tattooer, but always speak up before the tattoo is applied, because afterward is too late.