Gregor

I am begining to think of it as a map with connections but no two places are the same. I first thought I would be all black and grey and still may, but now I am open to splashes of color and different styles. I have seen a few geisha masks recently that make me want to get one(loosely based of a picture of my daughter). The japanese stuff while spectacular is not my style. This however would be a meaningful piece to me and when its all said and done thats what matters, not if youve conformed to one style or theme for all of your tattoos.

I think uniformity is boring and I fully intend to be covered with a clash of styles from different artists . For me each tattoo is an individual piece of artwork not a part of a big jigsaw.

got my hand done by Chad Koeplinger when he was in Chicago like 3 weeks ago.
this was taken that night. sorry for the crappy cell phone picture.

Just finished a session today photo taken just before it got wrapped so still bloody and a bit distorted due to my phone angle

Just finished a session today photo taken just before it got wrapped so still bloody and a bit distorted due to my phone angle

Just finished a session today photo taken just before it got wrapped so still bloody and a bit distorted due to my phone angle

I dont like all that stenciley paint smearey stuff (buena vista tattoo club ?) stuff myself , seems very faddy , plus all the arseyness yoiu hear about them not giving you much input in the design seems a bit elite , maybe because the designs are so random/abstract ?

I dont like all that stenciley paint smearey stuff (buena vista tattoo club ?) stuff myself , seems very faddy , plus all the arseyness yoiu hear about them not giving you much input in the design seems a bit elite , maybe because the designs are so random/abstract ?

Personally that scratchy, graphic stuff gets too much attention as it is. I like it less than colour realism.
I don't think it belongs in tattooing, a way for an artist to express themselves on somebody else's body. I know the people ask for it and pay for it, but part of a tattooer's job it to stop people getting ugly shit they will want covered when they grow up and see real tattoos done properly. Actually, I apply that to anything that doesn't look like a tattoo. "how clever, it doesn't look like a tattoo"
I know this makes me sound like a dick, but I've seen it time and time again. I've even made some of the same mistakes myself, getting bold graphic crap that I thought made me special and clever. It didn't. It just ruined the space for a proper tattoo.
I think what Hooper does is capture the same urge to be bold and different but he executes it with an amazing eye for design and respect for the body, not to mention his work is filtered through his knowledge of tattooing as a whole.
Horses for courses I guess....

Geometric black & grey isn't really my thing but Tomas Tomas turns out some pretty amazing work. Apologies if he's already had a mention.

Age Your Own
Doesn't really say what kind of barrel it is, just that it's an aging barrel. I should probably just do it and see what happens but part of me just wants to return it to Costco and buy a $100 worth of good whiskey.