The Tig

I would like to think many a good times started with this introduction

In the spirit of "fuck-it" I present my left leg. @gougetheeyes now we can feel weird together.
Snake/torch by El Monga last summer at spider Murphy's
Candle/Skull by El Monga March of this year at tattoo city
Cattle Head by Stefan Johnsson Jan of last year at California electric
Planning a panther on the knee at some point but it'll have to wait a bit. The other leg has some odds n ends on the thigh, but not enough coverage for me to feel it can hang in this thread yet!

Blaming @Graeme for this one since he posted his hairy man legs on instagram. I'm sure those famous legs Stuart at Spider Murphy's has filled up has given everyone the itch to do the same.. Or seeing Henning's work on those meaty thighs of @ironchef if you're going the Japanese route. But I'll tell ya, I'm real happy with how my short little legs are coming together and thought I'd get the ball rolling by saying fuck it and posting my hairy dude legs. Kinda weird, I know. Maybe I'll get weirded out and edit out the photo... Maybe (definitely) @MrsGougeTheEyes will yell at me and roll her eyes forever.
But fuck it, here's a shot of the front of mine. In the kitchen. Visible tattoos by Andy Perez (@Perez), Todd Noble, Oliver Peck, Nash Hogan, Jake Fraser, Scott Sylvia (@ I forget your LST name brother), Bailey Robinson, Sophie C'est LaVie.. There are some on the back and some on the sides that are tough to see but this will suffice for now.
@slayer9019 I know you're squidding it up slowly but surely and @else I just went back and read your intro thread. Totally totally awesome, especially with how everything's gone. (It's here for anyone who wants to take a gander.. http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/forum/initiation/3283-changing-way-i-see-myself.html)
Now let's see those legs!! (So I don't feel so weird..)

I think of tattoos more as a hobby than a luxury.
A luxury is something I treat myself to when I have time/money/cravings (I'd sell my mother for some chocolate ice cream at the moment.)
A hobby is something (IMO) that I find important enough to make time/money for. Yep, my car is a piece of shit. Yes, I'm pretty broke at the moment. But I wanted more tattoos, so I made the effort, cut back on frivolous spending, and got some tattoos.
Those tattoos will outlive the new clutch my car needs; I'll still be enjoying them 10 years from now, when I'm doing something totally unrelated to my goals at the moment.
Lets face it, life is super unpredictable. I'm gonna do what I enjoy, cause if I have a heart attack and die tomorrow, my tattoos will be in the box with me... my savings account won't.

Thank you so much! NJ is only fun in the summer haha. Well if you ever plan on coming around shoot me an email through my website! Thanks again
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Thank you! Much appreciated!

As usual, I really liked Kruseman's (fangirl, I guess). He did exactly what he should have and his was the only really readable design and would age the nicest. I was pretty bummed that the jury criticized it for being "just a rose," I'd much rather have a nice clean rose than 50 different components crammed into one muddy tattoo. People have no respect for the classics. Tyler's was shockingly bad, like scratcher level bad. And I'm so sick of his "I don't normally tattoo this subject, this skin, etc" shit...what DO you do?
Things I would love to see the show do away with: the jury, and the entire existing format pretty much. The jury adds nothing to the show and it's always pretty shocking to see them vote someone the worst of the day when the judges thought they were one of the best. Just goes to show how little the average person knows about tattoos, I guess. I really feel like it contributes nothing and is pretty mean spirited. I would hate to have my brand new tattoo dissected by a bunch of people on TV and I always feel bad whenever someone is brought to tears during it. There's just no need to make someone feel so bad about something that wasn't even their fault...most of the time they didn't pick the artist and didn't impose the time limits.
As for the format...I've always hated the skull pick thing. This isn't how tattooing is done, unless you're a world famous artist who has the luxury of declining inquiring people, you pretty much have to try to do whatever comes in the door or send it to someone else in the shop at least. I would like the show a lot better if people chose their artist. It's always kind of mind boggling when the show actually does that (like the last episode with the football players) and all the artists act like it's the worst thing ever...uh, isn't this how your shop is run back home? And if they actually got a decent amount of time to consult with them, if they broke the sittings up over more days, etc...anything to make sure the tattoos were the best they could be. Someone who isn't on the level of the other artists is still going to suck, whether they have 1 hour or 30 hours to do a tattoo. At least then it would give people more of a chance to get decent tattoos and do the craft more justice. And of course, they could get rid of as much drama as possible and I wouldn't bat an eye.

here are some of my tattoos rufio
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The ones visible here are done by Bunshin Horimatsu, Jondix, Jonas Pedersen, Iain Mullen, Cheyenne Sawyer, Matti Sedholm, Alex Reinke Horikitsune

Many years ago I think I may have been particular, but in the end...man, it was just all about the coverage. Power lines, bold, slam the fucker in. A crocodile over the ribs you say? Sounds good to me. A pipe smokin' wizard smacked on the side of the neck? Fuck yeah. But in saying that, after years of being tattooed by the one person, he just knew what suited me as much as I did.

@heathenist I think "a trippy Jesus head" sounds pretty good as a request. Way better than "I want something to represent my family, my place in the world and how I developed as a person. Please also include a shark"

so it does turn out great when you tell the artist to do what they want,this is what Alycia Harr at Classic Tattoo in Grass Valley California did on my upper arm/shoulder.I just got it finished on Monday ,I am very happy with it..
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My recent tattoo and my previous tattoo were done 17 years apart. That's a pretty long time for us.
During that time a divorce (and child support) and then another marriage have kept my money away from most luxuries. Plenty of great times happened in between tattoos with my priorities and responsibilities being all over the place. The whole time I kept putting my next tattoo off, but it was still nagging me in the back of my mind... I finally gave in and am extremely happy with the new addition to my skin. I feel more alive. More confident. I want to keep "expressing myself" for lack of a better term.
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Here's something to think about:
How many objects do you own that are relatively old, as in stuff you've had most of your life?
I'm 52 and only a very few objects I've had more than 30 years. I've seen so many things I once thought were important become distant memories. Cars, bikes, guitars, clothes, and even some art are all gone.
So, I love the longevity of tattoos, even my 25 year old tribal bear paw print on the shoulder. The commitment runs deep when it becomes a part of you.

I like alliteration, assonance and words that rhyme but don't normally go together. Awful waffle. Enemy anemone. Sourpuss octopus.

I was going to wait until retirement to go past the elbow, but I am starting to think it's close enough!

Mine is @ItsNewport
My instagram is kinda fucked for now as my camera is unable to focus, but you can check out the Viking skull i got from Tony Hundahl on his instagram - it's the one with the red lightning running through it

My mom still gives me a stink face when she sees a new one, so I don't tell her about them. I don't hide them, but I don't constantly update her. When she found out I went to Austin (I'm in NYC) for the sole purpose of getting tattooed, she was pretty pissed, though, and served me her A+ guilt-trip game.
Her and her siblings (my uncle and aunt) all seriously dislike tattoos. Yet all their kids have them. It's a bit of sore point for them, but what are you gonna do.

I've been tattooed by dozens of people, and I wouldn't trade those experiences.
That said, after seeing this arm by Paul Dobleman, I wish I had given him a full limb:

I recently completed my right sleeve (an 18 month project), and with two exceptions it was done by multiple (5) artists from the same shop.
For the most part, it chronicles my time I spent caring for my wife as she battled and lost her life to brain tumors.
The folks at Envy Skin Gallery "get it" and made me a part of their family. I cannot thank Billy Hill and Company enough.
Fuck Cancer.

I have a really frequent client, female, who comes in and goes, "So. I want a cutie mark."
I looked at her and all that could go through my mind was, "You can`t say that in a tattoo shop..."
It hurt my mind.
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I have a tiger on my hip/thigh by Dave Resp. Hurt way bad but looks amazing.
To answer the original question, unless it's like a Coleman or Grimm style head I prefer the whole tiger. It's so powerful a design when you see the whole thing. Unlike the panther which looks awesome as just a head.

Dealing with my dying father these last few months. I took a major break from all things online in order to focus on getting through this. Its been a very rough patch, and I've been going from acute care facilities to job interviews and trying to keep above water.
I apologize for leaving so abruptly.

@Boiled Dove = you'll have some good tattooists to choose from there :)

I just accepted a new job. I will be moving to Dallas in mid October, family will be staying in Indiana for a while. It is going to be a huge change but it something that has needed to happen for a while. '

Clever bird name! :D
A year ago, I was out in the back yard with the dogs when I see a green parakeet land on the porch. The seed feeder was empty and he was looking for food. I managed to keep the dogs back when the chihuahua walks right up to it and the bird didn't fly off. I do the same and reach down. It hops on my hand! Obviously a hand fed pet that was released or escaped and will die outside, being so tame.
I think the word has gotten out among animals that our house is a sanctuary (we have 5 adopted dogs and 3 cats). We bought him a female to keep him from getting lonely. He moved in on her right away, preening her face and playing Barry White records. Sadly, he no longer jumps on our hands and instead protects his woman.

This was next to my step daughter's house in the very funky San Leon area, birthplace of the Bandidos MC. Mrs. T and I spoke with the other neighbors and realized that if we didn't do something, Marshall would continue to suffer and possible die if untreated (she's a nurse and I'm a retired firefighter/medic). It wasn't even a choice.
This also keeps the step daughter out of the line of fire if the next door property/mule owner get pissed off since they will likely face a fine.

Granddaughter's 6th birthday party yesterday.

We noticed that "Marshall" the mule next door was in distress. We found he had a 2 1/2" infected cut on his lower leg. The owners disappear for weeks at a time so we had to call the SPCA. The poor guy can barely walk and needs immediate medical care.