el_alquimista

current progress on my chest .
first pic. how it was.
second picture. how it looked after 2 treatments with a medlite II nd yag laser.
third picture. how it looked straight after laser with picosure. the bright blue side, got lasered the second time with picosure, the dark side, got lasered the first time with picosure.

another 2Days and 12 Hours of Tattooing :)

next week i'm gettin my "lasered" arm covered!
took the picture on the right, 2 days ago.
finally it's over after 1 1/2 years of lasering!

:)
i had 2 weeks ago another session on few spots on the arm.
in 40 days i have my first tattoosession for the arm... can't wait to get it covered!

Hey man, no problem.
On my lowerleg i had 2 sessions, then it was bright enough for him to cover.
since the last lasertreatment on the leg, i waited like 4 or 5 months.
on my arm i had in january the 5th session.
oh and markus lenhard is doing the new piece, he is from berlin. www.luxaltera.com

Hi all,
well, i want to show you guys my Laserprojects. i hope you guys understand me, because my englishgrammar is not the best (i never had english in school ;)
here are the pictures of my Lowerleg.
Before and during the laserprocess.
I started it in March 2011.
we started to cover it in December 2011.
The First Testlasering !

This was on the Inside

Outside and start of the first Treatment


And finally, it's almost finished! :)



And Here is my Current Project i started in november 2011. it goes to the end...
it was a full sleeve! almost 10 Years old... not really happy with it at all...




Current Status


Enjoy :)

From the same people who did this great interview with Mike The Athens, here's one with Tas who currently tattoos at Into You in London:
Tas Danazoglou | heartbeatink.gr

Sorry for the delay folks!
Winner of September 2013 Tattoo of the Month Contest is.......
@Rebushido
with the fantastic Tiger tattoo he got from Henning Jørgensen.

Congratulations Robin!!!
Thanks everyone for your submissions. Keep 'em comin!
Please PM @steve1461686340 with your shirt info (size and male or female) along with your address.
October contest will be up shortly :)

Here is my bleeding moon. I posted this a long time ago. Matt Brotka in Richmond, Virginia, but that fine gentleman is now at Left Hand Black in sunny San Diego.

Head Shot of my Panther by Chris Garver , Invisible NYC.
Adding Roses next session!

DEEEEEENNNOOOOOOO
at the Bay Area Convention of the Tattoo Arts
Dude was so cool, I had such a great time. I also got to practice my spanish and many laughs were exchanged. I asked about some of his tattoos, he asked about some of mine, overall a lovely experience. Also, my forearm now somewhat resembles a balloon. Ha

For a tattoo like that I would go to Jondix or not get it at all.

Why? It's their money and it will be on their body forever.
Asking for a specific tattoo to be done in a particular style or technique, to means the customer has some research at the very least.. Right?
Help me out here, what am I missing?
Personally I take an example if what I want, tell him what I want, how I want it to look and where I want it and he makes it happen.. Again, am I missing something here? Is there some kinda unwritten code where I gotta take whatever the artist wants to give me if I have no tattoos?
:confused:

You can't learn to swim by reading a book.
To expand on that again, tattooing is best experienced first-hand. Many times, here on this forum, in the shop I work at and conventions etc, someone has mentioned that they wish there was a book that had all the information they were looking for about a particular subject at that moment. It usually doesn't exist. You have to find it yourself.
With regards to tattooing and "tattoo culture" We're living in a folk art culture. We should embrace the folk art tradition of oral storytelling and first hand knowledge and be relieved that we not (yet) shackled by the literary bounds of other art movements, cultures and historical societies.
But to be more on topic, in a general sort of way...
I'd stick my neck out and say that any style of tattooing (until maybe around 2000-2010) is influenced by the popular culture surrounding the people who get those styles. Sailor Jerry cribbed movie posters and other advertisements for many of his designs between the 40's - 70s. Mike Malone used objects and paintings he found in Chinatown as reference for many of his popular designs. It stands to reason that Charlie Wagner would have used Edwardian style filigree ornamentation (from a variety of sources, jewellery included) in his designs.
The dotwork thing is slightly separate. During the first decade of the 21st century tattooing entered a more post-modern, referential phase where most styles of tattooing referenced or were influenced by earlier styles of tattooing. Except dotwork. I consider the work of Thomas Hooper, Xed Le Head, Jondix (I'd extend that to Duncan X) to be the only "new" style of tattooing since biomech in the 90's - but that didn't seem to catch on outside of tattoo culture the way their work did.
That's why I still bother to get involved when someone refers to dotwork as a "fad".
While it is imitated ad nauseam, we've alive to witness the birth of a new tattoo style that was influenced by disparate artforms outside of tattooing to the point where it works and it's possible to have a coherent bodysuit of that style. Pretty exciting stuff.

There was a thread about "dotwork" a while ago and I got fairly involved and possibly upset a few people. Check it out, I think I already answered the question posed by your thread title.
Also, the word "fad" is inherently insulting in modern usage - but you knew that already.
While researching tattoos, tattooing, tattoo styles, tattoo history and tattooers is interesting and probably fun. It's still kinda like researching swimming. Most of it's value comes from being involved, taking part, doing it, getting it done and having it be part of your life.
Then again... On a long enough time scale, ALL tattooing since Ed Hardy opened the first appointment-only studio is a fad. Sailors going to war, getting tattooed in Honolulu was a fad. High-Society Europeans shipping esteemed Japanese irezumi artists over to tattoo dragons on them in the 1800's was a fad. Internet forums will be seen to be a fad. Finally, tattoo customers stressing about being period-correct like vintage clothing aficionados will be seen to be a fad of the early 21st century.

Not getting something because it is a trend is just as bad as getting something because it is a trend.

For those who are not necessarily going for full-body coverage, do you ever think about the overall look you have as a tattooed person?
Like I imagine many people here, I am an appreciator of aesthetics, and when I consider getting new work done, I think long and hard about where to put it and how it will change the way my body looks in clothes, out of clothes, in swim suits, etc. It might be slightly different for females since we tend to have more variety in the clothes we wear (different cuts, lengths, dresses, etc.), but I do wonder... Do you pay a lot of attention to keeping your work balanced on your body? Do you take into consideration places on your body where you don't plan to ever get work? I guess one approach would be to prioritize the design, and pick the place on your body where that design fits best. Another approach would be to think about where you'd like to have tattoos, and pick designs you like that would flow well in those spaces.
This post is partially inspired by this thread about negative space with tattoos.
I am a huge fan of negative space and have spent a lot of time thinking about the best way and location to place substantial tattoos on my body, with space in between them. Some people might say this is overthinking it, but I can't help it, ha. I've considered putting most of my work on my left arm and right leg, leaving the opposites mostly clear. I've also considered mainly tattooing my torso and leaving my limbs mostly clear. When you think about it, following each of those two patterns would make for a really different overall look.
Maybe as a still-kinda-newbie to this world, I do think about this stuff too much, but I'm still curious as to others' thoughts :)

I have really been digging on Adam Guy Hays' tigers.

A few more hours put in on my back piece. Also did last night background from under the pits on both side to mid rib cage. All work being done by Rodrigo Melo from Northstar Tattoo NYC. Super stoked at the progress.
Mike

Hey fellas, hope you don't mind me entering since I'm new :O
Tattoo done by Nathan Herbert out of Austin, TX

Hey everyone, haven't posted much lately but finally have a reason to. Despite the new baby, found some time for a new tattoo. Artist Ryan Gagne, Classic Tattoo, Red Deer, AB. Thanks for checking it out.

I finally got a somewhat decent healed picture of my Gil Elvgren pinup done a couple of years ago by Shane O'Neill.

Hey everyone, I hear great things about this site.... Who else is on here?
I been tattooing almost 17 years, and I own Bound For Glory in Staten Island.

Don't think it has enough of the "wow" factor to win it this month but here is my entry:
By Todd Noble at the 2013 Montreal convention

And here is my entry for this month, my 'Tamatori-Hime' sleeve (the one with the octopus ) that we finished today (with a bit brutal 5 hour session.
This sleeve (and my other sleeve) are made by Bonel from Corazon Santo tattoo studio in Arnhem, The Netherlands.