Lance

Great show as always! I'm jealous of all of you who got tattooed! Thanks for posting photos. I'm living through you. It's a constant battle for me going to this Convention as there are always so many fantastic artists to get work done from. Alas I'm still holding on to the idea of cohesive work by Jill Bonny so walking the floors with that awesome vibe in the air tempts and tortures me. That said, I'm happy I was able to walk away with a few new prints and reading material. I was hoping to score an original ink on handkerchief drawing from Mary Joy at Tattoo City but I showed up too late. There's so much good stuff there it's crazy. Can't wait till next year. @hogg, I saw you a couple times at the show, but you were busy talking to people so didn't want to interrupt. Sorry, I didn't get a chance to say hi. Ha ha, I really need to get better at introducing myself to people since I didn't get to meet more LST people ;-)

As usual, awesome. This series NEVER goes wrong with the music too! I always have to freeze the credits at the end to see what the music is so I can go searching for it.

I think I mentioned somewhere once that getting my butt worked on wasn't all that bad, well...I change my mind. That's over the top awful. Shading isn't bad, but having it outlined is horrible. Previously the artist outlined and shaded my right side for my backpiece, now she's starting on the left. This time I was squirming through the whole process. My body would just twitch involuntarily. That said it'll be nice when it's finished. It's odd walking around knowing you've one bum cheek completely covered in black and the other pale as the full moon ;-)

I'll be flying up Saturday and a portion of Sunday. Unfortunately, recent car repair bills will prevent me from even contemplating any new tattoos but I'm hoping maybe I can scrounge up for a new flash sheet or 2.

Thanks for posting. Saw this on Instagram too. I'll try to stop by for this one.

My parents were born in Hawaii, so I've plenty of family on the islands and go back every few years. There are actually a lot of tattoo shops and tattooed people so I don't think you'll get any harsh stares. If anything, I found it interesting that the last time I was there I got more than a couple of head nods from Locals. And it wasn't because Locals are crazy nice either. Enjoy your trip and be sure to have a "plate lunch" while you're there and if you find yourself in Maui, you've got to try "Guri Guri" in Kahului. It's a must have and everyone on the island will know what you're talking about if you ask.

Someone had to do it! And I'm glad someone's using her time to their advantage. If I didn't have other expenses tying me up I would have planned a couple more too. I've probably about 18-20 more hours left. I've a 4 hour session mid-September and another 4 hours Thanksgiving weekend. The latter might be cancelled if she feels like she's too far along. It's getting there. Can't wait to finish it. I'm already wracking my brain figuring out what's next. Ribs? Chest piece? My lower left leg? Then there's the Horitomo factor too. Seems you've got it worked out. Good on you!

So you're the reason why my backpiece won't be finished before she leaves! Snatched up all of Jill's openings, did you! Ha ha, lucky! And Horitomo too! Lucky x2. And the convention! Dang! Someones been planning in advance! That's awesome.

Went to the party yesterday. It was cool. Some nice prints by Horitomo for sale. I was able to snatch a copy of the cat tebori print and get it signed by him. I'd have bought his Yoshitsune warrior print too but I couldn't figure out a way to bring it onto my return flight to LA w/o damaging it. The place was busy w/ a lot of machines buzzing. So busy, that they were running short of tables to work on people. I got the back of my thigh worked on, and Jill finished up a namakubi there. I'm really digging it. Can't post a picture since I'm on my cell till I fly home. But it's on Jill's Instagram if anyone wants to check it out. Great seeing all the guest artists and seeing everyone working. I briefly talked to a couple of them and they're some really nice guys. Also saw @hogg. Great seeing you and talking at the party!

I'll be there on Saturday. But no one will notice. I'll probably be behind a screen. I've a session and I'll be getting me bum tattooed again. Sssssigh... No, seriously, there's some serious talent coming. This should be pretty cool so I hope I'll be able to poke my head out. Much congratulations to the SOG crew!

Quasi-related, is anyone planning on going to SOG's 10 year anniversary celebration this coming weekend (Sept 1-2)? It's looking to almost be like a mini-pre-convention of sorts w/ all the guest artists attending. Chad Koeplinger, Tim Hendricks, Ben Grillo, Chuey Quintanar, Eiland Hogan just to name a few. I've got to fit in another session w/ Jill this weekend :-)

Marry her! MARRY HER!!! ;-)

Wow...um, did anyone tell the Japanese that Koi symbolize homosexuality?! Maybe that's why there are so many koi back pieces out there. So when... Sssssigh (eye rolls)...Some people, how do they come up with this kind of stuff?

This is one of those times where one looks at this, knows they are conciously starring at man-ass but just can't take their eyes away from it nor do they care too. ;-) Insane work! INSANE!!! Congratulations on finishing it!

I saw that yesterday and instantly thought of this post. That Sir, is awesome. Lucky Bastard x3!

Thanks for posting the Hooper piece and instructions. Awesome Pantgers too!

Thomas Hooper posted an arm full of arrow tattoos on instagram earlier today. Pretty interesting/cool. Sorry I'd post, but no clue how to link from there. Maybe someone else who knows how can.

If one NEVER wants their tattoos to show even while wearing long sleeves, I'd suggest 3/4 length or shorter. Mine end about about 3/4" above my wrist bone and even with long shirt sleeves they poke out occasionally. It could be different for others though. For work I'm often pointing at things, whether it be a graphic on a computer screen, pointing at something pinned to the wall, or stretching across a table looking over a set of drawings during meetings. If you have to point go shorter.

Exactly! Try growing up as a little kid seeing this imagery. Then having to wait/spend 15 years to locate artists in the US capable of doing this kind of stuff (pre-Internet). Then wait another 8 years before you established yourself and made enough money to travel and get tattooed over multiple sessions. Agonizing :-)

Ssssigh, I ask a question and I never noticed the responses. Apologies. Probably the best attitudes and answers to have. Just get what you like, right? Doesn't really matter what others think, if you appreciate it. It's interesting though. I had asked because over time I've actually heard in daily life, online, and even in tattoo magazine interviews the gamut written in my original post. People either criticizing or applauding artists who coincide with the descriptions.

You absolutely nailed that one! I'm in that boat. I'm 100% happy with my current artist and the idea of going to someone else still freaks me out with regards to making things work cohesively. Hell, it's hard for me to sign up with HORITOMO because I have faith in my artist's ideas. I mean it's HORITOMO! And he's right there in the same shop too. I'm slowly working on freeing myself from this mentality but it's rough. Excuse me while I go breathe into a paper bag now.

Sorry, I have to do this. WOOHOOOO!!! I finally made it past 50 posts. Ex-Lurker no more!!! :-)

Dang! I actually am Japanese! Well 4th gen ABJ so I'm sure some Japanese think of me as being a plain ol "gringo". But gringo-fied or not I feel like I have to at least try to get it right. If I didn't it'd be like getting kanji that translates as a dinner menu instead of meaning "courage" or "honor". On non-Japanese it'll look odd and garner a few laughs, on someone ethnically Japanese it'll almost be tragic.

What @Duffa said in his post and like I said, I'm just plain anal, so don't mind me.

Ditto. No offense to the art or Hunter, but I honestly tend to be an anal traditionalist when it comes to Japanese tattoos. And those images were...not. Even as examples of modern takes on the subject matter, I wouldn't have thought those were Kirin at all if I just saw the image. Just something for Matt to think about.