Lance

Back side of my upper arms. Shading. Not lining.

1 more week! I can't wait! I think I have a session with Jill Bonny before the convention on Friday. Hopefully I won't be wiped out too bad by the time it starts. I should be there all day/night Friday and Saturday. For now I plan on going Sunday as well but may opt to get a short session in with Jill again before my flight in the evening. I'd love to meet up with everyone. @CABS, @cvportagee, and I tried this great Japanese place down the street last year. It's well worth it if anyone is interested in meeting for a bite or drinks. Feel free to introduce yourself if I havent met you previously. I'd love to meet other LST folks. I'll be a pudgy 'Steve Aoki' with glasses. Likely wearing dark colors. Black/grey sleeves. @MoistTowelette, are you working a booth this year? @beez, did the Shad appointment happen?

@Faolan, I'm not sure about colors symbolism in general within the Japanese culture, but if you're looking at old school traditional Japanese tattoos the color palette was fairly limited due to the lack of availability of colors to be used. As for seasons really old traditional styles used 1 season from what I've seen. That said there are a lot of rules. Not every tattoo family had the same rules and for that matter a lot of regions varied in rules as well. I'd find an artist knowledgeable about traditional Japanese and discuss what you're looking for with them. These days "traditional" seems to be just a word and as @Cork mentioned some artists work in a traditional manner by hand (tebori) but their graphic style is contemporary while others work completely by machine but their graphic style is akin to old tattoo designs. Then there are others who work by machine, their graphic styles are contemporary, but they adhere to following the stories and pairings, etc. If you're looking for über traditional, think long and hard about what you want and find the right artist. Some subjects do not pair well with others, while some figures or animals or plants pair extremely well with one another. Woops, I read Cork's response yet I pretty much just repeated it. Well I second his logic.

@TrixieFaux, wait! What? Derby Dolls are no longer in Filipino Town? When did that happen? Oh and your daughter is so much more cooler than I will ever be!

Congratulations @SeeSea! I dig Horitomo designed it stretching out. My childhood cats loved doing that when they found a nice patch of sunlight to lay in. The face is great cuz it's as happy a cat can be with all of its goodies. Also, yes, the pose accentuates its mer-catness. I wonder how many people now have a monmoncat here on LST? - - - Updated - - - @Scott R, man you get the good stuff for sure. Tough! Need to see that if you ever come back to the Bay Convention

@SeeSea, sorry I missed checking LST till now. I hope you were able to find something today in Japantown. Hukilau is pretty decent for hawaiian food and there's a Korean restaurant that's pretty good too. I can't remember the name however. Hope you found someplace to go though. In regards to things to do, I never went but Winchester House as you noted is an interesting place I hear. Also there's a ramen place called Orenchi (not in Japantown so you should yelp the location)that's supposed to be good. Taki painted the tables in the SF/Mission location. I can't wait to hear how it went and to see your new cat.

@Fala, so I have to ask does your body pain take your mind off of your tattoo pain? Cuz that could be a good thing. Ha ha! Actually when I was getting my back done, my neck would be killing me after the session. The shop was gracious enough to give me a pillow during sessions and I brought extra jackets or towels with me so I could roll them into a ball for when I needed it.

Oh no @sophistre, such bad timing. What a shame. Btw, I think you may be the only person I know in the PNW that actually has AC. Those 2 months of the year are scorchers though.

Absolutely stunning @RoryQ. Well worth the time it took. What do you have planned w/ Shige if you don't mind sharing? Oh and that ramen is a beautiful thing too. It has me craving for some.

Nice @SeeSea. I like how you have an ocean themed back piece and now your cat tattoo will have seafood as a link. That's going to be pretty exciting for you to see it the day you arrive. Can't wait to see it. I should probably mention I had my consult with Horitomo too. In October. My appointment is February 28th. I'm getting a pair of nekomata in my armpits. I also agree w/ @peaceridge. Horitomo sketches and brings subjects to life quickly. It humbled me to see just how fast he took an idea and scribbled seemingly random lines, and a few strokes later those lines formed a concrete image. I was worried my idea for armpits wouldn't work, and I think initially he may have been hesitant too. But he sat me down, and we talked about ideas, and he sketched while we talked and in the end what I saw had/has me super excited. @peaceridge remind me again, are you getting your back done?

Regarding upcoming tattoos, don't you have one coming up @SeeSea? I seem to recollect you saying you were getting tattooed by Horitomo before the end of summer. Have you seen a sketch of your monmon cat yet?

Ditto everything said here so far. I've had a couple of marathon sessions at different tattoo conventions. Mind you I can't vouch for those conventions with neon billboard advertisements off freeways as I've never been (and don't want to ever go to). Those I have attended, which were put together by individuals in the tattoo industry, the artists take pride in being professional and make sure you are comfortable and sanitary standards are met. I would agree some conventions are more laid back than others and getting tattooed at one has a lot to do w/ your own personality too as obviously there will be a lot of people walking around. Some taking photos and randomly you find yourself on the Internet (me, raising hand). Also some conventions have very loud music or entertainment which I'm sure can get old quickly (London, I'm looking at you. Still love ya though).

Short and precise. I like that. Ha ha!

@Sick, I think it's okay to ask an artist if there's something they'd like to tattoo. Some will go for it but others will want something more concrete to work from to start with. Ask them and they'll let you know. If an artist agrees to do this though and draws something up but you don't like it at all, then you've wasted his/her time. You may end up with a panther, an exploding feather, or a tanuki w/ giant testicles (minus the tanuki) but you asked for it because they felt like tattooing it. You may get a watercolor artist draw a traditional eagle because you're giving them an opportunity to switch things up. Worse case, you then feel pressured to get a tattoo on you that you dislike and the artist tattoos you none the wiser. Which you shouldn't get obviously. Or everything could turn out absolutely amazing and you get a tattoo that makes you do a happy dance. Personally I have never started completely blank. I have always given an artist something to start with cuz that's just me. It doesn't limit their creativity though. In the case with my back piece Jill Bonny completely changed what we had discussed at my consult. The subject was the same but after some thought she felt the idea we discussed was stronger carried out in a different composition. I was so blown away by the new image, I couldn't even begin to fuck with her head by making some wise ass comment. And I love me my wise ass-isms.

"I've been kind of interested in a foo dog.". Stewart Robson. Done! "Maybe a really excellent lady head?". Valerie Vargas. Done! the one-two punch! Aside from the convention they've both guested at Blackheart while in town the last couple years. You never know, you could win the golden ticket. Ha ha! But yes, you're right there's always an amazing roster of artists at this convention @sophistre. And any number of these people can and would do an excellent job. I am always happy to play the devil on someone's shoulder if they're debating a tattoo, so please don't mind me. Then, with this list of attendees I don't really need too. You'll just find yourself in a chair in a happy tattoo overloaded daze.Ha!

Oh holy mother of... :-O @cltattooing, that is...I just can't justly put it into words how good that is. And it's only the lines too! Wow! Congratulations! And at least for me, I whole heartedly agree with @BrianH. Line work sucks so good on you for pushing forward with that quantity.

Damn, @MoistTowelette. Is this cosmic let down bad juju for getting tattooed by EVERYONE last year? Ha ha! Bummer though. I was hoping Shige would be there and bringing some of his limited "Barekijin (sp?)" prints. Well, there goes that plan. Yakitori place for sure! If you're not inspired to pre-book with someone @sophistre, once you step in you'll definitely get an urge to get a little something. It's a hard thing to resist. I've only been able to withstand it by spending way too much on prints and books. Ha!

@Cork, so badass! Do you remember how many sessions and how long it took? Thanks for posting it all in one spot so we can appreciate the progression.

She's back now so I'm happy to get back in!

It's official. Jill Bonny is back and tattooing at Tuesday Tattoo in SF https://instagram.com/p/6aylW0pDc-/

@beez, thanks,'bout time this conversation gets started. It'd be great to get a meet up going. I'll definitely be up again this year. Initial plan, as usual, is to be there every day and I'm hoping to get a session in to start on my torso the day before or day it starts. Hopefully it won't knock me out. Aaand maybe I'll try again to get a walk up w/ Miyazo

Ha ha @CABS. In my defense my route is pretty much straight from home to airport to shop. I don't and would not randomly wander around city streets w/ a wad of cash in pocket. In my case the danger would pretty much be the same if I brought cash or stopped at a bank moments before. Except moments before someone could see me taking money out of my account and follow me. As always, anywhere, one should be aware of their surroundings and be careful. Tasers, pepper spray, and open carry may apply.  W/ regards to PayPal and such it's just a weird idea for me because every shop in my experience is cash only (bills in hand) so it never even occurred to me that it might be acceptable. Technology these days. Yup, I'm an old fart. This may be getting into the whole let's not advertise bit so I'll shut up now.

I'll usually bring money in with me the day of the appointment. To do otherwise just seems odd to me. I can't get used to any other way even if shops allowed it. The Credit card thing is just crazy talk for me. Sometimes I fly up w/ it, but I wake so early for my flights my brain doesn't work quite right and I forget to bring it (ssssigh...). Seeing as I usually fly up a few hours before the appointment I can easily stop off at a bank on the way in. I usually bring the exact amount (+ tip) though, so in cases w/ my usual artist, where we decide to push further than my scheduled appointment time, my artist has in the past let me find an Atm after the session. But that's likely because I've been going to her for a while and there's a level of respect and trust. Otherwise if I ever bailed on her, she'd tear me a new one. Ha!

@sophistre, damn that is absolutely amazing! I agree whole heartedly w/Graeme. BEST morph ever! so much fun going on.

Related, has anyone noticed the skin where they are tattooed feels warmer than non-tattooed skin under the sun? I felt that my tattooed skin was really burning under direct sun but thought perhaps it was my imagination being used to SF weather. The last 2 years, LA really is much hotter than I remember it being previously when I didn't have much coverage. When everyone is wearing scarves and a coat, I'm still wearing a tee cause I'm freaking boiling. Then a friend who was visiting from Seattle mentioned the same thing about her tattoos heating up. Anyone else experience this?