hogg

I botched it, guys. I thought I picked an image that didn't have a 13 on it so I didn't even worry about it. Didn't see the 13 in the smoke til after the tattoo. And...I'm...not...new...at...this.
But whatev, it's a cool tattoo. Pic shortly.

Today's work was intense, and we still have a bit left to go!
Yoni Zilber at NY Adorned.
https://www.instagram.com/p/-Cj6--MGq7/?taken-by=yonizilber

I have been hitting tough spots lately - collarbone, inner bicep, stomach
nothing compared to ribs imo but still tough
another inner bicep comng up in december
ah if only they all felt like the forearm

Scott Sylvia dagger going.on my leg in an hour.
Holy shit folks. So stoked, I'm like a fucking campfire.

I just finished this on my back calf, with Rob Ryan at Temple. Having him do a Divine Mother in the presence of Freddy was a bet. Friends don't understand why I'd want this as an agnostic... shrug.

i would caution with the japanese windbar, cloud background as an afterthought to filling in a traditional sleeve.
it looks awesome, but I would expect a need to design with this background in mind with the initial layout and composition of trad tattoos . If you put a heavy black background around traditional tattoos that already contain a lot of black you will reduce the overall contrast and readability of the overall arm.
I guess the dots can create a similar issue, too much will reduce contrast. I've also read suggestions to select one artist to do all the filler dots insteady of many, to maintain the overall consistency.
i've got tattoos that blanket all the major areas. I'm filling in the holes with fun small tattoos. I've got negative around my chest bird that I would like to eventually fill in, but my tattooists have suggested NOT blacking in all in and instead leave as is or fill the centre halo part with a bright yellow to maintain contrast.
the other 2 thread links are great reads...
cheers

Texas style devil sparrow, Charley Marquez at True Blue, ATX.

I heard this site existed awhile back, but thought I'd actually check it out. A friend and I were talking about how we miss the read street forum, so thought this would be cool. I tattoo at a shop in Lincoln, Nebraska called Iron Brush. Been here about a year. Tattooed for almost 19 years prior to that in Kansas City at various shops (Freaks on Broadway, and Exile most recently). Anyways, been building machines for just over a year. Always tinkered with mine and coworkers to make them run like I wanted them to, but just decided I really, really wanted to learn all I could about the craft. I've sold several machines so far in Kansas City, and all over Oregon when I was there couple months ago. Anyways, I won't bore ya to death with anything else for now ha.
Justin Sims

i've heard it called the bent back girl or bent back skull. first time i saw it was in this animation called "The Devil in Denim."

oldest reference i've seen is from Milton Zeis, Tattooing As You Like It.
there are some awesome versions of it. this DETH version tickled my fancy, so i copped it. can't remember the title of this piece at the moment, but i'll track it down.

Well it's been a year since I've had my back worked on and per our usual fall schedule, Henning was in town and this time we FINISHED my back! Some of you might have seen the updates via Instagram. So happy with this collaboration between Henning and Rubendall being completed! WARNING, PIC HEAVY!!! Put your browser on FULL SCREEN!
The master himself, Henning Jorgensen. Such a great artist and humble man.

Filling in the phoenix...tail feathers, breast, head and a few touch ups here and there.

Such a pleasure watching Henning work. I was so stoked with the zebra/tiger striped pattern he chose for the remaining tail feathers.

Touch up on a tender spot...the spare tire.

Slowly getting there.

Details details details...

Close-up of the phoenix...beautiful!

Full view from my right side. There was poor lighting inside since it was dark out, so they propped me up on a table and surrounded me with lights.

A quick reminder of the work Mike Rubendall did on the lower half of this collaboration. LOVE his water!

Another angle of my lower half.

Here's the finished top half.

Finished full back in all it's glory. My back is a sea of colors! Hope everyone enjoyed my show and tell! (don't mind the feet on the left or right, hahaha)

by George Campise

Each first time I see this Jeff Srsic snake & peonies back piece, my jaw stays dropped.

This series of backpieces by Chris Brand fits nicely in this thread.

Been thinking about this recently with a blank right arm and left leg. I started with Horitomo on my back, and finished a black/gray front with Rich Hardy. My left arm and right leg are almost covered in colored American traditional from different artists. Thinking about doing Japanese folklore in American style patchwork, on my right arm. Hard to say.

Originally, maintaining "symmetry" was the mission objective for my tattoos.
Now...10+ years and 201 hrs later, on the homestretch to full-blown donburi !
Overall look...live up to my Jamaican street name "Colouring Book" :cool:

Unfortunately, I'm missing the opening... I won't be in town until tomorrow a bit before noon (then leaving just after midnight... life in the fast lane). My parents are there on their first trip further than Oklahoma or Missouri, having the honeymoon they never had, so if you see a lady with red hair with a long haired fellow with a wolf on his throat, he will definitely be happy to talk your ear off about getting tattooed by Charlie Cartwright 30 years ago!

Have a look at my friend Iain Mullen who works at Imperial Tattoo. He's been tattooing for something like 17 years, can tackle anything really and is really good at listening to his clients (but without making compromises that will make the tattoo worse) and traditional japanese is what he does best. He did my back piece with Rudy Fritsch and probably about 7-8 other tattoos on me. Highly recommended and say hello from me!
@iainmullen on instagram

Hello you guys i'm 39 from lisbon, portugal. Being tatted since 2000. Just here to see new ideas and share my thoughts. kind regards

I am slammed at work, yet I just read this entire thread. And I'm glad that I did, because there's some great back and forth in it. Thanks to everyone who posted something good here.
I don't count my tattoos, but I do keep a list of who has tattooed me. Two weeks from today, I'm getting something from someone who's been on my wish list for a few years now. He'll be artist #42 for me. Then again, I started getting tattooed 20+ years ago. Some of the names on that list are very well-known. Some of them are complete unknowns. One of them is no longer alive, two of them have since stopped tattooing, and three of them were shit on in the this thread's first post. ;) Not a single name on that list makes me better (or worse) than anyone else who gets tattooed. But every one of them is a part of a story--my story. Just as every tattoo I have comes with a story of its own. I love meeting people and sharing stories, which is part of what I love so much about getting tattooed and hanging out with awesome people like so many of you.
I'll stop rambling now, but thanks again to those of you who made this thread worth reading.

I had Ben Grillo jam in a little black and gray skull in a rose between some other pieces on my arm. I'm very happy with it.

He also added an itsy bitsy spider and some single-needle webs on my elbow:

Or Josh Arment. My friend got her legs filled in by him and they look incredible. Just search for "Josh Arment" on Flickr and you'll see all her dots (she has direct linking disabled).

Agreed! And I'm a Chuang Tzu fan myself.

this reminds me of the funniest things i remember Garver saying on Miami Ink (i apologize for being a tattoo TV watcher). anyways, he was tattooing a tiger with cherry blossoms on some 18yr old kid and the kid's mom was there the whole time. as he was coloring it, he said he added the surprise of an all pink cherry blossom for the kid's mom. the mom thought it was cute and they were all laughing it off and Garver slips in, "what's wrong with pink?! some of my favorite things in the world are pink." The mom and kid didn't catch it and Garver just had a sly smile.
OK.. back to the topic. i was kinda interested to know when koi swim upstream, so i asked lord google and this was the first link: http://jamesthen.com/the-rules-of-the-japanese-tattoo/ there's a lot of information out there online, but as @Cork mentioned, the right tattoo artist will know these answers.
One of the right tattooers just so happens to write books. This is a good start for $20... Bushido: Legacies of Japanese Tattoos: Takahiro Kitamura, Katie M. Kitamura: 9780764312014: Amazon.com: Books
when i got my dragon koi from Jill Bonny, she let me know that it is actually a Chinese legend, not Japanese. makes sense, since the legend takes place in the Yellow River in China. mine has maple leaves.
you can try to find pics of body suit pics from reputable traditional japanese tattooers and see what kind of themes they stick with and what kind of themes they mix.
but again... find the right artist and trust 'em.

Here's my latest, courtesy of Karrie Arthurs: https://instagram.com/p/9NAjS4Iwu-/

Thought I would also upload and share this dope action shot. Plus you can catch a peak at my backpiece that's about 5 months settled in as well as Len's great hair lol ;)

Another reminder that it is the tattoo experience as whole - that truly makes the tattoo. that's what matters. Tattooing is a very powerful, deliberate and permanent act and series of events.
Last Wednesday was an incredible day. My work in the morning. Popping into the tattoo shop to just to say what's up and casually flipping through Len's book - I have 3 tattoos from Len now and each one was a spontaneous act with permanent results. Going and getting a dope haircut so I didn't get a cheap $25cent razor fade (found a new barber, an older black gentleman, he shared his cool snake tattoo on his dark skin, he got in 1967!). My tai chi practice in the park. An encouraging doctor's appointment. The boys keeping the shop open into the evening to accommodate me (shout out to Champion Tattoo Edmonton). The stencil and re-stencil to get the placement just right. The first 30 seconds when I thought holy shit man, this is brutal have I gone too far? Bishops Green on the stereo. Tattoo talk with the boys. Sweating through the table. Feeling my nose about to get crushed sideways on the table. the post-tattoo newport smoke, the vulnerability and the satisfaction with the end result. The morning after when the shower water hit the back of my raw tattooed skin. Even today walking down the street, walking proud and tall with this new tattoo. Hearing the lady behind me in the crosswalk whispering out loud 'damn that's a nice tattoo' to herself. Seriously, I am really buzzing off how this one turned out.
The butterfly symbolism is pretty obvious.
But also this:
I dreamed I was a butterfly, fluttering about, to all intents and purposes a butterfly. I was conscious only of my happiness as a butterfly. Soon I awakened, and there I was, myself again. Now I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly, dreaming I am a man. -Master Zhuang
I became aware of this taoist quote the morning after receiving my tattoo, and I too had the butterfly dream leading up to this spontaneous tattoo. I found it very fitting, not just in the context of the rest of my tattoos, but in terms of some personal growth I have been making over the last few months. And here comes this profound tattoo experience from a simple design that carries some complex symbolism to me, providing enlightenment when I needed it the most.
Thank you LST for providing a medium to share the tattoo experience together !