Stewart Robson

Part One is finished people...
Copperhead Editions | FST: On the Shoulders of Giants – pt 1 DVD
USA folks will need to wait a little for the NTSC version, sorry. Although it will be available to watch online from 17th Feb.
Parts Two, Three & Four well.. don't hold your breath... They'll come eventually - remember, I'm a one man band.
Thanks for the interest so far.

Part One is finished people...
Copperhead Editions | FST: On the Shoulders of Giants – pt 1 DVD
USA folks will need to wait a little for the NTSC version, sorry. Although it will be available to watch online from 17th Feb.
Parts Two, Three & Four well.. don't hold your breath... They'll come eventually - remember, I'm a one man band.
Thanks for the interest so far.

Part One is finished people...
Copperhead Editions | FST: On the Shoulders of Giants – pt 1 DVD
USA folks will need to wait a little for the NTSC version, sorry. Although it will be available to watch online from 17th Feb.
Parts Two, Three & Four well.. don't hold your breath... They'll come eventually - remember, I'm a one man band.
Thanks for the interest so far.

Part One is finished people...
Copperhead Editions | FST: On the Shoulders of Giants – pt 1 DVD
USA folks will need to wait a little for the NTSC version, sorry. Although it will be available to watch online from 17th Feb.
Parts Two, Three & Four well.. don't hold your breath... They'll come eventually - remember, I'm a one man band.
Thanks for the interest so far.

Part One is finished people...
Copperhead Editions | FST: On the Shoulders of Giants – pt 1 DVD
USA folks will need to wait a little for the NTSC version, sorry. Although it will be available to watch online from 17th Feb.
Parts Two, Three & Four well.. don't hold your breath... They'll come eventually - remember, I'm a one man band.
Thanks for the interest so far.

The search is over: http://www.kingsavenuetattoo.com/

@Graeme so you're saying that because it happens with everything on the internet, it's ok?
I have no problem with people trying to do 'fresh' things. In my opinion, this style is still fresh, therefore how can anyone else do something new with it? Maybe it's different because I've been fortunate enough to see the seeds of this style develop from other things in a natural and gradual way that I feel uncomfortable when someone else hops on the wagon when the bumps have been ironed out.
Yes it does happen, I know I can't stop it and I'm not trying to. The reason I take the time to post here is because Last Sparrow is different. It's better than that. This place is the real deal and I care about it. It may be just another forum to chat about whatever is on your mind to pass the time, for most here, but for the collectors and tattooers who post here there hasn't been anything this positive about good tattoos and tattooing on the internet, ever.
There's been a machine forum that was good for a while and some kinda-sorta fringe industry sites and forums that were good for a while but there's never been somewhere online for just tattoos where quality matters and people who are respected in the real world are respected in the forums. Too often a post/blog count matters more than the quality of submissions and real-world experience. It's different here. Last Sparrow is having a real-world effect and I think it's up to us all to realise the responsibility we have and to try a little harder to be thoughtful and intelligent in our actions online and offline.
While I wouldn't wear tattoos in the style Amanda Wachob does, I can see how they would appeal to some. I'm not even sure it appeals to 'tattoo people'. It's not really a new tattoo style either. It's based on a style of painting (wich was once new - over 70 years ago) Ed Hardy did some similar stuff in the 80's too.
@TrixieFaux some of the people you mentioned do visit SF.
I'm not trying to tell anyone who they should get tattooed by or whatever and I'm not knocking anyone specific. I'm sure 'new' guys give props or shout-outs to Hooper, Jondix, et al. But it still stands that without the guys who developed the style none of us would even want to get it tattooed.

I wish this style didn't have a name. As soon as a style is given a name, it seems to give others the impression they can do it too.
The reason I don't do this stuff is because I like Hooper, Jondix and Albrigo as people and friends.
They each seem to take direct influence from each other while still retaining some individuality and nuances of design and layout that make it possible to identify which one of them did it. The same goes for Binnie, Xed, Tomas Tomas, Mike from Athens and Curly. I love the work of each of those guys.
I can't say the same for anyone else doing these styles. It seems to be a "Me too" attitude. They let the first few guys take all the risks and learn what works and find select clients who want to trust in something new. Then they make technically clean but hollow facsimile of something that was interesting.
Maybe thats a bit strong coming from someone who doesn't have a style of his own, but I try to work in existing, classic tattoo styles and sometimes have a little fun with them. The reason I don't do this pattern/skull/mandala/pointilist stuff is the same reason I don't do Biomech, Pacheco painterly colour or straight-up cholo tattoos: They are styles that were developed by people with a specific set of interests and inspirations that managed to filter them into a style of design and execution. Also those pioneers are still alive and working.
Maybe I've opened a nasty can of worms... How soon is 'too soon' so imitate an iconic style? Do we have to wait for the pioneers to die before crotchety fucks stop complaining? To be honest, I'm not interested in the answer. I just notice that every week the internet spits out a new guy who sticks a skull over or under a doily and it's held in the same regard as work by Mike, Jondix and Hooper.
The same as we distinguish between Aaron Cain or Guy Aitchison Biomech, we shouldn't try to coin new phrases and just refer to Thomas Hooper, Jondix or Tomas Tomas Blackwork, dotwork or whatever.
Use the name of the guys that made it what it is. We at least owe them that if we're gonna encourage other people to try it and get it tattooed from the rest of the pack.
note: I'm certainly not anti-new styles and I'd like to say that I'm eagerly awaiting the second generation of artists influenced by these guys who take it somewhere new, now that there's a body of work by a group of artists. That could be exciting!

@Graeme so you're saying that because it happens with everything on the internet, it's ok?
I have no problem with people trying to do 'fresh' things. In my opinion, this style is still fresh, therefore how can anyone else do something new with it? Maybe it's different because I've been fortunate enough to see the seeds of this style develop from other things in a natural and gradual way that I feel uncomfortable when someone else hops on the wagon when the bumps have been ironed out.
Yes it does happen, I know I can't stop it and I'm not trying to. The reason I take the time to post here is because Last Sparrow is different. It's better than that. This place is the real deal and I care about it. It may be just another forum to chat about whatever is on your mind to pass the time, for most here, but for the collectors and tattooers who post here there hasn't been anything this positive about good tattoos and tattooing on the internet, ever.
There's been a machine forum that was good for a while and some kinda-sorta fringe industry sites and forums that were good for a while but there's never been somewhere online for just tattoos where quality matters and people who are respected in the real world are respected in the forums. Too often a post/blog count matters more than the quality of submissions and real-world experience. It's different here. Last Sparrow is having a real-world effect and I think it's up to us all to realise the responsibility we have and to try a little harder to be thoughtful and intelligent in our actions online and offline.
While I wouldn't wear tattoos in the style Amanda Wachob does, I can see how they would appeal to some. I'm not even sure it appeals to 'tattoo people'. It's not really a new tattoo style either. It's based on a style of painting (wich was once new - over 70 years ago) Ed Hardy did some similar stuff in the 80's too.
@TrixieFaux some of the people you mentioned do visit SF.
I'm not trying to tell anyone who they should get tattooed by or whatever and I'm not knocking anyone specific. I'm sure 'new' guys give props or shout-outs to Hooper, Jondix, et al. But it still stands that without the guys who developed the style none of us would even want to get it tattooed.

Ha, I guess we are all cheesy at Frith Street Tattoo. Bummer.
We have about 4 different designs each year, in small runs. Most are never re-printed. Designed by people we respect. Why would I not wear them? I hardly ever wear the shirts I design, because they suck. I wear the other guys designs as well as shirts from other shops and tattooers we like. In the past we have had a limited run of 15 shirts printed just for the guys and girls at the shop and their friends.
I agree with pretty much everyone else. I didn't start tattooing to wear a uniform.
But if you enjoy wearing the same outfit to work every day, that's awesome. It worked for Seth Brundle!

@Hogrider I'm by no means an authority on this stuff, but I'm travelling along the same road you've just started...
Part of the reason you can't find what you're looking for is because you're looking for literal or binary meanings.
Most of the images you've seen tattooed are taken from Japanese and Chinese folk tales or religious stories.
Imagine of you asked someone regarding western cultural art or tattoos:
1) "What does it mean when there's a guy hanging on cross with his arms outstretched?"
2) "What does it mean when there's a woman in blue holding a naked baby"
3) "What does it mean when the muscle-bound guy in the black mask overpowers the brightly dressed skinny man in the clown makeup.
The answers depend on your level of interest/sympathy and how abstract or literal you want to be:
1a) It's Jesus. His father, God, sacrificed him to atone for the sins of the world.
1b) The wearer has faith in a religious power higher than himself and possibly feel kinship with or sympathy for the figure and character of Jesus Christ.
1c) The wearer wants to be forgiven for past wrongdoings.
2a) It's Mary, Jesus' mother. The baby is Jesus.
2b) She's a figure of worship because some people believe she should be revered because God chose her as the vessel for his earthly offspring. Her cloak is blue because traditionally goddesses were associated with the moon and night sky. Sometimes it has stars on it. Christianity adopted this symbol to make it easier for people who held older religious beliefs to adopt the new faith.
2c) The wearer may have sympathy or empathy with the concept of being the vessel for divine power or lineage. Also this symbol can have an added element of sadness because we know the eventual sadness and loss of a mother witnessing her only son be sacrificed for the good of mankind - possibly a greater sacrifice than Jesus, some might say.
3a) It's Batman, he's fighting the Joker.
3b) Batman is a symbol of vigilante justice. He works outside of recognised laws to bring justice to a world crippled by wrongdoing.
3c) This scene is a metaphor for the darkness of repressed homosexuality and it's power to overcome the sinister flamboyance of non-hetro feelings.
etc, etc.
In short, think about what you want your tattoo to 'mean' or 'say' - tell that to a tattooer who knows his stuff and let them find a story or theme that fits your idea.
Or just pick one you like from a woodblock print.
I try to tell people all the time that western traditional tattooing has just as much symbolism and poetry but nobody will listen. It's all sex, death and the struggles of humankind.
Good luck.

Hector Fong

I took this photo and a bunch of others at the New Jersey State Fair in Cherry Hill. It was August 12th, 1990. It was a blast meeting Jack Dracula. He had such a crazy mystique about him. There were all kinds of crazy stories about him and I was afraid to meet him but he was a fun guy to hang around with for an afternoon. He rode back into town with us and told us old corny jokes. RIP Jack Dracula and Sonny Tufts.

No.
Unlike most here, or elsewhere online talking about tattoos. This is my business, not a pastime or hobby. So I'm a businessman.
The last thing I want with my business is confusion or uncertainty.

Man, everybody already used my smart-ass answers but the Greg Irons quip was funnier than I could have come up with.
But back to the original question.
This is one of the newer approaches to tattooing that makes me slightly uncomfortable to be honest. Myself and a few tattooers I know and work with have noticed the trend of customers finding a sense of pride in how long they had to wait for their tattoo. As if that makes the tattoo more worthwhile.
With some of the currently living/working tattooers mentioned in this thread, I personally know people (not even on the internet) that have tattoos from all of them. Filip, Horiyoshi III, Shige and Mike Rubendall. Yeah, they had to wait a little while for some of them but not as long as you'd think for others. Mike Roper is a different situation because he makes it deliberately difficult to get in touch with him, which answers the question posed above. But that wasn't really the question that was asked and it's rarely the question that gets asked. The question, or at least the implication, is "who has the longest waiting list' or "who has appointments booked furthest into the future". If I were to be snarky "who gives me the most bragging rights".
For me the hardest people to get a tattoo from are the tattooers who are located furthest away from me. The ones where I have to get off my ass and do something about it. Time is easier to overcome than distance although patience is a different matter. It astonishes me that people call our shop from the outskirts of the city expecting us to change the way we work because they are catching a train to get here. On the other hand, we are humbled and honoured by the people who cross seas and continents to get tattooed regularly with us.
But that's aside from the issue.
Why is it a trend that makes me uncomfortable?
Because I've heard people brag about how long they had to wait for 'x' artist and wear that information like a badge of honour. It feels almost as distasteful as bragging about who charges the most. Yeah, tattoos are for tough guys and tough buys like to brag and maybe that seems harmless, but it makes me uncomfortable and I have trouble clearly explaining why.
Maybe it's because it's a phenomenon spurred on by the internet and the gossipy world of hearsay. Nobody calls and checks with the artists or shops they want to get tattooed at. Nobody travels down to the shop to ask the question. They just ask random strangers on the internet who have a lot of time on their hands and like to talk about something they know nothing about. Then the reality gets lost or twisted and in the end the real information is lost. I see this a lot with regards to the shop I work at. Forums are (or certainly used to be) bursting with 'facts' about how much we charge, how long we take, how far 'x' and 'y' are booked or how long their waiting lists are. Nobody calls the shop to ask and nobody suggests that the person calls to ask.
I know that happens with a lot of things but it seems like this is starting to have a real-world effect, however small. People who wanted tattoos that we would love to do heard that we wouldn't tattoo them at our shop because we were so cool and busy and booked up for decades and rolling around in money 'n' bitches or something. We've heard of this a few times and it seems to be happening more. Yeah, we're busy, you may have to wait a little, maybe not. If someone has contact information, especially a phone number on their website it means that they want you to call.
I'm not really going to touch on the tone of the "are they a fad or are they really worth it?" comment, except to say that if you have to ask, the answer is "no".
Sorry to jump on this fun thread with a rant. I look forward to more witty quips.

Sorry to be off topic with the way this thread turned out but regardless of any "witchy witchy" (whatever that means) or other current tattoo trends. Sometimes we gotta take it back and look at why?...
Not just why you got a particular tattoo but why certain symbols are grouped together in the first place.
Female figures and the moon make more sense than most associated designs. - As a side note, Diana worship became very popular in Europe in the early 19th century as part of the revival of earlier religious ideas by the middle classes (who had more time on their hands, probably because of the Industrial Revolution) which led to more works of art, visual, written and performed that included these ideas and symbols. These are often the very works that modern tattooers appropriate.
Remember that some tattooer, somewhere knew this when they included a moon in a design of a lady head. (or they took it from an illustration by someone who knew.) Then it was imitated because it looked cool or resonated in some way.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, I strongly believe it's a tattooers job to understand the mechanism of symbols and apply them to create relationships that have a deeper value than just looking cool. There's nothing wrong with looking cool and often I don't bore my clients with a lecture about the historical connections with the symbols I include. I just try to make their tattoo look cool. Hopefully one day they will discover the meanings and connections behind the symbols and realise it makes the design slightly richer.
Sorry to derail yet another thread with a boring self-righteous rant...

Bonji isn't a 'tag' Bonji is derived from sanskrit and is used solely for religious words.
A tattoo name or senjafuda is made with Hiragana and Kanji.
Many people have made up their own 'tattoo name'
Many western tattooers have signed their work too. From Ron Ackers, Ed Hardy, Jack Rudy, Thom DeVita.... etc.

Bonji isn't a 'tag' Bonji is derived from sanskrit and is used solely for religious words.
A tattoo name or senjafuda is made with Hiragana and Kanji.
Many people have made up their own 'tattoo name'
Many western tattooers have signed their work too. From Ron Ackers, Ed Hardy, Jack Rudy, Thom DeVita.... etc.

Bonji isn't a 'tag' Bonji is derived from sanskrit and is used solely for religious words.
A tattoo name or senjafuda is made with Hiragana and Kanji.
Many people have made up their own 'tattoo name'
Many western tattooers have signed their work too. From Ron Ackers, Ed Hardy, Jack Rudy, Thom DeVita.... etc.

@Lance yep. I'll be there. Maybe for a little bit before and after too.

@Lance yep. I'll be there. Maybe for a little bit before and after too.

@Lance yep. I'll be there. Maybe for a little bit before and after too.

Sorry to be off topic with the way this thread turned out but regardless of any "witchy witchy" (whatever that means) or other current tattoo trends. Sometimes we gotta take it back and look at why?...
Not just why you got a particular tattoo but why certain symbols are grouped together in the first place.
Female figures and the moon make more sense than most associated designs. - As a side note, Diana worship became very popular in Europe in the early 19th century as part of the revival of earlier religious ideas by the middle classes (who had more time on their hands, probably because of the Industrial Revolution) which led to more works of art, visual, written and performed that included these ideas and symbols. These are often the very works that modern tattooers appropriate.
Remember that some tattooer, somewhere knew this when they included a moon in a design of a lady head. (or they took it from an illustration by someone who knew.) Then it was imitated because it looked cool or resonated in some way.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, I strongly believe it's a tattooers job to understand the mechanism of symbols and apply them to create relationships that have a deeper value than just looking cool. There's nothing wrong with looking cool and often I don't bore my clients with a lecture about the historical connections with the symbols I include. I just try to make their tattoo look cool. Hopefully one day they will discover the meanings and connections behind the symbols and realise it makes the design slightly richer.
Sorry to derail yet another thread with a boring self-righteous rant...

Sorry to be off topic with the way this thread turned out but regardless of any "witchy witchy" (whatever that means) or other current tattoo trends. Sometimes we gotta take it back and look at why?...
Not just why you got a particular tattoo but why certain symbols are grouped together in the first place.
Female figures and the moon make more sense than most associated designs. - As a side note, Diana worship became very popular in Europe in the early 19th century as part of the revival of earlier religious ideas by the middle classes (who had more time on their hands, probably because of the Industrial Revolution) which led to more works of art, visual, written and performed that included these ideas and symbols. These are often the very works that modern tattooers appropriate.
Remember that some tattooer, somewhere knew this when they included a moon in a design of a lady head. (or they took it from an illustration by someone who knew.) Then it was imitated because it looked cool or resonated in some way.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, I strongly believe it's a tattooers job to understand the mechanism of symbols and apply them to create relationships that have a deeper value than just looking cool. There's nothing wrong with looking cool and often I don't bore my clients with a lecture about the historical connections with the symbols I include. I just try to make their tattoo look cool. Hopefully one day they will discover the meanings and connections behind the symbols and realise it makes the design slightly richer.
Sorry to derail yet another thread with a boring self-righteous rant...

Sorry to be off topic with the way this thread turned out but regardless of any "witchy witchy" (whatever that means) or other current tattoo trends. Sometimes we gotta take it back and look at why?...
Not just why you got a particular tattoo but why certain symbols are grouped together in the first place.
Female figures and the moon make more sense than most associated designs. - As a side note, Diana worship became very popular in Europe in the early 19th century as part of the revival of earlier religious ideas by the middle classes (who had more time on their hands, probably because of the Industrial Revolution) which led to more works of art, visual, written and performed that included these ideas and symbols. These are often the very works that modern tattooers appropriate.
Remember that some tattooer, somewhere knew this when they included a moon in a design of a lady head. (or they took it from an illustration by someone who knew.) Then it was imitated because it looked cool or resonated in some way.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, I strongly believe it's a tattooers job to understand the mechanism of symbols and apply them to create relationships that have a deeper value than just looking cool. There's nothing wrong with looking cool and often I don't bore my clients with a lecture about the historical connections with the symbols I include. I just try to make their tattoo look cool. Hopefully one day they will discover the meanings and connections behind the symbols and realise it makes the design slightly richer.
Sorry to derail yet another thread with a boring self-righteous rant...