ChrisvK

I think for most people this won't look like much has been done, but oh well! All of the black/shading, with the exception of some clouds we're going to add, is now done. All of the lining, too. We had to line two more dragon feet and I thought I was going to die. If I never see another liner that size again, it'll be too soon! So now we get to start color after this, and I can't wait. 

Greg Whitehead and all that.
 

Traditional woman-head in a spider web - by Dane Soos

Here is my knee tattoo

by Chris Smith - Neptune Tattoo in Neptune NJ

Turns out that dry healing is so much better for my weird skin. Wish I'd known this about 25 tattoos ago. Hahahahaha.

I mean to come across as a jerk here, but looking at your Instagram, I'd suggest getting the fuck off the Internet and learning to draw and tattoo properly because your shit is fucking horrendous.  You should be ashamed of what you're doing to people.

Most of us aren't tattoo artists. If we have a bad day at work, we get a scolding from the boss and go home without any lasting repercussions. When you mess up at work, it's on someone forever. Instead of getting defensive, you need a serious attitude change and to take your craft more seriously. You can't go through your career saying "Boy I really fucked up that guy, oh well, I had a bad day. Next!" 
Whats your excuse for nearly every other pic in your profile? Because most of them are jacked up. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, the Captain has turned on the fasten seat belt sign. We are now crossing a forum thread of turbulence. Please return to your seats and keep your seat belts fastened. Thank you.”

About to drive down to Denver and meet Oliver Peck, woo hoo
Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

Getting my left elbow ditch done next month. Gonna get a rose with the vine coming up on my bicep to fill up a spot that has been bothering me for some time now.
Not looking forward to healing an elbow in the hottest month of the year ;)
Also a bit nervous since it will be the first tattoo that will be visible when I have rolled up sleeves.
Probably gonna get some more small tattoos at the end of july/august as well 

this is my project for next season (winter) i'm going to tile in some background in and behind the frog...perhaps some overlapping matrix of black and red spider webs. I don't know about the other side (inner thigh), its my last major space for a big tattooo. Something with fire, crazy colours, the weirder the better.

Consultation with Theo Mindell this Saturday. Getting a lady head on my right thigh.

Getting my left elbow ditch done next month. Gonna get a rose with the vine coming up on my bicep to fill up a spot that has been bothering me for some time now.
Not looking forward to healing an elbow in the hottest month of the year ;)
Also a bit nervous since it will be the first tattoo that will be visible when I have rolled up sleeves.
Probably gonna get some more small tattoos at the end of july/august as well 

Getting my collar bones started in a week! I'm getting some Grey scale peonies. Super stoked!
Sent from my Z755 using Tapatalk

Hi all - it' seems in the move we've lost all the directly uploaded to the forum (ie not hotlinked from an image site or linked from gallery) images.
Also, I was wondering if we could bring that functionality back? There are images I don't really want in a gallery (unfinished tattoos or examples of a problem [blowout]) that I'd like to provide visual examples of without having to subscribe to photobucket etc. Thanks all! 

Nice when the tattoo comes in under budget. I think the artists want you to come back and don't want all of your $$ at once. I'm sure they lay jedi-mind-tricks on customers all the time.

This is why I love leaving deposits. Makes me feel like I'm paying less for my tattoo at the end of the day.

Like many have hinted at: Tattooing is a service done by a professional. There are not many other "services" you would have done without getting a price or estimate up front. I can't, personally, think of any other instance where I didn't know the price of something before the service was rendered. That's me though and I've never been bashful about talking $$$ with anyone....
That being said, I've had the whole gamut of experiences dealing with tattoo artists.
Early on, I went to a "famous" artist that was very strict about her (high) hourly rate, then would take 6 smoke/joint breaks during the session and add at least an hour on to the total time.
When I started travelling to get tattooed, almost everyone that I had work done by let me stay with them, and/or cut me a HUGE break when it came to paying them. I was always willing to pay full price but was usually told "you spent money to travel just to get tattooed by me, so...."). Let's just say i bought a lot of drinks for everyone in those days.
I've also had a lot of local artists that were doing several sessions/pieces on me, say about prices "we'll see when the session is finished" then when done- look down, mumble mumble and sheepishly give me a price that always seemed too low. I tried to tip well to compensate as I knew I'd be seeing them again and again.
I've also asked for a price on a larger, one shot piece with the retort "how much do you have to spend?" by the artist. Trying to not sound cheap, I answered with my max budget. I was told, that would cover the first session and the second session would probably be as much....I said I would "let the artist know" a promptly walked away and never came back. I thought that $300 + an hour was a bit too much... especially for someone whose last name wasn't spelled H A R D Y.

"I have XXXX to spend on this, can it be done fully and correctly for it? If not, could you give me a percentage of it that could be completed for that?" - should be acceptable. Actually, my favorite artist has an hourly rate, doesn't charge extra for design, and emails me her rough sketches. Maybe she is just super-nice, but this kind of customer service just won her best tattoo artist in our city. It is a business. If they treat customers poorly (and price-jacking is as bad as customer price-shopping) they had better be GREAT. And even at that, there are many great tattoo artists around you.

Thought I'd posted these the other morning - probably forgot to hit the submit button.
This is the time of the year that I love our place the most - affectionately referred to as Mighty Mortgage Manor. We spend a lot of time working on fences, the garden, Lynn's plot of fresh flowers, cutting grass...and even find some time to spend in our pool (we filled in an old one and built a new one last year). But, the mornings are so peaceful - sitting on the back porch with a cup of coffee is so tranquil. 
 
Here's my view from the back porch, looking over our small lake.

 
Sunrise from the front porch:

 
The pool from the back porch (still growing some grass to cover where they dug up the yard for the water and electrical lines):
 
The front of the house:

 
And the back of the house:

 
All four seasons are wonderful here in the Northeast, but I just thrive in the Spring and Summer months.
 
 
 

Maybe try getting in touch with The Tattoo Archive?  Chuck Eldridge has a wealth of knowledge about tattoo history so maybe he knows of who was tattooing around there at that time and can help you out.  Lucky's is another good bet.  Good luck with your search.

I recently got this incredible peacock from Luke Jinks at Cloak and Dagger. The picture I pinched from his instagram page also shows a glimpse of a Bert Grimm sun I got from Nick Mayes when he guested at Frith Street back in March.

Percy Waters crane/lady by Tony Nilsson at Blue Arms Tattoo

Finding the balance between work, fun, and musical tastes. Thursday night was Reagan Youth. Friday morning in a shirt and tie working in a client office, Friday night a house show with Austin Lucas and Adam Faucett. And today I'm cleaning the apartment listening to rockabilly radio. 
 
16 year old me would be so confused.