OaktownFunk

I know how awkward it is for some artists to ask a client to undress, so I avoid that awkwardness by undressing completely before all tattoos, regardless of placement. Common courtesy, really.

Cat heads seems to be a good fit for knee-designs.
I especially like these:
Jim Sylvia

Valerie Vargas

Just wanted to let everyone here know that Grime Part 2 is now up!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRBYVdYp9xo
watch here:
Grime Part 2 - Tattoo Age | VBS.TV

My torso is done and done :) Finished picture has been in my gallery for a while now.
I know Valerie posted this in her gallery, but in case someone might have overlooked it you can check it out here:

Valerie was going to do a guestpot at a local shop here in Oslo, but had to cancell in the last minute. She offered me to get the tattoo done at Frith street instead, so I jumped at the opportunity and flew back and forth in less than 30 hours. It was a blast! :)

I have all the Russian River on my beer shelf right now as well as a bottle of Monk's Cafe. Cascade Brewing makes some good sours as well their Kriek and Sang Noir are excellent.

YES! Just watched the trailer and am suffering sudden hearing loss and an erection lasting more than 4 hours. Should I consult a physician?

Ok, I'm a bit of a beer geek and have been gettng into Sour beers...mainly stuff from Russian River Brewing Co. - Consecration, Supplication and Temptation are real good . Also Flemish Sour Brown's like Monks Cafe or Petrus Oud Bruin. Anyone else like Sour beers?

Ok, I'm a bit of a beer geek and have been gettng into Sour beers...mainly stuff from Russian River Brewing Co. - Consecration, Supplication and Temptation are real good . Also Flemish Sour Brown's like Monks Cafe or Petrus Oud Bruin. Anyone else like Sour beers?

Ok, I'm a bit of a beer geek and have been gettng into Sour beers...mainly stuff from Russian River Brewing Co. - Consecration, Supplication and Temptation are real good . Also Flemish Sour Brown's like Monks Cafe or Petrus Oud Bruin. Anyone else like Sour beers?

So cool...love hearing the older artists talk about tattooing. No BS posturing, just real talk.
I also stumbled upon a Chris O'Donnell interview on VBS.TV
Art Talk - Chris O'Donnell on VBS.TV
Another great interview and some seriously nice tattoos. Wow!

Are you talking about the Owl Head that Stefan did on that dudes scalp? That is one nice tattoo. Too bad you can't come out to CA and get it right from the man himself. Cool guy and incredibly talented artist.

Hey Mask0311,
First off, I would love to see everybody sportin great tattoos wherever I go but unfortunately there are fewer people out there "keepin it real" and if I go to WalMart I can see a store full of bad tattoos these days.
As far as this guy "blowin you off", it's an old game, as old as it gets with "runnin' the scam", some will spot you and size you up to start something at a high price that they never intend to finish when they have a string of butterflies they can knock out and make more on when you may have already paid in advance, basically you will get shuffled to the rear like you got treated at the 9pm bell. NYC went crazy with those scams when it opened tattooing back up and on this subject I could go on and on.
As far as the tooth hurting thing, RUN!!! should have been your instinct and this leads me to tell you that there are tattooers out there who relish a challenge of turning bad tattoos into good ones, so don't worry about having someone else drive over the mess you have started.
As far as your expecting better treatment/respect for being home from the military, your absolutely right, the military has always been our staple in tattooing and when everybody's home and the wars are all over we will miss that amount of biz and it goes from steak to pork chops for us tattooers and this is not to mention that there are those of us out here that understand your service to Uncle Sam.
So, as far as "keeping it real" and to prove that not all of us are like this disgrace to our trade I will fix and finish your dragon at no charge with the stipulation that you provide the steaks that I will personally grill for you at my country home where I have a rifle range that I will provide 500 rounds of ammunition for you to shoot through my legally owned and registered machineguns after we are finished with the tattooing, on this deal you have my word. Your only hitch is to make it by land sea or air to Illinois and provide the bovine. It can be fixed and finished and picture posted to this thread should you come through on your end of this bargain and I mean all of this most sincerely.
I can't do this for every person that's received your treatment or I would work myself into the poorhouse but this is my offer to you.
Thanks for your service and I apologize for the hack who misrepresented our trade and culture and I hope to hear from you.
Sincerely,
-Hawk- of
Hawks Tattoo's

YES! Just watched the trailer and am suffering sudden hearing loss and an erection lasting more than 4 hours. Should I consult a physician?

YES! Just watched the trailer and am suffering sudden hearing loss and an erection lasting more than 4 hours. Should I consult a physician?

YES! Just watched the trailer and am suffering sudden hearing loss and an erection lasting more than 4 hours. Should I consult a physician?

There's your one-liner!

This is sadly very true.
The day we are forced to use pigments that have passed a safety test is the same day we tattoo with food dye.
Six months later, your tattoo will look like shit.
Maybe it will seem to someone that this is a good idea - just pay for regular touch-ups, but it isn't. keep tattooing the same patch regularly and it will be an inflexible scar in a couple of years or so. It hurt enough the first time too, thanks.
The reason tattoos are permanent is because the ink is NOT safe for the body. The skin protects the body (organs, muscles etc) by holding the ink/pigment where it entered.
Yeah, we don't want to use pigment that corrodes the skin and we don't want to use ink that's contaminated. But I like my tattoos to look good. I know they are not 'safe', I paid someone to break my skin and draw skulls, tits, devils, dragons an' shit.
Sadly, in mainland Europe Shawn's scenario has began to be real. Certain brands of ink are blacklisted and approved brand's bottles must have batch numbers and expiry dates etc. An un-announced visit by the health board that discovers blacklisted ink can result in your shop being shut down.
The brands are not blacklisted because they make shitty tattoos, nor because they are dangerous. Almost anyone reading this will have some of that ink in their skin.
Personally, as a tattooer, I like the idea of a craftsman using tools and materials that are the result of another craftsman's passion, experience and expertise.
Some of the highest quality materials in tattooing (ink, machines, grips, pens, power supplies etc.) are made by individuals or at least 'cottage industries'.
I love being able to speak to the guy who made my equipment and buy it directly from him. Giving him/her feedback about it improves the product too.
Demanding that your tattooer use government approved equipment will harm the end result. Not to mention inflate the price drastically.
Lets not even get into the discussion of working across different states, countries or continents with 'approved' equipment.
Jeez. I need to lighten up and post more one-liners.

State of Grace uploaded this on their Facebook page over the weekend. the line up is amazinggg

Man, Frith Street consistently puts out super nice work. All the artists there seem to nail it every time, really impressive. If ever I'm in London... :)

These on my beautiful wifes back. Tattooed by Emiliano Liberatori, Frith Street Tattoo, London.

Since we've already got the Tiger Tattoos Thread and the Panther Tattoos Thread, I figured it's about time to round out the big cat trinity with a Lion Tattoos thread.
Just came across this nice one by Chris Garver to start it off.

I made the trek down to Santa Cruz again last week to visit Stefan @ Lovedog and once again he delivered an incredible tattoo! He recently posted a picture of it in his gallery. Have a look:
Tattoo Picture 2 of 40 from Gallery: Tattoos by Stefan Johnsson Tattoo Gallery | Last Sparrow Tattoo

This is a crappy iPhone pic--plus the freshly done tiger is still very bloody--but I finished up with Tim Lehi Saturday:

Our own A.Sanchez was getting tattooed by Scott at the same time. Small world!

When I was your age we had to walk a mile in the snow, barefoot, to get tattooed. With a rusty set of needles. Then again, a backpiece was only $5.00.