taaarro

I finally have an appointment to get tattooed by Freddy Corbin.
This is the third time I've tried in a bunch of years.
I'm already so stoked :)

I finally have an appointment to get tattooed by Freddy Corbin.
This is the third time I've tried in a bunch of years.
I'm already so stoked :)

Seeing Eddy Deutsche in a couple weeks. Really fucking excited.

I finally have an appointment to get tattooed by Freddy Corbin.
This is the third time I've tried in a bunch of years.
I'm already so stoked :)

I finally have an appointment to get tattooed by Freddy Corbin.
This is the third time I've tried in a bunch of years.
I'm already so stoked :)

I finally have an appointment to get tattooed by Freddy Corbin.
This is the third time I've tried in a bunch of years.
I'm already so stoked :)

I finally have an appointment to get tattooed by Freddy Corbin.
This is the third time I've tried in a bunch of years.
I'm already so stoked :)

I think eating right, getting sleep, keeping hydrated, etc. is definitely important.
Getting tattooed, though, can be a heavy experience mentally, and I think when you're nervous, you might forget to take deep breaths or breathe at all and be physically very tense, which could very well make you feel like you're going to faint.
The first time I got tattooed, I got my elbow done, and I was nervous and not breathing. I was turning green so the tattooist told me to take a break.
Call me a hippy but meditating or doing some yoga before hand might be helpful.

Thanks for your comments! I'm very excited with the piece. I forgot to include another part of my experience that I think you all would appreciate...
So when I was going crazy with anticipation waiting to see a drawing for the piece and checking my email a billion times a day, Eddy sends an email saying that his "old friend Dan Higgs" said "whoa" three times in a row when he saw the drawing and that that was a very good omen. And then my head almost exploded ;)

A bit amusing...I'm reading my lengthy post above from 18 months ago...now I've got tattoos creeping the cuff and onto the hands. Things change, tattooing is fluid!
here's my newish dragon fist:

and here's a an artsy selfie of my dragon fist - dragon fly and dragon eyes ! for your viewing pleasure

see guys! i got lots of space left...maybe squinch in some tudor roses on the hands in the future

thank you @kimkong :)
I had this weird gap between my chest and stomach and then I was reminded of the image during a vinyl crate dig when the tattoo-lightbulb went off. The reference is from Bunny Wailer's Solomonic record label and I'm a pretty big reggae-head so I was pretty drawn to the imagery. A bit of a spin on the classic traditional tattoo eyes or the buddha eyes. I'm pretty happy with the outcome - different, gritty, hypnotizing and goes with the different dragons on my hands and ribs. I may go get them re-lined to pop them a bit.

This thread really makes me only want to get tattooed by people older than me like Bob Roberts and Eddy Deutsche. I realize it wasn't your original point (I too am wary of the star culture in tattooing) but your misinformed dismissals ('there are limits'!) are so offensive to me that I can't get over it. In the end I realize it comes down to different sensibilities and what I'm looking for in tattoos is obviously very different from yours. BUT, if I can add my 2 cents as a person who's been tattooed by both Eddy Deutsche and Bob Roberts, Eddy is the most 'PMA' guy ever (if that's what you're after). If you're looking for an 'experience' or stories, Eddy and Bob have plenty. The flash at Spotlight has bullet holes. (The fact that the stencil is made from the original flash push pinned on the wall alone makes it almost worth getting the tattoo to be a part of the history.) Nothing 'soft' or 'squiggly' about my Bob Roberts tattoo. There's no question about Eddy's technical ability. I think every respectable tattooer would disagree with you on this point. I think people with 'perfect' tattoos look uptight--not what I'm going for (not interested in putting computer graphics on my body either). Any imperfections will add to its beauty.

I'm not in a rush, and I'm more than willing to wait and save room for specific tattoos from specific tattooers that I want, but it is addicting, isn't it? I was ok with having just two tattoos for seven, eight years, but once I became rally interested in tattoos, I've gotten them much more frequently. As far as big vs small, I think for me back, ribs, and thighs will be my big pieces. I totally appreciate sleeves and body suits, but to me it takes away from the stupidity and vulgarity of tattooing, which is what I like about it.

I'm not in a rush, and I'm more than willing to wait and save room for specific tattoos from specific tattooers that I want, but it is addicting, isn't it? I was ok with having just two tattoos for seven, eight years, but once I became rally interested in tattoos, I've gotten them much more frequently. As far as big vs small, I think for me back, ribs, and thighs will be my big pieces. I totally appreciate sleeves and body suits, but to me it takes away from the stupidity and vulgarity of tattooing, which is what I like about it.

Here's mine by Jeff Rassier. I also posted a fresh pic in the latest tattoos thread but here it is healed.

Reading something someone wrote here, that it will never be unprofessional to wear a long sleeve shirt at work, emboldened me to go down to where I wear my watch. In hindsight I wish I'd been convinced earlier since it would have let me get bigger forearm pieces.

Hawk wrapped around my forearm by Timothy Hoyer

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.

This thread really makes me only want to get tattooed by people older than me like Bob Roberts and Eddy Deutsche. I realize it wasn't your original point (I too am wary of the star culture in tattooing) but your misinformed dismissals ('there are limits'!) are so offensive to me that I can't get over it. In the end I realize it comes down to different sensibilities and what I'm looking for in tattoos is obviously very different from yours. BUT, if I can add my 2 cents as a person who's been tattooed by both Eddy Deutsche and Bob Roberts, Eddy is the most 'PMA' guy ever (if that's what you're after). If you're looking for an 'experience' or stories, Eddy and Bob have plenty. The flash at Spotlight has bullet holes. (The fact that the stencil is made from the original flash push pinned on the wall alone makes it almost worth getting the tattoo to be a part of the history.) Nothing 'soft' or 'squiggly' about my Bob Roberts tattoo. There's no question about Eddy's technical ability. I think every respectable tattooer would disagree with you on this point. I think people with 'perfect' tattoos look uptight--not what I'm going for (not interested in putting computer graphics on my body either). Any imperfections will add to its beauty.

piss poor excuse for a picture of the actual tattoo, I'll get you guys a better one when it's healed and not completely crusty.

Freddy Corbin, Temple Tattoo Oakland

This thread has been fantastic, really great discussion so far, thanks everyone for adding your thoughts! After I read the bulk of it I had to jet off to work so I didn't have time to make a cogent reply until now, hopefully some of my thoughts have survived through the past few days of working. Anyways, these are my thoughts on the subject as a client relatively new to tattoos.
Though I'd always been a fan of tattoos, I got a pretty late start on my "collection" so to speak, I loved the look of tattoos but throughout my teens and early 20s any spare cent went to drugs and booze so actually getting tattooed was fiscally impossible. I got sober, met some people with rad tattoos in and out of the program, and really started thinking about it again, I visited a bunch of trashy shops throughout the greater Colorado Springs area, and found nothing appealing in my search. I've always been a bit of a collector and really dig researching and finding the best version of whatever it is I'm looking for. I eventually found LST which I credit for helping me learn what makes a good tattoo, and really helping shape my tastes. You all have been lifesavers! Sorry for the long personal discourse but I feel it's a bit relevant to the rest of the post.
So after two years of scoring the forum for information, flipping through instagram a few times a day, following an unmanageable amount of accounts on said instagram, I finally took the plunge and booked an appointment with Marie Sena after I had seen her name on the list of artists working at a then new shop (Dedication Tattoo) down in Denver. Her style really spoke to me, I wasn't really familiar with her as a "name" in the tattoo game, maybe read about her on here once or twice but I feel extremely lucky to have such a wonderful first tattoo from such a fantastic person.
I never really set out to be the guy who never gets tattooed by the same person twice, but as of yet that's how it's turning out. I am wary of being perceived as some sort of "starfucker" as @Pugilist put it, but with Denver being so centrally located in this country I am presented with a lot of great opportunities via guest spots to get work from great tattooers! How am I going to pass up a chance to get tattooed by Adam Shrewsbury while he's in town for a couple days, he doesn't even make tattoos regularly when he's home! Chad's going to be here in a couple weeks? Well I'd better find a way to stack some cash because I won't let myself miss out on that. I have a list in my head of people I'd love to get work from, some may be big names, but it's all because their work speaks to me in ways that I can't really quantify, I don't want the most star-studded skin, I just want stuff that makes me happy when I look in the mirror.
Besides the power of the imagery, it really is all about the experience though. Any time I've been tattooed by someone with a "big name" they have been some of the realest, most down to earth people I've met. Jeff Zuck is a gentleman and a scholar, Marie, as I said earlier, literally one of the nicest people I've ever met. Adam is the most down to earth dude, you can just tell how grateful he is to be spending his life making rad art for people. Every tattoo that I've seen Chad put out has blown my mind, and I was pleasantly surprised to see how humble he was, making sure the other guys in the shop thought the composition was solid on his sketch, ready to wipe it all away and start over if Joe didn't like something about it. Myke Chamber seems to get a bit of grief around here, maybe he's too self-promotional, his drawings are simplistic, but his message in all the interviews is a story of hope for those of us struggling with addiction, and I could tell that he was really grateful for his position in life.
Now, @mmikaoj, again, I appreciate you starting this thread, the discussion has been really great! You caught enough flak for what you said about Deutsche, Shige, and Horiyoshi III, but I had to jump in and defend Walter McDonald! I know that some of his tattoos look a little off, definitely not what anyone would call perfect, but goddammit they are fucking tattoo magic in the flesh! That man is one of the best human beings I've had the pleasure of meeting, it's impossible to imagine him without a smile on his face. His shop is beautiful, flash from floor to ceiling, exactly what you picture in your head when you think "tattoo shop," not to mention that he's mostly responsible for me and the rest of the state being so spoiled for choice when it comes to guest artists on a regular basis. Walter is the coolest and I can't wait to get a tattoo from him.
Sorry about the rambling, hope I didn't stray too far from what I was trying to get across.

To get back to the questions originally asked, I'm not sure that any of us can really be honest about why we want a certain design or why we want a specific person to put it on us (I believe in the unconscious). For me, I usually decide I want a certain design, then think about who does that design in the way that I like most. (I like to think that) I'm not a sucker for big names, but I do think I am a sucker for "authenticity" and "soulfulness." For me, some tattooers and their works have an ineffable draw that goes beyond form or technical proficiency. Certainly, relatively unknown tattooers could possess that quality, but it's less likely that I would find out about them. In regards to masters and their successors, hopefully the successors would be doing something new or different enough to be recognized for their own work. As far as the experience of getting tattooed, the tricky thing is that you never know until after the fact. I am, of course, more compelled to go back to people I enjoyed getting tattooed by and talking to than not. It's such an intense experience getting tattooed that I couldn't imagine going back to someone I didn't enjoy regardless of their reputation or skill.

Finally got to visit State of Grace and get my Molly Monmon Cat from Horitomo!
He did an amazing job. Just spectacular. I sent several pictures of her and some descriptions of her favorite things, her personality and her character. She *loved* shrimp sushi and got an entire order for her 16th birthday, right before we lost her to cancer. Horitomo created a picture of her in heaven with a halo and surrounded by her favorite things - including that she is surrounded by catnip! The face is perfect. I gave him a decent size square footage and told him he could expand beyond the cat and add other elements. Her face is perfect. When he showed me the sketch, my eyes just teared up.
It was neat to be tattooed on the platform in the shop. It is a little sanctuary with neat drawings, books and items on shelves. He is a quiet gentle soul.
I tried tebori for the whites and I probably would not do it again. For many areas, I didn't even feel the first 4-5 pokes. It just felt like a shoving pressure but there was *no* pain. Then the last several shoves were painful. But around my hip was bad all around. I'm glad I did it, though.
Crashing out now holed up in the hotel with mom. <3 <3 <3

That Cripwell suit is beautiful and so perfectly executed, but I find it a little too perfect for my tastes. Looking at those tattoos, I don't know if I get much of a sense of the person who has them. I guess aesthetically I prefer a more organic mish mash of tattoos where you get tattoos of different ages complimenting and clashing with each other and you get a whole that transcends any individual tattoo.