hgiles

I am up to about 60 hours...I don't want to think how much money that translates to. It's really an easy math equation. :confused:

Tiger tattooed by @Stewart Robson , Frith Street Tattoos, London, UK

I love it!

That's a tattoo!

I think personality/attitude is very important. I will take a less than perfect tattoo from a great person before I take a world-class tattoo from an asshole. Anyway though, I think their personality shows in their work to the extent that I wouldn't be attracted to an assholes artwork...at least I don't think.

Short answer -- personality is very important to me. The experience and memory of the moment is going to outlive the crispnesss and vibrance of the tattoo, I think...

I can't wait to see that finished. It already looks awesome. I'm having Jesse add a chest panel to match my sleeve. I was thinking about a hannya mask, but decided to leave it up to him. I know he'll come up with something great. Of course this puts off adding color to the sleeve, but my main concern is letting him get the flow right without worrying about me be in a hurry to get to the color.

Jesse has a nice take on the Neo/Euro Japanese style. One of the few in our area to do it well, he'll do it right! Cant wait to see what he comes up with.

@hgiles what did he start on you?

OED, I've got an over life size Tibetan Skull on my ribs from Chad. I posted a pic a couple of pages back.

I got another appt with Chad K on July 9th...gonna do some more work on my side.

...Many concepts that apply to music help with visual composition too, such as flow, dynamics, contrast, rhythm etc...

Thanks Stewart, I enjoyed your interview.

I am not a tattooer, but am a serious, studied collector. Also I am a creative artist having been formally educated in music theory, composition, and spontaneous improvisation. So I think I see the similarities in concept that you suggest here. I even once used the analogy and was told by a tattooer to basically jump off a bridge and that I didn't know what the hell I was talking about because I was not a tattooer.

Anyway, I get it.

What's up all, here is the Koi all healed pretty much I think. Does anyone see any rough spots or spots that are noticable? The scab came off the red spot on the head and doesnt really appear to be missing any ink? Opinions on how it looks?

It looks like it was done by a competent tattooer, but not by one that really knows or does Japanese very well. The whole energy and flow of it seems disrupted.

I play saxophone,

My band:

ACME Swing Mfg. Co.

No wisecracks. Here's my Jeff Cribb tattoo (spidermums). Brian Bruno did the Kitsune...

my ass is not tattooed, but I got tattooed closeenoughto it that I thought it was being tattooed and it definitely was no picnic!

I don't see many foo dogs. Octopus and Hannya masks are a little more common, but still less common that Koi and Dragons.

I don't think Octopus is very popular outside from the beach and Jesse's shop. I bet he gets asked to do a lot of Octopus because ofhis own killer Filip Leu sleeve.

There was a time I though Kitsune were uncommon,then I read a couple of artists websites where the artist said they were tired of doing foxes.

I had artists tell me they were their own worst enemy by posting pictures of their latest 'eagle' tattoo and everyone would come in wanting an eagle and they get caught in a cycle of boredom and monotony.

I think whats common is a matter or relativity. Some guys have done more than enough lady heads fortheir lifetime and cant wait to get asked to do a koi!

I got my first tattoo a few months after I turned 18. I went very big, but don't regret it. I had been contemplating it for a long time and got it as soon as I could. The roses represent the lineage of the name "rose" in my family. However, I was set on black and white, and made it clear, but the artist they recommended was big on color--he does really bright, bold pieces (and they are great and stand the test of time incredibly, just not for me). He really pushed color and for my first tattoo, I think I was really easily swayed. Today I would have just left and gone some where else. So he did the outline and then we decided we would discuss color after and make a decision. Then, after 3 hours, he asks ME to pick out the color I want among his ink bottles. Looking back, I don't know any one that does that (and I said I really wanted it black & white). Not only was it my first tattoo--I was super naive--but what do I know about how ink transfers to skin? (Not to mention, I DIDN'T WANT COLOR!) Anyway, long story short, it still looks the same today. I even went back and asked him to grayscale it, and he said it was impossible. But Grez at King's Ave said it's no problem, so I'll probably go back to them once I have some $$$.

Here's the picture, but has any one here ever asked the customer to pick out the color they want? Just curious.

that tattoo aint great. get grez to fix it asap!

I got a Jeff Cribb tattoo! Super cool experience! Jeff says hello everybody! Ursula, Karl, et al..!

Could you elaborate?

Yes. It's not God that created man in his own image, its the other way around.

I believe in God, just not the man-made one.

1963 Selmer Paris Mark VI tenor sax

Guardala Studio

La Voz M

2005 Charles Walter 190 ebony

Yeah, the composition on that tattoo could be better. Don't dick around on the next artist you select.

1 "Talent borrows, genuises steal!"

2 "Imitate, assimilate, innovate!"

In other words COPY, so that you understand, then based on that heightened awareness and your own aesthetic, do something creative with it that makes it all your own.

I like filling as I go. 'Negative' space is only 'negative' if it's in the foreground. Good background fill is imporant, and gives the tattoo a frame of reference and it gives the viewer a sense of time and place.

I am more stringent and particular about an artist's smoke, clouds, wind bars, water then I would be about skulls or hanyas, dragons. It matters.

I just met Jeff! Super cool guy! I am trying to figure out (with my family in tow) how sit with him before I leave SC.

There are a lot of variables as to the trauma of getting a tattoo. I've had some tattoos go through the healing process twice and some that were healed in three days. No rhyme or reason to any of it as far as I can tell. But, I have setled into a workable healing routine.

1 Don't muck with it til the next morning.

2 Wash it in the shower

3 Let it dry out all day (there should still be plenty of moisture in it from the day before)

4 Following morning, shower wash it and

5 Start using lotion. (Don't use lotion on it before it's had at least a good 24 hours to dry out)

I know this doesn't sound like 'enough' but it works for me. I am not a particularly hairy person, I don't sweat a lot, and I am not doing manual labor outside, so I am generally clean anyway. Overwashing it only re-traumatizes the area -- and only enough lotion to keep it from getting too dry and 'cracking'.

Re: Jeff Cribb - I enjoyed his interview and looked at his portfolio. I will see if I can find a way to go sit with him.

I am going on vacation in June and wondering if there are any artists in the Myrtle Beach - Wilmington area that I shouldn't pass up. I am mostly into Japanese style, if that helps. Thanks in advance.

Nice! I think you could walkminto any shop on Okinawa and find what youre looking for.