Dan S

I don't think you're entirely right. You don't know me yet you judge me about rushing into a tattoo because I want to be part of the community. I don't know where you are pulling that from. There are other things to factor in that you have conveniently left out due to your own perspective. It's cool you saved up for a year to get a couple roses from an artist you think is the best. I personally plan big pieces, the last tattoo I got was a half sleeve that took 13 hours, two and a half years ago in the UK. Since then I have also been saving. I fully intend to to travel to get work from artists I like, like later on in the year when I travel to the uk, so I think it's unfair of you to make these assumptions about me. Also if you think every tattoo on your body is completely unique and the tattoo artists that did them never referenced another tattooer in his or her career, I think you must be kidding yourself just a bit. Convenience also seems to factor into your decision making since you 'waited' for Scott Sylvia to come to your town. There really is no need to be so high and mighty. I think I shall go back to just lurking from now on. So long folks.

No offense taken to any of yours or other people's posts. You have one of the nicest collections of tattoos I've seen and I'm pretty envious. Your back in progress is turning out to be one of my favourites ever. I envy those who have the time and money to travel to world class people for their tattoos. I unfortunately am not currently in the position to do so myself. I can understand how you feel, I would be pretty bummed if someone copied a tattoo that was on me. But I see it slightly differently. HK doesnt have any artists that do the neo traditional style, and I could see from his tattoos that he had got the technique down, so I gave him some goldfish reference from a book of Chinese goldfish paintings. If you are talking about the water, I don't see how it's any different from the scores of people that emulated filip leu style water, shige included in his early years. I think Gen just saw who he thought was number 1 and is trying to get on that level, also much like how shiges early stuff looks like filips or jack mosher stuff. Just spending a couple weeks around Gen, I did notice how hard working he is, he finished a 5 hr session on me, and sat down and did 3 paintings immediately after he broke down his station. I don't agree with copying people's custom tattoos, but I do think he's spent a lot of time figuring a lot of the technical stuff out by himself, that I couldn't deny that he's a solid tattooer. That being said, I did go to Gen because he could do 'shige style', but I don't see how it's any different than going to get a tattoo from Capilli coz he can do Bailey Hunter Robinson or Stuart Cripwell kinda style?

I take your point too. On second thought I should have been more sincere towards @thecatatafish about his tattoo, although I am sure he knows what Gen is about otherwise he wouldn't have made the comment about some people on here not digging him.
Im going to end this now because its not what im about and I respect this forum and the majority of the people that contribute.

I take your point there, and get why you would be especially pissed seeing that this guy ripped off one of your tattoos, but unless a) this particular tattoo was directly lifted from Shige or any other artist, and b) that the client asked for a copy of somebody else's work, disparaging comments about people's tattoos bum me out because these tattoos are on people, they have to live with them, and often they don't even know that they're getting straight copies of other peoples' tattoos. If it means that I have no morals because I'd rather not make somebody feel shitty about a tattoo that they're stoked on, then so be it.
For what it's worth, my "dickheads" comment was mostly about people complaining about the cost of good tattoos. There's no place for that here.

Why is it a shame that his tattooer copied someone else's style? Anymore, almost all tattooing is evocative of some other persons work.

Why is it a shame that his tattooer copied someone else's style? Anymore, almost all tattooing is evocative of some other persons work.

Why is it a shame that his tattooer copied someone else's style? Anymore, almost all tattooing is evocative of some other persons work.

Why is it a shame that his tattooer copied someone else's style? Anymore, almost all tattooing is evocative of some other persons work.

More pictures of tattoos, less being dickheads. Please and thank you.

Why is it a shame that his tattooer copied someone else's style? Anymore, almost all tattooing is evocative of some other persons work.

Why is it a shame that his tattooer copied someone else's style? Anymore, almost all tattooing is evocative of some other persons work.

Why is it a shame that his tattooer copied someone else's style? Anymore, almost all tattooing is evocative of some other persons work.

^This. As a result, I would speculate that the least expensive* way to get your tiny olive colored would be to go back and get another tattoo and have your artist just put some color in it then.
*Yeah, that will be even more money out of your pocket than the quote you just got - but hey, a new tattoo!

Man, get a smaller piece on your leg, or where it isn't as noticeable. Experiment with some color. I've known some brother's do good with red, some with orange or yellow...see what it looks like, and if you like it, hey, there you go.

Just got this done today its my first tattoo i sat in the chair for 5 hours and when its healed I have to go for another 2 to finish the shading
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If people around you are judging you based on a little bit of tattoo peeking out from under a sleeve, then you're most definitely hanging with the wrong crowd.

Actually, very few of the actual "signifying" tattoos are worn by anyone but an "in-law" in Russia. There are some heavy possibilities for someone who hasn't earned them. Same here, if someone was to put on so-called "gang" symbols, things could get hairy right chop-chop.
Sandman, you should credit the article you posted.
http://createvisualculture.wordpress.com/cruciformity/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Russian-Criminal-Tattoo-Encyclopedia/180948251928150?sk=info
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_tattoo
Same lame shit is regurgitated all over the web.

Just blurred out actual identifiers. A few of those Brothers are dead, a few are in the joint, at least two are on the street, and I don't want to casue anyone problems.

Just blurred out actual identifiers. A few of those Brothers are dead, a few are in the joint, at least two are on the street, and I don't want to casue anyone problems.

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Just blurred out actual identifiers. A few of those Brothers are dead, a few are in the joint, at least two are on the street, and I don't want to casue anyone problems.

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