oboogie

I already have a rose on my right knee, but I have no idea what to do with my left. Do I want a matching rose? Do I want another type of flower? An animal??? Arghhhh

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Not sure if he would have cited Picasso as an influence but when I look at Lee Roy's wolves I think of Guernica . Lee Roy Minugh

Finished my full back piece last Friday. I plan to write something about the experience but need time to collect and organize all my thoughts.
by Mike Rubendall at Kings Ave:

Whoa! Beautifully done.

I got all of these touched up last week by my artist, Josh Henderson.

Next tattoo is scheduled with Richard Stell at the Oklahoma Tattoo Convention at the end of this month, then I'm finishing my half sleeve on my right arm with Josh in May. Looking forward to both!

Welcome. I'm new here, too...and only have one tattoo. It's just a month old and I will be going back in on the 26th of this month to have some shading added. I am planning on my next - probably in the fall.

I'm getting a police badge with donuts and a coffee up in the middle that says 'Springfield police'

My father had a tattoo - got it while in the Marines during the Korean Conflict. It was a traditional skull with a snake weaving through the eyes and mouth. But, since he passed away in 1997 and I was 60 when I got my first tattoo - just about a month ago - this wasn't a big problem. My mom is in a nursing home and I showed it to her the day after I got it. She asked why I got it, I told her and she smiled and said it looks good. End of story. :cool:

Thanks @oboogie! I'm hoping I'm overreacting, it's just weird to me that they appear on the old tattoo, not the fresh one. I'm going in this Saturday for work on my inner bicep, the last piece to the full sleeve. Once it's complete I'll be sure to post pictures :)

I love your collection! Thanks for sharing. :D

Okay, well both of my parents have tattoos (albeit small ones and only two each). They know about all my tattoos, and I tell them before I get the actual tattoos. My dad couldn't care less, I could be covered in tattoos and I don't really think he'd have an issue. My mum, however, thinks that women should have "small" and "delicate" tattoos, and keeps asking when I'll stop getting them. She does a massive sigh and eye roll every time I tell her I'm getting a new one, but a lot of the times she ends up liking the actual tattoo. I think she just wishes they weren't on me haha

Here a few more of my tattoos. Again, all are by Josh Henderson, except for the barking dog, which is a cover-up by Kyle Seal.



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I posted this elsewhere, but it sort of explains how I got into tattoos. Seems appropriate to add here:
I got my first tattoo (a crappy piece of flash off the wall) by some random woman at a tattoo shop when I was in college. It was supposed to be a daisy, but my young niece thought it was broccoli! One of my professors thought it was a sprocket of some kind? A boyfriend at the time called it a "mutant flower, just like me." Flattering! I gave it zero thought, and it was badly done. About five years ago, just before my 40th birthday, I decided to cover it up with something I really liked — the barking dog by Keith Haring. Thus began my foray into tattoos! In the last five years I've gotten 30 plus tattoos, and I'm already signed up for more. I just can't stop! I started by getting them all on my lower legs (which are nearly covered now), but then I added the top part of each arm. One is a half sleeve, and I'm finishing the other half sleeve in May. I work in advertising, and I have facial piercings, so no one here minds my tattoos. If I ever have to go back to a more traditional office environment (hope not), I can remove the piercings, but tattoos are more difficult to remove. ;-) So I am sticking to half sleeves for now, but I'm sure that will change at some point. I get asked to show my tattoos a lot around here — there is one other creative here with full sleeves, and we are considered the wild ones, which makes me laugh. I'm a proofreader! I'm not particularly crazy. I just love the art of tattooing. It is addictive.

I come from a strict religious upbringing. One day, when I was 18 or thereabouts, I woke up and told my mum I was going to get a tattoo that day. She begged me not to (which made it even more appealing). I went out, got inked, came home, rolled my sleeve up and showed her, only to see her cry. I think she realized about 5 years and a few tatts later that the tattoo does not changeth the maneth.

You're absolutely right, it was my responsibility. I guess I didn't take a good enough look at the stencil like i should've. Now I know for next time! Also thank you, I'm glad you like them.
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Lebanon :)

Thanks I hope your right.
But if making it bigger or adding shadding to hide the bleed out isn't the answer (if that is in fact what has happened,) then what would the answer be? It's pretty noticeable on my trap muscle. I'd see it all the time. It would be a constant spruce of anxiety

I like the tribal/water/wave one,it's bold,colorful and nicely done IMO.

Hey, all,
I'm Jen, and I'm new round here. I've read a lot of posts here, so I thought I'd join in the banter.
I am a tattoo collector. 90% of mine are by Joshua Henderson at Brainstorm Tattoo in Fayetteville, Arkansas, who I think is crazy talented. I also have been tattooed by Richard Stell, and I'm getting another from him the Oklahoma Tattoo Convention at the end of this month. I'm a big admirer of Richard and Jennifer Stell, who are two of the coolest people I've had the chance to meet. I've been helping Jennifer with proofreading and updating the tattoo convention website. Good times! I guess I'll post a few of my tattoos in subsequent posts.
Thanks for letting me join here, and I hope to become a regular!
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Funky frog courtesy of Eddy Deutsche. Picture stolen from him. He pretty much read my mind. It's really angry here because inner thigh tattoos are a dumb idea.

awesome intro - 45 here as well - just went onto my forearms last summer - was very nervous as i work in a school system and wasnt sure how it would go down - but it turned out to not be a big deal at all - plus the students love it (k-2) - anyway - rock on with your big tattoo plans - go for it

Welcome and thanks for the great intro! I recently got my first tattoo - at age 61. I am a retired Army colonel and now president of a small college. Neither of those two professions - Army officer and higher education administration - were/are generally accepting of tattoos and certainly not exposed ones. My first (and it even has some tribal lines in it, was done because it has meaning to me so it really didn't matter if others approved) is fairly large but is still covered by short sleeves. It took me a long time to decide what I wanted - and to convince myself to do it. Once I did, though, it consumed much of my thoughts. I also had many, many 2d thoughts as the day approached. I am so glad I did it.
It was just a matter of days after the initial work that I began to think about adding some shading to it...and I was disappointed when it turned out that planned vacation time makes me put off the final work until next Tuesday. Arrrgh!
At the same time, I am already planning on the next. It too will have meaning to me and I'll be talking with my artist about it while I have the work done next week. With warm weather - and pool time - approaching, I will most likely wait until fall to get the 2d one done. For this one, my thought is to go a bit larger so that it will be evident with short sleeves. I've come to the conclusion that I've lived within societal convention all of my life. Sometimes, you need to step outside of those conventions and do something different. Who knows, maybe we'll see Harvard's president sporting some ink. For now, though, I bet there are not too many inked college presidents who also shoot in Vintage Sniper Rifle matches. :cool:
I am looking forward to seeing your work - maybe it will even give me the confidence to go larger!!

Wow, thank you folks who have already replied! (and a special thank you to Col. Volk for his service to our country).
Like many of you have already said, I doubt I'll have any regrets when finished. Just not sure if I should plunge in or live with a half-sleeve first. I guess if it doesn't hamper the overall design either way I am good to wait.
Another source of anxiety is the trust in the artist. I can tell him what I want, the elements I prefer, etc... but I won't really have any idea of what it will really look like until he is done penning it onto my skin and we are ready to line out. Very exciting, yet nerve wracking... and I appreciate the vote of confidence in my artist choice above.
Can't wait!

Hi, everyone. Before I introduce myself: Thank you! I've been reading forum archives for about a week - and I appreciate and respect all the information that has been shared here in the past.
My name is Chris. I'm 45 and about to get my first large piece. This will be my fourth tattoo -- but my first in almost 20 years, so I feel like a complete virgin. Especially since my other pieces are small and completely hidden.
My first tattoo was my fraternity letters on my ankle! I know -- just about as dumb as you can get. Interestingly, they were done by Pinky Yun at Dragon Tattoo in San Jose! In a scene many of you professionals have probably seen too many times, a bunch of us showed up right before closing and asked for the same tattoo. By the time the third one was done, the other seven had lost interest. I didn't have any idea who Pinky was at the time and didn't even know he was famous until the morning after. (This was in 1989). His shop just happened to be the closest one to the university.
My next tattoo was almost as bad: the typical 1990s tribal armband. Oh yeah! I know these tattoos bring instant chuckles these days, but I assure you, in 1992 this was awesome. I had a good 2-3 year run until they started showing up everywhere. Good times!
My third tattoo was in the late 1990s, another tribal piece, but actually a really cool one that actually flows with my body and doesn't look like cheesy flash. It swirls around my ankle bone and down my foot. It's the only piece I have that I actually love... but the bad ones hold a special place in my heart, and I've passed on chances to cover them up.
Like most people who start getting tattoos, I never thought my last piece would be my final piece.... but college turned into post-graduate school which led to starting a family, and honestly tattoos just went off my radar completely for nearly 20 years. Until about 3 months ago.
Early this year, I logged onto Facebook and was shocked to see my brother-in-law, a respected attorney, bust out a large piece on his arm. But after I saw it in person, it really stirred something inside of me: the desire to get another tattoo. This wasn't a new desire, but an old one awakened. And it dawned on me: I'm now middle-aged with grey hair. I own a successful business, and it's in an industry where tattoos are very common. I now live in Austin, Texas where everyone and their sister sports multiple visible tattoos. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that the barriers that made me put it out of my mind prior (social acceptance, career, etc). had been mostly eliminated. Any reason I might have previously used not to get tattooed was pretty much moot at this point.
I had already decided years ago that traditional Japanese was my favorite tattooing style. A friend's dragon-koi sleeve stirred my interest more than decade ago, well before these became as common on Westerners.
Well, I've done my research, realized that I live in a city with more than a few really well-known Irezumi specialists, and decided on Scott Ellis at Triple Crown Tattoo here in town. There are a few other names in this city that may seem like a more obvious choice to some given their fame... but after scouring portfolios and meeting a few of these guys, Scott was my #1 pick. For those who have seen his work (his name comes up in search only a few times on this forum), he does a really nice, bold, Japanese style that I like. And on a personal level I found him much more engaging than others I met with.
Had my consultation last week, and it went great. I can't decide how long my sleeve should be so I'm starting with a half. Scott assures me that if he knows I may want to go longer later ahead of time, that this style is extremely easy to extend later. I'm confident that once in place, I'll wish I had gone longer vs. shorter... but despite working in an industry where tattoos are the norm, I am having a hard time fully seeing myself with a visible sleeve. Well, some days. Other days, I see gorgeous Japanese sleeves online and really want one. Then I'll decide that 7/10 is really the ideal length. And then a day later I'm back to wanting to keep it half-length for now. Really, I can't decide.
I have an appointment with Scott to do the linework on Friday. I am so excited/nervous, that the tattoo is filling my head in most of my free time. I keep deciding, and then adjusting the length I want in my mind. I keep looking at Scott's online portfolio/instagram over and over and over in order to reassure myself that I've picked someone who can create what I want. I even have moments (fleeting, but they happen), where I wonder if I'm crazy to commit to such a large piece. Sometimes I even wonder if I should expand my artist search to other cities, since flying somewhere to get a piece that will last forever is a small price to pay. I assume a lot of this is normal. I don't want to make it sound like I am on the fence... but I do assume that flashes of buyer's remorse, or last minute jitters, are just part of the overall excitement/tension/anticipation of a (first) large tattoo.
Can anyone else share their feelings about their first visible/partially visible tattoo? Or the first time they committed to a significant tattoo (vs. small one-off pieces)? Despite all my excitement, I guess I'm still seeking a bit of reassurance that I've picked a good artist, or that some of these nervous feelings are normal and too be expected. Anyone who wants to comment, I'd appreciate it.
Thanks in advance, and of course, I'll be posting some photos later this week!

Hey, all,
I'm Jen, and I'm new round here. I've read a lot of posts here, so I thought I'd join in the banter.
I am a tattoo collector. 90% of mine are by Joshua Henderson at Brainstorm Tattoo in Fayetteville, Arkansas, who I think is crazy talented. I also have been tattooed by Richard Stell, and I'm getting another from him the Oklahoma Tattoo Convention at the end of this month. I'm a big admirer of Richard and Jennifer Stell, who are two of the coolest people I've had the chance to meet. I've been helping Jennifer with proofreading and updating the tattoo convention website. Good times! I guess I'll post a few of my tattoos in subsequent posts.
Thanks for letting me join here, and I hope to become a regular!
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I got all of these touched up last week by my artist, Josh Henderson.

Next tattoo is scheduled with Richard Stell at the Oklahoma Tattoo Convention at the end of this month, then I'm finishing my half sleeve on my right arm with Josh in May. Looking forward to both!

ya,I always tip as well,no matter what the artist is charging per hour.