Abellve

"I ain't calling no other brah Delicious. I'm a grown-ass man brah."

Here's some that I've done. I don't get into the studio much but I hope to soon and will explore a new direction. All ideas and no time right now.


Intaglio prints onto rice paper.

I made this for my wife. It's of the antique schooner we sailed on on Maine.

This one seems relevant these days...painted just over four years ago.

Getting used to it, staring back and realizing that generally tattoos are for people who don't care what other people think of them are the best we can hope for in a judgmental world. That said, whether it's our tattoos or something else we don't have to accept rudeness from people. I expect a second look but I'm extremely unpleasant when people think they're entitled to be rude and disrespectful. I'm not one who subscribes to this idea that I did this to myself so I have it coming. Oddly, I find the generation that says young people have no respect or weren't raised right are the first to point, cringe and stare.
As to The Bible, the Leviticus scripture that most people use was specifically written to one church in regard to the Cult of the Dead about it's practice of cutting themselves and carving themselves up for their dead relative and such -- not a general word against any mark on the body. Putting tattoo it the verse didn't happen til I think the NIV, which for those who care is a pretty distorted interpretation of The Bible.

It's a good one.
I think I'm going to do the Jack Dracula one next.
I mean to interview more people, but... I always put it off.

@G.Uristti

@sbrookins, too true and the last thing this industry needs to do is give up ownership of some of the fundamental elements...like the building and maintaining of a client base, building a reputation and controlling what we do and how we're perceived. If you sell off pieces of this thing to the entertainment industry and outside interests you don't get to cry foul when they abuse it. Sadly people that have the opportunity to do so are selling everybody's shares since, for better or worse, we're all in this together to a great extent.
And yeah, all that aside what the hell Facebook generation is this that people just shoot out emails saying their guy should be on your site? Even if publicists had a place in our industry, that's a piss-poor example of one.

@sbrookins, too true and the last thing this industry needs to do is give up ownership of some of the fundamental elements...like the building and maintaining of a client base, building a reputation and controlling what we do and how we're perceived. If you sell off pieces of this thing to the entertainment industry and outside interests you don't get to cry foul when they abuse it. Sadly people that have the opportunity to do so are selling everybody's shares since, for better or worse, we're all in this together to a great extent.
And yeah, all that aside what the hell Facebook generation is this that people just shoot out emails saying their guy should be on your site? Even if publicists had a place in our industry, that's a piss-poor example of one.

@sbrookins, too true and the last thing this industry needs to do is give up ownership of some of the fundamental elements...like the building and maintaining of a client base, building a reputation and controlling what we do and how we're perceived. If you sell off pieces of this thing to the entertainment industry and outside interests you don't get to cry foul when they abuse it. Sadly people that have the opportunity to do so are selling everybody's shares since, for better or worse, we're all in this together to a great extent.
And yeah, all that aside what the hell Facebook generation is this that people just shoot out emails saying their guy should be on your site? Even if publicists had a place in our industry, that's a piss-poor example of one.

Man, is that what it's come to?...never mind...yes. It seems like a publicist is someone you hire to speak for you when your work isn't...speaking for you. It's lost on me, this chase for fame. Do good work, make clients happy. I'm not opposed to acclaim but we have to do this for its own sake and if something else comes of it, fine. It should come your way because your work can't be ignored not because you paid someone to see that you're well positioned.
All ubercurmudgeonly ranting aside, good on you for OV being the place to be seen.

I don't think there is anything wrong with using a publicist, but this approach is unprofessional and disrespectful to both you and their client. There is a lot of tradition behind the tattooing profession and even when you are trying new things, you have to respect that tradition. This is just amateur hour and the person doing it should be ashamed and embarrassed.

When I bought it, it was already pretty far from original in little ways but it was black and silver. I don't know what it was originally. This Mist Green is the color from the next year's competition model.
...yeah, I know what you mean about the marriage thing. Fourteen years tomorrow.

Man, is that what it's come to?...never mind...yes. It seems like a publicist is someone you hire to speak for you when your work isn't...speaking for you. It's lost on me, this chase for fame. Do good work, make clients happy. I'm not opposed to acclaim but we have to do this for its own sake and if something else comes of it, fine. It should come your way because your work can't be ignored not because you paid someone to see that you're well positioned.
All ubercurmudgeonly ranting aside, good on you for OV being the place to be seen.

Just did a 300 mile round trip from PA, up one side of Seneca Lake and down the other with the main mission being a stop at Finger Lakes Distilling. They have such good stuff there. I tried their new pot still Irish style whiskey and their White Pike, both good. Somehow I ended up getting two bottles of rye. Should've mixed it up in the whiskey department but their rye is particularly good. I had never been into rye til I had theirs.



I came down from that lake with 8 bottles in that bag...2 wine, 2 gin, 2 rye and 2 brandy...and a couple of wine glasses that actually survived the trip without breaking.

OV is niche and I like it being niche.
The guy's stuff was nicely done by it's just not the kind of stuff I feature. I might have considered it had the artist himself contacted me. But having a third party contact me was weird for me.
Right now OV is me and Jennifer Stell. Eventually I'll have other people helping out, but they have to be people who get it. We're never going to take ad revenue (though for my birthday I'm going to ask for presents. Believe it!) and we're never going to be a general tattoo blog. So it's strange when I get email like that.

Man, is that what it's come to?...never mind...yes. It seems like a publicist is someone you hire to speak for you when your work isn't...speaking for you. It's lost on me, this chase for fame. Do good work, make clients happy. I'm not opposed to acclaim but we have to do this for its own sake and if something else comes of it, fine. It should come your way because your work can't be ignored not because you paid someone to see that you're well positioned.
All ubercurmudgeonly ranting aside, good on you for OV being the place to be seen.

Man, is that what it's come to?...never mind...yes. It seems like a publicist is someone you hire to speak for you when your work isn't...speaking for you. It's lost on me, this chase for fame. Do good work, make clients happy. I'm not opposed to acclaim but we have to do this for its own sake and if something else comes of it, fine. It should come your way because your work can't be ignored not because you paid someone to see that you're well positioned.
All ubercurmudgeonly ranting aside, good on you for OV being the place to be seen.

I don't care how Kat Von D got anywhere. But I would imagine it might have had something to being married (formerly) to Oliver Peck and being an attention whore.

Rules? We have a guy who basically says, "is there a code of ethics? I wanna know so I can ignore it, say it's stupid because it doesn't work for me and my stripper-on-a-welding-table pseudocareer or even better, doesn't apply to me because I'm this new breed of super scratcher."
Guess what -- you're the same as all the rest of them -- a scratcher, an infection in this industry. All the namastes in the world won't help you when the only thing worse than your work is the garbage you spew.

1950's dime novel cover .

Ok, @Brian Wermund, it seems silly to send you the link to the newbie guidelines since I'd be willing to bet you crafted this thread to specifically skirt all the rules about posting. But here it is: Last Sparrow Tattoo - Newbie Guidelines
Not sure if you've received any PMs from the other mods on here but I'd expect one sooner rather than later. LST is a place to learn and it is a place to ask questions. It is not a place to post (not so) thinly veiled attempts to pat yourself on the back for tattooing out of your house and getting thrown out of a shop and pretending to be butthurt when strangers on the internet tell you you're wrong. I'm sure the experience won't change a thing.
Anyway, I know stirring shit up online is fun in between appointments at the kitchen table, but maybe instead you can use that time to get your hands on some books and magazines or even take a look around the site. Through a little research you might notice that most people who were relegated to tattooing at home were either 15 or shortly thereafter were able to land a proper apprenticeship where they said, "Holy shit, thank god I'm on the right track."
I've wasted way too much time on this response. And probably been way too nice. Just do us all a favor and stop trolling for a reaction.
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Also, go get tattooed. At a shop.

...and lifestyle...how I live is my business, how I work is yours, mine and my boss's. So lifestyle only matters when it intersects with work habits. It can be a deciding factor though. If you can have a good conversation about a shared interest it can make for a nice experience but only if you're deciding between equal tattooers. I can't see getting a weak tattoo for good banter.

Yeah, don't be a scratcher. Don't be everything that established tattooers who care about their industry hate and expect to be treated like a welcome guest. Our job is to do good work and protect our craft, not pass on bits of information and make you feel welcome or applaud you for having the courage to openly be a hack.

Really?
This shit's Bubbleberry all over again. Someone please swing the hammer and end this. I'm convinced that threads like these are the reason so many tattoo artists have stopped posting on this site. Do we really want to lose the few that have stuck around??

I've spent the last 14 months scrubbing bathrooms, floors and tubes to get where I am. It isn't easy to find someone willing to dedicate their time to teach you their craft. You have to prove that this is truly where your heart is and it will be worth it to them. An apprenticeship isn't just learning to tattoo, it's paying your fucking dues. I have never had a problem just going into any shop. I have been able spend time with tattooers whom I really look up to and they have taught me many things even though they were not my mentor. Why? Because I'm doing it right and I've shown them the respect they deserve.
That woman treated you the way you deserved to be treated.

Looks like a no from what I'm gathering. He's in it to make money (his words) and get all the hard earned information he can Google. His apprenticeship didn't move fast enough so he decided to throw it away and kickstart a career in his apartment.
Time has already told. You are indeed a scratcher. Here, you may not find what you're looking for exactly but there's a good chance you'll find what you should -- if you heed what experienced and established tattooers have to offer instead of throwing out whatever doesn't fit with your idea of how it should go.