joakim urma

Flight booked and all three artists confirmed (Rico Daruma , Mike Rubendall, Horikitsune) Time to buy convention tickets :)

My appointments are officially booked. Beau Brady on saturday and Josh Arment on sunday. Only a few short weeks to go now!

I am on the fence about whether or not to fill in negative space in a traditional American sleeve or set of tattoos. I love those Cripwell legs, but I also love stars and dots as filler. Also, little tiny daggers, flowers, hearts, eagles, etc. work really well as filler. I'd like to know what y'all think about large scale Japanese work and backgrounds/filler, though. Personally, I think Japanese work needs a background to look its absolute best. Still a tough decision. Some examples:
Not sure who the tattooer is on these two (any help would be appreciated):


vs
Horiharu:

Horitoshi I:

Horiyoshi III:

It's been true summer for a week now in Stockholm and I've been in t-shirt and shorts most of the time. I am starting to grow tired of talking about tattoos with people with no tattoos/really bad tattoos. I think during this time I have talked about tattoos with most people that I work with, many of my friends (that I do really love by the way) and a few random folks. And I don't see the point… or rather, it gets very tiring. Maybe because many people don't know jack about tattooing, only from what they have seen on tv and they ask you the most rude and stupid questions. And then proceed to show you some horrible work on "a buddy" by making you browse this persons instagram feed.
Normally I am a very polite and patient guy but after a week of this.. I don't really think I care about talking tattoos with people who are not deeply into it. I feel like an elitist for saying this but, I guess right now, that's me. I think one of the problems has to do with how tattooing became a mainstream and "cool" thing. Much like skateboarding right about that time when Adidas and Nike decided there was money to be made. Skateboarders used to be the weird smelly kids, the outcasts of the school. It used to be something the general public had no understanding for. I wrote this to a friend recently who thought that my skateboarding hobby was cool
"I don't think skateboarding is so cool, obectivly speaking. Same with tattoos. Or, I don't want it to be cool and hyped and a lot of attention and money into it. I prefer when things are underground, wierd/repulsive to the general public and only cool to the people involved and active. Outsiders and tourists destroy everything genuine (especially as soon as money is involved) It's cultural gentrification."
/End of angry rant. Back to trying to be a nice person and talk reasonable and in a friendly tone to people who wants to talk tattoos with me. Shit, I did not get these to be a conversation piece. One of the rudest things that I've had to respond to in a number of occasions is about the cost of tattoos.. like "Woow, dude that's a lot of money on your legs right there!". Few people would talk about the cost of the paintings on the walls of a friends place the first time they get invited over for dinner, am I right?
ps. I am a really nice guy in real life

My name is Joakim and my second name starts with a M too, so it's mmikaoj backwards. I registred somewhere a long time ago, having to add the extra m since just mikaoj was allready taken. It stuck since it's easy to remember and looks like gibberish to any non-scandinavian without a mirror.

Some of you have already seen this, but we finished my back yesterday. Some of it is still fresh and angry, so I'll get better pictures when it's healed and settled in. Dave Cummings at PSC Tattoo in Montreal did this. Dave is the man, get tattooed by him.

So, I've been very happy with the stuff my local guy, Jereme Galloway, has done for me and I noticed he has a bunch of stuff drawn up and just hanging on the wall. I'm thinking for my next one I just might tell him to grab something from his pile that he has really been wanting to put on someone and do that. Am I crazy? All his shit is great so I don't think I could go wrong, and if it something he has been wanting to do he could be super into it.

Finishing the last part of this

Getting the back of my thigh by Koeplinger on Saturday. Looking forward a lot!

I don't think Sway is doing quite the same stuff as Erl but both are really good. Bailey H Robinson is a good comparision though.
Actually I think Simon Erl does this type of style and subjects the best, it's him I measure other against.
If given the right requests he pulls out amazing stuff, within this pretty narrow style. I love his level of contrast and ways of putting in shading, the whips are cool too. Even if he makes more detailed stuff it's always readable.
I mean, how great is this one? (recent example)

He tattooed me in 2013 in Stockholm, and is a nice guy to talk too also.

Get good tattoos.

@Willhel All right! I think I'll try to couchsurf with this indian guy I know a bit out in the suburbs. Just got confirmed with Mike Rubendall by the way, super stoked!

@jimmyirish
Wow that sounds like a great plan! Thank you so much for thinking about me :) Sounds like a good place! I've been living in a shared house with my four friends now almost three years in Stockholm.
Are your friends on lastsparrow? Otherwise they can find me on couchsurfing, or facebook: Joakim Mathiasson.
Thanks man, appriciate it!
(Just about to send the deposit to Kings Ave!)

@Willhel All right! I think I'll try to couchsurf with this indian guy I know a bit out in the suburbs. Just got confirmed with Mike Rubendall by the way, super stoked!

the most "dangerous" part is you will want more tattoos and are likely to spend all your money on prints and tshirts.

As others have said, the quality artist you choose will be just as safe and clean no matter where they're tattooing you. There has to be a slightly (tiny) increased risk of an infection, just because you're getting tattooed around hundreds of other people instead of 5-10 people in a shop, but your own aftercare is infinitely more important a factor.
The reason not to get a tattoo at a convention has nothing to do with safety, it's about the atmosphere. I found getting a tattoo at last years Montreal convention to be WAY too loud and hectic for my taste. It was very difficult to have a conversation with my tattooer - essentially we were shouting half the time (booth quite close to stage).
Afterwards I told myself I'd never get tattooed at a convention again...
...I'm getting my next tattoo in a couple weeks at the Montreal Convention.

I suppose so. My take on it is that if you like how Simon Erl tattoos, go seek out a tattoo from Simon Erl rather than finding somebody else to give you an imitation of that.

Why does it have to be a style instead of an individual form of expression.

i think we need some photo updates.

Man you quoted one of my first posts here! (Just to follow up, I took the advice of everyone here and got tattooed a ton!)

Yes I understand this post is years old.
I have to admit, I too started to think maybe I am going to fast. I got my first tattoo last year and it seems like all I do now is think about my next one. Since my first I have gotten 7 tattoos from 4 different artists.
I also have 2 tattoos coming up in October, one of which is the start of a half-sleeve.
Personally, I may be doing too much too soon. But since I waited until I was 31 to get my first tattoo, I don't think it's too crazy. Had I started getting tattoos when I wanted them at 17 or 18, I would probably be filled with a lot of garbage and spending tons of money on Laser removal.
Glad I waiting to get filled up. I am wayyy more educated on good artists as oppose to letting a "friend in his kitchen" do it. The support of the people on LST have pointed me to so many GREAT paths. When people respond to the PMs, I look at it as "Hey I got your back". So grateful to everyone for that.
The only thing I lack is the knowledge of Japanese style and what goes together and what doesn't If anyone knows of a book that can break it down to me, give me a shout.

Fucking hell im looking at the line up right now. Seeing more and more pictures of tattoos, the more i see the art in it. That convention does look like it has the best artists.
sorry for the swearing.. but wow. just wow

@Willhel All right! I think I'll try to couchsurf with this indian guy I know a bit out in the suburbs. Just got confirmed with Mike Rubendall by the way, super stoked!

@Margarita Yaschenko
It works different for everybody I suppose. I always tell people looking for their first tattoo to not put it in a place where it will be visible for you (and others) all the time. Size is a different matter, I think about palm or hand sized is good for a first. But I have also seen people get their a whole sleeve or even back as a first tattoo, and make great choices on that both with artist and motif.
I think it's hard to make rules like this but the reason I advice people to not get their first tattoo on the lower arm (as many who has asked me about it tend to gravitate towards) is only because over time, and after getting more tattoos, most people go through a development when it comes to taste, understanding and appriciation of tattoos. I know I did, and still do, change my opinions and I got my first tattoo in 2009. If you put your first idea on your lower arm, chances are it will not look so cool to you in a few years and you'd wish you still had that spot open for something that you learned to enjoy over time.
(Always exceptions of course, some people make great choices from the get go but these are in minority by far if you ask me. Not to say everybodys first tattoo(s) always sucks, but most people evolve in their taste to a great extent in the first 3 years, and would thank themself to leave the "prime estate" open for the future)
Tattoo snob and ink fundamentalist preacher signing off for today,
Peace