Wedge

Nice tattoo, Pablo.

Dan S that is a beautiful tattoo.

Welcome, I'm from CT also. There's actually some pretty good artists in this state if you look hard enough.

Welcome, Mark. I'm a fan of your work at Eastside.

Ron Wells did a gypsy on the side of my calf, he was done in no time and I barely felt it.

That's a well said post, @slayer9019.

Most of us have to be concerned with budget but when cost becomes a significant factor in getting a tattoo I'm afraid you could be setting yourself up for sub par work. Maybe you should take some time and save up more and be better financially prepared to afford a good tattoo and not be concerned with not being able to feed your family. A $200-300 budget for a shoulder tattoo isn't really that much.

Yeah I would guess that's taken from an Elvgren girl. When I was at Shane's shop a couple of years ago to get an Elvgren pinup he had numerous books of pinup girls, including images from Vargas and Elvgren.

Xavi Garcia does amazing black and grey, mostly realism stuff.

TATUATGES XAVI

I think I saw that the artists are doing pinup tattoos tonight, that is right up Shane O'Neill's alley since he does many of them, including mine.

me three

Me 4...and I have no intention or interest in joining either. I don't have an iphone so I can't access instagram or whatever the hell its called either. I'm way behind the times and damn proud of it.

I think it depends on what type of tattoo they are expected to do from here out. If they keep picking styles that allow Shane to do black and grey or realistic work, I see him winning. Would love to see a Japanese Challenge.

I agree. I'm rooting for Shane since I have a tattoo from him but out of fairness I'd like to see him do something out of his comfort zone. And he's obviously very good at what he does but he's also a little on the cocky side...I guess he's earned that, though. I loved it when he told that blonde girl her fireman's helmet tattoo was "shit."

my latest got tattooed on Friday, I kept it wrapped til tuesday and after i took the wrap off within a day it peeled and now its at the really itchy stage. easiest heal i have ever had since the last debacle

I've heard people say they've had good success with this method. I've got a couple of questions though... do you put on any lotion or ointment before each wrap or are you dry wrapping? Also, when it's wrapped (even dry) it's obviously causing heat build up and causes the tattoo to sweat and subsequently the wrap traps this extra moisture...isn't sweat and moisture bad for tattoo healing? I dry wrapped for an extra day with my last tattoo, after a few hours the tattoo had become sweaty and slimey and was a mess. It healed well but after seeing that I decided not to wrap it any more.

This has been said before so I'm only repeating the obvious but goddamn there's some nice tattoos in this thread.

Here's something (sorry for the length) taken from the blog of a fairly well known and well respected tattoo artist. I think I'll omit his name for now.

"I've always found anti-social imagery compelling. It challenges ones common sense; a persons sense of decency and their idea of "Good & Evil".

It also can adversely reaffirm ones core instinctual concept of right and wrong and, if you are so inclined, bolster a persons "Fuck You" attitude about the world around them. So in this regard such "taboo" subjects prove to be different masters for different servants.

I find the hazy margin of ambiguousness an image commonly held as offensive exists in fascinating. How is it that one image is acceptable to one person while it causes another to shrink in terror or sneer in disgust? Inside this line in the sand so to speak are the real questions.A question that cuts to the core of the subject matter itself. What is right and what is wrong? If there is such a thing why can't everyone agree what it is in the first place? And more over an even deeper question arises from that as well. If we are merely animals then wouldn't the horrendous nature of such a dark symbology just be an extension of our core instinct to annihilate what ever gets in out way?

Finally where do you fall INSIDE the line of demarcation ? This taboo no mans land?

While I obviously Cringe at the idea of romanticizing Nazism in any form and just so I'm clear I don't feel the manner in which this painting was conceived does that by the way, what is it about this painting that identify with and even like? Why would I chose to spend my time painting such negativity into the world?

Perhaps it's my desire to be left alone by most people? Nothing in the world could possibly top this as a way of letting people know to stay the hell away from you. Still I feel the composition grasps on to a certain charm as rotten as the core may be.

My painting is drawn in a style indicative of 80's tattooing A period of time I view as more cut and dry compared to today's blurred line of reality and fantasy. Of real and unreal. Of scripted reality Vs. cold harsh brutal reality.Of black and white (no pun intended).

Happiness and "feeling good" is what our society is based upon here in the West after all. This belief sprung from the 1960's, flourished in the 70's, matured in the 80's and 90's. And now at the start of a new decade in a new millennium the cracks have begun to form at the base of this structure from the shear weight of all of its moral and social entitlements. And of its own grotesque vices as well....I'm Left to ponder: what are the consequence of this way of life both good and bad going to be for us all?

I feel I made this painting because I just felt like adding a few more needles to Joe camel's back so to speak. Not for some kind of pro-nationalist statement or an affirmation of some kind of bloated illogical racial idea but because I felt like saying fuck this easygoing softness in us. I want the viewer to reaffirm their commitments. I want them to think past the fleeting pathetic pre-programmed plastic knee jerk television has drummed into them. I want the viewer to connect to the painting in a manner that causes either anger and resentment or praise and adoration. And ultimately I want the viewer to emerge from the moral no man's land that so many in today's world apathetically wonder through recommitted. I want battle lines to be draw so we can bring last centuries tired arguments and the beginning of this centuries short comings and false promises to a close.

In essence I want the house of cards to fall."

Hmmm...you look familiar. Willkommen! I don't want to put you on the spot but maybe you can post a pic or two of some of your amazing work, I'm sure you'll receive some insightful feedback.

Congrats to you both and forever good luck.

The rose that Ron Wells just did to go with my gypsy is definitely more "wrong way" than the one on the OP. At first I wasn't sold on it but I've really come to like it and appreciate it's uniqueness.

Sorry, I'm embarrassed I brought the subject away from labias and back on track.

Nice tattoo @Cork, I saw it at the other forum and it looks good there, too. Congrats, man.

I'll be sharing a booth with my lil' buddy Ashley Love, anyone else going? I want to hit this place up dominion shooting range Ashley has never shot a gun before, we're gonna fix that!

That range looks pretty good with a ton of guns to rent if needed. I have many handguns and belong to a local indoor range (located right next to ESPN studios) here in CT that I wish allowed shotguns like the one you linked to. What do you shoot?

I was thinking about how great that convention must have been.I wish there was a convention in the North East that even comes close to the quality of artists at that convention..Must be awesome to witness all that great tattooing in one place.

The only convention in the northeast I think that can compare might be Paradise Gathering in Mass every September hosted by Gabe Ripley (tattoonow) and Off the Map tattoo in MA. They have an amazing artist list every year. I think it's in Colorado in 2012 though.

Love the tiger, interesting choice of color and also to stray from the traditional yellow/orange colors.

That's a beautiful tattoo.

I think prolonged exposure to the sun will ineveitably have some effects on the tattoo, even though you're using sunscreen. Obviously the sunscreen helps, but over a longer period of time I think the sun will have some fading effects. I know for me it has, my arms get a lot of sun in the summer and although I use a good sunscreen there has been some noticable discoloration where I used to have more pronounced white ink.