Wedge

I think it depends on the person getting tattooed and their lifestyle and location of tattoo. For me, my next will be on my arm which gets a lot of sun in the summer so I'm waiting until fall due to sun exposure and better healing. I've got one on my back in the summer and didn't worry about the healing and sun since I'm not a beach/swimming person.

I like using 100% pure shea butter mixed with a little lavender oil ( I buy it that way), it was recommended due to it's healing properties and overall goodness for the skin. I start using it after the first couple of days and use it well after the tattoo is fully healed ot keep the tattoo looking fresh. It's not always easy to find but I usually buy it online and I've had good results.

It wasn't much but I had a nice experience with Joe Capobianco at Hope Gallery in CT. I was getting tattooed by one of his co workers and it was getting late and Joe was watching a little. He was finished for the day but stuck around and brought me a drink and just kept asking if there was anything I needed or anything he could get me. Just having the great Joe C. hanging around and complimenting the tattoo and bringing me juice, etc. was real cool. I admit I was a little uncomfortable and starstruck but he was so humble and such a cool guy.

Speaking of starstruck I was also getting tattooed by Shane O'Neill while he was doing a guest spot in Mass. and Bob Tyrell was there, also, ending his guest spot. Bob wasn't tattoing but sat and watched Shane (I guess they're good friends) and those two were talking about tattoing, various shops, Kid Rock possibly buying into Bob's place, etc. Having Bob compliment my tattoo and shake my hand and just have a normal, friendly converstion was pretty cool to me. It may not mean much to some people here but for me it was a special experience.

Book with Murray! Already told you that, but thought it would be an appropriate first post on this forum :b

:). Nice to see you made it.

Murray is a Tattooer's Tattooer.

Just looked at your site Andy, love your tattoos also. Great stuff.

I've got to admit, I never realized the reputation that Murray Sell has within such a huge tattoo community. Reading all of these amazing comments has surprised me a little. Trust me, I do alot of reading, I look at tons of artist portfolios and even have a piece by Shane O'Neill and it wasn't until recently I started hearing about this guy who basically works 10 minutes from me. But that's why I posted this questions on this particular forum so I really appreciate the feedback. I think I'm finally sold, at least I know I've done my research. Thanks again everyone, I sure hope Muray likes doing tribal armbands!

I also noticed Myke Chambers is doing a guest spot near me in the fall. Does he compare favorably or negatively with Murray (slightly different style I think) and since I've already talked to Murray should I even bother inquiring about Chambers?

Off the Map Tattoo : Myke Chambers : Tattoos : Page 1

I don't know if he's still there or not but the only artist I can think of in NC is Taylor Cort.

Co signed. Good dude, good tattooer, works fucking hard and appreciates good clients.

For what it's worth I love your work, too.

Like I said, my first impression of Murray was impressive as he took the time to talk to me for quite a while about his tattoos and shop, my current tattoos, other tattoo artists and shops, our mutual love of shooting, etc. It felt like I 'd known him forever and we just met. I will definitely be a client of his before too long.

Thanks for the replies. Obvioulsy you guys aren't sure so I'll keep looking :D , maybe I'll get lucky and find a "tattoo school" graduate :rolleyes:.

Since this tattoo will be going on my upper arm I will probably wait until end of summer since I ride a motorcycle and my arms get a LOT of sun. Even with sunblock, I still think I should wait so it will have months to heal before next riding season. I still can't believe his shop is so close to me and I really wasn't aware of him and his talents. I'm not new to tattoos and pretty much can tell a good artist but I am new to this style so I just wanted to make sure. Thanks again.

I had heard of him and I'm only 10 minutes from his shop. Stopped in today for the hell of it and was there almost an hour talking to him and the other artists and admiring all his flash and artwork. A real cool guy and a beautiful little shop. I'm just not as familiar with the traditional style artists and noone in CT does that style so I wanted others' opinions. We talked about doing a wolf head and roses on my upper arm, he was really into it so I said I'd get back to him.

Just wondering if anyone is familiar with the artist Murray Sell from CT or opinions on his portfolio please? Thanks.

Flying Tiger Tattoo - MURRAY SELL

I've been tattooed over a good size scar and the artist said the key is how old it is and that it's turned white I believe. You said yours was 12 years old so it will be no problem.

Trust me, I look at a lot of various pictures, artists, etc. I've definitely seen things I'd like to have tattooed on me but my issue is placement and making sure whatever I put on that arm (if anything) won't look too out of place. I've also been told just to leave the arm as is and tattoo somewhere else. I'm thinking about this too much probably and need to relax a little but that's the way I get when I'm thinking of new tattoos! Thanks again for all the feedback.

Thanks a lot bigjoe. Flying Tiger is 10 minutes from me and I am somewhat familiar with the others you mentioned but Mohawk John really stands out to me. Once I can at least get more settled on a style and general concept I can actively find the right artist and discuss details. Unfortunately I'm still undecided as to what I want to do with this.

I've repeatedly heard a few weeks to a month to be safe.

Are you talking about the Owl Head that Stefan did on that dudes scalp? That is one nice tattoo. Too bad you can't come out to CA and get it right from the man himself. Cool guy and incredibly talented artist.

Yup, that's the one. I really like that style and think it would work on my arm. And if I could trust me I'd go to CA for this but I think I can find someone more locally doing that similar style.

I like Sarah Schor's work, she's definitely on my list. I actually saw an owl head on this site done by Stefan Johnsson which is pretty much what I'm looking for with some minor changes. Thanks again for the replies.

Oh by the way- if you're not too sure on which tattooers you should be looking at from around your area (or even a little further if you can travel!), feel free to ask. Everyone here is pretty knowledgeable on all this stuff, so we'll be able to help you out and keep you out of crap studios if you're unsure.

Thanks for all the replies. I'm pretty familiar with local tattoo artists but I'm always open for more suggestions. I'm in CT but always willing to travel a couple of hours if needed. Obviously NY is loaded with good traditional style artists but not as many do the newer traditional I think. I've thought about Erick Lynch in Mass ans Justin Weatherholz in NY. I may go with an owl head but since my arms get a LOT of sun I wanted to stay away from real bright colors because I down't want them to fade. I thought about keeping darker colors and maybe some black and reds to match the german eagle above.

Please feel free to look around on the site at the gallery and portfolios. There also a thread called "Tattoos Designs".

Trust me I've been looking at many pictures here and elsewhere but thank you. I just initially want to find a style that will work and that's hard for me to tell so I also appreciate Ursula's reply. I was going to do something more realistic but a friend thought that a realistic style might not go as well as something more traditional or neo traditional.

Damn, there goes my care bear idea too.

Hi, I'm looking for suggestions as to what style of tattoo I can put on my arm to fill in the gap between my elbow and the existing eagle. I'm not sure what style wouldn't look out of place there as a random tattoo. I was thinking maybe something neo-traditional like a wolf or owl head but I want to keep to darker colors or b/g. I'm certainly not asking for someone to tell me what specific tattoo to get but more so a style or idea that would at least flow a little so I can go from there. Thank you.

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Just saw this article about a local (CT) exhibit chronicling the history of sailors and their tattoos. Sounds interesting, something I hope to check out.

Tattoos And The American Sailor: Exhibit At Mystic Seaport Opens

Chronicling The History Of Seamen's Body Art

By JESSE LEAVENWORTH, [email protected]

The Hartford Courant

10:21 a.m. EDT, March 20, 2011

MYSTIC— — For love of country, for brotherhood, family and fear of the ocean's lasting embrace, American sailors have marked their bodies for more than two centuries.

A new exhibit at Mystic Seaport — "Skin & Bones: Tattoos in the Life of the American Sailor" — chronicles the history of indelible body art among the nation's working and fighting seamen. Displays include paintings, photographs and artifacts, including evil-looking needles that early tattooists used on their shipmates. There's also an interactive Tattoo-A-Tron, which uses video projection to etch an ephemeral and painless image on a patron's hand or forearm.

The decorated sailor's strong arms and labor-tightened torso are shown throughout the exhibit at the museum's Mallory Gallery. There are large illustrations of hard-bodied U.S. Navy men who left records of their tattoos in federal certificates intended to provide proof of American sailors' identities and therefore guard against impressment, or forced service, in the British navy. Aaron Fullerton's 1797 certificate, for example, lists a ship tattoo on his right hand and his initials and year of birth [1778] on his left.

Beyond its historical lens, the exhibit is meant to explain the sailor's reasons for permanent badging, particularly the bonds that body art promoted in a seafaring, often impolite, society.

American sailors picked up tattooing from their British counterparts, who learned about tattoos over centuries, beginning with the wild Celts and the Picts of what's now northern and eastern Scotland, and expanding to other regions and peoples in the Empire's path, including the Polynesians of the South Pacific.

For all sailors, tattoos were a proud sign of the tight line between shipmates, who shared hard labor, close quarters and life-threatening danger from storm and foe.

"Though landlubbers commonly viewed the tattoo with suspicion, for seafarers it was a sign of belonging and their extended and everlasting family," according to the book that accompanies the exhibit.

Superstitions peculiar to sailors were behind some tattoos. Many had their feet tattooed with pigs and roosters to guard against drowning at sea because those animals often were the only survivors of shipwrecks.

Patriotic tattoos were popular from the beginning. Early in the nation's life, many sailors sported crossed cannons, American flags, bald eagles, Liberty Poles, even depictions of famous sea battles etched across their chests.

It was not a sanitary process. The 18th and early 19th century tattoos often were made with a large needle, such as those used for sewing sails. The design was then rubbed with a mixture of gunpowder and urine. The electric tattooing needle debuted in 1891, making the process more efficient and helping to expand body art to on-shore parlors. The exhibit includes some of the earliest known American "flash," or tattoo design, books.

The flash books and other displays show the sailor's long love affair with the naked or lightly clad woman. These drawn ladies often have exaggerated assets. But the exhibit also details the U.S. Navy's 1908 order that forced recruits to cover their hide-bound hussies before entering service. Tattoo artists did a brisk business inking cover-up clothing on such tattoos through World War II.

The connection between tattoos and the erotic is evident in the exhibit. In fact, said Jonathan Shay, director of exhibits and interpretation at Mystic Seaport, some of the displayed photos come from the famous Kinsey Institute.

"This exhibit is a little edgier than what Mystic Seaport usually does," he said.

But the images are mostly "PG," and Shay said the museum hopes to attract a new demographic. He noted that the Naval Submarine Base in Groton has kept the tradition of tattooed sailors alive in the region. The exhibit also includes modern body art from shops in southeastern Connecticut.

"Skin & Bones" is borrowed from the Independence Seaport Museum in Philadelphia. Mystic Seaport has lent that museum three exhibits, and such cross-trading in historical displays makes sense in the tight economy, Shay said.

The exhibit runs through Sept. 5. For more information, visit http://www.mysticseaport.org.

Mystic Seaport: Mystic Seaport Exhibit Shows History Of American Sailors' Tattoos - CTnow

I admit I watched Miami and LA Ink pretty regulary because I wanted to see the finished tattoos that were done. It became increasingly difficult to sit through the drama, though, just to see a finished tattoo. I especially liked the work of Hendricks and Garver and then Cory Miller, Dan Smith and Hurtado.

What I don't understand is what Ami James has to do with NY Ink? For me, that's an immediate turn off.

I like this one, too, done by Erick Lynch at Redemption Tattoo in Cambridge, MA.

I really like this guy's work.

Erick lynch | Photos on Myspace

Not sure if this is near Rome or Venice, but you can also check out Murran Billi:

Murran Tattoo - Home