ironchef

@JoshRoss Ah, busy weekend for me bro, otherwise would love to meet up and see your Horimitsu piece! Have a good time in NYC!

@Pugilist @Fala I LOVE Soba-ya! It's good stuff. There's also Mighty Quinn's if you want some BBQ. Mermaid Inn for seafood. Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken. Just TONS of places on 2nd Ave and side streets with about almost anything you would want to eat and drink! There's also good yakitori places on St. Marks but those places are very tight quarters and get crowded quickly.

My most favorite place would be Village Yokocho on 9th Street on the 2nd Floor. A mix of Japanese yaki and Korean foods and bonus...there's a hidden-speak easy behind a second door called Angel's Share where the cocktails are pretty amazing!

Just let me know the place/time and I'll try to make it. Hopefully I'll be healed up by then.

DAMN! November is CRAZY!!!!

@Lance I have bonji from Horimitsu of the 8 Buddhist bosatsu at the end of my 3/4 sleeves. For my right arm, I chose to highlight my birth year character in red ink (Fugen) while the remaining characters are in black. Fugen is also associated with my birth year zodiac sign, the year of the dragon which I also have on my right arm so that goes very well together.

On my left arm, I went with the same bosatsu but chose to highlight the Fudo character in red as he is the immovable one and I always love the look of the written bonji character.

My own personal research indicates that with multiple characters, it normally variations of the 8 bosatsu or just a few of the characters.

There are also mantra's that you mentioned. One I really like is the mantra of light from the Shingon school of Buddhism in Japan. Try this link for a little bit of research: The Mantra of Light

Also, do you have a specific artist in mind? A lot of the Japanese artists that I've encountered are very well versed in Buddhist imagery and might be able to make some recommendations. Some non-Japanese artists like Jondix, Yoni Zilber, etc who have studied the Buddhist religion may also be good choices. (Both Jondix and Kiku did separate bonji characters around Troy Denning's neck)

@Fala Yoni's attention to detail is AMAZING. Beautiful work!

THANKS! @Lance, @SeeSea, @Cork, @hogg, @Mick Weder, @Fala, @Mush, @MrToby, @DeathB4Decaf, @misterJ

I was very excited to see Henning again and get more work done on my back but it was tough couple of sessions. Long hours and in very tender spots made me question my sanity and whether I will ever consider starting another tattoo project, hahaha. Henning consulted several old woodblock print references for inspiration on colors and added his own unique take on them. He felt combination of muted colors on the body and bright tail feathers would not only make the phoenix "pop" but also simultaneously compliment and contrast off of Rubendall's dragon colors. Needless to say I'm very happy with how it turned out. Happy everyone is enjoying the progress with me. Cheers!

@Fala I LOVE Yoni's work! So happy I was able to get some prints from him! Enjoy the new tattoo!

@taaarro holy cow, that is GORGEOUS! WOW!

@BrianH You and me both brother. By the way, thanks for stopping by on Friday and taking some pics. Much appreciated.

Saw something on my Instagram feed about it and Google brought up the following article:

Kat Von D's tattoo shop High Voltage damaged in fire - LA Times

@BrianH FUCK YEAH dude!!!!

From the past two days at Kings Avenue Tattoo in Long Island and Manhattan. Yesterday was a shitty day in terms of weather but the Manhattan location was packed with appointments and tons of walk-ins.

Come on!!! Let's see some AWESOME tattoos!!!

Thanks all! Flattered and humbled!

Got more work from Henning Jorgensen during his guest spot at Kings Avenue Tattoo. Check the the full back piece thread here for pics and report:

http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/forum/tattoo-designs-books-flash/492-full-back-piece-thread-page174.html#post105126

UPDATE:

Two days of brutality on my back with Henning. This go around we started coloring in the phoenix at Kings Avenue Tattoo. 7 hours on Friday in Long Island, then 6 more hours on Saturday in Manhattan. Henning thinks we need one more full session to complete everything. I think probably 2 more including any touch ups.

By the way...I really really hate ribs...and spine....THE WORST. Enjoy the pics.

I hate ribs...yes I do. And also spine...really hate that too...but ribs are the worse

@BrianH You are a BEAST bro!

I should just open a direct account where State of Grace and Horitomo can directly auto debit from me everytime they come out with more MonMon Cat stuff...

@Lance Priorities dude...cats before phone!

@JoshRoss No problem bro. Are you getting a peony from Mitsu? I think I caught it on Instagram! Pics from the show have been STELLAR! Super jealous of all the talent there, the goodies, and all around awesome people! Enjoy the rest of the con today!

@SStu WOW! Hooper KILLED it! Can't wait to see more!

@JoshRoss Please be sure to post pics of the piece and do me a favor and tell Horimitsu, Ricky from NYC says "hello!"

Zelda Williams Gets Tattoo Tribute to "Poppo" Robin Williams Two Months After Her Father's Death | NBC New York

Got this print in yesterday as a gift from Taki, Molly, and Horitomo at State of Grace. What a great bunch of people! The cat was more excited about napping on the wrapping...