Nallac94

For those who are not necessarily going for full-body coverage, do you ever think about the overall look you have as a tattooed person?
Like I imagine many people here, I am an appreciator of aesthetics, and when I consider getting new work done, I think long and hard about where to put it and how it will change the way my body looks in clothes, out of clothes, in swim suits, etc. It might be slightly different for females since we tend to have more variety in the clothes we wear (different cuts, lengths, dresses, etc.), but I do wonder... Do you pay a lot of attention to keeping your work balanced on your body? Do you take into consideration places on your body where you don't plan to ever get work? I guess one approach would be to prioritize the design, and pick the place on your body where that design fits best. Another approach would be to think about where you'd like to have tattoos, and pick designs you like that would flow well in those spaces.
This post is partially inspired by this thread about negative space with tattoos.
I am a huge fan of negative space and have spent a lot of time thinking about the best way and location to place substantial tattoos on my body, with space in between them. Some people might say this is overthinking it, but I can't help it, ha. I've considered putting most of my work on my left arm and right leg, leaving the opposites mostly clear. I've also considered mainly tattooing my torso and leaving my limbs mostly clear. When you think about it, following each of those two patterns would make for a really different overall look.
Maybe as a still-kinda-newbie to this world, I do think about this stuff too much, but I'm still curious as to others' thoughts :)

I think there's a subtle difference between a Swallow and a Sparrow tattoo particulary for someone in the U.K. . I think of a Swallow tattoo as more angular and slimmer and over here it can have associations with someone doing time or a "hard-man" .
Swallow tattoo - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Well I never had tattoo's until i met my partner who is covered from head to toe, with very limited space remaining, He encouraged me to get what i wanted and he turned me into a crazy tattoo addict.. So 4 years later Im Being taught how to tattoo by a great mentor and im about 50% covered and dont plan on stopping, Love and relationships dont workout from the way you look, i mean it helps in the beginning but, I get so many comments and people talking to me about my tattoo's! Only place i cop stares is at my sons school lol!
Oh, Ive also had my fair share of *plainskins* giving me their imput, asking me how can i dare walk around with these all over my body, The responce well its better than being naked has stopped them talking crap a few times.
But the worst was when an old lady asked my son how can he stand to look at me covered in all of this *Mess*, His responce was my mummy's Beautiful and i can't wait to be old enough to have as many as her, Proud moment sure shut the mutton dressed as lamb's mouth quiet quickly :)

Welcome, Nallac94. Enjoy yourself here. @BAM773 Bangor is a great spot. My best friend lives there.

My first one done when I was 15 years old

Not bad for a 40 year old tattoo
My latest two weeks ago

Hello all,
My name is Dave and I am an IT analyst in Cincinnati, OH. I am a married father of two boys. I am into photography and motorcycles, and have a deep appreciation for the artistry behind tattoos and tattooing.
I am a few months shy of my 40th birthday. I got a very small tattoo on my right shoulder blade when I was 18 years old and for years have wanted to go big. I am in a secure job, everything is nice and boring and I am ready for a change. I am in the early stages of planning full sleeves for both arms. I'd love to hear any advice you have. I'm guessing "don't do it!" won't be the sort of thing I'll have to listen to around here. :-)
It looks like the gallery is extensive, I am very excited to start looking through all of the great tattoos represented there.
Dave

So last night I went to a friends house to watch the UFC fights. There were a few people that have had some work down buy this girl who works out if her kitchen. NEVER have I seen a collection of complete and utter CRAP. What's funny is all they talked about was how cheap she is. I just don't get WHY someone would pay sooo little for something that is sooo important. It's not like a cheap haircut. I was talking to one of the "victims" and said I was getting something done on Friday. She asked "by whom" which I replied Aaron Coleman. She said "Oh a friend of mine got some work done by him. He charges by the hour and takes lots of breaks..." I said that's fine with me, that means he takes his time and I don't mind breaks in between the pain.

Adam Hays at Red Rocket Tattoo in NYC did my sleeve. There are multiple meanings in my ink. First off, it is not done. I have about 6 hours of detail work left to do.
So on to the story! 2008 was a great year for me. My first daughter was born (I have twin daughters born a year later) and I took delivery of my 2008 Shelby Terlingua. #2 of 38 built. I took delivery at the Shelby American Terlingua 2008 event in Terlingua, TX. Come to find out, my wife went to college in the next down over. In 2009, Shelby American couldn't do the event. So myself and 3 of my friends did. In 2010 I took the Terlingua Preservation Society to 501c3 making it a non-profit business entity. We donate all of our proceeds to the local community (70% live below the poverty level down there) which includes Terlingua High School, Terlingua Fire & EMS and Activets. Among others. In 2012 we had our biggest year yet and raised over 24k in our one weekend. Terlingua has become a big part of my life. 2.5 years ago I started thinking about getting my first tattoo. Then it was on to the what theme, color, grayscale or what. I spent a year and a half figuring out what I wanted. During my Terlingua event I discovered the artwork of Adam Hays. At around the same time I started looking at the local artists by me and was found that none of them could capture the essence of what I was looking for. I race Mustangs and getting into desert racing. I decided I wanted something that imbued Terlingua, my daughters and my racing. Last summer I discovered that Adam did tattoo work, I hit his web page and the light bulb went off in my head. THIS IS THE GUY! I emailed the shop in August 2012, couple of phone conversations later I had an appointment for January 2013. Since I was flying in for the appointments, I wanted as much work done as humanly possible while I was there. I left it up to Adam to decide what could be done. What did I know? I had never had a tattoo. He was the expert and I left this up to him. I gave Adam the details of what I wanted in the design. He came up with the idea of horses racing through the desert and the skeletons (Terlingua thing) on the horses. It tied everything in and I loved the concept. Last Thursday and Friday I discovered what my pain threshold was, which was about what Adam could tattoo in a single sitting. We had two six hour days of tattooing. Below is the product as it is on my arm now. What is left is the mountains behind it (which will have my wife's name in it because without her, I would not have my daughters), some cactus and dust clouds coming up around the horses.
All in all, I am extremely happy with my ink and the work that Adam has done. Now to get my race schedule this year and find out when I can get back to NYC to get my tat finished :) Added note: Shelby, Bella and Lexi are my daughters.

Very interesting!
One lady there states that her tattoo (A considerable backpiece) feels a part of her and that she'd feel naked without it.
I can really relate to that; I'd feel like an important part of me was missing if my ink was to dissapear in the morning.

Got this a few weeks ago in Chicago from Nick Colella.

I agree with the previous posters.
the tattoo is very personal to you, therefore I believe that the Traditional tattoo can mean whatever you want it to mean. The Swallow tattoo in particular is very ambiguous and has many meanings over the past century.
Originally, it was tattooed on sailors for good luck, as seeing a swallow at sea indicated that land was nearby. Eventually, having a swallow tattoo was seen as a career-landmark for the sailor as he got the swallow tattoo after sailing a certain amount of miles I believe.
In WW2, as you already mentioned, many sailors, and soldiers even, in the US military got the traditional swallow tattooed on themselves, sometimes with a sweetheart's name in a banner accompanying it.
In Britain in the 60's, 70's and 80's, however, it was associated with 'hard-men', who would have it tattooed on their necks, or on their hands. Traditionally, a swallow tattoo on each hand indicated that "these fists fly" or that they had done time in prison.
The Swallow tattoo is also a symbol for love and loyalty, as swallows choose one mate for life. Swallows also return home every year, so a swallow tattoo might indicate that the person wearing the tattoo feels a deep emotional connection to their hometown.
I plan to have a swallow tattooed on each shoulder blade soon, as a symbol for loyalty and also because I personally love the tattoo and it's history.

This is a Doc Webb tattoo done sometime in the 1950's in San Diego. I took the the picture in 2010 it was on an older ex army gentleman.

I took these photos a while back. The guy got them done at the Pike, he couldn't remember who did them, but it was at Bert Grimms. The frog is an old gang tattoo, from La Rana, I've actually done a few of them here, but haven't taken any pictures...

this tattoo isnt super "old" but badass.... a guy who came into my shop got this from mike wilson in 93' or so done at philadelphia eddies...

First try with photos. Hope this works... The parrot and skull with top hat are Bert Grimm. The man who had them said the parrot was done in 1980, when Mr. Grimm was 80 years old in Oregon. He also had the rose from Sailor Jerry. The snake was on a guy that came in to the shop here in Juneau that said he'd gotten it at China Sea and that it was lined by Jerry, but that it was shaded and colored by a female with him watching over her. Artist unknown on the devil head.

heres a few more..these where all done by Dale Grande at Chicago Tattoo. The dragon is from the mid 70s , the butterfly and the lion are from the late 70s early 80s and the skull is from the mid 80s..

That's great, Nick. I remember reading an interview with Ed Hardy about 20 years ago (in the old Modern Primitives book) in which he talks about the shame that's been heaped on a lot of old guys for having tattoos. He said that he always approaches them, compliments them on their tattoos, and asks who did them. That really stuck with me, and I'm happy to hear that you're doing the same.

Since Chicago Tattoo has been on the same 2 blocks for almost 40 years we get alot of people who come in with old work from Cliff Raven and Dale Grande so i try to take photos of these tattoos to document them.
I often see old timers walking around the neighborhood or in the grocery store and see their tattoos and try to ask about them and photo them, there is just something about talking to old dudes about their tattoos that gets their attention and for the most part gets them into talking about where they got in and when and sometimes they can remember who it was.
Im sure we all do this so i wanted to start a little thread and put up pics of old tattoos that we have all documented.
The first three tattoos where done at Cliff Raven Studios (Chicago Tattoo) by Cliff Raven in approximately 1970.. since i cant figure out how to make these images larger you can click on them to get a better look.

i look forward to the pics
Nick