Diehardonvhs

This was last Saturday's progress on my back. We're getting close.
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Hello all,
So I haven't put up any progress shots on my back for a couple of months. In all honesty it was a lot of cherry blossoms. Anyway after the weekends session at the Bristol Tattoo Show I thought I better put up a full progress shot. Apologies for the slightly blurry pictures these were taken with my slightly rubbish little compact digital camera. I'm stoked with how it is coming along though now and am super excited to see it coming together with the colour in the dragon over the next few months.

Oh what the hell. Might as well post my finished back piece. A year long process has come to an end and I can't wait to start another piece!
Done by Stacey Martin-Smith at Golden Age in Austin, TX.

I was at a wedding too last week, and a grown man, who managed to reach 35 years of age, with a family, asked me if I was working on my backpiece myself. From neck to knees. Full backpiece. Was I tattooing it on myself. I just told him I wasn't flexible enough to do that and left forever.

I like that a hannya on there is described as a "purple monster man".

I think there needs to be more than two entrants in a given month - even though one of the above two will end up the winner.
I'll throw my chest in and hope to have a chance at the 'best one-shot tattoo of the month' ;)
edit: Done by Steve Byrne at Rock of Ages in Austin.

A reminder, every backpiece is different.
Design, subject matter, linework, colours, details, finer details, ink saturation...your stamina, that tattooers stamina, your height/weigh, your skin and health, the tattooers' experience, work flow, skill and speed, the needle clusters used, how many smoke breaks you take, the frequency of sessions...a lot of variables at play.

sailor jerry sick day fun
by Shannon Pagliarini
Crown and Anchor
Pt Pleasant NJ

@clttattooing congratulations on starting your back piece! I would also like to see the progress if possible. My instagram is @robieva
A few here know that I had my fifth session with Chad Koeplinger on my back last Saturday at Congress St tattoo in NH. This past session he shaded and colored all of my lower back. Whew! I am glad to get that part over with! There are blood drips in the tattoo, and one of them is mighty close to my butt crack. That spot felt like FIRE. I can't IMAGINE the horror of getting the full butt tattooed. I salute ALL of you with your full back tattoos!!!!
@BrianH I read your comment about your tattoo being finished faster and cheaper if you were shorter. I am so happy I am short for this endeavor!!! I've never particularly been bummed about being short or anything, but in this case, it's a super advantage.
I am super pumped with what Chad has given me and he thinks one more session, maybe 2 small ones.
Total time so far, tallying up these sessions is about 10 hrs and that is rounding UP. It's probably closer to 8.5-9 hrs, but i'll call it an even 10. IN the end it will probably total 12 hrs.
It has been an absolutely awesome journey. I love Chad like a brother and cherish the time spent with him. I am sad to think we are winding down, so I will probably have him tattoo something else on me soon enough (not my ribs. I told him never my ribs). Also the time spent hanging out with Jason Scott and Jebb Riley during these sessions have been awesome. I feel very at home at Jason's amazing shop. He employs only the best people. They are all great tattooers, but even more, amazing and awesome people. He's clearly got a good "douchbag radar" and hires accordingly.
Next session is in August, and will possibly be my last, but I am certainly not putting pressure on it to be so.

Totally agreed with this. The article is infuriating, but of course it is because it's literally trolling. If that woman wrote instead about how she got the tattoo she wanted later that same day after being declined at one shop, Jezebel wouldn't be getting the clicks and the revenue that comes from them. So fuck 'em, don't read this shit because it only serves them.

Well I am because this guy showed up to this tattoo artist with an idea (I guess) and he or the tattoo artist literally copied the exact same tattoo, my tattoo that Rudy Fritsch drew for me, including colors and put it on his hand, just like...me? See my point?

You really believe that? Based on what?

I LOL'd
The article is written by a person who clearly does not understand tattoo and is whining because tattoo wasn't made as accessible as she would like it to be. Christ almighty! Putting your kids name in micro-font on your neck...isn't about "art". Go have another cab-sav and slag off !

She strikes me as a horrible person. And I hate her tattoo.
But that's, like, my opinion, man.

Chippin' away at the ol' front.
https://instagram.com/p/3pzXp1MVGD/

Made the trip up to Davis to see George Hernandez and came away with this fun one:
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@Killercook76 WOW!!!!!!!!!!!
So. 4 days and then IT BEGINS. Very nervous, very excited. The drawing is out of control, I almost cried when I saw it and left the shop a mess of nerves. I'm told that Kahlil is gentle and efficient so that's some small iota of comfort. Hopefully the age-old tactic of building it up in my head to be the worst thing in life serves me well. Yeah, super excited. I'll be sure to DM pics to the LST folks on instagram when the first session is done but I probably won't post anything here (sorry) as I'm sure it won't go over well.

A heavy Chad Koeplinger cover-up/blastover from two weeks ago, photo from today:

Tony Hundahl eye/flames filler on my elbow. Works great together with the Lehi tattoo I think. Never too much flames, hehe.. Tattoo from Saturday last week, photo from today:

Teenager conversation at the grocery store...
Teenage Girl Cashier: "Like OMG this lady I know, like, she got a tattoo of a cobra snake ON HER CLEAVAGE. Like, OMG, you could see EVERYTHING. I mean, like, she was wearing clothes but OMG, like you could see her tattoo. Why would you get a tattoo so everyone could see it?"
Teenage Bag Boy/Bro: "Yeah, well I heard you can get a tattoo for $100."
Me: "Try double per hour"
TGC: "Well, like, how long did your tattoo take to finish?"
Me: "12 years so far"
TGC: "Like, OMG that is sooo expensive."
Me: "Would you rather be covered in cheap tattoos or nice tattoos?"
TBBB: "Yeah bro, when I'm gonna get my tattoo, like, it's going to be the most expensive tattoo possible."

I was at a wedding too last week, and a grown man, who managed to reach 35 years of age, with a family, asked me if I was working on my backpiece myself. From neck to knees. Full backpiece. Was I tattooing it on myself. I just told him I wasn't flexible enough to do that and left forever.

I was at a wedding too last week, and a grown man, who managed to reach 35 years of age, with a family, asked me if I was working on my backpiece myself. From neck to knees. Full backpiece. Was I tattooing it on myself. I just told him I wasn't flexible enough to do that and left forever.

Nice one for finishing! Looks great! I cant wait to join you...

I was at a wedding too last week, and a grown man, who managed to reach 35 years of age, with a family, asked me if I was working on my backpiece myself. From neck to knees. Full backpiece. Was I tattooing it on myself. I just told him I wasn't flexible enough to do that and left forever.

My just completed full back piece based on the tale of Mimi Nashi Hoichi by Fil Wood at Black Crown Tattoo in Leeds
For those who would like to know more of the tale please look here The Story Of Mimi-Nashi-Hoichi
And you can check out Fil Wood's work here https://instagram.com/fil_wood/

Eagle battling a snake by none other than Chad Koeplinger, finished in 3 sessions, outline in Denver, shading and color in Austin. Sorry about the glare in the photo, my apartment has the worst lighting of all time.