Diehardonvhs

My elbow, all nice and swollen. :)
Tony Nilsson
Blue Arms Tattoo
Oslo, Norway
Photo ripped from Tony's Instagram

This was the first ever 'Traditional' tattoo I got, late last year, and I think I got a good one!
By Frank Carter, Frith Street, London.

By coincidence, I have just moved cities to Canberra and realised that I am now living around the corner - literally 2 streets away - from the site where I started collecting my very first proper tattoos in 1996. So I've always travelled to get tattoos.
Back in '96 I travelled from Sydney to Canberra (280km) to get tattooed by a dear friend who was apprenticing with a really great artist called Ex de Medici who's now pretty much stopped tattooing and I think is working on her amazing paintings.
For the last few years I've been travelling from Aus to Switzerland to get tattooed by Filip Leu & Sabine Gaffron, an incredible experience. Filip is starting my backpiece this year and even though it's super stressful getting all this money together to do it, once I am there and we start working it all feels worth it. The advantage also is that he tattoos faster than lightning, and has a very unique approach to large scale work. I've given him a few key elements I'd like and the coverage and I don't think he'll plan & draw the design until our first outlining session! And that's usually with visiting tattooers watching, asking him questions and hanging off his every word. Don't ask me how he does it but it really is watching genius in action.
That said though, the first time I took a regular train and then a little 2 car mountain electric "train" up to the tiny mountain village where the Leu Family studio now is, I was laughing all the way up at where I was travelling to to get a damn tattoo!

i kind of just had this experience today. found out Chad Koeplinger was going to be in my city due to un-foreseen travel plan changes on his side. i always knew i wanted to get tattooed by him so i took this opportunity to make it happen, we figured out an appointment time this morning and we got it done this afternoon. to be honest, when i got to the shop, i didnt even know what part of my body i was going to get tattooed. i just want to say getting tattooed by him was such a awesome experience, i'm so happy right now. if im not shy i might just post a pic after it's healed a little.

Not sure if this should be posted in snakes, snakes, snakes - or skulls, skulls, skulls.
Oh well, I can remedy that . . .
William Yoneyama

Haha cheers :) I don't rock just yet...if I can make it through everything I will be pleased with myself though!
Valerie says she is trying to get away from what she is most well known for (sad girl heads), and do some very traditional work, she had a load of stuff in a big flash book she had drawn up, so I picked out a traditional dragons head, going on the lower calf, should be sweet!

Haha cheers :) I don't rock just yet...if I can make it through everything I will be pleased with myself though!
Valerie says she is trying to get away from what she is most well known for (sad girl heads), and do some very traditional work, she had a load of stuff in a big flash book she had drawn up, so I picked out a traditional dragons head, going on the lower calf, should be sweet!

Im the other way around. Though I'd love to win this competition, I'll vote for those who I'm up against because the tattoos are just that good. I'd rather have the best tattoo win than my ego stroked. Plus, sitting here looking at all these tattoos, I dont know how you keep your fingers from the like button!

It's all in Fun, does it really matters who wins, not that the idea isn't cool, but other than being a pseudo celebrity on the board, it's really just a t shirt at stake. The goal is just to show off our tattoos, and see the work people are getting around the world. I like tattoos that I think should win or that i would want to wear.

There's already some seriously stiff competition, but here's my entry for this month. Done yesterday by El Monga.

I am in with Valerie Vargas at the end of May, then I am booked in with Phil Wilkinson middle of June, then I am getting tattooed by 3 artists in 3 days at the London tattoo convention in September, Jess Yen, Jee Sayalero and Chriss Dettmer. I am also starting my back (Neck to knees) at some point in the next few weeks....I may post in the back piece thread about that when we get going!

I am in with Valerie Vargas at the end of May, then I am booked in with Phil Wilkinson middle of June, then I am getting tattooed by 3 artists in 3 days at the London tattoo convention in September, Jess Yen, Jee Sayalero and Chriss Dettmer. I am also starting my back (Neck to knees) at some point in the next few weeks....I may post in the back piece thread about that when we get going!

Hey! I am brand new. Jumping in at the deep end. I love this forum - been lurking for ages!
I had this namakubi done by Danny Rossiter from Rain City in Manchester, UK. He's from New Zealand but has been tattooing here for years now, very talented and very underrated!

Didn't an awesome tiger win last time??

Even when i plan a tattoo, it usually doesn't have that much thought involved, you know I just pick an image and then add the names of every person I know below it and then we are good to go. But seriously I have been planning a pretty tattoo for some time now and am for once proud for coming up with my own idea, I just haven't been able to get around to doing it, I have been starting at line drawing for months, just need to get started. But at this point I still have a dragon to finish on my thigh and an appoinment Matt Arriola in late June before I can even get started.

I keep popping in and out of this website, but I do love that you guys keep at it! Anyway, here are a couple of photos of my front piece from Filip Leu & Sabine Gaffron, in progress. I'm adding a selfie taken close up while lying on my couch because it cracks me up how I look like a piece of fabric :))

I just got this from Aaron Hodges at Idle Hand SF:

Aaron's a really great guy, and I was stoked to get something from him. Two days ago, I realized that a torch would fit really well in that little spot, so I hit him up yesterday and he said he'd have time today. A great experience, and I'm really happy with it.

Hey! I am brand new. Jumping in at the deep end. I love this forum - been lurking for ages!
I had this namakubi done by Danny Rossiter from Rain City in Manchester, UK. He's from New Zealand but has been tattooing here for years now, very talented and very underrated!

Didn't an awesome tiger win last time??

This was the first ever 'Traditional' tattoo I got, late last year, and I think I got a good one!
By Frank Carter, Frith Street, London.

This was the first ever 'Traditional' tattoo I got, late last year, and I think I got a good one!
By Frank Carter, Frith Street, London.

Hey! I am brand new. Jumping in at the deep end. I love this forum - been lurking for ages!
I had this namakubi done by Danny Rossiter from Rain City in Manchester, UK. He's from New Zealand but has been tattooing here for years now, very talented and very underrated!

Didn't an awesome tiger win last time??

This was the first ever 'Traditional' tattoo I got, late last year, and I think I got a good one!
By Frank Carter, Frith Street, London.

Hey! I am brand new. Jumping in at the deep end. I love this forum - been lurking for ages!
I had this namakubi done by Danny Rossiter from Rain City in Manchester, UK. He's from New Zealand but has been tattooing here for years now, very talented and very underrated!

Didn't an awesome tiger win last time??

This was the first ever 'Traditional' tattoo I got, late last year, and I think I got a good one!
By Frank Carter, Frith Street, London.

Can't wait to get Tattoo Wasted.

Hey! I am brand new. Jumping in at the deep end. I love this forum - been lurking for ages!
I had this namakubi done by Danny Rossiter from Rain City in Manchester, UK. He's from New Zealand but has been tattooing here for years now, very talented and very underrated!

Didn't an awesome tiger win last time??