Hospitelli

Going to be in Berlin next week and going over to Fur Immer to get a palm sized piece from Toshihide whilst I am there.
First time getting a tattoo whilst travelling in about 7 years so really excited about it.

Who better than Chris Garver to fill a crucial spot on my forearm?  I requested his rendition of a phoenix inspired by a line drawing in Ed Hardy's latest book, "Drawings for Tattoos."  Aside from that, I told him to do it however he wants.  I guess he wanted to make it perfect and pink.  "Well... it's more of a coral."  Either way, I'm digging it and I feel much more complete!

@Ross Welcome to the forum and sorry to hear about the difficulty you are having in regards to healing your new tattoo. In my experience, I have never taken that long to heal any aspect of a tattoo that I have gotten but that's just me. The best thing you can do and what I recommend is to go back to the artist that did the work and show him to get his professional opinion on it. 

After having a tough time healing my ribs I decided to give 3M tegaderm a try for the final session on them. I removed the first bandage after about 4 hours then proceeded to clean the area with some soap and warm water. I slept overnight airing it out and then put on the tegaderm in the morning using two pieces, rounding the corners and overlapping them just a tad. I had it on for close to three days and probably would of went another day but I started to smell funky which worried me a little. Once I realized the funk was coming from the tegaderm that's when I decided to take it off. I cleaned the tattoo once again with soap/ water and then went on to apply a minimal amount of lotion once or twice a day. To my surprise only a few spots flaked on me and I had no scabbing. For the most part I completely skipped the flaking phase and had some shiny new skin with close to zero itching. Overall, I was definitely impressed and will give it another try for the next tattoo. 
 

After having a tough time healing my ribs I decided to give 3M tegaderm a try for the final session on them. I removed the first bandage after about 4 hours then proceeded to clean the area with some soap and warm water. I slept overnight airing it out and then put on the tegaderm in the morning using two pieces, rounding the corners and overlapping them just a tad. I had it on for close to three days and probably would of went another day but I started to smell funky which worried me a little. Once I realized the funk was coming from the tegaderm that's when I decided to take it off. I cleaned the tattoo once again with soap/ water and then went on to apply a minimal amount of lotion once or twice a day. To my surprise only a few spots flaked on me and I had no scabbing. For the most part I completely skipped the flaking phase and had some shiny new skin with close to zero itching. Overall, I was definitely impressed and will give it another try for the next tattoo. 
 

Got this insanely awesome cat head on July 8th at Congress St Tattoo in Portsmouth. Man I love it so much. Was such a great day (and night)!!!!
I love Chad. He is the greatest and I'm always bummed when he leaves, but luckily for those of us in NH, he visits quite often. 
Cant wait to see him and Jason Scott in Montreal.  

by Chris Smith - Neptune Tattoo in Neptune NJ

Got this collab from Timmy B and Andres Acosta at the stacked Lake Tahoe convention. Took about 7 hours 
 
 

I had visited family I had not seen in about 7 years or so and around that time I did not have any tattoos. It was a bit of a shock to say the least for them and to which my Uncle belted out this gem " You do know that you are not japanese, right?"

Had some really odd ball comments when I went to the Electric Zoo festival. Favorite one was...... "Bro, seriously sick friggin tatt dude. Like I just want to drop acid and stare at it all day. By the way ya got any?"

from Chad Koeplinger @ Tattoo Paradise in Wheaton, MD

@Lance I'll elaborate on the story a bit, it was a fun trip after all.
I show up at the shop around 12. Like I said, I came expecting the worst, but I wanted to exceed the expectation and knock this thing out in one day. Johan shows me the drawing, and in my head all I can hear is Gob from Arrested Development, "I've made a huge mistake." So much hair and little lines, fuck me. So we spend the next 45 minutes or so with general setup and talking about placement as I reconsider my goals for the day after seeing all those lines.
All laid out, I assume the position. He starts low at the hip and works the way up in sections. The hip bone made my body vibrate, and the nerves radiated at certain times where I swear he put a line down my shaft, or up higher it felt like he ran over my nipple. Nothing worse than expected though. Nothing that made me break out in an instant cold sweat like when my lower back got hit. Just general "this sucks." so I was able to make it. @hogg recommended a focused breathing technique, and pretend to blow out candles from far away, well I blew out the equivalent of a forest fire over the course of the day. My lips were chapped and my throat was dry.
Anyhow, after almost 4 hours of lines, I was again reassessing goals for the day. This was about the point when I was feeling the worst. I was almost ready to call it a day, but I was actually looking forward to pretending to be tough in front of @ironchef, so I pushed on.
Johan and I had to be realistic about what was left, and what we thought we could finish that day. We opted for coloring the low hanging fruit; the horns, the belly, and the fire. Especially because we couldn't settle on body/hair colors.
So after the first strip of fire, Johan can tell I'm close to the end and I might not make it. He offers some vasocaine spray. At first I'm a little reluctant, but after some time to consider it, I take him up on the offer. He assures me that for most people, it takes away ~50% of the pain. Well goddamn if it didn't work for me. At this point, ironchef shows up, and who knows what he thought of meeting me as I'm able to hold a conversation getting my ribs worked on. A second wind combined with relief from the spray, I felt really good at this point.
We all talked and had a good time while Johan wrapped things up, and ironchef and I took obligatory nude pics together. I was out of the shop around 8 and on my way home for a shower and very restless sleep.

Booked with Grez on May 12th to tattoo my knee. I have both shins done and then my lower thighs, so the gap at my knee is oddly shaped. No one I'd trust more than Grez. Now I have a few weeks to figure out what I want!
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Booked with Grez on May 12th to tattoo my knee. I have both shins done and then my lower thighs, so the gap at my knee is oddly shaped. No one I'd trust more than Grez. Now I have a few weeks to figure out what I want!

@Cork Awesome Kirin and can't wait to see it finished. Did Johan say when he'd be back to NYC again?
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@Cork Awesome Kirin and can't wait to see it finished. Did Johan say when he'd be back to NYC again?

Would have taken a nap if it weren't for that annoying buzzing.
Honestly though, I was prepared for the worst. I was going in thinking it would all feel like the lower back, which is still by far the worst spot I've ever experienced.

Pushed as long as I could with Johan Svahn to get this far. Will finish on Johan's return to the States. Had a great time at the Kings Ave in Manhattan, very cool shop. It was great to see @ironchef and his incredible tattoos in person. I know you guys want to see more, slightly blurry, ass.

Johan Svahn appointment getting so close. @ironchef You busy on April 11th?

Phenomenal start @sophistre. When I first seen it I was like holy crap that's a lot of lines! Bravo for sitting through that.
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Phenomenal start @sophistre. When I first seen it I was like holy crap that's a lot of lines! Bravo for sitting through that.

For me, the best thing I found to do after a session on my back was to just hop in the shower and clean the area tattooed with a new bar of soap. Make sure the water is luke warm and set the shower head to a mist setting so there is barely any water pressure. If you find any clothing sticking to you just shower with your clothes on and once it's wet it will be easy to remove. Once you see the water going into the drain is clear it's time to hop out and gently pat yourself dry. From there you can follow whatever after care method you find best suited for you.

For me, the best thing I found to do after a session on my back was to just hop in the shower and clean the area tattooed with a new bar of soap. Make sure the water is luke warm and set the shower head to a mist setting so there is barely any water pressure. If you find any clothing sticking to you just shower with your clothes on and once it's wet it will be easy to remove. Once you see the water going into the drain is clear it's time to hop out and gently pat yourself dry. From there you can follow whatever after care method you find best suited for you.

For me, the best thing I found to do after a session on my back was to just hop in the shower and clean the area tattooed with a new bar of soap. Make sure the water is luke warm and set the shower head to a mist setting so there is barely any water pressure. If you find any clothing sticking to you just shower with your clothes on and once it's wet it will be easy to remove. Once you see the water going into the drain is clear it's time to hop out and gently pat yourself dry. From there you can follow whatever after care method you find best suited for you.

Seeing Eddy Deutsche in a couple weeks. Really fucking excited.

Not a tattoo but we just agreed to terms.
I'm buying a painting from Freddy Corbin. Once this buy goes through, I plan on inquiring on an appointment and going to Oakland.
it's like I never learn my lesson, I need my priorities in order. lol

I've been lazy as all hell and haven't posted any new bangers in a while.......

Right BUTT cheek - Alex Boyko - December

MOM Cover up on the wrist AND LEMMY tribute- Jon Larson - January

©Ankle - Jon Larson - February

Wrist banger - Jon Larson - March

Left SWELLbow - Chad Koeplinger - March

Henning requested pics of my healed back with a black background. Believe it or not, it was tough finding large enough black material like a curtain or spool of cloth but luckily my local dry cleaner had something I could borrow. I had to email him LARGE files because he may publish the photos in something. Fun looking at all the details. Maximize your browser!