Hospitelli

Who did this? It's fucking killer!
I had my back outlined a few weeks ago by Jason Kelly. Stoked to get back on it! There's going to be a lot more background added, and we're probably going to fill up both ribs and armpits too (fml)

Session 3.
Steve really put on a lot of ink this time. I was shaking a bit during the first hour and not doing well with the pain, but Steve said to relax my entire body and left the pain "flow through my body". When I did this, the experience completely changed. Obviously, it still hurt, but I was able to breathe through it and find some calmness. I'm very happy with the progress so far and Steven is pumped too!

Close up

One tiny little touch up/detail session left next month!

It also seems like people just literally do not know what a good tattoo even looks like, or why it's a good tattoo vs. some other tattoo that they've seen. They get impressed by the wrong things, and they don't really know better. I'd blame this on social media, but I'm really not sure that's possible, given that, as you say, bad shops seem to outnumber the good ones, anyway. But I've had good friends of mine -- people who have a pretty good eye for fine art/other mediums -- ask me about portfolios from shops that have made me go 'eeuuussgghh.' They just don't know.
It's harder to find places like LST than it is to find terrible advice, unfortunately.
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It also seems like people just literally do not know what a good tattoo even looks like, or why it's a good tattoo vs. some other tattoo that they've seen. They get impressed by the wrong things, and they don't really know better. I'd blame this on social media, but I'm really not sure that's possible, given that, as you say, bad shops seem to outnumber the good ones, anyway. But I've had good friends of mine -- people who have a pretty good eye for fine art/other mediums -- ask me about portfolios from shops that have made me go 'eeuuussgghh.' They just don't know.
It's harder to find places like LST than it is to find terrible advice, unfortunately.

"Shitty" must be a style. Sure, I see plenty of nice tattoos, but most of what I see is pretty crappy work.

I couldn't agree more with this and will say that every session is different than the last. Sometimes I would find it helpful to chat and other times I would just listen to music trying to zone out. One of the most challenging aspects of getting your back done, besides the pain, is just how long it takes for it to come together. Your dedication to getting tattooed will be tested especially in the beginning. I remember early on I did two days back to back for a total of 7 hours and while a lot was accomplished I remember seeing what was done and thinking "Oh shit.... only another 40+ hours left." Any where else on the body you'd be on your way to either finishing a tattoo or having a really good portion of it completed but not your back. There is no instant gratification with a back piece. It is a slow, long, and painful process that you must endure. In the end though you will have an incredible tattoo and will say it was all worth it.
Just remember that it isn't a sprint but a marathon. Go at a pace that is comfortable for you and a session length that you know you can handle. In my honest opinion, the extreme session length times are not needed unless you are traveling far to get tattooed or the artist is doing guest spots. Long sessions are not only taxing on you but the tattoo artist as well! 4 hours is a good session length especially for the back. Also... forget about the hours or the money spent. I don't keep track of it because it serves no purpose to you in the long run. Once it is done, it's done and you will not have to worry about it ever again. Just keep chipping away and eventually it will all come together. If you ever find yourself tired and needing a break, please do so.

I couldn't agree more with this and will say that every session is different than the last. Sometimes I would find it helpful to chat and other times I would just listen to music trying to zone out. One of the most challenging aspects of getting your back done, besides the pain, is just how long it takes for it to come together. Your dedication to getting tattooed will be tested especially in the beginning. I remember early on I did two days back to back for a total of 7 hours and while a lot was accomplished I remember seeing what was done and thinking "Oh shit.... only another 40+ hours left." Any where else on the body you'd be on your way to either finishing a tattoo or having a really good portion of it completed but not your back. There is no instant gratification with a back piece. It is a slow, long, and painful process that you must endure. In the end though you will have an incredible tattoo and will say it was all worth it.
Just remember that it isn't a sprint but a marathon. Go at a pace that is comfortable for you and a session length that you know you can handle. In my honest opinion, the extreme session length times are not needed unless you are traveling far to get tattooed or the artist is doing guest spots. Long sessions are not only taxing on you but the tattoo artist as well! 4 hours is a good session length especially for the back. Also... forget about the hours or the money spent. I don't keep track of it because it serves no purpose to you in the long run. Once it is done, it's done and you will not have to worry about it ever again. Just keep chipping away and eventually it will all come together. If you ever find yourself tired and needing a break, please do so.

After doing a couple 5.5-6.5 hour sessions on my back and front this year I 100% agree that 4 hours is the perfect session length. Those longer session become a mental struggle. The pain doesn't necessarily get worse in hour 5, 6, or 7 it just gets really boring and difficult to let my mind drift off into a happy place.
@sophistre my advice is to never go into a session too confident. Tell yourself the pain is going to be 11 out of 10 so when it ends up being 8.5 out of 10 it ends up being much more manageable than the horrors you were imagining. And on the flip side, when you end up having an easy session delete it from your memory because it will set your pain expectations too low for the next session.

I couldn't agree more with this and will say that every session is different than the last. Sometimes I would find it helpful to chat and other times I would just listen to music trying to zone out. One of the most challenging aspects of getting your back done, besides the pain, is just how long it takes for it to come together. Your dedication to getting tattooed will be tested especially in the beginning. I remember early on I did two days back to back for a total of 7 hours and while a lot was accomplished I remember seeing what was done and thinking "Oh shit.... only another 40+ hours left." Any where else on the body you'd be on your way to either finishing a tattoo or having a really good portion of it completed but not your back. There is no instant gratification with a back piece. It is a slow, long, and painful process that you must endure. In the end though you will have an incredible tattoo and will say it was all worth it.
Just remember that it isn't a sprint but a marathon. Go at a pace that is comfortable for you and a session length that you know you can handle. In my honest opinion, the extreme session length times are not needed unless you are traveling far to get tattooed or the artist is doing guest spots. Long sessions are not only taxing on you but the tattoo artist as well! 4 hours is a good session length especially for the back. Also... forget about the hours or the money spent. I don't keep track of it because it serves no purpose to you in the long run. Once it is done, it's done and you will not have to worry about it ever again. Just keep chipping away and eventually it will all come together. If you ever find yourself tired and needing a break, please do so.

for an abbreviated version of this post, just read the bold font. (<-- product of medication)
I haven't had a session on my back piece in over a year since Jondix hasn't been back to the SFO Convention and I haven't been able to make my way across the pond. well... he's finally coming back to the states in July, so I'm booked for a session in New York! This will be my first time there, so I'm pretty excited about that aspect in and of itself. I have some time to dig thru some threads on healing the back while traveling... i imagine them saying something along the lines of, "it's a bitch. i loved it."
Since I have no idea when I might ever get back to NY**, I'm also trying to get a little one shot something from Chris Garver. Not sure what or where quite yet, but it's in the works.
Those two are already pushing the budget and pain thresholds, but there's so many great artists and shops out there! Picking a piece from flash off the wall at Smith Street immediately comes to mind. I may have to consider selling some of my unwanted material possessions on Crackslist and suck it up for perhaps a once in a lifetime chance.
** my wife and i want to travel to handful of different places, so returning to NY would have to come after getting thru the list. Atop the list for me is Barcelona to have Jondix finish my back!! That's "upcoming" in hopefully a year or two.

Just confirmed session #2 of my back-piece. Less than two weeks away.
Also more work coming up with Theo Mindell Apr 1. Working thru some bigger pieces so not many pics yet but I'll post em up as we finish up.

As of today I am exactly 4 weeks away from starting this whole backpiece thing. That seems like a long time, but I'm having renovations done to the house in that time, so I know it's just going to fly by. I'm spending a lot of time thinking about the appointment.
Anybody have any advice specific to surviving a looooonog day of lining? Greg wants to get the lining done in one day and we're going nape to thighs -- and I am not a waif -- so I suspect this is gonna be quite a day. I just wanna be as ready as possible.

I took a brief trip to Portland to get tattooed by greggletron. Cool shop and a nice guy as well. The knee was quite the experience!

Consultation with Mike Rubendall March 15th in NYC and then I start on April 2 in the Massapequa shop. I'm super stoked and can not wait for it.

If a tattoo needs to be "touched-up" every 5 years it is probably not a good tattoo.

So had my first session today with Mrdist today in Sweden. What a gentleman!
Lots more to come tomorrow.
Yes I know its another womans face and skull lol much more to come tomorrow but who doesn't like a woman and skulls ;) lol
Sorry for the shit pics from my phone :)

Oh man I'd love to see that back! I have a 12:30 - 5 time slot.

Awesome! I'm scheduled to be there on April 2nd also.

Consultation with Mike Rubendall March 15th in NYC and then I start on April 2 in the Massapequa shop. I'm super stoked and can not wait for it.

Consultation with Mike Rubendall March 15th in NYC and then I start on April 2 in the Massapequa shop. I'm super stoked and can not wait for it.

Consultation with Mike Rubendall March 15th in NYC and then I start on April 2 in the Massapequa shop. I'm super stoked and can not wait for it.

Consultation with Mike Rubendall March 15th in NYC and then I start on April 2 in the Massapequa shop. I'm super stoked and can not wait for it.

Consultation with Mike Rubendall March 15th in NYC and then I start on April 2 in the Massapequa shop. I'm super stoked and can not wait for it.

Consultation with Mike Rubendall March 15th in NYC and then I start on April 2 in the Massapequa shop. I'm super stoked and can not wait for it.

Consultation with Mike Rubendall March 15th in NYC and then I start on April 2 in the Massapequa shop. I'm super stoked and can not wait for it.