Fala

Sometimes the best way to make a decision is by not making one at all!
My right forearm is still open and I want Yoni to tattoo it to finish my arm off. I don't know when that will be because I'll need to figure if I'll be financially able to get a fairly large tattoo while saving for/working on my back or whether it's something that I'll have to do after my back is finished, I'll need to work out travel plans, etc., but his tattoos are so beautiful and powerful and delicate and I want one. I don't know what my opinion counts for here, but he's one of my favourite tattooers.
Between me getting basically a sleeve and a half there and my wife getting her back done there, we've spent a lot of time at Saved and so I've seen a lot of Anderson Luna's tattoos and he's amazing. He doesn't put a lot of his work up on the internet, but he does knock-you-on-your-ass tattoos. The pictures of his tattoos don't really do them justice. He has that combination of beauty and toughness perfectly dialed in. His script is, in my opinion, some of the best out there.
So yeah, you should totally get tattooed by both.

Consult with Yoni Zilber yesterday. He will be doing an octopus on my right shoulder.
Anderson Luna never responded. Found another artist, Cheo Park at East Side Ink. He will be doing a whale shark on my left shoulder.
I like Anderson's work and I might persue him again in the future. Just was not in the mood to chase him down for what I am currently looking to have done. Judging from his instagram page, it looks like lady heads are his preference, which is not what I am looking for right now.

Hey Folks,
Just wanted to share my experience from a few years ago dealing with contact dermatitis after a new tattoo. Back in late 2011, I had started a thigh piece on my left thigh which covered basically almost the entire front and side of the left thigh. After a couple of days, I developed a bunch of red spots on the back of my thigh, all outside of the tattoo itself. It wasn't a localized rash as it ran up and down the length of thigh and was in random areas but nothing on the ink itself. My artist unfortunately was just doing a guest spot locally and returned to his country. Best I could do was send me him pictures and even he was puzzled to the point where he recommended I see a doctor.
But before seeing a doctor, I luckily had the benefit of three very good friends to contact. These were old college friends, all of whom were pharmacists and have encountered all types of ailments. One was even tattooed, so I called her first. She hit the nail on the head with her initial diagnosis. She asked if the spots were small and if any had popped and oozing clear serum. When I confirmed, she knew it was contact dermatitis. It basically happened because my skin is normally sensitive and was subjected to the trauma of tattooing. Add to the fact I normally wear briefs and switched to boxers to be comfortable and let the tattoo breathe but by doing so, added new cloth material contacting an area that was already irritated. Plus the shaving and the tape holding the saran wrap in place didn't help either. The fix? Good old Benedryl, both in pill and topical cream format in over the counter form. Within a couple of days, all the spots cleared up.
More info on contact dermatitis from WebMD: Contact Dermatitis Causes, Symptoms, Treatments, & More
I know everyone wants their tattoos to heal up without any issues and try to be diligent about aftercare. I know I do and sometimes verge on madness since it is a permanent investment in my eyes. I did myself a huge favor by getting to know my own body and what works with it. There's no one true formula or cure all that's ideal for everyone. Speak to your artist and the shop management about their recommendations for aftercare and then turn it into your own personal regime that suits you. Ideally, if at all possible, share your experience with the tattoo community so that others can benefit from your experience. Cheers.

Oh I am sort of jealous of you fitness dedicated folks. The holidays totally sucked that away from me and into piles of homemade cookies that are still circulating through my house. I'm not even sure how that's possible. Too many...
That being said, I did just get back from traveling in Israel. Woo!

That's the view of the Dead Sea, looking towards Jordan from the top of Masada.

How is this a question? Go to Kings Ave.

The search is over: http://www.kingsavenuetattoo.com/

I really like this thread its very inspirtional

sunscreen is good defense...i was pretty overzealous during my early years living with tattoos. then i got a lot more ink, got lazy of lathering and tired of smelling like a god damn pina colada all the time. coverup, wear long sleeves if you are going to be out in the sunshine for long periods, don't stay exposed long enough to get a burn. i mean that is good sense whether you look like a colouring book or not. yknow that pesky thing they call skin cancer...
the gent who did my first tattoo told me that tattoos look the best ten years after they were made. they look worn, the look weathered, they have aged gracefully with you. the tattoos have mileage and your stories attached to make them alive. i looked up this tattooer 10 years later and stopped by his shop to show him that decade old first tattoo. and to tell him he was god damn right!
take care of your body and keep healthy. healthy skin will make the tattoo look better and keep it looking like a good tattoo. that is the best long-term tattoo care advice i've been given and that i can share.

I second @Killercook76. Definitely tell them your budget and also know it's OK to ask for a ballpark even when the design is in limbo. I ask all the time and they usually give me a range, then I save the amount of the highest figure + tip.

I like seeing the pics of all everyone's overall look, so here's my updated one:
(ETA: now my right arm tattoo is going down farther than my left arm, so now I'm going to have to add more to my left. And so it goes...that's how they get ya.)

Hahahaha, that was amazing. I hope they got a happy ending after that back massage.
Edit: kind of reminded me a science fair volcano eruption.

Haha, it's kind of true! definitely not an absolute truth, but I think tattoos give a lot of people a greater sense of courage and confidence.

Off topic, but I recently discovered my Chinese zodiac animal is a goat, and my element is metal. That gives me one more reason to get a demonic goat design some day...

every tattoo I do contains tiny particles of black sabbath.

@Fala Slightly off topic but looks like Shinji and his client made it out to the annual New Year's Polar Bear swim in NYC

It depends on how often you're planning on walking around and going about your daily business not wearing pants.

hey and welcome!
my advice is to not care what others think. it's your tattoo on your body...i have "girly" tattoos and don't care what anyone thinks. if i like, i like it!

I believe that is called Sharpie.

Got this yesterday.

^^^I agree. People get what they like, love, or otherwise identify with regardless of it being "within their own culture" or not. One world.

I pretty much disagree entirely with this.
First, it presumes that you understand the reasons why people get the tattoos they get. I read recently, it was either on here or on IG, a tattooer (I think for some reason that it was David Bruehl, but I'm not certain about that) talking about how there was a point in their career where they were tattooing a lot of yin yangs. The tattooer asked those clients what religion or philosophical belief that the yin and yang belonged to and none of them could give an even close to accurate answer, but that regardless of this, they were seeking to achieve a kind of balance in their lives. Horiyoshi III says in an interview in the book JBxH3 that a lot of people who get tattoos of Buddhist deities don't even know what they mean. They like the appearance or the name of the god, and maybe they learn more about it after. So even within what you describe as a "culture" people are getting tattoos that are outside of their realm of familiarity.
Second, it's useless to talk about culture as this monolithic thing. If you want to talk narrowly about western traditional tattoos, a lot of those are sailor tattoos or military tattoos, or are deeply rooted in those cultures and traditions, and if you want to talk about people "staying within their own culture" a lot of us wouldn't have the tattoos we have.
Third, at this point in time there are very few tattoo traditions that are "untouched" so to speak and aren't influenced by tattoo traditions from elsewhere, and I don't see this as in any way a bad thing. Shit, this isn't even a new thing. I read or heard somewhere...maybe it was from an interview with Horiyoshi III again?...that Japanese tattooing and this whole body compositions were originally influenced by Polynesian tattoos. You look at classic Western tattoos and you'll see all kinds of Asian influence there with dragons and what not--George Burchett went to Japan and observed the masters at work--not to mention that way that Sailor Jerry took that Japanese influence and brought it into Western tattooing with those incredible backpieces he did which have been so influential on the way we get tattooed now. What about Ed Hardy, who synthesised so many things into his tattooing? What about Thomas Hooper who does very European tattoos but is very open about how much he's influenced by Polynesian tattoos? I'm going to say that most of the exciting things that have happened in tattooing have happened precisely because people didn't "stay within their own culture".

Took the wrap off and got it cleaned before bed.
Now, am I imagining things or is there a line missing? On the bottom right as you look at the picture, a line to mark the side of the petal?

Welcome to the forum. There's nothing at all wrong with getting tattooed from flash, though from what you're describing here, I would suggest checking out John Sultana at Saved Tattoo in Williamsburg.

I got started on this tattoo by Ron Henry Wells last while he was guesting at Tattoomania in Montreal and we'll finish it at a later date. Sorry for the not great photo, it wraps a bit so it's tough to get a good one. As always, it was a real pleasure to be tattooed by Ron, and the Tattoomania crew were very gracious hosts. I love tattoos.

Me and @Pugilist just booked an appointment to get matching tattoos from Doc Forbes flash from Chris Hold at Sacred Heart in Vancouver on December 27. Stoked.