9Years

Oh c'mon man...it took, like, a couple hours!

Oni Head by Stewart Robson guesting at Blackheart tattoo before the SFO convention. This shot is from today, healed. BOOM in your face, @Cork you're not the only one with a massive Japanese tattoo this month, haha!

my 2 cents anyway based on this bit of your post: "I know that I am picky in terms of the level of detail that I'm looking for but to me, that's ok because this is something that is permanent." All mediums have limitations and nothing lasts forever...even tattoos. How much of this type of work have you seen in real life? I would try to seek some out on real people before committing a ton of space to it for a first tattoo. There are some members here that have some excellent examples of very detailed work ( @peterpoose, @MoistTowelette are two that come to mind) but it also seems like this style has to really be executed with a lot of experience to hold up. Good luck!

@Lngbeard check out Steve Moore on Vancouver Island. Not traditional or necessarily Japanese, but it seems that he can draw and execute just about anything... Instagram

Booked in with Tim Lehi yesterday. Appt is beginning of March. Stoked!

Paul Dobleman and Aaron Hodges have an opening at the ATAK gallery in San Francisco Dec 6th. Really looking forward to it. PASSAGE: AARON HODGES & PAUL DOBLEMAN

I can second having a really great experience at Conspiracy Inc. Allan did my left rib panel and it was an awesome experience and tattoo.

Thanks! I love it too.... Just checked and I entered the back of the leg in Nov 2013. Since we did the front we also filled in the heel gap with a cool Monga-spider which won't be in the Nov pic.

@MrToby wow!!!! That is impressive!

Front of my El Monga leg. Done at Tattoo City in March. Pic is from today (healed). Entered the back of it a few months ago, figured the front needs to toss its hat in the ring.

@MoistTowelette Although it would be well deserved, it looks like your need for shirts is almost over :cool:

Rimshot!

Really great. Love that clown....

Anyone with functioning eyeballs would disagree....

I've gotta work the weekend of the convention. The closer it gets, the more bummed I get!

...And coincidentally here is a tattoo that is close to what I was thinking in my last comment: Instagram Imagine a whole sleeve done in this style! It would be really killer... Aaaaannd another: http://instagram.com/p/tngGcDC1lJ/

I always thought if I were a religious person a whole arm (or more) done in a Byzantine-empire inspired style would be cool. Look to the ancients!

Yup, like everyone else has said: Keep it clean, you'll be fine (so will it).

I've got both rib panels almost fully covered and I think the healing is worse than the application. My left side involved a lot of travel to finish and therefor some long-ass sittings (a few 7/8hr sessions) which I had totally psyched myself up for...they were worse in my head than in reality. The next few days, however, sucked. Very tender and not-so-mobile. I find that area takes a long time for the skin to feel normal. In my experience lifting my arms over my head or stretching my sides was really weird for several weeks after the skin was healed.

Bongripper's SATAN WORSHIPPING DOOM rules also. Check it out. If you guys haven't seen YOB live it's a must-see...seen 'em twice now and I can easily say they are the heaviest shows I've ever experienced.

Oh man, that is sooooo killer!!!! @Graeme

@RoryQ Holy Shit! That is truly awesome!

I got one too.