9Years

@embers

GODDAMN!! I stood and stared by the darkhorse/blackheart booth at the SFO convention for a looong time watching part of this thing go down. So cool to see the finished product. That is one righteous, badass snake!

Got this super-awesome psychedelic-multi-eyed-alien-tiger colored in and finished up yesterday (black is healed). Flash and Tattoo by Theo Mindell at Spider Murphy's. Pretty stoked on this lil' guy!!

You can check the pretty colors on his instagram:

Instagram

Or check out a crappy-hotel-room shot attached! What's that saying someone said around here about Tattoos being tough to photo because there ain't no lens that can capture the magic? Totally true in my experience....

I'll echo the others: really cool video! Thanks for sharing!

Goddam...

@MadeIndelible Ah, cool!

Really looking forward to the release of this!

@MadeIndelible @Shaun1105

Where/how did you watch it?

Finishing up some a piece with Theo Mindell at Spider Murphy's tomorrow...I'll post up in the lowdown later.

Just laid my money on the barrel-head at Tattoo City for an all-day El Monga bonanza when he comes to guest in Feb/March. We're going to finish out my shin/lower leg, but haven't finalized the design yet.

Can't wait!

I used the 'derm to heal a tattoo on my forearm right before xmas. It was just the outline/shading and I plan to use it again to heal the color I'll be getting tomorrow. I really loved the 'fire-and-forget' approach it allowed! I travel a lot for work and it was nice to not have to pack saran-wrap and medical tape (I've had the best luck when I re-wrap for a few days).

The tattoo healed up really nicely with a very minimal 'sun-burn' style flake. As other have mentioned, although the heal was easy and light, it seemed like it took a few days longer than normal to heal completely.

Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences and advice.

Man, I'm a little late to the party, but here you go anyway. Some of it might be from 2012? I can't keep up...what year is it?

In no particular order:

Windhand - Soma

Kadavar - Abra Kadavar

Goat - World Music

Fuzz - S/T

The Shrine - Primitive Blast

Lee Fields and The Expressions - Faithful Man

Eagle Twin - Feather Tipped the Serpents Scale

Everything else I kept coming back to is waaaay old...

Not sure if this is the right area to post, but I couldn't figure out how to start a new thread ...

Your post is, in the words of Nathan Explosion, brutal.

On so many levels....

Spambots be like:

Hi Dano!

I've been tattooed by Uncle Allan at their new spot in Berlin and he is great! You can see some progress pics in my gallery if you're interested - we've got one more session to go for details/touch-up.

I don't think he makes it state-side too often, but I would highly recommend the trip to Berlin to visit him if you can swing it. Conspiracy Inc. is a really cool private studio set-up, Allan and Amalie are totally awesome and Berlin is a great city for hanging out and wandering around. Every time I've gone the whole experience has been a total blast! Truth be told, I'm kind of dreading my final session because it means I won't be going back for awhile...

As always, the best thing to do is just reach out and contact the shop. Send them an email and see what comes back!

Good luck!

I don't respond "But, it's MY toilet!" when the professional (plumber, obviously) I have hired for the job gives me a suggestion based on his/her hard-earned experience....I might ask why they think that is the better plan, but ultimately that's why I'm paying them for the job: to make sure it gets done right.

First, I think there's a lot of truth in @JAllen and @10PieceNuggets suggestions.

But, if you do find someone's work appealing that's out of town, why not travel? You might have to save up a little longer for the tattoo you really want, but isn't that part of the deal anyway? It's been my experience that you can usually get places on-the-cheap if you are smart about it and plan ahead. Most places are more accessible than you think...

Here's a 'for-instance' for you: you live in LA which is EASY striking distance from San Diego and San Francisco/Oakland/Berkely/San Jose. LA to the Bay is 6ish hours, depending on where you're going/coming from. LA to San Diego is even easier. Between those three major metropolitan areas, it would be surprising if you couldn't find an artist to give you a killer tattoo in the style you want. Worst case scenario (going to SF or Oakland), you could leave early, be there in time for an early afternoon session, get a cheap hotel and be back in time for lunch the next day...not even a weekend trip!

Hell, if you check around for flights and don't plan your trip during a major holiday, the entire west-coast can be accessible for a few hundred bucks. An early flight in and a late flight back makes a day trip for places like Portland, Seattle, anywhere in Arizona, Nevada etc etc etc.

Hope that helps!

Man, I love me some Krampus. Coolest Christmas character ever. I had a bet with a friend of mine last year and the terms were for a Krampus tattoo...still haven't collected on that. I might send one of those sweaters to him as a reminder!

Check out Herb Auerbach's really great Krampuses (Krampii?)/Krampus-inspired devil-heads.

All from his instagram. I'm pretty crappy at the whole computer thing, so you'll have to follow the links.

Instagram

Instagram

Instagram

@Lance Thanks for posting that. Really cool stuff!

Now that there's a bit of time passed since the convention I feel like I've processed it enough to have an opinion.

This was the first convention that I've attended and I've gotta say, I'm not sure it's my thing. Don't get me wrong, I had a great time, spent too much money on prints/art etc (including a relatively spontaneous tattoo with Greg Christian that is totally awesome), watched my wife get two excellent tattoos from Stewart Robson, was totally blown away by a lot of the tattooing I saw happening, met some of you guys, etc etc etc. But the whole thing was pretty overwhelming for me.

I guess it really solidified a few things about what I enjoy about tattoo experience: going to a shop, seeing the culture that has been cultivated and created there, talking with the tattooers, making bad jokes...soaking it all up, y'know? As inspiring as the whole thing was, I think I can only handle small doses of the convention environment!

What the hell, I'll throw my hat into the ring. By El Monga guesting at Spider Murphy's in August. Healed shot.

Pumped!

My wife has an appt with Mr. Stewart Robson of Frith St. today at opening, so I'll be hanging around there if anyone wants to come say hello.

Me: Long hair/Acid King T-shirt.

That's Heavy.

@Graeme Ha! I totally agree....

I think 18 is fine. I don't see the need or benefit to restricting things further. Unless it's something totally insane like a vagina on your face, a tattoo that you come to regard as "bad" later on down the line isn't really that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things.

On a personal level, I'm reeeallly glad I only got a few smallish tattoos when I was younger (Skull N Bones with my roommates when I was 19, kinda crappy GG Bridge when I moved to SF etc). They've got character, I can file them under "learning experiences" and they still make me smile. But, thinking today about the things I would've got tattooed if I wasn't a broke-ass kid at the time makes me throw up in my mouth a bit...I simply had no respect for, or understanding of, tattoos.

No policy will ever account for bad-taste. Regardless of age.

I'm a big fan of the ol' "I don't really like tattoos, but yours are so____"

(insert your choice of favorable adjective)

People are funny.

That's pretty much it. My desire to take advantage of the opportunity far outweighs any worries about "moving too fast" or whatever. As far as I'm concerned, he owns my whole lower left leg.

I hope you get a chance to get a Monga tattoo, too. I can't recommend it enough. Come to Philadelphia.

Writing this also reminded me that my one year tattoo anniversary is coming up in a couple weeks. It's been very little time but a very long time, if you know what I mean.

It's kinda freaky how much your post reflects my thoughts/experiences...ever since he put a monster of a tattoo on my left calf in August, all I can think about is more Monga! He is the man; so much good Ju-Ju in his work and person.

Dig that last statement too...

I am not getting sick. I am not getting sick. I am not getting sick.

It's just The Tattoo Fever...

Maybe not what you were thinking, but this moon is pretty cool. It's on a buddy of mine and done by Aaron Mason at Soul Expressions Tattoo in Temecula, CA.

@smiling.politely Thanks for sharing! Some really cool stuff in there.

I totally agree with @hogg...those chest sharks are totally killer! Love seeing stuff like that!

You should tattoo Trogdor the Burninator on me some time if I am down to make a goofy decision.

This is a great idea...make sure to get that beefy arm just right.