sighthound

Yeah,it's a good thing to share info about a tattooer who's work you like even though you may personally never get tattooed by that artist.I know a lot of artists in UK travel to the States to work,and maybe I will get a chance to be tattooed by a few of them.I did come across an artist in the UK who I wasn't aware of,and really like his chrysanthemums a lot.So another artist on the list.
https://instagram.com/elliottwells666
https://instagram.com/akumashugi This guy does beautiful animals like the Monmon cats

I was checking the London Convention line up yesterday. I'm going to be there that week end all ready but hadn't planned to get tattooed. By accident I was browsing the 2014 lineup, thinking it was this year. My mind was like "Mike The Athens.. Duncan X.... Eddy Deutsche, Ed Hardy, Filip Leu (and so on and so forth....).... wooooot?! This is some crazy shit!!!" and then I realized my mistake. Anyway, I ended up getting booked in with Mike Rubendall. So I am very happy
True story

1st session of my 3rd Marvel installment. This was by far my hardest sit yet. The lining was relatively mild until he got the the middle of my chest. Just above the nibble was "okay" and toward the arm pit was rather unpleasant. We moved on to black shading and let me say the pain meter quickly got into the straight-up suckage levels. By that point my chest started looking pretty red and swollen. That being said I am extremely happy with the super tight line work. In 2 weeks we will knock out spiderman and see how far we can get on the background and filler.
I also picked up a new tattoo aftercare salve from a recent show called Vitalitree. The texture is similar to Redemption but smells a little bit like lavender and brown. I think it goes on a little smoother and does a great job with the redness. One of the ingredients is from the Tepezcohuite (miracle skin tree). It has analgesic, antibacterial, and promotes cell regeneration and minimize scaring. I'm only 12 hours removed from my session, so I can't give a detailed review, but so far it has helped with the redness and I have minimal discomfort. As for healing methods, I truly feel that the reason there are so many aftercare methods is because for the most part unless you do something stupid you will heal just fine.
Anyway, here is the progress.

Look, Heather. I don't want to come off as rude...but from your rhetoric I get a deep sense of indecisiveness and not really knowing what you want. Together with the fact that you don't have the conviction to stand by what you do want [ like this fox, you wanted it now you're like, maybe i should cover it up...after what? 1 month? ] you are too easily swayed by your own insecurities and maybe the opinions of some jerks, assholes or simply people with a different opinion than yourself. What I mean by all that is that, I think you should really really focus on figuring our what you really want in life, from yourself as a person..good, personal and RIGHT tattooes will just be a side effect of knowing yourself. Trust me on that.
Press pause, stop obsessing about this fox for a while and look at the whole experience as a starting point to a much needed maturity.
If you don't, you'll just cover it up with something that you really don't want either and it's just a vicious circle that will only get you more confused and depressed and neurotic. I might be wrong in which case I apologize, just something I gathered from your posts.
a few question to get you started:
1. Why did you want this tattoo in the first place?
2. Why something origami-style?

get both! :)

Stop thinking, get tattooed instead.

@PackMan - looks awesome! We must have been in there around the same time, cause Will finished this one off over the weekend.
Back of calf Kyosai/monmon frog mashup:
edit: apologies for pics being rotated all funny, no idea how to change it

Something tough as fuck from Lehi.
A spider from Arriola.
A pin-up from Boltz.
Don't steal my ideas, guys.

Lucky Strike Tattoo in Edmonton, AB hosted their annual summer slam party this weekend !!
It was a super fun time. Lots of tattoo show n tell, good tattoo talks with fellow collectors, jello shooters, moonshine, parking lot burnouts, picture machine flash jokes and got drunk with some new buds. I hadn't even cracked my first beer (4pm) and Scotty's like "it's a friggin tattoo shop take your shirts off".
Got to check out some wicked tattoos in the flesh...Lucas Ford fudo backpiece, Steve Moore backpiece, a bunch of Steve Batt tattoos, a Steve Byrne ROA in progress backpiece (!), Bailey Robinson, Koeplinger, OllieXXX, Smilin' Dave and of course lots of fresh and aged tattoos from the Lucky Strike cats of new and old (Sam Sheinin, Bobby Tripp, Miles Kanne, Scott Rusnak, Brent Smith, Chris Iwaniuk, Myke, Julie).
Anyway, got this super dope photo of Scott Rusnak and some fellow clients in the bodysuit club.

from L-R ... Steve(?), Scott Rusnak, Derek, myself. Too bad we didn't get a backside shot...
IG @ scottrusnak one of the most underrated young tattooers in Western Canada...he does really bright and vivid Trevino-esque Japanese style tattoos with attention to the details. Highly recommend him.
IG @ lucky_strike_tattoo great local shop, quality artists and a really fun place to hang.
some bongsau facts...30% of my tattoos have been completed at Lucky Strike, 40% if you include the Electric Tattoo days from 10 years ago!

Got this about a month ago from Jeff Zuck of Name Brand in Ann Arbor. Definitely going back!

Yep, the time to be worried about placement, looks, and all that is passed. It's on there now, so you gotta accept it the way it is.
Personally, I don't see anything wrong with it. It wraps around the wrist a bit, totally normal.

Yep, the time to be worried about placement, looks, and all that is passed. It's on there now, so you gotta accept it the way it is.
Personally, I don't see anything wrong with it. It wraps around the wrist a bit, totally normal.

@PackMan - looks awesome! We must have been in there around the same time, cause Will finished this one off over the weekend.
Back of calf Kyosai/monmon frog mashup:
edit: apologies for pics being rotated all funny, no idea how to change it

@Mark Bee @Rob I For the Win is a gamer term that came from the advent of mmorpgs and is still used as a term of encouragement and approval among gamers and nerds. Among tattooers and bikers, the term has generally meant Fuck the World.
@Pugilist I'm on it!!! Say, it's Wednesday, isn't it... ;D

Started some dot shading last weekend. Quick 2-hour session with Thomas Hooper until next time, which will be in August. I need to take a month or so off so I can swim with the kids over their summer break. Once we're done with shading this section, we're gonna hammer out whats going on in the lower belly area and right ribs.
crap...sorry the pic is loading horizontally. I'll see if I can fix that.

Shiiiiet, people been getting awesome work lately. Hats off ya'll!

Oh what the hell. Might as well post my finished back piece. A year long process has come to an end and I can't wait to start another piece!
Done by Stacey Martin-Smith at Golden Age in Austin, TX.

I always walk around stark naked, as to not obscure any of my tattoos
No but seriously... For me, part of the tattoo magic is that whole tattoos seldom gets seen in the best angle and the best light for a long period of time when you view them on other people. It's part of the charm I think, that they are a bit secret in that way. I love seeing just glimpses of well made tattoos pass by on the street or half a tattoo peek out under somebodys sleeve. Sometime the mood is right to ask them to show the whole tattoo, sometimes that's not the case.
In my opinion, my tattoos are for my enjoyment first and foremost anyway. I don't think about how other people will or won't get a good view of them (except for job interviews or formal settings when they could be distracting) Talk to me in a tattoo shop or convention setting and I'd be happy to drop my pants most of the time. Not to be too much of a elitist snob but I think tattoos are for the initiated, who love and respect the art. I don't bother a lot with how my tattoos are viewed by "plainskins" when I'm out and about in every day life.
Wear the watch or don't wear it, whatever you feel like that day. And enjoy your tattoos. There enough is time to get naked in front of mirrors in your privacy or with whoever you want to share it with.
Just my 2 cents

All booked for early August. Will be getting a Star Wars tattoo (Darth Vader) with a Giger twist, will be on back of lower left leg, yes the calf. But that'll be it done *starts to mentally prepare herself for the pain that waits*

Some place that makes really excellent tacos should offer a Free Taco Wednesday to anyone willing to get a FTW taco tattoo. And I should live next to that place.

From last Saturday at Great Lakes Tattoo in Chicago

Nick Colella -big-ass eagle (chest)

Mario Desa - rose of no mans..tribute (ankle)

Frank Willian - pocket knife filler (inner arm ditch)
It was a good day.... besides getting 3 killer tattoos, I got to hang out and bullshit with Chad Koeplinger and Robert Ryan and the rest of the GLT crew plus it was Robert Ryan's "The Radiant Name" art opening downstairs. GLT is probably the nicest shop I've ever been in and everybody was super nice and fun.....

get some spicy/ angry taco with FTW script underneath. that would be fantastic. Maybe its a good thing my disposable income is small these days
EDIT: FTW is giving me the crack head WoW itches

my personal favorite Fireup The Weed

It means Free Taco Wednesday to me now.

I always read it as "Fuck The World" which these days usually means that I read things like "Look at this video of a kitten riding a Roomba FUCK THE WORLD". Everyday surrealism is great.