Synesthesia

I got one pretty bad on a butterfly tattoo I have. It's in a sensitive spot, near my elbow ditch. I'm not too worried about it since I plan on surrounding it with more tattoos anyway and the negative space between them (where the blowout is) won't be as noticeable. It's also faded a little with time. Most of the time, it's not worth trying to "correct" a blow out because it ends up just drawing more attention to it.
Tattoos are going to have "mistakes"...I don't think any of mine are perfect, but that doesn't mean I don't still like them. The best thing to do is try to accept that and just keep getting tattooed.

My basic aftercare routine:

1) Get home, wash tattoo with warm/hot water and gentle soap (I already buy the cheapest, shittiest soap out there, which is usually good for tattoos )
2) Pat dry with paper towel, apply a tiny dot of Aquaphor
3) Depending on the time of day: either continue to wash it a couple times a day, or loosely wrap a paper towel/cloth around it to sleep and not destroy my sheets (to remove stuck on paper towel, I hop in the shower and let it wash off, no pulling!)
4) Wash maybe 3-4 times a day for the next couple days, whenever I was sweating or the tattoo starts to feel oozy and gross, maybe another tiny dab of Aquaphor once a day
4) Once scabs and peeling starts happening (around day 3 or 4), I stop doing anything special to it. I only rinse it in the shower like any other part of me (albeit more gently). I apply lotion only when it's so dry and itchy I can't stand it anymore, maybe once every couple days.

So yeah, I'm generally pretty low maintenance with mine and only apply lotion for my own comfort. Your body can take care of itself. 

His first spot on Saturday. I really have no idea, I told him I might pick something out of his book of designs he's bringing along or he can draw whatever we feel like doing that day. Playing it by ear. I'm just happy to get anything by him, honestly.

His first spot on Saturday. I really have no idea, I told him I might pick something out of his book of designs he's bringing along or he can draw whatever we feel like doing that day. Playing it by ear. I'm just happy to get anything by him, honestly.

His first spot on Saturday. I really have no idea, I told him I might pick something out of his book of designs he's bringing along or he can draw whatever we feel like doing that day. Playing it by ear. I'm just happy to get anything by him, honestly.

I'm big into music also, but unfortunately a lot of bands I like, I just don't really want their logos or album covers on me for aesthetic reasons. I have the Minor Threat black sheep logo, and some day I want to get the black cat AFI used for some merch (https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61CZ77FtGZL._SY450_.jpg).

I also have a piece inspired by some album artwork. I went to an artist who does, imo, great skulls and armor, and I showed him the picture and told him to come up with something inspired by the cover. Attached is a picture of the album and what he came up with for me, the picture is pretty old and taken I think before he finished the background 100% and did some final touchups (artist is Sam Warren in Lancaster, PA).

I say go for it!

His first spot on Saturday. I really have no idea, I told him I might pick something out of his book of designs he's bringing along or he can draw whatever we feel like doing that day. Playing it by ear. I'm just happy to get anything by him, honestly.

Nice. I'm in a similar boat. Both times he's tattooed me he's just drawn it on anyway, so I'm not too worried about it. I sent him three ideas I've been kicking around and then ended with "I don't know,  or you can just do some big ass animals fighting?" We'll see what we both end up with!! Excited to see what ya get, @Synesthesia!

His first spot on Saturday. I really have no idea, I told him I might pick something out of his book of designs he's bringing along or he can draw whatever we feel like doing that day. Playing it by ear. I'm just happy to get anything by him, honestly.

Haha, I just called the shop to book my spot with him, I'm the first appointment of the day on Saturday. I've been out of tattooing for a while now and focusing on life bullshit, Pagoda City will be my triumphant return to the fun.

Just booked my appointment with Scott too. I'm strongly thinking about driving over there every day of the fest, I'm only about an hour away. Might book one or two more spots, if I can make up my mind on what I want.

Just booked my appointment with Scott too. I'm strongly thinking about driving over there every day of the fest, I'm only about an hour away. Might book one or two more spots, if I can make up my mind on what I want.

Just booked my appointment with Scott too. I'm strongly thinking about driving over there every day of the fest, I'm only about an hour away. Might book one or two more spots, if I can make up my mind on what I want.

Haha, I just called the shop to book my spot with him, I'm the first appointment of the day on Saturday. I've been out of tattooing for a while now and focusing on life bullshit, Pagoda City will be my triumphant return to the fun.

Haha, I just called the shop to book my spot with him, I'm the first appointment of the day on Saturday. I've been out of tattooing for a while now and focusing on life bullshit, Pagoda City will be my triumphant return to the fun.

have been away for a bit, just realized i didn't post up the finished work from Scott Sylvia...the guy who bailed on this drawing totally lost out! :)

My longest was 7 hours of lining from the side of my butt to almost the side of my knee. I think I saw God. I had the shakes really bad after and by the time I got home, I had a fever. I called my mom when I was done like I usually do to let her know the damage had been done, and I distinctly remember telling her I was never getting another one...that was a couple tattoos ago, of course.  

Got this from the Get What You Get machine at White Rose in York, PA. Artist is Calvin Hersh. I was actually really excited that it fit in an awkward spot so nicely.

I picked up this little heart and dagger at a local shop's flash event. Didn't realize until I got home that the top of the handle is jacked up.  I think it'll be an easy fix so I'll just swing by one afternoon after it's healed and ask him to fix up the diamond-y part. Don't really blame the guy considering how insanely busy the shop was that day. Other than the handle, I love it, and it helps fill in an annoying gap nicely.

EDIT: Silly me, I forgot to give credit. Atom Lenhart at Golden Ages in Lancaster, PA did this. I've been tattooed by two guys in that shop now and will probably get a second from Atom (I have an idea he would be awesome at) and will probably get stuff from the other two guys too.

Finally finished this huge thigh piece a few days ago, loosely based on the cover for one of my favorite metal albums! Pictures taken a couple hours after when I was still ridiculously red and swollen. I'll be sure to post better pics once it's done peeling. Done by Sam Warren at Dreams Collide in Lancaster, PA. 

Pic from the front/side:


From the back:

Forgot to post pics. We nearly finished this up a couple weeks ago. One more short session next month to darken and tighten things up. Here's some terrible quality photos I got the next day:

And just yesterday I got a closeup of the horse head, which gives you an idea of how much the blue is really starting to pop now that it's almost fully done healing. I need to get better quality photos of the whole thing.

Hey guys...I'm not on the boards too much lately because frankly, I'm kind of tired of even thinking about tattoos at the moment. This current project I'm working on is the most grueling yet. Once I finish this piece, I think I'll go back to traditional one shots on my arms, because this thing is burning me out. Anyway, I met with Sam Warren recently to work on doing some coloring (so far we've done one for lining, one for black and gray shading, and now one for color). One more session to go next month to finish coloring and maybe do some touching up. Sorry the pic is horrible but have you ever tried taking a picture of your own thigh? It ain't easy.

Here's some close ups of the key components:

Somewhere between 5 or 6 hours of outlining today with Sam Warren. He ended up going just the tiniest bit bigger than I thought he would, but I am so stoked to get this started. Oh, and this goes into the dreaded butt crease, which had me seeing stars.

Got this from Chad Koeplinger last night in DC. Sorry the pics are shitty, it's still really swollen and bruised.

Got this today from Antonio Roque in Frederick, MD. I am totally amazed by it...and even my anti-tattoo mom likes it. :)