jimstanley

I remember being really young, listening to my dad's old eclectic mix of an 80's weirdo records, and reading comics and d&d books. My brother watched me when I was young so I used to skate with him and when he went to the comic shop to play magic I sat in the front and read whatever I could get my hands on. My parents would never let me buy comics. We actually weren't allowed to go to the comic shop. Weird. Whatever music taste I have independent of my dad's started developing with RATM. That was when I started writing and drawing. I draw less now but still write. Then the ambiguous "they" got worried about me so I got stuck in band which I guess worked out. I started playing trombone and then picked up guitar, started listening to a lot more music. Then in high school I started a pseudo-psychedelic desert jam/cover band with some friends and I've been in that world ever since. Everyone raps now, but. Dust blows forward and dust blows back. Whatever textbook sub-cultures I was into were basically me becoming attached to things my dad remembered from growing up in east LA. Mostly kustom kulture and motorcycle stuff I saw from afar. There were communities of people around everything I was into but I'd hardly call them sub-cultures. More like packs of desert refugee kids.
As far as whatever paved the way for the passion... I'm still too young and destructive to care too much. Tattoos have been around my whole life and I always thought they were cool, I dont know if me reading comics, skating, playing magic, liking punk rock, or being into old cars and ed roth had anything to do with that. All those things definitely influenced my taste in art and what exactly is visually appealing to me though. I guess it's a question of correlation and causation.

@marley mission holly shit balls! Dude dry heal for a day and now is pealing like crazy!
Thanks!!!!

Seems to me that when we talk about directions trad tattooing can go in it's worth bearing in mind the distinction between form and content.
The form of trad tattooing is all the stuff that leads people to say "bold will hold". The sticker quality, readability, outline, use of black, bold colours etc.
But that has no necessary connection to the content. You could use the form to illustrate anything, and people do... So we have espresso shots... Skeletor... Wrestling holds...
But there's a reason panthers, Eagles and whatnots have such a long track record. They're archetypical images full of emotion and strength.
A hipster gentleman riding an old timey bike, done in a traditional style, will almost certainly date. But a swooping eagle? Or a crying baby head. They won't go out of date anytime soon.
The question then becomes whether there's a better way to organise / draw that swooping eagle, or how you make it different.

I don't think traditional tattoos necessarily inspire a 'fuck yeah, that's awesome' reaction in most people straight off the bat. A segment immediately - absolutely - and maybe more since they really came to fore as a genre in the past few years, but I think it's fair to say that most people (and a lot of collectors) are more readily able to recognise good tattooing when it comes in the form of accomplished japanese style, black and grey etc.
It probably took me at least five years of collecting and looking at tattoos a lot before I started to "get" traditional (maybe I was a slow learner). Even then, it was even longer before I understood what was going on with some of the more folksy approaches to it.
To me the thing about traditional tattoos is that although you could say that there is a flash lexicon there ready to use, the devil is in the subtle details. A Bert Krak crawling panther will be a very different beast, excuse the pun, to an Uncle Allen take on the same starting point. I love that aspect of it. Looking at stuff from particular artists and seeing where they've gone with it. You get the really whimsical and fun, like Jesse Gordon Jnr, you get the real traditionalists, like Tommy T. here in Dublin and people who are doing a really distinct personal folk style like Mario Desa (or at least, that's what I see there, apologies if I'm wrong :P ).

Traditional and Japanese are hands down my favorite styles of tattooing. A really interesting thing is happening in the development of traditional tattoos right now, where artists are keeping in tradition with the technique and tools of prior generations but really branching out in subject matter, concept, and style. For instance, look at the work of James McKenna, Aidan Monahan, or Slawomir Nietschke. All of whom keep with the bold line, heavy black, saturated color, negative space ratios, and dynamic designs, while exploring very interesting and wacky themes. Or even the less weird but still very advanced and finessed work of artists like Herb Aeurbach, Paul Dobleman, or Gordon Combs. It's a super cool and exciting thing to be happening within a particular school of thought and is what makes the style most interesting to me.
It seems to me that the general populace prefers realism or new school tattoos, or even the more painterly stuff. If that's your preference, I don't really care, but I do attribute it largely to ignorance and a magpie effect.

I felt a great disturbance in the force, as if millions of hipsters suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something amusing has happened.

I'll be there. Look for the sketchy kid who probably smells too loud

I'll be there. Look for the sketchy kid who probably smells too loud

I'll be there. Look for the sketchy kid who probably smells too loud

I'll be there. Look for the sketchy kid who probably smells too loud

Spinal fusion to correct kyphosis (similar to scoliosis). I can elaborate more but it might start to feel like an episode of Miami Ink...

Tattoos fade because your cells divide and regenerate as you age. Pigment is encapsulated in scar tissue, which also divides and regenerates with age. Thus spreading out the pigment over time.

I love motorcycles and have been riding since I was 10. Here's some pics of my '46 knucklehead. I'm also almost done with a 05 buell project. Hopefully the pics will come up here.

There can only be two explanations
1. You need to take some glamour shots.
2. You don't spend enough time in parking garages

So I bought some fundoshi's off of eBay a while back, thinking I might use them when I start my backpiece. In hindsight I should have known that only japanese men with bodysuits can pull those off. Pale norwegian guys, not so much. Had to cherish the moment with a picture though. I hope you all feel privileged! :cool:

- - - Updated - - -
Only thing I made my mind up about pretty early on was that I wanted to go big on my front and back. Other than that I'm just randomly filling it in with different styles of work from different tattooers I dig. I guess my thighs and feet match each other, but other than that I just pack'em in there. I absolutely love the look of japanese bodysuites though, but that's not for me. I like too much from both worlds.
Now let's see the rest of you in your fundoshis! If you don't have any laying around, all you need is an old bedsheet and a pair of scissors, and voila.

Now to be replaced by "balls out friday."

@dog.bite No one here believes in Jesus, right?

Fuck this guy. We give way too many people here the benefit of the doubt.

Thread locked!
We do not discuss finances, tips, or green soap budget for that matter here @anomaly1964. Read the newbie guidelines, and please try to read between the lines instead of looking for loopholes. I'm sure you had an idea of how a question like that would be welcomed here. If you don't respect our guidelines you are more than welcome to leave.

@dog.bite No one here believes in Jesus, right?

My parents were anti-Tattoo to the Max. My folks would have flipped out and ruined my Teen life more than they already did if they knew I had tattoos. I started getting tattoos at 15 years old and wore a t-shirt from the shower to my room, while I was at my parents home (even after I had moved out and just visiting lol), until I was 19 or so. Just made life easier for everybody.
Being in your parents face about your tattoos is not always the best approach, especially when they are hostile to the idea. Everyone's situation is different I guess and we each have to make that call commensurate to the situation we are in.
Supportive parents get to know what is going in their children's lives, draconian parents are left in the dark and their own illusions, lol.

@Jnvlv there are worse things you could be into. If tattoos are your only "sin" they will get over it.
A point concerning your parent's side, if you are in school or some how they are helping out. The "their money" issue is actually real. While on another person's payroll there are certain rules to abide by. If they are footing the bill and you know they wouldn't appreciate tattoos then you should have waited until you're off the payroll. Not judging but as a parent and a guy with tattoos I see both sides. Also, I will NOT be happy if one of my kids turns 18 and thinks I'm OK with them getting tattoos. Establish your life and then do what you want and ensure it fits your lifestyle/profession.

I botched it, guys. I thought I picked an image that didn't have a 13 on it so I didn't even worry about it. Didn't see the 13 in the smoke til after the tattoo. And...I'm...not...new...at...this.
But whatev, it's a cool tattoo. Pic shortly.

Got one this last Friday at Daredevil in NYC cuz it was my birthday. Gave myself some unluck for my birthday this year, cuz fuck it, how often does that chance come around?

Got one this last Friday at Daredevil in NYC cuz it was my birthday. Gave myself some unluck for my birthday this year, cuz fuck it, how often does that chance come around?