polliwog

Tattoo Forrest! Because I'm in the mood to fantasize about backpieces even though that probably won't happen for years and years. One of many downsides to looking at stuff on the internet: it's easy to fixate on artists who live thousand of miles away while ignoring the amazing talent the next few towns over...

This might be too political for this site? But here goes. In my opinion/experience, PUA culture is bad news for everybody involved. It looks like you still have some detoxing to do. Try thinking of your interactions with women as something other than transaction-based, to start. You also don't know what a person may have experienced to cause him or her to "lash out" at light touch from a stranger. I wish you luck. Thanks to everybody on here for helping to keep this a good space for women, by the way... Because I think we need a picture of something nice right about now, here's a backpiece by Forrest Cavacco that I'm currently drooling over: Edit: sorry it's so huge...

That's a pretty douchey interpretation of "being a close friend".

I had a similar conversation with my best friend. I do sometimes feel guilty about spending this money on myself, but I'm buying something handmade and meeting amazing people. To me that beats a closet full of mass-produced clothes or a lot of (probably unhealthy and fattening) take-out meals. The flipside is that there are a lot of broken things in my house that haven't been fixed yet...

Figured I'd post an update in case it helps anyone who tends to heal like I do. I have annoyingly dry, fussy skin year-round, and with more traditional aftercare (washing a couple times a day, Aquaphor) I tend to peel on the third day - the whole tattoo falls off more or less at once, and it's pretty painful. The main benefit of having used -derm so far has been to slow down the first peel. It's lighter and the new skin underneath feels significantly less raw than with my previous aftercare. Not something I'd bother with on a small tattoo, but definitely useful for the big messy ones. Realized I said "calf" rather than "thigh" in the first post there - whoops.

May we all have accidents this good! :)

One of the hardest things to do. Hugs to you, @SeeSea.

I don't really enjoy being negative for negativity's sake, but many feel like empty displays of technical ability to me. They look impressive fresh but are utterly unmoving. This is what I used to think "good tattoos" looked like. Oh well. I hope their owners are still happy when the novelty wears off.

Beautiful tattoo, @TrixieFaux! This, however: Instagram DO NOT WANT.

I love that rash guards are fashionable now. It's like the acceptable (and SPF-sensible) adult version of wearing a giant t-shirt into the water as a sullen teen, which I did often.

I would find getting a stencil in advance stressful. I know I'm indecisive, and I know it's not based in anything other than general anxiety, so seeing the sketch minutes before I agree to having it tattooed on me is best. A couple times I've seen a drawing go through several iterations, get placed against my body and redrawn, and become a stronger design along the way. Ron Wells was particularly meticulous with his rose - it's pretty amazing to watch someone think through their design decisions with their pen or pencil.

Sending a lot of love your way, @Colored Guy.

Depending on whether you're 30 minutes north or south, you may want to consider looking at Congress St/Hobo's in Portsmouth. I was so impressed with everyone there the other day - the shop had a really good atmosphere. I also have a friend with a nice dragon from Ram, who said getting tattooed by him was great - she's planning a sleeve w/him.

@hogg the tattoos on your legs flow beautifully. I really like the look of symmetrical larger tattoos surrounded by smaller pieces that are pretty different on each leg.

Thank you @Mick Weder for joining this forum and being rad. I would read your memoirs.

I'm trying Saniderm on my calf, and the biggest issue so far has been getting a smooth application - I have some folds and bubbles but nothing too bad. I could have cut and pieced several smaller pieces together but didn't want to have the cut (and therefore unsanitary) surface touching my tattoo. It was awesome to be able to sleep on my tattoo, though - the pressure felt good. It seems like a waste of money for easy-heal areas, but after the mess my previous leg tattoo made, I'm happy with this choice so far. I also learned that it's really best to change it if there's any doubt as to whether it's going to leak. I was talking to a customer earlier today when black drool started flowing down my leg...

More like 2 or 2 and a half? I wasn't really watching the clock because I was having so much fun (except when things started to swell up towards the end). I found him to be really gentle, though it wasn't a bad spot. This tattoo is a lot cooler than I am.

Got this today from Chad K. at Congress St. So happy. Taken from his Instagram.

I tried on a bunch of these the other day and laughed & laughed. Maybe they look amazing on people who are 5'10" and willowy. This tattoo keeps getting larger and larger in my head and will probably end up on my thigh now, but I did find a pair of comfy non-harem pants just in case.

A good small-to-medium tattoo isn't necessarily *that* expensive, either. It's maybe a few months of not doing a money-waster like buying coffee on the go, or whatever else it is that you can identify and turn into savings. (If you are already budgeted to the nth degree, or unemployed, please ignore my presumption.)

You've had this kind of ham before, right? Because if you have, it's pretty easy to choose the ham, from where I'm standing.

Nothing is completely timeless, but hopefully the quality of the drawing and execution goes some way towards creating a tattoo that looks good even if its moment has passed. I also try to choose images that I connect with in some way, like @scubaron, even if the connection is just "I went to visit my friends in Ohio and got this tattoo."

The "virgin" tattoo. What the actual fuck. I guess you can't expect better from someone who lifts work wholesale.

That's like the Platonic ideal of a panther. And it fits your back so perfectly. Congratulations!!

Edit: Myles and I posted the same thing.