ChrisM

Jesus christ. I don't sign in for a few days and this thread goes nuts. I'm getting the itch from all this good shit.

NYC trip went well. Neurosis show the first night. My wife started her Timothy hoyer kitsune sleeve . We both got a little more work from hooper ( I may be mostly finished with arm/body next trip and my wife will prob done with her arm...pics then) and Chris O finished the bottom of my sleeve....now I need to laser then Start the top later this year. Stoked

Started this Upper-back piece with Valerie at Frith Street yesterday, lines and half of the shading done, three more sessions to go:D:o

@Lance, if you have a chance to get tattooed by Horitomo...well, you know how this sentence ends. Have him do your front. Hell, get a big Fudo from him, munewari be damned! You're already weird; embrace it.
I might as well jump in here. It's not very recent, but it is my latest. I finished this up with Stuart Cripwell (based on a painting of his) in December, but I never got around to taking pics of it. And I'll just add a disclaimer that it is damn near impossible to photograph a knee tattoo. I swear it doesn't look crooked in real life. :)

Finally @hogg Been waiting for that one. Now I want to see a photo of it besides the killer tattoo you have from Theo Mindell on your other knee ;)
Come to think of it, I also have a "not very recent" tattoo that I haven't posted before.
Chris Conn, Sekretcity.

Yep.
I already posted this on the "Full back piece experience" thread, but here is an image taken right after we were done from Eddy's instagram account. Done in four consecutive days. Not quite finished but very close.

Well I'm glad yesterday is over. Session #1 of 13 with Mike Rubendall

Dagger through neck, Valerie Vargas

So I just booked an appointment with Eddy Deutsche In March, Im beyond thrilled. Who's else has been tattooed by hi? He seems like a really cool dude on the phone. post pics or story's. My friend Rick got a half sleeve by him in the early 90's of some demons and some H.R Giger stuff that looks awesome still, Ill post a pic when I see him later today.

Well, what the hell...this month is in the bag already, but might as well toss one in just to keep in practice.
Tattooed by Nick Colella @ CTC this past summer, a little family action.

Since I will lose anyways...lemme post up my snake/skull/dagger just for shits and giggles to see how it fares..
Regino Gonzalez



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I love the black flames!

Seems like we can expect a pretty weak showing this month (slackers!), so I'll throw my most recent tattoo into the ring. Torch + snake from Ron Henry Wells, done just before Christmas at Congress Street Tattoo.

By the lovely and talented Kim Saigh at world-famous Memoir Tattoo in Los Angeles, California.

I guess I'll post my latest...
by Johannes at Good Faith in Boston.

Aaron Coleman, three sessions.

@Hogrider I'm by no means an authority on this stuff, but I'm travelling along the same road you've just started...
Part of the reason you can't find what you're looking for is because you're looking for literal or binary meanings.
Most of the images you've seen tattooed are taken from Japanese and Chinese folk tales or religious stories.
Imagine of you asked someone regarding western cultural art or tattoos:
1) "What does it mean when there's a guy hanging on cross with his arms outstretched?"
2) "What does it mean when there's a woman in blue holding a naked baby"
3) "What does it mean when the muscle-bound guy in the black mask overpowers the brightly dressed skinny man in the clown makeup.
The answers depend on your level of interest/sympathy and how abstract or literal you want to be:
1a) It's Jesus. His father, God, sacrificed him to atone for the sins of the world.
1b) The wearer has faith in a religious power higher than himself and possibly feel kinship with or sympathy for the figure and character of Jesus Christ.
1c) The wearer wants to be forgiven for past wrongdoings.
2a) It's Mary, Jesus' mother. The baby is Jesus.
2b) She's a figure of worship because some people believe she should be revered because God chose her as the vessel for his earthly offspring. Her cloak is blue because traditionally goddesses were associated with the moon and night sky. Sometimes it has stars on it. Christianity adopted this symbol to make it easier for people who held older religious beliefs to adopt the new faith.
2c) The wearer may have sympathy or empathy with the concept of being the vessel for divine power or lineage. Also this symbol can have an added element of sadness because we know the eventual sadness and loss of a mother witnessing her only son be sacrificed for the good of mankind - possibly a greater sacrifice than Jesus, some might say.
3a) It's Batman, he's fighting the Joker.
3b) Batman is a symbol of vigilante justice. He works outside of recognised laws to bring justice to a world crippled by wrongdoing.
3c) This scene is a metaphor for the darkness of repressed homosexuality and it's power to overcome the sinister flamboyance of non-hetro feelings.
etc, etc.
In short, think about what you want your tattoo to 'mean' or 'say' - tell that to a tattooer who knows his stuff and let them find a story or theme that fits your idea.
Or just pick one you like from a woodblock print.
I try to tell people all the time that western traditional tattooing has just as much symbolism and poetry but nobody will listen. It's all sex, death and the struggles of humankind.
Good luck.

That would be an infection. Let breath, but when in public place a sterile gauze pad over the tattoo. Also, If you have medical insurance and can get some anti-biotics, I highly recommend doing that as soon as possible as well. Will help kick the infection out before you get MRSA.

I see a couple of people suggesting that its a bad idea to go the freehand route. sorry but that is false. if you go to someone and they cant draw a good design on you chances are that they wouldn't have drawn it any better on paper.
I am not saying they don't use stencils and I'm sure they do sometimes but I personally have never seen Richard Stell, Troy Denning or Chris Trevino use a stencil. also I work with both Horizakura and Yoni Zilber who I watch draw on entire sleeves and backpieces that become the most beautifuly executed tattoos. So what im saying is its not the process/approach that is to blame for giving you an unsatisfactory tattoo it is the artist that executed it. I'd hate to see you go into a situation where youre gonna get tattooed by a Chris Garver or Horitomo and he says he's gonna freehand it so you get spooked and end up opting out of it because someone on the internet said that freehand is a red flag.
also drawing on the spot is perfectly ok if the artist has the experience and skills to do so. if Gordon Ramsey offered to come to my house and make me dinner using whatever i have in my cupboard I'm not going to request that he figure out the recipe a week in advance because he's going to nail it.

Bam

Someone recommended that I post up my latest tattoo on this forum so here goes. I am almost done with my half sleeve from Horitomo. Although a phoenix is colorful, I'm a big fan of black/grey tattoos so that's what I went with. I was on his waiting list for 2 years before I stepped foot into State of Grace in San Jose, Ca. (I fly from Dallas and do back to back sessions). He is one of the few people I know in the U.S. that does tebori so after 28 hours this is what I have. I took this picture straight from his instagram.

Mike Wilson duel jax beach, FL.
Less than two hours. Tapped out on doing any shading. (I blame it on the late night arrival the night before, it makes me feel better)

Here's my last two
Panther by Stewart Robson

Eagle by Valerie Vargas

After 14 sessions spanning 15 months, I'm thrilled to say that my back piece--courtesy of Jay Cavna--is finished. It's a rooster/boar/snake battle royale with peonies. We just wrapped it up a few hours ago. I couldn't be happier with it and am blown away by Jay's skill and commitment to his work.
Here's the pic.

Got this off Valerie Vargas at Frith Street on Tuesday, I love it! I posted it in the latest tattoo thread and someone recomended I put it in here, Cheers.

P.S. That Head Eagle on the last page is bad ass :cool:

Got this one the other day

not got my own pic yet I'll take one when it's healed