scubaron

While I was in Germany for Carlos not so long ago Dmitriy Samohin was there also so he had the chance to finally take shots he wanted of the whole sleeve healed.
I am guessing he didn't want to touch contrast or anything to show how its healed so they are raw shots with nothing added :)
Here they are for who is interested in professional shots rather than my own shit ones :)

It's amazing how far this will get you in life in general.

Whale shark is in progress. 2nd session in 2 weeks. Artist is using dot shading. It's creating a nice depth and shade transition.
Yeah Galapagos was incredible. I was face to face inches away. The experience is why I chose a whale shark.
Which artist is doing your work ?

@BrianH you're 27???? I did not realize!
@iowagirl - I do like challenging people's expectation of "who" tattooed people are. Although I am still very conservative about this myself, and non of my colleagues nor my students know that I am tattooed (at least not to my knowledge). I remember making small talk with a colleague last year about one of her grad students, and she went on a whole schpiel about how bright this young woman was, but you wouldn't believe it to look at her - she was all tattooed and weird-looking! Who knew that someone like that could complete a worthwhile dissertation? I had to try really hard to keep a straight face.

Personally, I'm currently going to 1 artist.From LA, I fly up to SF and drive over to SJ for each of my sessions these days. Jill Bonny at State Of Grace has done both of my sleeves, my lower right leg, and is currently working on my backpiece. I dig her work and my tattoos are all traditional Japanese so it makes sense to have been tattooed by 1 person so far. I'm lucky though. The shop in general has an amazing group. If I chose to get Japanese stuff from others, Taki, Horiken, Colin, and Horitomo are all there. Even if I switched to traditional western style, Dan Wysup is there too. And recently a few more artists have joined the shop. All are solid. It'd be hard for me to go to another shop. That said I really like Grez's work. And Darkhorse Tattoo is a 5 minute drive from me too, so sometimes, I'm tempted.
It's an individuals choice to go with one or many. Some want work by varied specific individuals known for a specific style or "their" style or take on a style, while others enjoy the comfort level and personal interaction they have with an artist they know. Mad props to both choices.

I pretty much just have some random tattoos in varying styles so I've gone to different artists based on their "specialty." I really like going to different artists and different shops, though. For me, getting a tattoo includes enjoying the whole experience of going to a cool, new shop and meeting and experiencing different, talented artists in different towns and locations. Compared to most of the people here I have limited tattoo experience but I've been tattooed by old school veteran biker types, young new school artsy types, a world famous artist, local artists, etc., and have been tattooed in a cool shop in Brooklyn and at the great Hope Gallery in New Haven and Off the Map in Mass. I've been in shops that are private like doctors offices and others where I was just inside the main entrance behind the front counter. Again, for me I love experiencing all these different little things that go with getting a tattoo so I will continue to go to different artists and different shops for my future tattoos.

Um, because you can have the best of both worlds, and all you need is the right shirt. Hiding tattoo's are not the only way people accommodate those around them. We all adjust the way we even speak depending on the situation. Why is this so hard for people to understand when it comes to tattoo's. I know that some of my patients would feel uncomfortable if I had visible tattoos. And yes I care about their comfort level with me. It is part of my job to care. My work is a large part of my life. Will I decide then that, "Oh well, I just won't be able to have tattoos" Why should I have to choose between the two, when I can very easily just cover them?

Whale shark is in progress. 2nd session in 2 weeks. Artist is using dot shading. It's creating a nice depth and shade transition.
Yeah Galapagos was incredible. I was face to face inches away. The experience is why I chose a whale shark.
Which artist is doing your work ?

So true and exactly what I did. What was surprising for me was even with good artists there were some tattoos in their portfolio that really did not look good to me. It was usually a certain subject. Women's faces for example. Some artists seem to have a knack for it while others struggle.

So true and exactly what I did. What was surprising for me was even with good artists there were some tattoos in their portfolio that really did not look good to me. It was usually a certain subject. Women's faces for example. Some artists seem to have a knack for it while others struggle.

:p You can tell which are Jondix and which Mike´s.

That's a problem I'm having. I contacted an artist who is known to have a 8 - 10mo wait list for new clients. He responded to my email, seemed like he was interested in my idea, but then communication stopped and I didn't know if I was on the wait list or not. Tried calling the shop a few times, no luck. Decided to give it a rest before I got annoying. Seven months later I tried to follow up again (I live across the country for this shop so I wanted to be prepared to make travel arrangements), no response.
Not sure if he just wasn't into my idea or if my emails just got lost in the pile. Can't tell how to walk the line between showing how committed I am and not being irritating. In the meantime I'm just going to keep getting tattooed by other people and hope the opportunity to get tattooed by this artist comes up in the future.

If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?

Shop location has to be a factor in pricing. Rent in NYC is high. Some neighborhoods more expensive than others.

Just Had the best two days ever, got to hang with some tattoo royalty get tattooed and spend an early Valentine in a cool hotel with my mrs, first I got my thigh / knee Tattood by Tim Hendricks

Then I got my side / ribs done by Matt Arriola a day later

I'm feeling a bit tender now, but it was totally worth it, pain killers and booze? don't mind if i do :D

I'm lucky to live in NYC with so many good artists to choose from.
I can see myself getting future work from:
Anderson Luna
John Sultana
Daniel Albrigo
Daniel Trocchio
Darwin Enriquez
Regino Gonzalez

Really love these by Rico at Daruma Goya in Japan

Fuck what ppl think is what I say! Seriously though, In just a short time of having a pig and a rooster tattoo I've herd it all.
Post up a pic of your bass, we'd love to see it. Here is a trout my tattooers wife did.
http://instagram.com/p/b4rBHEkE8g/

I'm lucky to live in NYC with so many good artists to choose from.
I can see myself getting future work from:
Anderson Luna
John Sultana
Daniel Albrigo
Daniel Trocchio
Darwin Enriquez
Regino Gonzalez

Pulled the tegaderm off my ribs (pics in the latest tattoo lowdown thread) last night, this stuff is amazing. Barely felt it was there during the 72 hours it was on, had a little bit of fluid underneath but it all got reabsorbed, it came off easily in the shower, just hitting it with moisturizer now.
Can't imagine how annoying it would have been to heal the belt line without it. Not having to mess with it for the first three days is worth the $20.
Definitely on the bandwagon.

Jen Lee, Tattoo City

bad month to enter because of that ridiculous vargas back piece….fuck it

I'll go ahead and get this month started - edit: almost!. All months should really have a panther tattoo, shouldn't they?
I'd love to see Aaron Coleman three-peat.

no,I can't say that tattoos have changed my life really,
I've always been an outgoing confident person,
having tattoos has been fun,because it's made me a little different than many people I encounter and that is the fun part of having tattoos IMO,
I like the attention and stares,etc,etc that having tattoos causes in public,
what I can say is (since I have been getting tattoos for probably 30 years now) is that my life has changed the tattoos I get,it's been an evolutionary process,constantly changing,and my tattoos are a road map of my life,including people,places,& experiences that I have encountered along this crazy trip we call life.

I've been thinking about this myself lately. I always wonder if a sacred geometry type filler would look good. Has anyone else thought about this? Not just for your tattoo but in general. Something kind of like this?

Consult with Yoni Zilber yesterday. He will be doing an octopus on my right shoulder.
Anderson Luna never responded. Found another artist, Cheo Park at East Side Ink. He will be doing a whale shark on my left shoulder.
I like Anderson's work and I might persue him again in the future. Just was not in the mood to chase him down for what I am currently looking to have done. Judging from his instagram page, it looks like lady heads are his preference, which is not what I am looking for right now.