sophistre

First time posting.
Have an appointment to get started on a traditional Japanese back piece in a few weeks. 1st session will be 4 hours outlining.
Any suggestions on how to sit through this? I do kind of zone out/in on tattoos, but 4 hours on my back I'm nervous af.
Also concerned about aftercare/not scabbing/clothing.
Sorry if this has been discussed but could use ideas.
Cheers!

Got this tonight. Five points go to the person who knows who drew the original tattoo! :-)

Just got this ship done by Daniel Albrigo at Port City tattoo in Long Beach

I was definitely unable to contain myself the last two months. 
-Dan Sinnes scribbled on this locust yokai at Temple. I'm so pumped on how it came together. He posted a photo of the draw on for hilarity.  
-Valerie Vargas did the Oni/Gorilla fight on my arm at the Bay convention. I liked the idea of the eastern/western imagery clashing. My right arm is all american traditional patchwork and my left is semi-american traditional style patchwork with Japanese imagery. This has already healed ridiculously well.
Henning did the namakubi at the Bay convention. I had been waiting a few years to catch Henning at the convention when he had space from his larger works and this was the year. This is absolutely one of my favorite tattoo's. My girlfriend is definitely not as pumped. I'm blown away by his skill and kindness. 
 

Last tattoo I got in Brescia, Italy: Skull, flower and sun by Rafa Decraneo.

Got back from the shop a while ago, came back with two new pieces. First and foremost, something I've always wanted, an American traditional panther! I love the way it turned out. And while I was there I got this cool little smoking tophat-skull to go with my cowboy skull on the opposite shoulder.

baby's first blastover

BLACK SCORPIO Started the 2nd layer with tattoo no.42 made by the one and only Shawn Hedley at Champion Tattoo in Edmonton, AB, Canaduh

@sophistre i just spotted your back on IG.... m-i-n-d-b-l-o-w-i-n-g!!!!!

Third session on this demon samurai by Nikko at the Bay Area Tattoo Convention 

Just got this done, old school cowboy skull. Fits right in between two other tattoos I have. Can't wait to see how it heals up.
 

Today was a pretty good day thanks to Kurt Melancon at Leviticus in Minneapolis. 

These are both a year or more old at this point, but I never actually put them in this thread.
The death's head moth was done by Oliver Peck when he guested at Kadillac Tattoo Mt. Airy (Philadelphia) last summer. Not the best picture, but he ended up slipping a lot of hot pink in there that wasn't at all what I'd expect from him. In the end, I loved it and was happy with how it came out. Getting tattooed by Oliver is as great as you'd expect. I had just gotten my shin done by Scott the week before and mentioned in our emails; Oliver came barging in yelling, "Lemme see that Scott tat!" right off the bat. After we were done, he actually took his shirt off and showed me a ton of his tattoos from Scott, Trevino, Rassier, Stell, etc. So fucking awesome.
The torch moth was done by Keith Reed at X-Treme in West Chester, PA shortly after they moved to their new location. This was a "thank you" tattoo for helping them move. Keith is the best. Just an every day, no-bullshit, hard-working tattooer. Without him, I wouldn't know shit about tattoos.
Not the best pic in the world, but @Dan and I were chatting back and forth and I realized I should probably upload em. Once that Grez knee you can see half done gets finished, I'll hit up the squidpants thread.

Picked up this fun little cowgirl from Leo Darlin (Hidden Rose Tattoo in Portland) at the Pacific Northwest Tattoo Expo here in Oregon.  Sorry about the picture, cellphone camera didn't focus too well.

My wife and I got "matching" heart tattoos from Aaron Is (during a guest spot at Precisely Veiled Tattoo in Killeen, TX). 

Not really sure where to put this so Ill just put it here. Sorta related to my Fudo Meow tattoo. This is Chris Anthon tattooing me at the Hub City Expo 2 nights ago, taken by the local news paper.

Got this rad biker skull guy from @sour_jon Jon Gray at the Moncton Convention yesterday. Turns out its not a german SS skull with a stick grenade through the head, but a biker guy with a piston through the head. Shows what I know about bikes/cars!
Still love it. Going back today to knock out a few more.

FINALLY, I can strike a name from The List.
Mark Mahoney did this rose when he came to Jersey. 
Yes, shitty cell phone pic.  You know what's up.
 

And, finally, in the daylight. I am really stoked. This says exactly what I want it to say...without stating it blatantly. For me, it is awesome.

It seems to me like there'll probably always be both, now that both types exist. There are people who will always be more comfortable on one side of that fence than the other...people who feel uneasy about upscale interiors and courtesy salon fruit-infused water, and people who are intimidated as hell by tattoo shops full of tough guys, or who've managed to make mental divides for themselves over different kinds of tattoos, who may be interested in getting a tattoo 'but not that kind' of tattoo. For some people, that's probably part of the experience they're shopping for, in both directions -- the salon feeling, or the classic grit.
This is additional speculation on my part, totally based on my own anecdotal observations, but there also seem to be weird overlaps between people who don't like the idea of getting something from flash and want something 'custom' instead, and people who want the upscale experience (and people who got their tattoo concept off of Pinterest, which is totally ironic).
I read here all the time about how there's been a huge upswing in the number of tattoo shops out there -- shops that come and go with excess apprentices and artists that don't last long, people trying to reinvent the wheel, this whole glut of shops in any given place -- and I suppose catering to this demographic probably provides them with a whole lot of business. Trends seeking trends, or something. But, if I had to wager a guess, I'd say that the street-shop mentality you guys were talking about -- artists with a style who can still turn out solid walk-in work, who are willing to do that, who are dedicated to the craft/labor of tattooing as well as the art of it -- will probably always be more successful in the long-term. Places like that will endure. And maybe there are lots of high-end salon-style shops that employ this ethic, too; hell if I know. I think it's probably the at the heart of what's most important, beyond interior design.
...I listened a lot of lectures growing up about artists who forget that art is not just art, but also a business. Haha.

Here frands:
Feeling pretty tattoo-flu-y, but I have a steak on the way, and then it's time to drink every water and sleep every sleep. So happy that we finished the areas that were the most painful for me during lining, though.

Couldn't be happier.

Thank you!! We actually just finished an unplanned second day of color. I would've posted something yesterday, but I figured I'd wait for today. Suppose I oughta crosspost it to the Lowdown, but here you go:


To be honest, the pictures just don't do the actual colors any justice at all...they get yellowed out. The blue with the red/orange is so amazingly vibrant.

Personally, even though I'm totally wrecked right now, I'm so glad that we powered through it, because the absolute worst spots for me have been the upper back between my shoulderblades, and also just below the nape of my neck. And now they're done! Probably worth the shocky-tattoo-flu feeling I'll have for a few hours tonight. I'll be right as rain again tomorrow, though. :)

Here frands:
Feeling pretty tattoo-flu-y, but I have a steak on the way, and then it's time to drink every water and sleep every sleep. So happy that we finished the areas that were the most painful for me during lining, though.

Couldn't be happier.

I identify with this post today, haha.

I think the most brutal session for me was when we lined my back, since we did the whole thing in one shot. I've discovered that my endorphins tend to fail on me at about four hours in, and everything after that is a test of will. Somehow, we wound up lining the worst spot on back last that day (up between the shoulder blades and just below the nape of the neck) and I was basically biting leather and hiding my face in my bunched up hoodie because I didn't want my tattooer to feel bad. Something about that spot made me burst into tears. Not like 'oh, this hurts, I'm so sad' -- almost like a nervous system response, like shock. Poor guy asked 'you sure you don't want me to stop?' and I'm like 'YES I'M SURE BLOOOOOO' because at that point the only thing in the entire world that sounded worse than what was happening was having to do it again later. 

Mystique maybe? I am not as cool as Mystique though. 
I think this pic says it all. Good times. Good......times......... :( 

so itchy send help

Here frands:
Feeling pretty tattoo-flu-y, but I have a steak on the way, and then it's time to drink every water and sleep every sleep. So happy that we finished the areas that were the most painful for me during lining, though.

Couldn't be happier.