El Dolmago

Good morning ladies (and gents!) I finally read this whole thread, whew!

Have a question that may have more to do with aesthetics or personal preference, but still a valid concern for me. On my upper back, basically any spot you might look at has a mole, freckle, etc. I'm in the dermatologist getting them checked every year, none have ever been questionable and I've never had one removed.

I'm trying to avoid tattooing this area because I'm ashamed of it, wouldn't want to show it off, and wouldn't want a tattooist to have to touch it. I'm also not happy about giving up all that prime real estate!!

Have any of you ever gotten tattooed on areas where your complexion is less than stellar? What was your experience? Thanks in advance.

Sorry I've been away from this thread for awhile - I have lots of moles - some smooth some not and my tattoo artist just works around them (never tattoos them) or makes them part of the tattoo - I have a buddha on my shoulder and my mole became his bindi!

@El Dolmago Isn't she the best? I remember getting a little walk in skull from Nikki and right out the gate (meeting each other for the first time) we were giving each other shit and cracking jokes, etc. She's a straight shooter that's for sure, but so much fun.

Awesome tattoo you got from her, also.

I really enjoyed meeting her - she's smart, down to earth and hilariously funny. She also gives it to you 100% straight. She was a hoot to spend a few hours with. Not to mention she is a hell of a tattoo artist.

My arm is certainly traditional and not at all masculine - I'm looking forward to adding more awesome pieces by killer female artists. As promised the Nikki Balls addition to my arm below a ladyhead from Glennie Whittal :).

So I added this hand and flower while the brilliant and hilarious Nikki Balls was guesting in Toronto at the Pearl. Next to a butterfly lady head by Glennie Whittal

I added a bit to my other arm with Nikki Balls the other day - will post pics when healed

Hands down for me too... real tender white meat. My chest, nah, back, nah but this took the cake and I get to go back for more in 2 days and 2 weeks later for the other side.

Yes! The inside of my arm was the first time I ever came close to tapping out. Brutal.

The inside of arm near the armpit ... Not sure if it's the worst but Lordy it sucked.

Reposting my honey's post because this contest ends at 6pm EST tomorrow (Sunday)!! Please, please, please think about giving him one last vote at the link above. He is a talented brewer, made an excellent beer (I am totally unbiased!) and deserves the opportunity to go compete in France against his peers! The race is super close and so every vote counts!

Voted!

My arm isn't done, and I've only really started on one, but I can actually contribute! So I shall. :) Taking pictures of my own arm is hard, and I suck at it. There are individual pictures of these in my gallery, though, anyway!

Love these... That is all.

My arms are still in process but here's the 1/2 sleeve so far

@Mark Bee - this is a real niche market suggestion, but I will point out that this is happening right before Congress, so if either of you are planning on going to that, you could combine a QC/Ottawa road trip and live the dream, so to speak. :)

Heck yes!

Finished my back on Friday night (well, Saturday at 5:30 am). It was a hell of a ride - it took almost exactly a year of sessions every 2-3 weeks. We'll do a final session after this heals to tie the bow on it.

This tattoo was made by Sean Zee out of Brick, NJ from pictures I've taken while scuba diving. I gave him 50-some pictures and a wish list, and he selected about 15 shots to create this scene. These pics were taken on 4 continents from 1998 through 2013 using (mostly) a Nikonos V underwater camera with an SB-105 strobe, UW Nikkor 35mm, 28mm, and 15mm f2.8 fisheye lenses, Sea & Sea (no relation) macro kit and Nikonos closeup kit.

Sean is a great guy, dedicated and amazingly creative. It boggles my mind how artists just "see" stuff like this and make it happen. He put up with a lot of questions and "what ifs" and "why nots" from this nearly virgin canvas (as he likes to say, "this woman only had lil kitty paw prints on her shoulder before this"), explaining to me all the ways this tattoo would NOT work, and ended up just putting it on the table that it really needed to be a full back if I wanted so many references. And to prove it, he designed the whole thing superimposed on a picture of my bare back and emailed it to me. I remember the moment I saw it for the first time and it shorted out my brain. I committed to the full back about 20 minutes after I got the email. (And I admit at the time I did not understand in the least what I was in for...)

Kinda funny, thinking back on it, how all the chatter and uncertainty and 14 years of wanting some sort of tattoo with my eagle rays were completely silenced and resolved in a heart beat. Anyway...

So, the critters making appearances, starting at the top right and going clockwise are: two moon jellyfish, two Moorish idols, two clownfish and anemone, a batwing coral crab and mustard tube sponges just behind him, a leopard moray eel, two squirrelfish hiding in red sea fans that cross my lower back, a sea snake in lettuce coral (very poisonous, which I didn't realize until after I'd crawled up in his face to take the picture and then been admonished by the divemaster after the picture was developed), a queen angelfish and a hammerhead shark. In the center are two spotted eagle rays and the broken mast of the Nippo Maru, a Japanese supply ship sunk during WWII by US forces in Truk Lagoon, Micronesia.

When I look at this, I don't just see a tattoo of fish. It's a diary of my favorite diving experiences. Each part has such different memories of the location, the people I was with, and the experience on that dive. (Yeah, poisonous sea snake. Whoopsie on that one. And the clownfish was actually guarding a little ring of day-old eggs. And trying to photograph moon jellies in a surge without being hit is like playing a 3D video game. And that I really really wanted my spotted moray eels but Sean said the pattern wouldn't age well, so with resigned sadness, my handsome spotted moray had to morph into a leopard moray. Sniff Sniff.) All of this flooding my brain at the same time.

And then I get this goofy grin on my face thinking about walking around with this huge awesome back piece that anyone I know would be shocked to learn I have.

He put up a little video where you can see the ribs, too: Video of SeeSea's Back. Healed pics coming to an LST contest near you. I want a T-shirt, dammit :D

That is seriously epic!

My favourite work story is when I was invigilating an exam last April. I was healing my sleeve and had worn a Cardigan to cover it up (as I usually do) but it had gotten way too hot so I took the cardigan off. My arm was peeling like crazy but I figured the students were looking at their exams - not me. One student looked up as I walked by, saw my arm and said "Dude! That's Fresh!" in the middle of the exam.

The benefit of teaching Uni students I guess.

My artist mentioned the worst contact dermatitis he has seen is post tattoo contact with wool - particularly wool sweaters and Uggs. He told me to stay away from all wool for at least a month.

@El Dolmago, that is ridiculously nice. So many different elements, but it all flows. Jealous.

All Thanks to Dan. He's really done an amazing job - he wanted to wait for the next section on my forearm to put eyes on the Foo so it's looking at something specific, something I never would have thought of!

So half sleeve is coming along nicely - foo dog and goldfish recently added. Sleeve by Daniel Innis at the Pearl in Toronto.

Help us welcome @Pugilist as our newest Moderator!

She has had a solid presence on LST for the past two years and we look forward to having her on the team!

How many times can I "like" this?

Going in to get my arm worked on tomorrow - ditch/ elbow fun!

I got a hummingbird on my back when my brother died two years ago... It's a lovely tribute.

@El Dolmago Never heard of it but does not sound like something I would want to risk happening. I might have to revise my plan... Thanks for the heads up!

Daniel (my artist) is very quiet and low key so when he gives any direct advice I tend to listen. He mentioned cat fur also as a problem (which is hard to avoid in this house sadly).

Trophy Tattoo (Hamilton, ont) is having their grand opening on the 21st and will be doing walk-ins all day. Super happy to have excellent tattooers more accessible to me, and so I'm going to celebrate by heading on down there to get a blue bird and love letter hopefully by Handsome Mike.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Kyle Hollingdrake and Handsome Mike are awesome! Plus kick ass Barbershop upstairs to boot!

I have a wedding in a couple weeks and I'm in a quandary what to do. I think I'll have to let my husband make the call, as he knows these people a lot longer than I do, even though I've known them for a while. The cardigan is a good idea so I have the option to leave it on if I choose to consider a skimpier dress up top.

Little cotton boleros/ cardigans are your best friend. I usually wear them to any formal parts of an event- the ceremony, the eating part of the dinner, and ditch them for the dance.

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Great thread and awesome advice! I'm getting a tattoo on my thigh in ~2 months which will be during serious winter up here in the north of Sweden and I'm thinking shorts for the actual session and a long skirt/dress with loose long johns in something soft, like meriono wool (the kind kind of course).

@Rawok Just a piece of advice my tattoo artist passed on re: wool leggings.

He told me that wearing anything made of wool can seriously irritate and inflame a healing tattoo - up until 2-3 weeks. Even of it's a layer away apparently it can cause real, possibly tattoo-damaging skin irritation. Which is a pain in my house because I have a gorgeous wool blanket that lives on my couch and has to get banished every time hubby or I gets work done. Just a thought!

I think that's all of them. I've got a few more lined up that should appear in the next few weeks and months.

Bonus - Goofball Cat jumping in frame

I'm an aboriginal studies Prof - Wounded knee is the centre of so much that needs to be supported.

Thank you @gougetheeyes !