xjamestravisx

I like the Van Halen/Smiths combo there.

We listen to 80's stuff (Smiths, Talking Heads, Cure), Reggae, Punk (Off With Their Heads, Face to Face, Alkaline Trio), and some more rock and roll type stuff. I save the hardcore for the day I have there by myself.

Traditional Roses! Enough said

This. I could do em all day, every day.

I like Russ Abbott's ladies. I also love Valarie Vargas' and Dawn Cooke's.

Your place is fuckin nice, man.

I have an anchor. I don't delve too deep in my psyche for tattoos. Really, I wanted a sweet anchor, and Tim Phelps from bowling green, KY hooked me up. But, tattooing is my anchor. Tattooing is pretty muchthe only stability in my life. So, that's my piece.

Mine say "Take Time"

I'm gonna do Poor and Ugly on a friend's soon.

I don't agree with it. Being where I am, we get requests for it a lot. We, at Lucky lady, won't do em. Just a shop policy. But, in the shop I worked in before, The owner was cool with it, and she'd do em. But I am strongly opposed to it, so I turned them down left and right. The ideas these kids want tattooed on them are often ridiculous and not well thought out. Now I'm not saying every tattoo needs to have a lot of thought in to it. I'm sure a lot of us, tattooers and collectors, are to the point that we get shit we think is cool. And those are my favorite tattoos to do. But I think a first tattoo needs a bit of thought. Either way... No tattoos for minors.

I back everything you just said. Script is an art form in itself.

I just draw script outta my head, and flourish it the best I can. I love doin it. Of course, sometimes, when you've done 15 names in 2 or 3 days, you're done with it for a while.

-Seth Ciferri and Thad Ritchey do some pretty fuckin sweet roses.

-I much prefer a color rose.

-Roses go everywhere. I put em in everything, and I've got a bunch on me.

I can't say what makes or breaks one. I know I've drawn roses I loved, and roses I hated. I go back an forth on which style of roses I like to tattoo, and it all comes down to whats in the center of the rose for me, where the folds start. If it looks like shit, your rose will look like shit. At least, that's my opinion on it.

I feel ya man. Legs are just another world of pain for me.

I've been trying to post the video, and it wont embed, for whatever reason, of this Jodie Marsh chick. So heres the link.

wrist, ribs, behind the ear, foot. that's all we do these days. mostly lettering or stars and symbols. i miss doing lower backs (i HATE the term "tramp stamp). at least they used to get actual tattoo designs, usually looked good, and paid well.

Fuck, I feel ya there, man. I'd much rather do a sweet lower back tattoo than sit hunched over feet doing stars and swirls all week.

My left shin has been my worst so far, and a close second would be my thigh.

behind my ear was nothin.

I've had a 4oz bottle of white for almost a year. Still tons left in it. I use it very rarely.

Hell yea man! Amen to that! We are the luckiest people in the world to be able to do what we do for a living. Fuck it, bring on that tribal armband with my six kids names "hidden" in it! Haha!

Gotta love those hidden names. Glad theres so many biting the bullet and finding their zen place. Its always good to keep up the variety. It seems like if I do a kickass script name on Tuesday, I'll do em alllllll week though. But that's part of it, and I love my job more than anything.

I don't mind facial tattoos. I don't think they're for everybody. I get a lot of inquiries from people wanting their neck of their hands done, even "something small between my thumb and index finger." I only do those if they're heavily tattooed already. Which, being in the town I work in, is a very small percentage of clients. Those who are heavily tattooed are doin it right, and getting to the prime real estate when they've earned it. I really don't think a lot of these people asking for facial, hand and neck tattoos are thinking very far ahead. Just a few weeks ago, I had a girl want her neck done, and she had 2 other tattoos. I told no and explained my reasoning, and she was like, "I didn't even think about that." It's pretty ridiculous. Visible. Forever. Should be something well thought out.

I prefer to listen jawbreaker, Lawrence Arms, banner pilot type stuff when I tattoo. But on a more chill day, I like the Smiths and talking heads an that kinda stuff. If it's me tattooing my friends and no one else is at th shop, it's American Nightmare and Bane.

Do you Chicago natives really hate Lawrence arms as much as ive heard?

i have a portrair of morrissey, traditional style, by seth ciferri..."life love regret" (unbroken). also have an anti-burnout, kinda anti-punk loser tattoo "LIVE SLOW, DIE OLD" in script on my shoulders by nick colella.

Fuck yea, traditional Morrissey portrait.

Sounds like a good fuckin deal to me.

Yea, it's funny now... but totally true. He pulled a gun on me, a knife a few times. I was 18 and scared shitless then. Now I can laugh about it.

Thanks everybody!

Ive got one thats doing the same thing right now. But its the first time its happened, so I think Ive just used too much or something, because I just got a giant tattoo on one side of my chest.

I wash it when I get home, and take the hottest shower I can and use Aquaphor twice a day, every day until it heals. Typically, just enough to make it shiny. But in this present case, I've just used too much. I wash it once or twice a day. I try to keep it as simple as possible.

I have a new one, but its 1 session into a coverup of my original chest piece. I'll post when it's finished up.

I'm down for the Street Shop Confessions. That's definitely something all of us could relate to. Either way though, Desa said it. The shows are out there, and they get people to get tattoos. I remember when I saw Dan Smith was gonna be on LA Ink, I was just glad they actually put a traditional guy on there.