Hi Nat

I spoke with my colleague the first thing he said he saw was a guy smoking in the shop.

Now I know this may not sound a huge thing but it is not a good sign because it makes you question the sterility and hygiene of the place.

I had to agree I would have just turned and walked out again. Also he said that the work was ‘average’.

I know…[Read more]

Hi

You can link the name by having some clouds flowing through it and extending the flowers around it. You could then add some wind bars and have it as a border shrine to commemorate your grandmother.

Alternatively you could go for a separate piece and have each one as a stand alone piece.

Nice tats though.

Take care
Matthew

I once had the (dis)pleasure of meeting Lou Molloy.
Not a bad artist but damn his attitude even back then in the mid 90’s was awful.

There are plenty of artists of equal skill and much nicer temperant.

Take Care
Matthew

Hi and welcome

If you want some basics about tattooing feel free to click my sig and use the stuff there.
Keep drawing daily and build up a decent portfolio and that will def help in your search for a portfolio.

Take Care
Matthew

Hi

The tongue will take a couple of days to seal up and stop bleeding.

If it does not stop within 48 hours you need to get it checked as there are some major blood vessels and need to be sure you haven’t torn the tissue.

It will be at least 4 days before the swelling starts to go down but i would recommend sucking on some ice to relieve the…[Read more]

Hi Nat

Well spent an hour looking for websites of Reading tattooists and hardly any to be found. 🙁

I did manage to see some of the Ian of Reading’s work on other sites and would recommend his ink – it looked great.

I also spoke with a colleague who has had work done by him and said he is a great artist but said to avoid the ‘No Pain No Gain’…[Read more]

Hi

Sorry to hear that about your tattoo. Torn tats are usually fixable (quite easily as normally requires a quick rework of the area).

As pointed out the most vitale stage is the enxt 2 weeks – you have to keep that area sterile to stop infection.

Use A&D for the first few days until a fresh scab forms over the tattoo. The amount needed is just…[Read more]

Hi Derek

Memorial tattoos are a big thing to have as a first tattoo for 2 reasons;

You will be carrying a reminder of your grandfather’s passing on you for life. I have lost nearly all of my family by the age of 22 (I am now 32) so I do feel for you – but you have to be sure that this style of tattooing is something that you really want.

The…[Read more]

Gotta love cut and paste – the answer to all forum idleness.

But to let you in on a secret I always type my sign off manually to remind me that i only do it if I mean it. 😉

Tom,

What style of koi are you going for? I have seen some very modern takes on them and they look great but I still really love the trad style.

You going for colour or…[Read more]

Hi and welcome to the forum Nat.

If you can bear with me I will do a bit of research and see what artists there are in that area for you.

Can I ask what style of tattoo is it and is it colour or black n shade – just helps when looking at artist portfolio’s.

Take Care
Matthew

Hi and welcome to the forum.

If you have any general tattoo queries feel free to check out my free e-book in my sig it covers most of the basics.

The tattoo is going to look sweet.

If I gave my honest opinion I would say that I prefer black n shade against a vibrant coloured background.

That said colour will work equally well as long as you…[Read more]

Pics – we need Pics!

Gratz on getting the ink done – looking forward to seeing it.

Take Care
Matthew

Hi

First of all both will make excellent tattoos although you will need a very experienced tattooist for the second one if it is including headphones – the dimensions can be really hard to get right.

The first name top left is the clearest but my advice is to get the artist to draw something which is perfectly legible whilst still clearly a…[Read more]

Well it started with a few sniggers then I was just lmao.

😀

That cheered me up no end.

Thanks
Matthew

KH

Do you mind if I use that image it really did make me laugh a lot.

I have to disagree I never find dragons faggy or lame but then I know how you feel about asian art and I feel the same way bout spiders and cobwebs – each to their own.

I think galleons make nice tattoos and if I am being honest it beats the usual DIY shite that many ppl seem…[Read more]

Hi and welcome

That is going to make a sweet tattoo – i just have to ask the face of the fish – he looks kinda of angry 9can a fish look angry?? or is just me).

Anyhow cannot wait to see it when done.

Take Care
Matthew

Hi PisecesFish

In a nutshell hand tattoos are still very much taboo for a lot of cultures and often as Izz has stated they do limit job opportunities as many people do not like them.

There are many reasons for this and most are based upon popular culture conceptions that once in place are very hard to shift.

Many criminal elements would get…[Read more]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Take Care
Matthew

Hi

The have chromate poisoning because they used shite inks.

If you are willing to travel I would recommend Avalon tattoo they do great Koi and very friendly. I passed through there on my tattoo tour of USA.

Here is the link.

http://www.avalontattoo.com/jason.htm

Alternatively if you can hit LA there is Zombie Tattoos who did my Lion of Judah…[Read more]

Hi and welcome.
Leeds born here.

Once you get over the initial few mins you will settle into your tattoo no problem.

Looking forward to seeing it.

Take Care
Matthew