Tattoos The Good, The Bad

[Yul Lose]

More and more anymore people are getting tattoos and the artistic aspect seems very minimal on some people but on others I’d consider the tattoos artwork. I was at my wife’s family Christmas party on Christmas Eve and there were plenty of tattooed people. Since the weather was warmer the tattooed skin was very visible. One young man was sporting what I would call artwork and I asked him if he had been tattooed by different artists or just one. He told me that he’s only been tattooed by one and he has been going to him for 10 years or so, his wife on the other hand says that she’s had four or five different artists tattoo her. Her tattoos were nice looking but you could see a difference in styles and abilities, his seemed far more consistent.

 

One great nephew has some of the most hideous tattoos on his face that you can imagine, kinda looks like he fell asleep on the couch and a 3year old found a magic marker and went to work on his face. Jelly Roll, the singers facial tattoos pale compared to this guy, hard to sit there and have a conversation with him.

 

One great nephew is an award winning tattoo artist and I’ve seen some of his work and it is very artistic and well done. I went to buy Christmas candy at a local candy shop and there was a lady that waited on me that had tattoos that looked like a little kid had drawn them, there was no rhyme nor reason or relationship between them. 
 

So my question is for the tattoo aficionados out there, do you only use one tattoo artist for your tattoos or do you use multiple artists to do your ink?

[Ol Salty Sailor]

I have two tattoos.  Both were done by the same artist.  

[Barry Sloe]

I have two tattoos. One from Bob's Tattoo in Rhode Island and another from Johnny Two Thumbs in Singapore. 

One is a three masted ship with full sails. The other is a Harley Davidson emblem. 

I've seen some beautiful tattoos. I've also seen people that have clusters of tattoos that don't seem to have any connection (theme).

 

BS

[Stump Water]

I've asked the same question.

 

No tats here, but I have nieces, nephews and a lot of former co-workers do.  The ones that fall into the "art" category are all loyal to one artist.  

 

6 hours ago, Yul Lose said:

One great nephew has some of the most hideous tattoos on his face that you can imagine, kinda looks like he fell asleep on the couch and a 3year old found a magic marker and went to work on his face. Jelly Roll, the singers facial tattoos pale compared to this guy, hard to sit there and have a conversation with him.

 

I call these self-inflicted tattoos.  Bunch of folks sitting around drunk and someone mentions they want a tattoo.  Someone pipes up and says, "You wansh a tashoo?  I kin gish ya a tashooo!"

[DeaconKC]

Some of the best tattoos I ever saw were done in a prison by the bikers in there. How they did such art with homemade and bodged together tools is beyond me.

[Capt. R. Hugh Kidnme]

I have 3 tattoos all done by different artists. The artists are from 3 different states (NJ, RI and VA), and were some of the best in the areas we were living in.  

My ink has no link, so I'm not concerned about trying to tie the 3 together.

[Copperhead Jed]

I only use the one artist, I have 4 all roughly the same size. 
 

my favourite being my SASS man

 

 

 

 

[John Kloehr]

9 minutes ago, Copperhead Jed said:

I only use the one artist, I have 4 all roughly the same size. 
 

my favourite being my SASS man

 

 

 

 

I consider that nicely done. I have no ink. Almost did get some once for a dog. Anyway, not sure it is true but I once read the reason SASS requires long sleeves is to cover arm tattoos.

[Copperhead Jed]

3 minutes ago, John Kloehr said:

I consider that nicely done. I have no ink. Almost did get some once for a dog. Anyway, not sure it is true but I once read the reason SASS requires long sleeves is to cover arm tattoos.

not sure, though I shoot classic cowboy anyway - so I sweat it out with my sleeves down!  

[Yul Lose]

1 hour ago, Stump Water said:

I've asked the same question.

 

No tats here, but I have nieces, nephews and a lot of former co-workers do.  The ones that fall into the "art" category are all loyal to one artist.  

 

 

I call these self-inflicted tattoos.  Bunch of folks sitting around drunk and someone mentions they want a tattoo.  Someone pipes up and says, "You wansh a tashoo?  I kin gish ya a tashooo!"

Well that’s been my thoughts all along but according to his girlfriend he pays big bucks to have his face tattooed like that.

[Dirty Dog Doug]

a good friend had black heart cover up tat   4 inches tall in her shoulder  that I thought was one worst ...then  saw face tats 

I know 2 very good tattoo artists.. they are very picky about what they do

 "I want you to be proud of it in 20 years "

[Blackwater 53393]

I never saw a piece of art that I thought I would want to keep forever, so no tats for me!

 

You want ink?? I got no problem with it!  
 

[Yul Lose]

This is a bit morbid maybe but the first young man with the very well done tattoos that I was referencing in my OP might lend well to instead of being cremated he’d get skinned and his hide tanned and made into a seat cover or jacket or something. It would be a shame to waste that beautiful artwork.

[Copperhead Jed]

2 minutes ago, Yul Lose said:

This is a bit morbid maybe but the first young man with the very well done tattoos that I was referencing in my OP might lend well to instead of being cremated he’d get skinned and his hide tanned and made into a seat cover or jacket or something. It would be a shame to waste that beautiful artwork.

I’ve heard of companies that frame them.

[Cypress Sun]

29 minutes ago, Yul Lose said:

This is a bit morbid maybe but the first young man with the very well done tattoos that I was referencing in my OP might lend well to instead of being cremated he’d get skinned and his hide tanned and made into a seat cover or jacket or something. It would be a shame to waste that beautiful artwork.

 

That sound real morbid to me but then I'm not Ed Gein either.

[Tell Sackett SASS 18436]

4 hours ago, DeaconKC said:

Some of the best tattoos I ever saw were done in a prison by the bikers in there. How they did such art with homemade and bodged together tools is beyond me.

They had lots of time to PRACTICE!!

[Dapper Dave]

I got mine blind drunk in a Philippine tattoo parlor in the late 80s. Well, the first thing they say when you walk in is, "You want beer?" 

Well, we can start there, I guess!

My mother bemoaned that her son came back looking like a tattooed biker. Hardly. If I wear a short with any kind of sleeves, you'll never see them. 

[Linn Keller, SASS 27332, BOLD 103]

15 hours ago, Ol Salty Sailor said:

I have two tattoos.  Both were done by the same artist.  

Now THESE have my RESPECT ... especially the CORPSMAN!!!

[Stump Water]

15 hours ago, Yul Lose said:

Well that’s been my thoughts all along but according to his girlfriend he pays big bucks to have his face tattooed like that.

 

😐

[Pat Riot]

I have 5 tattoos. 
 

The pelican that I got in the Navy in MN while at Mk26 GMLS school. Upper right arm. 

 

Got these a few years ago. 
Left forearm - the anchor alone was done at a shop in Fontana, CA

 

Right forearm

EDIT: These 4 above were done by a tattoo artist in Huntington Beach, CA. 

 

I think one of these days I want to get every scar tattooed with the date and why it’s there from accidents and surgeries. As it stands now it would cost me more than a few hundred dollars so maybe I will just buy a rifle scope and / or a pistol with that money. 

[Sheriff Dill]

I have many tattoos. I have gone too three different artists. I choose an artist by their previous work. My last artist got arrested for drugs and never saw him again after 5 tattoos. I recently went to a tattoo shop that pierced our ears. The artist shaved my wrist for my new tattoo and when she put the outline on my wrist I didn’t how it looked.
I showed her what I wanted and expected. She kindly referred us to another artist that has a more artistic ability to give me what I wanted for my and our sons tattoos.
 

A great tattoo artist is sometimes hard to find. Here’s a photo of my sons first tattoo that our new artist just did two weeks ago. 
 

[Dapper Dave]

Pat, shipmate, fellow cannon cocker. The only strictly Navy tattoo I have is a fighting lobster with a whitehat, says "Shellback '88".

[Dapper Dave]

6 hours ago, Linn Keller, SASS 27332, BOLD 103 said:

Now THESE have my RESPECT ... especially the CORPSMAN!!!

Yeah, I haven't had good luck with corpsmen, especially when getting treated for the clap in Olongapo harbor in 88..."stainless steel rat tail file" and I'll leave it at that. 

ON the other hand, I partied with more than a few at the Bowling Alley bar on Corps-side at Great Mistakes. Beeramids on round tables. 

[Painted Mohawk SASS 77785]

20 hours ago, John Kloehr said:

I consider that nicely done. I have no ink. Almost did get some once for a dog. Anyway, not sure it is true but I once read the reason SASS requires long sleeves is to cover arm tattoos.

I wear a singlet[ your tank top] 90% of the time, have many tatts & don't cover them up..have been told many years back as my persona is Indian I can go shirtless, I have done a couple of times years back but not nowadays..I am a sun lover so at home usually just shorts in the warmer weather..Pic is Tombsone in '015..I did not shoot in this outfit..but I did get married in it !!!

[Sixgun Seamus]

Well, I can say that I have one tattoo although I've never seen it. The proctologist tattooed the spot where they removed a polyp from my colon. No, I'm not going to show it to you.

[Pat Riot]

16 hours ago, Dapper Dave said:

Pat, shipmate, fellow cannon cocker. The only strictly Navy tattoo I have is a fighting lobster with a whitehat, says "Shellback '88".

I was a GMM, but the Gunnery Chief made me an honorary GMG. I liked working in the Armory in my off time when they needed help. I also helped troubleshoot some buggy electronic issues in the gun mounts a few times.  I also had a knack for doing shot lines with an M14 for UnReps. 

[Shotgun-Gibbs]

I have one. Would like another, but not at the top of my "needs" list.

[Rye Miles #13621]

My only tattoo, got it about 40 yrs ago. I was a space cadet 😂😂😂

[Cypress Sun]

7 minutes ago, Rye Miles #13621 said:

My only tattoo, got it about 40 yrs ago. I was a space cadet 😂😂😂

 

You're not Space cadet....You're a Space Cowboy

 

Appropriate for today, another trip on the rock around the Sun...although not the rings around Saturn.

 

 

 

[Rough 'N Ready Rob]

I have thought about getting some tatts, my brother toll me to get a R on one butt cheek a B on the other butt cheek that way when I bent over it would spell my name, Rob, I am sure it could work for other names too, like Don and Ron and so on.

   I have seen some beautiful tatts, true artist, just not for me.

[Rip Snorter]

Don't have any, nor does anyone in the family, even historically with WWII service.  No piercings either, not even the kids.  I did let them color their hair, but that grows out.  I suppose part of it is family culture and associations.  Just never went there.  Some interesting art displayed!

[Alpo]

2 hours ago, Shotgun-Gibbs said:

I have one. Would like another, but not at the top of my "needs" list.

Shouldn't that have a ™ next to it?

[Dirty Dog Doug]

my ex wife had my name tattooed on her rear end ..very nice fine line work  posting  a pic would get me punted for a while 

I just wonder how her husband now likes it 

[Shotgun-Gibbs]

Alpo, it probably should have! The guys in the Ruger Booth at the NRA Convention got a kick out of it! My son has one very similar. They gave us both some nice swag & had us show all of their work buddies there. 

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

A very attractive young lady (35-40 years old?) in our town has (had?) some tats, but I didn't know it until a saw her in a tank top at a picnic.

 

1. Right upper arm has a 5 1/2" SAA.

2. Lower right is a 1911.

3. Upper left is an 1860 Army.

4. Lower left is a 7 1/2" Remington "Outlaw. 

5. Inside lower left arm shows a Remington double derringer.

6. Inside right side sports a Sharps 2A four barrel derringer.

 

Her brother did all the photo quality work down to frame and barrel markings on all but the Sharps, which she had done in Salt Lake City after her brother died in a wreck.  All six tats are truly "photo quality in full color with shades and shadows.  1. and 5. have ivory grips and 4, has stag grips.  The 1911 has "wood" double diamond" grip while the double derringer and the Sharps have very realistic black gutta percha grips.  The 1860 has nicely grained smooth walnut grips.

 

They look like you could pick one up and shoot it.

 

She has kept herself in great shape, but I can't help but wonder what they will like twenty years from now.

 

It's been three or four years since I've seen her but I never saw better workmanship.