Rec
I have somewhere between 10-15 (lol I often forget about the ones off my arm and leg, plus itâs tough to quantity the huge, multi-session effort progressing down my leg). I havenât gotten anything in a few years and really want to change that soon, but my artist moved to Tucson and thatâs gonna be a whole thingâŠ
At least the places I have them, I havenât found them that painful. Worst thing I did was two days in a row starting my thigh piece since my artist and I both traveled to do it. Felt horrible beating up the same area two days in a row! But otherwise itâs been pretty mellow and I think I actually fell asleep when I had something down on my tricep years ago.
My favorite thing has been working primarily with one artist over the course of about 10 years. Sheâs so cool and intimidating (to me), but also such a nice person and a skilled painter. Sheâs done several pieces on my arm, in addition to the large color piece on my leg (my only color, otherwise all black and gray). Her name is Dia Moeller since Iâm always happy to give her more business (sheâs hard to book with, but also does beautiful watercolors and drawings, bought several in 2020 to keep tatting my apartment while I couldnât work on my body).
At least the places I have them, I havenât found them that painful. Worst thing I did was two days in a row starting my thigh piece since my artist and I both traveled to do it. Felt horrible beating up the same area two days in a row! But otherwise itâs been pretty mellow and I think I actually fell asleep when I had something down on my tricep years ago.
My favorite thing has been working primarily with one artist over the course of about 10 years. Sheâs so cool and intimidating (to me), but also such a nice person and a skilled painter. Sheâs done several pieces on my arm, in addition to the large color piece on my leg (my only color, otherwise all black and gray). Her name is Dia Moeller since Iâm always happy to give her more business (sheâs hard to book with, but also does beautiful watercolors and drawings, bought several in 2020 to keep tatting my apartment while I couldnât work on my body).
Mar 24, 2024
Related Recs
Rec
I have 6, all fine linework except for a trad style convo heart on my upper thigh. I love hand poke from professionals - itâs super intimate and a lot of the artists I followed when I lived in Austin almost exclusively did hand poke work instead of machine. they are not blown out and have not faded :-) I think long and hard about placement, but I just get stuff I want from artists I love. Not everything has to have A Deep Meaning. My faves are a pear on my right forearm (stranger: why the pear? me: I love pears), âformâ on the back of my left arm, and the lightbulb eye from Picassoâs Guernica above the inside of my right elbow. tattoos are sexy as hell, and I plan to keep collecting them for the rest of my life. The pain to me usually feels like someone scratching a sunburn - worst was my finger since itâs close to bone and the convo heart since the artist went IN! it can be really bad or very tolerable, but I have genuinely enjoyed talking to all of the artists who have given me their work and just focus on the overall experience âš the more shading/color, the more itâs gonna hurt and the more intensive the healing process
Mar 25, 2024
Rec
đI have 16. Mostly I just have worked with good artists and told them roughly what I want and turn them loose and fill in spots. They all hurt, my elbow was not pleasant but the bony part of my forearm was my personal worst. Itâs been a year since I got one but Iâm sure Iâll get more sometime.
Mar 25, 2024
Rec
I have 6 tattoos (plus one stick and poke I let a man do on me at a party when I was 18.) And of course- I want more.
My first tattoo I got during my first month of freshman year of college freshly moved to New York- itâs on my rib cage- it says âgoodnight nobodyâ which is pulled from the childrenâs book goodnight moon. 1. I was read that book as a kid. 2. I remember I rediscovered that book when I was high in the mall in high school and that blank page saying âgoodnight nobodyâ felt poignant for all kinds of reasons. Just a call into the void in a childrenâs book?
A rendition of a sculpture from Portia Munsonâs installation âBound Angelâ that I saw at PPOW a couple years ago- because the work just spoke to me and womanhood at large
i have a fairy (way bigger than I intended) because fairies were a huge part of my girlhood
hey arnold (helgaâs locket of arnold) because my mom watched that show with me before I can even remember and 2. I like Helga was also a yearner in middle school
A bunny because bunny
And most recently two of my best friends and I got matching three-headed deer. I havenât even known them for very long but a portrait of our love felt like a very beautiful and sentimental thing to do regardless of fate.
The only one that hurt was the poorly done stick and poke done at the party right next to my vagina- but ofc I acted like wasn't that bad (it was pretty bad).
My first tattoo I got during my first month of freshman year of college freshly moved to New York- itâs on my rib cage- it says âgoodnight nobodyâ which is pulled from the childrenâs book goodnight moon. 1. I was read that book as a kid. 2. I remember I rediscovered that book when I was high in the mall in high school and that blank page saying âgoodnight nobodyâ felt poignant for all kinds of reasons. Just a call into the void in a childrenâs book?
A rendition of a sculpture from Portia Munsonâs installation âBound Angelâ that I saw at PPOW a couple years ago- because the work just spoke to me and womanhood at large
i have a fairy (way bigger than I intended) because fairies were a huge part of my girlhood
hey arnold (helgaâs locket of arnold) because my mom watched that show with me before I can even remember and 2. I like Helga was also a yearner in middle school
A bunny because bunny
And most recently two of my best friends and I got matching three-headed deer. I havenât even known them for very long but a portrait of our love felt like a very beautiful and sentimental thing to do regardless of fate.
The only one that hurt was the poorly done stick and poke done at the party right next to my vagina- but ofc I acted like wasn't that bad (it was pretty bad).
Top Recs from @tortitude
Jun 15, 2025
May 31, 2025
Feb 1, 2025