06-30-2006, 09:30 AM
I am also a proffesional Tattoo artist.I work in my hometown in the UK.Tattoos aren\'t as exspensive in this country as in the States.The advice so far given is sound,you must make sure you see the artist\'s work to make sure he or she has the ability,that\'s what\'s important not the price.I myself like doing portraits,I insist on a good quality black & white photo to work from,that way I feel you can judge the grey tones better.You mentioned something about the piece being two inches long.That\'s being unrealistic my freind,I never go smaller than let\'s say the size of a man\'s fist.Paul Booth has been mentioned,yes Paul has also tattooed me,in my opinion he\'s the finest black & grey artist in the world,but getting hold of him is like trying to find rocking horse excrement.There is a great portrait artist in the states by the name of Deano Cooke,don\'t know where he\'s at,but you couldn\'t go wrong with him.Good luck with this anyway,accept the advice given and you should be OK :thumbsup: