australian newbie

it seems to get a straight answer on this site you have to show a little background to show your a stand up guy, so, i have read all the forum posts relating to newbies, scratchers, how to get started, etc. i have worked in the medical field for 4 years now and totally understand and have studied cross contamination, blood born diseases, steralisation, etc, and i agree that people who dont follow simple safety precautions should have their thimbs broken. i have some tattoos but nothing i would call extensive. i am a 30 year old father of five, i have absolutly no intentions of running out to cut people up and have no intention of making money out of this...i already make enough doing what i am doing. i have wanted to be a tatto artist since the day i got my first one fifteen years ago and finally said fuck it and bought a cheap ebay machine this week. the majority of you say 'do an apprenticeship', and out down those who say they can't. i live in a small country town with one, yes one, tattoo shop, the next closest is about an hour away and is another one only shop in town. i have asked both guys if they would let me learn etc and both said 'i am the only shop in town, i have all the client base, i don't want the competition!' so what is a person who has honest respect for the industry,is willing to learn the tradeis willing to start at the bottom (and yes i realise buying the cheap and nasty ebay job is starting at the very bottom), and is willing to take the time to perfect the art before moving to skin supposed to do? are the dvd's etc any good to point you in the right direction? can any of you give some real, useful advice? and i have noticed that alot of the posters use the comparison of a surgeon stuffing up his work etc, surgeons use pre packaged, single use scouples, so can the throw away needles, tubes etc be all that bad?

I have no "stand up " requirements for posters, speaking only for myself....As far as your situation ....well, its gonna be a long road unless you relocate...at this point if I were you I would spend the next 2 or 3 years just improving my drawing skills, then start searching for a shop to apprentice in....sometimes ya gotta bite the bullet and do whatever it takes to get into this business ...sounds like you would eventually have to move anyway to be able to open shop and make a go of it...there are no dvds or online Tattoo courses that I can recommend, the ones I have seen will teach you as many bad habits as good ones...I hope this has helped a bit...TAz