Monday, June 18, 2012

Spiro Shares a Cool John Lennon Tattoo


Being that today is Paul McCartney's birthday, I thought I would share this tattoo of John Lennon, since he and Paul are considered one of the greatest songwriting duos in popular music.

This tattoo was spotted in Penn Station earlier this month, on the back of an arm belonging to Spiro.

He got this piece done by Dave Lopez at Ron & Dave's Tattooing in Staten Island. Spiro explained that he went in with a basic idea and that Dave drew up the design and had a stencil ready in no time. It should be noted that the musical notes seen above wrap around the upper arm.

Spiro told me, "I'm a huge Beatles fan ... more John Lennon and what he stood for and his message ... so I kinda try to live by that." He added, "I'm like a little hippie born in the wrong generation."

According to Spiro, the artist Dave's mother is a huge John Lennon fan, so he was super passionate about the design of the tattoo. It always helps when your artist shares your enthusiasm for a tattoo idea!

Thanks to Spiro for sharing this cool John Lennon tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Happy Father's Day from Tattoosday!

In honor of the day, I am re-posting a piece I featured on Father's Day in 2009:

Last week, I posted about a trio of friends that had recently moved from San Francisco to New York, all of them inked.

Jake was the first of the three to share his tattoo with us, and it is such a good piece, I saved it for a special occasion, Father's Day:



This is, of course, a portrait of the great comedian Redd Foxx. People of my generation (X) remember him as the bristling curmudgeon in the sitcom "Sandford and Son".


For those who are unfamiliar with the series, the show is about a widower, Fred Sanford (Foxx), raising his adult son Lamont (played by Desmond Wilson), and their junkyard business. It was a breakthrough show that was one of the first on network television to feature a minority cast.

The father-son dynamic is an ongoing theme, and Jake recalls watching the show with his dad and it being a bonding experience.

His father passed away about four years ago this month from cancer. The tattoo is not only a tribute to the great comedian, but a reminder of the times Jake spent watching "Sandford and Son" with his dad. Jake added, "I'm pretty sure if [my dad] was still around, he would get a kick out of seeing Redd Foxx on my calf."

This amazing portrait was tattooed on the back of Jake's right calf by Greg Rojas at Everlasting Tattoo in San Francisco.

As we celebrate Father's Day today, I thank Jake for sharing this awesome tattoo with us here, and invite everyone to revisit the host of tattoos previously posted on Tattoosday that pay tribute to dads. Click here to see the lot.

And, as a special treat, in the spirit of the day, I present the following clip:



Happy Father's Day from Tattoosday!

If you want more dad-related ink, check out this link which will show you all of Tattoosday's posts with a "father" tag.

Have a great day, all!

This entry is ©2009, 2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Blaise & A Unique Sugar Skull

I met Blaise on a sunny spring day near the corner of 8th Avenue and 33rd Street.

He has a lot of ink, the majority of which was tattooed by Alex McWatt of Three Kings Tattoo in Brooklyn.


Blaise pointed out the sugar skull in the center of his arm:


This is a sugar skull with a twist - note the rainbow  spilling forth from the jaw and, in case you can't tell from the photo, that's a shark riding the rainbow wave.

Blaise singled this out because the tattoo was conceived in partnership with his little sister. It refers to a project they had done together.

Thanks to Blaise for sharing this cool tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Friday, June 15, 2012

An Anonymous Half-Sleeve from the Subway

This is an orphan post - I ran into the subject on the West 4th Street subway platform back in April. She consented to my photographing her half-sleeve but, before I could get any info, including her name, her train rolled in and she left me in the station with only a few photos.

I asked her to e-mail me with details, but two months later, I still have not heard from her, so I figured I'd just share what I have, which are the photos:


If anyone knows this tattoo and can get the host to e-mail me so, at the very least, I can credit the artist, please send her my way.
  The combination of skulls and flowers, including the cherry blossoms, makes this quite a lovely piece.





Thanks to the young lady who shared her ink, wherever she may be. Her anonymous contribution to Tattoosday is greatly appreciated!

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Be Still


I love tattoos comprised of words. When done well, they are fascinating.

The phrase "be still" on the inner left forearm of Tara, above, has a simple and beautiful meaning.

She explained that she understands the phrase as the only expression that is common to the Bible, the Koran, and ancient Hindu proverbs.

The tattoo artist used the font Dear Joe 4 and this was done at Stingray Body Art in Allston, Massachusetts near Boston.

Thanks to Tara for sharing her words with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Karen's Order of the Elephant

Coming home from the New York City Tattoo Convention last month, I ran into Karen on the R train in Brooklyn. She had this unusual tattoo on her left arm:


Karen got this on a trip to Denmark from Anders Wester at Bright Side Tattoo in Copenhagen.

It is inspired by the Order of the Elephant, the highest honor bestowed by the King of Denmark on its citizens.

Thanks to Karen for sharing her tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Erica Wears Her Heart on Her Sleeve

The concept of wearing your heart on your sleeve isn't completely original, but when I met Erica in the grocery store last month, I was impressed with this interpretation:


Erica said she got this, one of twelve tattoos she has, to remind herself "not to toughen up ... you go through some shit and you kinda want to be mean and nasty and callous and it's kind of a reminder to be cool and stay neutral and be nice, no matter what."

She credited John Poverty at Thicker Than Water in the East Villlage with this tattoo. Work form John has previously appeared on Tattoosday here. He now tattoos out of Goose Tattoo in Brooklyn.

Thanks to Erica for sharing her softer side with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Monday, June 11, 2012

Sarah's Romance Owl

Sarah passed me as I was leaving from work one afternoon back in March, at the corner of 31st Street and Seventh Avenue. Of course I had to stop her and she kindly let me take a photo of this colorful owl tattoo on her left arm:


Sarah explained how she went to Robert Ryan at Electric Tattoo in Bradley Beach, New Jersey:
"I kinda told him I wanted a romance owl. I’m very unlucky in love. I wanted something to bring me some luck."
She sang Rob's praises ("he's awesome") and also credited him for creating the "cosmic flower" on which the owl is perched.

Sarah is in charge of sales at Parlor Gallery in Asbury Park, New Jersey.

Thanks to Sarah for sharing this awesome owl with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Madison Shares a Coming-of-Age Tattoo

I posted Friday about meeting Lex in Penn Station here. Her friend Madison was sitting nearby, and she shared a tattoo, as well:


This tattoo is located on the side of Madison's left thigh. For those who may not be familiar with the word bildungsroman, Madison explained, "it means ‘a coming of age story’ … and my best friend and I got it ‘cause we were in Europe together traveling...”.

I think it's pretty cool to get a tattoo that alludes to a coming-of-age story when getting inked, for many, is part of that growing process.

She credited an artist named "Joe" (or Giuseppe) at Hardcore Tattoo in Rome, Italy.

Thanks to Madison for sharing this tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.



Friday, June 8, 2012

Lex and The Little Prince

I met Lex in Penn Station a couple months back and started talking to her about her tattoos. She has five and offered up this piece, which was her first:


“It’s from The Little Prince [by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry]," Lex explained, "I read it when I was a kid, it’s one of my favorite books. It means a lot to me.”

She had this done on her left arm in Seattle, by a visiting artist whose name she could not recall, at Deep Roots Tattoo.

Thanks to Lex for sharing her tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.


Thursday, June 7, 2012

Kenevin's Vikings Honor His Heritage

I met Kenevin outside of Strabucks on the corner of 31st Street and Seventh Avenue a couple months ago.

He estimates he has had about seventy hours of work done on his body and he shared an amazing tattoo anchored by this hammer of Thor in the middle of his calf:


But it was the whole piece that was truly impressive:


Kenevin, who was visiting from his home in Montreal, explained, "I was born in Norway … so these are my Vikings … they just go back to my origins in Scandinavia …". He has been in North America for about twenty years and had this done by Gil Crocker at Jolly Rogers Tattoo in Montreal.

Thanks to Kenevin for sharing this amazing work with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Avery's Spider-Man View of the City

Yesterday we met Cat and her tattoos (here, in case you missed it). But you may recall I mentioned that she was not alone. Her friend Avery was standing by and she, too, had ink to share. Of the eight tattoos she possessed at the time, she offered up this piece, from the inside of her upper left arm:


Avery explained that the panels of the tattoo depict "different parts of the city from Spider-Man comics."


She got this tattoo as an 18th birthday present and it was inked by Joey at Asylum Tattoo Studio in Brooklyn.

Thanks to Avery for sharing this cool tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Cat's Eyes and More!

Back in March, on a particularly warm end-of-winter day, I ran into two young ladies in Penn Station, one of whom was named Cat. I spotted three of her tattoos almost immediately, and we had a nice discussion about her ink.


Cat explains:
"the eyes were my first [tattoos] ... on my eighteenth birthday ... I thought it would be cool to base it on my best friend's cat ... I got it just because, I'm Cat ... get cat eyes on my back, why not? It was a birthday present..."


And the name of her friend's cat? Sushi. You know I just had to ask.

The next tattoo she got was this piece on her left arm:


This is based on the art by Kurt Halsey. Cat elaborates:

"It's just always been a favorite of mine. I saw [Halsey] down in Philly and that one was my favorite print." Of course, it helps that the girl in the illustration is holding a cat.

On her opposite arm is this tattoo:


This is based on the work of Garance Doré, a fashion photographer. She's just a huige fan and loves this illustration in particular.


All of the tattoos were done by Nick Trammel at Transcend Tattoo in Branford, Connecticut


Of course, when I was looking back at the photos I took of Cat's tattoos, I noticed in the Kurt Halsey-illustrated piece that the word "saying" was inked on her ribs. It was peeking out from under her top. Of course, I had to ask and Cat obliged by sending me a photo of the whole tattoo:



I'll let Cat explain in her own words:
"The one on my ribs is from the Christopher Isherwood book A Single Man. The quote is 'waking up begins with saying am and now.' It's my favorite book and for me it's just a reminder to live in the moment and not get caught up with the little things. It sounds cheesy but when I got the tattoo I was in a weird place so I like having the reminder close to me."
Thanks to Cat for sharing all of these tattoos with us on Tattoosday!


This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.


Sunday, June 3, 2012

Laura Brooks Shares Her Parents Names and Her Toe Knuckles

I met Laura Brooks outside of Macy*s on 34th Street last month. She has a lot of tattoos (she estimates 60% of her canvas is covered), so I deferred to her, asking which she wanted to share with us here on Tattoosday.

She offered up her wrists:


These are her parents names, Davis and Blythe, and they were designed by a friend of hers whose graffiti moniker is "Gamble". She credited the actual tattooing to an artist named Joe from Beelistic's Blood Money Tattoo in Cincinnati, Ohio.


Laura Brooks also informed me that she had tattoos on her toes, but she was wearing shoes when I met her. Later that day, she held to her word and sent me a photo of her toe knuckle tattoos which read "Dirty South":


She added:
"The artist was Brent Hale at No Regrets Tattoo Emporium in Memphis, TN. It was actually his idea. I wanted to get toe knuckle tattoos & couldn't decide what I wanted it to say. He came up with it while we were working on a different piece ... The significance is kind of obvious. Hometown pride. (:
One thing about toe tattoos: by far the most painful spot. And you have to get them touched up about half a dozen times before they look right. I should probably go get them done one more time but I'm procrastinating because of the pain."
Thanks to Laura Brooks for sharing her tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Marina's Hibiscus, Freshly Bloomed

A couple weeks back I ran into Marina on the corner of 30th Street and Seventh Avenue in Manhattan. She had just received this tattoo only two days before:


These stunning hibiscus flowers were tattooed by Gustavo Rizerio at Invisible NYC. Work from Gustavo has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Thanks to Marina for sharing her lovely floral tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.


Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Pantera Giveaway

I was never a huge fan of the band Pantera, as they peaked just as my love of metal was on the downswing. I'm more of an 80's metal guy. However, as time has passed, I have grown to appreciate the band and regarded their breakthrough album, Vulgar Display of Power, as a classic.


So when the opportiunity presented itself to help promote the 20th anniversary of Vulgar Display of Power, I couldn't resist.

"But wait," you might be saying, "this is a tattoo blog not a music site."  True, but I can tie anything to ink, it seems, so let's go down memory lane and revisit an old post from July 2009:


I was talking to a guy named Izzy on the R train. My wife Melanie was sitting next to me as he was telling me about his tattoos.

"Ever hear of a band called Pantera?" he asked.

Melanie laughed, the tattoo made sense, I knew what the crux of it was immediately - Izzy had the autograph of Pantera guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell forever inked on his flesh. Sadly, for those who don't know, in 2004, Dime was murdered on stage by a crazed fan.

Above Dimebag's signature is the logo CFH from their debut album Cowboys from Hell and below it is a guitar drawn by the legendary musician.

Izzy met Dime about 11 years ago [1998], outside of the building where Howard Stern was broadcasting his radio show. Dime drew it all on with a Sharpie and an artist named Eric tattooed it in the back of Bleecker Bob's Records.


Read the full post here.

Earlier this month, Rhino/Atco released the 20th anniversary edition of Vulgar Display of Power.
The new package includes the original remastered album, with the addition of  "Piss," a recently discovered unreleased track from the recording sessions. It is packaged with a DVD that contains an unreleased live performance filmed in Italy in September of 1992, with the addition of the three official music videos from the album.

Check out the clip from the new video for the new track "Piss":




This is classic Pantera at the height of their game, and the live DVD performances are just phenomenal shots of pure adrenaline and power.

In conjunction with Rhino/Atco, we here at Tattoosday are giving away four copies of the 20th anniversary 2-disc combo. How cool is that!? So, if you are interested, please leave a comment on this post (making sure I have a way to contact you if you win) or, if you prefer, go to our Facebook page (here) and post a comment on the Pantera post to be eligible. I will use a fancy randomizer to help pick the winners and will announce them here on Friday, so enter by Thursday at midnight, EDT.

And, if you don't win, you can snag the CD from iTunes here or Amazon here.

In the mean time, you can also listen to some of the tracks streaming from the record by clicking this link:

Pantera - Vulgar Display Of Power 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition


Good luck to all!




This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.


Sunday, May 27, 2012

Memorial Day Post: Brandon's Leg Says It All

I met Brandon briefly while passing through Penn Station one day back in March.

I was drawn to the script on his leg and it seemed to be appropriate for this Memorial Day weekend:


The tattoo reads "I'd rather die on my feet / Than live life on my knees."

This holiday weekend is all about honoring those men and women in our armed services that have made the ultimate sacrifice as defenders of our freedom and way of life.

Not many people know that the quote originates from Emiliano Zapata, who fought to overthrow the dictatorship during the Mexican Revolution in the early part of the twentieth century. Its meaning can be interpreted with many nuances, but I understand it to mean that it is better to die fighting for freedom than to live in servitude to others.

I didn't speak to Brandon for very long - it was a passing encounter, but I appreciate his service and sacrifice, and I encourage everyone to take a moment and reflect on the true meaning of this holiday, if you haven't already.

I'd also encourage people to check out this post from my friend Tracy, whose tattoo honors one of our fallen soldiers.

Thanks to Brandon and all of our armed forces for their service to our country.

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another website other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Anja's Ink: Not Your Type-ical Tattoos

One of my favorite tattoo encounters in 2011 has yet to see the light of these Tattoosday pages.

How can this be? You’d think I’d be rushing to post wonderful tattoos but, in some cases, I have what can only be described as blogger’s block. I can go around this encounter and “save it for a rainy day,” but those days turn into weeks, which become monrths, until I see an anniversary approaching on the horizon.

Such was the case with Anja, a native New Zealander who I chanced upon last July in front of K-Mart in the Penn Station concourse.

What stopped me dead in my tracks when I spotted her was that she was covered in text:




She had words inked on her flesh, all different fonts, but not just scrawled, but arranged artistically in a type-setter’s fashion. It was like she was wearing a collection of Ina Saltz’s greatest hits.

And here’s the rub: I think that the complexity of the tattooed words running across her body gave me pause. How would I explain this coherently?

So let me try.

Anja’s clusters of words are poetry, but not poems; they are love letters to family members, and they are deeply personal. The photo above was deliberately framed in a way so that the reader could not necessarily see each entire piece. In this way, Anja maintains ownership of the tattoos and their sentiments.

She has these words assigned in different fonts to members of her family, her mother and her sisters. For example, her tattoo for one sister is in a “Loki Cola” font that resembles the Coca-Cola script and reads




“Under/Flesh/Within/Breast/This/Heart/Holds/Heidi”

Here’s a complete piece for her sister Saskia, using the Konspiracy Theory font:




The verse reads “Saskia/Skin/Belly/Laugh/The/Very/Inside”.

Each piece is a work of beauty.

Anja came to New York specifically to be tattooed by Stephanie Tamez, an accomplished artist outright, but whose reputation as a master of inking type is unsurpassed. Stephanie is based out of Saved Tattoo in Brooklyn.

Anja also shared this tattoo on her left hand:




She explained,
“This is my newest one [as on July 2011]. It’s an egret, or heron. Kotuku in New Zealand … me and my sister got one of these together. [The artist, Gypsy Nation] actually tattooed it on himself as well. He’s Native American and has the heron in his family.”
Gypsy Nation did the tattoo at Fineline Tattoo on the Lower East Side of New York, but has since moved on.

Thanks to Anja for sharing these wonderful tattoos with us here on Tattoosday, and for waiting so patiently for me to post them.

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

2012 NYC Tattoo Convention


This past Saturday, May 19, I attended the New York City Tattoo Convention at Roseland Ballroom near Times Square.

This was the fourth year in a row that I have gone and I have to say, it finally feels like home. I’ve always felt out of place and have always been overwhelmed by the sheer sensory overload. What follows is a loose recap of the event with some photos I took with both the camera and the Droid. I plan on expanding a few of these encounters in separate posts.

First of all, I must give a shout-out to Marisa and Brian from Needles & Sins. They’ve always been friendly faces that I can gab with to no end, and every year I spend more and more time in their company. They were the first people I saw and, much to my delight, I ran into them on the subway platform on my way back to Brooklyn. A hearty thanks to Marisa and Brian for their hospitality. If you haven’t checked out Needles & Sins, I encourage you to do so.

So obviously I saw a lot of tattoos in the five or so hours that I was ensconced in Roseland. But remember, we’re not just about gawking at amazing body art, but meeting and appreciating, as well. So we are very particular about who we photograph.

There are a few artists I want to acknowledge. I had a nice chat with Matt Van Cura, who is over at Invisible NYC on Orchard Street. Matt was familiar with Tattoosday from a post that featured his work here.

I also spent some time by the Sacred Tattoo booth, talking to shop manager Kevin Wilson. Jon Mesa was hard at work and I got to chat with him and tell him how well I thought he had done on Oxygen’s Best Ink competition (he was the runner-up). A general discussion of tattoo reality shows broke out which many of you already know is a topic of great interest to me.

I also had the honor of meeting an artist whose work I have admired for quite some time. When I snapped a photo of this phenomenal back piece, I also captured its creator (in the green shirt) David Sena.


Based out of North Star Tattoo, Sena is opening a new art space soon, with a private studio for tattooing, and was excited to be showing off his handiwork.

It’s also fun to run into people I’ve interviewed at previous shows. For example, I featured this back piece from Jessica last year and I ran into Steve who shared a really cool Celtic tattoo last year here. He had new work, also by Agent at Screamin’ Ink in Fair Lawn, which again emphasized his Irish heritage:


What also is really neat is seeing work that I had spotted outside of the convention, on the streets of New York, like when I recognized a memorial cat tattoo on the arm of Niki, who I met in July 2010.

And then there’s the new tattoos I see, like this awesome Coney Island-themed back piece on Tiffany, who sells art jewelery here.


This is a collaborative effort, Tiffany told me, of two incredible tattooists, Michelle Tarantelli and Chris O’Donnell, both of Saved Tattoo in Brooklyn.

Then there was Kate, who shared a tattoo that will appear on Tattoosday in a future post. She was a client of North Star’s Becca Roach, who was receiving a lot of attention first due to her phenomenal sleeves, and then when she stripped down to allow Becca to add a revolver to her side, which I captured here. Note the amazing work on her arms as well.


Speaking of gun tattoos, on the day before I attended the convention, I ran into a model named Melissa on Broadway in the mid-30s. She was heavily-inked but running late, and as she had plans to go to the convention, we agreed to meet up at the show. During one of the contests, she took the stage to display her left leg, sleeved by Gene Coffey at Tattoo Culture in Brooklyn.


You can see her right leg is tattooed with a gun in a thigh holster. Earlier in the day, I sat down with Melissa and interviewed her about the gun and its back story. Stay tuned for that in a future post.

In years past, the biggest crowd seems to draw around the artists from Japan, using traditional tattoo techniques in a booth up on the Roseland balcony. I didn’t really watch them this year, but did admire the work of Brent McCown, who was using traditional Maori techniques down on the main floor.


While hanging in the bar with Marisa and Brian, I also got to meet Phil Padwe, whose childrens' book Mommy Has A Tattoo is a must have for kids with inked moms.
 
He has a series of coloring books as well, which will get some more attention from me in a future post.



You can check out some additional photos over on Needles & Sins here, which includes a shot of me sharing my Heather Sinn tribal piece from Ink Master. You'll also see Damion Echols, one of the recently-released West Memphis Three, who I had the distinct honor of meeting. This was a tremendous surprise to see him at the show and I had the pleasure of talking to him briefly at the Sacred booth. Despite it not being tattoo-related, it was one of the highlights of the afternoon for me.

Thanks to to all of the artists, subjects, and other assorted folks who yet again made my trip to the New York City Tattoo Convention a wonderful time!

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Friday, May 18, 2012

It's a Small World: Steve Shares Some Amazing Tim Kern Handiwork

Last June (yes, you read that correctly - I've been sitting on this post a while!), I attended a book release party at Sacred Gallery in Manhattan.

While perusing the art hanging on the walls, I noticed a fellow attendee who had a lot of tattoos. To be honest, that pretty much described everyone in attendance, but what jumped out at me was a familiar-looking piece on this gentleman's leg:

photo by Janet Loder-Berthelon
What was surprising about this tattoo is that I had seen it before - just not in person. It had, however, appeared on Tattoosday, two years earlier in this post, courtesy of my friend Janet, who spotted the host on the subway and unwittingly submitted one of the few "guest spots" we have ever had.

I introduced myself and learned that the gentleman's name is Steve Prue, a very talented photographer (click through his name to see some amazing work). Needless to say, he remembered meeting Janet, and offered up to me some of his amazing work on his left sleeve:



These wonderful tattoos are the handiwork of Tim Kern of Tribulation Tattoo. The robot face (above) and what Steve called his "robo-Kali" (below) are truly phenomenal and it is almost criminal that I have been sitting on these photos for so long.

This "small world" story ended up letting us experience segments of  two "out of this world" tattoos.

Thanks to Steve for sharing them with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.


Thursday, May 17, 2012

"Ladies, Ladies" Art Show at Tattoo Culture in Brooklyn Tonight!

Tonight at Tattoo Culture in Williamsburg, the second annual "Ladies, Ladies" Art Show is kicking off with a big launch event.

It was at a Tattoo Culture event several years back that I first met one of the curators of this show, Magie Serpica (who shared this tattoo).

Here's a work by one of the show's 100+ artists Itoyo Kinoshita:


Whereas last year's show was a tribute to "old school" female tattooers, this year's event has more of a New York-based slant, with an emphasis on female artists in the Big Apple. That said, I recognized, among the list of contributors, at least a dozen artists whose work has been featured on Tattoosday over the years.

I encourage you to attend if you are in NYC tonight and, at the very least, visit here to get a closer look at the Ladies, Ladies extravaganza.

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another website other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.



Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Shroomtastic!

Yesterday I was walking around Penn Station during lunch, as is my normal workday routine. I saw quite a few tattoos, but nothing seemed to impress. I was hoping to chance upon something a little more original than flowers, dragons and skulls.

I spotted a young woman talking to a few other people and a few of them had tattoos. I sauntered on over, figuring between them, I'd see something interesting. I wasn't disappointed.

Among the group was Mark, who shared this tattoo on the back of his calf:


Those are mushrooms. More specifically, psilocybin mushrooms, which have hallucinogenic properties.

The artist was the woman I initially spotted, a freelance "underground" tattooist from Oakland, California who gave her name as Steiner Ella.

Thanks to Mark and Steiner for sharing this cool tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.