You have entered the tattoos territory . This area for various types of tattoos, like tribal tattoos, gothic tattoos, japanese tattoos, dark tattoo, art tattoos, religious tattoos and many more.
It's been dropping in temperature this week, feeling exactly like October should. Monday was a day of errands, a lot of which I did on my bike. Above is a photo looking at MPLS from just north of the city on the Mississippi River.
I did more art at home than at work today.
There's a basket of autumn flowers in our house that reminded me of when we lived on the farm a few years ago. I used to do drawings of the flowers that were always in various stages of decay yet still in vases on the kitchen table. Autumn was the most beautiful there, with tons of pumpkins and mist in the morning and acres of trees changing color and bales of hay. So tonight, with a 01 micron pen and computer paper, I drew these flowers while listening to a very seasonal selection of music dj'ed by my friend Julie on Olympia Free Radio that I pick up online most Tuesdays.
We had an old friend come out last weekend, we had a fire outside, and Meryl made some amazing cornbread. In ten days my sister comes for a long weekend. Visitors in this season are the best.
I've closed the windows. I'm wearing heavier clothes. I'm writing more letters. I'm drinking more tea, but not any less Dr Pepper.
I spotted these beautiful roses last week outside of Madison Square Garden, and had to find out more about them.
I introduced myself to Rachel with my standard opening line, "Can I ask you about your tattoo?" Rachel admitted to me that the first impression she had was that I was going to try to sell her on a tattoo-removal product or service. She has not been the first person to think that. Perhaps I need a new intro.
Anyway, Rachel's trio of roses are remarkable, and she has 6 or 7 tattoos in all, many of which are roses as well, although she professed an admiration of Betty Boop, and has one of the comics icon as well.
But all I saw were these three roses, inked by Shannon O'Sullivan at a tattoo convention. Rachel's brother worked for a bit at Skin & Ink magazine, which helped introduce her to some folks in the tattoo community.
Rachel explained her rosy infatuation a bit further, noting she had worked for the designer Betsey Johnson, who used a lot of rose prints and rose-inspired design. She acknowledged that this led to her "obsession" with roses, and that beyond that, they do not have "a deep meaning".
Rachel is a designer whose website highlights her work.
Thanks to Rachel for sharing her beautiful tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!
I ran into Michael last week outside of Madison Square Garden. He had numerous tattoos up and down his arms, but he told me that he regretted most of them. He had been in the military, based in the San Diego area, and he said he hoped, someday, to have all of his ink removed.
"All of it?" I asked. He had a lot.
He nodded, but then pointed to the one pictured above, inked on the underside his left forearm, and said he would probably keep this one, as it was a religious tattoo that has some meaning.
He said that he got this "homemade" piece in Tijuana for about $30, and that it took only a couple of hours to do. He definitely didn't need to take out any payday loans to afford that one!
A lot of people in Southern California make the trip across the border to Tijuana to take advantage of the nightlife there. Some even walk away with tattoos.
Thanks to Michael for sharing his tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!
The triptych above (ok, it's not technically a triptych, but I am calling it that as I divided it into three sections) belongs to Vaj (rhymes with Dodge), a filmmaker who I met across the street from Macy*s on 34th Street and 7th Avenue early last week.
This piece was inked about 16 years ago in California by Jeff Rassier, who currently works out of Black Heart Tattoo in San Francisco.
Vaj, who has been in the entertainment business for many years, based his tattoo on the interpretation of the creative process.
The center of the tattoo contains a jar with two brains:
moving up and out of the jar is a an arm, at the end of which is a hand holding paper:
Moving down out of the jar is an arm, at the end of which is a hand holding a pen, which is dripping ink:
The two hands, each with pen and paper, are acting out the creative process, stemming from the two sides of the brain.
Thanks to Vaj for sharing this interpretation in his tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!
At the beginning of the week, I ran into Josh, a chef at an upscale restaurant in Tribeca. He was actually showing his tattoos to a couple of people standing with him, so I felt in apropos to join in the conversation.
Josh is hard at work on a culinary sleeve on his left arm, which includes a langoustine, a Red Junglefowl, and the tattoo above, a sturgeon, complete with slicing knife and roe.
Thanks to Josh for sharing his sturgeon with us here on Tattoosday. Here's hoping he'll return to show us more. The Red Junglefowl was not completed, otherwise I would have asked to feature that piece here. It's a sweet piece (you can see a fragment of claw above the sturgeon).
150 copper coated engraved mat promo pieces arrived in the mail today from BlackBookStencils. Not only are they engraved, but the antler sections are actually REMOVED. I think you need two photos to actually get a taste of the hotness that these things are. My favorite part is that they are completely useless. Art for art's sake, I guess.
The other delivery of goodies I got today was 250 word bubble stickers. 125 with the point on the left side, and 125 on the right. Because you have to be prepared. Bus stop ads, small billboards, convenience store doors ('Clerks' style) across the country will soon be showing the Bird Flu love.
There is a page of flash drawn in 1994 on our wall that someone found on it a bubbleheaded skull with a firey atom bursting from it's top. I didn't know what to do, so I kept it's orignal appeal to him (the skull and atom top) and drew it "my way". Really. No one comes to me for this kind of thing. I know Todd made thousands off of big toothed skulls while I was still in high school, and taking Meryl to the homecoming dance. I, however, missed that era by a few years, and I can't do it.
I did once almost kinda work for a guy who drew the biggest, goofiest teeth on skulls I've ever seen. (It was horrible) I say 'almost kinda' cause he saw me at the Boston Tattoo Convention, didn't remember how bad things went down, wanted to chat, and I don't play nice. I surround myself with rad people on purpose, there's no room for sucky human beings. Or their stupid feelings.
But Todd tells me stories of the not-so-old days, doing wonky "new skool" tattoo machine tattoos that had Krylon cans where the coils go. On the f'n neck. Then he puts Albie Rock's wrench in my back pocket and hands me another Dr Pepper.
In other news, the latest I Want Your Skull just came out, and you can buy it here. It's the one I did this drawing for:
WHO in the world gets a neck tattoo? A couple of years back you could have narrowed the answer to gang members, prison inmates, members of the Russian mob and the rapper Lil Wayne. Then something occurred.
Last Friday I met Christopher on Penn Plaza. He estimated that he had tattoos numbering in the mid-fifties.
Again, I am sometimes intimidated by folks with a lot of ink, and will usually not trouble them, but not this time.
And, of all those tattoos, Christopher lifted up his shirt to reveal one of his most meaningful pieces:
The cross with angel wings behind it is graced by a banner that reads "In Loving Memory ... Grandpa Al".
This tribute tattoo was inked at Good Times Tattoo Studio in East Islip, New York by Bill. Christopher is a tattoo artist there as well.
Grandpa Al was a tattoo artist himself, at Ace Tattoo in San Diego, one of the oldest shops in the city (founded around 1947). I acknolwedged that Al must have been busy working in San Diego, with several military bases nearby.
Christopher always knew he wanted to be an artist, and has been tattooing about 14 years.
"What about your Dad," I asked him, "is he an artist?"
Christopher shook his head and said he wasn't. "And he doesn't have a single tattoo. Not one!"
"Really?" I asked.
He shook his head and laughed "I just don't understand it."
So the ink-lination to tattoo skipped a generation in his family, but you could tell he was proud of his grandfather's legacy, and he bore it like a badge of honor.
Thanks so much to Christopher for sharing his tribute to Grandpa Al here on Tattoosday!
This is a crossover post from another blog, Batman Tattoos, where this Gabe Tucker tattoo is also posted. I think Harley qualifies for pinup status too, no?
Last Friday was a banner day for inkspotting. By day's end, I had four great Tattoosday stories to tell. This is the third of the four, although it was the first encounter of the day. It certainly set the tone.
I was walking east on 34th Street when I spotted a well-inked guy walking in my direction. I am sometimes less-inclined to talk to people with a TON of tattoos, but I stopped him anyway and asked about his work.
Buddy seemed eager to share, and quickly raised his right pant leg to reveal, in red ink, the words "Boston Sucks". Right below it was a depiction of an anatomical part that would fit the epithet. I hesitated.
"It's kind of a family blog," I joked, "my daughter reads it." He seemed disappointed, but was understanding. "How about the neck tattoo?" I suggested. He was game. I snapped the photo above.
It was inked in Austin, Texas at, according to Buddy, a shop called Red River Tattoos, circa 2003. He has approximately 32 tattoos in all. Any story behind it? "I was drunk when I got it," he said. Knowing that, and the absence of any reference to a shop called Red River Tattoos in Austin, I am more inclined to believe it might have been True Blue Tattoo, which is located on Red River Street. Work from True Blue has appeared on Tattoosday previously here.
But then he added, "If you don't get a neck tattoo before you're successful, then you shouldn't get one".
"So," I asked, "are you successful?"
"I'm in a band," he acknowledged, "I'm the singer."
This is not new to me, I have come across several musicians on Tattoosday before (here and here, for example).
"Cool," I said, "I'll link the band's page to the blog." In the back of my mind, I thought the name sounded familiar.
I thanked Buddy and we parted ways. It was only later that I realized that Buddy Nielsen wasn't just a singer from a band in New Jersey. Senses Fail is a significant act in the music scene. They're not platinum artists, yet. Their last record, Still Searching, sold 900,000 copies in the U.S. alone.
They've toured widely since they formed in 2003. I even have one of their songs in my iPod. The song, "Can't Be Saved" even refers to the tattoo on his chest (the video is below). So, Buddy's tattoo, the one that is up above (according to wikipedia has a second word "lady" below it), is the most famous tattoo I have photographed thus far for Tattoosday.
To celebrate the end of summer (farewell, tattoos aplenty!) and welcome the beginning of fall (come out, come out, wherever you are!), I am posting this appropriate tattoo celebrating the new season.
I was fortunate enough to meet Brian on Friday, right in front of Borders on Penn Plaza.
As the last weekend of summer was upon us, it seemed bittersweet to find his tattoo above. Brian told me that it is a depiction of Sahmin, who is the god of Autumn in Irish mythology. When I went to research this further, I could not find a reference to such a deity, but I do believe that Brian was referring to Samhain, a traditional Celtic celebration after the end of summer.
As for the actual deity in question, let's just say it is perfect for the season, the arboreal face bestrewn with leaves. Perhaps my friend over at NeoPagan Ink can shed some light on this.
This piece was inked by Joe Ferzola (click for nice bio at About.com) at Inklinations in Copiague, New York. The link to Inklinations takes you to the Devil's Den in Copiague, run by a long-time associate of Joe's, Tony Lafemina.
Thanks to Brian for sharing his autumnal tattoo with us here at Tattoosday!
I've said it before and I'll say it again: sometimes asking about a common tattoo reaps great visual rewards.
Carrie is a prime example. I spotted her nautical stars gracing her right arm near 39th Street and Broadway and I asked her about them. Had she only had one, I may have passed her by, but she had five running up the length of her inner arm, and I had to ask.
Well, like this tattoo, I knew when Carrie stood up from the chair on which she was sitting, that I would be seeing something more interesting than stars. And, well, let's say she took my breath away on Broadway:
This reminded me of this windjammer tattoo, but Carrie, who has always loved pirates, and is going to have this colored in at some point, specified that this is a pirate ship.
The detail is incredible:
and Carrie was particularly happy that the moon came out in the photo:
Thanks to Carrie for sharing her awesome ship on Tattoosday (and for being confident enough to reveal so much in the middle of Broadway). She works in the same building where I have a regular Friday meeting, so I hope to feature progress on her work in the future. She also mentioned that her boyfriend has some cool ink too, so we may see some from him as well in the months to come.
I borrowed Todd's wheelbarrow this week, and most of my weekend plans will revolve around that. I got 5 yards of dirt delivered while I was in Boston, and this sexy rain barrel got dropped off yesterday. I tattooed some people today. So did Todd. We chose the wrench all f'in day. It's the heaviest wrench that $2 can buy you.
My only non-wrench client today was this rad nanny who needed Mr P to disappear. Him and his dumb heart.
On Tuesday I was in Brooklyn Heights, walking toward Cadman Plaza on Clark Street. As I passed a local video store, Mr. Video III, I spotted some ink on one of the employees and decided to head in and introduce myself.
Sal has seven tattoos, but he chose to share the one above, from his left bicep.
This is, of course, recognizable to anyone who is a rock fan, as the artwork gracing the cover of the 1991 Guns N' Roses album Use Your Illusion I. A G n' R tattoo appeared on Tattoosday previously here.
Sal had this inked because the album was released at a point in his life, when he was a senior in high school, when most people are most impressionable and affected by massive displays of musical force. The album, and by extension, the tattoo, was something he could cling to, a great avenue by which he could "express his rage".
Sal also acknowledges that he, like many others who were fans of the band, developed a greater appreciation of classical art, as the image form the record (and its companion, Use Your Illusion II) are based on a detail in the Italian Renaissance painter Raphael's , The School of Athens:
Or, the detail used:
Sal says that this piece was inked around 1994 by an artist named Jason, who worked with the studio of the late great Huggy-Bear Ferris in Park Slope. Work from Huggy-Bear has appeared here previously on Tattoosday.
Thanks to Sal for sharing his tattoo here on Tattoosday. As I will be passing by Mr. Video III on a more regular basis in the future, I hope that Sal would share more of his tattoos with us in the future!
Strange as it may seem to have back-to-back foot posts, this may be a trend as the weather cools and sleeves grow longer.
I interrupted a conversation Melissa was having with someone else in front of Borders on Penn Plaza to ask her about her inked right foot.
The words are based on a passage from the Bible, from the Book of Matthew, Chapter 22, Verse 37, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your mind and all your soul." It's a slightly edited version, but the message is the same.
Melissa explained that these words have even more meaning for her as they are engraved on her father's headstone. He passed away several years back.
Last week I had just left the house when a woman passed me on the street. She had the words "live & learn" tattooed on her left right foot. I caught up to her and introduced myself. Jackie had just moved into the building on the corner two days earlier, and I wished her a Tattoosday welcome to the neighborhood.
She explained her tattoo by acknowledging that, like most people, she makes mistakes in life and that the motto "live and learn" are words to help guide her through life. Being on her foot is significant, as she believes that the lessons she has learned have helped her understand the importance of taking life "one step at a time".
Jackie, in fact, has five tattoos, including one on her waistline and on her inner right arm, but she has this pair on the back of her neck:
The kanji is the word for beauty and, unlike many unfortunate folks who don't research their tattoos properly, it is correct.
The popular proverb "All is fair in Love and War" dates back to John Lyly's 'Euphues' (1578). The original quote was "The rules of fair play do not apply in love and war. " John Lyly was a Renaissance English poet and playwright.
Jackie likes this quote because, as she said, "I'm a very passionate about things and if I believe in it, I will fight until the end".
All of Jackie's tattoos were inked at Bodytech Tattoo & Piercing in Gainesville, Florida. Jackie went to college at the University of Florida.
Thanks to Jackie for sharing her tattoos here with us on Tattoosday!
Tom Doherty gave me the best answer I have heard to the question "How many tattoos do you have?"
He looked me in the eye and said, matter-of-factly, "Not enough."
Tom has a ton of ink, and is one of the artists in residence at Another Tattoo Shop in Bound Brook, New Jersey.
It's always like winning the lottery when I chance upon a tattoo artist, because they seem to have a greater appreciation for the idea of Tattoosday and, more importantly, they have siginifantly better work, and more of it to choose from.
So Tom was not only kind enough to agree to participate, but he didn't offer up any of his visible tattoos, but instead lifted his shirt to reveal Marilyn Monroe, smiling from the left side of his torso.
Why does he choose to have Ms. Monroe inked there? He wanted a famous face, a "show-off piece," as he called it. The tattoo was done by his boss at the shop, Matt Pope.
Thanks to Tom for sharing this awesome portrait with us here at Tattoosday!
Sorry for all the music references. Very 80s, and very gay. Perhaps my unconscious is trying to tell me something. Anyway, this Mary was done by Kristel.
