Two Amazing Tattoos from Patrick of Needles & Sins

It isn't too often that I chance upon someone inked who knows who I am. So, imagine my surprise when I introduced myself to Pat in Borders, Penn Plaza, and his face lit up with recognition when I handed him a Tattoosday flier.

I had just happened to stop one of the contributing writers from my favorite tattoo blog that isn't my own, Needles & Sins. What with our sites mutually appearing on each other's sidebars, we're practically cyber-related.

So Pat was totally game to pull up a chair with me in the cafe and share a couple of his numerous tattoos that traverse his chest, arms, and legs.

First, on Pat's left shoulder/upper arm is this colorful piece:

This tattoo represents the dichotomy of the good brain versus the bad brain. He wanted something in the New School style of tattooing and Matt Lautar, formerly of Great Southern Tattoo in College Park, Maryland was happy to oblige. Matt is now tattooing out of Marlowe Ink, in Fairfax, Virginia.

For the sake of symmetry and practicality, we then looked at his right shoulder/arm for this take on the Virgin Mary.

Complete with snake and dagger, and burning heart, this amazing tattoo was beautifully inked by Eli Quinters at Smith Street Tattoo Parlour in Brooklyn. The shading and color on Mary's face are just brilliantly done.

Of course, I had the misfortune to run into Pat as my lunch hour was winding down. With more time, we likely would have talked much longer and documented a few more tattoos.

Pat added later that "I would be remiss if I didn't mention the other tattooers who I've gotten work from:  Dave Wallin has easily done 25-30% of my tattoos. Chest, most of my left arm, a few on the right. I've also been tattooed by Todd Noble, Kelly Krantz, Jake, Andy Perez, Bailey Hunter Robinson and Gene Coffey."

Let's hope we can feature more of this work in the future!

A hearty thanks to Pat for sharing a couple of his tattoos with us here on Tattoosday.

If you haven't yet done so, be sure to check out Needles & Sins. And this link transports you to all that Pat has contributed to their most awesome site.

Jesse's Religious Experience

Religious imagery is among the most popular of themes in tattoo art. There is, to the shrinking minority of people who don't like tattoos, a greater level of acceptance of Christian-themed body art.

[Jewish tattoos are coming along, but the majority of Jews have fundamental issues with ink on Jews. Islamic tattoos are less common, and I can't speak to their acceptance. Eastern religious tattoos may be the most popular of religious ink, but there is a greater understang of body art when it comes to Hindu and Buddhist themes. But I digress.]

I generally avoid talking to people about full sleeves, but when I started talking to Jesse while we were browsing the books at the Chelsea Salvation Army store, it was clear that his right sleeve, which continued onto his chest, was the most important work he had.


Jesse's ink is a reflection of his faith. It is inspired by religious images that he has come across while visiting churches in Europe. He couldn't give me the specific locations of the art which inspired his work (Rome, Paris), but I'd be happy to hear from readers who may recognize the
work.
Aside from the obvious depictions of the Virgin Mary and Jesus, Jesse also pulled up his shirt to show me the most recent of his ten tattoos, which was the extension of his sleeve into his chest:


All of this work was done by Mike Pastore at Masterpiece Tattoo in Staten Island, New York. Work from Masterpiece has appeared previously here.

Thanks to Jesse for sharing his tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

The Virgin Mary Will Be Saved

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!