Tattoosday (A Tattoo Blog): June 2018

Friday, June 29, 2018

Taylor's Undersea Tattoo

Last month, I spotted Taylor shopping at a local drug store in Brooklyn, on a particularly warm day. She had this cool thigh tattoo and was kind enough to share it with us:

Taylor explained, "I've just always loved fish, mermaids, the ocean," noting that the mermaid is "purple for my grandma, because that's her favorite color." She also added, "we've got Hank from Finding Dory up in there." Those unfamiliar with the film should not Hank is the octopus.

Taylor credited the work to Erica Flannes (@ericaflannes) at Red Rocket Tattoo (@redrockettattoo) in Manhattan.

Thanks to Taylor for sharing her cool undersea thigh tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

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Wednesday, June 27, 2018

Susan's Angel of Grief (Tattoosday Walks Into a Bar)

Earlier this month, I stopped by one of my favorite watering holes, Threes Brewing (@threesbrewing), in Brooklyn. While enjoying a Voluntary Exile Baltic Porter, I struck up a conversation with one of the bartenders, Susan, who shared this amazing tattoo on her upper arm:

Susan explained that, when she turned forty, her mother had just died and "it just felt right to get an enormous tattoo."

The piece depicts the Angel of Grief, a sculpture by William Wetmore Story, for his wife Emelyn's grave in the Protestant Cemetery in Rome. "My mother and I had seen it together," Susan told me. She thought it was an appropriate tribute and fit the bill as a big tattoo.

She credited the work to the amazingly talented Annie Lloyd from Get Fat Brooklyn (@getfatbk).

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

Sunday, June 24, 2018

Nikki the Mermaid Tips Her Scales

Last weekend at the Mermaid Parade in Coney Island, I met quite a few mermaids, including Nikki, a self-described "Land and Sea Mermaid." Nikki's mermaid cred are evidenced by her scales:

Nikki credited her work to tattoo artist Mel, from Eternal Images in Lanoka Harbor, New Jersey.

You can visit Nikki on her site at www.alandandseasmeraid.com.

Thanks to Nikki for sharing her tattooed scales with us here on Tattoosday!

Thursday, June 21, 2018

Mermaid Brielyn Shares Some Mer-Ink at the Mermaid Parade

Last Saturday, I was hanging out at the Coney Island Brewing Company (@coneyislandbeer), prior to the annual Mermaid Parade (@mermaidparade).

This was an excellent venue to enjoy a Mermaid Pilsner and talk to some actual mermaids about their tattoos.

One such mermaid, Brielyn (@mermaidbrielyn), had the ink to match her awesome mermaidness:

This lovely mermaid and merman were tattooed at the Philadelphia Tattoo Arts Convention (@villainarts) this past winter by Humberto (@elbenttattoo), who is based out of Paris, France.

Thanks to Brielyn for sharing her awesome mer-ink with us here on Tattoosday!

Tuesday, June 19, 2018

Coney Island, Baby!

It goes without saying that Coney Island and the Mermaid Parade go hand-in-hand and, quite honestly, I couldn't imagine a parade like this anywhere else. Some folks express their love of Coney Island in many ways, often in the form of tattoos, like Ash, one of the many Mermaids I met last Saturday. Check out her phenomenal tribute, in ink:

As you would imagine, Ash told me "Coney Island is my favorite place." From the Face of the Steeplechase to the world-famous Cyclone, Ash has the locale all packed into one frame that runs the whole side of her thigh.

She credited Yurgo from Explicit Tattoo in Suffern, New York, with this great tribute to Coney Island.

While I was talking with Ash, some random dude wanted a photo with her, so I thought I'd include it here, partly because it looks like a shark is attacking his head:

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

Monday, June 18, 2018

Terri Shares Two Great Tattoos (at the Coney Island Mermaid Parade)

This past weekend, I attended another wonderful Coney Island Mermaid Parade in south Brooklyn. I met a lot of great people, including Terri (@ivyleagueink), who shared some amazing work, including this amazing owl covering her stomach:

She credited Peeko (@peekotattoos) from Pyramid Ink Tattoo (@pyramidink) in Brooklyn with this piece.

The quote, "He who has a why to live can bear almost any how," is by Friedrich Nietzsche, and pre-dates the owl. It was done at True Blue Tattoo in Maspeth, New York.

She also has this amazing portrait of the Bride of Frankenstein on her thigh:

Please pardon the shadow in the upper right part of the tattoo. That phenomenal piece was done by Shane O'Neill (@shaneoneilltattooist), who won Ink Master, Season One, and tattoos out of Infamous Tattoo in Delaware.

Thanks to Terri for sharing her amazing work with us here on Tattoosday! Great meeting you, Terri!

Sunday, June 17, 2018

Matt's Signs Point the Way

My friend Matt moved to Baltimore a couple years ago and shared this tattoo with me after he got it last summer:

This piece recalls the stack of signs that was often seen in episodes of the TV series M*A*S*H.

Matt wanted to pay homage to the show - not only was it a staple for a lot of us growing up, but it was one of those shows that aired in reruns constantly, back before streaming and binge-watching television was a thing. Without going into too much detail, Matt was laid up for a spell in the early 2000s M*A*S*H helped him through a difficult time - it was "all I ever watched on TV" then, he told me.

He credited the artist Rudy, from Skull N Bones Tattoo, in Toledo, Ohio, with the work. He loves what he did with shading. The Boston sign from the original has been removed and replaced with Matt's new home, Baltimore.

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

Wednesday, June 13, 2018

Diana Shares Some Cool Tattoos on Her Birthday

I want to wish Diana a happy birthday today! I met Diana last month while walking in lower Manhattan. She had, at the time, "about 13" tattoos, and she was kind enough to share them with us.

Her newest piece at the time was this cool one on her forearm:

This was inked by Zoe Bean (@zoebeantattoo) from Eight of Swords Tattoo (@8ofswordstattoo) in Brooklyn. Diana explained:

"It's just supposed to be a graceful representation of Lilith ... kind of a feminist symbol ... [Zoe] is a wonderful artist to do this. I love her dotwork style but also, we were talking as I was getting the tattoo, she used to be a professor and she kind of made her way as a tattoo artist. She just had an amazing story ... male-dominated field, moving up in her career, it was great of her to do this and to make this feminist symbol on my arm ... It means a lot for me because ... we looked into the story behind Lilith and we have a couple of the flowers that represent her and then the snake, of course... it was really great to go on this journey with Zoe to like get it right."

Diana also has this cool pair of tattoos on her upper arm:

Diana elaborated about the moth:

"I volunteer at a butterfly conservatory at the Museum of Natural History ... I thought this would be a really nice touch I got this because for that reason but also because 8 of Swords was doing a charity benefit for an LGBTQ homeless center in Arkansas [Lucie's Place in Little Rock] ... they raised over 10 thousand dollars in that event and this was one of the designs. Stella [Vlad] (@stellamayvlad) ... made this and did a really great job."

Stella was one of the visiting artists who joined Eight of Swords for the fundraiser. She works at Speakeasy Tattoo (@nyspeakeasytattoo) in Peekskill, New York.

Diana also told me about the woman's head below the moth:

"I got this from Ashley (@ol_ash), she used to work at Magic Cobra Tattoo Society (@magiccobratattoo) [in Brooklyn] ... I'm a Gemini, so there's two different faces in the woman's eyes, so one is kinda happy and the other one is ... kind of sad looking, so it's like the different personalities."

The artist, Ashley Strout, now works at Electric Anvil Tattoo (@electricanviltattoo) in Brooklyn.

And last, but not least, Diana shared this amazing tattoo on her thigh:

Diana explains this wonderful tattoo of the goddess Athena:

"I got this in San Francisco ... on my last day [there] and it took hours to do ... I sat for one very long session... The artist I went to, he does really good portrait tattoos ... my mother loved mythology and she passed away when I was a teenager, so I was like oh this would be a really really cool tattoo."

The artist is Brian Jones (@brianjonestattoos), who did this at One Shot Tattoo (@one_shot_tattoo), but he is now based out of Gold Stripe Tattoo (@goldstripetattoo) in San Diego.

Thanks to Diana for sharing all of these cool tattoos with us here on Tattoosday! It was great meeting you and happy birthday!

Photo by Diana

Tuesday, June 12, 2018

Aaron's Family in a Zodiac Sleeve

I met one of my neighbors, Aaron, over the weekend and he shared his incredible sleeve, which is devoted to the animals of the Chinese zodiac, as they relate to his family. Check it out:

His wife, Rebecca, was born in the year of the rooster, Aaron was born in the year of the dragon, his older son is born in the year of the tiger, and his youngest was born in the year of the goat:

Another view gives us a larger view of the arm:

Aaron credited Max Brown (@maxwellquesterbrown) out of Brown Brothers Tattoo (@brownbrotherstattoo) in Chicago with this fantastic sleeve.

Thanks to Aaron for sharing his awesome Chinese zodiac sleeves with us here on Tattoosday!

Sunday, June 3, 2018

Victor's First is the Golden Mean

This is a long over due post about Victor, who I met last July at Three Kings Tattoo (@threekingstattoo) in the East Village, when I was getting my latest from Alex McWatt (@alexthreekings).

Victor was totally excited to be getting, on his 72nd birthday, his first tattoo! This seemed a bit like kismet as I was getting one for my fiftieth and my first piece was inked way back on my 36th.

Victor got a tattoo representing the Golden Mean:

The Golden Mean, or the Golden Ratio, is a mathematical concept that many believe pervades all of life. From Wikipedia:

"Some twentieth-century artists and architects, including Le Corbusier and Dalí, have proportioned their works to approximate the golden ratio—especially in the form of the golden rectangle, in which the ratio of the longer side to the shorter is the golden ratio—believing this proportion to be aesthetically pleasing. The golden ratio appears in some patterns in nature, including the spiral arrangement of leaves and other plant parts."

Victor was pleased as punch, telling me afterwards, "It was a great experience and am happy with the design, It's just about healed and think it looks good. I would advise anyone wishing to get one!"

The tattoo was done by Caz Williamson at the shop.

Thanks to Victor for sharing his first tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Victor at Three Kings after getting inked at the ripe young age of 72

Tattoosday (A Tattoo Blog)