Tattoosday (A Tattoo Blog): February 2019

Thursday, February 21, 2019

Nick's Memorial for a Lost Friend

I met Nick, a tattoo artist from Virginia, on a warm fall day back in 2017. He shared this poem on his torso:

Nick explained:

"This is a memorial piece for somebody who I loved very greatly in my life. I don't usually talk to a lot of people about it. Even my closest friends don't know who this is for. We had a really long deep friendship and then at one point it was a mistake that was made and we never really got to fix it up and then she moved away and then she overdosed in North Carolina and I mean I didn't get this tattoo for like six years afterwards because I couldn't deal with it but it helps."

He composed the poem and the bird represents the albatross from Samuel Taylor Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

Thanks to Nick for sharing this with us here on Tattoosday!

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Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Swim When It Hurts

I met Marcy on a subway platform in lower Manhattan back in September 2017. She had a lot of work on her arm and indulged me as I took quite a few photos.

This building is part of the Oceanic Hotel on Star Island in Isle of Shoals, New Hampshire, where she used to vacation when she was younger.

Below this image is the phrase "swim when it hurts," which reminds Marcy about overcoming things that are difficult:

These tattoos, part of a whole nautical sleeve, help her "center herself."

This Cape Cod-style lighthouse helps her find her way in life.

Marcy credited her work to Becca Genné-Bacon, who tattooed her when she was at Hand of Glory Tattoo (@handofglorytattoo)in Brooklyn. Becca has since moved on to Kings Avenue Tattoo (@kingsavetattoo) in Manhattan. I love Becca's work, and follow her on Instagram at @beccagennebacon.

Thanks to Marcy for sharing her awesome work with us here on Tattoosday!

Monday, February 18, 2019

Blakely's Verse

Back in the summer, I met Blakely on Wall Street and asked if I could snap a photo of her tattoo.

Initially, I just saw words, and then realized it was a Biblical verse. I'm not Christian, but I appreciate the overall sentiment and Blakely's commitment to filling an entire forearm with words:

The verse is "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God, And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

The citation is Philippians 4: 6-7, New International Version.

Blakely told me it is her favorite verse, as she suffers from anxiety, and this passage helps her cope with it.

There's an article in Huffington Post here about this specific verse and its meaningfulness in today's world.

She did not remember the name of the artist who did the work, but did note it was inked at Rose Tattoo Parlour (@rosetattooparlour) in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Thanks to Blakely for sharing her verse with us here on Tattoosday!

Saturday, February 16, 2019

The Sleeves of Annie and Griffin

Back in September, I met a couple, Annie and Griffin, walking in lower Manhattan. They were fully-sleeved and, although I don't often feature sleeves because they are hard to truly capture in a two-dimension setting, their work was remarkable.

First up is Annie, whose work was done by Kahlil Rintye (@kahlilrintye) at Ed Hardy's Tattoo City (@tattoo_city) in San Francisco.

Annie told me she has a Japanese aesthetic and that she just told Kahlil what she wanted and he designed it:

That rooster and colorful sleeve are really quite beautiful!

Annie's travelling companion Griffin, on the other hand, had a sleeve in black and gray, inspired by the work of HR Giger (@giger_art).

He referred to the figure above as his guardian angel.

Griffin's work was by Dustin Burt (@dustinburtart) at Sugar City Tattoo (@sugarcitytattoo) in Crockett, California.

Thanks to Annie and Griffin for sharing their sleeves with us here on Tattoosday!

Friday, February 8, 2019

Ona's Heron

This past summer, I met Ona near my office on Exchange Place in lower Manhattan. I spotted this bird on her leg and had to ask her about it.

Ona explained to me that this is a heron:

She credited the work to an artist named Darren "Hubba Hubba" Floughton (@weirdartofhubbahubba), from the venerable Seattle Tattoo Emporium (@seattletattooemporium). Hubba Hubba has been tattooing at the shop since 1990, which has been open since 1941!

I know this tattoo is a little worn, but Ona got it back in December 1993, so I'd say it has held up pretty well!

She explained that she had been thinking of getting a sad fairy from the Big Book of Fairies, but the night before she was supposed to get the tattoo, she found this heron in a volume that she picked up at Tower Books.

Thanks to Ona for sharing her cool heron tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

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