Two Incredible Thigh Tattoos

Working through our archives, I stumbled across the following two tattoos, on Lindsay, spotted at the 2018 United Ink (@united_ink) Summer Vibe Tattoo Convention on Long Island:

This woman and wolf tattoo on Lindsay's right thigh was done by Igor Puente (@theredcrownmagic), formerly of 10 Thousand Foxes Tattoo (@10thousandfoxestattoonyc) in New York City. Igor currently works out of Dark Mark Tattoo (@darkmarktattoo) in Keene, New Hampshire. 

Lindsay also had this incredible geisha tattoo on her left thigh:

This incredible work was done by Samantha Frederick (@sami_lynne) out of Depiction Tattoo Gallery (@depictiontattoos) in Arlington, Texas.

Thanks to Lindsay for sharing these awesome tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2020 Tattoosday.

If you are seeing 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.

Total Eclipse of the Art

Back on August 21, 2017, I met Michelle near Bowling Green in lower Manhattan. Everyone was out experiencing the solar eclipse, and I started talking to her about her cool tattoos.

An artist she only identified as Alex from the Bronx, was responsible for this work on her arm:

She also credited Giovanny from Rebel Ink Tattoos (@rebel_ink_tattoo) in Queens with the following work on her leg:

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

This entry is ©2019 Tattoosday.

If you are seeing 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.

Matt's Hands

I met Matt last month on the West 4th Street subway platform and stopped to talk to him (and his friend Stormy) about their tattoos. We'll look at what Stormy shared tomorrow, but today, it's all about Matt's hands:

No deep meaning here, other than the hand tattoos coming from Matt's appreciation of Japanese imagery, so the mask and geisha head seemed like good choices.

I can't speak to the details of all the knuckle work, although the dates 1956 and 1950 represent the years Matt's parents were born.

The hand tattoos were inked by Mike Nomy (@mikenomy) from South Shore Tattoo (@southshoretattooco) in Amityville, New York.

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

This entry is ©2016 Tattoosday.

If you are seeing 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.

Kayla's Geisha on Broad Street

I met Kayla on Broad Street last week and she shared this lovely tattoo:

Here's a broader perspective:

She credited this to an artist named Diego at Village Pop NYC.

Kayla explained:

"I did it in one sitting because I don’t have the patience to wait ...  I knew I wanted some sort of naked woman up here because I liked the tone of that kind of imagery and then one day … I find a photo of a woman …and  it’s basically this… she’s kneeling down in the photo … it seemed like such a strong photo with her pulling out the sword …and that caught my eye … I went to him [Diego] and was like this is what I gotta have…"

The rising sun was not part of the original image, but added to cap off the top of the tattoo. Diego added the cherry blossoms, as well. The koi fish predates the woman.

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

This entry is ©2016 Tattoosday.

If you are seeing 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.

Natasha's Geisha

Last July, I met Natasha, who shared the work on both upper arms, including this stunning geisha:

The detail in this is amazing, including the back side of the arm:

Her other arm sports a lotus blossom and a koi:

Unfortunately, I lost the name of the artist responsible for this beautiful black and gray work.

Thanks to Natasha for sharing this amazing work with us here in Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2016 Tattoosday.

If you are seeing 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.

Kelly's Cool Geisha and Fan

I met Kelly last month at the Coney Island Mermaid Parade and she shared this tattoo on her upper arm:

Kelly is "really big into Japanese art" and came up with this really cool concept, as it features a geisha holding up a fan to obscure her face, but the design of the fan - the face of a Japanese hannya mask, lines up with the geisha's face, producing a stunning artistic effect.

This was inked at a top-notch shop, Kings Avenue Tattoo in Massepequa, New York, by Matt Beckerich.

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

This entry is ©2015 Tattoosday.

If you are seeing 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.

Mark's Sleeve by SkullSugar

Yesterday, we enjoyed Maria's work by Fidel "SkullSugar" Quiñones at Lucky 13 Tattoo n Norwich, Great Britain. If you missed the post, revisit it here.

I only bring it up because, when I met Maria, she was accompanied by Mark, who had a full sleeve that was the handicraft of SkullSugar.

Check it out:

Of course you have the koi, swimming up the arm for good luck, with a phoenix on the opposite side of the forearm.

Mark noted that he works for the fire service, so the phoenix is a nod to that fiery vocation.

Mark also indicated that the green and yellow behind the carp is a subtle nod to the team colors of his favorite football club, Norwich City. "I would never put football emblems," he explained, "so I have a little bit of colour...that's the only personal bit to it."

As for the genesis of the sleeve, starting up top, Mark added, "It started off as a cover-up....I like Japanese work so I just let my artist just do his thing, really... he came up with the idea of a geisha..."

The colors of the work, speckled with the occasional cherry blossom, are really quite bright and vibrant. I don't generally like to photograph full sleeves, because it's hard to do them justice in two-dimensional venue, but I was impressed by this work enough to make an exception. I think we're able to see how nice this work is.
Thanks to Mark for sharing his tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2015 Tattoosday.

If you are seeing 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.

Repost - Six Years Ago - Ben's Amazing Backpiece

Today I decided to look back to our May 1 post from 2009. It's better to have something old than nothing at all, so enjoy this piece from the last decade:

With the Tattooed Poets Series under way last month, I was a bit remiss in posting about the "regular" tattoo encounters.

With apologies to the following volunteer, I am presenting some amazing work on a gentleman named Ben, who I spotted back on April 2 while walking through Penn Station.

Ben was wearing a short-sleeve shirt and had tattoos covering his arms. When I approached him and explained Tattoosday, he enthusiastically agreed to participate. In fact, he removed his shirt to reveal an incredible back piece:



The one problem with featuring huge tattoos like this is not getting all the details in. What follows are some of the finer points of the tattoo.

At the bottom of the back is an hourglass design, within which is, Ben said, kanji representing the word "redemption":


The piece represents that he has "only so much time to redeem himself".

The main set of Chinese text in the center of the back was loosely translated by Ben as "I have trust in no man except for the trust I save for myself":


Also of note on the back are the two kanji representing "father" (the right side) and "forgive me" (the left side). These characters are in disks on either side at the top of the back.

The back was done by an artist no longer practicing at Skin Deep Tattoo on Long Island.

Imagine busy Penn Station, a guy standing there talking to a bespectacled blogger, camera in hand, beholding a subject covered in ink. Where to even begin?

It's like taking someone to the world's largest buffet and telling them they can only fill one small plate with food.

The back as a whole was impressive, but Ben was willing to share more, and we settled on this view, with a dragon and a geisha:


Ben credits this part of his body's tapestry to an artist named Loco working out of Dharma Tattoo in Miami Springs, Florida.

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

This entry is ©2009, 2015 Tattoosday.

If you are seeing 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.

Katrina Shares a Pair of Audrey Kawasaki Designs in One Tattoo!

Earlier this month, I rode my bike in the Tour de Queens. At one point in the ride, all the riders had stopped in the hot sun as we waited for traffic. I looked at the person next to me and noticed she had an amazing tattoo on her right thigh. I introduced myself and she told me her name was Katrina. She told me a little about the tattoo and allowed me to take a picture of it:

I know, I know, the photo seems a little washed out. I shot it in bright sunlight and that was the best I could do. However, Katrina gave me her artist's info and I was able, with permission, to post the tattooist's photo from his online portfolio:

Photo Courtesy of Andy Pho

So, you can see, it's a pretty amazing tattoo.

Katrina later e-mailed me with her explanation of the piece:

"The whole piece on my thigh just basically gives me a representation of who I am and who I can be.

It took me 3 years to finally go with it. The artist who did it is Andy Pho (www.andypho.com) who at the time tattooed at Omni Ink in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. I've always admired geishas for their perseverance and aiming to be better performers. The whole presentation of them is just beautiful and broken at the same time. Their make-up covers their whole face so you can't really tell what they're thinking or how they feel. Just a piece of mystery.

I found the geisha from one of my favorite painters, Audrey Kawasaki. I absolutely love her work. I basically combined two paintings into one. The geisha (Yuuwaka) and the anatomical heart (My Dishonest Heart) are probably my two favorite ones from her. I'm very keen on detail and Andy just did a phenomenal job for someone who had only been tattooing for a year and a half at the time."

Here are the two Kawasaki paintings in question:

"Yuuwaku" 誘惑 allure

oil and graphite on wood 20"x 26"
"Hajimari"@Jonathan Levine Gallery in NY 2009 
© Audrey Kawasaki 2004 - 2013

and

My Dishonest Heart

mixed media on wood 10"x12"
'The Drawing Show' @ Thinkspace 2008
© Audrey Kawasaki 2004 - 2013

Andy Pho, the tattoo artist responsible for this great tattoo, has since left Brooklyn and Omni Ink for his own shop in Las Vegas, called Skin Design Tattoo.

Andy adds, by way of a bio:

"We are currently undergoing a major relocation to a larger studio set to open in late August. Please follow the artists there as well (the artist roster and work will be updated for the grand opening).

I am a Brooklyn native (born in Coney Island, lived in Midwood, Flatbush, Boro Park, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst, and Gravesend, before relocating to Vegas)."

For the latest on Andy and Skin Design's progress, you can follow him on Facebook here.

Thanks to Katrina for sharing her awesome Audrey Kawasaki two-in-one tattoo, and to Andy Pho, for helping us really appreciate his fine work!

This entry is ©2013 Tattoosday.

If you are seeing 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.

Natalie's Geisha Butterfly

Last month, I ran into Natalie on Seventh Avenue and 24th Street. She had several tattoos, but shared this geisha, with butterfly wings, floating on the top of her back:

She got this about six years ago in the city of Leeds from an artist named Diego.

When I asked why she got this particular tattoo, she replied, "I kind of just wanted something that was quite girly, yet strong at the same time."

Natalie is a professional photographer whose work can be seen on her website here.

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

This entry is ©2011 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.

Tommy's Geisha

Last week I met Tommy, who has six tattoos, one of which he shared with us:

He brought three or four pictures into Regino Gonzales when he was at Inkstop Tattoo and he came up with this design. Regino is now at Invisible NYC.

The line work took two and a half to three hours but he had to stop because, in Tommy's words, "I'm a bleeder". He came back after he healed for another two and a half hours of shading.

Tommy had a lot of nice protrait work and this piece seemed to just jump off of his left arm.

Regino's work has appeared previously on Tattoosday here and here.

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

Mike & Norma Share Some of Their Ink

I met Mike and Norma at a local drugstore in Brooklyn in early April and they both had amazing work they were willing to share.

Their post was preempted by the Tattooed Poets Project, so I thank them in advance for their patience.

Mike shared this enormous black panther tattoo that covered a huge section of his left calf:


Mike, who estimates he has about 15% coverage, also told me that this was a cover-up. "What did you cover?" I asked. "A dolphin with a tribal design," he replied. Norma indicated that covering that tattoo had been an excellent aesthetic choice.

Mike credits Chad Smith at Screamin Mimi Tattoo in Amarillo, Texas with this piece.

I then turned to Norma, who was gracious enough to share this incredibly beautiful geisha tattoo on her left calf:


Roxxy, an artist at Elite Tattoo Gallery in Fort Worth, Texas, free-handed the design. The Japanese characters form a haiku, the meaning of which Norma didn't have with her. Regardless, it's a stunning work of art.

Thanks to Mike and Norma for sharing a little bit of their extensive ink with us here on Tattoosday!

Benjamin's Amazing Viking-Geisha Sleeve by Tim Kern

Please join me as I extend a metaphor.

I approach inkblogging as if I were one of those guys that goes out on the beach with a metal detector.

You find a lot of interesting stuff and, every once in a while, you find treasure.

Earlier this month, I saw a man in front of Madison Square Garden walking south. I was headed in the opposite direction and, despite my general reluctance to post sleeves here (I wonder if I can even do them justice), I stopped and asked him to show me the amazing work on his right arm.

I should also preface this by acknowledging how awesome it is to randomly find work by a tattoo artist who is at the top of his game, and is a recognized talent in the tattoo community.

Benjamin, the guy I stopped, was visiting New York from Denmark to see his artist, Tim Kern at Tribulation Tattoo. He was in town to begin work on a new sleeve. Benjamin happily shared his first sleeve:


Benjamin summarized the theme of his arm by stating that life is about choices. The two extrmes are, you can take a life, as represented by the Viking warrior at the top of the shoulder:


This is juxtaposed by the geisha who is taking her own life through ritual suicide:


The detail of the blood-spattered hand holding the seppuku blade is fascinating in its stark grisliness:


The sleeve also includes stunning waterfall and pagoda elements on the inside of the arm:


I especially appreciate the beauty and shading of the pagoda:


The color and artistry of this entire sleeve are astonishing and we are honored that Benjamin consented to contributing this work to Tattoosday.

We thank him and the artist Tim Kern for their work!

Doug's Geisha

I met Doug on Penn Plaza on my birthday.

He has 14 tattoos and was, by chance headed down to Rising Dragon Tattoos in Chelsea later that day to get more work on a traditional Japanese piece by Horisei (see his work featured previously here).

The goal is to eventually cover his whole upper body with traditional Japanese tattoo art. He already has foo dogs, demons and kite masks. The favorite piece of his that I saw was this geisha:


Just stunning work!

This was done by Sam Hambrick at Fat Kat Tattoo in Keyport, New Jersey.

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

Ben's Amazing Back Piece

With the Tattooed Poets Series under way last month, I was a bit remiss in posting about the "regular" tattoo encounters.

With apologies to the following volunteer, I am presenting some amazing work on a gentleman named Ben, who I spotted back on April 2 while walking through Penn Station.

Ben was wearing a short-sleeve shirt and had tattoos covering his arms. When I approached him and explained Tattoosday, he enthusiastically agreed to participate. In fact, he removed his shirt to reveal an incredible back piece:



The one problem with featuring huge tattoos like this is not getting all the details in. What follows are some of the finer points of the tattoo.

At the bottom of the back is an hourglass design, within which is, Ben said, kanji representing the word "redemption":


The piece represents that he has "only so much time to redeem himself".

The main set of Chinese text in the center of the back was loosely translated by Ben as "I have trust in no man except for the trust I save for myself":


Also of note on the back are the two kanji representing "father" (the right side) and "forgive me" (the left side). These characters are in disks on either side at the top of the back.

The back was done by an artist no longer practicing at Skin Deep Tattoo on Long Island.

Imagine busy Penn Station, a guy standing there talking to a bespectacled blogger, camera in hand, beholding a subject covered in ink. Where to even begin?

It's like taking someone to the world's largest buffet and telling them they can only fill one small plate with food.

The back as a whole was impressive, but Ben was willing to share more, and we settled on this view, with a dragon and a geisha:


Ben credits this part of his body's tapestry to an artist named Loco working out of Dharma Tattoo in Miami Springs, Florida.

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

Tattoorism: Sean Stops by To Unveil More Amazing Work

A month ago, I posted a bit of tattoorism; Sean from New Jersey sent me photos of his left leg, an intricate Japanese-style piece, complete with koi, dragons, a lotus, and a pagoda.

Sean has been kind enough to update us here on Tattoosday with two more pieces, the first being this cool gypsy head that is tattooed on the inside of his upper left arm:


As he was in the last post, Sean is not only generous with the pictures of his tattoos, but he also has provided a thoughtful explanation of his work:

"I got the gypsy woman about two weeks after graduating from college. I really enjoy the traditional, old school style of tattoos and feel it’s important that this style does not disappear... from tattoo culture. Further, I always viewed these women as adventurers, constantly looking for a new journey. Especially, the woman who are looking off to the sides, almost as if into the distance, as opposed to those who look straight forward. I always envision them looking off to a new land, a new adventure, etc. This tattoo signifies my “journey” through life, especially significant due to just graduating college. It is a reminder to never stagnate and to constantly be striving for better things. I plan on getting a banner added underneath with the word "hope," for obvious reasons."

Sean also sent images from his right leg sleeve, to match the work on the left:



Again, in his own words:

"I had my right leg sleeve done for most aesthetic reasons. I explained [previously here]...that I love Asian style artwork, and to keep symmetry with my left leg this was done in just that style. Originally, I believed I had chosen the geisha image solely for its beauty.

However, about a week after my tattoo I realized that my family has a framed picture of a geisha hanging outside of my room that I have honestly never paid much attention to, until seeing it that day. So now, every time I see the tattoo it reminds me of my home and family (particularly, my mother for some reason). Your subconscious has a funny way of revealing itself.

Moving on, the phoenix has always been a very powerful image to me.

I love the idea of rebuilding yourself from the ashes of past selves. This was significant to me as I received that tattoo during my final years at college (the first two years I spent commuting to a community college, the last two years I spent living on campus away from home for the first time in my life). I feel that those two years living away from home was a period of immense change, where, metaphorically, past versions of myself “burned up,” with new versions arising from those ashes.

Finally, the bonsai tree kind of goes hand-in-hand with the phoenix imagery.

It was always interesting to me that in order for a bonsai to grow correctly, a have a long life, it needed to have branches/new growths pruned and trimmed, in essence losing a piece of itself. I feel this ideology also applies to human life. In order, for someone to fully mature, I feel one needs to be prepared to lose parts of oneself (whether they be thought processes, habits, etc.) in order to grow into a better-equipped and well-rounded person. The bonsai reminds me to strive for this."

I once again thank Sean for not only sharing his tattoos with us here, but for putting the effort into writing a thoughtful, detailed account of the meaning of the art gracing his skin. As with previous pieces featured, the tattoos in this post were done by Mike Schweigert at Electric Tattoo in Bradley Beach, New Jersey. Truly a talented artist that was able to so distinctly transform Sean's body into a living canvas. We here at Tattoosday offer our sincerest thanks and appreciation!