Tattoosday (A Tattoo Blog): Nautical

Showing posts with label Nautical. Show all posts

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!

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Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Haydn and Steve from the Ink Room in England

At the end of November, I was walking by Bowling Green in lower Manhattan, when I chanced upon two gentlemen sightseeing. I noticed they were significantly tattooed and introduced myself. Their names were Haydn and Steve, and they were visiting from Great Britain. Turns out Steve is an artist who owns The Ink Room Tattoo Studio (@theinkroomtattoostudio) in Wickham Market, which is northeast of London near the coast of the North Sea.

We had a long chat and Steve was happy to have Haydn show off some of his handiwork. Haydn was a very good sport about it, especially when it came to dropping his trousers to show off this lovely portrait Steve did on his friend's thigh. This is Haydn's daughter Codi:

Haydn also sported this Buddha piece that Steve did on his forearm:

And Haydn also obliged by removing his shoes and socks to share this really cool nautical tattoo that utilized both limbs for an awesome effect:

It's not easy to match up an anchor like that!

It was great meeting the two guys and Haydn obliged us with a photo to commemorate the occasion,
which Steve later posted on his Instagram (@theinkroomtattoostudio):

Thanks to Haydn and Steve for sharing their tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Tuesday, September 5, 2017

Two Seaworthy Tattoos for Tuesday

Last week on Broad Street in lower Manhattan, I met Barbara and Natalia, two tourists from Brazil, sporting a couple of awesome tattoos.

It was Barbara's mermaid tattoo that first caught my eye:

Barbara told me she likes mermaids, the sea, and the old-school style of tattooing. She credited the work to an artist named Nahu (@nahu.nah) at Casamata Tattoo in Florianópolis, the capital of Santa Catarina, in Brazil.

Barbara's friend Natalia, also shared an awesome tattoo:

Natalia works on a cruise ship and she told me she loves lighthouses and the sea. This was also tattooed at Casamata, but by a different artist named Otto.

Thanks to Barbara and Natalia for kindly sharing their cool nautical tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Brewsday Tuesday on Tattoosday - Ninkasi Edition

We're launching a new feature here on Tattoosday - "Brewsday Tuesday"!

From time to time, we'll be checking out the tattoos of someone at a brewery and talking about their product. Beer and tattoos are two of my favorite things, and I'm happy to celebrate them together!

Our first partner in the series is Ninkasi Brewing Company (@ninkasibrewing) in Eugene, Oregon.

Meet Nick Yarger, Creative Director at Ninkasi:

Photo by Rob Sydor

After seeing this photo, I was eager to talk to Nick and had the opportunity to have a little chat with him about his tattoos, as well as his role in Ninkasi. Not to mention the glass of Ninkasi's Helles Belles he's enjoying in the photo.

First of all, let's look at the black and grey tattoo on Nick's upper arm:

Nick explained that this piece depicts "a ship going out to sea, and there's a kraken grabbing at it as it goes out to a stormy sea ... but it's also an image of a skull, so when you stand back, the back of the ship is its teeth and the eyes are the sails and the storm in the background is the back of the skulls's head."

Nick added that it was inspired by original art by Phil Roberts. Roberts is a well-known surf artist that Nick had the pleasure of working with in Southern California. Here is the Roberts piece that inspired the tattoo:

The tattoo was translated from Roberts' concept to Nick's skin by Tim Mcalary (@tim_mcportcity) at Gold Rush Tattoo (@goldrushtattoo) in Costa Mesa, California. Tim currently works out of Port City Tattoo in Costa Mesa.

When I asked Nick if he saw a relationship between tattoos and what he does for Ninkasi, he responded:

"Oh, absolutely. Some of the brands embody that tattoo feel. If you look at our Helles Belles, that one is specifically geared toward that culture, that tattoo style. That one is more my style than any of our other brands...

If you look at [the label] it's got the traditional sparrows in it, the lettering, all the elements are taken from traditional tattoo style."

Now, let's talk about the beer.

In the photo above, Nick's holding a Helles Belles, a truly magnificent lager, and he acknowledged in our conversation that this particular brew is the favorite Ninkasi crafts. Before compiling this post, I was mostly familiar with the brewery's stronger and darker brews (Vanilla Oatis, Tricerahops, and Total Domination) but, after talking to Nick, I sought out, and found, a few bottles of Helles Belles to enjoy, and enjoy them I did.

Over the years I have tended to drift to the dark side, dismissing lagers because I prefer bolder and thicker brews. Of course, when you have a good, well-crafted lager, that viewpoint shifts, and I was really blown away by how flavorful Helles Belles is. Crisp, light, yet deeply delicious, I was reminded how tasty lagers can be when they're just done right.

As part of this inaugural Brewsday Tuesday post, Ninkasi has generously offered to give away a Helles Belles t-shirt (like the one Nick is wearing in the photo above) to one lucky Tattoosday reader. All you have to do to win, is "like" this post on social media, or post a comment below. We will randomly select a winner in a week and announce it on Tattoosday.

Thanks to Nick Yarger at Ninkasi for being our inaugural tattooed Brewsday subject, as well as to Ali AAsum, Ninkasi's Communications Director. They really were a joy to work with and made this post a lot of fun to compile!

You can check out all Ninkasi has to offer at their website here: www.NinkasiBrewing.com.

Saturday, July 18, 2015

A Mermaid's Thigh

I spotted this nautical tattoo last month at the Coney Island Mermaid Parade:

This belongs to a woman named Danielle who credited Dave Kotinsley at Anthem Tattoo in Gainesville, Florida.

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

Saturday, January 3, 2015

Repost: Lizz's Tattoo Anchors Her to Her Brother

Something about this post from 2009 jumped out at me, so I thought I'd re-run it today.

~ ~ ~

One of the things that I love most about writing Tattoosday is the way New York City plays a significant role in the narrative. It may not be a blog about New York, but it would be a much different one without this city I call my home.

This is one of those posts that is tied to the fabric of New York.

This evening, I was taking advantage of a free ticket to see a revival of Guys and Dolls at the Nederlander Theater, which is still in preview and opens March 1st.

I was standing in line outside, about twenty minutes before curtains. The theater, on the south side of West 41st Street, faces the back of the New Amsterdam Theater to the north.

There were assorted people milling about across the street, folks I assumed were crew from Mary Poppins, outside having their last cigarettes before their show started.

I spotted a woman who had exited the theater and saw, from across the street, that she had a tattoo on her right forearm. I was doing nothing but standing in line anyway, so I crossed over 41st Street to say hello.

Lizz, who works as a dresser, was more than happy to share her tattoo:

What's remarkable about this traditional-style anchor tattoo is that she had it done at the same time, on the same spot, and with the same design as her younger brother.

For Lizz, this was her most recent, her nineteenth tattoo. For her brother, five years her junior, it was his first.

The piece is based on the state flag of Rhode Island, where Lizz grew up:

Tattoos in general have significant meaning for their bearers. When the same design in shared, and the act of being tattooed is similarly experienced, the emotional charge instilled in the work is compounded.

Another example of siblings sharing a tattoo can be seen here.

Lizz told me that she doesn't rely on one artist, but that her ink has come from different shops all over the country.

This tattoo was created at Cherry Bomb Tattoo (now known as East River Tattoo) in Brooklyn by the artist Duke Riley. Work from Cherry Bomb has appeared here previously.

Thanks so much to Lizz for sharing her ink with us here on Tattoosday!

Thursday, January 1, 2015

A Light for the New Year

It has been a quiet fall, but we're gearing things up in the new year by sharing leftover work spotted in 2015.

First up is this piece I spotted on 4th Avenue in Brooklyn:

This tattoo is on the right thigh of Danielle, who I met back in August in Bay Ridge.

This is a traditional- style piece with a nautical theme. The lighthouse is actually a candle, with a storm approaching - dark clouds and lightning approach. The piece is bordered in rope with a cherry blossom at the bottom. A paper boat floats on the blue sea.

In Danielle's words:

"Basically, it's the light that never goes out. You got the rain, the candle and the candle's still going pretty strong - that's guiding the paper boat."

Danielle credited Matt Huff at Brooklyn Ink with this work. Most of her tattoos were done by Matt and the other artists at Brooklyn Ink.

Matt had a piece featured over the summer, here, an awesome George Carlin tattoo.

Click through the tag for Brooklyn Ink below to see all the work we've featured previously on the site.

Thanks to Danielle for sharing this cool tattoo with us here on Tattoosday.

Happy New Year to all!

Monday, June 30, 2014

Three from Christina at the NYC Urban Tattoo Convention

This past weekend at the NYC Urban Tattoo Convention, I met Christina, who has all of her work done by a Phoenix-based artist named Mike Claypool.

She had traveled from Arizona with him and shared some of her work with me. First, this piece on her stomach:

I like this classic-style piece with the nautical elements, with the anchor, compass rose and ship's wheel. The diamond, heart and wings are a nice touch too.

Then she shared this rose on her knee:

And finally, I snapped a quick pic of this circus elephant, still shiny as it had been inked the day before:

To really appreciate Mike Claypool's work, follow him on Instagram @ClaypoolTattoos.

Thanks to Christina for sharing her tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Friday, May 17, 2013

Dave Shares A Davy Jones Tattoo

I met Dave recently in a department store at the Manhattan Mall. His forearm tattoo jumped out at me and I just had to ask about it:

"I'm going with a nautical theme on my arm," he explained, and this depiction of the fictional sea captain Davy Jones anchors what is sure to be an awesome sleeve of the high seas.

This excellent work was done by Steve Woisin at Studio 520 in Oakdale, New York, out on Long Island.
We have previously featured this amazing work by Steve three years ago on the site.

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

Sunday, September 21, 2008

A Series of Nautical Stars Guide Me to an Amazing Tattoo

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:

The brilliant piece was inked by Charles "Chuck" Denise at Revolver Tattoo in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Carrie told me he was voted one of the top 10 tattooists in the country. The stars were done at Philadelphia Eddie's Tattoo Haven by Topper in Philadelphia.

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.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Erik's Captain's Wheel

I ran into Erik at the laundromat and snapped this shot of one of his many tattoos. It is located on the inner part of his right bicep.

Erik explained that his grandfather and many of his uncles had been ship captains and this was a way to honor them with something significant from their family history. It also is a nod to Erik's love of pirates. You may recall, this is two weeks in a row I've snapped pirate-themed tattoos in the laundromat. The previous post is here.

This tattoo was done by none other than Joe at Brooklyn Ink. Previous Brooklyn Ink tattoos can be viewed here.

Thanks to Erik for sharing his cool tattoo here at Tattoosday!

Tattoosday (A Tattoo Blog)