Karen Dreams Big With This Cool Tattoo

One of my favorite tattoos from last weekend's 2019 Empire State Tattoo Expo (@nyempirestatetattooexpo) wasn't done at the show, but merely spotted there. I posted it on Instagram last Saturday, but because of the size, I couldn't really share it in all its glory.

This tattoo, shared by Karen, is just super fun!

The words "Dream Big" appear in the clouds as this magical cat, be-winged and sporting a horn like a unicorn, travels through rainbows and space. So fun!

This remarkable piece was done by Erica Flannes (@ericaflannes) from Red Rocket Tattoo (@redrockettattoo) in Manhattan.

Thanks to Karen for sharing this awesome tattoo with us 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.

Repost: Blaise's Sugar Skulll

I wanted to post something appropriate for this, the last day of June, as several million people are anticipated to be celebrating Pride in Manhattan.

This tattoo was spotted back in 2012, and was done by our "family" artist, Alex McWatt (@alexthreekings) , out of Three Kings Tattoo (@threekingstattoo) in Manhattan.

Behold:

I met Blaise on a sunny spring day [in 2012] near the corner of 8th Avenue and 33rd Street.

He has a lot of ink, the majority of which was tattooed by Alex McWatt of Three Kings Tattoo in Brooklyn.

Blaise pointed out the sugar skull in the center of his arm:

This is a sugar skull with a twist - note the rainbow spilling forth from the jaw and, in case you can't tell from the photo, that's a shark riding the rainbow wave.

Blaise singled this out because the tattoo was conceived in partnership with his little sister. It refers to a project they had done together.

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

This entry is ©2012, 2019 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.

Three for Tattoosday - A Trio of Teachers Share Their Ink

Last summer, I was biding my time near work, at the corner of Wall Street and Broad, when a group of tattooed people walked past. Like many of the visitors to that section of the city, they were travelers from elsewhere. I learned that these three friends were also educators, enjoying their summer with a trip to NYC.

All three of them were open and friendly, allowing me to take photos of their tattoos and to get the stories behind them.

The first person I spoke to was Amie, who shared this Wizard of Oz tattoo from her upper right arm:

It's a really cool Emerald City image, encompassed in a snow globe, with a flying witch, a yellow brick road and a rainbow. Dorothy's ruby slippers are poised in front of the snow globe.

Amie credited the work to "Little" Jen Small from 510 Expert Tattoo in Charlotte, North Carolina. "I'd been wanting something Wizard of Oz because it's my all-time favorite movie," Amie told me, "and I mentioned it to her [the artist] and she ran with the idea and did exactly what I was hoping for."

This piece, so colorful, was only two weeks old at the time, so it still had that fresh tattoo sheen.

Next up was Chad, who shared this tattoo "in the ditch" for me to see:

Chad explained, "My tattoo was done by Nate Hudak at Flying Tiger Tattoo in Norwood, Ohio." Norwood is an enclave of Cincinnati. He added, "It's an all-seeing eye ... I'm ... into traditional tattooing and I like the idea of a higher being seeing over, you know, everything."

And last up was Tom, a retired school teacher who shared this exploding apple:

He summed it up succinctly in telling me, "I had mine done by Tommy Partin at Aces High [in Mt. Orab, just east of Cincinnati, Ohio] and mine was just a way to represent being done with teaching."

Thanks to Amie, Chad and Tom, this trio of friends, who were all so generous in sharing their ink 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.

All Aboard! Susan's Train Tattoo Honors Her Son

I ran into Susan, walking south on 3rd Avenue last Saturday. She sports nine tattoos in all, but the one that jumps out at you is the piece above on her lower left calf.

I have yet to master the art of photographing a wrap-around piece, so bear with this one (although I think I did ok).

First the story behind the ink. Susan is a proud parent and, like most parents, her body art reflects her love of her child. She has been getting tattooed since her son was 3 (now he's 10) and he has even collaborated on designing some of her work.

If memory serves, her son's name is Nicholas, which explains the "N" on the locomotive.


He is a HUGE fan of trains, to the extent that he knows subway lines and is adept at giving directions and the MTA routes. Thus, the central element of the piece.

In front of the train is a railroad crossing signpost


and at the back is the caboose,

complete with hearts and a Pac-Man symbol to reflect her son's love of video games.

His love of rainbows, as well, is reflected by the multi-colored arc over the train. The piece is completed by the rising sun (a play on "son").


The end result is a vibrant, wonderful piece of body art which is poignant and visually-appealing.

This tattoo, along with all her other work, was inked be Peter Cavorsi at Body Art Studios in Bay Ridge. Peter inked my guitar-cherub (at the bottom of the page) and has appeared on Tattoosday many times before (click here to see the various pieces).

Thanks to Susan for bringing some colorful maternal ink to us here at Tattoosday!