Tattoosday (A Tattoo Blog): airplanes

Showing posts with label airplanes. Show all posts

Sunday, March 12, 2017

Brandon's Tattoos

Last summer I met a gentleman named Brandon Latham at the New York Empire State Tattoo Expo (@nyempirestatetattooexpo). He had just been tattooed by J.J. Ohlinger (@jjohlinger), who was working the show.

Check it out:

Photo courtesy of Brandon Latham

Brandon, who is an artist in Greenville, South Carolina, explained:

"I wanted to draw a tattoo, so I drew an octopus and shaded it and got the look that I wanted and then I gave it to a professional [Ohlinger] to make it into a stencil, to make it a cohesive piece, we kind of collaborated on it ... the octopus is a creature that adapts to its surroundings it has three hearts, and so I kinda did that to represent my wife, my daughter and myself ... it's a creative unique character .... as soon as I thought about doing it, I saw them everywhere ... I thought about it for a long time because I'm not a very impulsive person, it took me a long time to even get a tattoo."

Ohlinger did a fine job placing the tattoo and making sure it flowed with the contour of Brandon's body. It's a great piece with solid linework and excellent detail.

Brandon also has this anatomical heart on the back of his calf, which Ohlinger also tattooed, back in 2014:

Brandon explained that "the different figures on the side[s] represent different things about [his] life." For example, the cat wearing the hat is "a Russian symbol that means even if you are born in mediocrity, you san still strive above and be an aristocrat," or, in other words, "just because you're born poor doesn't mean you have to continue to be poor, you can strive above that."

He also described the crow reading the book as a steampunk image, noting that "the crow, which is the only animal that analyzes human behavior ... has decided to take care of the children" after the kids' parents have gone off to work.

Brandon is a runner (10 half marathons and a couple of marathons), which explains the cool image of the hare with a tortoise shell on its back.

And the airplane, he explained "is a piper cub airplane, the plane that my dad used to work on, and my daughter's name is Piper."

The details in and around the heart really make this a cool combination of tattoos.

Thanks to Brandon for sharing his work with us here on Tattoosday!

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Sunday, May 8, 2016

Tattoosday in Baltimore - Steven's Tributes to His Mom (and Dad)

Last weekend I was in Baltimore and ran with the family into a Planet Aid thrift shop near my daughter's college. I met a guy named Steven who had two tributes to his parents on his arms.

Seeing as it's Mother's Day today, let's start with the tattoo for his mom:

That's for his mom, Rosemary, with a stethoscope wrapped around a red rose.

And, rather than wait until next month for Father's Day, let's see his tribute to his dad, as well:

Steven had both tattoos incorporate elements of his parents' hobbies and vocations, and was quick to point out that these are not memorial tattoos, as both his folks are alive and well.

He credited the work to Infinite Art Studio in Toledo, Ohio.

Thanks to Steven for sharing his tattoos with us here on Tattoosday and Happy Mothers Day to all!

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Nicole's Airplane Soars Across Her Back

I met Nicole at the 4th annual New York City Poetry Festival on Governor's Island last month. This bold tattoo on her upper back caught my attention:

Nicole explained how she came about this work:

"I'd always wanted this ... and I decided to get it kind of on a whim, which is why I don't remember the artist ... and when I went to the [tattoo shop] I said I wanted a 1945 plane the guy was like 'obviously you need to be a little more specific or bring me a drawing' and then his partner walked in and had just happened to pick up a book on aviation and I like found this plane in it."

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

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Two Tattoos From Jason

I met Jason in Penn Station last month and he shared two tattoos with me. First, this tiger on his forearm:

He credited this to an artist named Mike at Immortal Ink in Flemington, New Jersey.

Jason also shared this cover-up on his upper right arm:

The woman in the tattoo represents his wife, and Jason had spent time in the Navy. He likes the art for art's sake and told me, "I'm not much of a meaning guy." This was done by Adam Hays at Red Rocket Tattoo in New York City. We've featured work by Adam previously on Tattoosday here and here.

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

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Untouchable is Something to Be

John had much ink and, as often happens when I ask, a previously unseen tattoo is revealed which is just as impressive as all the other visible work.

John offered up this right upper arm piece, a pin-up straddling a bomb. It's exceptional work and I found the source material on which this is based, a concert poster for the Against Me!:

The poster is from a October 14, 2005 gig in Portland, Oregon at Loveland, with the bands The Epoxies, Smoke or Fire and The Soviettes. The designer is ~~Mark McCormick~~ Lee Zeman* who is associated with the company Mad Pakyderms.

A little more detail from the tattoo:

John said that the art, and hence the tattoo, represents to him the sentiment that "untouchable is something to be". He had this done when he moved away from home, went out on his own, and started taking care of himself.

The detail in the tattoo is incredible. His wife Liz, who was with him, made sure I took a shot of the top of the piece and captured the detail and shading in the planes:

This was inked by Chance Kenyon out of Jack Brown's Tattoo Revival in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

John was on his way back home from New York where he was spending his honeymoon with his new wife Liz. See the post below to see the tattoos John and Liz got to commemorate their union.

Thanks to John for sharing his awesome tattoo here on Tattoosday!

*I initially reported that Mark McCormick designed the poster, as it was attributed to him on the poster website, Expresso Beans. I e-mailed Mark through his company's website to tell him about the post and he wrote back:

Hey Bill!

That is AWESOME!!! Thanks so much for sharing it with us. I am Mark McCormick, but Mad Pakyderms is myself and Lee Zeman. That particular poster was created by Lee. If you could credit him accordingly that would be amazing! I'll be sure to let him know about it and direct him to your site to see it for himself. I'm actually moving to NYC myself next month. Perhaps you'll see me on the street someday and ask me about my own tattoos. HA! Awesome site, man! Thanks again! Battle on!

CHEERS!
Mark
http://www.markmccormickart.com/

I have amended the post to give proper credit to Lee Zeman. You can see more or Lee's work at www.gigposters.com here. If you've never checked out the gigposters site, do yourself a favor and go exploring. It's fun!

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