I was walking past the booths and stopped dead in my tracks. The tattoo Jayne was getting was still in progress, but we chatted and she sent me a photo of the finished product after the weekend was over.
This is the tattoo:
Inspired by the grace, wit and grit of Lady Olenna Tyrell, I wanted a portrait of her for several years. I entrusted my vision to Francisco Sanchez (@franciscosanchez_tattoo), co-owner of Dark Age Studio (@darkagetattoostudio) in Denton, Texas, to design and ink the tattoo. The result, detailed black and gray with the pop of deep red, captures the badass Tyrell matriarch, always ready to share a glass of wine.
This is the tattoo in progress, when I first happened to meet Jayne:
Jayne also noted:
"The wine glass is straight. Just had my arm bent. Drives me crazy bc it looks like it's jacked and Frank did such a great job, I hate there to be any concerns with his work."
Thanks to Jayne for sharing her awesome tattoo with us here on 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.
My friend Matt moved to Baltimore a couple years ago and shared this tattoo with me after he got it last summer:
This piece recalls the stack of signs that was often seen in episodes of the TV series M*A*S*H.
Matt wanted to pay homage to the show - not only was it a staple for a lot of us growing up, but it was one of those shows that aired in reruns constantly, back before streaming and binge-watching television was a thing. Without going into too much detail, Matt was laid up for a spell in the early 2000s M*A*S*H helped him through a difficult time - it was "all I ever watched on TV" then, he told me.
He credited the artist Rudy, from Skull N Bones Tattoo, in Toledo, Ohio, with the work. He loves what he did with shading. The Boston sign from the original has been removed and replaced with Matt's new home, Baltimore.
Thanks to Matt for sharing this cool tattoo with us here on 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.
The second day of the 2013 New York City Tattoo Convention flew by in a blur of images, fueled by the unlimited supply of free Rockstar energy drinks.
So Many Energy Drinks, So Little Time
What follows are some of the highlights, for me.
Hanging out at the Sacred Tattoo booth, I chatted at great length with Adam France, who tattoos out of Red Tree Tattoo Gallery in Columbus, Ohio. Adam was tattooing earlier in the week out of Sacred, in a guest spot, and was soaking in the atmosphere of the show. Aside from appearing in a recent episode of America's Worst Tattoos (in which he covers up something bad with something amazing), Adam is part of the organization that hosts the Hell City Tattoo Convention.
Here is the cover-up that Adam completed on the Worst Tattoos show:
Adam is a third-generation tattooer, whose father and grandfather also worked in the business, albeit in much different times.
As a disagreement between some a couple of female convention-goers broke out nearby, we laughed at the 21st century novelty of everyone's instinct not to intervene, but to document, as camera phones popped up like prairie dogs in the vicinity, trying to capture a whole lot of nothing, while convention security quickly diffused the situation.
Such activity was very minimal and high spirits abounded.
One of the first booths you see when you come in to Roseland is that of Brent McCown, of New Zealand.
He always has a crowd about, watching him tattoo in a traditional tapping style:
Close up, it's amazing to see...
Before the tattoo judging was held, there was a lot of activity up on stage, which included a lot of sideshow activities, like a woman dancing with a large albino boa snake
and this young lady, who had the crowd transfixed:
In case you couldn't tell, this performer is suspended and swing from hooks in her thighs and back. Ouch!
What is so often lost in these events, is that you can really invest time in watching talented artists at work. Of course, in the real world, tattooists don't have the luxury of editors to abbreviate their performances for the viewing audience. So, it is great to come back and see your own time-lapse version of a tattoo's transformation over the course of a day or, is some cases, years.
Take, for example, one of my favorite highlights from last year's convention - watching New York City's own "Bad News Becca" Roach at work on her client Kate. This was Becca in action last year:
I got a chance to say hi to Becca and then got a hug from Kate when we ran into each other later on. Kate has a back tattoo that was featured here last year on Tattoosday.
Yesterday, Becca had moved to filling in the top of Kate's back:
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Can't wait to see the final product! Bad News Becca tattoos out of North Star Tattoo in Manhattan.
Of course, one of the things I love to do is to interview people about their work, and there will be no shortage of convention profiles in the week to come. I captured a lovely back piece by Dutch artist Leslie Reesen, who works out of Mad Science Tattoo in The Hague, Netherlands, and was honored to interview a collector of body art by the mind-blowing Bugs, out of Los Angeles. Here's a taste:
I'll end on that stunning note and remind everyone that today is the final day of the NYC Convention, and Roseland is open from 12 Noon to 8 PM. It's a rainy day here in the Big Apple, so what better way to spend it than heading indoors and seeing some amazing tattoo work!
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 visithttp://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.
If you're new to Tattoosday, you may not know that I was a "human canvas" on the second episode of Ink Master's first season, which aired earlier this year in January.
I know there's a lot of hand-wringing about "reality" tattoo shows, but my position is this: if there's a chance to see quality tattoo work on TV, I'll watch it, even putting up with the drama, real or not.
Like in the first season, there are some artist competing who I've never heard of. But there are also those whose work I have been fortunate enough to feature here on the site.
Most notable is Lalo Yunda of Sacred Tattoo. Lalo's work has appeared on Tattoosday the most, which makes sense since he is a New York-based artist. His work appeared most recently here and here.
There'a also Katherine "Tatu Baby" Flores, whose nickname has raised eyebrows among more serious tattoo enthusiasts. I do know know that when I featured one of her pieces late last year here, I was impressed.
Since last year's winner, Shane O'Neill, had also appeared on Tattoosday here and here, I'll go out on a limb and predict that Lalo Yunda will be this season's winner. Call it the Tattoosday blessing!
Be sure to check it out (or at least DVR it) and remember, if you're looking for the episode I was in, it was called "Botched Head Tattoo".
If you are reading 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 visithttp://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.
On a Saturday back in March, I was passing through Penn Station when I spotted Jesse, who had quite a few tattoos. He shared this great Pee-wee Herman tattoo on his foot:
Why did Jesse get Pee-wee inked on his foot? He explained, "When I was growing up, the only good thing that was happening in my childhood was watching his TV show [Pee-wee's Playhouse] ... so I felt like I owed it to him".
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 visithttp://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.
We still have a handful of posts from 2011, including this one, which features a sleeve from a guy named Dmitry who I met in Penn Station back in July. Take a look:
This sleeve is a collaborative effort with Dmitry and his tattoo artist, Gene Coffey, from Tattoo Culture in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
He explained that he has spent a long time working on it, and that it is based on a animated series called Invader Zim, which was created by Jhonen Vasquez and originally aired in 2001.
Dmitry told me "I've always been a big fan of [the show] and I've always loved the artwork." He brought Gene "a few pictures from the show and we put together the piece".
The sleeve starts on the upper arm, featuring Zim at the very top,
The bottom section of the sleeve features other characters from the show, as well.
The back of the lower section of the arm has this illustration:
There's a whole catalog of the characters from the show listed here. I'd venture to try and identify every one seen in Dmitry's canvas, but I would most likely misname one or two. He told me the show has achieved a kind of cult following so, if any fans would like to add comments below, feel free to do so.
Thanks to Dmitry for sharing his fantastic tattoo sleeve with us here on 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.
Regular readers of Tattoosday may recall this post, last July, when I mentioned that a production company was looking for volunteers to get tattoos on a new reality tattoo competition series.
That was six months ago and the first installment of that project, Ink Master, is scheduled to debut tonight on Spike TV, at 10:00 PM (and 11:00) EST.
I strongly encourage people to watch, as I’ve seen the line-up of artists competing, and know for a fact that they are a talented crew.
Unlike New York Ink, which seems to have evolved very quickly into a faux-drama in a tattoo shop that just happens to have great tattooers, the focus of this show is about creating body art in a reality-competition setting.
That’s not to say there won’t be interpersonal conflicts - even shows like Master Chef and Project Runway have their share of drama. But, I am optimistic that this series will not disappoint.
And here’s a bit of a tease ..... I know with 100% certainty that at least three of the volunteers on a couple of the episodes have appeared previously as subjects on Tattoosday. I’m looking forward to not only seeing who wins each week, but as USA Today put it, “who on earth decides to get inked as part of a reality competition?”
This won’t be the last you hear about Ink Master on Tattoosday. Trust me.
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.
Considering that some of the best tattoos I have seen over the years (check some of them out here), the following casting call would seem to me certainly compelling for anyone looking to cover up an old, unwanted tattoo:
Spike TV - Open Casting Call For Tattoo Competition Reality Series!
Are you sick of your faded, old tattoo and ready to cover it up with something brand new?
If so...try Spike TV!
Our new tattoo show, “InkMaster," is looking for people who want to be a human canvas for the top-notch artists competing on our show...and we NEED PEOPLE WHO WANT COVER UPS!
We are bringing together some of the BEST tattoo artists in the game for “InkMaster,” and we’re looking for people who want to be their next canvas! If you’re 23+, in the tri-state area (New York/New Jersey/Connecticut), email us at inkcastingNYC@gmail.com with a description and a recent photo of yourself, along with an idea of the tattoo you want and why. You must be a New York area local, as interviews and filming will take place July & August in the NYC area.
“InkMaster” is produced by Original Media, the production company behind “LA Ink,” “NY Ink,” “Miami Ink.”
~ ~ ~ ~
I say, what have you got to lose? The concept of the show is certainly intriguing and, if you're unhappy with that old tattoo, why not try and improve it?
So winter makes me consider desperate measures. As I've trickled down to two or three posts a week (believe me, it hurts me more than it hurts you), I've occasionally toyed with the idea of reporting on other things in the tattoo community, other than the Bill-o-centric encounters I have in the City That Never Sleeps. I've even gone so far as to write a few posts and then never published them. The reality is, however, I am facing a scarcity of inkspotting occurrences, and I'm just going with the flow.
So, here we go.....
I recently got an email from someone representing a Guide to Art Schools website, listing Tattoosday among the top 45 tattoo blogs. Considering how specific the site is, I'm honored to be included, especially among some of my favorite tattoo cyber-destinations. You check out the list here: http://www.guidetoartschools.com/library/best-tattoo-blogs.
And since we're throwing around the work "Best, " I received word about a new tattoo reality show currently in production for the Oxygen Network. Its working title is "Best Ink" and it sounds rather compelling. Check it out:
Capturing the drama and culture of the tattoo scene, "Best Ink"(WT) will feature approximately 12 top tattoo artists as they compete for a cash prize and bragging rights. These unique artists will produce bona fide masterpieces on skin -- something rarely seen in the competition world. The permanent artwork will be created for -- and on -- real people in a variety of challenges to showcase the artists' talents. Only one artist will win the ultimate prize of BEST INK(WT)
And, finally, in a creepy news story, but one that certainly nipped at my curiosity, the artists at Sacred Art Tattoo Studio in Tucson are getting some publicity, as they had the dubious distinction of tattooing Jared Loughner last fall. Not to feed into the media frenzy surrounding this guy, but I was curious, so I just had to look into it. Read all about it here.
So what do you think? Should Tattoosday Newsday becoming a regular feature? Feel free to comment below.
Earlier this summer, I posted a couple of tattoos from Joe, seen here.
Needless to say, Joe became a fan, and updated me with a new tattoo, below:
Joe explains:
"The picture is fresh from the artist finishing it. It is "C077X" and is a nod to James Franco and General Hospital. He is my fav actor and I have been watching General Hospital for at least 21 years. It is the the tag that "Franco" sprayed on everything when he recently guest starred on GH as an artist/serial killer. His character's name is Franco, reflecting that art imitates life. A motto the actor and character believe, and so do I. That is why I got the tattoo. To prove art imitates life!"
Photo Credit: ABC via http://sn.soapnet.go.com
The tattoo was inked by Rob at Brooklyn Ink. Rob originally appeared here as a contributor here. And is one of several artists that has represented Brooklyn Ink over the years on Tattoosday. This label links all of the work from the shop previously seen on Tattoosday.
Thanks to Joe for sharing his new tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!
