Tattoosday (A Tattoo Blog)

Thursday, January 31, 2019

A Palm Tree in Waikīkī

Back in September, I met Sarah on William Street in the Financial District and had to ask her about this tattoo, which depicts the world-famous view of Diamond Head from Waikīkī Beach in Honolulu.

Sarah told me she had gone to Bound for Glory Tattoo (@boundforglory_nyc) in Staten Island and asked the artist Dave Borjes (@daveborjes_bfg) for a palm tree. He gave her that and a whole lot more with this super cool tattoo.

Thanks to Sarah 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.

Friday, January 25, 2019

Tattoosday Walks Into a Bar: Southern Prohibition Brewing

On a trip to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, back in November, I popped into Southern Prohibition Brewing Company (@soprobrewco) for some local brews.

While enjoying the cool venue and tasty beverages, I started talking to bartender Liz about her tattoos. She was kind enough to share this one, a tribute to David Bowie (@davidbowie)

This lightning bolt is a nod to this iconic image:

If you ever find yourself in Hattiesburg, I recommend popping in to the tap room, which always has a healthy selection of locally-crafted beer.

I enjoyed a flight of the Sea Lord, the Maenad, the DDH Paradise Lost and the Betty:

Thanks to Liz and Southern Prohibition Brewing for sharing the tattoos and beer!

Sunday, January 20, 2019

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!

Wednesday, January 16, 2019

Vita Shares Some Ink from Russia!

Catching up on some old material, these tattoos are from Vita, a Russian woman from St. Petersburg, who I met on the steps of Federal Hall in September of 2017.

Vita is a huge fan of The X-Files, and showed it proudly on her arm:

She credited the work to Dasha Kudri at No Name Tattoo Shop in St. Petersburg.

The following tattoo is dedicated to Vita's parents, who used to take a specific tram to visit one another in different cities:

She added that the Maneki-neko cat below the tram was "just for fun."

Vita also revealed this lovely tattoo on her ribs:

She explained that there was a big tattoo project being done to raise money for the World Wildlife Fund, with designs contributed by numerous artists. She said people would sign up and pick their favorite design and then winners were selected. All proceeds went to the WWF. This hand, with the word "SAVE" and a muskrat on the palm was inked by Andrey Kichaty (@kichatiy).

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

Wednesday, November 28, 2018

Ryota's Neck Tattoo

At the end of last summer, in Bowling Green, I met Ryota (@steeal_by_sicks), who told me he was a fashion designer/artist visiting the U.S. from Kyoto, Japan. We had some difficulty communicating, but he shared this neck tattoo he designed, which incorporates what he called "life symbols."

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

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Joseph's Flash Hands

Back on Independence Day I posted a chest piece on Joseph (here) that I took a photo of last June on the Whitehall subway platform. I had been meaning to post Joseph's hands, as well, so here they are:

The pocket watch, swallows and bell were all tattooed by Matt Huff (@matthufftattoo) at Brooklyn Ink (@originalbrooklynink) in Bay Ridge. Joseph told me the work is based on the flash of the legendary Dan Higgs.

Thanks to Joseph for sharing his ink with us here on Tattoosday!

Monday, November 12, 2018

Getting the Work Done - Samuel's Latin Leg

Last summer, I spotted a man walking down Broad Street and I had to ask him about his tattoo, I had never quite seen words done like this before:

The tattoo reads, in Latin:

"Amen, amen

dico vobis,

nisi granum

frumenti

cadens in

terram,

mortuum

fuerit, ipsum

solum manet:

si autum

mortuum

fuerit,

multum

frustum

affert"

Samuel, who had this tattoo on his leg, translated this as "Truly, truly, I say unto you, unless a seed falls into the earth and dies, it does alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit."

This is from the Latin Vulgate, the late 4th Century translation of the gospels that became the was the Catholic Church's official text for centuries. The passage hails from the Book of John, Chapter 12, Verse 24.

Samuel said he interprets this to also mean, "Kill your desires, get the work done and you'll prosper," noting that the sentiment is "as Buddhist as it is Christian."

The font used is a customized version meant to recall Gothic lettering and told me this was inked at Spike-O-Matic Tattoo (@spikeomatictattoo) in Madison, Wisconsin.

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