Tattoosday (A Tattoo Blog): August 2015

Monday, August 31, 2015

Christina's Incredible Sideshow

A couple weeks ago, I was on the C train early in the morning, headed to Penn Station, when a woman got on with incredible tattoos.

We didn't have much time to talk, and it was rush hour, but I did pass her my card, inviting her to send me photos.

A few hours later, on Amtrak to Albany, my email pinged and I was delighted to receive an email from Christine, not only sending me pictures of the tattoo I had admired on the subway, but some work that I wouldn't have been able to appreciate in person.

First off, the tattoo on her lower leg:

This tattoo of a snake charmer was done earlier this year at Kings Avenue Tattoo on the Bowery in Manhattan. The artist was the visiting Xam the Spaniard (Instagram here), who is based out of London.

Christina's other work was also done at Kings Avenue by other amazing artists. Behold:

I'll let Christina explain:

"My most significant tattoo is probably the bearded lady from Sarah Carter (she actually went by Sarah Schor then, was living in the States at the time, and started at the Kings Ave shop just after it opened its second location on the Bowery).

I was extremely naive about tattooing (as most people generally are when they nervously walk into a shop for the first time). I think I sent a really long, meaningful letter to Kings Ave before going in. Pretty cutesy/embarrassing stuff. Anyway, the reason this tattoo is the most significant one I have is because Sarah's work made me fall in love with tattooing. I admired her as an artist so much (serious girl crush—pretty sure she thought I was insane because I couldn't even respond to her in complete sentences) (part of this, honestly, is more about the whole tattoo-on-the-ribs thing though) (and people say it all the time, but that shit is no joke).

Before seeing her portfolio and getting tattooed by her, I had no connection to tattooing. None of my friends were into it, and I think we all know how difficult it can be finding artists and just generally knowing what you're looking at if nobody is there to show you. After, I was hooked. Especially since humble yet grossly talented artists like Mike [Rubendall] and Grez also added to my first real experience in a shop and made it a positive one. Grez in particular has become one of my favorite people just generally ever. Collecting from different artists is important to me, but if every single one of my tattoos were done by him, I'd be totally fine with it.

Sarah's bearded lady was the first of many black and grey sideshow performers I have on my body. My entire right leg will be a cohesive piece in time, with different girl head performers from different artists. So far, it's Sarah, Grez, Xam, and Rose Hardy. In time, I'm hoping for Val Vargas, Chris Conn, Jack Rudy, and Tim Hendricks. We'll see how that all pans out."

Grez is responsible for the sword swallower and fire eater, which he tattooed in 2013.

Thanks to Christina for sending along her phenomenal sideshow tattoos!

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Sunday, August 23, 2015

Lana's Wedding Flowers

Last week I met Lana on the corner of Wall and Broad Streets and she shared this lovely half sleeve of her wedding flowers:

The mixture of English roses and peonies was tattooed by Kevin Cly at Stay True Tattoo in Mentor, Ohio.

Thanks to Lana for sharing her wedding flowers with us here on Tattoosday!

Friday, August 21, 2015

Adam from Cleveland Wears His City on His Sleeve

Last night I was at Yankee Stadium and saw the Cleveland Indians defeat the home team. Seems fitting that I post this tattoo that I spotted earlier in the week:

That tattoo is on Adam, who didn't mind sharing his Cleveland pride.

He got it inked at All Tattoos in Mentor, Ohio.

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

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Two from Ana

Back in June, I met Ana down by Federal Hall in lower Manhattan. She shared two tattoos, starting with this one:

Ana is from Brazil, and her English wasn't great (although much better than my Spanish and Portuguese), so she didn't say much about this, other than "I just picked her [the design] because she's a blonde like me."

She credited this to Marcelo from Marcelo from Marcelo Tattoo in Sao Paolo, Brazil.

She also had this cute pig tattoo on her neck:

"I find it cute," she told me, explaining that she drew it and Marcelo tattooed it. The words "Para Você Guardei o Amor" are translated as "I kept my love for you."

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

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Antoine and His Miyazaki-Inspired Tattoo

Yesterday we featured a tattoo on Paul-Emil, done by the artist Fusay at Addiction Tattoo in Strasbourg, France. Paul-Emil and his friends were visiting New York City and Antoine, another in the group, had work by Fusay as well:

Antoine explained this dotwork tattoo:

"This is a symbol ... from my favorite movie, and I just gave [Fusay] the symbol told him, 'you are free to do something you like with that and he came to me with that and I loved it ...[Fusay] is a specialist of dotwork."

The movie in question is Howl's Moving Castle, one of the masterworks of the Japanese animation director Hayao Myazaki.

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

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Paul-Emil and the French Panther

During the warmer months, when you can't throw a rock and not hit someone with a visible tattoo, I tend to get much more selective when finding people to interview. I'll hang out across from Federal Hall on Wall Street and wait for a cool tattoo to show up.

Generally, if I can't "read" a tattoo from a distance, I won't bother. But a few weeks back, I saw a guy with a tattoo on the back of his calf and, from a distance, I couldn't tell what it was. Up close, however, it was spectacular, and ultimately I am glad that curiosity got the better of me and I approached the group of French tourists.

Paul-Emil is the owner of this tattoo:

Paul-Emil credited this to an artist named Fusay at Addiction Tattoo in Strasbourg, France.

"The first time I saw the pic on the web," he told me, "I saw it was leopard ... some of my friends see a tiger, he [his friend Antoine] sees a panther."

We'll see Antoine's tattoo tomorrow.

Regardless of what one sees, it's a pretty cool tattoo.

Thanks to Paul-Emil for sharing his awesome tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Monday, August 17, 2015

Lauren's Floral Tattoo, with a Bluebird

At the Coney Island Mermaid Parade in June, I met Lauren, who was parading with a squadron of Roller Derby women.

She let me take this photo of her cool tattoo and promised to email me with details.

Her Roller Derby name was "Laurena Bob-it" and she credited this to Kati Vaughn from Magic Cobra Tattoo Society in Brooklyn.

I don't have any further details, but maybe one day, Lauren will find my card and email me.

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Sven and the Woman with a Bandanna

I really love the international flavor of the tattoos I have been spotting down on Wall Street this summer. I recently approached a gentleman from Germany, named Sven, after spotting a Banksy tattoo on his leg. He didn't share the Banksy, but did offer up this stunning piece on the back of his left calf:

He credited this to Fabio from Lower West Side Tattoo Studio in Karlsruhe, Germany.

Sven told me "I wanted a girl with a bandanna ... I like the difference ...nice girl, sweet girl, bad bandanna. I like the contrast ... she has wonderful eyes."

Indeed, the beautiful woman with the bandanna transforming her into an outlaw, creates a great juxtaposition and makes for a fantastic tattoo.

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

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

The Tattoo Post That Wasn't: A Parable

Regular readers of Tattoosday are privy to the successes. I’ve had people ask me, “Has anyone ever said no?” and “You actually get people to say yes?”

I quietly marked Tattoosday’s eighth anniversary a couple weeks ago and, I will crow, I consider myself an expert at interviewing people about their tattoos. I pick and choose wisely. I don’t ask everyone I see. I have a method to my madness and it has surprising results. I don’t get rejected very often and, when I do, I’m bailing out early so it doesn’t feel like TOTAL rejection.

However, I have a handful of tales to tell. I will start with a very recent encounter. My wife Melanie and I were shopping at Rite Aid. I can already tell you, by the time Melanie pointed out the guy with the guitar player on his calf, I had already dismissed two other potential subjects in the store, so I already felt that this guy, well, he was there for me to interview.

He was an older gentleman – this coming from a 48-year old, so he may have been 52, or 58, I didn’t ask. And there, on the outer side of his right calf, was a portrait of a rock guitarist.

I introduced myself, showed him a Tattoosday flyer and the gentleman gave preliminary consent for me to photograph his tattoo when he asked, “Do you know who it is?” I drew a blank. It was a cool tattoo but I figured I would ask him about it after I snapped the picture.

“Um,” I stammered. My brain was cycling through a list of guitarists.

“I tell you what,” the guy said, “If you can tell me who it is, I’ll let you take a picture. If not, no dice.”

“Is it one of the Ramones?” I asked, hoping I was right, but knowing I was wrong.

“He’s British,” the man told me, “giving me an unsolicited hint.

“Iggy Pop?” I took a stab in the dark, knowing he wasn’t British, but I couldn’t think of any British guitarists who were pre-NWOBHM (New Wave of British Heavy Metal) and it wasn’t Tommy Iommi or Jimmy Page.

I stood there like an idiot while he continued to look at the cookies he was handling before I so rudely interrupted him.

“Sorry,” he said, “Good luck.” And he turned away, having lost interest in and, in all likelihood, respect for me.

I know when a battle is lost, so I slumped my shoulders in defeat. “Can you at least tell me who it is?” I pleaded.

“Jeff Beck” he said, barely affording me a glance as I realized my mistake. “At least,” I thought, walking away, “I know who Jeff Beck is.”

Alas, dear readers, you shall not see a Jeff Beck tattoo anytime soon in these hallowed pages.

Honestly, it wasn’t that great a tattoo anyway, but you know, if I ever see that guy again, I’ll be asking why he has a Jeff Beck tattoo on his leg. Until then, I can only wonder.

Monday, August 10, 2015

Meghan's Tribute to Bosco

One of my favorite tattoos spotted at the NYC Tattoo Convention back in June was this abstract piece on the arm of Meghan:

This tattoo was done by the renowned artist Yann Black from Your Meat is Mine in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Meghan explained it is a tribute to her dog Bosco, who passed away in Mexico City. The Day of the Dead design on the canine face is a nod to the Mexican culture.

Now that Meghan's dog is tattooed symbolically on her, Bosco can accompany her when she journeys to the next life.

If you want to see more of the amazing abstract work from Yann Black, visit his website here or check out a gallery over at Inked here.

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

Saturday, August 8, 2015

Cats for Your Saturday

Here's a cat from 2010. See all of Tattoosday cat tattoos here.

Plus, Buzzfeed shares some great tattoos too, here.

Friday, August 7, 2015

Max and the 5th Element

Last month I met Max, when he was walking down Broad Street in Lower Manhattan.

I asked him about this interesting tattoo:

He told me that this, one of his nine tattoos, is an homage to the 1997 Luc Besson film The Fifth Element. "I love that movie," he explained, "It's one of my favorites."

Max credited Chase (Instagram here) at Til Death in Denver with the work.

As a fan of the film myself, I appreciated the tattoo, as well.

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

Thursday, August 6, 2015

Colorless Robins at the Mermaid Parade

I met Jodie at the Coney Island Mermaid Parade in June and she shared this fascinating and beautiful tattoo:

Jodie credited thew tattoo to Brian Mullen at Art Freek Tattoo in Rhode Island, describing it as a collaborative design effort:

"The Secret Garden was my favorite book when I was a kid. And so they're robins, even though they're not colored. And I'm a little bit obsessed with Charlie Harper who was an illustrator from the 50's and 60's and Japanese bird and flower prints, so we kinda mashed bird and flower prints from the Floating World Era .... Hiroshige ...so we kinda mashed all that up and designed it together."

I totally love tattoos that take are unusual in design and appearance and, frankly, this one is exquisite and knocks it out of the park. The simplicity of the solid line work and the beauty of the design create a phenomenal tattoo.

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

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Suzanne Rocks Iconic Tattoos (by Tommy Montoya and Chris Torres)

I met Suzanne at the NYC Tattoo Convention in June and well, when I saw her, you know I had to ask:

Yes, that is a Jimi Hendrix tattoo and, as a fan of the late great guitar maestro, I rarely turn down a chance to post one when I see one.

What's more, she credited the amazing Tommy Montoya, who tattooed this at the Wooster Street Social Club on an episode of NY Ink. More specifically, it was on the episode "Last Man Standing."
Suzanne told me, "Jimi said, 'When the Power of Love Overcomes The Love of Power, The World Will Know Peace!' "

Her other arm hosted a piece also from an NY Ink alum, Chris Torres, who actually did this piece when he was at Inborn Tattoo.

That, of course, is Janis Joplin.

Chris Torres now works out of Brooklyn Tattoo a few days a week, as well as at his own private studio. His Instagram is here.

I also snapped a shot of this piece on her back, also by Torres, of this iconic image:

That's from the cover of The Allman Brothers Band album Eat a Peach

Suzanne explained:

"The Eat a Peach for Peace Tattoo was a quote by Duane Allman who passed on years ago but, I had the pleasure to meet him when he was still playing, in Atlantic City Steel Pier Ballroom. I was all of 16yrs. old. Got to hang with him and famous roadie Reddog. What a treat! They were super friendly and gentleman from the south and unfortunately, 3 months later he was killed in a motorcycle accident. I got the Tattoo in memory of Duane, an Amazing guitar player and legend."

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

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Tom's Guardian Angel (at the NYC Tattoo Convention)

Yesterday we posted work on Stacy, who I met at the NYC Tattoo Convention in June. She shared work from both Rose Hardy and Justin Weatherholtz from Kings Avenue Tattoo. She was accompanied by Tom, who also had this work by Justin:

Tom, when asked about the tattoo, just referred to her as his guardian angel.

Thanks to Tom for sharing this stunning tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2015 Tattoosday.

Monday, August 3, 2015

Stacy Shares Some Amazing Work from Kings Avenue Tattoo (NYC Tattoo Convention)

I'm still savoring the amazing tattoos I spotted in June at the NYC Tattoo Convention, like this work on Stacy:

This amazing sleeve features work by two of the many extremely talented artists at Kings Avenue Tattoo, Rose Hardy and Justin Weatherholtz.

Rose also did this stunning unicorn on Stacy's other arm:

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