Tattoosday (A Tattoo Blog)

Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Marius Shares a Sugar Skull from Germany

I met Marius, a tourist from Germany, outside of Federal Hall, after spotting his tattoo:

He told me that this tattoo is five years old, and the colors are still bright and vibrant, so he is very happy with it. It is a very interesting and creative take on a sugar skull.

He credited the work to Hennes Wasserme (@HennesTrueLove), an artist at True Love Tattoo (@TrueLoveTattooDuesseldorf) in Düsseldorf, Germany.

Marius told me he likes Hennes' work because he does "good, old-fashioned tattoos," as opposed to the newer art brut style of tattoo that many European artists have embraced.

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

Correction: An earlier version of this post credited the work to Olaf Lobe (@OlafTrueLove). It has been updated to reflect Hennes Wasserme as the artist.

This entry is ©2017 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.

Monday, May 29, 2017

Reposting Mike's Marine in Honor of Memorial Day

The following post is from 2009. I reposted it in 2013 and, here we are, four years later, so it seems appropriate to post yet again. This was originally shared to commemorate Memorial Day, and seems well worth sharing again:

It only seemed fitting that, on this Memorial Day, we feature a tattoo that honors our men and women in uniform.

A week ago, I was fresh off of my experience at the New York City Tattoo Convention, and everything I saw on the street was uninteresting. Until I passed by Mike and did a double-take.

This is the tattoo on Mike's inner right forearm:

Mike explained that, as a United States Marine, he was choosing to honor the corps by building a sleeve of iconic military photographs.

If you think this is an impressive tattoo (which it is), seeing the source material further magnifies how phenomenal a replica the artist has created on Mike's flesh:

A page on About.com explains this image further:

"While units of the U.S. Far East Air Forces Combat Cargo Command made an all-out effort to aid embattled units of the First Marine Division and Seventh Infantry Division, the men fighting in Korea were trying desperately to link up in their battle for survival. This marine is shown just as he reached the crest of the ridge at the link-up point. Wet, stinging snow and ice made the operation the most difficult sort, as unleashed hordes of communist troops charge again and again into the United Nations forces. (circa December 1950) "

In addition to this tattoo, Mike has a Vietnam-era photo of a Marine sniper inked on his right biceps.

This astonishing tattoo was created by Randy Prause at Permanent Buzz Tattoo, in Denville, New Jersey.

A hearty thanks to Mike for sharing this tattoo with us here on Memorial Day. More importantly, Tattoosday expresses even more gratitude to Mike and all his fellow soldiers and who have so bravely served our country to ensure the freedoms we enjoy each day.

Have a safe and pleasant Memorial Day!

Thursday, May 25, 2017

Kris and Her Lovely Leg Tattoos

I met Kris last week while walking on Broadway in lower Manhattan. She had two great tattoos on her legs that she was kind enough to share:

This cool gypsy tattoo represents luck and was inked by Eddie Peralta (@angryeddie) at Powerhouse Tattoo (@powerhousetattoo) in Montclair, New Jersey.

On her right leg, Kris has this beautiful flapper:

"I love the Twenties," Kris explained, adding that this was done by Anna Waychoff (@annawaychoff), also from Powerhouse Tattoo.

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

Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Brewsday Tuesday: Left Hand Edition

Last summer we launched our Brewsday Tuesday on Tattoosday feature, and we're back with more great tattoos and beer (and a super prize giveaway) from the good folks at Left Hand Brewing (@lefthandbrewing) in Colorado!

Left Hand was founded in 1993 in Longmont, about 30 miles outside of Denver, and they have been an award-winning brewery ever since, racking up medals and awards and, most importantly, producing great beer.

I recently had a chat with Ryan Call, Left Hand's Western Regional Manager, and we talked beer and tattoos. First let's look at some of his tattoos:

That's a pretty cool koi swimming up Ryan's arm...

There are some great elements in this half sleeve.

Ryan told me that he had been a fan of traditional Japanese tattoo art, but he had been working for a distributor in Kansas that didn't allow tattoos. When he landed the gig at Left Hand, there were no such restrictions, so he celebrated and "went big" with this beautiful tattoo.

He credited Ron Miller (@miller.tattoo) at Ichiban Tattoo in Lawrence, Kansas . Ron has since opened his own shop, called Miller Tattoo, also in Lawrence.

Ryan also has another tattoo, as spotted in this photo:

That is a pocket watch on his wrist with a banner that says ...

"Live for Today."

Ryan told me that this watch in the tattoo is a family heirloom, that was handed down to him when his grandfather passed away. The watch has been in his family since 1888 and, since it's locked away in a safe deposit box, this way he gets to see it every day.

He got this as a walk-in at Mercy Seat Tattoo (@mercyseattattoo) in Kansas City, Missouri.

Thanks to Ryan for sharing his tattoos, photographed by Kearby Milliner at Left Hand.

Now, let's talk about the beer. Left Hand has a slew of brands and, as familiar as I am with some, I got a nice sample for this post:

I had a lot of fun drinking this beer, I can honestly say. I've been a fan of Left Hand's Milk Stout (far right) and, although I tend to favor darker beers, I found the lighter ones, like the Travelin' Light kolsch and the Polestar pilsner, to be crisp and flavorful. The Extrovert IPA is a solid brand with a great hoppiness that stands among the best IPAs out there. The shining gem in this family portrait, for me, however, was their Fade to Black (pictured second from left). This seasonal "foreign stout" is a palate-buster for me, with licorice notes that really made drinking this beer a treat.

Ryan told me his favorite brand is the Black Jack porter, which is one of their perennial brews that rocks a great espresso and dark chocolate flavor.

Left Hand has a solid lineup and it was a pleasure and honor to partner with them in this celebration of tattoos and brews!

They are also very generous, in that they have offered up a super "Ready to Rock" prize package for Tattoosday readers:

This includes, a Nitro Sherpa Hoodie, a Pour Hard Knuckles t-shirt, a Red Pour Hard Nitro t-shirt, a Colorado Trucker Hat, a 64 oz Ecovessel, a Left Hand cooler bag and belt pack! WHAT?! All apparel is size M.

Readers who comment below or on social media will be entered automatically into a random drawing and the winner will get this box of awesomeness shipped to their doorstep. Commenting with your favorite brand from Left Hand will double your chances, as I will count your entry twice.

Thanks to all the great people at Left Hand Brewing Company for making this an awesome Brewsday Tuesday! Special thanks to Sarah Watson for coordinating this with me, and to Ryan Call, for sharing his tattoos with us, as well as all the others on the Left Hand team that helped make this post possible.

Cheers!

Monday, May 22, 2017

Reconnecting With Amber

Over the years, I've passed out a lot of cards, hoping to open a dialogue with people about their tattoos, but often never hearing from them again. That's just the way it goes. Occasionally, I will run into them by chance, and we'll be able to connect and put something together.

Such is the case with Amber, who I had met and talked to a couple of times a year or two ago at my favorite local beer garden, where she had worked for a very short period of time.

Imagine my surprise when, last week, I sat down on the subway next to her and was able to capture one of her spectacular tattoos:

Amber credited this great black and gray thigh piece to Nico Negron (@niconegron) from Tattoo Afterlife (@afterlife) in Huntington, New York.

She told me it was based on several references and took about seven hours to complete.

Thanks to Amber for sharing her amazing tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Sunday, May 21, 2017

Two Tattoos from Lucy

Last week on Wall Street, I met Lucy, who was visiting from England, and she was kind enough to share a couple of her tattoos.

First is this tattoo on her upper arm that is so fresh, it almost looks like a sticker:

Lucy explained that this image is from Princess Mononoke, a 1997 Japanese anime classic. The tattoo is the mask worn by San, otherwise known as Princess Mononoke, who was raised by wolves.

This was tattooed by Matt Daniels (@stickypop) from Studio IX in Salford, located in Manchester, England.

Lucy also shared this piece on her back:

This was also done at Studio IX, but by artist Emma Louise Dunphy (@emm.dots).

Thanks to Lucy for sharing a couple of her tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2017 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, May 19, 2017

Two Spooky Tattoos from Alexis

I met Alexis earlier this week on the J train in Lower Manhattan. She has several tattoos on both arms, and she offered up these two pieces on her right arm, which she called her "spookier arm":

Alexis explained that the "Tomb Sweet Tomb" piece is a nod to a feature in The Haunted Mansion attraction at Disney's Magic Kingdom in Orlando. It's her favorite ride and this was inked by Chris Fernandez (@chrisfernandeztattooing) at Kings Avenue Tattoo (@kingsavetattoo) in Manhattan.

The heart-shaped piece below it is actually a planchette from a ouija board. This was a Friday the 13th flash tattoo that Alexis got at Grit N Glory Tattoo (@gritnglory) in Manhattan.

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