2008 Wrap-Up, Looking Ahead to 2009

For those of you following Tattoosday, I am going to take a different approach to the blog in 2009.

The concept will be the same, but I am going to enhance it a little bit. All posts will be dated and time-stamped around the time that they happened. So, if I don't get around to posting the ink for a few days, it will be back-dated for chronological effect.

I also want to blog above and beyond the successes (i.e. the people who said "No") and expand to other tattoo-related topics, when they arise.

For example, if I stop in Borders and look at a tattoo book, I'd like to link it here. I am hoping to turn all the "no thank yous" into items of interest.

I also have a couple of new features in the works that I hope to unveil in the new year that will continue to make Tattoosday the interesting experience that I believe it is.

In an effort to start out with a clean slate, I am cleaning out my drafts and posting all the remaining drafts I have in house, including several pieces by Jessica, who I met back in June.

Once again I want to thank everyone who regularly reads Tattoosday, and those who visit once in a while. 2008 was a banner year, registering over 100,000 hits this year alone. I'm looking forward to seeing what 2009 will bring. Happy New Year!

More of Jessica's Ink: Blue Stars and Random Art

Here are some more tattoos from Jessica, who inked much of this work herself. She has over 50 tattoos, and has work featured before here.

She has inked some blue stars....


And that is Italy as well, with the red, white and green colors of the country's flag. The blue stars accompany a tomato slice and what I assume to be a Madagascar hissing cockroach...


and a koala bear.....


Thanks to Jessica for sharing all her ink here at Tattoosday.

More of Jessica: A Death's-head Hawk Moth and Knee Flames

Here's more of Jessica's ink. "Flames on my kneecap and the death's head moth from The Silence of the Lambs....."





That is the Death's-head Hawkmoth:


which came to cultural significance when featured on the movie poster for the Jodie Foster movie mentioned above.


Thanks again to Jessica for sharing her ink with us here on Tattoosday!

More of Jessica: Moogoogaipan and Red Foo

Here are the last two pieces I have on Jessica (I'm sure in '09 she'll send me more...). They are her foo dogs, which she has dubbed Moogoogaipan (named after the Americanized Chinese food dish moo goo gai pan) and Red Foo.



Jessica has shared a lot of ink here. She actually has some other foo dogs in an arm sleeve (shown here) which are well worth seeing again. Thanks again Jessica!

Michael's Mariachis Celebrate Life with a Burst of Musical Color

In reconnecting with old college friends through Facebook, my old friend Michael who I haven't seen in almost twenty years sent me an amazing tattoo he has on his right arm.

He sent me before and after shots so we can see the transformation from outline to spectacularly colorful body art. First, the before shots.....



The detail and the line work is exemplary and breath-taking. As someone with a guitar inked on my arm, I can appreciate the intricacies of a finely-drawn instrument. The detail on the mariachi's jacket cuff is incredible.



And now, for some color:




Michael explains the basic premise of this tattoo:

In a sense, this piece is a "memorial" tattoo, although I hate to call it that. Since I grew up in the Southwest, Day of the Dead was a regular thing, so I've always been drawn to that type of imagery, plus I like the meaning -- honoring the dead, and reminding us to live life to the fullest. I picked the mariachis partly because I am so into music, and partly because of the celebratory aspect of mariachis.

Like many intricate tattoos with multiple elements, every part has significance. The tulips, for example, that are growing at the mariachi's feet, "are an actual heirloom varietal that I have in the garden" [and] are for my wife -- tulips are her favorite flower".



And the angel at the top of the piece (and the top of the post)?


Michael informs us that "the angel is for my mother, who is no longer with us. The angel holds a purple iris (my mother's favorite flower), and looks down over the whole scene."

This amazing piece was inked by Susan Behney-Doyle who works out of Jinx Proof Tattoo in Washington, D.C. Mexican folk art is one of her specialties (see a gallery of her work here) and Michael says he "gave her a few reference pieces to look at, but she basically drew it after a consultation". He continues, "we made just a couple tweaks after I saw the drawing, but it's a one-of-a-kind custom piece".

The whole tattoo was crafted back in 2006 over a five-month, seven-session period. Michael notes that one of those sessions was devoted solely to shading the guitar. A closer look at the instrument reveals an incredible complexity of brown variations that truly makes the guitar jump off the skin.

Tattoos I Know: Paul, Part 3, or, The Great Cover-Up of 2008

Earlier this year, I featured the first tattoo belonging to Paul, a co-worker and friend. Later on, he showed me his sleeve (here).

I am just getting around to show you his new work in progress, a cover-up of a tattoo on his right bicep, located above the first one of his that I featured here.

This isn't completed, but it does display a stage of the work that is interesting. Documenting it now will make it more interesting when the piece is completed.


That's an om symbol at the top of the piece. The basic design is a traditional Japanese half-sleeve. The work is done by Horisei at Chelsea Tattoo Company. Horisei inked my friend Rob's traditional Japanese tattoos (here).


Thanks again to Paul for sharing his work in progress here at Tattoosday. We're looking forward to seeing the final work in 2009!

A Knight to Remember: Veronica Shares Her Ink

I received a pleasant surprise yesterday, just before leaving work, when Brooke (see her tattoos here and here) introduced me to her friend Veronica, who was visiting her in the office.

Veronica enjoyed the posts on Brooke's ink, and was willing to share her tattoo with us here on Tattoosday:


I correctly identified the tattoo, on the left side of her back shoulder, as the chess piece known as the Knight.

Although it is a horse, Veronica noted, most people who see it don't realize at first that it is a chess piece.

So why a chess knight?

Several years ago, Veronica went on a date with a guy who had a similar tattoo. Not only had he been a chess player, but his nickname in the military had been "Crazy Horse". He had designed the tattoo himself and Veronica was drawn to it. She knew she wanted one just like it, but they both agreed, as their relationship progressed, that it would only be appropriate if they were married.

Well, we all know where this is heading. When the time was right, Veronica's boyfriend didn't pop the question, he popped the suggestion, "Let's go get that tattoo". Which she did, customizing his original design by making it a little smaller, and adding a feminine curl to the front of the Knight's mane. They went to a shop on Broadway in Santa Maria, California. There are three shops currently on Broadway, so I can't give proper credit to the shop or artist at this time.

The formal proposal came shortly after the engagement was "inked".

Veronica married the man with the matching tattoo but, as life would have it, they split up amicably after three years.

Her ex-husband-to-be told her that he wouldn't be offended if she decided to cover the chess piece up, but the thought never crossed Veronica's mind. She wasn't worried about future girlfriends (or wives) getting the same tattoo. She recognizes it as a unique symbol of a past chapter in her life of which she has little regret.

Oftentimes, people are remorseful about their ink, especially when the piece is tied to a relationship that no longer exists. It is always nice to see a tattoo that holds great meaning, even while transcending a bond that has broken.

So the chess piece remains, and we here at Tattoosday extend our thanks to Veronica for sharing this part of her personal history with us.

Jeremy's Patriotic Tribute to His Father

I spotted this patriotic and paternal piece earlier this week at Penn Station.

Jeremy explained this straight-forward tattoo, which is inked on the inner part of his left bicep. The design is a tribute to his father, who died on the 4th of July, 2001. Dad had served in the U.S. army in the Korean War and it seemed fitting to Jeremy, who has six tattoos in all, to honor his memory with this piece.

The tattoo was inked at Bob's Crystal Blue Tattoo & Body Piercing in Shirley, New York.

Thanks to Jeremy for sharing this tribute to his father with us here on Tattoosday!

An Inky Obsession with Hellboy

I met Daniel at Borders and I could tell, from a distance, his tattoo was pretty special. It was only when I saw it up close that I realized how cool it is:


This is based on a limited edition print of the comic book character, Hellboy.

Daniel is a fan of Mike Mignola's creation, one of his favorite comic book characters, and he acknowledges that he's "a bit obsessed" with Hellboy. His hope is to eventually devote an entire sleeve to him. Note the detail on the edges of the panel. This just wasn't the character, but the edges of the piece look as if ripped directly from a comic book panel.


This was inked by Simone at Rising Dragon in Manhattan, when it was still on 23rd Street. Daniel estimates that this finely-detailed piece took about four and a half hours of work to complete.


Work from Rising Dragon has appeared previously here.

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

Mike's Reminder, Emblazoned on His Chest

An unseasonably warm Monday, when the temperature rose above 60, proved to be a bonus here at Tattoosday.

I met Mike in Penn Plaza, outside of Borders, and of his eleven tattoos, he chose this one to share here on the blog:


I was struck by the diamond in the middle of the chest, which reminded me of the piece in the Tattoosday banner at the top of the page.

Mike told me that the message "Never Fail" was a reminder to himself to always strive to achieve his goals, to do the best that he can, and to never fail.

The piece was tattooed by Sean Foy at Rider's Ink in Newark, New Jersey.


Thanks to Mike for baring and sharing this self-motivating message here on Tattoosday!

Fabiana Shares Two More Colorful Tattoos

A couple of weeks back, I posted some ink from a guy named Tom (here), which featured the trinacria of the Sicilian flag.

The above example, from our good friend Fabiana (see her last post here - which links to her previous ones, as well), is a more colorful and elaborate take on the design.

Fabiana explains:

"The tat of the Medusa head I got because it's on the Sicilian flag. I was born there and it reminds me of all that I left behind, kinda just reminds me of my fam there and the time I lived there and all the things I went through! I love Sicily! It's such a beautiful place, hope I can return there some day! So now I look at it and it takes me right back to where my life first began."

This piece is on her upper right bicep and, like most of her work, was inked by Lou at Third Eye Tattoo in Brooklyn.

Another relatively new piece on Fabiana is this card on her left forearm:


Again, in her own words:

"The other new one I have is the orange one that kind of looks like a card. I got that because of my ex-girlfriend. I used to say to her 'I love you to the moon and back and all the stars in the universe.' So because of that, I got a moon and seven stars with the color orange because that was her favorite. She meant a lot to me but things just didn't work out. I will love her always!"

Yet again, a hearty thanks to Fabiana for letting me post her ink here, and for sharing the deep personal meanings behind the tattoos.

Tattoos from the Blogosphere: The Back of Nathan's Legs

My recent affiliation with Nathan over at KnuckleTattoos.com has been fairly sparse with the cold weather seizing the Northeast. However once he added me as a contributing writer, I queried about him sending me photos of some of his ink to put up over here on Tattoosday. This post reflects a couple of leg pieces he sports.

First a pre-color peek:

And then, with some color, in its completed form:


A little limb isolation (click to enlarge):



These pieces were inked by Jason Brooks ("he is incredible") at Rock of Ages Tattooing in Austin, Texas.

The following is an excerpt from Nathan's blog, which begins to explain "bitter strength" and "Quixotic honor":

So I went under the gun again. First time in almost six years. I was just supposed to get the outlines done, but then his appointment after me canceled and I got a four hour session. The crook behind the knee and the area around the Achilles tendon were miserably painful, but the rest was pretty tolerable.



The theme behind the piece is a warning about virtues bordering on being vices. Values that can bite you back. Just because I am strong enough to endure hardship does not make it any less hard. Sometimes not bearing the load is better than having the strength. Honor is good up to the point that it becomes pride or self delusion. Of course it also works backwards. I am strong enough to persevere. Sometimes the windmills are dragons in disguise.

Thanks to Nathan for sharing his ink here on Tattoosday. Be sure to check out his ink blog here. Who knows, may be you'll see a post by yours truly over there one of these days...

Thanks from Us Here at Tattoosday!

On Thursday, December 4, at 4:31pm E.S.T., Tattoosday logged its 100,000th hit.

Someone up at Humber College in Toronto googled something that directed them to this photo:


which is from one of my favorite posts ever.

If you have become a reader since last May, I encourage you to go back and check out that post.

Regardless, thanks to everyone who has visited since Tattoosday's inception. 100k is nothing to sneeze at. I wouldn't keep doing this if it weren't for the people checking in on a regular basis.
Please, keep coming back!

Jill's Right Leg: One Post Leads to Another

The previous post featured the "Eld Sigul" insignia attributed to Stephen King's Gunslinger, of The Dark Tower series.

As I had mentioned, I was able to locate the artwork on which this earlier tattoo was based, but the specific source of the new design eluded me.

So I popped into the local Borders and, after wandering a bit, found the Horror section wherein the King books resided. I perused the covers but, alas, no sign. I was about to leave when a store employee named Jill popped up and started straightening books next to me.

And she had ink.

So we got to chatting. She has seven pieces in all, three of which I saw. She has designated a theme for each of her arms and legs. I had noticed the pin-up on her right forearm first, which turns out is her Celtic-themed limb. She isn't happy with the red in the dress, so that piece is technically a work-in-progress. Her left arms sports some kanji, as part of her Asian-themed limb.

Her left leg is desert-themed, as a tribute to growing up in Arizona. Which brings us to her right leg. Jill has that part of her body designated as water-themed. She went to her favorite artist Shaggy at Rings of Fire Tattoos in downtown San Antonio, Texas, and told him she wanted a tattoo to fit the theme. He had drawn this design with the octopus and she loved it. The rest is history:


I love how the octopus is staring out the eye socket of the skull. It's an amazing effect.

Thanks to Jill for sharing this awesome piece with us here on Tattoosday! Here's hoping she'll be back on these pages for a return engagement!

Karen's Colorful Ink Glows in More Ways than One

Autumn has not been good to us here on Tattoosday. Inkspotting has been, um, spotty, at best, and most of the work I have seen has been indoors and/or below ground.

On Tuesday, I glimpsed some color peeking out from a woman's sleeve as she walked south on Seventh Avenue.

When I stopped to talk to her, Karen was gracious, despite the chill in the air, and filled me in on the two pieces (yes, just like last Tat-twosday) on her right wrist:


Karen is a student at Fashion Institute of Technology and was inky of another sort, with smudges on her hands and arms from her projects. She is an artist specializing in textile surfaces, designing such things as wallpaper, tissue boxes, and other items requiring her craft. She cleaned some of the ink up from around her body art, enough so we could get a clearer shot of her tattoos.

The one on the left is the insignia from the Gunslinger's revolver featured on the covers of Stephen King's Dark Tower series.

This is referred to as the "Eld Sigul" insignia and stands for the Gunslinger. I'm sure fans of the series will correct me and/or expand on the topic should they find that explanation lacking.

Do note that we had a Dark Tower tattoo recently on these pages, here back in October.

What's noteworthy about this piece is the ink used has special qualities. Karen originally wanted a hot pink tattoo, but the shop (Skin Deep Tattoo) had just received a shipment of ink that illuminates under black light. I've not seen one of these in person, but have seen samples elsewhere in the blogosphere.

The other piece, on the right, is a "third eye" designed by the artist Alex Grey, who is renowned for his cover art for the band Tool:


In fact, this "third eye" piece is from the art of the Tool album Lateralus:




This, also, was worked up at Skin Deep. Karen believes that Rob was the tattoo artist for both pieces. The extreme close-up at the top of this post emphasizes how vivid the ink used in the piece is.

Karen has two other tattoos, but they were well-protected from the elements, and were not visible higher up on her arms.

I do thank her again for being so amenable to stopping and sharing her work with us here on Tattoosday!

Tattoos from the Blogosphere: Matt's Canva Gypsy Head

We're revisiting an old friend, Mat, whose last piece posted here, will link you to two previous posts as well. Mat had dropped off my radar a while, but these photos remained in my inbox, awaiting to see the light of Tattoosday.

Here's the finished piece:

Mat explains, "I've attached a new leg piece. I got recently of a cavna gypsy head. Dustin Golden from Roanaoke, VA. was doing a guest spot [at 713 Tattoo] and had a last minute cancellation. I jumped on it."

What is a "canva gypsy head"? I'm still not sure, but Mat responded to my recent query for further clarification on the motivation behind the piece: "That Kafka mask was sort of a "gypsy" phase (which I am finding myself in now again). The real shiner of that piece was Dustin's red inks, which he mixes himself."

Indeed. The piece just jumps out at you like a bolt of light in a dark alley.

Thanks again to Mat for sharing and illuminating his ink for us here on Tattoosday!

Tom's Two-for-Tattoosday Ink Honors His Heritage and His Love of the Yankees

After a bit of a drought of inkspotting, I finally caught some new tattoos in Penn Station on Tuesday, along the L.I.R.R. corridor.

Tom has "19 or 20" tattoos and is working to some day achieving a full sleeve on his left arm. He offered me these two tattoos (for Tat-Tuesday), whose close proximity on his forearm made them the natural choice.


On top is the trinacria of the flag of Sicily. This symbol contains the the (winged) head of Medusa and three bent legs, which supposed to represent good luck and prosperity.


It is a nod to his Italian heritage.

Below that is a New York Yankees tattoo which is very similar to my wife's cousin's stars and stripes-filled NY logo. Tom gave it a simple explanation: "I'm a huge Yankees fan".

Say what you want about other cities, but I would venture to guess that the greater New York City area has a higher per capita count of hometown tattoos than any other metropolitan area.

Tom's ink was done by Rob, owner of Skin Deep Tattoo in Levittown, New York. Work from the shop has appeared previously here.

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