Art Tato: Agustus 2011

Selasa, 23 Agustus 2011

Sarah's Seashell by the Seashore

Let's face it, after inkspotting in New York City for over four years, things can often get repetitive. That's why I don't share a lot of koi, kanji, skulls and, of late, flowers. The point is, I'm always hoping to find something new and unusual.

That's why, when I spotted Sarah last week, I was excited to talk to her about this, her first tattoo:

When I asked her about it, she explained that it was only two weeks old and it is an "alphabet cone" seashell.

She elaborated on why she got this particular tattoo:

"I got this because I found this exact shell when I was ten in Florida with my mom ... it's [her] favorite shell and so it is my tribute to her .... it even has the crack that the shell has."

Sarah credits Ren Sakurai at Albatross Tattoo in Portland, Oregon, for creating this Conus spurius on her back.

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

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Saturday Housecleaning

My system for Tattoosday is to try and go chronologically, but that never works out. I generally jump all over the place. I keep a list of all my pending posts, with the date associated with them, so I know where I am in my quest for a relatively normal timeline.

Although not my oldest "pending post," this one is from a guy named Austin, who I met in Penn Station back in April:

This tattoo, on Austin's left arm, had to have a great story about it, right? Especially, with the food at the bottom of the piece?

That is the logo from the Misfits, complete with chef's hat and various ingredients for something.

I stopped Austin at a dining establishment in Penn Station, and didn't want to disturb him too much, so I snapped photos, got some basic info, and figured I'd fill in the blanks with him via e-mail.

Unfortunately, he didn't respond to my e-mail inquiries and, his credit of the work, citing Chris Brewer at Seventh Saga as the artist, left me with a cold trail.

I know he is/was a culinary student and a fan of the Misfits, but that's all folks.

So, let's just enjoy what we see and know, and perhaps I can update you with more information later.

Thanks to Austin for sharing the tattoo with us!

Mitch and a Positive Reminder

I met Mitch last month on the Upper West Side, near the 72nd Street Subway Station.

I spotted him and his seventeen or eighteen tattoos and asked if he would share one. He offered up his most recent piece:

I asked Mitch to elaborate on this tattoo located on his left forearm. He explained:

"I found this Japanese graffiti artist who did a bunch of flash and I just really liked one of his drawings. I was in the mood and decided to get it."

And the banner stating "Enjoy Yourself"? Mitch says, "just try to be happy all the time".

I'd imagine looking down at this cool design, inked by Mike Lucena at Flyrite Tattoo in Brooklyn, helps contribute to the happiness. Work from Mike at Flyrite appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Thanks to Mitch for sharing this great tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Senin, 22 Agustus 2011

Kate Reminds Us: Two Calves Are Better than One tattos

I met Kate last month and she shared these two, of her eleven tattoos:

Kate says these don't have specific meanings behind them, she "just liked the art". Nothing wrong with that at all.

On the left calf, Kate has an exquisite black and grey piece by Benjamin Moss at Apocalypse Tattoo in Seattle.

The romantically morbid idea of two skeletons sharing an eternity in the same coffin is a haunting image.

On her right calf is this dagger:

The phrase "MORTE PRIMA DI DISONORE" translates to the expression "Death Before Dishonor". This tattoo was created at Addiction NYC on St. Mark's Place in Manhattan.

Thanks to Kate for sharing these great tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Adrians Ink Celebrates His Heritage tattos

I met Adrian last month on a fluke - I was on the D train headed to Brooklyn going to a dentist's appointment, having left work early.

I approached him about his ink and we had a really great discussion about tattoos and art.

Adrian is a wonderful artist and his work can be seen here at Viajero Art (dot) com. Take a look at this exhibit, a mixed media piece that just looks amazing.

He shared two of his tattoos with me. First, this piece:

This tattoo, on the inside of Adrian's right arm, is a Puerto Rican mask. Adrian's family hails from the small town of Loíza, in northeastern Puerto Rico. In the festival of St. James, the Apostle, people wear traditional masks like these as part of the celebration. Adrian explained that St. James was known, among many things, for helping the Spanish fight back invading Moors. One of the functions of the masks, he explained, was to scare people into going back to church, where the masks represented the terrifying Moors.

Adrian also shared this piece from his right forearm:

This tattoo, he told me, represents the women in his life. The fact that she is depicted as a gypsy is for good luck. The detail in this tattoo is astonishing:

He told me that the artist, the talented Marcus Kuhn, used the image from a popular brand of jalapeno peppers, La Morena, as a model for the woman in the tattoo. You can see the resemblance:

Marcus Kuhn tattoos out of Red Star Irons when visiting New York.

Thanks to Adrian for sharing his amazing tattoos with us here on Tattoosday! I look forward to seeing more of his art in the future!

Christina Frankenstein Girl tattos

I met Christina at the end of June, unable to help noticing this colorful neck tattoo:

Christina, who is a prep chef at a catering hall, as well as a club promoter, explained that this tattoo is based on the album art from a group called Mindless Self-Indulgence. I believe she was referring to the band's 2000 release Frankenstein Girls Will Seem Strangely Sexy:

She credited an artist named Serge for doing the tattoo at Tattoo Frenzy in Lindenhurst, New York.

Thanks to Christina for sharing her Frankenstein girl with us here on Tattoosday!

Ariel& Elm: Rising Upward, but Steadfast tattos

I met Ariel last month in the soon-to-be-shuttered Borders bookstore on Penn Plaza and of her three tattoos, she shared this tree on her upper right biceps:

Ariel explained that this tattoo

"was originally an actual photograph of a maple tree, but it was too difficult - you can see the shading is relatively delicate for it ... it looked better with a cloudier image ... so it looks more of a cherry blossom but it was originally a maple...

As for the reason she included the roots of the tree in the design, she specified,

"I really wanted it to be something that represents being rooted and grounded and steadfast, but still growing upwards and moving towards the heavens, something that is strong and can withstand the wind, but is adaptable and changes with the seasons ... so it's just kind of, who I would like to be."

She credited Randall Muntz at Divine Machine Tattoo in Buffalo, New York with this work. Coincidentally, Randall started full-time (according to their website) at Body Electric Tattoo in Hollywood, California, just this week.

Thanks to Ariel for sharing her lovely tree tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Mike Illustrates His Passion for DC Comics tattos

Last month, I had it all laid out, and was doing a weekend of comic-themed posts coinciding with the opening of Comic-Con 2011 in San Diego.

Alas, one such post went awry when the pictures I took of Mike's tattoos went AWOL on my computer, leaving me with a photo-less entry.

Mike has since sent me pictures, which I have included below.

On his right arm, he has this piece, which is an interpretation of Captain Marvel:

Mike explained that he collaborated with Ralph Velez at Venus Modern Body Arts in the East Village on this design. He told me, "I came up with a drawing and then he fixed [it] up so it would work on my arm ... this yellow is a mix he does himself...". He also credited Jhonson Eteng as the graphic artist for this tattoo.

When Mike sent me the replacement photos, he sent along some extras, like this Superman piece from his leg:

and this Green Lantern/Blue Lantern combo on his arm:

As Mike puts it, he's "a big DC Comics fan".

Thanks to Mike for sharing his love of comics through ink with us here on Tattoosday!

Sabtu, 20 Agustus 2011

A Panel Worth a Thousand Words

A few weeks ago, I ran into Steve in the Trader Joe's on the Upper West Side. He has this striking tattoo on his upper right arm, and he kindly agreed to share it with us:

Steve explained that this tattoo is based on a panel from Love and Rockets, a comic by the Hernandez Brothers. "I just love the art," he told me.

It really is a striking image that really jumped out at me when I saw it. He had this tattooed at En'vie Ink in the East Village.

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

Jumat, 12 Agustus 2011

Lisa and Her Brooklyn Flytrap

Today's entry is a reader submission from a fellow Brooklynite named Lisa, who sent in this photo:

Lisa tells me:

"[This tattoo] was done a few months ago by an artist named Alex Perez, owner of Tat2sRus located at 5409 4th Ave. in Sunset Park Brooklyn. He has been tattooing for over 20 yrs and is totally awesome. This piece was done freehand just like all his pieces are. I love my tattoo and get many compliments on it."

I know this is a Venus Flytrap, but I'll call it a Brooklyn Flytrap, because it looks like it's a plant you definitely don't want to mess with!

Thanks to Lisa for sending this in to us here at Tattoosday!

Kamis, 11 Agustus 2011

Juliana Hibiscus

I met Juliana last month and, although there's a section of her tattoo that is "in progress," she agreed to share it here:

Juliana explained:

"I took the picture of the flower myself. The hibiscus means eternal beauty, which I though was really cool. And the symbols [kanji] are respect, love, strength and energy ... so I call it my Keep Truckin' tattoo."

The artist is Ed Knowles, who is currently at 12 Tattoos in Groton, Connecticut. Work by Ed has appeared previously here on Tattoosday.

The kanji are, on the left side strength above energy and on the right side, respect above love:

Thanks to Juliana for sharing her tattoo-in-progress with us here on Tattoosday! Keep truckin', Juliana!

Selasa, 09 Agustus 2011

Two Peacocks for a Tuesday

Back in June, I met two women on separate days who had peacock tattoos.

First was Charlotte, a filmmaker who I spotted on the uptown 3 train. I snapped these pictures when we got off the subway at 72nd Street:

Charlotte credited Daniel Albrigo as the artist, who did this when he worked at Brooklyn Adorned. He now tattoos out of Three Kings in Brooklyn.

She explained that she "wanted something beautiful to offset the Kali tattoo on her right shoulder".

A week later I met Emily near Penn Station, who had this different perspective on the peacock, inked on her calf:

Emily explained:

"My mother used to work at a school in Dallas, Texas, where I'm from, that has peacocks that roam wild on campus ... when I was a child I used to go play with them (or just watch them)."

Emily told me she "drew it and designed it with the help of Dave Wallin." Dave tattooed this when working at Tattoo Culture in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, but he now works out of Eight of Swords Tattoo Studio.

Thanks to both Charlotte and Emily for sharing their very different peacocks here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday.

Senin, 08 Agustus 2011

Sammy& Substitute for High Fashion

When I spotted Sammy outside of Macy*s, Herald Square, I noticed a single line of numbers just below her neck.

Intrigued, I stopped her and asked about it. It was then that she revealed that the one line of digits, from 0 to 9, was only the top of the tattoo. Here's the whole thing:

Sammy explained that this is a body art version of a clothing tag from the high-end clothing designer, Martin Margiela:

She told me that this was her "favorite design label" and said "I want to illustrate ... it's really expensive so I can't buy anything." She added that having the label on her back serves "to control my desire for buying it."

That's certainly a new functionality for a tattoo, in my opinion.

Sammy credited an artist in Los Angeles named Baku at a shop whose name I can't find, so I will go out on a limb and credit Baku Watanabe, who works at Freak Chic Tattoo on Melrose.

Thanks to Sammy for sharing this unusual tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!