Darren's Trio of Tattoos

I was contemplating the best way to approach a rather imposing figure who was completely covered in ink, when Darren passed me at the entrance to K-Mart in Penn Station.

When I caught up to him in the store, I introduced myself and, being a piercer in a New York City tattoo shop, he was more than happy to indulge my curiosity.

Darren has three tattoos, all on his arms and crafted by Young Cho at Monster Tattoo in the Elmurst section of Queens.

The first piece, on his lower right arm, is a pin-up depiction of Lady Luck perched on a crescent moon:


The second tattoo is a half-skull that pays homage to Boys Night Out, a band in which one of Darren's friends plays:


This is the outer forearm on his left side.

Finally, we have this piece, which is more than just a few numbers and letters:

Located on his inner right forearm, this tattoo is translated as 40 degrees, 40 minutes, north latitude and 73 degrees, 9 minutes west longitude. These coordinates refer to a specific location in the world, in this case, a spot in the Great South Bay off the coast of Long Island. It was here that Darren's father loved to go fishing and the coordinates in question mark the spot where his father's ashes were scattered after he passed away.

I must emphatically state that this is one of the coolest memorial pieces I have seen. It is extremely thoughtful and creative, speaking to a point on the earth where Darren knows his father will remain, in spirit, for the rest of time.

I thank Darren for taking the time to stop and chat with me about his three tattoos here on Tattoosday!

Halloween Bonus: Zombie Pinup

Back in September I posted Little Dead Riding Hood, courtesy of Amy, who I met in Penn Station.

Amy has a new tattoo, which she generously shared:


It's a zombie pin-up girl, and appropriate for the holiday today.

Like the previous piece, this was created by T.J. Mcinnis at Mcinnis Tattoo Company in Providence, Rhode Island.

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

Have a safe and ghoulishly fun Halloween!

Two for Tattoosday: Hawai'i Calling and a Pin-Up Boy

I met Joakim and Marina last month on the sidewalk, just outside of the 34th Street Penn Station entrance.

The couple were visiting from Sweden and it was Joakim's sleeves that jumped out at me.

He shared this one segment on his lower right arm:


He asked me if it looked familiar. It did, but I couldn't quite place it. He smiled, and told me it's a variation on the cover of The Clash's quintessential album, London Calling,


Joakim loves the Clash and loves Hawaiian culture, so he designed had the tattoo artist design the piece to merge both elements for a great tattoo.

The piece was inked by Big Fat Joe at a shop called Art by Fafnir in Stockholm.


I turned to Marina and asked if she had any tattoos. She smiled and said she did, removing her jacket to reveal this piece, also by Joe:


"It's my pin-up boy," she laughed. Her variation on the traditional pin-up girl is going to tie in with a sleeve she is working on, as well.

She remarked that the artist was "thrilled" to do this tattoo, because it was not the typical pin-up tattoo.

Thanks to Joakim and Marina for sharing their great tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Annie Cherry and Bindlestiff Willy in New York City

I met Annie Cherry outside of Penn Station in early September. She was talking with Bindlestiff Willy. She had visible tattoos. He did not.

I approached them and introduced myself.

This is Annie:


And here is Bindlestiff Willy:


Both perform with a group called the Kansas City Society of Burlesque.

They had been in New York City performing out on Coney Island the previous weekend and were heading home.

Annie graciously allowed to photograph her two tattoos, juxtaposed nicely on her inner forearms:


She explained the one on her left arm, saying it was a shooting star, about to be launched from a slingshot. She said the tattoo represents creative inspiration and that it reminds her "not to take herself too seriously".


Incidentally, several weeks later, I met a woman with a similar tattoo, only justaposed differently on the left arm. I was shocked to see it, but she explained that it was also a band logo for the group Gogol Bordello.


The snake on her left arm represents knowledge to Annie, and a reminder that the destination is not always reached by taking the straight path.


Both tattoos were inked by Chet Duvenci at The Mercy Seat Tattoo & Art Gallery in Kansas City.

After talking about her tattoos, Annie informed me that her traveling companion Bindelestiff Willy had a couple of great tattoos, as well. They were inked at The Mercy Seat also, but by different artists.

Damian removed his jacket and rolled up his sleeves to reveal the tattoos on his upper arms.

The first is on his upper left arm:


If this classic pin-up girl looks familiar, scroll up to the top of the post and take another gander at the photo of Annie.



The tattoo is modeled after her. The phrase "Clowns need love too" is self-referential. This piece was inked by Scott Shickman.

Damian, who performs under the name of "Bindlestiff Willy," is a pantomime specialist who does a great Charlie Chaplin routine. The pun in his stage name combines the "bindle stick" commonly carried by hobos and tramps (in the Chaplinesque sense) and the raunchiness of "stiff Willy".

His second tattoo, on the right arm, is a portrait of Charlie Chaplin's "Little Tramp" were he still alive. Of course, as the 1889 implies, Chaplin is a skeleton today, so the traditional tattoo takes a macabre turn.


This piece was done by John Monk.

A big thanks to Annie and Willy for sharing their awesome tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Anthony's Pin-Up

Many people may wonder, when I pass out a card or flier, how often do people write to me and share their tattoos?

Not often.

But I'm cool with that. And it makes it extra special when someone does, especially when they're sharing a nice tattoo.

I ran into Anthony back in June coming up from the subway at 34th Street in Manhattan. We e-mailed back and forth a couple of times and then he sent me this tattoo, which I hadn't even seen when I saw him in the station:


I'll let Anthony do the rest of the talking:

"The tattoo I adore the most is my pin-up girl. I named her Amber, I just love that name the most. My tattoo artist is name Twace. I got my tattoo done at Gotham City Tattoos out in Brooklyn....I have about ten tattoos all in total but she is my favorite one 'cause growing up I just love pin-up girls. It took me nearly three years to find the right one for my arm. I came across to this girl doing a pose wearing nothing but a button down men's shirt with her heels and long black hair. She's the one for me, plus it is sexy when a girl is wearing a men's shirt...even in the morning. My back is getting done, a gypsy woman. So it will be awhile to get that one done."

Thanks to Anthony for sharing his awesome tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

A Traditional Sailor Jerry Pin-up for the 4th of July

When I saw Paul standing in Borders, inked up with nineteen tattoos, I couldn't help but ask to take a picture.

Not much of a story here, but a hell of a tattoo:


This is an old school Sailor Jerry pin-up design that Paul had always loved. So, he finally had it inked by J.P. at Rising Dragon Tattoos in Manhattan. Work from their shop has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

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

Joe's Martini Girl

I spotted Joe outside of Madison Square Garden after work last week.

Joe is not sure how many tattoos he has, but offered up this one, on the back of his right forearm:


Joe said that this tattoo is "the first one I ever wanted to get, but the last one I ended up getting."

The piece was inked by Tom Yak at New York Adorned. Tom did add a bra and panties to the pin-up reclining in the martini glass, for the sake or propriety. Work from New York Adorned has appeared on Tattoosday previously here.

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

Isn't She Lovely? Camille from TV/TV Shares Some Ink

One of the benefits of Tattoosday is that, because musicians tend to have a lot of ink, I meet a lot of them, and learn about bands that I may never have heard about.

This past Friday, I met Camille (pronounced Cah-mee) outside of Penn Station and he showed me a couple of his tattoos.

Camille is the drummer for the band TV/TV (MySpace here).

They just released their 5-track EP Something to Get Excited About this past year (read a review here). I've heard several of their songs since then, and I've enjoyed their sound (see the bottom of the post for more info). TV/TV is playing at the Highline Ballroom on January 15 and are booked for the Warped Tour in the Summer of 2009.

Of Camille's sixteen tattoos, he showed me this one first:

On the day the world mourned the passing of Bettie Page, it seemed appropriate to get a shot of a pin-up tattoo.

This piece is a vision, like many pin-ups, of the wearer's "dream girl". The top caption, "Isn't She Lovely?" is a nod to the Stevie Wonder song (his "favorite song ever"). Camille notes he's a big Stevie fan.

He says it's not obvious from the piece, but the woman has a knife behind her back, which explains the warning "Trust No One".

Just below the pin-up are the theater's Comedy and Tragedy masks:


See another version of this motif, appearing previously on Tattoosday, here. He added these to his arm because he loves the theater and musicals.

Both tattoos are on his left arm. The comedy/tragedy masks are on the inside of his wrist.

The artist on both pieces were inked by Turk at Guru Tattoo in the Pacific Beach section of San Diego.

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

You can hear the songs from their debut EP here on their YouTube channel. Here's a taste, listen to "Call it Love":

Introducing Nina's Ink, Part 1

based on:

Last Saturday I posted an amazing tattoo the day after I spotted it and alluded to some posts that take longer than others. This is one of those examples.

I met Nina about a minute after meeting Mike and spotted the tattoo above. It's a tiny piece based on the graffiti art of one of my favorite artists, Keith Haring.

I asked Nina about it and she went on to catalog all eleven of her tattoos, most of which I photographed.

Whereas I appreciate someone taking the time to show me all of their ink, to do the subject justice in one post can be a daunting task.

Therefore, I'll be spreading Nina's tattoos across two posts.

As displayed above, Nina had at least one Haring tattoo. This first post will be dedicated to Nina's left arm, which boasts 7 of her 11 tattoos.

She actually has three Haring pieces, including the barking dog:

based on:

I've always been a fan of Haring, and it was a phenomenal Haring chest piece, spotted at the 2007 Siren Festival on Coney Island, that inspired me, in part, to start blogging about ink. Here's the third of her Haring pieces:

based on:

Haring was prolific in his short life, often repeating elements in his work. I have included in this post the works that are most likely used as the basis for these tattoos.

Nina is a big fan of the work of Andy Warhol, as well. She credits her love of his and Haring's work to a relative - her aunt worked at Warhol's Pop Shop in the 1980s, and it was always part of the family discussion.

She has a relatively obscure Warhol piece on the inner part of her bicep:


I should say, it is obscure in the sense that I am unfamiliar with it. It is based on his silk-screened Knives:



Most stunning among the Warhol and Haring tattoos is her Marilyn Monroe piece, which is based on an iconic Warhol work:



On her inner forearm, Nina sports a sweet pin-up piece that she believes is based on a piece of German art, circa World War I:


She loves pin-up art and this was one of the first pieces she had inked.

Not pictured is the word "Say" tattooed on her inner wrist.

All her ink was tattooed by Dan at Amazing Grace Tattoo in Geneva, New York. She's kept him busy in the past year, having just turned eighteen, and he is responsible for all of her body art, all done within the past twelve months.

Thanks to Nina for sharing her passion for tattoos here on Tattoosday. Be sure to check back for more from Nina in the future.

Untouchable is Something to Be

John had much ink and, as often happens when I ask, a previously unseen tattoo is revealed which is just as impressive as all the other visible work.

John offered up this right upper arm piece, a pin-up straddling a bomb. It's exceptional work and I found the source material on which this is based, a concert poster for the Against Me!:

The poster is from a October 14, 2005 gig in Portland, Oregon at Loveland, with the bands The Epoxies, Smoke or Fire and The Soviettes. The designer is Mark McCormick Lee Zeman* who is associated with the company Mad Pakyderms.

A little more detail from the tattoo:


John said that the art, and hence the tattoo, represents to him the sentiment that "untouchable is something to be". He had this done when he moved away from home, went out on his own, and started taking care of himself.

The detail in the tattoo is incredible. His wife Liz, who was with him, made sure I took a shot of the top of the piece and captured the detail and shading in the planes:


This was inked by Chance Kenyon out of Jack Brown's Tattoo Revival in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

John was on his way back home from New York where he was spending his honeymoon with his new wife Liz. See the post below to see the tattoos John and Liz got to commemorate their union.

Thanks to John for sharing his awesome tattoo here on Tattoosday!

*I initially reported that Mark McCormick designed the poster, as it was attributed to him on the poster website, Expresso Beans. I e-mailed Mark through his company's website to tell him about the post and he wrote back:

Hey Bill!

That is AWESOME!!! Thanks so much for sharing it with us. I am Mark McCormick, but Mad Pakyderms is myself and Lee Zeman. That particular poster was created by Lee. If you could credit him accordingly that would be amazing! I'll be sure to let him know about it and direct him to your site to see it for himself. I'm actually moving to NYC myself next month. Perhaps you'll see me on the street someday and ask me about my own tattoos. HA! Awesome site, man! Thanks again! Battle on!

CHEERS!
Mark
http://www.markmccormickart.com/

I have amended the post to give proper credit to Lee Zeman. You can see more or Lee's work at www.gigposters.com here. If you've never checked out the gigposters site, do yourself a favor and go exploring. It's fun!

Surgeon General's Warning: A Varga Girl Smoking on Your Arm Looks Awesome

Meet Priscilla. That's her above on Maeve's arm, as seen last week on 6th Avenue. Maeve offered her to Tattoosday from among the thirteen tattoos she has. Priscilla, as Maeve calls her, is based on the pin-up art of Alberto Vargas. Check out more of his work here.

The work on which she is based initially had her as a blonde, but Maeve, made her a brunette. She also chose to have her smoking because, although she acknowledges that it's bad for you, it's still pretty cool-looking.

This beautiful tattoo was inked in November 2007 by Aryn at Twysted Imagez Tattoo Studio in Alexandria, Virginia.

Thanks to Maeve for sharing Priscilla here with us at Tattoosday!

Peter Caruso's Ink: Old-School Brooklyn Represented

These two inner-arm pin-ups belong to local free-lance tattoo artist Peter Caruso.

I ran into Peter a couple of Sundays ago, caught without my camera at the local 7-Eleven, so I left him with a flier so he could check out Tattoosday . He did, and e-mailed me shortly thereafter, offering to meet up, take pictures, and talk tattooing. This past Sunday, we reconnected in front of the 7-Eleven and I took a few shots of his awesome tattoos.

Here's Peter with his forearms extended:

Your standard article on the popularity of tattooing in 2008 always looks back to the old days, back when the only inked folks around (supposedly) were bikers, veterans or sailors, criminals and circus performers.

But we are living in an "enlightened" era, says the conventional wisdom, when there is a lot less stigma attached to the art. Tattooing was illegal in New York City from the early 1960's to the mid-1990's.

Peter remembers growing up in Bensonhurst and admiring the tattoos of the neighborhood heavies. There was a lot of admiration for the tattooed gangster-types that were the fixtures in the neighborhood delis, hanging out in front of the mom-and-pop stores, and being active in the community.

Peter admired the ink, and that old school style has influenced not only his own work, but the work he had done on himself.

Peter learned from, and was influenced by, those artists he considers to be the "Old School" of Brooklyn tattooists.

He worked with and apprenticed under Paul Raffelo of Paulie Tattoo and Vito of Vito Tattoo.

He estimates that he has approximately 13 tattoos, including 2 full sleeves.

A closer look at the pin-ups on his forearms shows a style of tattoo that is classic old-school. Peter said that this was the type of tattoo that was typical in the old neighborhood he grew up in.


The "Steady as She Goes" motto was a standard phrase in a lot of old naval flash art.

These pinups were inked by Paulie Tattoos.

On Peter's inner right forearm is a green Tibetan ritual mask:

The mask is used, according to tradition, to drink the blood from the head in an attempt to keep the spirit alive after the body dies. Vito of Vito tattoos was the artist.

Peter is also particularly proud of this Sanskrit piece on his forearm:

Peter explained that this represents the thunderbolt that destroys ignorance, a concept explained by the term vajra and a precept in Buddhism that leads to the destruction of ignorance through enlightenment.

Thanks to Peter Caruso for sharing his tattoos here on Tattoosday. Peter is currently working free-lance and can be contacted by clicking here.

The Rising Sun

Despite the warmer weather, it was drizzly and overcast on Friday when I was walking north on Broadway at lunchtime.

Despite the occasional raindrop, the journey didn't warrant an umbrella. As I ambled toward Times Square, I passed a gentleman smoking a cigarette outside of a building. His arms were inked.

I walked to the corner contemplating whether I should head back and ask him about his tattoos. I dismissed the weak excuse of precipitation and wandered back and introduced myself.

He had multiple tattoos on both arms, but what jumped out initially were the pin-ups on the interior of his forearms:



I especially liked his newest piece, on the right, with the Stars & Stripes theme and what appeared to be a rising sun tattooed on the lower right buttock of the woman. "Great detail," I thought.

I handed him a printout and said that Tattoosday averages a modest 150 hits a day. He indicated he had a blog too, with significantly more traffic. I asked if I could get the site to link and he hesitated.

Remembering that he had met me only minutes before, and that people generally have strong opinions about lifestyles that may be different than theirs, his pause was understandable when he disclosed that his blog, The House of Richard Windsor (Mature Readers only), is dedicated to the fetish of, well, spanking.

I'm an open-minded guy and such a revelation hardly phased me. If anything, it made the encounter more interesting.

So, going by the name Richard Windsor, the possessor of the above tattoos is a 44-year old originally from the English town of Swindon.

He offered up the pin-ups happily. They actually represented the lifestyle he lived. On his left forearm is the "good girl". He drew her himself* and she was later inked by Kelly Krantz at FlyRite Studio in Brooklyn. The shop has previously been featured on Tattoosday here.







The opposite arm bears the Naughty Girl, as tattooed by Krantz most recently. Both were done at the same shop, although Krantz is now working out of Hold Fast Tattoos, in Williams-
burg, Brooklyn.

It was then that I made the additional connection. I said to him: "Oh, the mark on the Naughty Girl is a hand print! I thought it was a rising sun!"

Richard smiled and laughed, "Well, it is."

Brilliant.

Anyway, thanks to Mr. Windsor for being so open and sharing his ladies with the denizens of Tattoosday!

*NOTE: Richard wrote to me, clarifying the design of the "good girl" after this posted:

I just want to clarify a little bit what I told you. While I did indeed sketch the first tattoo, all credit should really go to Kelly as his interpretation of my "very rough" drawing by far exceeded my expectations. He took my ideas and the finished product is actually his work, I shouldn't really take credit for what he created. All I did was provide the ideas and the original sketch, which in fairness was 100 times inferior to his creation.

Thanks to Richard Windsor for a) clarifying this matter and b) sending visitors this way to check out his pin-ups over here on Tattoosday!