Saturday, January 12, 2008

Tattoos I Know: Johnny Fears No Evil

A few months ago, Johnny started working at my company and I almost immediately noticed his tattoo on the inside of his right forearm.

I broached the subject (along with Tom) of having him join the Tattoosday ranks a while ago.

The last few warm January days hinted at a possible windfall unfurling of ink in the New York area, but I had no takers.

Today I asked Johnny if he wouldn't mind sharing his ink, and he agreed. Here it is:



This piece was inked three years ago in Newport News, Virginia, when Johnny was stationed there in the Navy. He had it done at Army-Navy Tattoo.

Like many tattoos, this horned skull is occasional. That is, he had it done to commemorate a significant event in his life. In this case, the occurrence was his first jump out of an airplane. He fearlessly overcame the initial anxiety of skydiving and chose to mark the moment with this
sweet tattoo.

Basically, in Johnny's words, it represents: "Fear no evil, not even the devil."

The tattoo is a composite of a skull design from the shop and the horns are borrowed from the art of David Boltt. His gallery of tattoos is here. I have to concur that the horns make the skull exceptional.


This is the third of Johnny's four tattoos, and the only one that appears regularly. Johnny and I were talking with Jerome recently and he talked from experience about the pain of having your side tattooed, so I imagine there is a big one there.

Johnny acknowledges that this piece is a work in progress and that he not only hopes to add the words "Fear No Evil" above it, but also plans to eventually add to the arm and build a sleeve.

Thanks to Johnny for sharing the reminder of your fearlessness with us here at Tattoosday!

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Tattoos I Know: Jerome Finds Strength in a Tattoo

After my year end double-barrelled post of Erika's Ink, I wasn't expecting to post right away, but another co-worker of mine got his first tattoo over the weekend.

I hadn't even got into my office when I ran into Tom and Jerome.

Tom said "Bill, you gotta see this!"

Jerome took off his shirt to reveal this freshly-inked portrait of Jesus:


I had my camera out before I even knew what I was doing. There's nothing like fresh ink that pops off the flesh.

Jerome is 45 and this was his first tattoo, less than a week old.

Jerome says "I wanted a tattoo all my life, but I was fearful of the pain. I wanted to overcome my fears".

Jerome says that he finds this tattoo gives him strength. He is in Recovery, and this brings him "closer to a higher power". By being on him, Jerome beamed, "He is part of me".

This tattoo was inked by Jeff at Adrenaline Tattoos and Body Piercings in Brick, New Jersey.

Thanks to Jerome for sharing his fresh ink with Tattoosday!
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