Nigel from the Dirty Thirty Shares Some Traditional Ink

I met Nigel on the Upper West Side last month, across the street from Verdi Square. I spotted some tattoos on his arms and asked if he wouldn't mind sharing some of them. He was happy to oblige.<br /><br />The first piece is a gypsy, inked by <a href="http://smithstreettattoo.com/blog/?cat=12">Dan Santoro</a> of <a href="http://smithstreettattoo.com/">Smith Street Tattoo</a> in Brooklyn:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiATJe-iUMTN3Flwj5xsWTV7OekQ-tzlMJcqksPd8DcFvplQcr_6TtS9f3S_6mP28ap5viixhbIYFLHFLYcVfP_dSy_1Lb6cVtLJBD7yRSlpYkXPNNe5y5DSKMZVxebcEofmGZmk8fXv-g/s1600/nigel+gypsy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiATJe-iUMTN3Flwj5xsWTV7OekQ-tzlMJcqksPd8DcFvplQcr_6TtS9f3S_6mP28ap5viixhbIYFLHFLYcVfP_dSy_1Lb6cVtLJBD7yRSlpYkXPNNe5y5DSKMZVxebcEofmGZmk8fXv-g/s640/nigel+gypsy.jpg" width="410" /></a></div><br />"The gypsy," Nigel said, "is pretty much from travelling and bouncing."<br /><br />He also shared two pieces done by a friend of his from Richmond, Virginia, Gerald M.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha4ftYlm3uOXmXz-NBZqrPFIqeVYNjqJZZOdhHuOjUsTd9egWCq5Gh1ymfDsIDbC7M5nnY9B6iFS3uOIkniu5qJsrl7S6q07dNF8sRgH1a3L5y7X4QLYsxZiaat97uqJKAvA5L6O7BVDw/s1600/blood+sweat+tears.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha4ftYlm3uOXmXz-NBZqrPFIqeVYNjqJZZOdhHuOjUsTd9egWCq5Gh1ymfDsIDbC7M5nnY9B6iFS3uOIkniu5qJsrl7S6q07dNF8sRgH1a3L5y7X4QLYsxZiaat97uqJKAvA5L6O7BVDw/s640/blood+sweat+tears.jpg" width="548" /></a></div><br />"The eyeball here on my right arm is ... blood sweat and tears," he told me. "It represents a lot of different endings and beginnings, as far as work and life and whatnot."<br /><br />I particularly like this tattoo, on Nigel's upper left arm:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieRYdJUZN4MkBOp7-cRqKBv2XHlq8RR-2mV7bGjvQW0LhfZINNtTB2xZFn7j0EFnhoqYOUuqJyahahbhKOc8PNBI5txV1xupz51tewUw0DyUZJ3qhCXWKmwXMd3COwiTW4gZ6-rB6ebMw/s1600/dirty+30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieRYdJUZN4MkBOp7-cRqKBv2XHlq8RR-2mV7bGjvQW0LhfZINNtTB2xZFn7j0EFnhoqYOUuqJyahahbhKOc8PNBI5txV1xupz51tewUw0DyUZJ3qhCXWKmwXMd3COwiTW4gZ6-rB6ebMw/s640/dirty+30.jpg" width="283" /></a></div><br />"The train is," Nigel explained, "more or less a story of how my art finished and started." Also by Gerald M., Nigel had nothing but praise for his work:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">"His specialty is roses. He won an award in Las Vegas for doing the best rose last year, so that's kind of his thing.  His little trademark is an eyeball, as well, so you'll see an eye in most of his pieces."</blockquote>The banner identifies "The Dirty 30," a nationwide art collective of which Nigel is a part.<br /><br />Thanks to Nigel for sharing his tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!<br /><br /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />If you are reading this on another web site 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 <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://tattoosday.blogspot.com</a> 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.</span></div>

Nigel from the Dirty Thirty Shares Some Traditional Ink

I met Nigel on the Upper West Side last month, across the street from Verdi Square. I spotted some tattoos on his arms and asked if he would...

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