Andrea's Half-Sleeve with MermaidToday we are checking out an awesome traditional half-sleeve by Charlie Foos at Reade Street Tattoo Parlour. I spotted it on Andrea outside of the Fuse studios on Seventh Avenue in Manhattan:Andrea told me this was completed in three sessions of three and a half hours each and was inspired by s piec…
Kerry Unveils Some MasterpiecesA couple weeks ago, I felt like I had won the Tattoosday lottery. In my own neighborhood, I ran into Kerry, who had a bit of a tattoo peeking out of her left sleeve. I stopped her and introduced myself, and she shared some simply phenomenal work. We'll get to that left sleeve in a second, but Kerry …
Nicole Takes Us to CandylandAt the beginning of the month, I had the pleasure of encountering a young lady named Nicole in Herald Square (34th Street and 6th Avenue, for you out-of-towners).Nicole is heavily inked, estimating that "about 45%" of her body is tattooed.So with so much work, where to begin? She offered up her lowe…
Musician Monday: Doug from The Sleeping and Gramp's HouseThis installment of Musician Monday features Doug Robinson, lead singer from the rock band The Sleeping. I ran into Doug last week in Penn Station and stopped him when I saw all of his tattoos.Doug has had some of his work featured in Tattoo Magazine and is in the current issue of Tattoo Flash, so I…
Jessica: A Sugar Skull and Scream and Scream AgainIn yesterday's post, I talked about meeting Corey and Jessica in front of Penn Station, and we featured two of Corey's tattoos. Today it's Jessica's turn. She praised to no end the tattoo artist who did this sugar skull, her friend Chris Handford at Perkins Road Parlor in Baton Rouge, Louisiana."The…
Corey's Traditional CreaturesI met Corey and Jessica last month outside of Madison Square Garden on a bright, sunny afternoon. Between the two of them, they have dozens of tattoos, so I had a lovely time chatting with them. They're originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and had been tattooed by a couple of artists who are frie…
Kathy's Back, The BeginningI spotted Kathy walking in front of Madison Square Garden, near the corner of Seventh Avenue and 33rd Street earlier this month and, although I couldn't see specifically what she had going with her tattoos, I was intrigued enough to ask.Some folks are often dismissive of me when I approach them, but…
Emily's TypewriterLast week, on Eighth Avenue, I spotted an incredible tattoo on the back of a woman's calf and knew that I had to speak to her about it. Check it out:This vintage typewriter belongs to Emily, and was tattooed by one of my favorite artists in New York, Virginia Elwood at New York Adorned. You can clic…
Orlando the BraveLast fall, I met Orlando near F.I.T. and posted some of his tattoos in December. I had wanted to get clearer photos, but I hadn't been able to contact him, so his work appeared here, in an end-of-the-year recap.Fast forward to a month ago, when I spotted Orlando again on the corner where I work, so …
Orphans: The Hungry LionSo what do I do with a tattoo photo that has been abandoned and forgotten?Why post it here, of course.Back on May 10, I met a guy in Penn Station and took a picture of his tattoo, which he referred to as his "Hungry Lion":And then, before I could talk to him further, his girlfriend emerged from the …
Delphine Shares a Lucky Cat and a Sailor Jerry DesignI met Delphine last week and she shared two of her tattoos with me. First is this piece:For those of you who do not recognize this image, it is a common piece of ceramic sculpture popular in Japanese culture called the "Maneki Neko," or Lucky Cat. It is a good luck charm, and is often seen in Asian-…
Vaughn's Elemental SleeveI met Vaughn in the Borders in Penn Plaza and he shared this half-sleeve with us. It's one of four tattoos that he has. He wanted a sleeve representing the intermix of the elements fire and water, and John Clarke at Holeshot's Premium Tattoo & Body Piercing in Amherst, Massachusetts came up with the…
Jay's Hands Express Faith and DoubtI met Jay in Penn Station, stopping him because he had a whole lot of tattoos. He estimated that he is probably 60 to 70 percent covered. He offered up his most recent work (as of May 31, 2011), the following tattoos:Jay explained that, as a Christian, and as a pastor at the Revolution Church in Wil…
Tim's Sleeve Illustrates A Vision of Life on EarthI met Tim back in April in Penn Station and took several pictures of his left arm, which is fully-sleeved. What follows is a presentation of the work, from top to bottom:There's a lot going on here, but Tim summed the theme of the sleeve as "Hell is the world we're living in, and we're all trying to…
Salvatore Shares a Family HeirloomYesterday marked the anniversary of the death of Norman "Sailor Jerry" Collins, so it seems appropriate to share the following tattoo, courtesy of Salvatore:Located on his upper right arm, Salvatore explained that his family emigrated from Europe several generations ago. His grandfather joined the s…
Tara's Stunning Tattoos Represent Clarity and FreedomI was riding my bike along the water and the Belt Parkway in South Brooklyn last month, when a woman passed me on her roller skates, headed in the other direction.I quickly reversed directions and caught up with her because I wanted to ask her about her half-sleeve:It's really quite stunning, and I …
Rob Shares a Handful of DustToday's tattoo comes to us from Rob, who I met in Penn Station last month.Rob has fifteen tattoos, and he offered up the one above (two, if you count "This too shall pass" on his wrist).He explained that the logo is from his friend's band called Handful of Dust. I wasn't able to track down a band si…
Amanda and Her KoiThis koi is swimming upstream on Amanda's left arm.Talking to her in Penn Station, Amanda explained that she was "really interested in the Japanese style".She received the tattoo from Pat James Dean at Tattooville, in Neptune, New Jersey. Done in two sessions, Amanda told me that she selected Pat, i…
Nadir's LA InkLast month, my lovely wife Melanie was hospitalized with appendicitis. A bummer by all accounts, but on one occasion, when I left Maimonides Medical Center to grab a slice of pizza, I ran into a guy on Fort Hamilton Parkway named Nadir, whose forearm tattoo jumped out at me:Nadir is an Angeleno tran…
Zoe's Birds, AloftI met Zoe a couple weeks ago when I spotted an incredible bird tattoo creeping up over her shoulder:What's especially mesmerizing about this tattoo is where it begins:Starting in the middle of her back, this flock of birds lifts up off of her flesh, and flies over her shoulder.So from where did the …
Musician Monday: Sly's Mary Keeps on BurningLast week, while passing through Penn Station, I ran into Sly, one of the vocalists from an up-and-coming band called Sloburn.Sly shared this, one of her seven tattoos:Sly explained: "I'm more of a spiritual person. The tattoo is Mary. I'm Catholic, for one thing, but I like wearing rosaries and thi…
Tattoos I Know: Mary’s MarilynMarilyn Monroe is a pretty popular figure to see tattooed on people. Clicking here will show you this, as well as every other post on Tattoosday that features a Marilyn Monroe tattoo. In the popularity contest, she wins by a mile.It was with great pleasure that, a couple weeks back, one of my co-wor…
Vincent's Cross Represents Faith and HeritageReligious tattoos are quite common, as any casual observer of other people's tattoos can tell you. Generally, I don't ask people about them, but every so often I feel inclined, especially when I think they're done nicely.Take Vincent, for example. I met him in Penn Station and took a picture of this…
Sam's "Footographs"I was passing through the campus of F.I.T. last month when I spotted Sam's feet:Her right foot bears the signatures of all four members of the band Honor Society:She met the band members (Michael Bruno, Jason Rosen, Andrew Lee, and Alexander Noyes) at a promotional event at a phone store out on Long…
