Melissa Got Her GunLast May, on the first day of the New York City Tattoo Convention, I was almost thirty blocks away from the Roseland Ballroom, where the three-day event takes place, when I bright flash of yellow hair caught my eye on Broadway.I was about to meet Melissa "Alabama" Graves.Her bright yellow hair was n…
Steve's Sleeve and the Narrative Behind ItEarlier this month, I was in the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn for a mixer for The Brooklyn Crescents lacrosse program.The event was held at Der Schwarze Kolner, a beer garden that offered up some tasty beverages. Over the course of the evening, I noticed one of the employees who was diligently pa…
Tom's Portrait of Ghost Bear Watches His BackSomeone on Tattoosday's Facebook page had recently inquired about an artist on this post which featured some great work on Tom, who I met on the Coney Island boardwalk last summer.I reached out to Tom for some additional details and not only did he clarify the reader's question, but he sent along a …
I Link, Therefore I AmModeling this after one of my favorite poetry blogs (Thank you, Ron Silliman), here's my attempt to share some links....Photo by Michael Short/special to the Chronicle (via SF Gate)Saturday morning, while standing in line for Brooklyn bagels that, as they say in Hawai'i, broke da mouth, I spotted an…
Fun Tattoo Links for a Friday!With my backlog nearly eliminated, and the bone-chilling temperatures of the northeast making exposed skin a rare and unusual sight, we here at Tattoosday are always looking for new ways to entertain our vast international audience of tattoo connoisseurs.Earlier this week, my lovely wife Melanie sen…
Craig's Hand-Held CameraThis is an orphan, of sorts, from 2012.Back on July 14, I met Craig, at the Chelsea Bazaar in Manhattan. There were several food vendors in attendance, including Craig's business Eat Me Sweetly.I took a picture of this incredible tattoo on Craig's hand:Unfortunately, my recording of our meeting is a…
Why Don't Millionaires Have Better Tattoos? Or, Inkasaurus RexAs a tattoo blogger and enthusiast, a lot of my non-tattooed friends often ask me, "Why do professional athletes have such lousy tattoos?"A good point.When you think "great tattoos" you don't picture your favorite basketball, football, or baseball player. Even the majority of Olympians with ink seem…
Shannon Shares Work by Stacey Martin and NoonSometimes a quick run to the grocery store brings an unexpected bonus.Last September, for example, I ran into Shannon, whose tattoos prompted me to stop and inquire.As it turned out, Shannon is one of the owners of Triple Diamond Tattoo, which opened last summer on Third Avenue in Brooklyn.She share…
John's Incredible Art-Themed Sleeve by Stefano AlcantaraIf you go back to the beginnings of Tattoosday, one of our earliest contributors was John Sorezza, a friend of the neighborhood who I see quite often. He shared his first work, the beginning of a leg piece, here.In the years that have passed since I first met him, John has taken up work as a tattoo …
Bruno, World Traveler, Shares Two Impressive TattoosOn a lovely fall day, back in October, I met Bruno on 32nd Street, just south of Greeley Square.This was the tattoo on his calf that caught my eye and inspired me to stop him:Bruno told me he was "travelling the world, trying to get some good waves everywhere I go." He had this Hannya mask done "bac…
Daisy Shares Some Lovely Work from East River TattooThis past fall, I ran into Daisy as she was exiting a subway station on the Upper West Side. She was displaying some interesting tattoos and she was kind enough to take a few minutes to chat with me about them.Daisy explained that she had only just recently started getting a lot of tattoos "all in t…
Phil's Sleeve Captures ConflictThe occasional reader might notice we don't feature a lot of full sleeves on this site, partly due to the difficulty of properly capturing the artist's work. Every once in a while, however, I see something quite good and feel I have to give it a shot.I ran into Phil this fall at one of my local groc…
Kevin's Medieval, Mystical, Musical SleeveThe other day we saw Olivia's "Hippie Chick".With her was Kevin, who let me photograph his sleeve:Kevin explained that the sleeve is "a medieval and mystical, musical kind of deal, a battle of what exists and doesn't exist in your own mind."This work was done by two artists from upstate New York: Jo…
Olivia's "Hippie Chick"Back in September, I met Kevin and Olivia in Penn Station. Both have tattoos and were kind enough to share their work. Today we get to appreciate Olivia's tattoo, which she described as her "hippie chick":Olivia explained:"I drew her myself. I draw all of my tattoos ... It's ... my inner personality…
Emily's Sugar Skull ButterflyAt the end of July 2012, I bumped into Emily on the West 4th Street subway platform in Manhattan.By her estimates, she has "about twenty" tattoos.She offered up this stunning piece that wraps around her forearm:Best to click on the image to see it in greater detail.This hybrid sugar skull butterfly …
Steven and Melissa's Friendship TattoosThis summer outside of Penn Station, on the corner of 8th Avenue and 33rd Street, I met Steven & Melissa, who marked their friendship with matching tattoos:This is how our discussion went:Tattoosday: "So what's the story with that tattoo?"Melissa: "It's a friendship tattoo..."Steven: "Yeah, I'm a Ca…
Kaci Shares Her Skytree TattooI met Kaci on Seventh Avenue in the fall, close to 14th Street. She was walking by me in the opposite direction and I had to ask her about the tattoo on her right leg:Kaci told me that this is an illustration of Skytree, a character in the He-Man story.Having absolutely no general understanding of t…
See Naomi's Tattoo: Life Doesn't Frighten HerWell, it's a new year here on Tattoosday, and we still have leftover posts from 2012. But since it's in the 20s today in New York City, and we don't see a lot of work over the winter, I'm always happy to share posts from warmer days.Going back to July, I was on the DeKalb Avenue subway platform in B…
