Arts And Entertainment

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Nadir's LA Ink

Last 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 transplanted here in the Big Apple, but he wears his hometown on his sleeve. The distinct LA logo, most commonly seen on the apparel associated with the Los Angeles Dodgers, is a sign of civic pride. He credits Mikey Montoya, from Rube's Tattoo in Arcadia (east of Pasadena), with this piece.

Nadir also shared this tattoo, from the left side of his chest:

If that looks familiar, it is because it is the logo at the center of the Mexican flag.

This nod to his Mexican heritage was tattooed by Raul Suarez at Inkstop Tattoo NYC.

But most impressive was this piece on Nadir's right side:

Nadir explained that his father always listened to the musical group Los Tigres del Norte, and he grew up with their music playing in his home. He considers this also as an apt tribute to his heritage and upbringing.

He credits this incredible piece, which took six hours to complete (no easy feat, considering it's on his ribs), to Tom Tilden, co-owner of the aforementioned Rube's Tattoos, in Arcadia.

Thanks to Nadir for sharing his awesome tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

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 http://tattoosday.blogspot.com 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.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Zoe's Birds, Aloft

I 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 inspiration for this tattoo come? Zoe explains:

"I stole the color combination and the silhouetted birds from my favorite album [Deja Entendu by Brand New].

I went in [to Name Brand Tattoo in Ann Arbor, Michigan] and gave [tattoo artist Dawn Cooke] the music and said this is why ... it helped me get through a really bad point in my life. I told her what I wanted and she figured out the placement on my body. I originally wanted it straight across my back, but she worked with my body to get it on there ... after three hours of tattooing, I asked her if she put coloring in and she did. It's all free-hand."

The tattoo took four hours in all to complete, and Zoe had nothing but praise for the artist and the shop. Name Brand, she said, "is great, super-relaxed ... they weren't judgmental [and] tend to have people with art degrees, which is really interesting." Artist Dawn Cook has moved, however, and now tattoos out of Depot Town Tattoo, in Traverse City, Michigan.

Thanks to Zoe for sharing her amazing tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Asa an added treat, here's a track from Brand New, from the album that helped inspire this body art:

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday.

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 http://tattoosday.blogspot.com 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.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Tattoos I Know: Mary’s Marilyn

Marilyn 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-workers, Mary, got on the elevator at the end of the day, and the first thing I noticed was this fresh Marilyn Monroe tattoo, peering up at me from her right foot:

Of course, I had to ask Mary about this tattoo. Our exchange follows:

Tattoosday: Why’d you get Marilyn on your foot?

Mary: Anybody who knows me can answer that question. I love Marilyn and I wanted to put it in a spot that can showcase it without being on my forearm or my face or my neck and it seems to be a hit where it is.

Tattoosday: This is your first Marilyn tattoo?

Mary: Well, if you don’t count the mole I have. A tattoo of a mole.

Tattoosday: Oh, so that’s not a real mole?

Mary: Yes.

Tattoosday: So who is the artist?

Mary: It’s a shop that everyone in my neighborhood goes to, it’s called Eddie's Ink on Myrtle Avenue in Queens…I guess he has a following because he just moved from Brooklyn to Queens and everybody recommended him . . . it’s not like it’s in a spot that I can cover up, unless it’s winter, so I wanted to make sure it was a good job and he went online and I told him exactly what I wanted and he found a couple of pictures and we ended up settling on this one. I didn’t want color, I just wanted black…”.

I alluded to the popularity of the Marilyn tattoo at the beginning of the post. That said, I have to commend Mary on her originality, as I hadn’t seen one like this before. Thanks go to her for sharing this cool tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Vincent's Cross Represents Faith and Heritage

Religious 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 cross on his forearm:

Vincent explained that he drew this design, incorporating Celtic designs, as an acknowledgement of his faith (represented by the cross and the circle, symbolizing the Trinity) and his heritage. His father's ancestry is Welsh, and his mother's family is Italian.

The tattoo was done by at Sacred-X-Pressions in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. He doesn't recall the tattooist's name, but does know he has moved on from that shop.

Thanks to Vincent for sharing his expression of faith and heritage with us here on Tattoosday!

Friday, June 3, 2011

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 Island. After getting their autographs, she had the quartet of John Hancocks permanently inked at Tormented Souls Tattoo & Body Piercing, East Northport location.

Her left foot bears this line:

The line is German, "Liebe macht erfiniderish," which Sam told me means "love will find a way." She says that this is both a nod to her German heritage, but also a reminder that, despite the fact that she may be occupied with other things, love will eventually find a way into her life. This was also inked at Tormented Souls, but in the Kings Park location.

Thanks to Sam for sharing her foot tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Andrew's Traditional Sleeve by Horisei

Every once in a while, it's nice to appreciate a tattoo for its own sake. This is especially rewarding for me when I am familiar with the artist, and I know people who have been tattooed by him or her, which has allowed me to appreciate their craft over time.

Two of my friends have been fortunate enough to have been tattooed by the wonderful Horisei (their work appeared here and here). Horisei works out of Chelsea Tattoo Company, former location of Rising Dragon.

So, when I spotted Andrew, coming out of Penn Station last month, I was more than thrilled to take shots of his Horisei-crafted sleeve.

Andrew estimates that this took about twenty hours of work, over a two to three month period.

His traditional Japanese sleeve consists of a tiger, two koi, and peonies, in addition to the water background.

Thanks to Andrew for sharing his awesome sleeve with us here on Tattoosday!

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Timothy Shares a Luis Royo-Inspired Tattoo (and More!)

When I met Timothy in Penn Station last month, I approached him because I noticed a tattoo on the back of his calf. But when I introduced myself, and explained what Tattoosday was all about, he rolled up his right sleeve to reveal a much better tattoo:

Timothy explained that the woman "is from a piece of artwork I love by Luis Royo, who worked for Heavy Metal." His tattoo artist, Tim McCormick at Wild Rose Tattoo in upstate New York, added the headdress to the original image "to make it more unique." Royo, Timothy, explained, has been his favorite artist since he was 13, and he got the tattoo at 29. The detail is incredible:

But what about the tattoo I first spotted on Timothy that prompted me to approach him in the first place?

"I've always been a big pirate fan since I was four....I got it in Puerto Rico. I drank a half a bottle of rum and my last day there decided to get a tattoo," Timothy explained. Considering the locale and the liquid that inspired the inking, the final product seemed more than appropriate:

Thanks to Timothy for sharing his tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!