Kelly Remembers her Grandmother

This awesome portrait was jumping off of Kelly's right shoulder in Penn Plaza last Wednesday.

Kelly has ten tattoos in all, but she chose this portrait for Tattoosday, inked six years ago by Joey Ortega at Kingpin Tattoos in Harker Heights, Texas.

This was, according to Kelly, Ortega's first portrait, and he created for her a lasting memorial to her grandmother, who had meant the world to her.

The portrait is accompanied by the phrase "may angels lead you in," a lyric from the song "Hear You Me" by the band Jimmy Eat World:

May angels lead you in
Hear you me my friends
On sleepless roads, the sleepless go
May angels lead you in

Kelly was in town visiting with her friend Amber. They have matching tattoos. See them below here.

Thanks to Kelly for sharing such a meaningful tattoo here with us on Tattoosday!

Bonus footage- the video from "Hear You Me":

Punx: Two Friends from Texas

This is a continuation of sorts, from the post above.

When I met Kelly, she was hanging out with her friend Amber. And although Kelly appeared to be the more inked of the two, Amber was very positive and enthusiastic about the concept behind Tattoosday.

So after taking a picture of Kelly's tattoo, I turned to Amber and asked if she wanted to share as well.

The two decided to show off their "Punx" tattoos, both inked on their wrists on the occasion of their 21st birthdays.

According to Amber and Kelly, the "Punx" label is affiliated with the band The Transplants, headed by Lars Fredrickson, formerly of the band Rancid. According to Kelly and Amber, it is common for fans of the band to get this tattoo as a mark of solidarity.

They don't remember the name of the shop where they had these spur of the moment tattoos done, but they do recall that it was a place near the River Walk in San Antonio, Texas.

Thanks to Amber and Kelly for being so cool and sharing their ink with us here at Tattoosday!

A Cool Frog Tattoo on a Hot Day

In probably one of my shortest posts, I present you with the frog above, inked on the left leg of Kelly.

I spotted this beautiful tattoo as Kelly and a friend were waiting for some food at a cart on the corner of 33rd and 7th Avenue.

Her hands were full and she seemed a bit in a hurry, so I don't have a lot of details (as well as not a perfect picture), but Kelly was in New York, visiting from Florida, and she has loved frogs since she was a kid.

Even though the picture is a bit washed out and the back part of the tattoo is partially obscured, one can still see the vivid color and phenomenal detail that makes this piece just pop off of the skin.

Kelly has 7 tattoos in all (one of which is a cool, but not as cool as this one, frog on the back of her right leg.

This frog was inked about two and a half years ago at Livewire Tattoo Studio in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. The artist was Angelo, who is no longer listed on their website.

Thanks to Kelly for sharing her awesome amphibian tattoo here with us at Tattoosday!

Frankie and Her Brother, Forever in Ink

Frankie designed this cartoon portrait of herself with her brother holding hands. The tattoo is on her left bicep. That's her on the right, with the red hair.

She had this inked at Village Pop Inc. on West 4th Street in Manhattan. I caught Frankie on the R train and took the photo on the 95th Street platform in Bay Ridge.

Thanks to Frankie for sharing this poignant tattoo here with us at Tattoosday!

Crys Shares His Colorful Arm

When I passed Crys on Seventh Avenue last Friday, I knew I had to stop and ask about his arm.

Aside from the matching ohms-within-nautical stars on both elbows, Crys has two main pieces on his left arm.

Chronologically, the dragon came first:

He got it basically because he liked the design. It was inked by Nick at True Blue Tattoo in Austin, Texas.

The kanji surrounding the dragon were added later at Atomic Tattoo & Body Piercing, also in Austin. These were gifts from Crys' girlfriend. According to Chrys, going clockwise from the top, the kanji represnt love, honor, peace and life.

After that, he went back later to Atomic Tattoo and added the fire around the dragon to give his arm more color.

Finally, he added the Buddha at a shop in Houston:

Actually, a friend of his, Corey, from Austin, designed and drew up the initial sketch. Crys doesn't remember where it was inked.

Thanks to Crys for sharing his arm with us here on Tattoosday!

The Only Tattoo Blog that Educates its Readers About the Clutius Manuscript AND the Hoplite Phalanx

As you may have guessed from the title above, this is an educational post.

Anna has four tattoos, but it was this one, on the back of her left calf, that caught my eye as she passed me on Seventh Avenue last week. I stopped to ask what this was all about. And I felt like I was back in the classroom. Absolutely fascinating!


This piece is based on the art found on the Chigi Vase:


So why is the Chigi vase, a piece of Corinthian pottery dating back to around the 7th century, B.C., important? Anna explained that it is on the vase that the first artistic representation of the Hoplite Phalanx formation appeared. Or, the earliest surviving representation. It is in this battle formation that soldiers are lined up in such a way that the soldier next to them uses their shield to protect their neighbor. The economic formation proved very effective and it was an important step in democracy, as a group of soldiers banded together to form one cohesive unit.

Anna is an alumna of Reed College in Portland,Oregon, where she studied the Classics. I didn't mention to her at the time that I was a graduate of Occidental College in Los Angeles, a similarly small liberal arts college where there is a deep tradition of teaching the Classics. So, I got why she had this tattooed on her, not to mention how nicely done it was in the first place.

Aside from the liberal arts background, I also related to Anna on the level that she is originally from the Central Coast of California, near San Luis Obispo. Although my connection to California is in L.A., to the south, I still have 12 years of life in the Golden State ingrained in my identity.

This segues to the piece on her left arm, a watercolor-like tattoo of a plant:


This is in fact, a strawberry plant, which is an integral part of the agricultural identity of the central section of California. The tattoo is based on the watercolors first recorded in what is known as the Clutius Manuscript, a 16th Century work of early botanical paintings. You can check out the link below for more information on this collection.

Anna, who also blogs here about her adventures with fresh vegetables and fruits in New York City green markets, had these tattoos inked in Portland by the artist Amy Cole. Ms. Cole works out of Tiger Lily Tattoo and Design.

Thanks to Anna for sharing her cool (and thought-provoking) body art here with us at Tattoosday!

Surgeon General's Warning: A Varga Girl Smoking on Your Arm Looks Awesome

Meet Priscilla. That's her above on Maeve's arm, as seen last week on 6th Avenue. Maeve offered her to Tattoosday from among the thirteen tattoos she has. Priscilla, as Maeve calls her, is based on the pin-up art of Alberto Vargas. Check out more of his work here.

The work on which she is based initially had her as a blonde, but Maeve, made her a brunette. She also chose to have her smoking because, although she acknowledges that it's bad for you, it's still pretty cool-looking.

This beautiful tattoo was inked in November 2007 by Aryn at Twysted Imagez Tattoo Studio in Alexandria, Virginia.

Thanks to Maeve for sharing Priscilla here with us at Tattoosday!