Wake up Tattoos

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!

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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!

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Mr. Kaves Shares a Mark Mahoney Portrait

A couple weeks back, I ran into Michael Kaves on 3rd Avenue, a couple blocks away from his shop, Brooklyn Made Tattoo. Kaves is also one of the founding members of The Lordz of Brooklyn. I know Kaves from around the neighborhood, and although I've never been tattooed by him, I have been under the needle in his shop and have had the pleasure of seeing him work first-hand and close-up on other clients.

He's familiar with Tattoosday and wanted to share a tattoo with us here on the site. Check it out:

Located on Kaves' upper right arm, this brilliant tattoo was inked by the legendary Mark Mahoney.

Kaves explained he had gone out to Los Angeles a couple months back and worked at Mahoney's renown shop, the Shamrock Social Club. They had a big launch for a limited edition tattoo pigment - "Mark Mahoney's Shamrock Green". He was there, working on St. Patrick's Day for the official launch.

Mahoney, known to many as the " founding father" of single-needle black and gray tattooing, tattooed this portrait for Kaves, which took about twelve hours from start to finish.

And who is the woman tattooed on his arm? "It's my grandmother, Marie," he explained, "from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, right here on Third Avenue, 1945."

Kaves' own tattooing work first appeared on Tattoosday back in 2008 here. Most recently, his work has appeared here. This is, however, the first time we have been honored to share a tattoo by Mark Mahoney.

Thanks to Kaves for sharing this phenomenal tattoo by an American master, here with us on Tattoosday!

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Repost for Memorial Dsy: A Traditional Naval Tattoo on a 21st Century Ship

This post originally appeared on November 7, 2009. I felt it was appropriate to re-post on Memorial Day, 2011:

The USS New York was put into service today by the United States Navy.

Her hull was forged with steel salvaged from the rubble of the World Trade Center.

It's a momentous occasion indeed, and several crew members were in attendance with dignitaries earlier this week at the World Series.

As is happens, I noticed a gentleman in uniform outside of Madison Square Garden earlier in the week and he had this tattoo on both hands:

Turns out, the tattoo was modeled after this naval pin, which represents the rank of Boatswain's Mate, worn on the lapel:

The gentleman, whose name is Fred, serves on the USS New York, as the more commonly-known title of Ships Bos'n, and it seems appropriate to post this tattoo today as the ship officially enters the naval fleet.

Fred has been in the service for 26 years, and has seven or eight tattoos all told.

As Ships Bos'n he works with mission systems on amphibious maneuvers.

The crossed anchors are traditional naval insignia and, even though he drew this design himself and they weren't inked in a traditional tattoo shop, he recognizes the crossed anchors as symbols of his dedication to the trade.

I thank Fred for his service to our country, as well as his willingness to contribute to Tattoosday. We wish him well as he serves with pride on the USS New York!

Life is War

Back in April, I met Joshua outside of Penn Station, and he shared this, one of his five tattoos:

This forearm tattoo, exemplifies Joshua's philosophy that life is war: "you have to go through war to get where you're going."

An ex-girlfriend drew it up for him and then he had it tattooed by Jamie at Bullseye Tattoo Shop in Staten Island, New York.

Thanks to Joshua for sharing this tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Chad and the City

I met Chad one afternoon in April outside of Madison Square Garden. He shared this tattoo which is on his left shin:

As one might have guessed, Chad is a huge fan of the former HBO series Sex and the City and this is one of a large number of tattoos that he has. When I asked how many he had, he quipped “I have no clue.”

Chad’s work was inked by Eileen Fabbricatore at Lady Luck Tattoo in Aurora, Colorado.

Thanks to Chad for sharing these tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!