Happy Halloween from Tattoosday!
Here at Tattoosday, we're celebrating Halloween by posting the spookiest tattoo seen in the last month or so. Well, maybe not the spookiest, but certainly the most holiday-related tattoo:This was offered up by Robert, who I met in Borders Penn Plaza last month. And yes, your eyes are not deceiving y…
Ashlee Channels Snow White
This work in progress is on Ashlee's arm:The tattoo features Snow White at the top of the arm, with the witch's hand proffering an apple, wrapping around the arm:Ashlee explained that the tattoo is commenting on how superficial the world is and how the idea of Beauty was the downfall of the title …
Nesting Dolls and a Zombie, Courtesy of Kristin
Last month, I ran into Kristin at the Penn Plaza Borders store.She has ten tattoos, but the piece on her shin was the first one I spotted:These Russian nesting dolls represents the friendship Kristin has with her friend Kyle (thus, the merging of their names into "Kryle").It was tattooed by Bret fro…
Amanda's Phoenix
Amanda has two tattoos, one of which she shared with me at the end of August in the Penn Plaza Borders store.This is the tattoo she designed:Amanda was inspired by the "compelling mythology of phoenixes" and had Bobby at Modern Age Tattoo in Nanuet, New York, translate the design into the final pr…
Gary's Three Knuckles Speak Volumes
I spotted Gary standing at the top of some escalators in Penn Station. As I passed him, I noticed he had knuckle tattoos so I stopped to ask him about them:Gary explained that they are Korean charactersthat translate to "Soo Bahk Do," or "The Way of the Striking Hand".Soo Bahk Do is a form of martia…
The Tattoosday Book Review: Kat Von D's The Tattoo Chronicles
You can say a lot of things about Kat Von D. She is arguably one of the most well-known tattoo artists in the United States, if not the world. This fact, to old school tattoo enthusiasts, is not necessarily a good thing. She is the star of the hit "reality" series, L.A. Ink, has her own make-up line…
Missy's Initials, Illustrated by Gorey
I met Missy on the corner of 23rd and 7th back in the beginning of September and she shared her two tattoos, on both biceps.Her right arm bears this piece:and her left shoulder hosts this cool image: These images may seem familiar, because they are based on Edward Gorey's Alphabet.Missy has the two …
Heart Not Time
"I do not like the concept of linear time," Fredrika said to me, "moments and feelings should be more important".This was her thought behind this tattoo:I met Fredrika in Penn Station last month and she was kind enough to share this tattoo on her forearm.She has a lot of ink, but this is her favorit…
Rune's Viking Reflects His Cultural Pride
On a Friday last month, I ran into a couple from Denmark near Herald Square in the pedestrian median between Broadway and 6th Avenue.The gentleman had a lot of work done on his legs, so I approached and introduced myself. Rune was kind enough to not only share a tattoo, but to pull up his shorts a b…
Shauncey's Pantherabbit
Last month in Penn Station, I ran into a gentleman who was covered with tattoos and was happy to share one with us here on Tattoosday.As luck would have it, he was a tattoo artist himself, up from Florida, biding his time as he waited for his train to arrive.As tattooists generally have a lot of wor…
Waiter, There's a Marlin in My Cactus!
Believe it or not, I still have a couple of lingering pre-September tattoo encounters to write about, one of which is this bizarre tattoo I spotted two months ago today:This tattoo on Michael's right ankle is one of three that he has. He explained that it is an interpretation of a painting that hung…
Joey's Señorita
I met Joey on the subway one afternoon last month after spotting this cool tattoo on his left forearm:He told me that this Mexican girl, a señorita with a jug of alcohol, was a way of incorporating his wife's Hispanic heritage into a traditional pin-up tattoo. I asked Joey if this resembled her in a…
Amy's Skelanimal
I met Amy outside of Madison Square Garden and she chose this, of her 20+ tattoos, to share with us here on Tattoosday:This is one of the many "Skelanimals" (click to see more). I believe this one is Dax the Dog, which is Amy's favorite one.Why's she get it? "Just because..." she grinned.The tattoo …
Jess Shares Her Colorful Rooster
I met Jess last month and, still using a loaner camera, managed to get a shot of one of her three tattoos, located on her right forearm:Aside from the fact that the picture is not ideally crisp, one can still see how beautiful and colorful this tattoo is.The inspiration came from a book of Chinese p…
Zoe's Tattoo Makes the Cut
I spotted this superbly-done tattoo on Zoe's upper left arm last month in the New Jersey Transit waiting area in Penn Station:Straight up and simply, these scissors represent Zoe's tat-tool of the trade - she has worked as a hairstylist for two years.She credits Mike Lucena at Fly Rite Studio in Bro…
We Interrupt Our Regularly-Scheduled Program for a Word from a Tattooed Poet...
Those familiar with Tattoosday know that April is dedicated to the tattoos of poets, in honor of National Poetry Month. It only seems fair that, six months on the other side of the calendar, we let one of our contributors from this past April share her newest tattoo.Theresa's original post can be se…
Rebecca's Memorial Butterfly
I met Rebecca a couple months ago in Penn Station and asked her about her tattoos.Of the eleven, she shared this one from her leg:This beautiful, yet battered, butterfly is a memorial to her unborn child. She lost the baby when she was just nineteen. The cherry blossoms are often symbolic of the fle…
Madison's Classy Bicycle
I met Madison last month on the 59th Street subway platform in Brooklyn.She has "9 or 10" tattoos and selected this one to share: I don't generally describe the people who volunteer their tattoos here, but it's worth noting that Madison is petite, which ties into this tattoo. She rides a bicycle, al…
Marilyn Hangs Ten
I met Jenny last month in Penn Station and was thrilled when she allowed me to photograph her half-sleeve, which is one of her fourteen tattoos: How cool is that? This piece represents about twelve hours of work. Jenny had the basic idea and went to Jonathan Leonhardt at Something Wicked Tattoo in R…
William's Museum of Art
I met William on the A train one Sunday morning. He was covered with tattoos. When I asked him how many he has, he replied that he had "never counted".As many of my subjects can attest, when I meet people with a lot of ink, I ask them which one they'd like me to post on the site. William offered up …
Happy Birthday, John...
On what would be John Lennon's 70th birthday, we'll pay a tribute with this tattoo I spotted back at the end of July:This tattoo belongs to Julia, who I met on Penn Plaza outside of Borders near Madison Square Garden.This is her first tattoo, and it is based on John Lennon's artwork, one of his self…
Jackie's Bouncing Lyrics
At the beginning of the week, I posted Jackie's beautiful tattoo and didn't include some work on her wrists that I also photographed:These lyrics, "What are dreams for anyway/without the guts to live your life that way," are from the song "Highway Kings" by The Bouncing Souls, from their 2003 album …
Jessica's Floral Half-Sleeve
A trip to the Fairway market in Red Hook last month was not only remarkable for the experience with the cheese monger, but because I met Jessica, the owner of this beautiful tattoo: I love the variety of flowers, colors, and textures: Jessica credited this work to Greg at Planet New York Tattoo in P…
Melanie's Phoenix Helps Her Rise Above
I met Melanie in Penn Station and had to stop her to ask about this colorful phoenix on her back:She originally had just the Yin and Yang tattoo, but expanded the work to include the legendary bird rising through the ashes. To Melanie, this represents being "better and stronger" after picking up the…
Sew You Want a Cool Tattoo? Check This One out from Vicky...
I met Vicky back in August outside of Penn Station and marveled about the colorful vibrancy of this beautiful tattoo:Vicky explained that she is a seamstress for a new company called Cupcake Provocateur. Check out their site, it's pretty cool. Vicky's boss, Cynthia, is the brainchild behind the busi…
Jackie's Vintage Postcard
I caught up to Jackie after she passed me in Penn Station and I was delighted when she agreed to share her tattoo with us:It's a truly remarkable piece, and I was thrilled to hear it was tattooed by the amazingly talented Amanda Wachob at Dare Devil Tattoo in New York City. She is well-known for an …