Colleen Returns to Share Some Lovely Ink

I spotted a woman with some really great tattoos out on Penn Plaza and, after talking to her a brief moment, realized it was Colleen, who appeared on Tattoosday once before, back in 2009, as chronicled here.<br /> <br /> Colleen shared two tattoos that grace her upper arms:<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI5BuSKuhxei1MNu6lTcmCyo_Hg9fy2j7enKDpN7T6-L2x8pnF1Y1d8_18YlrEfJMQ3GkMTuFl8w4gSla-bwGu3ab8xHxFYHcb4ChwYZ5V-Mh2LusBf8XOWss1PsaNKrioBxtcWH8Dps0/s1600/lotus+skull.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI5BuSKuhxei1MNu6lTcmCyo_Hg9fy2j7enKDpN7T6-L2x8pnF1Y1d8_18YlrEfJMQ3GkMTuFl8w4gSla-bwGu3ab8xHxFYHcb4ChwYZ5V-Mh2LusBf8XOWss1PsaNKrioBxtcWH8Dps0/s400/lotus+skull.jpg" width="281" /></a></div><br /> Colleen <b>loves</b> this tattoo and I can't say I blame her. As a Buddhist, she appreciates the symbolism of the lotus and the <i>om</i> on the skull. She explained:<br /> <blockquote>"the lotus comes out of the mud at the bottom of the water and blooms out of that and that's ... birth. And the skull [represents] death."</blockquote>The piece encompasses the cycle of life and death. She credits this wonderful work to Patrick Conlon at Graceland Brooklyn.<br /> <br /> Colleen also has this work on her right arm:<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAo-WZNHtXkPxcFoutYkLeaE5JKnpGzVVFY_urWAUAhOsFOsvDBAD1diEffOtobwKPyId2Go_8j-FpqyaUk_0ogRJUK7j8SOR7LWPDMfNrX0uMzWkmb-Ml9cRLCNaBShfVGTVDumGfbHY/s1600/dragon+colleen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAo-WZNHtXkPxcFoutYkLeaE5JKnpGzVVFY_urWAUAhOsFOsvDBAD1diEffOtobwKPyId2Go_8j-FpqyaUk_0ogRJUK7j8SOR7LWPDMfNrX0uMzWkmb-Ml9cRLCNaBShfVGTVDumGfbHY/s400/dragon+colleen.jpg" width="181" /></a></div><br /> Colleen explained that the dragon was there first, and then Patrick added the fire and pansies, to make it a much more beautiful tattoo.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju_LcsjKhSk8VpNLOe9o6atP6G4jEP3qtLC1DiENp-q4m5ISiRMSqDRrKAPYXtv7ns-Yb2tgKyRmICmTbht_zqJLrt2x8wzYCrx2WMztLeON8d_lV04pczk7fLvFgdTCO4SvWnNxzvLXQ/s1600/colleen+detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju_LcsjKhSk8VpNLOe9o6atP6G4jEP3qtLC1DiENp-q4m5ISiRMSqDRrKAPYXtv7ns-Yb2tgKyRmICmTbht_zqJLrt2x8wzYCrx2WMztLeON8d_lV04pczk7fLvFgdTCO4SvWnNxzvLXQ/s400/colleen+detail.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /> Thanks to Colleen for sharing her tattoos with us (again) on Tattoosday!<br /> <br /> <div class="MsoNormal"><br /> </div>

Colleen Returns to Share Some Lovely Ink

I spotted a woman with some really great tattoos out on Penn Plaza and, after talking to her a brief moment, realized it was Colleen, who ap...

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Clark's Tattoo Incorporates Utah Wildflowers and a French Surrealist

Back in October, I briefly met Clark when I was passing through Penn Station at the end of the day. He was waiting for a train, so we didn't have a lengthy discussion, but he did let me photograph his right forearm:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEJc5dmRddnNzzNPtGO-GiTRs71JWpagOkCSQbplJ17bSyrfxW6IMI1suiAGCckU_vypxDvsP65fEBfmNfO5AvNfyawyfabS49F0PANMP3BzAF53s2SQmKsmO-b08nj0DTtBllPU6HxFk/s1600/utah+collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEJc5dmRddnNzzNPtGO-GiTRs71JWpagOkCSQbplJ17bSyrfxW6IMI1suiAGCckU_vypxDvsP65fEBfmNfO5AvNfyawyfabS49F0PANMP3BzAF53s2SQmKsmO-b08nj0DTtBllPU6HxFk/s640/utah+collage.jpg" width="502" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />There are two significant elements to this work. Clark is originally from Utah, and he has chosen to acknowledge this in ink by having Utah wildflowers incorporated in the piece.<br /><br />The figure is bordered by the French phrase <b style="font-weight: normal;">"Nul n'est censé ignorer" which can be translated as "ignorance is no excuse." The figure is based on the work of French painter and poet <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Picabia#Visual_gallery">Francis Picabia.</a></b><br /><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b><br /><b style="font-weight: normal;">Clark credited both Jonah Ellis and Joss Macetti at <a href="http://www.facebook.com/gracelandbrooklyn#%21/gracelandbrooklyn?sk=info">Graceland Brooklyn</a> for work on this tattoo.</b><br /><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b><br /><b style="font-weight: normal;">Thanks to Clark for sharing this with us here on Tattoosday!</b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>

Clark's Tattoo Incorporates Utah Wildflowers and a French Surrealist

Back in October, I briefly met Clark when I was passing through Penn Station at the end of the day. He was waiting for a train, so we didn...

Read more »