Petra's Tattoo with Teeth

A couple weeks back, I was coming out of my office at 7 Penn Plaza when a woman named Petra walked by with this tattoo on her foot:<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilfbAh3IGuVb3a86-OONHI6_CixfQAMKTn_4UmtTL36BDfMwaYd_whfFUtFjVECr77VxzQ-0rznS1DeGnIBK6zb9g4h6IvOVk2TtngjN9QppEXEgSMSyJYykI3nKfg9W96O7XKNC3AH9Y/s1600/skull+foot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilfbAh3IGuVb3a86-OONHI6_CixfQAMKTn_4UmtTL36BDfMwaYd_whfFUtFjVECr77VxzQ-0rznS1DeGnIBK6zb9g4h6IvOVk2TtngjN9QppEXEgSMSyJYykI3nKfg9W96O7XKNC3AH9Y/s400/skull+foot.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /> <br /> <br /> When I stopped her and introduced myself, she was happy to share it with us here on Tattoosday.<br /> <br /> Petra explained that this is the skull of a Velociraptor. When I asked why this particular design for a tattoo, she elaborated:<br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq">"Velociraptor is my spirit dinosaur. They're small and quick and very vicious and I identify with that as a person ... I really like dinosaurs. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a rock-climbing paleontologist, so I knew it was something that I'd like, you know, for the rest of the time I have my skin on."</blockquote>This is Petra's first tattoo, and she got it inked by Cheyenne Sawyer at Atlas Tattoo in Portland, Oregon.<br /> <br /> Thanks to Petra for sharing this cool tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Petra's Tattoo with Teeth

A couple weeks back, I was coming out of my office at 7 Penn Plaza when a woman named Petra walked by with this tattoo on her foot: Whe...

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William's Museum of Art

I met William on the <a href="http://www.mta.info/nyct/service/aline.htm">A train</a> one Sunday morning. He was <i>covered </i>with tattoos. When I asked him how many he has, he replied that he had "never counted".<br /><br />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 a tattoo he has of <a href="http://www.marilynmonroe.com/">Marilyn Monroe</a>, as seen by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Warhol">Andy Warhol</a>. But, as such a tattoo has appeared here before (see Nina's ink <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2008/09/introducing-ninas-ink-part-1.html">here</a>), I asked for something else. He let me choose this piece, a tattoo of the work of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Michel_Basquiat">Jean-Michel Basquiat</a>: <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBwl1x7KMS7PwwZfuvWUJttjs2nbexZWTIzpVGSIuzFvy42gZGDrsj4RjDCuYdERifX8kgK47_dMWhvhPZAT-ijiYAgO2FHnl9Nif8niF5geQeST-xPZHVqf28XEXw6rJc8vLjSY_N/s1600/Basquiat+general+wm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBwl1x7KMS7PwwZfuvWUJttjs2nbexZWTIzpVGSIuzFvy42gZGDrsj4RjDCuYdERifX8kgK47_dMWhvhPZAT-ijiYAgO2FHnl9Nif8niF5geQeST-xPZHVqf28XEXw6rJc8vLjSY_N/s640/Basquiat+general+wm.jpg" width="330" /></a></div><br />A closer look:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZG0DQSA1LByZdnCx3EGdnYMAj58rrgKY9fjzPoeDRtK9L_bXgRvRD5TBgu3ezP3pPTDDc-3TEzd5sfmDWVwlkIBF7fmRGZJWnZHsmdQdpw1OigVPuaVi3skpLsG2C79f7JI7AKMiX/s1600/basquiat+detail+wm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZG0DQSA1LByZdnCx3EGdnYMAj58rrgKY9fjzPoeDRtK9L_bXgRvRD5TBgu3ezP3pPTDDc-3TEzd5sfmDWVwlkIBF7fmRGZJWnZHsmdQdpw1OigVPuaVi3skpLsG2C79f7JI7AKMiX/s640/basquiat+detail+wm.jpg" width="308" /></a></div><br />This is based on Basquiat's artwork, which is most recognizable from its appearance on the cover of a Maya Angelou children's story.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcdsve5xJRBXZj61F_lPst1HTsMqIBN_pVf6jNEFhtnh91zF21aSMQMMX3fysrSU7qRJMwn9NpCNiJkXSL3aLmHlPAkyJ0Yy0rcEV7fzwtVrr_4rXSonSioYW5eZv15qH5iZwvgciv/s1600/bas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcdsve5xJRBXZj61F_lPst1HTsMqIBN_pVf6jNEFhtnh91zF21aSMQMMX3fysrSU7qRJMwn9NpCNiJkXSL3aLmHlPAkyJ0Yy0rcEV7fzwtVrr_4rXSonSioYW5eZv15qH5iZwvgciv/s320/bas.jpg" width="247" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />William also let me take a picture of his name on his hand, which appeared in Ina Saltz's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Body-Type-More-Typographic-Tattoos/dp/0810982765?ie=UTF8&tag=bill03-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Body Type 2</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=bill03-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0810982765" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibm3WRAvL3zx-PLCPA3O8YXjq8RosV_RU7jsJ8PXIrjaR_AIMSazzo3V2ond_wD0Ya2HlRRY0xVYYlieUdQFPA_CUe9Mr4pb9qpqvQ78Ez5ZGPe5RSyhuh0sfTPEfF8fAbAEybiPlk/s1600/will.i.am+wm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibm3WRAvL3zx-PLCPA3O8YXjq8RosV_RU7jsJ8PXIrjaR_AIMSazzo3V2ond_wD0Ya2HlRRY0xVYYlieUdQFPA_CUe9Mr4pb9qpqvQ78Ez5ZGPe5RSyhuh0sfTPEfF8fAbAEybiPlk/s400/will.i.am+wm.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />William credited the Basquiat tattoo with <a href="http://www.senaspace.com/">David Sena</a> at <a href="http://www.northstartattoo.com/">North Star Tattoo</a> in Manhattan. Work by David Sena appeared previously on Tattoosday <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2010/07/two-for-tattoosday-purple-lotus-and.html">here</a>.<br /><br />Thanks to William for sharing his tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

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 ...

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Liz Flexes Her Tyrannosaurus Rex

I met Liz last month on the West 4th Street platform as we were waiting for the D train.<br /><br />She has six tattoos, including a really cool Brooklyn Bridge tattoo that she designed and, she proudly told me, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exene_Cervenka">Exene Cervenka</a> once complimented her on.<br /><br />The tattoo she shared with us, however, is this design of a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyrannosaurus">Tyrannosaurus Rex</a>, inked on her upper right arm:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNKf3CPzaV8gG9Qa0J9YtliHhotURQvkLiwTWL6cLg2V6mU9kIP2gecljahX0lGC-4IOPdqrB_6IwvsnzTTU7tupYO7FYw0rQpAmN3d49tGv3tpoYD48saKdW_KKJIAeljzWdnjA-t/s1600/t-rex+orig+wm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNKf3CPzaV8gG9Qa0J9YtliHhotURQvkLiwTWL6cLg2V6mU9kIP2gecljahX0lGC-4IOPdqrB_6IwvsnzTTU7tupYO7FYw0rQpAmN3d49tGv3tpoYD48saKdW_KKJIAeljzWdnjA-t/s640/t-rex+orig+wm.jpg" width="316" /></a></div><br />The piece was modeled after the fossil displayed prominently in <a href="http://www.amnh.org/">The American Museum of Natural History</a>, where her brother had worked for a period of time. The tattoo is an homage to the time she spent there.<br /><br />The tattoo was inked by Christopher Depinto aka The Ink Shrink at <a href="http://shotsiestattoo.com/">Shotsie's Tattoo</a> in Wayne, New Jersey. Work from Shotsie's has appeared previously on Tattoosday <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2010/07/sealed-with-snake.html">here</a>.<br /><br />Thanks to Liz for sharing her dinosaur tattoo with us here at Tattoosday!

Liz Flexes Her Tyrannosaurus Rex

I met Liz last month on the West 4th Street platform as we were waiting for the D train. She has six tattoos, including a really cool Brookl...

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