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 you, that is Frankenstein driving a Chevy (that's the stick shift he's gripping). Robert credits Adel at Addiction NYC with this tattoo.

Thanks to Robert for helping us celebrate Halloween here on Tattoosday!

Angelina Jolie is not pregnant

Earlier Star Magazine claimed that Angelina Jolie was spotted with baby bump when she was in Budapest but Angelina Jolie's reps said it was not true.

One insider who is close to them said that: "He wouldn’t want to miss a second of Angelina’s pregnancy... They truly believe the more the merrier."

Source

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 character, at least until she was rescued from her poison-induced slumber.

The tattoo is the work of Eric at King Pin Tattoos in Harker Heights, Texas. Work from Kingpin appeared previously in August 2008 on Tattoosday here.

Thanks to Ashlee for sharing her work with us here on Tattoosday!

Angelina Jolie gets angry when found out Brad called Courteney Cox

Angelina Jolie gets jealous and angry easily. She gets angry when she found out that he contacted his ex wife's best friend Courteney Cox after Courteney's separation with her husband.

Below are reported by The National Enquirer:

"Angelina Jolie flipped out after learning Brad Pitt had called Courteney Cox to offer condolences on her marriage bustup. Sources close to the couple say that super-jealous Angelina angrily accused Brad of contacting Courteney as a cover to rekindle his ties to ex-wife Jennifer Aniston!"

"Now a suspicious Angelina, 35, is demanding that Brad stop speaking to both Courteney and her estranged husband, David Arquette, both of whom he’s known for years."

“Angie flew into a rage when Brad admitted he called Courteney - and she accused him of using the Arquette split to reach out to Jen,” says an insider. “Angie said she wouldn’t be surprised if Jen was sitting right next to Courteney when he called!”

“When Brad heard that Courteney and David had split up, he thought is was natural to reach out,” the source said. “He called Courteney and told her, ‘I’ve been there. I know the pain you’re feeling.’ He said all the things you say to an old friend who’s going through a breakup. But his mistake was bringing it up to Angie.”

According to the source, Brad was “astonished” by Angelina’s angry reaction, and he patiently tried to reassure her that his phone call to Courteney had nothing to do with Jennifer.

“But Angelina can’t bear the thought of Brad having any communication at all with Jen - even if it was just to console her best friend over a marital split,” said the source. “Angelina is convinced that Courteney has been bad-mouthing her for years in an attempt to protect Jen’s reputation. It’s all very high school, but when it comes to her rivalry with Jennifer, there’s no getting through to Angie.”

Source

Rape survivors protest Angelina Jolie's movie

There have been protests on Angelina Jolie's movie from women that raped during Bosnian war.

Bakira Hasecic of the Women Victims of War (WVW) association told AFP this week. "They cannot film what we have gone through.

"We will not allow Angelina to present us in a way to create a balance between the victim and its executioner. We will not allow our suffering to be filmed as a non-truth."

Source

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 from Electric Tattoo in Pasadena, Maryland.

Kristin also shared another tattoo, one certainly more appropriate for our current season. Check out this amazing tattoo:

This cool zombie piece was inked by Kike Castillo at Timmy Tattoo in Huntington, New York.

Kristin says that Kike is one of her favorite artists and she is happy for him to provide her with great body art. "He needed someone," she told me, referring to this particular tattoo, and "I'm always game". Tattoo artists love clients that let them do their thing, and you can tell with this great piece of art.

Thanks to Kristin for sharing her cool tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Angelina Jolie and Madonna fighting for same movie

Angelina Jolie and Madonna are competing for same movie.

The UK Daily Star reports: Development has already started on the film and Angelina and Madonna are both desperate to be at the helm. “This story touched viewers worldwide and the film is going to be colossal. “It would establish either of them as a respected film director. “They are both passionate women who will do anything to get ahead in the movie world.”

Source

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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 product.

The quote, in Latin, "post tenebras lux" means "After darkness, light". This mirrors the life cycle of the mythological phoenix who dies, bound in flame, only to be reborn from the ashes. Clicking here will display the vast array of phoenixes that have appeared on Tattoosday previously.

In other words, even when things appear their darkest, affirmation is just within reach.

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

Tom Hardy will join Angelina Jolie in "Snow White and the Huntsman"

Tom Hardy will act as Huntsman and Angelina Jolie will act as queen Ravenna in "Snow White and the Huntsman".

Source

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 characters

that translate to "Soo Bahk Do," or "The Way of the Striking Hand".

Soo Bahk Do is a form of martial arts that originated in Korea.

This unassuming gentleman has studied the form for seventeen years and is a third degree black belt. Gary studied at East Winds Karate in Port St. John, Florida.

The tattoo was inked at a shop on Eight Avenue in Bayonne, New Jersey.

Thanks to Gary for sharing his "striking" tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Angelina Jolie and Brad bring kids to thermal spa

According to reports, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt brought their kids to historic thermal spa in Budapest.

The spa was Lukács Gyógyfürdo, an indoor-outdoor thermal bath facility that offers thermal baths, modern swimming pools, spa treatments and saunas.

One source said, 'Pax was definitely for it, He came out laughing, and his hair was still wet when they were leaving.'

source

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Angelina Jolie bring her kids for sight seeing in Budapest

Angelina Jolie and her partner Brad Pitt brought their kids for sight seeing in Budapest, Hungary on Sunday (October 24).

Some of the places they went were Lukacs Thermal Bath and a local McDonald’s restaurant.

Source

Image source from http://justjared.buzznet.com

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 at Sephora, and on October 26, her second book, The Tattoo Chronicles, is being released by HarperCollins Design. And whether you love her or hate her, it's hard to argue the fact that this book, like its predecessor High Voltage Tattoo, is a lovely effort that looks and feels amazing.

Like her first book (reviewed last year on Tattoosday here), Kat Von D lets you into her world, with glossy detailed photos of her work and clients. But whereas her first book shows mostly her public persona, the new effort gives us an inside look at the inner thoughts and feelings of someone who is portrayed very much as a "character" on her television show.

It is L.A. Ink that has brought her fame, yet also the scorn and scrutiny of her detractors. The new book lets us peek behind the scenes and, if you didn't realize this already, the Kat Von D you see on the show is not the whole package. Through a diary/journal format, the reader is granted greater access to Kat's true emotions and feelings. We finally get to peek behind the character Kat Von D and meet the person.

It was on Page 44 where I first felt the facade truly come down. She talks about getting booed in the shop by "fans" who resent that she won't drop what she's doing to pose for photos for them, and there is the matter of the stalker who freaked everyone out in the shop. Granted, these are consequences nowadays for success of her order, but you certainly believe that such consequences were not anticipated when she headed down the road to fame.

It is also fascinating to read Kat's frustration with the onset of another season of L.A. Ink. If you're looking for validation that the only thing real on the show is the tattoos, it's here. I was reminded of Charles Bukowski's strong aversion to poetry readings. He despised them, yet they were often necessary as sources of income. The spectacle often outshone the poems. Similarly, L.A. Ink's forced drama often swallows up the tattoos, yet the drama drives ratings, which lets the series continue to showcase tattoos, which is why many of us tune in in the first place.

Whereas I found her journal entries fascinating, as I am sure most readers who are fans of the show will as well, there are still pages and pages of photographs featuring her work (drawings, sketches, and of course, tattoos) that are breath-taking in their beauty.

Viewers of the show  know that this book has been in the making for a while and it has found its way into plot points as well. Fans will also note that the author's relationship with Nikki Sixx, bassist for Mötley Crüe, runs throughout the volume (as it has in the reality series). However, 2010 has been a tumultuous year for the couple, having broken up, and then, quite recently, reportedly gotten back together. All that said, it's very interesting to read about the relationship with a future perspective.

Or, it isn't. If you're not interested in Kat's "personal" life, then perhaps you should pass on this book. I can see her detractors poring over the text, looking for evidence that reinforces their negative image of the artist, one that has been honed by the one-dimensional portrayal of her reality show and the tabloids.

For fans however, and the followers of Kat Von D's career, The Tattoo Chronicles, will be a treat, to be savored, an all-access pass to a window of her life, with a stunning visual guidebook to pore over, with evidence enough to back up her on-air claim of being so busy all the time.

My one criticism would be that we don't see enough of her tattoos, which is really what she is all about. I mean, sure it's interesting to see a full-page shot of her stuffed albino squirrels, but is it really necessary? I would have rather seen more art that she created, rather than collected.

However, in the end, I was delighted with the book. It really adds dimensions to one of the more dynamic celebrities in the tattoo industry. I doubt that it will turn detractors into fans, or fans into detractors, but it certainly provides those who admire Kat Von D for her art, a little more validation that she is a talented, complicated individual that can not only create amazing body art, but knows how to wow us with her pen, as well.

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 pieces representing her initials, M and N. The right arm represents "M": 

And the left arm represents the "N" for her last initial:

Missy got these tattoos in Santa Cruz about ten years ago.

Thanks to Missy for sharing her cool Gorey tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Reasons on why Brangelina stop fighting

Is Angelina Jolie pregnant again? They already have so many children, can they cope with it? Rumors saying they stop fighting because Angelina Jolie is pregnant.

One source said, “They're both absolutely glowing. Brad has been strutting around like a proud peacock with a big grin on his face!”

“When Angie is pregnant, Brad treats her like gold."

Source

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 favorite piece.

Fredrika hails from Hamburg, where she is lead singer for a band called Jaguar of My Dreams.

Thanks to Fredrika for sharing with us here on Tattoosday!

Angelina Jolie's apartment was decorated with dead bodies

People know Angelina Jolie's taste sometimes is a bit unusual compare to other ladies.

According to Angelina Jolie's purported former drug dealer, he said, "The walls of her apartment were covered with photos of dead bodies! I assumed they were real bodies. They were like places or apartments where there were murders. I don't know where someone would get pictures like that."

Source

James Cameron talks about Angelina Jolie in his new movie

James Cameron talks about Angelina Jolie about having her to act in his new movie during an interview with the New York Times.

He said, "There's a Cleopatra project in works, meaning that it's been in development at Sony. And it's a subject that's always fascinated me."

"But it sounds hot, doesn't it? I mean, Angelina Jolie and Cleopatra? To me, that's like a slam dunk," he continues. "Whether I wind up doing it or not, I think it's going to be a great project."

Source

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 bit to reveal this tattoo that ran from his mid-thigh down to his calf:

 

Rune explained that this Viking tattoo reflects the pride he has in the old history of the Norsemen that inhabited Scandinavia in the earliest part of the last millenium.

Rune credits Frans at Hugo Tattoo with this wonderful work.

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

Henna Tattoo Kit Body Painting

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* This safe alternative to permanent tattoos lasts from 1 to 3 weeks on the skin. Reusable stencils last up to 5 times and each Original Kit contains approximately 15 applications.
* The art of adorning the body with stunning, temporary tattoos created using the deep, rich color of the henna plant has been practiced for thousands of years in ancient lands.
* This beautiful art form, known as Mehndi, is made simple with this easy-to-use kit featuring safe, natural, superior quality henna from the fields of Morocco.

This kit comes with wonderful, easy-to-use stencils that include feminine, flowery armbands, tribal symbols, little butterflies and circular symbolic suns. These designs have something for everyone, but you can always make your own design with the henna, which is pretty easy to do with the metal applicator.

My henna lasted very long, though it did fade eventually. My reccomendation would be to put your henna somewhere you can easily cover up, because when it starts getting lighter it can look from far away like you have some sort of rare skin disease or something.

Make sure you do research about what henna is, because if you think this is just a temporary tattoo kit, you're wrong. It has much more depth than that, plus you'll be dissapointed if you're a fan of the bright, trashy biker tattoos you see at bars - because the ink here is a traditional brownish red.

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Angelina Jolie got conned by security guard

There have been obstacles for Angelina Jolie to film her movie. At first her permit to film in Bosnia has been cut off but luckily she got back. And now she was conned by a security guard. She paid him $2,750 to permit her to film in building that he didn't own.

One of the warehouse owners tells AFP, "My partner called to ask if I knew about a film shoot in our building. And he said, 'You'll never guess (which star is involved) - it's Angelina Jolie!'

"(The guard) thought we wouldn't find out about it, because we hardly ever go to the building."

Source

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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 work to share, it is always interesting to see what one piece they will offer up, and Shauncey Fury, of Ocala Tattoo & Piercing in Ocala, Florida, shared this whimsical piece:

 

Your eyes do not deceive you, that is a bad-ass panther wearing bunny ears.

Shauncey explained that he went to Mike Wilson, an artist at Inksmith & Rogers, in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, who is known for, among other things, his panther tattoos. They thought they'd "mix it up a bit" and added the rabbit ears for comedic effect. The result is a whimsical tattoo that is certainly a conversation piece!

Shauncey has been tattooing for five years and gravitates toward portraits and American traditional-style tattoos. You can see a sampling of his work here 

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

Shannen Doherty thinks that Angelina Jolie is a good role model for women

Shannen Doherty has released a book, with the title "A Hard-Earned Guide to Living Life with Style and (the Right) Attitude)".

And she has good comments about Angelina Jolie. Here are her comments:-

"When she was in her 20's, she had the vial of blood and the knives and everything. You were like, 'Okay, she's brilliant, she's talented, she's stunning, but what about the weird stuff?' Now, you see the progression that she's made as a mature woman. Angelina is an inspiration."

Source

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 in Flaco's Cuban Bakery in Gainesville, Florida where he played in the house band, Michael Claytor & His Friends.

The band played there for two years and, as a tribute to the experience, Michael had this tattooed to honor the experience.

This was inked by Mike Salay at Anthem Tattoo in Gainesville.

Thanks again to Michael for sharing this cool and unusual tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

And a little Michael Claytor bonus:

Angelina Jolie and partner Brad shows affection during shooting in Budapest

Angelina Jolie and her partner Brad Pitt was spotted kissing during her shooting of
her new movie in Budapest.

Source

Angelina Jolie gets back her filming permit

Sarajevo authorities has given the green light to Angelina Jolie to film her movie in Bosnia. The movie will start shooting in November.

Source

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 any way and he said it didn't, however he still appreciates the symbolism, along with a little drop of humor.

The tattoo was created by Johnny Truant at Lotus Tattoo in Sayville. Click the Lotus tag below to see other work from Lotus that has appeared on the site.

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

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 was inked by the artist that does all her work, Michelle Haspel at Fat Kat Tattoos in Keyport, New Jersey. Work from Fat Kat on Tattoosday can be seen here.

Thanks to Amy for sharing her Skelanimal with us here on Tattoosday!

Angelina Jolie score good marks from Ugly Meter

iPhone has launched a new application called Ugly Meter. It can give rates on how ugly is that person. The higher the score the more ugly is that person.

Angelina Jolie scores little from that function and it shows she is far from ugly. According to reports, it says, "Jolie scored a fantastic 2.0 out of 10. The program said Angie is "so hot" she would "make the sun jealous."

Source

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 propaganda posters.

Jess noted that she asked the artist, John Reardon at Saved Tattoo, to give the rooster a "gentler eye" which she hoped would "embrace [its] masculinity while poking fun at it". Reardon's work has appeared previously on Tattoosday here and here.

Thanks to Jess for sharing this lovely rooster with us here on Tattoosday!

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 Brooklyn for the tattoo.

Thanks again to Zoe for sharing her scissors with us here on Tattoosday!

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 seen here.There you will also find links to her beautiful online literary magazine The Holly Rose Review, which combines poetry and tattoo art. Sadly, Holly Rose has ceased publishing, but Theresa remains a lovely supporter of Tattoosday, and her new tattoo is quite fetching. Let's take a look:

Photo courtesy of Theresa Senato Edwards

I would also like to acknowledge that there, on her other leg, is a tattoo that says "life" in pink, with the ribbon representing breast cancer awareness acting as the "l" in life. Since October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, it seems doubly fitting to share this photo here, even though the post is more about the paisley design.

But I'll hand the explaining over to Theresa:

It took quite a few months before I finally found the right tattoo artist to do my new tattoo: a ¾ calf, color, black, and grey shading of paisleys, thorns, and teardrops. And without naming names, I approached quite a few artists, either by phone, e-mail, facebook, or in person. Some said yes but then decided it wasn’t a tattoo he/she wanted to attempt, or said the tattoo would be limited because of price, or yes but, oh, the shop only takes cash. Or yes, but maybe hold off from getting the grey shading...

Other reputable tattoo artists were recommended to me, and, hey, I’ve met a lot of great tattoo artists online because of Holly Rose Review, but, honestly, I didn’t want to schlep too far from home.

My oldest son, Richard, told me to check out Graceland Tattoo in Wappingers Falls, about 20 minutes from Poughkeepsie—yay! no schlepping! I went to the website, checked out the artists’ work, saw that they were very decently mixing color and grey shading, went to the shop.

Long story quick—the shop was clean, bright, and bouncy and Shane behind the counter was great. But when I talked to tattoo artist Diego Gonzalez about the tattoo I wanted, that’s when I felt confident that I had come to the right place and that he was the one to do it. He was non-judgmental and very helpful.

And throughout the entire experience: tattoo prep/design—discussion of what I wanted, where, and why (both in person and e-mail)—and both tattoo sessions, Diego was patient, kind, and very professional.

Much respect and thanks go out to Uruguay-born Diego Gonzalez, who has been tattooing 12 years, 9 years professionally, the last 3 out of Graceland Tattoo; who also enjoys watching Syfy movies and Science channels; and who feels that “nature is the greatest muse.”

Photo courtesy of Theresa Senato Edwards

Theresa sent me an excerpt from what she e-mailed Diego prior to their sessions, which gets closer to the core of the idea behind the tattoo:

"...just wanted to tell you why i'd like to get this tattoo. maybe this will help you as you finish drawing it. to celebrate turning 50, an age that i didn't think i would like too much, but i do. in india the paisley symbolized a time of harvest, and for me it is a positive symbol of a fruitful transition. yet the thorns are to show the pain that comes with life and what we endure before we learn and change, the tears (tear drops) to show the emotions. but tears and thorns both spill into those paisleys: that "hope" in which outweighs any despair. the art should say beautiful yet brutal--not necessarily a pretty, frilly tattoo but one that's pretty with touches of "darkness," if that makes sense...”

We were originally going to run this in August but, as Theresa best can explain, "Being a perfectionist that I tend to be (not always a good thing), I realized after getting this tattoo that the pink just wasn't bright enough in the bottom paisley. So I e-mailed Diego to ask him if he could touch it up. He kindly said yes and did a great touch up of that bottom paisley, free of charge, no less. Now it's perfect!"

Thanks so much to Theresa for sharing her lovely new tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!