Rachel's Roses

I spotted these beautiful roses last week outside of Madison Square Garden, and had to find out more about them.

I introduced myself to Rachel with my standard opening line, "Can I ask you about your tattoo?" Rachel admitted to me that the first impression she had was that I was going to try to sell her on a tattoo-removal product or service. She has not been the first person to think that. Perhaps I need a new intro.

Anyway, Rachel's trio of roses are remarkable, and she has 6 or 7 tattoos in all, many of which are roses as well, although she professed an admiration of Betty Boop, and has one of the comics icon as well.

But all I saw were these three roses, inked by Shannon O'Sullivan at a tattoo convention. Rachel's brother worked for a bit at Skin & Ink magazine, which helped introduce her to some folks in the tattoo community.


Rachel explained her rosy infatuation a bit further, noting she had worked for the designer Betsey Johnson, who used a lot of rose prints and rose-inspired design. She acknowledged that this led to her "obsession" with roses, and that beyond that, they do not have "a deep meaning".

Rachel is a designer whose website highlights her work.

Thanks to Rachel for sharing her beautiful tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Brad Pitt put his priority on his kids than career

Family comes first for Brad Pitt. Brad is such a good father and lucky Angelina to have such man.

He said: "We're a normal family, a mother and father, and the kids get unruly! The kids are fantastic and say the funniest things I've ever heard.

"But the most important thing for us is to make sure we carve out time for them, that we get group time and one on one time because it's our responsibility to show them around and help shape them. So I guess the only thing I can say is that it's fatherhood first, family first, and then I slip in the work."

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Battle of Pens!

I really love to ink my Drawings...and is hard to choose which one I really preffer...It's a good battle in my studio! :) hahaha!
But I really took this pic as a reply for a DeviantArt's friend:
http://crisdelara04.deviantart.com/art/X-23-INK-260803284

I've had insomnia last Wednesday and decides to draw to be better... Well...was good in the end! :)

Angelina Jolie and Brad bring their kids to party store

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt bring their kids out to a party store on Wednesday in Kingston Upon Thames, London, England.

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

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Lauren's Hourglass

Occasionally we'll share a  reader submission and today we have a piece contributed by Lauren. She sent in this cool hourglass:

Lauren explains:

 "I decided on an hourglass after wanting something to represent living your life to the fullest and realizing time is precious. After thinking and going through all the quotes I could find I decided I would get an hourglass to represent it all. Paul Anthony Dobleman at Spider Murphy's Tattoo in San Rafael, CA is a genius. He has done about 75% of my tattoos and he took my idea and ran with it. Exactly what I wanted. Couldn't be happier! The tattoo is located on my left rib cage."

Thanks to Lauren for sharing her timely tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Angelina Jolie took their kids to buy outfit for Halloween

Angelina Jolie brought their kids for shopping to buy outfit for Halloween eventhough it is a month to go.

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The Virgin Mary Will Be Saved

I ran into Michael last week outside of Madison Square Garden. He had numerous tattoos up and down his arms, but he told me that he regretted most of them. He had been in the military, based in the San Diego area, and he said he hoped, someday, to have all of his ink removed.

"All of it?" I asked. He had a lot.

He nodded, but then pointed to the one pictured above, inked on the underside his left forearm, and said he would probably keep this one, as it was a religious tattoo that has some meaning.

He said that he got this "homemade" piece in Tijuana for about $30, and that it took only a couple of hours to do.

A lot of people in Southern California make the trip across the border to Tijuana to take advantage of the nightlife there. Some even walk away with tattoos.

Thanks to Michael for sharing his tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Vaj Shares His Interpretation of the Creative Process

The triptych above (ok, it's not technically a triptych, but I am calling it that as I divided it into three sections) belongs to Vaj (rhymes with Dodge), a filmmaker who I met across the street from Macy*s on 34th Street and 7th Avenue early last week.

This piece was inked about 16 years ago in California by Jeff Rassier, who currently works out of Black Heart Tattoo in San Francisco.

Vaj, who has been in the entertainment business for many years, based his tattoo on the interpretation of the creative process.

The center of the tattoo contains a jar with two brains:

moving up and out of the jar is a an arm, at the end of which is a hand holding paper:


Moving down out of the jar is an arm, at the end of which is a hand holding a pen, which is dripping ink:


The two hands, each with pen and paper, are acting out the creative process, stemming from the two sides of the brain.

Thanks to Vaj for sharing this interpretation in his tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Good morning Pinup Girl!

From my table...this morning is perfect for a new pinup! :)

Angelina Jolie and kids went to Gwen Stefani’s house

Angelina Jolie and her kids went to Gwen Stefani’s house on Monday (September 26) in London, England.

Her kids play with Gwen’s son Kingston!

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

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Anthony's Phenomenal Marilyn Monroe Portrait

 Without question, Marilyn Monroe has appeared more on Tattoosday than any other celebrity, living or dead. You'd think I'd get tired of seeing her in ink, but I never do. Probably because there are artists out there doing this:

This portrait is on the left leg of Anthony, a photographer I met on Penn Plaza a couple weeks ago. The work is based on this famous photograph:

Anthony credited the artist as Horacio Martinez, at Golden Eagle Tattoo in Santa Barbara, California. The detail in the piece is really spectacular:

When I asked why he chose to ink the legendary actress on his leg, he said, "I was in photo school at the time and we were doing a lot of Hollywood glamor stuff and it was just kind of, on a whim. Why not?"

The piece is two years old and took only three and a half hours for Horacio to complete.

To see all the Marilyn Monroe work that has appeared on Tattoosday, click here. You can also see Anthony's work as a photographer on Tumblr here, or you can visit his website here.

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

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Josh Slices Up a Sturgeon on His Culinary Sleeve

At the beginning of the week, I ran into Josh, a chef at an upscale restaurant in Tribeca. He was actually showing his tattoos to a couple of people standing with him, so I felt in apropos to join in the conversation.

Josh is hard at work on a culinary sleeve on his left arm, which includes a langoustine, a Red Junglefowl, and the tattoo above, a sturgeon, complete with slicing knife and roe.

The tattoo, as well as his other work, was done by Mark Harada at East Side Ink in Manhattan.

Thanks to Josh for sharing his sturgeon with us here on Tattoosday. Here's hoping he'll return to show us more. The Red Junglefowl was not completed, otherwise I would have asked to feature that piece here. It's a sweet piece (you can see a fragment of claw above the sturgeon).

Angelina Jolie took her kids to pierce their ears

Angelina Jolie took her older daughters, Zahara and Shiloh to have their ears pierced at a small salon in London.

A source told The Sun newspaper: "The eldest girl picked out some pretty 18-carat gold studs ad gave them to her mum."

"The piercing gun was a bit too painful for her and she screamed then burst into tears. She was saying it felt like a stapler. So her little sister changed her mind about having hers done . But they all left with big smiles on their faces. Angelina bought them another little gift to make sure they both felt special."

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Frank's Koi Blends Traditional and Modern

Back on the first of July, I met Frank as I was headed home through Penn Station. He shared this tattoo on his lower leg:

Frank explained that the tattoo artist was Gus, who works out of John's Tattoos in Islip, New York. He elaborated, telling me, "I originally wanted a koi fish ... not too traditional, but a little bit different. Some modern twist on it ... Gus put the traditional with the modern and there it is."

 

Thanks to Frank for sharing his koi fish and cherry blossoms with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Brad Pitt donated money from selling twins photos

Brad Pitt sold photos of his twins babies to Hello! and People for a reported £8.75m ($14m) and those money were donated to their charity organisation the Jolie-Pitt Foundation.

Brad didn't simply sell the twins photos, to protect from intrusive photographers, saying "I know some of these guys who are in that 'stalkerazzi' world, and you really have to separate them from the paparazzi in our industry. That's another breed."

"We figured, 'Let's cut it off in the beginning,' and instead of that money going to people I do not respect, we would make some good out of it."

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Jacqueline's Blood Rose

Two weeks ago I spotted Jacqueline and knew I had to ask her about this large tattoo in the center of her back:

Jacqueline explained that she and her older brother got this same tattoo in the same spot. "We just wanted to get a matching tattoo," she told me, "and, you know, we're both blood relatives". It's as simple as that.

She credits Seth Wood with this tattoo. Seth currently works out of Saved Tattoo in Brooklyn. Work by Seth appeared previously on Tattoosday just last month here.

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

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Dylan's Tattoo Dances on Her Ankle

Earlier this week, I met Dylan as she was crossing 34th Street by Macy*s Herald Square. She had the tattoo above her right ankle.

She had been a competitive dancer as a teenager, and had this inked when she was eighteen in Santa Cruz, California.

It was merely an expression of her love for the art of dance.

Thanks to Dylan for sharing her tattoo here with us on Tattoosday!

Andrea Shares a Gil Elvgren Pinup by Shane O'Neill

Earlier this month, I met Andrea while waiting for the A train.

Andrea is covered with tattoos, estimating she has over 50% of her body inked. I always feel privileged when someone so dedicated to the art of tattoo agrees to share their work. Andrea offered up this amazing pin-up on her right forearm:

This amazing tattoo is based on the work of  legendary pin-up artist Gil Elvgren. The tattoo artist responsible for this incredible work is Shane O'Neill, who is based in Middletown, Delaware. The detail in this piece is incredible.

Work by Shane has appeared previously on our site here.

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

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Angelina Jolie is in fourteen place for well-liked by public

The Reputation Institute will do a poll every year to determine which politicians, sports stars and celebrities is liked by the public.

First place went to former South African President Nelson Mandela and Angelina Jolie is in 14th place.

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News Link: Tattoos Gain Even More Visibility

Tattoos Gain Even More Visibility

By GUY TREBAY

Published: September 24, 2008

WHO in the world gets a neck tattoo? A couple of years back you could have narrowed the answer to gang members, prison inmates, members of the Russian mob and the rapper Lil Wayne. Then something occurred.

Continued from the New York Times here

Christopher's Ink Bridges Generations

Last Friday I met Christopher on Penn Plaza. He estimated that he had tattoos numbering in the mid-fifties.

Again, I am sometimes intimidated by folks with a lot of ink, and will usually not trouble them, but not this time.

And, of all those tattoos, Christopher lifted up his shirt to reveal one of his most meaningful pieces:


The cross with angel wings behind it is graced by a banner that reads "In Loving Memory ... Grandpa Al".


This tribute tattoo was inked at Good Times Tattoo Studio in East Islip, New York by Bill. Christopher is a tattoo artist there as well.

Grandpa Al was a tattoo artist himself, at Ace Tattoo in San Diego, one of the oldest shops in the city (founded around 1947). I acknolwedged that Al must have been busy working in San Diego, with several military bases nearby.

Christopher always knew he wanted to be an artist, and has been tattooing about 14 years.

"What about your Dad," I asked him, "is he an artist?"

Christopher shook his head and said he wasn't. "And he doesn't have a single tattoo. Not one!"

"Really?" I asked.

He shook his head and laughed "I just don't understand it."

So the ink-lination to tattoo skipped a generation in his family, but you could tell he was proud of his grandfather's legacy, and he bore it like a badge of honor.

Thanks so much to Christopher for sharing his tribute to Grandpa Al here on Tattoosday!

Dr. Keith Ablow mocks Bono

Dr. Keith Ablow, who is a psychiatrist and Fox News contributor, mocks Bono. Last time Bono said before that he can be advisor to Shiloh because she was dressing more boyishly that causes gender identity issues getting more attention in the media. He was saying, 'I could be of use to her.'

Dr. Keith Ablow snarled Bono, saying "For what could you be of use, Chaz?. To convince her that when she develops breasts she should cut them off?"

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Angelina Jolie took flying lessons

Angelina Jolie took private flying lessons in London, England on September 23. She was with her son, Maddox too.

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Natalie's Geisha Butterfly

Last month, I ran into Natalie on Seventh Avenue and 24th Street. She had several tattoos, but shared this geisha, with butterfly wings, floating on the top of her back:

She got this about six years ago in the city of Leeds from an artist named Diego.

When I asked why she got this particular tattoo, she replied, "I kind of just wanted something that was quite girly, yet strong at the same time."

Natalie is a professional photographer whose work can be seen on her website here.

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

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Buddy's Advice about Neck Tattoos

Last Friday was a banner day for inkspotting. By day's end, I had four great Tattoosday stories to tell. This is the third of the four, although it was the first encounter of the day. It certainly set the tone.

I was walking east on 34th Street when I spotted a well-inked guy walking in my direction. I am sometimes less-inclined to talk to people with a TON of tattoos, but I stopped him anyway and asked about his work.

Buddy seemed eager to share, and quickly raised his right pant leg to reveal, in red ink, the words "Boston Sucks". Right below it was a depiction of an anatomical part that would fit the epithet. I hesitated.

"It's kind of a family blog," I joked, "my daughter reads it." He seemed disappointed, but was understanding. "How about the neck tattoo?" I suggested. He was game. I snapped the photo above.

It was inked in Austin, Texas at, according to Buddy, a shop called Red River Tattoos, circa 2003. He has approximately 32 tattoos in all. Any story behind it? "I was drunk when I got it," he said. Knowing that, and the absence of any reference to a shop called Red River Tattoos in Austin, I am more inclined to believe it might have been True Blue Tattoo, which is located on Red River Street. Work from True Blue has appeared on Tattoosday previously here.

But then he added, "If you don't get a neck tattoo before you're successful, then you shouldn't get one".

"So," I asked, "are you successful?"

"I'm in a band," he acknowledged, "I'm the singer."

This is not new to me, I have come across several musicians on Tattoosday before (here and here, for example).

"What's the name of the band?" I asked.

"Senses Fail" he replied.

"Cool," I said, "I'll link the band's page to the blog." In the back of my mind, I thought the name sounded familiar.


I thanked Buddy and we parted ways. It was only later that I realized that Buddy Nielsen wasn't just a singer from a band in New Jersey. Senses Fail is a significant act in the music scene. They're not platinum artists, yet. Their last record, Still Searching, sold 900,000 copies in the U.S. alone.

They've toured widely since they formed in 2003. I even have one of their songs in my iPod. The song, "Can't Be Saved" even refers to the tattoo on his chest (the video is below). So, Buddy's tattoo, the one that is up above (according to wikipedia has a second word "lady" below it), is the most famous tattoo I have photographed thus far for Tattoosday.

Thanks to Buddy for sharing his ink with us here!

The "Can't Be Saved" video:

Angelina Jolie bring kids to Legoland

While Brad is away to attend a film premiere in US, Angelina Jolie brought her kids to Legoland in Windsor yesterday.

They were protected by two bodyguards.

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Nick's Street Sign is Self-Explanatory

Earlier this week, up in Columbus Circle (see, I don't spend ALL my time in Penn Station!), I ran into Nick, a much-inked individual who kindly allowed me to photograph this tattoo on his left shin:

 

Nick explained that his friend James tattooed this Pedestrian Crossing sign on him. When I asked him why he chose to get this iconic street sign on his leg, he replied, simply, "We were just bored, and I walk everywhere".

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

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

First Day of Autumn Tattoo Blues

To celebrate the end of summer (farewell, tattoos aplenty!) and welcome the beginning of fall (come out, come out, wherever you are!), I am posting this appropriate tattoo celebrating the new season.

I was fortunate enough to meet Brian on Friday, right in front of Borders on Penn Plaza.

As the last weekend of summer was upon us, it seemed bittersweet to find his tattoo above. Brian told me that it is a depiction of Sahmin, who is the god of Autumn in Irish mythology. When I went to research this further, I could not find a reference to such a deity, but I do believe that Brian was referring to Samhain, a traditional Celtic celebration after the end of summer.

As for the actual deity in question, let's just say it is perfect for the season, the arboreal face bestrewn with leaves. Perhaps my friend over at NeoPagan Ink can shed some light on this.

This piece was inked by Joe Ferzola (click for nice bio at About.com) at Inklinations in Copiague, New York. The link to Inklinations takes you to the Devil's Den in Copiague, run by a long-time associate of Joe's, Tony Lafemina.

Thanks to Brian for sharing his autumnal tattoo with us here at Tattoosday!

IRON MAN Fan Art Piece

One more image to my Gallery.

Brad Pitt didn't give full praise to his partner Angelina Jolie

Brad Pitt didn't give full praise to his partner Angelina Jolie's initial draft of her directorial debut ‘In The Land Of Blood And Honey’.

She said, “He took it on a trip, then called and said, ‘You know honey, it’s not that bad’."

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A Series of Nautical Stars Guide Me to an Amazing Tattoo

I've said it before and I'll say it again: sometimes asking about a common tattoo reaps great visual rewards.

Carrie is a prime example. I spotted her nautical stars gracing her right arm near 39th Street and Broadway and I asked her about them. Had she only had one, I may have passed her by, but she had five running up the length of her inner arm, and I had to ask.

Well, like this tattoo, I knew when Carrie stood up from the chair on which she was sitting, that I would be seeing something more interesting than stars. And, well, let's say she took my breath away on Broadway:


This reminded me of this windjammer tattoo, but Carrie, who has always loved pirates, and is going to have this colored in at some point, specified that this is a pirate ship.

The detail is incredible:


and Carrie was particularly happy that the moon came out in the photo:


The brilliant piece was inked by Charles "Chuck" Denise at Revolver Tattoo in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Carrie told me he was voted one of the top 10 tattooists in the country. The stars were done at Philadelphia Eddie's Tattoo Haven by Topper in Philadelphia.

Thanks to Carrie for sharing her awesome ship on Tattoosday (and for being confident enough to reveal so much in the middle of Broadway). She works in the same building where I have a regular Friday meeting, so I hope to feature progress on her work in the future. She also mentioned that her boyfriend has some cool ink too, so we may see some from him as well in the months to come.