tattoone tattoo: May 2011

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Mr. Kaves Shares a Mark Mahoney Portrait

A couple weeks back, I ran into Michael Kaves on 3rd Avenue, a couple blocks away from his shop, Brooklyn Made Tattoo. Kaves is also one of the founding members of The Lordz of Brooklyn. I know Kaves from around the neighborhood, and although I've never been tattooed by him, I have been under the needle in his shop and have had the pleasure of seeing him work first-hand and close-up on other clients.

He's familiar with Tattoosday and wanted to share a tattoo with us here on the site. Check it out:

Located on Kaves' upper right arm, this brilliant tattoo was inked by the legendary Mark Mahoney.

Kaves explained he had gone out to Los Angeles a couple months back and worked at Mahoney's renown shop, the Shamrock Social Club. They had a big launch for a limited edition tattoo pigment - "Mark Mahoney's Shamrock Green". He was there, working on St. Patrick's Day for the official launch.

Mahoney, known to many as the " founding father" of single-needle black and gray tattooing, tattooed this portrait for Kaves, which took about twelve hours from start to finish.

And who is the woman tattooed on his arm? "It's my grandmother, Marie," he explained, "from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, right here on Third Avenue, 1945."

Kaves' own tattooing work first appeared on Tattoosday back in 2008 here. Most recently, his work has appeared here. This is, however, the first time we have been honored to share a tattoo by Mark Mahoney.

Thanks to Kaves for sharing this phenomenal tattoo by an American master, here with us on 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.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Life is War

Back in April, I met Joshua outside of Penn Station, and he shared this, one of his five tattoos:

This forearm tattoo, exemplifies Joshua's philosophy that life is war: "you have to go through war to get where you're going."

An ex-girlfriend drew it up for him and then he had it tattooed by Jamie at Bullseye Tattoo Shop in Staten Island, New York.

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

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Chad and the City

I met Chad one afternoon in April outside of Madison Square Garden. He shared this tattoo which is on his left shin:

As one might have guessed, Chad is a huge fan of the former HBO series Sex and the City and this is one of a large number of tattoos that he has. When I asked how many he had, he quipped “I have no clue.”

Chad’s work was inked by Eileen Fabbricatore at Lady Luck Tattoo in Aurora, Colorado.

Thanks to Chad for sharing these tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Friday, May 27, 2011

Stephen's Killer Klown

One of the significant changes in the chronology of Tattoosday was the discovery that the Amtrak waiting area in Penn Station was a wonderful place for inkspotting, not just on rainy days, but whenever I had the chance to pass that way.

Stopping someone on the streets of New York City, especially when they are in a hurry to get somewhere, can be challenging. I have discovered that people waiting for their trains, with nothing but time on their hands, are much more likely to be open to discussing their tattoos with strangers like me.

What’s nice, as well, as the trains running out of the Penn Station Amtrak hub go to Boston, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and beyond (New Orleans and Toronto are possible rail destinations).

In early April, I ran into Stephen, who was visiting from Auckland, New Zealand. He has ink on both arms, one leg, and the top of his back, so there was a lot to choose from, once he consented to sharing one of his tattoos.

He offered up this horror-themed illustration, on the upper section of his right arm:

The clown with a cleaver is one of those funny/scary images that appeals to fans of the horror genre. Stephen liked the image and collaborated with the tattoo artist, Jamie Thorburn, to come up with the final design.

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

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Our 1000th Post! David's Mermaid and Seahorse Blow Us Away......

Pardon the royal "we," but this is our 1000th post, and we feel a little celebratory.

To honor this milestone, we are sharing this amazing half sleeve belonging to David:

This astonishing work is the creation of artist Erick Lynch at Redemption Tattoo in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

David said that he had wanted a mermaid, as his wife loves mermaids, and that Lynch's work reflects a traditional Japanese style, thus the female figure appearing as a pearl diver, which is more in line with Japanese artistic tradition.

The whole of the half sleeve represents about 12 hours of work, in David's estimation, which includes the inside of the biceps, and this phenomenally vivid seahorse:

David points to Erick Lynch's use of white highlights in the seahorse, which really makes it "pop".

All in all, this is a remarkable piece of work that we are honored to have as our 1000th post here at Tattoosday. Thanks to David for sharing it and to Erick Lynch for his mastery of the art form!

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Christine's Sleeve of Colorful Flowers and Butterflies

Some posts don't need a lot of explaining. I met Christine on 3rd Avenue in Bay Ridge earlier this month, and she shared these stunning tattoos, perfect for celebrating on a warm spring day:

The Tiger lily and Red-spotted Purple butterfly above are only the top section of a full sleeve:

The flowers on the forearm are Violets, which span the inside of Christine's arm, as well:

And that's an American Painted Lady butterfly in the ditch.

This amazing, and vibrantly colorful sleeve was inked by Tim O'Connor at The Red Parlour in the Woodside section of Queens, New York. We featured work by Tim and The Red Parlour once before, here, back in 2008.

Thanks to Christine for sharing her wonderful sleeve with us here on Tattoosday!

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Don't Sit Under the Cherry Tree with Anyone Else but Me

I spotted Christina one Friday afternoon in Penn Station, sporting this awesome cherry blossom tattoo:

She took some photos in to Jason Loui, then at Redemption Tattoo in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He sketched out a design, and the rest is history. Mr. Loui now works out of Good Faith Tattooing, in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Thanks to Christina for sharing her cherry blossom tree with us here on Tattoosday!

Monday, May 23, 2011

Musician Monday: Ryan from The Disconnects

Here on our second installment of Musician Mondays, we have a rockin', self-explanatory tattoo from Ryan, lead singer and guitarist from an unsigned band called The Disconnects:

From her mohawk to her Doc Martens, this punk rock girl and her "Too Fast to Live, To Young to Die" banner totally capture that raw, rock aesthetic.

I met Ryan last month, across the street from where I work, on Seventh Avenue and 31st Street, in Manhattan.

The tattoo was inked at Fat Kat Tattoos in Keyport, New Jersey. Work from Fat Kat previously appearing on the site can be seen here.

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

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Ivan's Sleeve: Doom, Zombies, and The Joker

Last month I met Ivan in Penn Station, and I took a bunch of photos of his right arm, fully-sleeved. There's a lot going on here, so let's take a look:

And the inner part of the sleeve:

Ivan's tattoo artist is Larry Davis at Explicit Tattoo in Suffern, New York He also credits Adrienne Levy with the design of the cat on his wrist.

Ivan explains a little bit about his ink:

"The zombie on my shoulder is an original that Larry drew from his imagination. The face with the ragged teeth on my bicep is from the video game Doom.

As for the totem pole-esque image on my forearm, the middle and upper pieces were drawn by the artist Matt Simonetti.

The lower piece was drawn by Micki Fever. Larry did the tattooing, as is true for all my tattoos."

Ivan also has this segment of his sleeve which is noteworthy:

Ivan explained that this tattoo of The Joker and Harley Quinn is based on this illustration by the artist Alex Ross, which appeared on the cover of Batman: Harley Quinn.

Thanks to Ivan for sharing his cool tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Friday, May 20, 2011

Kathryn's Birdhouse Reminds Her of Home

I spotted Kathryn in Penn Station earlier this month and asked her about her tattoos. She shared this one, which jumped out at me from across the room:

I had a nice time chatting with Kathryn who referred to her approximately 18 tattoos as a "patchwork" collection, with each tattoo marking a different occasion and/or the places she has been. I totally related to that, although she certainly has a lot more ink than I do.

This birdhouse was the first tattoo she got after moving to Philadelphia. It represents a look back to home. Although the house is not modeled after the building where she lived, it's the same color as her former home, and she associates it with her leaving the nest for the big city.

This piece, on her inner right forearm, is credited to Topper at Philadelphia Eddie's.

Do note I framed the photo so you can see two of the five cherry bombs she had tattooed on her left arm when she turned eighteen. She noted that these bombs were a "loose" reference to the graffiti artist Banksy.

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

Thursday, May 19, 2011

NYC Tattoo Convention Spotlight: Chris Shares His Half-Sleeve Inspired by the Indigenous Cultures of the Pacific Northwest

For this, my final post highlighting work I enjoyed at the New York City Tattoo Convention last Saturday, we turn to Chris, who offered up this half-sleeve from his right arm:

Chris explained that he is a great admirer of Native American art and that, after a trip to a museum in British Columbia, he was inspired by a First Nations exhibit. He purchased a book about the exhibits there and he used several photos as source material to collaborate with his tattoo artist.

On complicated pieces, I always think it's best to hear the explanation in the host's own words, so here's what Chris had to say:

"The symbol in the center is a moon symbol, which is usually reserved for higher-ranking members of the tribe. Then you got two wolves on either side as spirit guides. [The outer section] is called Sisiutl:

it’s the two-headed serpent [who] protects you from evil and will eat the flesh of your enemies ... the Sisiutl is actually a perfectly round symbol and then the artist spread it out and free-handed this middle section to make it all work

On the inside of his arm is this piece:

"This is a simple salmon ... which is a symbol of prosperous fishing and hunting.

Hopefully, this [the whole tattoo, still in progress] will be protection and a lot of good coming to me with the way it’s designed.

A lot of the tribes over there have symbols that are crossing over from each other. This is a little bit of Tlingit and a little bit of Haida. Pretty much those are the two main focuses where it comes from."

This exceptional work is by Leo Fieschi at Art Club Tattoo & Piercing in New Milford, Connecticut.

Thanks to Chris for sharing it and taking the time at the convention to explain it for us here at Tattoosday!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

NYC Tattoo Convention Spotlight: Steve's Phenomenal Celtic Cross

Among the many amazing tattoos I saw last Saturday, this cross belonging to Steve was among my favorites:

There's really not much to it, other than amazing colors and craftsmanship.

Steve explained that the design is a nod to his Irish heritage, inspired by the Book of Kells, as exemplified by the Celtic knot in the center of the piece. He estimated that the half-sleeve, which circles the whole arm, represents about 30 hours of work.

He praised the work of Agent at Screamin' Ink Tattoos in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. For those familiar with our annual NYC Tattoo Convention recaps, Screamin' Ink was the shop that featured my favorite tattoo from last year (revisit it here).

Thanks to Steve for sharing his work with us here on Tattoosday!

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

NYC Tattoo Convention Spotlight: Caroline's Death's-head Hawk Moth and The Silence of the Lambs

Sending an inkblogger into a tattoo convention, is like sending a kid into Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory - we just go into sensory overload.

It's always interesting to see who I will interview first, as nearly everyone has amazing work. My first choice appeared to me after I had been at the New York City Tattoo Convention for about an hour:

Behold Caroline's Death's Head Hawkmoth!

She explained that it is based on the art from The Silence of the Lambs movie poster.

She elaborated, "that was ... the first movie I saw that got me into film and I'm a huge film buff ... so it kind of marks a huge turning point in my life. I started growing up and developing interests in art [and] film."

The film's director, Jonathan Demme, is one of her favorite directors, but she loves Stanley Kubrick and hopes one day to get a Clockwork Orange tattoo.

She went to Tattoo Joe at Physical Graffiti Tattoo in Bridgeport, Connecticut for this piece and he did a wonderful job of transforming the vision from the poster to the top part of her back.

Thanks to Caroline for sharing this great tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Dispatch from the 2011 New York City Tattoo Convention (A Recap)

Yesterday I spent a half dozen hours at the Roseland Ballroom, where the New York City Tattoo Convention was holding court. This was my third trip to the show, and each year, I have a different experience, as Tattoosday has evolved as a site (read about 2009 here and 2010 here).

In years past, I have only highlighted one or two pieces, as I go into sensory overload. What, outside of a convention's setting, would normally pique my interest, seems commonplace and ordinary. This year, however, I took many more photos, and actually interviewed four people, so this will be Convention Recap Week.

I do want to say the best part of the show was hanging and chatting with Marisa and Brian from Needles and Sins, as well as with Nathan from Knuckle Tattoos. It's not a portrait of future world domination, yet, but here's the three of us, masterminds of three of the best tattoo sites around, and hands and above, the best three inkbloggers at the show:

Nathan, Marisa and Me (photo by Brian Grosz)

That moment of self-adulation aside, I spent the first few hours talking to vendors about advertising, chatting with colleagues, and saying hello to people I've met in years past, like Greg who was the high point of last year's show for me.

I also like to introduce myself to artists whose work has appeared on the Site before, so I said hi to Adam Rosenthal of Th'Ink Tank in Denver, and Vinny Romanelli at Red Rocket in NYC.

I also took a slew of photos of people I didn't interview, so I will just throw them up here. Unfortunately I can't credit any of the amazing artists responsible. However, if you see your work here, shoot me an email and I can give you your proper due. Many of these shots were taken during the first round of the contest, which centered around black and gray work:

This one was one of my favorites, especially considering the woman's reflection in the blade of the knife:

And this Star Wars leg was totally cool:

Finally, through social media, my friend Ben in Hawai'i requested a shot of "80s West Coast punk rock logos." I thought I had failed in my quest until, as I was leaving, I captured this tiny Black Flag tattoo on a guy named Crash, who works for Tattoo Artist Magazine:

Mini-Black Flag Bars Tattoo by Oliver Peck

and this incredible Misfits piece to boot:

Tattoo by Frank Lee at Tattoo Blues in Ft. Lauderdale

Yes, we know, Misfits are an East Coast band. But it was too nice a tattoo to not photograph. Can you blame me?

Check out the Tattoo Artist Magazine blog here.

Check back throughout the week to see what four tattoos I found most blogworthy for us here on Tattoosday!

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Tova's Mockingbird Takes Wing

Late last month, I met Tova at my local Borders store. She was sporting this incredible tattoo on her upper left arm:

When she told me she had it recently inked at New York Adorned, I guessed correctly that Virginia Elwood had been the artist. Virginia in incredibly talented, and seems to especially excel at bird tattoos (her work has been seen previously on Tattoosday here, here and here).

Tova explained that she loves birds, and that this mockingbird reflects a turn of events that occurred in Southern California. She described to me how, the night before she had to take ~~defend~~ her Ph.D. exams ~~dissertation~~, her husband had a guest staying with them, and this individual seemed particular insensitive to the momentous occasion Tova was facing the next day, as he was playing loud music well into the night.

Tova recalled how her anxiety and displeasure over this guest’s inconsiderate activity forced her from her home in search of a little peace and quiet. As she circled her block, she was struck by the large number of mockingbirds that were flying around.

She successfully passed her exams ~~defended her dissertation~~ and associates the mockingbird with this landmark event in her life.

As her Ph.D. Is in English, I asked her if she was familiar with one of my favorite poems, Charles Bukowski’s “The Mockingbird”. She wasn’t, so I suggested she check it out and I thought it appropriate to share here:

the mockingbird

the mockingbird had been following the cat
all summer
mocking mocking mocking
teasing and cocksure;
the cat crawled under rockers on porches
tail flashing
and said something angry to the mockingbird
which I didn't understand.

yesterday the cat walked calmly up the driveway
with the mockingbird alive in its mouth,
wings fanned, beautiful wings fanned and flopping,
feathers parted like a woman's legs,
and the bird was no longer mocking,
it was asking, it was praying
but the cat
striding down through centuries
would not listen.

I saw it crawl under a yellow car
with the bird
to bargain it to another place.

summer was over.

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

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Enter to Win a T-Shirt from Kings Avenue Tattoo, Now Open in Manhattan!

We here at Tattoosday have had the pleasure of encountering work from Kings Avenue Tattoo on only one occasion. We featured work by Grez here.

Nonetheless, their shop, located out in Massapequa on Long Island, has a sterling reputation, and I know at least one loyal client, Brian Grosz, over at Needles & Sins, who sings high praise to the shop owner and artist extraordinaire, Mike Rubendall.

It was from Brian that I first learned that Kings Avenue was opening a new location here in New York City. Lucky for those of us here in the Five Boroughs who don’t have cars!

We here at Tattoosday want to help spread the word about the new location, in Manhattan on the Bowery (188 Bowery, at Spring Street) to be more exact. Located on the second floor, the new shop location will be open Monday - Saturday 12-9 and Sundays from 12-6).

In fact, Kings Ave NYC would like to cordially invite you to join in the celebration of the opening of their Manhattan location tomorrow, Thursday, May 12th, at 8:00 p.m. Please join the Kings Ave crew for drinks, friends and family for this proud moment for their shop, and for the addition of some great talent to our teeming metropolis.

And to generate a little more buzz, we put our collective heads together and came up with an idea where one of our lucky Tattoosday readers can win a cool Kings Avenue Tattoo original t-shirt, like this one, perhaps:

All you have to do is head on over to their site and check out the merchandise here. Then, in the comments section of this post, tell us which shirt design you like best and why you deserve to win it. Please note, if you don’t have a blogger ID that links you to an email where I can contact you if you win, make sure you e-mail tattoosdaycontests@gmail.com as well so we can notify you if you win.

And, dear readers, while checking out those shirts, you’ll be losing out if you don’t check out the Kings Ave site, clink on the “Artists” tab, and then get lost in the hundreds of photos of top-notch tattoo art from Mike Rubendall, Grez, Justin Weatherholtz, Brian Paul, and Matt Beckerich. Not to mention the shots from such illustrious guest artists like Chris O’Donnell, Tim Hendricks, and Kat Von D, to name only a few.

We here at Tattoosday welcome the newest branch of Kings Avenue into our fair city and hope this means we’ll be seeing a lot more of their phenomenal work on the streets and, subsequently, here on the site!

More about Kings Avenue NYC:

KINGS AVENUE NYC was founded by tattooist and international award-winner, MIKE RUBENDALL, with his associate, GREZ, a well-respected tattooist in his own right. While people have traveled from all over the world to visit their Long Island location for everything from a full-scale Japanese body-suit to a modestly-sized, classic nod to Americana flash, RUBENDALL explains that they opted to open a second shop on Bowery, "for the simple fact of wanting to be a part of the energy, life, and creativity that Manhattan possesses."

KINGS AVENUE NYC will also feature the work of resident artists MATT BECKERICH, JUSTIN WEATHERHOLTZ, BRIAN PAUL, SHAUN NEL, KEVIN LEBLANC and SARAH SCHOR - a talented collective that has adorned the bodies of notables like actress EVAN RACHEL WOOD, hip-hop impresario DAMON DASH and rocker PETE WENTZ of FALL OUT BOY. The public can also expect to see guest appearances from renowned artists like CHRIS O'DONNELL, TIM HENDRICKS and Denmark's HENNING JORGENSON as well as "celebrity" tattooists such as CHRIS NUÑEZ (Miami Ink) and KAT VON D (L.A. Ink).

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Tattoosday in Kentucky: Headphones at CVG

On my recent whirlwind trip to Kentucky, I spotted some interesting tattoos at CGY, also known as the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.

Check this out:

The young lady that was sporting these headphones, identified herself as "E" and has "ten or eleven" tattoos. She wanted headphones that looked like they were spray-painted on. Note the "drips" and spots of splattered paint.

Unfortunately I didn't get much more information. She credited the artist "Slevin" at a shop on Main Street in Cincinnati. However, I can't seem to find any information on this artist or the shop she mentioned.

Thanks to "E" for sharing this cool and super original headphones tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!