Tim's Sleeve Illustrates A Vision of Life on Earth

I met Tim back in April in Penn Station and took several pictures of his left arm, which is fully-sleeved. What follows is a presentation of the work, from top to bottom:

There's a lot going on here, but Tim summed the theme of the sleeve as "Hell is the world we're living in, and we're all trying to escape Death." The top of the arm features the angel, Gabriel, watching over us.

The city that is burning is based on Boston, where Tim is from.

Tim estimates that this sleeve took twenty-seven hours, in three nine-hour sessions. Yes, you read that right, nine-hour sessions! That's commitment! He credits Dan Soule at Milltown Ink in Bondsville, Massachusetts with this incredible work.

Thanks to Tim for sharing his sleeve 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.

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!

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.

Benjamin's Amazing Viking-Geisha Sleeve by Tim Kern

Please join me as I extend a metaphor.

I approach inkblogging as if I were one of those guys that goes out on the beach with a metal detector.

You find a lot of interesting stuff and, every once in a while, you find treasure.

Earlier this month, I saw a man in front of Madison Square Garden walking south. I was headed in the opposite direction and, despite my general reluctance to post sleeves here (I wonder if I can even do them justice), I stopped and asked him to show me the amazing work on his right arm.

I should also preface this by acknowledging how awesome it is to randomly find work by a tattoo artist who is at the top of his game, and is a recognized talent in the tattoo community.

Benjamin, the guy I stopped, was visiting New York from Denmark to see his artist, Tim Kern at Tribulation Tattoo. He was in town to begin work on a new sleeve. Benjamin happily shared his first sleeve:


Benjamin summarized the theme of his arm by stating that life is about choices. The two extrmes are, you can take a life, as represented by the Viking warrior at the top of the shoulder:


This is juxtaposed by the geisha who is taking her own life through ritual suicide:


The detail of the blood-spattered hand holding the seppuku blade is fascinating in its stark grisliness:


The sleeve also includes stunning waterfall and pagoda elements on the inside of the arm:


I especially appreciate the beauty and shading of the pagoda:


The color and artistry of this entire sleeve are astonishing and we are honored that Benjamin consented to contributing this work to Tattoosday.

We thank him and the artist Tim Kern for their work!

Jones Beach: Heaven and Hell, Alice Cooper, Queensryche

On Saturday, September 8, I saw Heaven and Hell, with Queensryche and Alice Cooper at Jones Beach. Like Ozzfest, there were tattoos everywhere. Like Ozzfest, asking people about their tattoos seemed to be inappropriate, dangerous (at times), and the epitome of dorkiness, especially since Tattoosday hadn't officially spun off yet.

Like Ozzfest, the best I can do is offer candids, although I did get a great shot of one of my favorite's from the show.

Here's a flaming skull on the forearm of an Alice Cooper fan:


I wish I could have got this one, front and back, but no such luck:

Here's a bit of a blurry sleeve:


Although I couldn't read the words during the show, I loved the symmetry of this piece:

I like the script and the hourglass shape that molds perfectly between the shoulder blades. Even better, when I got home and used my photo editor, I was able to isolate the text and read what was so inspiring as to get someone to ink into their back:


Ah, the bard! Not every day dost thou espy a Shakespearean tattoo:

Life's but a walking shadow; a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing." --From Macbeth (V, v, 19)

Basically, that's all I was able to get at the show. However, the Macbeth tattoo made it all worth it. I have no other concerts on the horizon, so that may be it for a while from the live music venues.