Katya's Pumpkin Patch

(We here at Tattoosday have survived Hurricane Sandy relatively unscathed. Now back to some ink appreciation....)

I've been hanging on to this photo for over six months:

This tattoo belongs to Katya, who I met back in April in Penn Station. This seemed more appropriate to post around Halloween. since it features pumpkins.

Katya credits this work to a friend of hers named John Murphy in California with starting this piece, which she conceives as the start of a sleeve, which will rise from the earth and the pumpkins, up her arm to a cityscape and an homage to the television show Bewitched.

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

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another website 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.

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Japanese TATTOO Horimitsu Style Customer from Sweden

Thank you for coming best friend!!!!!!!!

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Japanese TATTOO Horimitsu Style Customer from Sweden

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Japanese TATTOO Horimitsu Style peony

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Japanese TATTOO Horimitsu Style Peony

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Part 3 of Tattoo Age's Profile of Mutsuo is Up!

I've been really enjoying the current profile of the Japanese tattoo artist Mutsuo, of which the third and concluding part has just gone live on Vice's Tattoo Age series.

Behold:


There is a certain Zen quality to this last installment, as Mutsuo visits a Buddhist/Shinto shrine, and talks a little about the acceptance (or lack thereof) of tattoos in Japanese society. You can also click the "Tattoo Age" tag at the bottom of this post to see previous entries.

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Trailer for The Sitdown, a Conversation with New York Tattoo Legends

Here is the new official trailer for The Sitdown...A Conversation with Tattoo Legends:

 

Legends indeed! Recorded on October 21 2012 at Richie's Tattoo in Elmont. Listen to Richie Montgomery, Pete Giaquinto, Ronnie DellAquila, Mike Perfetto & Tony Polito, hosted by Mike Schweigert. Filmed & Edited by Rich Fie. Produced by Mike Schweigert & Rich Fie. (c)2012 SHTC Productions

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Japanese TATTOO Horimitsu Styile Customer from Sweden!!!

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Tattoos In the News: Hilo on My Mind

Tattoosday may be a New York City-based blog, but we here at the home office have roots deep in Hawai'i. We showed a whole slew of islands-based ink back in our "Tattoosday Goes to Hawai'i" posts back in 2010 (this tag lets you see most of those entries).

I was on the phone with my mother yesterday and she told me that the cover of the local Hawaii Tribune Herald featured "Hilo's Illustrated Man," a guy named Bryston "Sonny" Savella:

The full article here details how Savella was inspired by images of people who had Route 66 tattoos. He wanted a similar concept, only with images from the town of Hilo.

Among the expected sights, his work also features "...a Big Island Candies dipped cookie ... and a smorgasbord of menu items from Ken's House of Pancakes." 

The work is credited to local artist John Butler, who is owner and operator of Tattoos by Butler.

It's a great article and a nice slice of Hawaiian life for a quick read. I encourage you to check out the piece and see Butler's work on his Facebook page. You may even want to book an appointment on your next trip to the Big Island!

Mahalo to my mom for tipping me off and to Savella and Butler for combining forces on this Hawaiian-style project!

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are seeing this on another website 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.

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More Bling

The Hammer of Thor is showing the moment, when Thor is going fishing with the giant Hymir and it is all about catching the biggest fish, off course.
So Thor decapitates the finest bull in Hymirs posession and uses the head as a bait.
They row far out and Thor is not impressed about the two whales, Hymir pulls up.
Further out, Thor pulls up the Midgardserpent itself, a giant snake, that surrounds the world.
He wants to kill it with his hammer, but Hymir is so scared, that he cuts the line and the serpent sinks back.
So in the weaving of the hammer you can see the Midgardserpent swallowing the bait.
That saga was depicted very often by the norsemen on runestones, etc.

The heads on the necklace are replicas from Kungsgården, Gamla Uppsala (SE) from around 1000- 1100.

Finest quality work, availiable in 925 Sterling silver and bronze.

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Lindsay's Grandfather Resonates in Her Tattoos

I met Lindsay in Penn Station back in August and she shared two tattoos, starting with this incredible blackbird inked on her thigh:

She credited this amazing piece to Grez at Kings Avenue Tattoo. He is one of those artists whose work I see occasionally in my travels. As always, I am impressed with his workmanship.

What does this tattoo symbolize? Lindsay explained, "I actually have the key as a necklace of mine that I found in my house and then the poppy is for my grandpa." And the blackbird? She told me, "I like the myths of death behind it."

Lindsay also has this tattoo on her arm:

Lindsay explains:

"This is my grandpa's suitcase and I actually found it with the key [from the op tattoo] and it was in the wall of my house. It was really awesome. It's like this really old style suitcase."

This is a great tribute to her grandfather and was also tattooed by Grez.

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

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are seeing this on another website 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.

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Japanese Tattoo Horimitsu Style!!!

Done 2 years ago

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Kara's Kara-cature (and a Killer Back Piece, to Boot)

I spotted Kara on 7th Avenue back in July.

She was headed south while I was headed north. When I turned and saw her back piece, I whirled around and caught up to her to ask her about her work. She was kind enough to share. Check it out:

She credited an artist named Augustin Espinosa with this piece and most of her tattoos are "all about decoration." Espinosa was at A-List Industry Studios in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn when he did the back piece, but he was at New York Hardcore in Manhattan when he tattooed her left arm:

Kara explained,

"My arm piece is basically a caricature of me ... I am a marathon runner ... I wanted a pin-up tattoo and I'm a narcissist so I wanted it to be about me ... I gave Augustin basically what I wanted and he drew this."

Thanks to Kara for stopping when I asked her about her tattoos, and for sharing them with us here on Tattoosday!

UPDATE: I learned just recently, while researching this post, that Kara has joined the ranks of the many burlesque performers that have graced these illustrious pages. She performs under the name Magdalena Fox and is, by my best estimation, the fifth performer (that I am aware of) that has been featured here. Just one of the fun perks of being a tattoo blogger!

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are seeing this on another website 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.

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COLOR

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ALEXANDER TIKHOMIROV

this alexander tikhomirov guy is amazing.

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Kate's Marie Antoinette Tattoo (and a Look at Something New)

Looking back to May, I wanted to share this tattoo from Kate that I photographed at the New York City Tattoo Convention:

You can tell from the photo that Kate has simply incredible sleeves. These and the pistol shown in my convention recap here were tattooed by Becca Roach at North Star Tattoo in Manhattan.

It was this back piece, however, that really interested me:

Kate explained that this was her first large tattoo and it depicts Marie Antoinette. She told me, "I always felt a connection with good old Marie A, and felt she was an ordinary girl put in extraordinary circumstances."

The banner below Ms. Antoinette reads, "l'amour pour moi qui je suis, pas qui vous voulez etre a moi," which translates to "love me for who I am, not for who you want me to be."

She credited this tattoo to Jef Wright at Wealthy Street Tattoo in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

In subsequent conversations with Kate, she told me that Marie now has company. Artist Becca Roach has started a new piece lower on Kate's back:

Can't wait to see the final product!

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

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another website 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.

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Japanese TATTOO Horimitsu Style NEW Snake!!

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Mutsuo on Vice's Tattoo Age (Part 2) - Video Up Today!

I know, it's been a long week since we were treated to part one of Vice's Tattoo Age episode introducing us to Japanese artist Mutsuo.

The middle segment is now live:




The good people at Vice tell us "In Part 2, Tattoo Age delves into the history of Mutsuo's shop, Three Tides Tattoo, and hears from Chris Garver, Masa Sakamoto, and more, as they give us insight into how western-style tattooing gained ground in Japan after the 1999 Tokyo Convention."

Now we just have to wait another week for more Mutsuo. As always, this series continues to impress!

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Freija

Freija, the norse goddess of love and off course Odhinn´s wife :) She wears the most beautiful jewelry ever made, the Brisingamen, there are rumours, that she had to do some favours for a couple of nasty dwarfes, who created the piece...
Dwarfes need love, too ;)
There´s an ongoing discussion among the pagan clerics if Odhinn´s wife and the sister of Frey (the god of fertility) is the same person...

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Tattoo Reality Overload - New Show "Tattoo Nightmares" premieres tonight on Spike TV

With last week's double shot of Inkmaster's second season (two episodes for the price of one!) and Tattoo Rescue, you'd think we'd be rolling toward Tattoo Reality Overlord. Although it appears Tattoo Rescue was a one-off pilot, we will now get a new series premiering tonight after Inkmaster.

For those in the tattoo industry who think that "reality" shows exploit their industry and that no new tattoo shows is a good thing, they will likely cringe at the title of Tattoo Nightmares.

But, similar to a TLC series I spotted over the summer called America's Worst Tattoos, the new series highlights artists who are trying to correct tattoos gone bad.

As their press release touts:

"Real people with really bad tattoos, ranging from hilarious to downright disturbing, seek the help of three of the best cover-up artists in the business to fix them – Tommy Helm, Big Gus and Jasmine Rodriguez. The stakes are high as the regretful clients ... see if the artists at Tattoo Nightmares can work a miracle and turn their disaster pieces into masterpieces. Reenactments allow us to see how the bad ink was born."

The way I see it, you're either a fan of these types of reality shows, or you're almost violently against them. Personally, I'm a tattoo half-full guy. For the most part, these shows are entertaining - just on the basis that they are legitimately trying to show a positive side to tattoos.

One of the three artists behind Tattoo Nightmares is New York's Tommy Helm, who was one of the three finalists in the first season of Inkmaster. He's a top-notch artist, so I'll give the show a chance based on that alone.

Tommy Helm is one of the biggest reasons to watch Tattoo Nightmares

Look, when show's like Here Comes Honey Boo-Boo draws millions of viewers, it seems silly to complain about a tattoo reality program that celebrates an art form and arguably helps the tattoo business. The same people who complain about these shows are likely also going to be taking appointments from clients who are inspired by these "tattoo nightmares" and seeking high-quality cover-ups.

Tattoo Nightmares premieres tonight on Spike TV at 11:00 and 11:30 PM.

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Japanese TATTOO Horimitsu Style Snake!!!

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Power of the dance

Aaaaarrrgghhhhh!!!!

Some ICONS Christina shot here! h2fotografie.blogspot.com S. was so full of energy at the shot, it was really difficult to choose the pictures, because each and everyone radiates the power, that was unleashed.
The facepaint is not like it seems, inspired by our favourite norvegian music (black metal rules anyway), but by peaceful danish pottery painting, you´ll find on grandma´s finest dish :)

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Stave church portal lock (NO)

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Merchandise and Bling 1

 The shirt: For boys and girls in all sizes availiable.

 My jewelry designs: The necklace is a combination, it contains

The norvegian hammer, the top is taken from the oseberg sledge (8th century, eastern norway), the beast in the hammerhead is a design from the inside of the Urnes stavchurch (1130, western norway)

The snakeheads are inspired by a finnish finding.

The sunwheel brooch: The design is inspired by many pre-christian sunwheel broches, from early Roman up to Vendel age and Viking pieces.

More to come...

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Stäbe und Sterne

 A rune star, inspired by Vegvisir and others. The tattoo has a magical background and the bearer wishes to be influenced by the power of the carefully chosen runes, matching her personality and development.

 An icelandic classic: The Vegvisir can be found in the galdrabok from the 17th century and in older manuscripts, there it is decribed as a magical symbol amongst 143 others.
The book contains complex runewritings and symbols.

  Ægishjálmur, can be found in the same book, both designs are also deeply rooted in icelandic and scandinavian culture.
I personally think, runic inscriptions should be kept simple and bold, gives them a nice, very classic appearance :)

                                             Sometimes it is, what it looks like...a snowflake ;)

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Volbeat!!!!!!!

                                                                 ROCK`N`ROLL!!!

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Kate Shares Some Amazing Portraits by Tommy Montoya

Sometimes I hang on to the great tattoo photos for a rainy day.

Well, it's not rainy today, but I thought I'd release these portraits from Kate, who I was fortunate enough to meet in Penn Station back in May.  Kate credited the work to the phenomenal Tommy Montoya (one of the artists from N.Y. Ink) out of Inkslingers L.A.

That's John Dillinger, Marilyn Monroe on the outside of Kate's left arm, and on the inside:

Billie Holliday and James Dean.

Thanks to Kate for sharing these amazing portraits by one of the best in the business!

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another website 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.

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Gambar Tattoo Model Seksi Novi Amelia

Tattoo di kaki model seksi Novi Amelia

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Japanese TATTOO Horimitsu style

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Japanese TATTOO Horimitsu style EBISU

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The Tattoosday Book Review: Painted Bodies

As regular readers may now, we occasionally review tattoo-related books here on Tattoosday. We're going to try and make this a regular Saturday occasion as we enter the colder weather and try to make our summer backlog last as long as possible.

Today's book is Painted Bodies: African Body Painting, Tattoos, and Scarification by the award-winning photographers Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher.

Published by Rizzoli, this beautiful book offers up large and colorful photos en masse - highlighting a wide range and variety of body art adorning African tribes. I will concede, the 288 pages of mostly full-page photographs are specific to body paint, there is one chapter that focuses on tattoos and scarification.

That said, this is not the book for someone looking for an expose on African tattooing. However, I paged through this volume transfixed, amazed at the simple beauty of the patterns and color utilized by the tribal artists documented with great respect for its subjects.

Beckwith and Fisher have been photographing the indigenous people of Africa for decades and have produced several volumes over the years that have celebrated the diversity of cultures on that continent.
This large coffee table-sized book, which retails for US$100.00, but is discounted through Amazon.com, at least at the time of this writing, takes great care to not only document the different body-painting styles of numerous tribes, but to also describe in chapter prefaces, the processes and cultural significance of the techniques.

"In order to attract females, Karo men decorate themselves lavishly using clays and pigments found naturally in the Omo River region..."    © Carol Beckwith & Angela Fisher, 2012

Although technically not a tattoo book, I still believe this would be a valuable addition to anyone's library, whether it is utilized as a sourcebook and inspiration for artists looking to the roots of body art, or as an appreciation of one section of humanity's embrace of the earth and human expression.

"A proud Wodaabe female from Niger is easily identified by a combination of tattoos that mark her forehead, cheeks, and the corners of her lips, along with face paint that emphasizes her aquiline nose and high cheekbones." © Carol Beckwith & Angela Fisher, 2012

I would recommend, if anyone is interested in the work of these photographers, to head over to this National Geographic website, where one can learn more about Beckwith and Fisher, and see more of their amazing photos.

This review is ©2012 Tattoosday. All images and excerpts are ©2012 Carol Beckwith & Angela Fisher.

If you are reading this on another website 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.

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