Salvatore Shares a Family Heirloom

Yesterday marked the anniversary of the death of Norman "Sailor Jerry" Collins, so it seems appropriate to share the following tattoo, courtesy of Salvatore:

Located on his upper right arm, Salvatore explained that his family emigrated from Europe several generations ago. His grandfather joined the service when he was a young man and served in World War II. His travels brought him, at some point, through Honolulu where, according to Salvatore, his grandfather received the original version of the tattoo above, from none other than Sailor Jerry himself. The design above is a replica of Slavatore's grandfather's tattoo, a Sailor Jerry original.

Not only is he carrying a piece of traditional tattoo history on him, he is also honoring the memory of his grandfather. How cool is that?

Salvatore is a chef at One if by Land, Two if by Sea, a restaurant in New York's West Village. He is also a personal chef for several mixed martial arts fighters.

The Sailor Jerry piece above, as well as his left arm, which is fully-sleeved, was tattooed by Elio Espana, formerly of Flyrite Tattoo. Elio now works upstate at ADK Tattoo in Constable, New York.

Thanks to Salvatore for sharing this wonderful tattoo, that celebrates both an American tattoo master, and a family patriarch, here on Tattoosday.

A Bright Spot in December: A Phoenix and a Pin-Up

As one would expect, inkspotting is tough during December. Here we are at the end of the month, and I have only interviewed three people since the 1st. There were a few times over the summer when I interviewed three contributors during my lunch hour!

The last person whose work I photographed was Megan, who I found upstairs at the Penn Plaza Borders store.

Megan has seventeen tattoos, but it was this one that caught my eye:

This is a phoenix, of course, but fewer people may recognize it as Fawkes, the phoenix of Professor Albus Dumbledore, in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

The artwork is based on the illustration by Jason Cockcroft on the cover of the UK edition of the aforementioned book.

The tattooist Jamie Nichols at Gargoyle Tattoo in Aberdeen, Washington, completed this piece in about eight hours over two sittings.

Megan also has this pinup on her upper left arm:

The use of negative space for the bombs is pretty cool.

Marcus was the artist at Gargoyle that Megan credited for creating this piece..

Thanks to Megan for taking the time to speak to me about her cool tattoos!

A Bright Spot in December: A Phoenix and a Pin-Up

As one would expect, inkspotting is tough during December. Here we are at the end of the month, and I have only interviewed three people since the 1st. There were a few times over the summer when I interviewed three contributors during my lunch hour!

The last person whose work I photographed was Megan, who I found upstairs at the Penn Plaza Borders store.

Megan has seventeen tattoos, but it was this one that caught my eye:

This is a phoenix, of course, but fewer people may recognize it as Fawkes, the phoenix of Professor Albus Dumbledore, in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

The artwork is based on the illustration by Jason Cockcroft on the cover of the UK edition of the aforementioned book.

The tattooist Jamie Nichols at Gargoyle Tattoo in Aberdeen, Washington, completed this piece in about eight hours over two sittings.

Megan also has this pinup on her upper left arm:

The use of negative space for the bombs is pretty cool.

Marcus was the artist at Gargoyle that Megan credited for creating this piece..

Thanks to Megan for taking the time to speak to me about her cool tattoos!

Julia's Pin-Up

I met Julia briefly in a Hudson News in Penn Station.

The flash of color on her foot caught my eye:

Julia explained that she is a visual artist that likes to do pin-up illustrations. This particular design she wanted to be transformed into a tattoo. She brought it to Morgan Reed at Electric Lotus Tattoo in Boonton, New Jersey, and he made some slight adjustments that resulted in this lovely tattoo.

Work from Electric Lotus has appeared on Tattoosday before. This link will show you what else we have featured from their shop.

Thanks to Julia for sharing her pin-up girl with us here on Tattoosday!

Julia's Pin-Up

I met Julia briefly in a Hudson News in Penn Station.

The flash of color on her foot caught my eye:

Julia explained that she is a visual artist that likes to do pin-up illustrations. This particular design she wanted to be transformed into a tattoo. She brought it to Morgan Reed at Electric Lotus Tattoo in Boonton, New Jersey, and he made some slight adjustments that resulted in this lovely tattoo.

Work from Electric Lotus has appeared on Tattoosday before. This link will show you what else we have featured from their shop.

Thanks to Julia for sharing her pin-up girl with us here on Tattoosday!

Caitlin's Pin-up with a Heart on the Sleeve

Earlier this month, I ran into Caitlin as I got off the A train at West 4th Street. She has twnety-three tattoos and, as customary, I asked if she could pick one to share with us here on Tattoosday.

She obliged, selecting this, her most recent tattoo:

This is based on the artwork of the pin-up stylings of Baron von Lind. I believe the piece that this is replicating is his work "Daphne":

I wish I could give proper credit to the artist, but it was a noisy train platform, and I scribbled down Willie Childress, Asheville, North Carolina. If anyone knows who this is, or what shop he belongs to, please let me know so I can give the artist his proper due.

Thanks to Caitlin for sharing her pin-up with us here on Tattoosday!

Be sure to head over to the Baron von Lind website to see more of his art.

Tattoosday Goes To Hawai'i - Aloha to the Islands

I wasn't sure how many tattoos I would meet on my five and a half day trip to Hawai'i, but my last day there exceeded all expectations.

As reported before, I met five separate people with tattoos at Pearlridge as I did some last-minute shopping before heading back to the airport.

After returning my rental car and clearing security, I headed to the gate, my heart heavy with the reality that I was once again leaving my childhood home, not knowing when I would return.

I guessed that my inkspotting had ended on the trip, as I dropped my carry-on at a row of seats outside of the gate, which was sealed as the earlier flight's passengers cleared customs.

I guessed wrong.

The delay in entering Gate 25 left passengers lingering in the open-aired terminal with a moment to relish the warm tropical air.

The gentleman next to me removed his outer garment to reveal a short sleeve shirt. And this tattoo:

So, for the next twenty minutes or so, I chatted with Bill, originally from Brooklyn, now living in Hawai'i. How's that for a mirror image?

What's more, Bill had this tattoo, as well, on his upper right arm:

Aloha indeed. What a fitting way to leave Hawai'i!

The top pin-up was inked at a shop in Point Pleasant, New Jersey.

The forearm design is a modified version of a flash design Bill had seen at a shop in Honolulu, up near the University of Hawai'i campus in Manoa.

The original design featured the young lady standing in the Waikiki surf, with Diamond Head behind her. Bill opted just for the pin-up, without all the extra stuff.

We had a nice chat about Hawai'i, tattoos, and Brooklyn. He was heading back to the East Coast to visit family.

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

And thanks again to everyone I met on my trip, and for being integral parts of the Tattoosday Goes to Hawai'i saga!

Halloween Bonus: Zombie Pinup

Back in September I posted Little Dead Riding Hood, courtesy of Amy, who I met in Penn Station.

Amy has a new tattoo, which she generously shared:


It's a zombie pin-up girl, and appropriate for the holiday today.

Like the previous piece, this was created by T.J. Mcinnis at Mcinnis Tattoo Company in Providence, Rhode Island.

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

Have a safe and ghoulishly fun Halloween!

Two for Tattoosday: Hawai'i Calling and a Pin-Up Boy

I met Joakim and Marina last month on the sidewalk, just outside of the 34th Street Penn Station entrance.

The couple were visiting from Sweden and it was Joakim's sleeves that jumped out at me.

He shared this one segment on his lower right arm:


He asked me if it looked familiar. It did, but I couldn't quite place it. He smiled, and told me it's a variation on the cover of The Clash's quintessential album, London Calling,


Joakim loves the Clash and loves Hawaiian culture, so he designed had the tattoo artist design the piece to merge both elements for a great tattoo.

The piece was inked by Big Fat Joe at a shop called Art by Fafnir in Stockholm.


I turned to Marina and asked if she had any tattoos. She smiled and said she did, removing her jacket to reveal this piece, also by Joe:


"It's my pin-up boy," she laughed. Her variation on the traditional pin-up girl is going to tie in with a sleeve she is working on, as well.

She remarked that the artist was "thrilled" to do this tattoo, because it was not the typical pin-up tattoo.

Thanks to Joakim and Marina for sharing their great tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Annie Cherry and Bindlestiff Willy in New York City

I met Annie Cherry outside of Penn Station in early September. She was talking with Bindlestiff Willy. She had visible tattoos. He did not.

I approached them and introduced myself.

This is Annie:


And here is Bindlestiff Willy:


Both perform with a group called the Kansas City Society of Burlesque.

They had been in New York City performing out on Coney Island the previous weekend and were heading home.

Annie graciously allowed to photograph her two tattoos, juxtaposed nicely on her inner forearms:


She explained the one on her left arm, saying it was a shooting star, about to be launched from a slingshot. She said the tattoo represents creative inspiration and that it reminds her "not to take herself too seriously".


Incidentally, several weeks later, I met a woman with a similar tattoo, only justaposed differently on the left arm. I was shocked to see it, but she explained that it was also a band logo for the group Gogol Bordello.


The snake on her left arm represents knowledge to Annie, and a reminder that the destination is not always reached by taking the straight path.


Both tattoos were inked by Chet Duvenci at The Mercy Seat Tattoo & Art Gallery in Kansas City.

After talking about her tattoos, Annie informed me that her traveling companion Bindelestiff Willy had a couple of great tattoos, as well. They were inked at The Mercy Seat also, but by different artists.

Damian removed his jacket and rolled up his sleeves to reveal the tattoos on his upper arms.

The first is on his upper left arm:


If this classic pin-up girl looks familiar, scroll up to the top of the post and take another gander at the photo of Annie.



The tattoo is modeled after her. The phrase "Clowns need love too" is self-referential. This piece was inked by Scott Shickman.

Damian, who performs under the name of "Bindlestiff Willy," is a pantomime specialist who does a great Charlie Chaplin routine. The pun in his stage name combines the "bindle stick" commonly carried by hobos and tramps (in the Chaplinesque sense) and the raunchiness of "stiff Willy".

His second tattoo, on the right arm, is a portrait of Charlie Chaplin's "Little Tramp" were he still alive. Of course, as the 1889 implies, Chaplin is a skeleton today, so the traditional tattoo takes a macabre turn.


This piece was done by John Monk.

A big thanks to Annie and Willy for sharing their awesome tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!