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!

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.

Home is Where the Star Is

Yesterday in Penn Station, I met Jonathan, whose one tattoo caught my eye when I passed him in the Amtrak waiting area.

Except, sometimes, a fragment of a tattoo doesn't necessarily reveal the whole piece. As in Jonathan's case, I saw the back of his arm, and this segment, which resembled (to me, at the time), a crude figure with the beginning of a speech bubble emanating from its mouth:

I felt rather silly, however, when Jonathan agreed to participate and showed me the full tattoo:

The figure I imagined, of course, is really Long Island, and the balloon was the southern tip of the state of New York.

Jonathan explained that he is from Rochester, marked on the tattoo with a star, and that he lived in the same house growing up there for eighteen years. It's a New York state of mind, indeed.

The tattoo was done at Big Joe & Sons Tattooing in White Plains, New York.

Thanks to Jonathan for sharing his stately 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.

Out With the Old.....

As we wind down 2010, and look ahead to 2011, I wanted to take care of one of my several loose ends from the past year.

Back in July, I met a guy named John on the D train. He had tattooed arms and we chatted a bit. He said he'd send me photos and he did a few weeks later.

I never posted the photos because the resolution was low, and when I tried to increase the size, they blurred. I was going to include these in the Christmas housecleaning post, but the work is just too good.

So hear you have them, small photos, but recognizably amazing:

I mean, what is there to say? This work is quite excellent. The koi, the tiger, the sailing ship, sugar skull, nautical stars - it's all quite a body of work!

The artist is Nacho, who appeared once before on the blog here. You can check out Nacho's work here. in New York, he tattoos out of Studio Enigma on Avenue U.

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

And thanks to all of our fans and contributors for making 2010 a successful year of inkspotting!

Out With the Old.....

As we wind down 2010, and look ahead to 2011, I wanted to take care of one of my several loose ends from the past year.

Back in July, I met a guy named John on the D train. He had tattooed arms and we chatted a bit. He said he'd send me photos and he did a few weeks later.

I never posted the photos because the resolution was low, and when I tried to increase the size, they blurred. I was going to include these in the Christmas housecleaning post, but the work is just too good.

So hear you have them, small photos, but recognizably amazing:

I mean, what is there to say? This work is quite excellent. The koi, the tiger, the sailing ship, sugar skull, nautical stars - it's all quite a body of work!

The artist is Nacho, who appeared once before on the blog here. You can check out Nacho's work here. in New York, he tattoos out of Studio Enigma on Avenue U.

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

And thanks to all of our fans and contributors for making 2010 a successful year of inkspotting!

Mel's Star Shines from Down Under

Earlier this month, I ran into Mel coming out of Penn Station.

She has amazing work, and it was soon clear why. Mel was visiting from Melbourne, Australia, where she works as a tattoo artist at Get Smart Body Art.

I was drawn particularly to one of her newer tattoos, this dot-style Tibetan-inspired design:

I told her it reminded me of the style of Thomas Hooper, an artist at New York Adorned whose website (here) showcases some astonishing work, including tattoos made from the dot-style technique.

Mel noted that it was an original design that was inked using a rotary tattoo machine, with the purpose of achieving this effect. Thomas Hooper's style, she acknowledged, inspired her to attempt this ambitious tattoo.

In all fairness, she collaborated with Mick Kelly, at Get Smart Body Art, who did the actual tattooing.

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

Mandy's Leopard Stars

I spotted Mandy on Seventh Avenue in Manhattan last month and I had to stop her to ask about this, one of her three tattoos:


She came up with the design and made sure to include the leopard print that she likes so much.

She credits the artist Eric Newby at Ink Xpressions on Ringgold Road in East Ridge (Chattanooga), Tennessee.

You may notice another tattoo peeking into the picture, so let me show you the larger perspective and a glimpse of the piece to the left of the stars:


Mandy informed me later, via e-mail, that the floral piece

"was actually a stencil I found, and I really liked the design a lot. I had two black and white tattoos, so I wanted bright colors and we decided no outlines would look cool. It was a long process to get the colors I wanted to absorb, but it was well worth it in the end. The artist was Shane Hartline at Evermore Galleries in Chattanooga".

Thanks to Mandy for sharing these 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!

Colin's Left Leg is Traditionally Flash-y

I spotted Colin one afternoon while I was waiting for another tattooed individual to get off of her cell phone.

(Not only have I come up with individual terms for things that are associated with inkblogging, but I follow a code, as well. One of its tenets is to never bother someone talking on a cell phone.)

Colin ambled by and I bounded after him, stopping him and asking about his tattoos.

His left leg is covered with traditional flash, from swallows and bombs, roses, death's head moths,


and a pin-up girl, done in the Sailor Jerry style.


He explained that the sleeved left leg is a result of being "overzealous and excited" about tattoos.
Usually I try to talk about one or two pieces, but because most of his work is just flash, I captured most of his calf.

No fascinating stories to tell, just tattoos.

Thanks to Colin for sharing his ink with us here on Tattoosday!

Christina's Flawed Tattoo is Just Right

I spotted this interesting tattoo while in Penn Station last month:


Christina, to whom this piece belongs, called this a "reverse tattoo," in that the main focal point of the piece is the word "Flawed".

The word is empty of ink and is created by the artist using negative space.

But why "flawed?" Christina explained that "we all have a weakness" and that "only God is perfect." It"s a reminder that "everyone has need for improvement" and that no one is ever perfect.

This is one of four of Christina's tattoos.

Thanks to Christina for sharing this with us here on Tattoosday!