Holy Shit, Nikko Hurtado!
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Skull, Snake and a Sword
This happens when you want to have a radical, bad-ass tattoo a little bit too much.
The worst of the worst (NSFW reader submission)
This tattoo is so bad and so NSFW that I can’t show it above the jump.
Alex wrote to me, and said “the bet was high card draw best 2 out of 3 winner got to pick, but had to pay for the losers tattoo.”
Click to find out what the winner picked for him, but remember, it’s graphic.
Alex wrote to me, and said “the bet was high card draw best 2 out of 3 winner got to pick, but had to pay for the losers tattoo.”
Click to find out what the winner picked for him, but remember, it’s graphic.
Dragons, Dragons, Everywhere!
On a recent trip to Rite-Aid with my older daughter, I warned her: "I don't know what it is about this place, but I always spot tattoos here." In fact, at least three prior posts on Tattoosday have featured ink photographed under the drugstore's fluorescent lights.
On Thursday the 25th, as I headed to the pharmacy, I ran into Alise Orlando-Aly, who was proudly displaying at least half a dozen black dragons on arms, neck, and legs.
She has a dozen dragons in all, including two on her lower back for her children that she couldn't show me in the store. Those, representing her kids, are her favorites. However, for the purpose of modesty, I snapped shots of the two on the outside of her calves.
Her work was all done by Echo at Masterpiece Tattoo in Staten Island, where she lives. She was inspired by the Mortal Kombat book series and, her tattoos started as pictures, then each was customized by the artist in collaboration with her.
Check out the right side:
And the left:
Both pieces took five hours, combined, to ink. She added that the left side is actually a cover-up of a hammerhead shark.
When I asked her her name, she said I could use her surname as well. "I'm proud of my tattoos," she smiled, "I have nothing to be ashamed of".
I agree whole-heartedly and thank Alise for sharing her dragons with Tattoosday!
On Thursday the 25th, as I headed to the pharmacy, I ran into Alise Orlando-Aly, who was proudly displaying at least half a dozen black dragons on arms, neck, and legs.
She has a dozen dragons in all, including two on her lower back for her children that she couldn't show me in the store. Those, representing her kids, are her favorites. However, for the purpose of modesty, I snapped shots of the two on the outside of her calves.
Her work was all done by Echo at Masterpiece Tattoo in Staten Island, where she lives. She was inspired by the Mortal Kombat book series and, her tattoos started as pictures, then each was customized by the artist in collaboration with her.
Check out the right side:
And the left:
Both pieces took five hours, combined, to ink. She added that the left side is actually a cover-up of a hammerhead shark.
When I asked her her name, she said I could use her surname as well. "I'm proud of my tattoos," she smiled, "I have nothing to be ashamed of".
I agree whole-heartedly and thank Alise for sharing her dragons with Tattoosday!
Monday, April 28, 2008
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Bad Angel
Just because it's your back it does not mean that you can hire someone who should have finished his / hers art career at etch-a-sketch. And what's with the head ? Half a brain ?
Tani has 15 tattoos - Here's One!
I rain into Tani on 5th avenue in Bay Ridge on Thursday. She has multiple tattoos, on her arms, peeking out from the edges of her shirt on her back, and many that were out of sight.
She offered up this piece on her left biceps, although she admitted her favorite tattoo is on her ribs. Understandably, that wasn't seeing sunlight on a crowded street.
Nonetheless, the one she shared was nice:
This piece was tattooed by Jennifer at Ink Masters on 3rd Avenue in Bay Ridge circa 1998.
Tani indicated that she is half-Chinese, and that the Asian aspects of the design appealed to her. The two main elements are the phoenix and the tree, which she identified as a Japanese Maple.
People with a lot of tattoos, I have discovered, either know exactly how many they have, or aren't sure, and have to try and figure it out. When I asked Tani the inevitable question, she did not hesitate. Fifteen in all.
"So," I asked, "are you getting any more?"
"No" she laughed, "I'm pretty much done."
Thanks to Tani for sharing her phoenix and maple with Tattoosday!
She offered up this piece on her left biceps, although she admitted her favorite tattoo is on her ribs. Understandably, that wasn't seeing sunlight on a crowded street.
Nonetheless, the one she shared was nice:
This piece was tattooed by Jennifer at Ink Masters on 3rd Avenue in Bay Ridge circa 1998.
Tani indicated that she is half-Chinese, and that the Asian aspects of the design appealed to her. The two main elements are the phoenix and the tree, which she identified as a Japanese Maple.
People with a lot of tattoos, I have discovered, either know exactly how many they have, or aren't sure, and have to try and figure it out. When I asked Tani the inevitable question, she did not hesitate. Fifteen in all.
"So," I asked, "are you getting any more?"
"No" she laughed, "I'm pretty much done."
Thanks to Tani for sharing her phoenix and maple with Tattoosday!
Friday, April 25, 2008
The World is His
Thursday (April 17) was the most beautiful day yet this spring, but I was at work sans camera and passing out Tattoosday fliers without the possibility of taking pictures seemed lame.
Remember, this blog is not just about tattoos, but about the pursuit of interesting tattoo stories as well.
Thanks to Brooke, however, I was armed with a camera phone on my lunch break, as I ran a couple of errands.
And it was walking on 23rd street that I met a guy from my neck of the woods with some ink on his arms. I am always fascinated by examples of words people choose to inscribe in their flesh. This is on his right forearm:
Our tattoo host said that it's a quote from the film Scarface, one of Tony Montana's many mottos, delivered with gusto by Al Pacino. I couldn't find any direct quotes on the web, but it makes sense, based on the existence of a video game called Scarface: The World is Yours.
In addition, his left arm had three shamrocks, which were recently inked:
It's a celebration of his Irish ancestry. They're just outlines right now, but he plans to fill them in with green, orange, and white ink, to represent the flag of Ireland.
Both of these tattoos were inked at Groove Tattoos in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. When I mentioned that I had work from Body Art Studios, he flashed some print on the backs of his biceps, indicating that those were inked there too.
Thanks to our anonymous friend for sharing his ink here at Tattoosday!
Remember, this blog is not just about tattoos, but about the pursuit of interesting tattoo stories as well.
Thanks to Brooke, however, I was armed with a camera phone on my lunch break, as I ran a couple of errands.
And it was walking on 23rd street that I met a guy from my neck of the woods with some ink on his arms. I am always fascinated by examples of words people choose to inscribe in their flesh. This is on his right forearm:
Our tattoo host said that it's a quote from the film Scarface, one of Tony Montana's many mottos, delivered with gusto by Al Pacino. I couldn't find any direct quotes on the web, but it makes sense, based on the existence of a video game called Scarface: The World is Yours.
In addition, his left arm had three shamrocks, which were recently inked:
It's a celebration of his Irish ancestry. They're just outlines right now, but he plans to fill them in with green, orange, and white ink, to represent the flag of Ireland.Both of these tattoos were inked at Groove Tattoos in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. When I mentioned that I had work from Body Art Studios, he flashed some print on the backs of his biceps, indicating that those were inked there too.
Thanks to our anonymous friend for sharing his ink here at Tattoosday!
Electra-fying!
I love Carmen Electra (especially when she got snotted on by King Kong in the extras of Scary Movie 3*) so naturally I adore this perfect Mike De Vries portrait.
*Yes, I've seen the extras of Scary Movie 3. What of it?
Electra-fying!
I love Carmen Electra (especially when she got snotted on by King Kong in the extras of Scary Movie 3*) so naturally I adore this perfect Mike De Vries portrait.
*Yes, I've seen the extras of Scary Movie 3. What of it?
Thursday, April 24, 2008
A Picture-Perfect Portrait
Slyvester Stallone's favourite tattooist Mike De Vries with a stunning colour piece!
A Picture-Perfect Portrait
Slyvester Stallone's favourite tattooist Mike De Vries with a stunning colour piece!
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
This ones for Lauren
Hey woman, how about a trip to the tattoo shop? You know you wanna. :-)(For more dog tats check out http://thebark.typepad.com/ )
A Double Shot: Steve and Krista Show Off Some Awesome Ink
Last Friday, my head was spinning. It seemed that there were tattoos everywhere. They were as prevalent as the blossoms on the trees. I passed out a few fliers, but hadn’t received any commitments from people to chat. The good weather means that we here at Tattoosday can be more selective in our choices, hopefully bringing you more intricate and complicated tattoos.
Just outside of Penn Station, I saw a man and a woman chatting in the sun. The guy had a bright red tattoo on his forearm. I couldn’t tell if the woman had ink, as her back was to me when I approached.
In introduced myself to Steve, who has six tattoos in all. He offered up the arm piece first, as it was the most meaningful of all his work:
Just outside of Penn Station, I saw a man and a woman chatting in the sun. The guy had a bright red tattoo on his forearm. I couldn’t tell if the woman had ink, as her back was to me when I approached.
In introduced myself to Steve, who has six tattoos in all. He offered up the arm piece first, as it was the most meaningful of all his work:
Steve plays bass for a band out of Long Island called The Devilles. Check them out here. He described them as "punk rock n roll". Their MySpace profile categorizes them as "punk/blues/soul". Here's Steve at a gig:
To break the tattoo down a little, the quote in the banner is “When I got the music/I got a place to go,” which are lyrics from the song "Radio" by Rancid, from their 1994 album, Let’s Go. A little research proved that “Radio” was originally released on the Radio Radio Radio EP a year earlier, with Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong as a second guitarist in a brief stint with the band. Armstrong is even shares writing credit on the track. The album version, post-Bille Joe, has a significantly different arrangement.
Here's a little video of Rancid performing "Radio":
The guitar in Steve’s tattoo is modeled after his own instrument, a Gretsch.
He explained that the tattoo exemplifies the role of music in Steve's life. He finds it very therapeutic and acknowledges that, without music, "I would not be the same person I am today, or even be here at all." It's the biggest, most important thing in his life.
This was designed and inked by Greg Fly at The Tattoo Shop in Medford, Long Island.
Steve also offered up this stomach piece:
This is a direct quote from the Clash song of the same name from the London Calling album. Pepe at The Tattoo Shop did this piece and it represents Steve's belief that he'll be able to make an impression on this world before he dies.
In the course of talking to Steve, the young lady with him was an active participant in the discussion. Her name is Krista and she works as an apprentice at The Tattoo Shop where Steve's work was done. She said she had about six or seven tattoos in all. After talking with Steve, I asked her if she would like to show off her ink for Tattoosday as well.
She tried to downplay her body art, saying that, compared to Steve, her stories weren’t that interesting. I begged to differ but, to be perfectly honest, she could have been right. I only saw one of her tattoos, but it is truly spectacular:
Krista was born in upstate New York but she grew up in North Carolina. She remembers always being fascinated by the "Western motif" and when she drew up the rudimentary sketch of this tattoo, this was in the forefront of the vision. She took the basic premise to a tattooist named Zam at Visionary (a custom shop). She told him "this is [basically] what I want. Go nuts with it." Like I said, the end result is breath-taking. I believe this is Tattoosday's first chest piece.
Krista wanted me to plug her shop's show on April 26th at Club Bianco in Hauppauge. Check out The Tattoo Shop's page here to get all the details.
Thanks again to Krista and Steve for sharing their awesome tattoos!
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