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,...

Choose the Right Tattoo

Matt has twenty-three (23) tattoos and he offered up this simple trio of letters:The CTR represents the expression "Choose the Right," a common thread in the ideology of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, more commonly referred to as the Mormon church.In essence, Matt explained, it means...

Shiri's Logos

"Excuse me," I called, loudly, on the 34th Street train platform, "Can I ask you about your tattoo?"Anyone reading this who has been featured here may recognize this as my opening salvo. Most people are open to my questions. Very few dismiss me. For this I am thankful.Shira was the woman to whom I was...

"You Gotta Go There to Come Back": Sarah Shares Three Tattoos

Sarah's half-sleeve jumped out at me in Penn Station as I was quietly bemoaning cooler weather and the dwindling of my blog backlog.I was pleased to find Sarah more than accommodating, as she shared several perspectives of the ink tattooed on her upper right arm.Visiting from Newcastle, Australia, her...

Hang the DJ

I met Rohan on a Brooklyn-bound A train.He has "thirteen or fourteen" tattoos, and he offered up this one from his right arm:The phrase "Hang the DJ" refers to lyrics sung by Morrissey when he was with The Smiths.I was only on the train with him for two stops, so I didn't get a full explanation of the...

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....

Maggie, a Fan of Pink, Shares Some Ink

One of the pluses of working near Madison Square Garden is that concert-goers and fans are always about.Occasionally, they can be found camped out near the artists' entrance on 33rd Street. The presence of fans milling about can often be great opportunities to spot tattoos, as in this case, previously.Earlier...

Joe's Tribute to His Uncle

I spotted Joe earlier this month outside of Penn Station. He has seven or eight tattoos, and chose to share this one from his right forearm:Joe explained that this piece is a tribute to an uncle who had passed away. He had served proudly in the United States Marine Corps and had had a skull tattoo...

A Little Sunshine on a Cloudy Day

I met Cristina on the R train several weeks back.The weather was just beginning to turn cooler, and I noticed that summer had ended quickly, with no gradual diminishing of tattoo sightings, but a sudden disappearance, like shutting the light switch off in a large, bright room at midnight.Cristina had...

Whole Lotta Ink

I spotted Dina's runic tattoos outside of Borders on Penn Plaza, late one Friday afternoon:Dina is a big fan of Led Zeppelin and, as most fans know, these runes represent the four members of the band.The four symbols represent, from left to right, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, John Bonham, and Robert...

Ian's Three Clowns

I met Ian on the West 4th Street subway platform last month and spotted this tattoo on the outside of his right leg:Ian had this done three years ago when working in Miami. He's an audio engineer in the television industry, so he travels a bit.He picked the flash out of a book in the tattoo shop. He...

Joe's Piece of p

I was on the 34th Street subway platform, waiting for a downtown N express train, when I met Joe who had a series of numbers inked around his arm:I asked him if the digits represented his social security number (don't laugh, I've heard it has been done) and he shook his head and rolled up his sleeve...

Dean's Wolverine Tattoo Shows Amazing Perspective

I met Dean outside of Penn Station late one Friday afternoon.I was interested in talking to him about this leg tattoo:When I approached him, he challenged me, asking if I knew what it was. There's nothing more embarrassing than misidentifying someone's tattoo, so I gave it a careful look."Wolverine?"...

Gypsy Roses and a Tombstone

Last month, I ran outside toward the end of the day to throw a letter in the mailbox at the corner of 31st and 7th, near Penn Station.Always prepared, I had a flier and my camera with me, just in case, and I spotted a woman ahead of me on the sidewalk with an interesting-looking tattoo on the back of...

Tiger Versus Viper

I had the good fortune of meeting Burton in Penn Station as he was headed back to Georgia.He was in town because his friend had won tickets to the MTV Video Music Awards the night before, and he got to tag along.Burton is a tattooist with thirteen tattoos, and the one he shared with me is truly spectacular:He...

Alyssa's Arabic Ink

It wasn't Alyssa I approached on a Friday afternoon outside of Madison Square Garden, but her friend, who had several visible tattoos.However, the friend was unhappy with all of her ink, so I asked if anyone else standing with her if they had work they'd like to share.Alyssa offered up this Arabic tattoo,...

Tattoorism: Brian's Ohm

This was sent to me by Brian, in Southern California, who's celebrating his birthday today. It's a stunning black and gray tattoo and well worth sharing here on Tattoosday:Brian explains:"This is my first tattoo and [it] meant a lot to me. It's an ohm, which is sort of a Buddhist peace symbol. It's...

We Pause Today for a Moment....

Technical problems today on the home computer, so instead, here's a great story on the Las Vegas Tattoo Convention last weeken...

Missy Needs a Miracle

I met Missy last month in Penn Station and she shared this, her first tattoo:This is also the first Icelandic tattoo on Tattoosday!The phrase in Icelandic, "M�r vartar kraftaverk" , Missy loosely translated as "I need a miracle". It is a memorial tattoo for a friend of hers who was killed after being...

James Shares His Love of The Nightmare Before Christmas

I saw The Nightmare Before Christmas when it first came out in theaters and it instantly became one of my favorite movies.I am certainly not alone in this sentiment.I had always wanted a Nightmare tattoo, as many may agree, the artistic style of the film lends itself splendidly to a tattoo motif. The...