Kristen's Trilogy of Knots

The 34th Street Platform for the A Train has been very kind to us here at Tattoosday, even more so this summer than in years' past.Take Kristen, for example. She generously offered up this small portion of her corporeal canvas:Estimating that she is at least a quarter covered by ink, this "trilogy of...

Happy Bloggiversary to Me!

Three years ago today, Tattoosday was born.On July 31, 2007, I put up a post on BillyBlog, featuring a tattoo on a co-worker named Sephora.The idea was to post a weekly tattoo on Tuesday, and use this is a vehicle to expand my horizons a bit; meet interesting people and learn about tattoos.There was...

Nick Remembers Billy, I Remember Siki

My first tattoo was modified from a piece of flash at Body Art Studios by an artist who goes by the moniker "Siki". Shortly thereafter, Siki left the shop and went on his way.My friend Pete knows who he is but, until recently, I hadn't met anyone with ink from Siki, other than myself.Then, I met Nick...

Jessica's Feather for her Mother

I met Jessica on the express platform at 34th Street earlier this month.She shared this gorgeous peacock feather tattooed on the upper right section of her back:The piece is an homage to her mother, who loves everything peacock, and has countless items, like bracelets and other jewelery, that emulate...

Michelle's Tattoo Takes Your Breath Away

Michelle has a lot of ink, twenty-one tattoos, all told, but when I stopped her in Penn Station, she chose to share this one with us:Boldly planted on her upper right arm, Michelle explained that she paraphrased and pared down a longer quotation to read, more simply, "Live for the moments that take...

Timmy's Sophisticated Owl

Earlier this month, Melanie and I took advantage of having my sister's car while she was out of the country and we made an unusual shopping trip to the Fairway Market in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn.There was a gentleman in the produce section with a lot of tattoos, and Melanie pointed out one to...

Niki's Memorial for Elizabeth

Last week I was down in Chelsea when I spotted Niki from a distance. She appeared to have a colorful Madonna-like tattoo on her right shoulder, so I changed course and caught up to her only to discover this lovely tattoo instead:This lovely photo was supplied to me by Niki, as my own camera's battery...

Jim Commemorates a Trip To Greece with His Brothers

I mentioned yesterday that I had gone up to Woodstock on the 4th of July weekend, where I spotted some upstate ink.At a flea market, I met Jim, who had this amazing tattoo on the back of his calf:And a wider, three-paneled view:Jim had gone on vacation to Greece for thirty days with his brothers and...

Larry's Tattoo Burns at Both Ends

Occasionally, but not too often, I do venture out of the city to places far, and not so far, away.Fourth of July weekend, I was up visiting friends in Woodstock, New York.On July 3, we found ourselves at an outdoor flea market and I met a couple of inked folk, including Larry who has "a lot" of tattoos.When...

Lil' Miss Sunshine

I spotted Christina on a subway platform and she let me take a photo of this tattoo above her outer right ankle once we got on the train:Our time to chat was limited, so all I learned from Christina was that this was a self-drawn self-portrait that a friend tattooed on her four years ago."Lil' Miss...

Pete's Tribute to a Magical Grandfather

Last month, as I wandered despondently down my street, mourning the loss of my camera, I saw Pete standing on his stoop in the afternoon heat, without a shirt. He had a really cool tattoo and I talked to him about it, taking a picture with my BlackBerry.Alas, the image quality wasn't good enough, I...

Preston's Invaders Take Tattoosday

I met Preston in early May on the train platform at West 4th Street.I spotted his tattoo and we talked about it.After along wait, we finally get to see this, one of Preston's five tattoos, here on Tattoosday:These are,of course, images from the original Atari Space Invaders, one of the forerunners that...

Shannon Shares Her Wieners!

At the end of May, I met Sherry, who shared her love of her home state of Texas with this tattoo here.In an ensuing email, she asked if she could send her friend Shannon my way to share her ink. "Of course," I replied, and was directed by Sherry to Borders, where Shannon worked. "Ask to see her wieners,"...

Venus Flytrap Takes Manhattan Cape Fear

I met Tim earlier this month, along with a bunch of friends, and he had an amazing tattoo that I wanted him to share:This piece, which is located on his upper right arm, took about twelve hours and features a large mutant Venus Flytrap attacking Cape Fear. Tim is from Wilmington, North Carolina, and...

Recap of Matty No Times Fundraiser at Yes Gallery

My trip to the Yes Gallery in Williamsburg on Saturday for the launch party of the Matty No Times benefit was complicated by the weekend suspension of the G train.Rather than a 1-transfer commute from South Brooklyn, the trip involved a lengthy trip on the R train which took me through Manhattan and...

Sugar Skull Sunday: Hannah and Her Family

I met Hannah in Penn Station one afternoon after spotting this amazing sugar skull on her upper left arm:Here is a broader glimpse of the tattoo:Hannah has over twenty tattoos and told me she wanted this piece to have alot of different elements in it. The gold tooth was a must, because Hannah loves...

Where I'll Be Tonight - Matty No Times Benefit

This is where I'm heading tonight. It should be amazing!More info at Tattoosday UK and Needles and Sin...

Welcome to the Machine

I met Paige over by the New Jersey Transit section in Penn Station late last month and she shared this, one of her five tattoos:It's a biomechanical piece that helps illustrate her as a machine. Her plan is to ultimately turn it into a sleeve with an apocalyptic bent.She had this done at Lola's in Bogota,...

Sealed with a Snake

I spotted Steve one day, and got him to share this rattlesnake tattoo on his right arm:Steve has three tattoos and is bass player for a band called S.W.A.K.He came up with the design and had Gary, owner of Shotsie's Tattoo in Wayne, New Jersey, complete the process. Thanks to Steve for sharing this...

Lindsay's Ink for Peace

When I recently upgraded my camera, the first new photo I took, of Lindsay's tattoo, convinced me I had selected well:This lovely tattoo, on Lindsay's upper left arm, is punctuated by this part of the tattoo on her biceps:The picture tells the story and the words, all meaning a form of "peace" in Hebrew,...

Tommy's Geisha

Last week I met Tommy, who has six tattoos, one of which he shared with us:He brought three or four pictures into Regino Gonzales when he was at Inkstop Tattoo and he came up with this design. Regino is now at Invisible NYC.The line work took two and a half to three hours but he had to stop because,...

Two for Tattoosday: A Purple Lotus and the Fletcher House

In keeping with the spirit of duality, today's post is a two-for-Tattoosday Tuesday special.Yesterday outside of Madison Square Garden, amid throngs of Iron Maiden and Dream Theater fans, I met two guys who just happened to be there. If you want to see a great Maiden tattoo, look back in the archives...

Mor's Key is Found and Kept Forever

On the last Monday evening in June, I met Mor at the Barnes & Noble in Union Square. Her website identifies Mor as a "character animator and 'moving collage' artist".However, we didn't talk about Mor's work.That never came up.Rather,we discussed the Tattoo on Mor's forearm:Mor's mother had given...

Phoenix Foretells Phoenix

I met Ryan one afternoon while passing through Penn Station.He has nine tattoos and has been getting inked since he was seventeen years old.Here is the largest of his tattoos, which he shared with us here at Tattoosday:Ryan went to the artist Scott Bramble, who works out of Mercury Tattoo Studio in...

Penny's Metal Collage

Penny made me feel old.And I mean no disrespect to her. She was more than cooperative when I stopped and asked her about the unique and colorful tattoo that graces her upper left arm.However, I was working at a technical disadvantage (borrowed camera) and like many who have met me have observed, I don't...

Elektra and the Seven-Legged Spider (with Some Dresden Dolls, to Boot)

Elektra has, in her words, "nine and a half" tattoos, and was kind enough to share two of them with us.First up is this spider on her left thigh:It's not a specific type of spider (sorry, arachnophiliacs) but it does have one glaring detail to note. It is missing a leg. And the spurt of blood indicates...