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 knots" was the artist's response to Kristen's request to attach the cobwebs on her elbow to the end of her wrist.



The artist, identified only as "Batman" near Canal and Broadway, was also asked to incorporate a Celtic pattern, as well.



The final result was to Kristen's liking and we here at Tattoosday thank her for sharing the tattoo with all of our readers!

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 one problem. I enjoyed it too much. There weren't enough Tuesdays in the week. I was impatient and wanted to post right away, not wait until Tuesday. And so, as Kurt Vonnegut would say, it goes....



So a month later I threw the previous months post up on the stand-alone blog, Tattoosday. And BillyBlog faded.



It's still there, but Tattoosday is my passion and I couldn't have even imagined, back in 2007, how easy it would become for me to talk to strangers about their ink.



The once-a-week project produced forty-five separate interactions in July, we have a 30-day backlog of material, and this past week we registered our 650,000th hit. Not too shabby.



Go see the original post here to see how far we've come.



And a hearty thanks to all our contributors, all our fans, and all the tattooists out there creating wonderful, interesting, portable art. Without all of you, Tattoosday would have been a blip of an idea, and nothing more.

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 on the R train one day after work and, while discussing his many tattoos (he "lost count after 45," they've all connected) , I heard him talking about Siki.



So today's tattoo is by Siki and was, like my lynx, modified from an old piece of flash. Although he adapted it a lot more fully and developed a more unique tattoo.

Siki and Nick had a mutual friend named Billy, who Nick would often go with to get tattooed. When he passed away, they added Billy's name to the bottom of the tattoo as a tribute to their departed friend.



Thanks to Nick for sharing his tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

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 the vivid colors of these beautiful birds.



She credits this tattoo to an artist known only as Allison.



Thanks to Jessica for sharing this wonderful tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

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 your breath away". I believe she was referring to the saying, "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."



The flowers in the photo are cherry blossoms that were done in blue, rather than the traditional pink because, as Michelle tells it, she's "not really a pink kind of girl".

This tattoo was inked by Fat Tony at Hobo's Tattoo Shop in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.



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

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 me that she thought was cool, this owl on his calf:

Turns out that the guy was Timmy from Timmy Tattoo, an artist whose name rang a distant bell. Work by Timmy appeared in one of Tattoosday's earliest posts, when I met Jackie,an FIT student whose tattoos appeared here.



Timmy's owl was inked by Garrett Ostrowski of Garrett's Tattoos.



Thanks to Timmy for sharing one of his many tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Ordering a Custom Temporary Tattoo For Your Business

Promote your business, entice school spirit, raise money, drive support for a cause; there are many great reasons to get a custom temporary tattoo. While the choice to get a custom temporary tattoo is an easy one, how to order one and what to consider when doing so can be difficult.

Fortunately, this article nails down the 5 elements you need to consider when ordering a custom temporary tattoo. Each element is simple and once you decide upon each you'll be well on your way to custom temporary tattoo success!

5 Elements to Consider When Ordering a Custom Tattoo:

1. The front design
Since the objective behind designing a custom tattoo is to make an impression, you'll want to use your logo or well known symbol. Using a business logo works well for brand building and a well-known symbol is more likely to draw attention and spark interest.

Simple enough; but there are a couple variations you can take advantage of to make your custom tattoos even more successful:

• If you operate a website, incorporate that site's URL on the front of the tattoo with your logo.
• For promoting a cause, start with a well-known symbol (like the pink ribbon or recycling symbol) and add the name of an individual or a meaningful date.

By incorporating your website and taking advantage of a well-known symbol or business logo, you can ensure that you are making the most of every impression your custom temporary tattoos will receive.

2. The back
A little known fact is that the back of the tattoo is just as customizable as the front. Take full advantage of this by including the company address, website and social media information. The majority of promotional, custom temporary tattoos are kept as opposed to worn. People will take them home and throw them on the counter or on a desk or keep them at the office. This turns your custom temporary tattoo into a business card of sorts-but one that stands out.

Information to include on the back of your tattoo:

• Name of your business or organization
• Website URL
• Facebook & Twitter information
• A coupon code or special offer

3. Size
The most popular custom temporary tattoo size is 2"x2". It's small enough that it can be applied and worn easily but large enough to accommodate contact information on the back. Plus, this is just the right size to fit into a wallet or pocket of a purse for easy transport to the home or office.

4. White Effect
When printing a temporary tattoo, there are 3 options regarding white ink: no white, spot white and flood white.

• No White: any areas of the design without color will print without ink, so that the skin shows through those areas
• Spot White: any areas of the design without color will print with white ink, so that that white ink-instead of the skin-shows through those areas
• Flood White: white ink will be printed underneath the entire tattoo, making the colors look more brilliant once transferred to the skin because the layer of white makes the image more opaque

Choosing the white effect for your custom tattoo depends upon your purpose. Do you want the tattoo to be applied to the skin or kept as a promotional product? For the latter, you'll want to go with either spot white or no white because that will look better on the tattoo paper. If it's more important that the tattoo look good once applied, then you want to choose flood white because, even though the tattoo will appear 'milky' on the paper, it will look great on the skin.

Generally, for the purposes of promotional tattoos, no white or spot white is chosen.

5. Quantity
Lastly, you need to determine what quantity you will order. Ordering quality tattoos printed on a press using silk screening technology means a minimum order quantity of 1,000 pieces because of how the machines are set up to run. As with anything else, the more you order, the less expensive each tattoo will be. Most companies offer quantity discounts at 5,000, 10,000, etc. Typically, 1,000 custom temporary tattoos will cost about $90.

So there you have it! The 5 elements to consider when ordering a custom temporary tattoo: design of the front and back, size, white effect and quantity. The custom temporary tattoo is one of the most inexpensive and unique promotional products, and outlining these elements also makes it very easy to order. Get yours today!

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 had run out of power and my BlackBerry photo seemed inadequate:

Niki explained that, after her beloved cat Elizabeth passed away, she wanted a memorial tattoo to honor the friend she had for fourteen years.



She went to artist John Reardon, then at Saved Tattoo, and told him she wanted a memorial in the style of the Virgin of Guadalupe, and the look of Mexican shrines and altars.

One can see Reardon hit the ball out of the park, as proven by my mistaking the piece from a distance as a religious icon.



John Reardon is no stranger to Tattoosday. His work has appeared previously here and here.He now works out of his private studio in Brooklyn.



Thanks to Niki for sharing her beautiful tattoo with us on Tattoosday!

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 he wanted to commemorate the experience.



They had stayed on the island of Ios, and Jim took several photos he had into Jake Parrington at Lowell Ink in Lowell, Massachusetts.



The end result was this amazing tattoo that captures the scene of their vacation. One of Jim's other brothers got the same tattoo. Note the three figures hiking are meant to represent Jim and his two brothers.



Thanks to Jim for sharing this great tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

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 asked to choose one, he offered up this piece on his forearm:

The image, of a candle burning at both ends, reminds him that life goes by quickly. The "No Tomorrow" is a spin on the carpe diem, or "seize the day" philosophy.

The tattoo was done by JR Maloney at Vanguard Tattoo in Nyack, New York.



Thanks to Larry for sharing his tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

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 Sunshine" is her nickname.And yes, the sun refers to her as "That Crazy Ass Bitch".



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

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 thought, to post here, so I waited until I saw Pete again, almost a month later, when I had my new camera in hand.



So here, without further delay, is Pete's tattoo:

Pete explained that this tattoo is a tribute to his grandfather, a magician who went by the name "The Great Merlini". The tattoo was designed by Kiki at Tattoos by Lou in the South Beach section of Miami, Florida. Pete went to him and explained what he wanted and Kiki drew it up and inked it.



On a sidebar, the Great Merlini wasn't just your run-of-the-mill magician. The man behind the persona was Clayton Rawson (click name for full biography). Rawson wrote four mystery novels that featured the character also known as The Great Merlini. And as this YouTube clip shows, Merlini also was a noted illusionist:







Thanks to Pete for sharing this magical tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Female Wit Butterfly Tattoo Design :Design Of Tattoo

Many women start to get a tattoo inked on their bodies. In the last fifteen years, tattooing has become a symbol of disobedience to the problem and a state of well-loved take as a characteristic style. Some current polls tattoo designs still associated with men, although women are increasingly entering the art of tattoos! Over the past five years has increased the tendency to tattoos, and yes, a large proportion of them are tattoos pretty girl!

For men, the best tattoo body application is in the chest, arms, back and shoulders, although girls tend to go a bit 'most revealing of all. Before acquiring the tattoo, the girls are usually considered, if it affects most, and that goes well with it: the evening gown or a bikini might be, or even informal Kaki! Even for educated women and girls, tattoos are usually, if they can be secret!

When you are looking for tattoo art beautiful girl, who is one of the major factors considered is, what part of the anatomy you need it! Usually a tattoo seems pretty nice girl behind or between the shoulder blades to stop around the ankle or wrist, arm or thigh.

Some other tattoo is a bit 'back to where it can be demonstrated carving out a small swimsuit.

It is not advisable to get a tattoo on his face, because it can break the set and can not be hidden at all! also places where the skin tends to age, such as breasts or between the breasts to build positions tattoos ugly, because the skin can stretch the lead to get a tattoo distorted.This can put you in a very embarrassing situation when both time top, which is precipitated.

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 was the first video game to truly take the world by storm.

Preston told me that these symbols represent space invasion. The neon green color makes them stick out even more and, he added, they make a "great ice breaker".



As a result, he continued, "people invade my space" when they question him (as I was doing) about his tattoo.



Preston is a musician by trade, who goes by the moniker Press Reset. Check out his website here. And this link will take you to his new record <3 on iTunes, where you can listen to (and hopefully, buy) his music.



Preston credits the tattoo to an artist named Ziggy who tattoos out of South Florida.



Thanks to Preston for sharing his alien neck tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

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," she said and added, parenthetically, "(it's G rated, I promise!)."



The Borders in question is part of my normal stomping ground, so I kept my eyes peeled. No sign of Shannon and her wieners.



Then, at the beginning of the month, I finally found Shannon and met Geddy Lee and Sarah Lee, the two wieners tattooed on her upper right arm. They are of course, wiener dogs, more formally known as dachshunds:

The one on the left is Geddy Lee, named after the lead singer of Rush. Shannon's a big fan of the Canadian rock trio.



Sarah Lee, on the right, is a fictional dachshund, do-si-do'ing with Geddy, as they are dance partners.



The tattoo took two sessions, which shows her devotion to Geddy Lee who, Shannon acknowledges, is "that little jerk [that] sucked my soul". She loves him to no end.



These beloved dogs were inked by Adam Paterson at Jersey City Tattoo Company.



Thanks again to Shannon for sharing this incredible tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Hot and Sexy Japanese Tattoo Designs For Females - The Best in Feminine Tattoo Designs

Those who have a few tattoos probably know how hard and the time and effort it can take to find the perfect tattoo and the perfect design. It can almost be down right frustrating at times. It seems people are always wanting to find something that is different, unique, sexy and original. Well, right now is a great time to get a tattoo because the world of tattoo designs for women is growing at a super fast pace. In fact female tattoo designs are growing faster then any other segment of the industry. Thus has lead to a lot of new developments in tattoo designs for women. One of those is the use of traditional Japanese tattoo designs.

The Adaption

When most people think of Japanese tattoos and their designs images of the hardened Yakuza gangsters with full body tattoos comes to mind. yes for centuries tattooing was done in Japan on Yakuza and criminals. That is where many of the traditional and very beautiful designs came from. However, these designs have gone through a rebirth of sorts or a renaissance as of late. The designs have been taken apart and broken down and then brighter colors from new inks have been added in to make smaller, cute and feminine tattoo designs. For example the Koi fish was a very traditional Japanese tattoo for males. Yet many women are getting koi fish for the beauty and strength but they are not doing them on the whole back for the most part. Instead they are using bright colors of the koi fish and then adding in beautiful full color waves and splashed into a quarter sleeve design. The point here is one can easily take part of a much larger and more traditional design and adapt it to fit in a smaller and sexier area.

Popular Themes

There are a lot of very popular themes among Japanese tattoo designs. The symbolism and meaning behind these tattoo is very deep and rich and often embedded into the Japanese culture and religion. For those of us getting a Japanese tattoo here in the west it can be smart to find out about the meaning and symbolism of the tattoo before getting it inked on your body permanently. Here are some of the hottest and sexiest designs for females right now.

Koi Fish

Typically one would not think of a fish as beautiful. Unless of course you are a fisherman or love to eat fish. However, for the Japanese and many westerners the Koi fish represents the spirit of individuality and going against the norm or status quo. It is believed that koi fish typically swim back up stream to mate. Thus makes them very unusually int he fish world and an obvious sign of strength on their part. Therefore they can make for a wonderfully symbolic tattoo and design. Also with the new brightness in the inks available the water and gold of a koi fish really stand out.

Cherry Blossoms


Cherry blossoms are another deeply historical and symbolic for the Japanese. They are also seen as a thing of great beauty. In fact many Japanese will go and visit a local park just to see the Cherry Blossoms. However, they also represent the impermanence of life and how life like a flower can be very beautiful but also fragile.

Finding An Artist

Another very important thing to consider if you are wanting to get a sexy and feminine Japanese tattoo is the artist that is going to ink the work on your skin. You want to find someone who will not only listen to your ideas but also provide feedback and input to help you refine your ideas. It is also beneficial to try and find someone with background in Japanese tattoo designs. Thus they can help you understand the symbolism behind certain parts of the tattoo and certain designs.

Sexy Locations

Of course there are a ton of locations that are very sexy on a females body and also many areas that work well with a tattoo. Of course there is always the lower back design. There is also the front top of the hip, the foot, thigh and neck. Any of these places can easily be considered for a great looking hot and sexy female tattoo design.

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 this tattoo is a nod to his hometown, with a twist of disaster movie thrown into the mix. It's a brilliant idea for a tattoo, and very unusual.



I love the detail and color that the artist Josh Payne utilized in this amazing piece.







Josh works out of Artfuel Inc. in Wilmingtion.



Much thanks to Tim for sharing this awesome tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

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 into Queens, where a shuttle bus skirted me back to Brooklyn. Are you kidding me?



But I didn't want to miss this event, not only because it was for a good cause as the NY tattoo community rallied to help one of their own, but because it would give me the chance to see some amazing art and possibly meet some of the artists behind the work.



I shed my backpack and just brought my notebook, stuffed with fliers, although I didn't necessarily expect to do the Tattoosday thing at the event. But you never know, and it was a long (1 hour, 28 minutes, according to HopStop) trek. Who knows who I might meet along the way?



I arrived relatively early, just in time to catch Thomas Hooper exiting the gallery. I have long admired Mr. Hooper's work (even his web site is art) and was hoping to meet him.



I introduced myself and he was soft-spoken and polite. I would have loved to chat with him further, but he was headed elsewhere and seemed to be in a hurry to go.



Inside, the Yes gallery's air conditioning was a welcome relief, as I started looking at the hundred-plus works of art that had been donated by artists from all over to help Three Kings' artist Matty No Times recover from staggering bills that resulted from an emergency liver transplant last Fall.

I introduced myself to Matty (Mr. No Times sounds weirdly formal) and chatted briefly as he ran the table where people paid for the art, left donations, and entered the raffle. He is a very nice guy and seemed genuinely appreciative of the turnout.



The list of artists who contributed their work was staggering. Check it out:







One of the bonuses in going to the event, for me at least, was seeing the work donated by Peter Caruso, who is the artist who created  my third tattoo.

And whereas, I had discussed with Matty and several other guests the etiquette of taking close-up photos of the art hanging on the walls, I did have Pete's permission to post his painting, which we were all excited to see sold early on.







I was pleasantly surprised to run into one former Tattoosday contributor, Elizabeth, along with her husband. We chatted awhile as they made their way around the gallery.



I also talked with Magie Serpica, who I ran into last year at a Needles & Sins event, and who made her own Tattoosday contribution here. An artist at Bound for Glory Tattoo on Staten Island, she had contributed a painting, as well:

As the crowd swelled, I began to become overstimulated. Do I look at the art on the walls? Or do I look at the amazing art on the bodies? Most folks would have assumed I would have gone hog-wild taking photos of peoples' tattoos, but remember, I tend to embrace the random encounter aspect of the Tattoosday mission, and just like one doesn't see a lot of photos from conventions and tattoo shops, I avoided interviewing people about their tattoos. It just didn't seem sporting to do so. I did however, take a couple of shots of Peter's tattoos, to be unveiled at a later date here on the site.

I didn't receive a call from Matty on Sunday, so I will assume I didn't win the raffle. No worries. I wasn't in a position to invest in any art, so I did my part to help raise funds for this worthy cause.



You can support Matty through Three Kings Tattoo, where he works, and you still have time to visit the Yes Gallery, at 147 India Street in Brooklyn, and check out the art through Friday, July 23.



Thanks to all the artists who participated and made for such a wonderful  visual experience, and to all the extended friends of Tattoosday who made the event more enjoyable for me, especially Pete and his wife Maria, who let me tag along with them at the gallery and spared me the subway after the show with a much-quicker ride home!

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 pirates.



Gold teeth in sugar skulls are not necessarily unusual. Chainsaws, however are a bit out of the ordinary:

The chainsaw, Hannah explained, is a tribute to her uncle, who is a lumberjack. And, she added frankly, the bottle is there to acknowledge her grandfather, an alcoholic.



This sugar skull was completed in two 2-3 hour sessions by Tim Barnes at Holeshot's Premium Tattoo & Piercing in Amherst, Massachusetts. Tim has moved on to Florida, according to Hannah, but I haven't been able to identify where he is currently working.



Readers can see all of the sugar skulls previously posted on Tattoosday by clicking here or on the Sugar Skulls tag at the end of the post.



Thanks again to Hannah for sharing her sugar skull with us here on Tattoosday!

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 Sins.

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, New Jersey. Work from Lola's has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.



Thanks to Paige for sharing her tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

sexy girls tattoo chest tattoo pictures

Sexy Girl Chest Tattoo Design

Sexy Girl Chest Tattoo Picture

The majority of the women will finish looking to the top a group of generic tattooing of trunk female on the Web. Anyhow hard the majority of the people test, they always finish to the top with the speed reading by the bottom-of-the-range galleries, which do not have anything but by the drawing-model and not much of another credits to be offered. This occurs for a specific reason and it can be avoided for the majority. I will tell you a good manners to discover the galleries of tattooing of quality to obtain there a catch of great tattooing of trunk female.

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 tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Hot Women With Tattoo Designs: Design Of Tattoo

Hot Women With Tattoo Designs: Design Of Tattoo

Hot Women With Tattoo Designs: Design Of Tattoo

Hot Women With Tattoo Designs

Hot Women With Tattoo Designs