Hoots On Fire

A quick reader submission round-up coming up...

Miles sent in the above, not bad for a first tattoo! done by Ronnie Grizard of Modern Body Tattoos in Sacramento CA.

Thank you Kitty!


Aaron, sent in the above, saying 'Mine was inspired by Pigwidgeon from "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban". My owl is delivering an envelope from Sirius Black to Harry Potter.' It was done by Zac Vining of Absolute Art in Richmond, Virginia.

Finally, Chyna sent in the above done by Patt Whelan at Sick Creations Tattoo in West Deptford, NJ.

Michael's Mythical Sleeves

I generally avoid featuring full sleeves here, because of the limitations that posting them has - it is difficult to fully capture the artistry in the work. But, on occasion, the tattoos are so amazing, I can't resist.

Such was the case with Michael, who shared portions of both sleeves with me. Here's a sliver of his right arm:


To fully capture the magic of this tattoo, here's a fresher, professional collage, courtesy of the artist Stacey Sharp:


Michael was proud of the fact that this tattoo took second place in the "Best Sleeve" category in the 2007 Philadelphia Tattoo Convention.

And although the top section of his left arm is still "under construction," the bottom half is no less spectacular:


The detail and shading is just absolutely phenomenal:


Michael, a professional make-up artist, explained that he embarked on these sleeves when he was going through a rough patch in his life and that, as a water sign, the creation and depiction of an aquatic dragon, helped mark a spiritual process that gave him strength while enduring life's trials and tribulations.

He estimated that the right, award-winning sleeve, took approximately 36 hours in total work and that his right sleeve is fifty hours in, and counting.

What's interesting about this post, aside from the brilliant tattoo work, is that I have a nice online friendship with the artist, Stacey Sharp, and that she provided me with her prospective of these sleeves. Generally we only hear from the host.

Stacey works out of Inkpulsive Custom Tattoos in Ronkonkoma, New York.

Stacey comments about her work on Michael:

Some interesting info about Michael's arms...

"The WaterDragon (right arm) was drawn on his arm at a moment's notice. He was only looking for 'a little something to add to his armband'. Took about an hour to draw on with a marker and another hour to outline. All of the blue background was done in one shot, 4 hours, including elbow and ditch (Michael advises to NEVER do those two areas at the same time). The lighter water swirls were added at a later date. The entire thing took 36 hours to complete. It's also the only tattoo I've done that has a 'Title'- A warm thing in a cold place. His species is WaterDragon. His proper name is Fathom... but sometimes we fondly refer to him by his nickname: The Sea Chicken!

The dragon on his left arm is Random. That's her name. Why? Because she is. :) Fur and feathers take much longer to detail. We didn't keep track of her time like we did with the WaterDragon. She's more of an Air/Fire combination... where the WaterDragon is more guarding, silent sentinel, she's the fun, spontaneous side. Whimsical."

So there you have it, an additional perspective, from the artist. It's interesting to get an additional point of view that expands on the notes I've scribbled down in the street.

Much thanks to Michael for enthusiastically sharing his work with us here on Tatoosday! And an additional thank you to Stacey Sharp for contributing her thoughts as well, in addition to granting permission to using the photo collage of the right sleeve.

Stacey's work has appeared on Tattoosday once previously, a much smaller, whimsical piece, here.

St. Michael, Inspired by Survival

I met Michael in Penn Station and he shared this incredible tattoo:


That is a depiction of St. Michael, with whom our contributor shares a name.

Michael had this tattoo added to his right bicep and shoulder after surviving a terrible car accident. One of his lungs collapsed and he was touch-and-go for six days.

Afterward, he wanted to pay homage to Saint Michael and went to Lark Tattoo in Westbury, New York. Brian, the artist, spent nine hours on this amazingly detailed piece.


Work from Lark has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

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

Call for Submissions - Literary Tattoos

THE REST IS SILENCE:

Literary Tattoos from Bookworms Worldwide

Edited by Eva Talmadge and Justin Taylor


CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS! We are seeking high quality photographs of your literary tattoos for an upcoming book. Send us your ink! Submissions are open to all kinds of literary tattoo work: quotations from your favorite writer, opening lines of novels, lines of verse, literary portraits or illustrations. From Shakespeare to Bukowski to The Little Prince in a Baobab tree, if it's a literary tattoo and its on your body, we want to see it.

All images must include the name (or pseudonym) of the tattoo bearer, city and state or country, and a transcription of the text itself, along with its source. For portraits or illustrations, please include the name of the author or book on which it's based. We'd also like to read a few words about the tattoo's meaning to you -- why you chose it, when you first read that poem or book, or how its meaning has evolved over time. How much (or how little) you choose to say about your tattoo is up to you, but a paragraph or two should do the trick.

Please send clear digital images of the highest print quality possible to tattoolit@gmail.com. Pixel resolutions should be at least 1500 x 1200, or a minimum 300 dpi at 5 inches wide. Text should be included in the body of the email, not as an attached document. Also be sure to include one or more pieces of contact information, so we can let you know if you're going to be in the book.

Anthony's Pin-Up

Many people may wonder, when I pass out a card or flier, how often do people write to me and share their tattoos?

Not often.

But I'm cool with that. And it makes it extra special when someone does, especially when they're sharing a nice tattoo.

I ran into Anthony back in June coming up from the subway at 34th Street in Manhattan. We e-mailed back and forth a couple of times and then he sent me this tattoo, which I hadn't even seen when I saw him in the station:


I'll let Anthony do the rest of the talking:

"The tattoo I adore the most is my pin-up girl. I named her Amber, I just love that name the most. My tattoo artist is name Twace. I got my tattoo done at Gotham City Tattoos out in Brooklyn....I have about ten tattoos all in total but she is my favorite one 'cause growing up I just love pin-up girls. It took me nearly three years to find the right one for my arm. I came across to this girl doing a pose wearing nothing but a button down men's shirt with her heels and long black hair. She's the one for me, plus it is sexy when a girl is wearing a men's shirt...even in the morning. My back is getting done, a gypsy woman. So it will be awhile to get that one done."

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

The Butterfly Effect: Susan's Ink

I met Susan at the laundromat a couple weekends back and took pictures of the butterfly tattoos on her right arm:


She loves these colorful insects and, like many people who get butterfly tattoos, appreciate them as symbols of freedom:


Susan has her whole back tattooed (she showed me a bit of her lower back and said she'd think about sending in a photo) and got these tattoos on an impulse, in December 2004. She was living in the Bronx at the time, and when she was unable to get into Manhattan due to the last transit strike, went to a local shop and had the butterflies added to her arm.

Thanks to Susan for sharing these cool tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Neneco Tattoo, Araguari

Olá Pessoal, aqui quem vos fala é Chakra, do estúdio Chakra´s Tattoo, Salvador (BA). Sugiro o perfil de um grande amigo. Sinto-me na obrigação de apresentá-lo para o mundo do "A Tattoo" e seus seguidores.

Então vamos as apresentações. Ele chama-se "Neneco", é mineiro de Araguari e sua arte impressiona pela sua versatilidade. Ele flutua facilmente por todos os estílos. Mas o que mais me atrai em seus trabalhos são os traços de realismo, pois sou apaixonado pelo estilo.

Então pessoal, podemos tê-lo agora como o mais novo membro da equipe! Abraços a todos e salve grande amigo "Neneco".