Ryan Shares Two Tattoos by "Brooklyn P"

I often wonder how may Tattoosday encounters would have been lost had my apartment come with its own laundry facilities. I raise this point because, yet again, I met someone cool with tattoos at my local laundromat and he was generous enough to share his ink with us here on Tattoosday.

In fact, Ryan, who is this particular contributor, and I share a common bond, which is that we have both been tattooed by the same artist, Peter Caruso a.k.a. "Brooklyn P," who originally shared his work with us here on the site way back in 2008 here.

Ryan currently has a back piece in progress, but he shared two tattoos from his legs. First, on his right leg, is this work:

This pin-up girl is classic old school Brooklyn ink, based on flash by the legendary artist Tony Polito. Brooklyn P is an admirer of Polito, and even shared a piece that Tony did on him here.

Ryan also has this tattoo of butterflies on his left leg, which is based on a original design by Brooklyn P:

Ryan estimates he has about fifteen tattoos in all.

My tattoo from Brooklyn P is documented here.

Thanks to Ryan for sharing his tattoos with us here on Tattoosday! And thanks again to Brooklyn P, who continues to work hard at keeping that old school style of Brooklyn tattooing alive!

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Little Darling's Ink: Pinups for Pitbulls

Last spring, I met Deirdre, aka Little Darling, as she was leaving Penn Station to cross Seventh Avenue.

I snapped these pictures of her upper right arm:

Deirdre explained that she is the president and founder of a non-profit organization called Pinups for Pitbulls.

The two pups pictured are portraits of two of her dogs, as interpreted by skin artist Jon Clue.

Little Darling invites people to check out her company's website PinupsForPitbulls.org if you are interested in supporting the ongoing effort to help fulfill their mission of working "to educate the public about the history and temperament of the American Pit Bull Terrier and pit bull type dogs [and] to raise awareness about Breed Specific Legislation and Breed-Specific abuse."

One of the ways that Little Darling and her company strive to "reestablish the defamed reputation of pit bull type dogs as America's premier companion animal, war hero, and therapy dog," is through fundraisers and the sale of Pinups for Pitbulls merchandise, such as their annual calendar. Many of these products can be purchased through Amazon (see link below).

Other Pinups for Pitbulls Merchandise can be found by clicking the hyperlink in this sentence.

Thanks to Deirdre for sharing her tattoos with us here on Tattoosday, and for waiting so patiently for this post to appear.

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Vickie's Pin-Up Has Blood Money

In what must have looked odd to passers-by, I interviewed Vickie in Penn Station the day after Halloween. I'm guessing that she and her friend had attended costume parties the night before. What interested me most was Vickie's ink. She "lost count" of how many tattoos she has, and she offered up this wonderful piece on her upper left arm:

This tattoo, whose name is "Trixie," was designed and inked by Tatu Baby, who works out of Chico's Marked 4 Life, in Miami.

She also wanted to point out that, in Trixie's right hand, she's holding blood money:

Thanks to Vickie for sharing Trixie with us here on Tattoosday!

Andrea Shares a Gil Elvgren Pinup by Shane O'Neill

Earlier this month, I met Andrea while waiting for the A train.

Andrea is covered with tattoos, estimating she has over 50% of her body inked. I always feel privileged when someone so dedicated to the art of tattoo agrees to share their work. Andrea offered up this amazing pin-up on her right forearm:

This amazing tattoo is based on the work of  legendary pin-up artist Gil Elvgren. The tattoo artist responsible for this incredible work is Shane O'Neill, who is based in Middletown, Delaware. The detail in this piece is incredible.

Work by Shane has appeared previously on our site here.

Thanks to Andrea for sharing her amazing work with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Salvatore Shares a Family Heirloom

Yesterday marked the anniversary of the death of Norman "Sailor Jerry" Collins, so it seems appropriate to share the following tattoo, courtesy of Salvatore:

Located on his upper right arm, Salvatore explained that his family emigrated from Europe several generations ago. His grandfather joined the service when he was a young man and served in World War II. His travels brought him, at some point, through Honolulu where, according to Salvatore, his grandfather received the original version of the tattoo above, from none other than Sailor Jerry himself. The design above is a replica of Slavatore's grandfather's tattoo, a Sailor Jerry original.

Not only is he carrying a piece of traditional tattoo history on him, he is also honoring the memory of his grandfather. How cool is that?

Salvatore is a chef at One if by Land, Two if by Sea, a restaurant in New York's West Village. He is also a personal chef for several mixed martial arts fighters.

The Sailor Jerry piece above, as well as his left arm, which is fully-sleeved, was tattooed by Elio Espana, formerly of Flyrite Tattoo. Elio now works upstate at ADK Tattoo in Constable, New York.

Thanks to Salvatore for sharing this wonderful tattoo, that celebrates both an American tattoo master, and a family patriarch, here on Tattoosday.

A Bright Spot in December: A Phoenix and a Pin-Up

As one would expect, inkspotting is tough during December. Here we are at the end of the month, and I have only interviewed three people since the 1st. There were a few times over the summer when I interviewed three contributors during my lunch hour!

The last person whose work I photographed was Megan, who I found upstairs at the Penn Plaza Borders store.

Megan has seventeen tattoos, but it was this one that caught my eye:

This is a phoenix, of course, but fewer people may recognize it as Fawkes, the phoenix of Professor Albus Dumbledore, in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

The artwork is based on the illustration by Jason Cockcroft on the cover of the UK edition of the aforementioned book.

The tattooist Jamie Nichols at Gargoyle Tattoo in Aberdeen, Washington, completed this piece in about eight hours over two sittings.

Megan also has this pinup on her upper left arm:

The use of negative space for the bombs is pretty cool.

Marcus was the artist at Gargoyle that Megan credited for creating this piece..

Thanks to Megan for taking the time to speak to me about her cool tattoos!

Julia's Pin-Up

I met Julia briefly in a Hudson News in Penn Station.

The flash of color on her foot caught my eye:

Julia explained that she is a visual artist that likes to do pin-up illustrations. This particular design she wanted to be transformed into a tattoo. She brought it to Morgan Reed at Electric Lotus Tattoo in Boonton, New Jersey, and he made some slight adjustments that resulted in this lovely tattoo.

Work from Electric Lotus has appeared on Tattoosday before. This link will show you what else we have featured from their shop.

Thanks to Julia for sharing her pin-up girl with us here on Tattoosday!

Caitlin's Pin-up with a Heart on the Sleeve

Earlier this month, I ran into Caitlin as I got off the A train at West 4th Street. She has twnety-three tattoos and, as customary, I asked if she could pick one to share with us here on Tattoosday.

She obliged, selecting this, her most recent tattoo:

This is based on the artwork of the pin-up stylings of Baron von Lind. I believe the piece that this is replicating is his work "Daphne":

I wish I could give proper credit to the artist, but it was a noisy train platform, and I scribbled down Willie Childress, Asheville, North Carolina. If anyone knows who this is, or what shop he belongs to, please let me know so I can give the artist his proper due.

Thanks to Caitlin for sharing her pin-up with us here on Tattoosday!

Be sure to head over to the Baron von Lind website to see more of his art.

Tattoosday Goes To Hawai'i - Aloha to the Islands

I wasn't sure how many tattoos I would meet on my five and a half day trip to Hawai'i, but my last day there exceeded all expectations.

As reported before, I met five separate people with tattoos at Pearlridge as I did some last-minute shopping before heading back to the airport.

After returning my rental car and clearing security, I headed to the gate, my heart heavy with the reality that I was once again leaving my childhood home, not knowing when I would return.

I guessed that my inkspotting had ended on the trip, as I dropped my carry-on at a row of seats outside of the gate, which was sealed as the earlier flight's passengers cleared customs.

I guessed wrong.

The delay in entering Gate 25 left passengers lingering in the open-aired terminal with a moment to relish the warm tropical air.

The gentleman next to me removed his outer garment to reveal a short sleeve shirt. And this tattoo:

So, for the next twenty minutes or so, I chatted with Bill, originally from Brooklyn, now living in Hawai'i. How's that for a mirror image?

What's more, Bill had this tattoo, as well, on his upper right arm:

Aloha indeed. What a fitting way to leave Hawai'i!

The top pin-up was inked at a shop in Point Pleasant, New Jersey.

The forearm design is a modified version of a flash design Bill had seen at a shop in Honolulu, up near the University of Hawai'i campus in Manoa.

The original design featured the young lady standing in the Waikiki surf, with Diamond Head behind her. Bill opted just for the pin-up, without all the extra stuff.

We had a nice chat about Hawai'i, tattoos, and Brooklyn. He was heading back to the East Coast to visit family.

Thanks to Bill for sharing his cool tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

And thanks again to everyone I met on my trip, and for being integral parts of the Tattoosday Goes to Hawai'i saga!