Mark's Dueling Sugar Skulls

On a Sunday back in July, I met Mark on the subway. He chose to share these tattoos among the many he has:

Full disclosure: it was this encounter that taught me an important lesson - my voice recorder doesn't do well on the subway.

I was able to ascertain that these companion pieces were inked with specific meanings. The blue tattoo on the right arm has the subtext of a break-up. Juxtaposed with that is the red piece which represents the rise of artistic expression.

These nearly-mirror image tattoos were credited to Shaun Carroll at Hod Rod Tattoo in Blackburg, Virginia.

Thanks to Mark for sharing these tattoos 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 can contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Leigh's Skull with a Mouthful of Blossoms

Last month, I ran into Leigh, getting off the C train at 34th Street in Manhattan. She estimates she has 40% of her corporeal canvas covered, and she offered me this tattoo on her left forearm:

We've had  a lot of sugar skulls here on Tattoosday, but everyone is different and unique. This one, inked by Myles Karr at Three Kings Tattoo in Brooklyn, stands out from the bow at the top of the skull, and the open jaw full of cherry blossoms, both items not generally associated with the traditional sugar skull design.

"I'm always talking," Leigh told me, "and it's always positive, so I wanted something that would keep the mouth open." She collaborated with Myles on the piece, saying she wanted a skull, but didn't want a "cliche," and pointed out it's also "kind of a take on the Suicidal Tendencies skull."

Thanks to Leigh for sharing this great tatoo 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 can contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Fernando's Trio of Whimsical Ink

I met Fernando a while back outside of Penn Station and he had a lot of work to share. He estimated that he had around thirty tattoos on his canvas, but we picked three to spotlight here on Tattoosday.

As a Star Wars fan, he couldn't resist this portrait of R2-D2:

The banner "YOU'RE MY ONLY HOPE" refers to the scene in the first movie, when Princess Leia sends a holographic distress message to Obi-Wan Kenobi via R2-D2 that ends, "Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope."

Both the tattoo of R2-D2 and this one, were done by Evan at Revolver Tattoo in New Burnswick, New Jersey:

That is Megatron, the leader of the Decepticons in the Transformers franchise.

And thirdly, Fernando shared this take on a sugar skull:

This piece was tattooed by Mike Rivelry at Immortal Ink.

Thanks to Fernando for sharing a few of his dozens of tattoos 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.

Jessica: A Sugar Skull and Scream and Scream Again

In yesterday's post, I talked about meeting Corey and Jessica in front of Penn Station, and we featured two of Corey's tattoos. Today it's Jessica's turn. 

She praised to no end the tattoo artist who did this sugar skull, her friend Chris Handford at Perkins Road Parlor in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

"They do a lot of traditional and he's originally a painter, so we just said, 'Do Whatever," and he drew up these awesome things ... he's actually a really new artist, but I would say already, skills-wise, far beyond a lot of people who have been doing it longer, especially in the South."

Jessica also shared this incredible piece on her right calf:

Jessica credited this tattoo to a different artist, Richard Hart, who currently works in Baton Rouge out of Art Addiction Tattoo Studio.

Jessica explained the story behind this interesting piece:

"[Richard Hart] is excellent at photo-realism. I found this ... it's from a movie called Scream and Scream Again (1970).

I just loved it and he drew it up on the spot ... I've never seen anyone just draw it, make a quick stencil, look at a computer, and then go off the picture itself. It looks exactly like the picture; I mean, it's insane. Insane. He's definitely awesome!"

It's always great to hear tattooed folk talk so exuberantly about how much they like their artists, and it was certainly nice to encounter some talent from a part of the country we don't see too often up here in New York.

Thanks to Jessica (and Corey) for sharing their tattoos 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.

Out With the Old.....

As we wind down 2010, and look ahead to 2011, I wanted to take care of one of my several loose ends from the past year.

Back in July, I met a guy named John on the D train. He had tattooed arms and we chatted a bit. He said he'd send me photos and he did a few weeks later.

I never posted the photos because the resolution was low, and when I tried to increase the size, they blurred. I was going to include these in the Christmas housecleaning post, but the work is just too good.

So hear you have them, small photos, but recognizably amazing:

I mean, what is there to say? This work is quite excellent. The koi, the tiger, the sailing ship, sugar skull, nautical stars - it's all quite a body of work!

The artist is Nacho, who appeared once before on the blog here. You can check out Nacho's work here. in New York, he tattoos out of Studio Enigma on Avenue U.

Thanks to John for sharing these amazing tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

And thanks to all of our fans and contributors for making 2010 a successful year of inkspotting!

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!

Sean Shares a Host of Traditional Tattoos

I ran into Sean at the Foodtown in my neighborhood and when I stopped to talk to him about his tattoos (he has nine), I ended up with photos of several pieces, all of which reside on his left arm.

Most of the designs are traditional tattoo subjects, all of which were inked by Eli Quinters at Smith Street Tattoo Parlour in  Brooklyn. Work from Smith Street Tattoo has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

First up is this amazing lighthouse:

Sean explained that this tattoo is for his mother, as this tattoo is based on her "favorite lighthouse," the Fastnet Lighthouse on the most southerly point on the coast of Ireland.

Then there is this owl tattoo:

This was done for no other reason that Sean has always liked owls. If you love owl tattoos, be sure to head over to this site.

Then there is the elephant tattoo:

He has this piece because "elephants never forget".

I know we posted a sugar skull yesterday, but here's another one:

This was all Eli's design. Sean gave him free reign and likes the fact that it is unusual in that there are not a lot of colors in it, like one sees in most sugar skull tattoos. For all that have appeared on Tattoosday previously, check this link.

There is also the traditional female figure, not modeled after anyone in particular, just done in a traditional style:

And Sean's last tattoo is this bat:

He told Eli that he "wanted something spooky" that included the moon. Quinters free-handed this piece, starting with a white Sharpie and then finished with a darker Sharpie before finishing the tattoo.

What's neat about all of Sean's tattoos is that they flow nicely together, as readers can see elements of many of the tattoos on the borders of the photos of specific designs.

Thanks to Sean for sharing these amazing tattoos by Eli Quinters with us here on Tattoosday!

Sugar Skull Sunday - One From Ryan

Since I seem to capture more sugar skulls than any other design, why not reserve a day just for these decorative symbols which, at their roots, have deep religious significance?

Two weeks ago, I met Ryan, who has ten tattoos.

Of that lot, he offered up this design on his left bicep, which Charlie Foos created for him at FlyRite Studios in Brooklyn.

Charlie Foos is now at Read Street Tattoo Parlour in Baltimore.

Aside from the traditional nature of the sugar skull tattoo, Ryan also loves Mexico and this design recalls that beautiful and diverse culture south of the border.

Thanks to Ryan for sharing this decorative tattoo with us on Tattoosday!

Work from Charlie Foos has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.
Tattoosday posts tagged FlyRite Studios are here.
Tattoosday posts tagged Reade Street Tattoo Parlour are here.

Sebastian's Sugar Skull

A small post about a sugar skull for a Friday.

I met Sebastian on 33rd Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues last week.

Among his several tattoos is this sugar skull that was inked by New York City artist Byron Velasquez:

Byron now tattoos out of Abstract Black NYC. Work from Byron has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Loyal readers will know how I seldom tire of sugar skull tattoos and, whenever I post one, I like to link the tag (click here) that unites all previous Tattoosday sugar skulls appearing on the blog.

Like snowflakes, sugar skull tattoos are never identical.

Sebastian appreciates his sugar skull mostly for the way it represents both life and death.

Thanks to Sebastian for sharing his sugar skull with us here on Tattoosday!

Jessy's Sugar Skull (Tattoorism)

In what I refer to as tattoorism, today's selection is a reader-submitted tattoo that comes to us from Jessy, in Denver, Colorado.

Jessy writes:

"I was looking at your blog, and since you love sugar skulls, I thought I'd share mine with you...I had it done in Santa Fe by Guido Baldini [As of publication, Mr Baldini's site is not connecting, but he is tattooing at Inborn NYC in Manhattan through July 2, 2010, according to the shop's MySpace]. A bit of a story behind it... at the time, last September, I was just developing a chronic pain problem that was mainly in my left arm. The pain was (and still is) so excruciating that while on vacation with my family, when I should have been out to dinner and having fun (it was a bit of a reunion) I was instead in the hotel room, eating percocets, and just miserable and crying and pissed off and not understanding WHY this pain wouldn't leave me the hell alone. So the next day my brother and I wandered into a tattoo shop [most likely Four Star Tattoo] and a couple hours later I emerged with this - my 1st tattoo!  It was meant to kind of scare the pain away while also reminding me of a (otherwise) great trip with my family to a town I fell in love with. I think Guido did a great job. I love my sugar skull. I plan to go back to Santa Fe soon and have him add some more flowers to it."

Those of you regular readers with good memories may recall that I recently ran into the artist's cousin and he shared this piece, inked by Mr. Baldini in New Mexico.

Thanks to Jessy for sharing this cool sugar skull with us here on Tattoosday!