Original Permanent Tattoo: February 2009

THE FINAL SESSION

I JUST PUT THE FINAL SESSION INTO THE FIREWALL OF THE 58 RAG AND ITS NOW AT THE PAINT SHOP GETTING CLEARED AND WILL BE READY FOR THE NEXT STEP...

Living in New York City, a metropolis known for its die-hard sports fans, it is not unusual to see tattoos honoring and celebrating the rich athletic tradition that exists here.

On Friday, during my lunch hour, I spotted a New York City Fire Department truck parked at the corner of 40th Street and 7th Avenue. Standing along side it was Johnny, one of New York's bravest, enjoying the warm weather, in shorts, and baring this incredible leg tattoo:

This is, of course, Marilyn Monroe, but with a twist. She is sporting the New York Yankees jersey of one of the franchise's greatest players, Joe DiMaggio, to whom she was married for less than a year.

Johnny is a huge Yankee fan, and also loves Marilyn Monroe, one of the iconic figures of the 20th century, and among the most popular celebrities tattooed. I have featured Marilyn tattoos previously here and here.

The image is based on a lithograph that Johnny purchased at a FanFest in 1996. After having it tattooed on his right calf, he felt something was missing.

He contacted the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York, and purchased an archival photograph of the original Yankee Stadium, circa 1923. This was then used as the source material to create the recognizable backdrop for Marilyn.

Johnny has a ton of tattoos, approximately 15 pieces in all. This one, along with others he has, was created by Cort Bengston at Cort's Royal Ink Tattoo Studio in Patchogue, New York.

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

I met Stephen while walking through Herald Square on an unseasonably warm Friday afternoon.

He had his sleeves rolled up and I noticed the set of circles on the outside of his right forearm. He was more than happy to share the story behind them.

Stephen was raised in New Jersey and he remembers his father commuting daily into Manhattan, where he was a Vice President at AT & T. His father was extremely dapper, and always wore a "crisp" suit to work, dressing impeccably for the job.

He vividly recalls his father taking him for his first suit, and how his father imparted all of his knowledge onto Stephen; how the suit was the uniform of a true gentleman, and all about the cut, the style, the fabric, etc.

When Stephen decided to get his first tattoo, he wanted to pay tribute to his father and wanted something above and beyond a normal tribute tattoo.

With a tip of the hat to nostalgia, and the acknowledgment that his father's influence guided him toward a career in the fashion industry, Stephen had the circles tattooed on both outer forearms:

Seen together, and knowing his background, it is all the more apparent that Stephen has tattoos representing two sets of buttons on the suit sleeves of childhood memories.

When I asked him what his father thought when he saw this tribute, he replied, "He wasn't super pumped about it, but it grew on him. The first thing he said after I explained it to him was, 'Couldn't you've just gotten DAD tattooed...?' ."

Stephen now has 10 tattoos, most of which were inked at Electric Lotus Tattoo and Piercing in Boonton, New Jersey. His friend Don Perdue was the artist responsible for these honorary buttons.

Thanks to Stephen for sharing these cool tattoos honoring his father!

CHECK OUT MY CLUB BROTHER BIG JAVI SEARGENT OF ARMS LIFESTYLE C.C. WHO RECENTLY HAD A TRAGEDY THAT BREAKS THE HEART LOSING HIS BEST FRIEND "HIS POPS" HERE IS A PORTRAIT DEDICATED TO THE MAN THAT TAUGHT HIM RESPECT AND WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A FATHER... PERRO NEGRO YOU WILL BE MISSED.

HERE ARE A FEW MORE FLICKS OF A MURAL THAT I PAINTED FOR THE MEZA MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ARTS..

Mary-Lee appeared in my doorway at the end of the work day with Anthony standing next to her.

Mary-Lee's tattoo was featured here in December. I had never met Anthony before, but Mary-Lee had mentioned his tattoo to me, and she had told him about Tattoosday. He works for one of the vendors our company utilizes for a mailing process.

Anthony, whose birth name is Antonio, is a second generation Italian-American, and the son of Antonio, Sr. He is 100% Sicilian, and last year, on July 29, experienced the joy of having a first child, a son, also named Antonio.

Antonio III.

Aside from memorial tattoos, ink honoring one's offspring is equal to, or possibly greater, in popularity. As a parent myself, I'm partial to tattoos that pay tribute to one's kids. Both of my tattoos were inked in honor of my daughters, so parental tattoos have a special place in my heart.

To so honor little Anthony III, Anthony Jr. inked his son's birth name over his heart and, just below it, had his baby footprints added.

He wears with honor the legacy of his father's name, and bears the mark of tradition, as it carries from generation to generation.

A closer look also shows that the footprints are done lighter than the print of the name, which I think is a nice effect:

A footprint isn't generally a "permanent" fixture, and fades with time. Although the tattoo is permanent, the lighter ink lends more authenticity to the temporary nature of this snapshot in little Anthony's first moments in the world. It captures the moment of his birth, a pinnacle of joy in every father's life.

For a comparison, and I pass no judgment here, check out this earlier footprint post. There's a stark difference in the two tattoos, and I will say that this example is a nicer representation of the style of tattoo.

This is Anthony's third tattoo, but clearly the most important one. He had this inked at Tattoo Lou's in Selden, New York. Work from one of Tattoo Lou's other locations has appeared previously here.

Thanks to Anthony for sharing his meaningful tribute to his son, and his family tradition, here on Tattoosday!

THIS IS ROXX STAR FROM N.Y. HE CAME THROUGH TO GIVE HIMSELF A GIFT FOR HIS 30th.. LIKE I ALWAYS SAY." DON'T CHEAT YOURSELF TREAT YOURSELF"

On the Bookshelves: A Late February Update

Despite some miraculous google algorithm that has doubled my traffic in the last week, regular readers may have noticed we have been light on content, in this shortest of the winter months.

And so it goes. I can only blog about what I see (generally speaking), and the ink has been a-hidin'.

But fret not, a calendar informed me that Spring is less than a month away, and April (just you wait) will have these pages overflowing with a cross-blog project that will certainly entertain and educate.

So, in the mean time, I've spotted the following titles on my local Borders bookshelves:

High Voltage Tattoo by Kat Von D.

Vintage Tattoos: The Book of Old-School Skin Art by Carol Clerk.

Tattoo by Dale Rio and Eva

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting a Tattoo by John Reardon.

Ink: The Not-Just-Skin-Deep Guide to Getting a Tattoo by Terisa Green

And this one has nothing to do with tattooing, per se, but it still looks cool:

Comic Book Tattoo; Tales Inspired by Tori Amos

by Rantz A. Hoseley (Editor), Tori Amos (Editor)

Blood, Sex and Ink !!

Immortal Tattoos, Singapore will be on a "BLOOD, SEX and INK" Tour to Melbourne, Australia

Make your bookings now as I have only limited myself to tattooing only 4 person a day over the course of first 18-20 days from -

22nd March 2009 - 10th April 2009 (Melbourne)

Email me Now !! - Immortal_Tattoos@mail.com

Trip out on this custom 1939 Tricycle, a solid metal tear drop fender keeps the trike riding low and treats your kid to his first custom painted low rider.

THE WRIST IS PRIME REALE STATE WHEN YOU WANT TO GET SOME THING MEANINGFUL... ITS A POPULAR SPOT FOR PEOPLE TO GET THEIR KIDS NAMES.

THE SKETCH

HERE IS AN IDEA OF WHAT WE HAVE PLANNED OUT FOR THE UPPER SECTION..

MARIOS AUTO WORKS

CHECK OUT THIS HELMET, SEAT PLATE AND GAS TANK . CUSTOM PAINTED BY GREG DE ALBA AT MARIOS AUTO WORKS IN THE CITY OF MONTCLAIR. WE ARE KEEPING THE TRADITION ALIVE BY SUPPORTING THE CANDY FLAKE LOW RIDER MOVEMENT EVEN ON OUR HARLEYS.. CHECK OUT THEIR WEBSITE www.mariosautoworks.com GOING TO POST MORE PICTURES OF FUTURE COLLABORATIONS WITH THEM SO STAY UP..

Tattoorism: A Sparrow Drops in from North of the Border

February is the Dead of Winter, and after the 60-degree day from last Wednesday, I have seen very few blogworthy tattoos in the Big Apple.

Fear not, dear readers, warmer weather is around the corner. I can feel it. So, in the mean time, I am relying on the kindness of readers.

Behold, Jenna's bird:

Jenna wrote: "I just stumbled across your blog one day and I'm always up for sharing my favourite tat! Here's a picture right after it was finished... only picture I've got :( Looks much nicer now that it's finally healed!".

Fresh ink isn't always the prettiest, but we here at Tattoosday like the occasional unsolicited submission, especially when we've been in such significant ink withdrawal.

That was all she wrote, however, so I asked Jenna for some more info on this avian neck tattoo.

Jenna hails from Toronto, and had this inked by Phil at Adrenaline Tattoo there.

She explains the meaning behind this piece:

"...My best friend passed away from cancer in December 2007, and I was really, really torn up about it. When my friend, Corey (who was only 17) was alive, he would see a psychic and never shared any information with her. One day out of the blue last year, the psychic called Corey's family and spoke to his sister. All the psychic said was 'Do you have a friend named Jenna?' and the sister said 'Yes, she was really close to Corey as well". After speaking for a little while, the psychic declared that Corey wanted me to know that he is always going to be there for me and if I feel anything warm on the back of my neck, that's him guiding me in the right way... So, that's why this beautiful bird is on the back of my neck. For Corey."

Thanks to Jenna for sharing this emotional piece with us. We'll update the post with a cleaner, fresher photo when she gets one for us.

PRAY FOR US!

ROB K. CAME THROUGH TONIGHT TO GET PRAYING HANDS TO ADD TO THE PORTRAIT IN THE MEMORY OF HIS FATHER..

WAY OF THE WARRIOR

HERE IS A FLICK OF A BACK PIECES THAT I JUST STARTED... HE WANTED TO STAY TRUE TO HIS ROOTS SO WE WENT WITH AN IMAGE OF A WARRIOR FIGHTING A SERPENT.

THE HUSTLER 58

CHECK OUT ONE OF THE LATEST MURALS I'VE BEEN WORKING ON... THE WEATHER HAS BEEN CRAZY THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS BUT I HAVEN'T LET THAT STOP ME FROM GETTING IN A COUPLE OF SESSIONS. THIS MURAL IS ON A 1958 RAG TOP IMPALA THE FIRE WALL HAS BEEN COMPLETLY SHAVED AND MOLDED GIVING ME NICE SIZE CANVAS TO WORK WITH...

STAY POSTED TO SEE THE FINAL SESSION.....

CHECK OUT THE LATEST ADDITION TO ALBA'S COLLECTION. SHE WANTED TO GO WITH SOME SCRIPT TO ACCENT WHAT SHE ALREADY HAD ON HER WRIST AND KEEP IT CLASSY...

GETTING A TATTOO OF A BROAD WHETHER IT'S OF SOMEONE YOUR WITH OR JUST TATTOOERS CHOICE DAY.. IS ALWAYS A GOOD LOOK AND DOESN'T HAVE TO BE TASTELESS..

Happy Valentine's from Tattoosday!

Lacking any new material for this holiday o' love, I'm re-posting an old favorite that seems to be in the theme. Well, at least there's a heart in it.

I just love the way, in this photo, that Cait's hand is positioned as she is pulling her blouse back to reveal the whole tattoo...

"I asked her if she'd be willing to share, and she did. She peeled back a little of her top to reveal this beautiful piece on the top left side of her chest:

Cait and her friend Michelle have birthdays two days apart. When they turned 18, they took a design that Michelle had crafted to Da Vinci Tattoo Studio in Wantagh, New York. The artist she remembered as "Yoshi" inked matching pieces for the two.

Cait says the heart that encases the colorful stars represents their friendship, and serves to remind them of the bond. In the event that life ever separates them, the tattoos will link them, no matter where they are.

Work from Da Vinci Tattoo Studio has appeared on Tattoosday before here.

Thanks to Cait for sharing her ink with us here at Tattoosday!

The original post is here.

Here's hoping the day is everything you expect it to be!

XXPLOSIVE

LAST NIGHT WAS THE DOWNTOWN L.A. ARTWALK AND IT GOES DOWN THE SECOND THURSDAY OF EVERY MONTH SO COME CHECK US OUT AT THE LAST LAUGH. HERE ARE A FEW FLICKS OF THE TATTOO I DID ON ESTEVAN. I BLASTED HIS ICONIC L.A. HANDS IN HIS INNER ARM ....

This installment of Tattoorism comes from Sean, a reader who offered up his leg piece for our viewing pleasure. The detail above is my favorite aspect of the tattoo, which wraps around Sean's entire left leg.

In Sean's words:

"...Even though this was done in about 4 or 5 sessions, I could not describe this in any other way except as one big tattoo. Each piece works together with each other.

I consider this my growth-themed tattoo. I started the tattoo, at the age of 18, right before I graduated from high school and finished it right before entering my first year of college, a period of immense growth in my opinion. As long as I can remember, I have been drawn to Asian artwork, so at an extremely basic level this tattoo is just extremely aesthetically pleasing to me, but there is also deeper meaning.

From the Japanese folklore I have heard, koi fish are said to grow into dragons.

That was the basic premise of my tattoo, maturing from childhood to adulthood. I decided to have the koi swimming upwards to portray the different struggles experienced in this growth. The dragon has always been such a powerful image to me and a great symbol of courage and strength, two qualities I constantly strive to achieve and portray myself.

There are also two other major images in this tattoo, the pagoda and the lotus flower.

The lotus is another symbol of "growth." I always loved the idea that a lotus begins its life in murky, dark, ugly waters, but eventually grows to become a beautiful flower despite its surroundings. It's a reminder that no matter how hard things get in life, I can make it through those times and blossom as a better person.

Finally, the personal symbolism I hold for the pagoda is a house of knowledge and discipline. I hoped to achieve, and believe I have, a great amount of knowledge and discipline through my years in college and during the growth from childhood to adulthood in general.

The tattoo was done by Mike Schweigert @ Electric Tattoo in Bradley Beach, NJ.

Thanks to Sean for sharing this amazing leg piece with us here on Tattoosday!

Sean recognized that our "posts kind of drop off, completely understandably, during the colder months." Not only did he help us with content on an ink-less day, regular readers will recognize that I generally don't run sleeves, or wrap-around tattoos, on the blog, as their characteristics make them very difficult to adequately display in their full glory. It's tough to capture them fully when on the street. So a double thanks to Sean for not only sending us an elaborate leg piece, but providing a well-written synopsis of the personal meaning behind the elements in the design!

D.E.F / DOIN EVERYTHING FRESH...

CHECK OUT THIS OLD SCHOOL FOOTAGE OF UTFO.. BEFORE THEY GOT FAMOUS FOR ROXANNE ROXANNE AND TRIP ON THE STIFFED OUT OLD PEOPLE TRYING TO BE HIP. THE POPPING STILL LOOKS DOPE, HIP HOP HAS COME A LONG WAY.. POPPING AND POP LOCKING WAS ORIGINALLY DONE BY GANG MEMBERS IN L.A. I CAN REMEMBER SEEING A BLOOD IMITATING A LOWRIDER HITTING SWITCHES AND I CAN ALSO REMEMBER IT FADING OUT AND BECOMING UN COOL. THANKS TO PEOPLE LIKE THE TRIBAL GEAR FAMILY AND CRAZY LEGS (R.S.C.) FOR NEVER GIVING UP ON "BREAK'N" AND FALLING OFF..

Lizz's Tattoo Anchors Her to Her Brother

One of the things that I love most about writing Tattoosday is the way New York City plays a significant role in the narrative. It may not be a blog about New York, but it would be a much different one without this city I call my home.

This is one of those posts that is tied to the fabric of New York.

This evening, I was taking advantage of a free ticket to see a revival of Guys and Dolls at the Nederlander Theater, which is still in preview and opens March 1st.

I was standing in line outside, about twenty minutes before curtains. The theater, on the south side of West 41st Street, faces the back of the New Amsterdam Theater to the north.

There were assorted people milling about across the street, folks I assumed were crew from Mary Poppins, outside having their last cigarettes before their show started.

I spotted a woman who had exited the theater and saw, from across the street, that she had a tattoo on her right forearm. I was doing nothing but standing in line anyway, so I crossed over 41st Street to say hello.

Lizz, who works as a dresser, was more than happy to share her tattoo:

What's remarkable about this traditional-style anchor tattoo is that she had it done at the same time, on the same spot, and with the same design as her younger brother.

For Lizz, this was her most recent, her nineteenth tattoo. For her brother, five years her junior, it was his first.

The piece is based on the state flag of Rhode Island, where Lizz grew up:

Tattoos in general have significant meaning for their bearers. When the same design in shared, and the act of being tattooed is similarly experienced, the emotional charge instilled in the work is compounded.

Another example of siblings sharing a tattoo can be seen here.

Lizz told me that she doesn't rely on one artist, but that her ink has come from different shops all over the country.

This tattoo was created at Cherry Bomb Tattoo (now known as East River Tattoo)in Brooklyn by the artist Duke Riley. Work from Cherry Bomb has appeared here previously.

Thanks so much to Lizz for sharing her ink with us here on Tattoosday!

THE LAST LAUGH / FEB 12TH RELEASE

COME CHECK OUT THE LAST LAUGH DURING THE DOWNTOWN L.A. ART WALK THIS THURSDAY FEB 12th. STORE HOURS 12 p.m. - 12 a.m.
AS I DROP THE ALL NEW
WOMENS "TATTOO SHOP" TEE