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Laman

THROWBACK THURSDAY

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Matt's Golden Silence

I met Matt one afternoon as he stood among the masses at the southwest corner of Madison Square Garden, waiting for a bus out of town.

This is his tattoo which he shared with us, covering his upper right arm:


The message is simple: silence is golden. I love how the side skulls spill off of the front skull, and how the teeth of the primary jaw are fused together.



Matt attributes this piece to "deep life experiences" and how it serves as a reminder to keep his head on straight.

He told me he's "been low and wants to stay higher" and that "keeping what I've done to myself has given me the ability to achieve what I have in life".

This tattoo was inked by Loki M. LaChapelle when he was at Kaleidoscope Tattoo & Art Gallery in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Loki now works out of Mazel Custom Tattoo & Piercing in Everett, Massachusetts.

Thanks to Matt for sharing his tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!
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A TOUCH OF CLASS

This is a classy piece on one of our clients in Japan..
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Project X

Hi all !!

I am in need for an Insane Web Designer, a Wicked Photographer, Female Alternative Models ( Locally or Internationally ), My Tattoo Canvases and Sinners - For a long term project which I am working on.

Web Designers, Photographers and Female Alternative Models, pls send me your portfolios. The rest, just let me know why I should ink your Rotting Carcasses - Email to - Immortal_Tattoos@mail.com

( Ladies who wanna model but can't travel to Singapore, don't worry !! Just get back to me and we will work something out )

Guys and Gals clothing lines - Join Us !!

- Latrommi Clothing -

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I am also looking for anyone who wants to get Devils, Demons or anything related to Darkness tattoos, here is your chance !!

October Sacrifice 2010 !!

- I am charging $66 per session ( usual $300 ) for the first 6 people who are interested !!

So email me now - Immortal_Tattoos@mail.com

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Flyer Distributors Wanted !!

$5/hr - Minimum 3 hrs. 2-3 times a week !!
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ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN




Here is a piece from Japan that was an addition to a piece from back in the day.
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Rachel's Bird Helped Her Let Go

The same night I met Brian, I met Rachel, who has eight tattoos.

She shared this one with me:


This piece on her left biceps is based on the work of artist Kurt Halsey. This little bird appears in multiple works by the artist, but Rachel imagined it for her own personal situation. She got it after a break-up a couple of years ago, and the tattoo gave her the strength to "let the bird go". In this case, the bird represents the ended relationship and the tattoo is a transitional piece that helped her recover from the difficulty of moving past it.

From Memphis, Tennessee, Rachel had this inked at Underground Art Tattoos and Body Piercing by Chris Fitzgerald. Chris had been a piercer at the shop and then moved into tattooing. He has since left tattooing and moved to photography. His new business is Cult Noir Photography, and his work can be seen here.

Thanks to Rachel for sharing her tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!
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WEEKEND RECAP




On our way back home thanks to the guys at neighborhood we tattooed the head designer to say thank you for letting us be a guest at their tokyo offices . Here is flics of tattoo plus location.
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Brian's Ink Speaks About Art

I met Brian in Barnes & Noble, Union Square, back in August and he shared two tattoos with us. Put your thinking caps on, folks, because Brian, who is a video artist (website here), has very cerebral ink.

First up is this tattoo, on Brian's left biceps:


This tattoo is based on an illustration entitled "Every Night We Are Haunted by a Dream" by the artist Alfred Kubin (1877-1959).

Jede Nacht besucht uns ein Traum (Every Night We are Haunted by a Dream), ca. 1902-03
Pen and ink, brush, wash, and spray on paper
39.1 x 31.8 cm (15 3/8 x 12 1/2 in.)
Albertina, Vienna
Brian explained that this work corresponded very closely to the publication of Sigmund Freud's The Interpretation of Dreams, and that Kubin's illustration represents "art between the cusp of pre-surrealism/expressionism and surrealism". It speaks to Brian's understanding of the perception of dreams and art.

Brian also had these words inscribed on his inner right forearm:


The words "Créer Dangereusement" are the French title of a 1957 essay by Albert Camus entitled "Create Dangerously". This "essay on realism and artistic creation" likewise spoke to Brian who acknowledged that "all art is a political act". It makes perfect sense, if you think about it, in that no great work of art was ever created by the artist playing it safe. It is those who created dangerously that are remembered as trailblazers and icons in their respective fields.

Brian had both of these tattoos done in Austin, Texas.

Thanks to Brian for sharing his artistic ink with us here on Tattoosday!
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SOUL SUNDAY



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TRAILER OF THE THE WEEK



Here is a PSA by George Carlin and a Trailer "It's Bad For Ya"
in one of his last live performances.
R.I.P.
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THE QUIET STORM



Go out and support our homie Jae Bueno out at Brooklyn Projects in Pasadena Ca.
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Danny's Koi Struggles Upstream

I met Danny in Penn Station early in August just as he was about to board a train.

Before he headed to his platform, however, he allowed me to take this photo of his tattoo-in-progress on his upper right arm:


He explained that the koi swimming upward on his bicep represented that he was still moving upstream, that is, he was "still overcoming struggles, trials and tribulations". He added that he would get another koi on his left arm, facing downstream, when he had completed his struggle in life.

Before we could talk further, however, he had to run for his train. Fortunately for me (and for you, dear Readers), he e-mailed me shortly thereafter with some more details:

"The leaves are Japanese maples...Everyone gets the traditional lotus flowers, etc. But I chose a leaf that represents no religion or significant meaning to it. I would have gone with the Korean national flower [Hibiscus syriacus] but that, too, had meaning behind it. Many flowers that are traditionally on bodies are either Buddhist or Catholic, etc. Coming from a Christian background, I chose one without any meaning. How can I live with a Buddhist lotus on my arm?

At the time I got the tattoo I was confused with life... Direction, purpose, goals, meaning.. I had obstacles and self goals I had to achieve and was in a standstill (not drug-related or any of that sort). I looked to the pain tattooing offers and how it puts your mind in a zoned-out state, which I now thrive for when I'm stressed. It's therapy to me. I'll update you when I find an artist to finish this tattoo. The windbars were left open to expand."

The tattoo was done by Lee at Infinity Tattoo in Manhattan.

Thanks again yo Danny for sharing his koi with us here at Tattoosday!
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OFF THE WALL

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Steve's Sleeve of Leaves Ushers in the Fall Season

Earlier this month, I met Steve on the D train, as we headed home to Brooklyn.

He had a veritable panorama of fall foliage on his left arm and he happily shared his autumnal tattoos with us here at Tattoosday.

It only seemed fitting that, as summer has ended, we celebrate the new season with some fall colors.

Behold, Steve's sleeve o' leaves:



The eleven maple leaves on Steve's arm were all inked free hand by Mark Harada at Manhattan's East Side Ink over four sittings.


Steve acknowledges that the leaves changing colors represent a change, and these colorful symbols remind him that change is good.


Happy Autumn to all! And thanks to Steve for sharing his fallen maple leaves with us here on Tattoosday!
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THROWBACK THURSDAY







Here are some classic Chevrolet Advertisements from 1959..
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Sara's Psalm Speaks to the Desires of Her Heart

I met Sara on the 36th Street subway platform in Brooklyn last month during the late afternoon rush hour commute.

What can I say? I'm a sucker for words and this tattoo looked poetic:


Sara filled me in. She has three tattoos and this passage "spoke to her". She wanted something religious for her 30th birthday.

This is an excerpt (verse 4) from Psalm 37 in the Bible.


The verse reads "Delight thyself also in the Lord, and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart" [King James Version]. Sara changed the thee and thine to read me and my, respectively, making the verse more personal.

This was tattooed by Alex Franklin at Brooklyn Ink in Bay Ridge. Work from Brooklyn Ink (and much from Alex) can be seen on this Tattoosday label here.

Thanks to Sara for sharing her source of inspiration with us here on Tattoosday!
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CITY TO CITY










Here are a couple fliks of whats been happening the last couple Days..
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Khalil's Organic Biomechanical Arm

One thing regular readers may notice is that I tend to prefer singular tattoos, as opposed to larger "concept" pieces. This preference is what you see illustrated here on Tattoosday.

However, once in a while, I see work  that, although atypical of our content, is irresistible.

Just check out Khalil's sleeve, which I captured one day after work in Penn Station:


Representing thirty-two hours of work by Mike Boissoneault at Black Lotus Tattoo Studios, in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, Khalil explained that this vision represents a spin on a biomechanical design, "but more organic".

To him, in a world in which people are becoming less human, this tattoo reminds him to be human.

Here's a "fresher" shot from the Black Lotus website:

Tattoo by Mike Boissoneault © 2008 Black Lotus Tattoo Studios

Thanks again to Khalil for sharing this amazing work with us here on Tattoosday!
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LA ROSA



Here is a recent collectors piece on a client from out here in Japan..
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THE HYPEBEAST INTERVIEW




SA Studios has been a lot more focused lately with greater visibility. We’ve been seeing collaborations with video game releases and more video content. Is this something we’re going to see developed more and more?

SA Studios has grown a lot and we’re able to do different collaborations now. Everybody’s ruining the word collaboration. But we’re a commercial company, and we need business to work. Throughout my whole life, I worked on keeping it real and keeping it hardcore. But with SA we will be doing big projects for big companies as an agency. If the work looks good and you’re true to yourself, you’re not selling out. We’re very careful in that aspect and we’ve turned down many projects.

I look at it as no different than what you do on the streets. You’re making a highly visible piece of art. People go out and paint on the streets to have their work shown, commercial work could be considered along the same lines?

It’s hard to maintain a hardcore image and yet work commercially. But if I make shoes I want to wear and the whole package is well done, I don’t see a problem. I think it opens the doors to so many other artists when they see somebody like myself who was able to design without going through design or fashion school.

Do you find it important to help bring up a new generation or at least help them out?

I try to start off by being an example. I’m a husband and a father now with four children. I’m a teacher with a protege that works under me. You can almost see the progression in my work. From when I was a single guy, smoking weed and drinking, I had a certain style. Then I stopped drinking and smoking, then came another style. I’m now 41 and married, so there comes a new style on its own too. I’m thinking a different way than when I once was a 20 year old kid.

Do you approach graffiti, tattooing and your other visual work the same way?

No, when I do graffiti, I’m usually thinking in the mindset of a vandal. Doing it fast, thinking the cops are coming. The goal is only to make it somewhat readable. When I’m tattooing, I’m more relaxed and I take my time. But when it comes to my other styles, I need to wear a different hat. A mural on a car under clear coat is different than being a designer with Illustrator. Each dimension of art requires a different approach and style.

You’ve become well-known for your graffiti and tattooing, but are there other platforms you’d like to make your mark on?

In the future, I want to get more into films and animations. I love designing electronics.

You did a few mobile phones?

Yeh I did a Side-Kick and two Metro PCS phones. Now I’m working on touch screen stuff, drawings, icons and different stuff like that. You get the sample back and you’re like ‘YOOOOOOO’. Just like when you get shoe samples back, your heart pumps. In the future I want to get more into cars. I want to bring car culture up to a new level.

Looking back, you’ve become an integral member of the Chicano community in bringing awareness to the culture. What are your thoughts on that?

I think it’s fair to say that Chicano culture and the Hypebeast crowd never really intersected before. They were far from each other but I like them both.

You’re sort of the point between both of them…

I need to be careful to make the right decisions such as protect the brand and everything we’ve worked for. It’s difficult to get respect from both sides. I’ve been drawing and designing for the “Hypebeast”/skate/shoe culture world, long before I was where I am now. I put up a mural inside of the UNION store in the 90s. Now people are like ‘come on in’. In this day and age, everybody is a critic and lots of are posting their comments. I don’t even read the comments cause it’s impossible to please everybody. The most important is your peer group and doing things for people you’re proud of. These days anybody can Google anything and they aren’t properly influenced. But there are those that look at Hypebeast and they can get so much information that would ever know.

Where do you think your success over the years has come from?

I don’t consider myself talented, special or really unique. Everything’s been done before. But can you take it, twist it and re-do it. I’ve been drawing my whole life and now people are saying ‘oh you’re talented’. I look at it more as a skill in an area I’ve been practicing for over 20 years. Some kids feel ‘oh I can’t do that’. I tell them I’ve developed the motions and the skills in my brain and reinforced it with my muscles.

Any last words?

For all the artists coming up, it’s important to visualize positive images. Don’t spend time talking shit about other people. Picture yourself doing straight lines, dig deep to create something old school and re-introduce it all while being as original as possible. Practice every day. If you work hard enough you can take care of people around you. I bought my mom a house and I don’t expect applause from it. I figure it’s what I’m supposed to do. I have an old school mind to take care of my family and children, and art has helped me do that. Additionally, through art I’ve been able to help and beautify my community. They say that the only thing that you can show at the end of your life is what you gave away, not what you collect.

Click here to see the full coverage of the OTW Shanghai Launch Party..
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ICE C.R.E.A.M



If you have been wondering what we got going on next year here is just a preview of one..
Click HERE for the full story..
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Christina's Owl and Lighthouse

I met Christina one day after work while walking outside of Madison Square Garden.

She had this incredible tattoo, which she gladly shared with us here on Tattoosday:


This tattoo that covers her upper left arm was actually done in two segments by artist Orrin Hurley, who currently tattoos at Dare Devil Tattoo in Manhattan.

As for the source material behind this beautiful tattoo, Christina chose a piece of art by Frances Olive Esme Eve:


A closer look at the tattooed owl shows how it was changed, but you can still see that there is still a lot from the original design:


The lighthouse was inspired by the Portland Head Light on Cape Elizabeth, Maine.


Thanks to Christina for sharing her tattoo with us here on Tattoosday.
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Stacy's Amigo Tugs Her Back to Milwaukee

At the end of July, I ran into Stacy waiting for the F train at West 4th Street in Manhattan.

She had a panther peeking out from under her shirt on her back, but we couldn't get the whole tattoo in a shot, so she offered up this piece on her right arm:


Stacy is a poet and the Artistic Director of The Poetry Project at St. Mark's Church in New York City. She has been here five years and originally hails from Milwaukee.

Living next to Lake Michigan has many benefits. Having always lived in a location near a large body of water, I can relate to her admiration for the beauty of a seascape, whether it be an ocean or a great lake.

Stacy told me she enjoyed watching the tugboats in her home town, and that these small vessels are a "connective image" that draws her back to her original home.

This tattoo was designed and inked by Stephanie Tamez at New York Adorned. Work from Stephanie on Tattoosday can be viewed here.

This is also the second tugboat of the summer. The first one is here.

Thanks to Stacy for sharing her tugboat with us here at Tattoosday. Perhaps we'll see her panther when the Tattooed Poets Project returns next April for its third year!
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SOUL SUNDAY

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Melinda's Medusa

Last month I met Melinda on the West 4th Street subway platform, a location I came to appreciate this past summer for its diversity of interesting tattoos.

Our conversation began on the platform in Manhattan and ended in Brooklyn after a trip on the D train.

Melinda has two tattoos and she shared this one, from her inner left forearm:




She explained that this tattoo is based on the shield of Minerva (in the Roman pantheon) and Athena (in the Greek pantheon).

The shield features the head of the serpentine-tressed Medusa who, if you didn't know, could turn creatures (men, mostly) to stone with a simple gaze.

Melinda loves the contrast between the Minerva and Medusa figures and the relationship between the two mythologies.

The tattoo was inked by Kelly Krantz, of the now defunct Hold Fast Tattoo in Brooklyn. Kelly now tattoos by appointment only, and more details can be found on his website here. Work by Kelly has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Thanks to Melinda for her good company on the D train back in August, and for sharing her tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!
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TRAILER OF THE THE WEEK

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Liz Flexes Her Tyrannosaurus Rex

I met Liz last month on the West 4th Street platform as we were waiting for the D train.

She has six tattoos, including a really cool Brooklyn Bridge tattoo that she designed and, she proudly told me, Exene Cervenka once complimented her on.

The tattoo she shared with us, however, is this design of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, inked on her upper right arm:


The piece was modeled after the fossil displayed prominently in The American Museum of Natural History, where her brother had worked for a period of time. The tattoo is an homage to the time she spent there.

The tattoo was inked by Christopher Depinto aka The Ink Shrink at Shotsie's Tattoo in Wayne, New Jersey. Work from Shotsie's has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Thanks to Liz for sharing her dinosaur tattoo with us here at Tattoosday!
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FOR THE STREETS



Here is one of the recent pieces on a client from the streets of Tokyo Japan.
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FROM ABOVE

Here is one the latest from out here in Japan..
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Tyler's Bald Eagle

I spotted Tyler outside of my office building on Seventh Avenue last month.

Actually, the first thing I noticed was Tyler's eagle:


One of three tattoos he has, Tyler explained that he really likes traditional designs, and that eagles, in his opinion, are among the coolest animals.

He also likes the way feathers look in tattoo designs, and this eagle's plumage is inked exceptionally well.

He credits Jeremy at Imperial Tattoo in Portland, Oregon with this piece.

Thanks to Tyler for allowing his eagle to fly here on Tattoosday!
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JAPAN SESSIONS





Here are a couple pieces from out here in Tokyo..
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RIDE THE TRAIN




Here is the latest issue of YRB magazine with my artwork on one of 3 covers and an interview..
Click HERE for the full piece.
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TOUCH OF THAILAND




Here is one of the pieces from Thailand. The homie Kong a.k.a "The Thai Rock Star" got his lost wings back.
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Nick's AK-47

I met Nick outside of Penn Station and, of his "six or seven" tattoos, he offered up this one:


Nick had this AK-47 inked on his stomach to pay homage to his Russian heritage. He told me that this tattoo was done by Fernando Alvarez out in Los Angeles.


Thanks to Nick for sharing his ink with us here at Tattoosday!


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