Mr. Kaves Shares a Mark Mahoney Portrait

A couple weeks back, I ran into Michael Kaves on 3rd Avenue, a couple blocks away from his shop, Brooklyn Made Tattoo. Kaves is also one of the founding members of The Lordz of Brooklyn. I know Kaves from around the neighborhood, and although I've never been tattooed by him, I have been under the needle in his shop and have had the pleasure of seeing him work first-hand and close-up on other

Repost for Memorial Dsy: A Traditional Naval Tattoo on a 21st Century Ship

This post originally appeared on November 7, 2009. I felt it was appropriate to re-post on Memorial Day, 2011: The USS New York was put into service today by the United States Navy.Her hull was forged with steel salvaged from the rubble of the World Trade Center.It's a momentous occasion indeed, and several crew members were in attendance with dignitaries earlier this week at the World Series.As

Life is War

Back in April, I met Joshua outside of Penn Station, and he shared this, one of his five tattoos:This forearm tattoo, exemplifies Joshua's philosophy that life is war: "you have to go through war to get where you're going."An ex-girlfriend drew it up for him and then he had it tattooed by Jamie at Bullseye Tattoo Shop in Staten Island, New York.Thanks to Joshua for sharing this tattoo with us

Chad and the City

I met Chad one afternoon in April outside of Madison Square Garden. He shared this tattoo which is on his left shin:As one might have guessed, Chad is a huge fan of the former HBO series Sex and the City and this is one of a large number of tattoos that he has. When I asked how many he had, he quipped “I have no clue.”Chad’s work was inked by Eileen Fabbricatore at Lady Luck Tattoo in Aurora,

Stephen's Killer Klown

One of the significant changes in the chronology of Tattoosday was the discovery that the Amtrak waiting area in Penn Station was a wonderful place for inkspotting, not just on rainy days, but whenever I had the chance to pass that way.Stopping someone on the streets of New York City, especially when they are in a hurry to get somewhere, can be challenging. I have discovered that people waiting

Our 1000th Post! David's Mermaid and Seahorse Blow Us Away......

Pardon the royal "we," but this is our 1000th post, and we feel a little celebratory.To honor this milestone, we are sharing this amazing half sleeve belonging to David:This astonishing work is the creation of artist Erick Lynch at Redemption Tattoo in Cambridge, Massachusetts.David said that he had wanted a mermaid, as his wife loves mermaids, and that Lynch's work reflects a traditional

Christine's Sleeve of Colorful Flowers and Butterflies

Some posts don't need a lot of explaining. I met Christine on 3rd Avenue in Bay Ridge earlier this month, and she shared these stunning tattoos, perfect for celebrating on a warm spring day:The Tiger lily and Red-spotted Purple butterfly above are only the top section of a full sleeve:The flowers on the forearm are Violets, which span the inside of Christine's arm, as well:And that's an American

Don't Sit Under the Cherry Tree with Anyone Else but Me

I spotted Christina one Friday afternoon in Penn Station, sporting this awesome cherry blossom tattoo:She took some photos in to Jason Loui, then at Redemption Tattoo in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He sketched out a design, and the rest is history. Mr. Loui now works out of Good Faith Tattooing, in Brookline, Massachusetts.Thanks to Christina for sharing her cherry blossom tree with us here on

Musician Monday: Ryan from The Disconnects

Here on our second installment of Musician Mondays, we have a rockin', self-explanatory tattoo from Ryan, lead singer and guitarist from an unsigned band called The Disconnects:From her mohawk to her Doc Martens, this punk rock girl and her "Too Fast to Live, To Young to Die" banner totally capture that raw, rock aesthetic.I met Ryan last month, across the street from where I work, on Seventh

Ivan's Sleeve: Doom, Zombies, and The Joker

Last month I met Ivan in Penn Station, and I took a bunch of photos of his right arm, fully-sleeved. There's a lot going on here, so let's take a look:And the inner part of the sleeve: Ivan's tattoo artist is Larry Davis at Explicit Tattoo in Suffern, New York He also credits Adrienne Levy with the design of the cat on his wrist.Ivan explains a little bit about his ink:"The zombie on my shoulder

Best Week Ever: Tattoosday Edition

The last seven days have been quite a whirlwind, and I felt it is worth a recap, just because I can't believe what happened since last Saturday.A week ago, I had my best trip to the New York Tattoo Convention, saw a lot of great ink, reconnected with old blogging friends, and met a lot of cool people. All my posts since Sunday (with the exception of Friday) recapped the show and some of the folks

Kathryn's Birdhouse Reminds Her of Home

I spotted Kathryn in Penn Station earlier this month and asked her about her tattoos. She shared this one, which jumped out at me from across the room:I had a nice time chatting with Kathryn who referred to her approximately 18 tattoos as a "patchwork" collection, with each tattoo marking a different occasion and/or the places she has been. I totally related to that, although she certainly has a

NYC Tattoo Convention Spotlight: Chris Shares His Half-Sleeve Inspired by the Indigenous Cultures of the Pacific Northwest

For this, my final post highlighting work I enjoyed at the New York City Tattoo Convention last Saturday, we turn to Chris, who offered up this half-sleeve from his right arm:Chris explained that he is a great admirer of Native American art and that, after a trip to a museum in British Columbia, he was inspired by a First Nations exhibit. He purchased a book about the exhibits there and he used

NYC Tattoo Convention Spotlight: Steve's Phenomenal Celtic Cross

Among the many amazing tattoos I saw last Saturday, this cross belonging to Steve was among my favorites:There's really not much to it, other than amazing colors and craftsmanship.Steve explained that the design is a nod to his Irish heritage, inspired by the Book of Kells, as exemplified by the Celtic knot in the center of the piece. He estimated that the half-sleeve, which circles the whole arm

NYC Tattoo Convention Spotlight: Caroline's Death's-head Hawk Moth and The Silence of the Lambs

Sending an inkblogger into a tattoo convention, is like sending a kid into Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory - we just go into sensory overload.It's always interesting to see who I will interview first, as nearly everyone has amazing work. My first choice appeared to me after I had been at the New York City Tattoo Convention for about an hour:Behold Caroline's Death's Head Hawkmoth!She explained

NYC Tattoo Convention Spotlight: Jessica's Stunning Tibetan Back Piece

The last few years that I've attended the New York City Tattoo Convention, there's always been at least on person with a full back piece that captures my attention and, much to my enjoyment, agrees to share their work with us here at Tattoosday. The biggest and brightest tattoo this year for me, was this stunning work of art on Jessica:This beautiful piece was inked by Echo at Now or Never

Dispatch from the 2011 New York City Tattoo Convention (A Recap)

 Yesterday I spent a half dozen hours at the Roseland Ballroom, where the New York City Tattoo Convention was holding court. This was my third trip to the show, and each year, I have a different experience, as Tattoosday has evolved as a site (read about 2009 here and 2010 here).In years past, I have only highlighted one or two pieces, as I go into sensory overload. What, outside of a

Tova's Mockingbird Takes Wing

Late last month, I met Tova at my local Borders store. She was sporting this incredible tattoo on her upper left arm:When she told me she had it recently inked at New York Adorned, I guessed correctly that Virginia Elwood had been the artist. Virginia in incredibly talented, and seems to especially excel at bird tattoos (her work has been seen previously on Tattoosday here, here and here).Tova

Enter to Win a T-Shirt from Kings Avenue Tattoo, Now Open in Manhattan!

We here at Tattoosday have had the pleasure of encountering work from Kings Avenue Tattoo on only one occasion. We featured work by Grez here. Nonetheless, their shop, located out in Massapequa on Long Island, has a sterling reputation, and I know at least one loyal client, Brian Grosz, over at Needles & Sins, who sings high praise to the shop owner and artist extraordinaire, Mike Rubendall. It

Tattoosday in Kentucky: Headphones at CVG

On my recent whirlwind trip to Kentucky, I spotted some interesting tattoos at CGY, also known as the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.Check this out:The young lady that was sporting these headphones, identified herself as "E" and has "ten or eleven" tattoos. She wanted headphones that looked like they were spray-painted on. Note the "drips" and spots of splattered

Musician Monday: Meaghan Farrell

Over the past several years on Tattoosday, we've run into several musicians in our travels, many of whom have generously shared their tattoos with us. We've decided to post tattoos from these talented folks on the first day of the work week, and call them "Musician Mondays."We got a sneak peek at our first Monday Musician yesterday, as we shared a couple of Meaghan Farrell's tattoos in

Happy Mother's Day from Tattoosday

I wanted to celebrate Mother's Day with something new, but didn't have a lot in the backlog that was specifically motherly.Then I remembered Meaghan Farrell.I met Meaghan last month in Penn Station and approached her when I saw her tattoos. Turns out, Meaghan is a singer-songwriter with 15 tattoos, more of which will appear here tomorrow.One of the tattoos we talked about was this one on her

A Black Rose for Saturday

I ran into Sean at the A,C, E subway station at 34th Street last month, and took a picture of this black rose, what he called a personal symbol and his "call sign since junior high school."It's one of two tattoos he has, and was inked by Joe Staska at Broad Street Tattoo in Bridgewater, Massachusetts.Thanks to Sean for sharing his black rose with us here on Tattoosday!