Michele's Tea for Two Tattoo

Normally I post tattoos chronologically, in some semblance of order, but yesterday I met Michele as she was about to get on an uptown local train at 34th Street.

She kindly shared this tattoo with us here on Tattoosday:

Why the tea cups? "Because you can't have tea by yourself," Michele said, as her train rolled in.

Slow on the uptake, I got it, "Ah, tea for two.I get it!" Michele looked to bolt for the train. I didn't get to finish asking all my standard questions, which is why we fast-tracked her post today.

The tattoo was inked by Kevin McNutt at Empire State Studios in Oceanside, New York. Work from Empire State has appeared previously on Tattoosday, viewable here.

Thanks much to Michele for sharing her ink two teacups with us here at Tattoosday! I'm sorry if you missed your train!

Sun tattoo designs -VISUAL ATTRACTIVENESS

Sun tattoo designs

VISUAL ATTRACTIVENESS-SUN TATTOO DESIGNS

Sun tattoo designs are extremely popular and are generally used in fusion with moon, thereby expressing totality. The sun tattoo designs can be given limbs, a face or might be absolutely abstract and full of spirals. Also, the sun tattoos are generally tribal suns, Aztec suns and even Celtic suns. This tattoo design is simply great, since it can be placed anywhere on body and appear stunning in different sizes. Chest, shoulder, legs, arm, legs, back and belly are some perfect spots to place sun tattoo.

Sun tattoo designs

Sun tattoo designs

The best part about the sun tattoo deigns is that they can be made in all sizes and shapes and if you think that a design is too small, you can have a bigger version done, effortlessly. The sun tattoos are universally appealing and elementary. There are numerous reasons when the image of sun can be individually significant and you prefer conveying this message by body art. Usually, sun tattoo designs are picked for portraying an individual’s power and energize others. More popular and yet deeper is the interpretation of sun tattoo as the figurative depiction of sexual fecundity. As well, majority of the individuals who love tattoos, simply likes to wear sun tattoo deigns because of their visual attractiveness.

Sun tattoo designs

Sun tattoo designs

Especially, the tribal sun tattoo designs symbolize strength or anger, while some have a bizarre or amusing element. The minimal usage of color (generally red, black, orange or occasionally blue) along with clean and sharp lines makes sun tattoo designs a hit amongst many tattoo lovers. Although the sun tattoos are frequently seen as simple circle having jagged points striking out of it, there are several ways of applying this design and style.

Sun tattoo designs

Sun tattoo designs

Penny's Metal Collage

Penny made me feel old.

And I mean no disrespect to her. She was more than cooperative when I stopped and asked her about the unique and colorful tattoo that graces her upper left arm.

However, I was working at a technical disadvantage (borrowed camera) and like many who have met me have observed, I don't necessarily ooze hipness.

Nonetheless, Penny indulged my photographic fumblings and I was able to capture this image, which is a fairly decent photo of her ink:

This piece is based on a collage of pictures Penny took at a handful of metal shows.

"Which bands?" I asked, hoping to find a common ground with this younger person. I cut my teeth on early American metal (I still cherish my vinyl pressing of Metallica's Kill 'Em All on Megaforce records), but then again, that was the '80s. Penny uttered names I had heard (yay me!) but alas, couldn't put in their necessary classifications.

Deathklok. Children of Bodom. Amon Amarth.

What can I say? I'm an ancient 43.

Alas, Penny was a good sport and her tattoo post has just as much to do with my feeling older as it does with her ink. Sorry, Penny.

The work she credited to an artist named Adal, who transformed her pictures into this collage on flesh in two sessions and about five hours, all told.

Thanks to Penny for sharing her tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Elektra and the Seven-Legged Spider (with Some Dresden Dolls, to Boot)

Elektra has, in her words, "nine and a half" tattoos, and was kind enough to share two of them with us.

First up is this spider on her left thigh:

It's not a specific type of spider (sorry, arachnophiliacs) but it does have one glaring detail to note. It is missing a leg. And the spurt of blood indicates that the leg has recently been detached.

What's with that? Elektra says that she considers arachnids with a lost limb to be "lucky omens" ever since she was little. This tattoo, in a way, enables her to have good luck with her at all times.

She credits this work to Anthony Audy at Yankee Tattoo in Burlington, Vermont.

Elektra also explained the tattoo on her right thigh to me, and she agreed when I asked if she would share that as well:

Fans of The Dresden Dolls will recognize this as the band's logo.

Elektra explained that this was designed with blue and red ink to have a 3D effect, when healed. However, she confessed, she didn't take care of it as well as she should have, and the effect is muted. Rob Dixxx, formerly of Yankee Tattoo is the artist.

Added to this piece is the signature of Amanda Palmer, lead singer of the Dresden Dolls, who Elektra met one night, after the band tattoo had been done. A friend with a tattoo machine made the autograph permanent.

Thanks to Elektra for sharing her tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Swallow Hip Tattoos

The swallow is a stunningly gorgeous bird which is often seen gracing the hips of women, in the form of matching or stand alone tattoos.

Along with the anchor, swallow bird tattoos are a classic design that was first popularized by sailors, and legend has it that if he or she drowned, the swallows would lift their soul to heaven.

These beautiful birds are also believed to represent freedom, wealth and prosperity.

Rather large matching tattoo designs on each hip.

Small art idea on back left hip area.

Cute closeup ink picture.

Beautiful swooping artwork.

Andy Honors Hercules

Today's post is noteworthy as it features the final photos taken by my old camera. A day after this encounter, the screen cracked, and that was that. I've been living on borrowed cameras ever since.

This tattoo, offered up by Andy, was spotted in Grand Central Station in a Hudson News shop:

Andy explained that he got this tattoo because the boat pictured, Hercules, is a "great old steam tug".

This historic boat, built in 1907, can be seen at the San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park.

This tugboat took Matt Adams at Sacred Tattoo about four and a half hours to complete. Work from Matt has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Thanks to Andy for sharing this great naval tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Renee's Feathered Serpent

I was walking down 31st Street in Manhattan when a woman walked by with a hummingbird and flower on her left shoulder. I turned back to talk to her and I was stunned to see a bright colorful tattoo spanning the top of her back> I called after her and had a nice chat.

To my delight, Renee was my familiar with the site, as her artist, Joy Rumore, had just been featured on Tattoosday here. Taking a photo of the tattoo in question was not possible due to the presence of clothing covering sections of it, but I gave Renee my card and asked her to keep in touch. However, after a few messages on Twitter, not only did I have the link to photos of the tattoo from the artist's blog, I also had an open dialogue with Renee, who explained the tattoo for me.

As Joy says on her original post here, "All hail the mighty Kukulcan!":

I asked Renee to elaborate on why she got this incredible tattoo across her back. I'll let her words speak for themselves:

"I got this feathered serpent tattoo when I advanced to candicacy in my doctoral program where I study Aztec art. I think we did it over three or four 90-minute sessions ... The feathered serpent was an old Mesoamerican god, a version of which dates back to the Olmecs (about 400 BCE) and is seen at a number of Mexican sites like Teotihuacan, Chichen Itza, Tula, and the Templo Mayor in Mexico City. The Aztecs called him Quetzalcoatl which translates from Nahuatl (their spoken language) into bird-snake. Joy refers to him on her blog as Kukulcan, which is the version that is seen at Chichen Itza in the Yucatán.

I wanted a tattoo of a feathered serpent because he so relevant to the Aztecs and they took great care in carving beautiful stone images of the animal.  I also knew of Joy's penchant for amazing feather work, and I knew this would be a good match.  I brought Joy a series of images, one from a mural at Teotihuacan, one from a Mixtec manuscript and another of an Aztec stone carving of a feathered serpent.  She used those and her knowledge of imagery from the Yucatan to create a more composite image of the god."

 A huge thanks to Renee and to Joy at Twelve 28 Tattoo for their cooperation in making this post possible!

Anthony's Tribal Tattoo, Inspired by Fiji

Last month I ran into Anthony in Penn Station with this interesting, yet unfinished, tattoo on his left arm:

A visitor from England, Anthony let me take the photo, but he was in a bit of a rush, so I didn't get too much information from him, other than this was a Polynesian-themed design, inspired by a trip he took to Fiji.

He credited Toni at Lycan Ink in Liverpool, England, with the work.

Thanks to Anthony for sharing with us here on Tattoosday.

Repost: Happy Independance Day!

Happy 4th of July. I am away for the weekend up in Woodstock, New York, so I'm reposting a patriotic tattoo that appeared here back in 2008. Have a safe and enjoyable holiday!


I ran into Rob in my neighborhood in late August and he gladly shared his patriotic tattoo.

Rob is a Revolutionary War buff and has a distinct interest in American history.

He wanted an "old school" tattoo back in 2000, and wanted something patriotic back "before it was fashionable". He's referring of course, to the explosion of post-9/11 red, white and blue ink. He wasn't disrespecting or being critical of patriotic tattoos done after 2001, he was merely clarifying for me that his piece was not a product of the huge wave of emotion that surged through the country after that day of infamy seven years ago.

Rob's "Land of the free, Home of the brave" banner with the original 13-star flag was inked by Darren Rosa at Rising Dragon in Manhattan. Work from Rising Dragon has appeared on Tattoosday previously here.

Thanks to Rob for sharing his red, white, and blue patriotic tattoo with us here on Tattoosday on this occasion.

The Lovely Tattoo of Legs Malone

I couldn't help notice the striking woman standing on the subway platform waiting for the R train. She was tall, had long shapely legs, a close-shaven head, and a small tattoo on the back of her left calf.

The R pulled in and, as luck would have it, we sat down next to one another on the train.

I had to introduce myself.

Turns out, I was sitting with a burlesque performer named with the stage name Legs Malone.

We didn't have a lot of time to talk, as she was exiting the train a stop or two earlier than me, but she obliged me for a photo by taking my camera and shooting the tattoo on the back of her leg:

She told me that this small tattoo (the only one visible on her frame) was inspired by a heart-shaped bruise that she wanted to replicate on her skin, but in a more aesthetically-pleasing way. The flowers around the heart are cherry blossoms.

The tattoo was inked at Fly Rite Studio by Charlie Foos, who is now at Read Street Tattoo Parlour in Baltimore. Charlie's work most recently appeared on Tattoosday here.

Thanks to Legs Malone for sharing her tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Stephanie's Serpentine Strength

Under normal circumstances, I may not have stopped to chat with Stephanie about her wrist tattoo. However, she was playing with her new corn snake, which is not something you see everyday when passing through Pennsylvania Station.

Stephanie introduced me to her new friend Muñeca (the Spanish word for "doll")

and then elaborated on one of her three tattoos, the word "Strength" on her inner left wrist:

She had this done at a time in her life when she was depressed, so she put the word on her wrist to remind her to always be strong.

What's truly interesting about this tattoo and the juxtaposition of the snake is the serpentine nature of the letter "S". My friend and co-worker Maida also pointed out, when I showed her the photo, that muñeca also has the anatomical meaning of "wrist" in Spanish.

The tattoo was done at Progressive Tattoo in Lindenhurst, New York.

Thanks to Stephanie for sharing her tattoo and Muñeca with us here at Tattoosday!

most stylish tattoos-MODERN TATTOOS SHOOTING STAR TATTOOS

most stylish tattoos

MODERN TATTOOS-SHOOTING STAR TATTOOS

Endless tattoo designs often add to confusion. Shooting star tattoos are one of the safest and most stylish options if you want to get tattoos done on your body. These tattoos are popular because of a lot of reasons. They not only look beautiful but have a symbolic and deep meaning behind them. These tattoos are gaining popularity among guys too.

The beauty of these tattoos is increased with different colors being used these days. You can try different colors in these shooting star tattoos and look great. You can find a plethora of designs of shooting stars online. All you have to do is pick the best of designs and tattoo artist to get it done on your body. Get small version or the enlarged version of these tattoos made according to your choice.

most stylish tattoos

most stylish tattoos

You can choose single star designs that are impressive and neat. Get this design made on shoulder blade or on your ankle. It is really not necessary to get a cluster, single star designs can also provide you with required style. If you think single star is not enough, go for a cluster that range from big to small ones. You can get stars trailing from your belly button. You can get these stars made in black colored outline. Stars with flames also look fabulous. Get trails of flame with star made and by adding colors like red, yellow, green or yellow color to this flame and your tattoo will look great. Get these shooting star tattoos done from a good tattoo artist right away.

most stylish tattoos

most stylish tattoos

most stylish tattoos

most stylish tattoos

Kristina's Labyrinthine Symbol of Hopi

A few weeks back, I met Kristina, after spotting the top of her tattoo peeking out from under her shirt and reaching toward her neck.

I was intrigued and asked her about it. She revealed it to be a much larger piece than I initially observed and explained that it is a Hopi symbol of mother-daughter unity that accompanies her on her spiritual journey through life.

From what I can gather, this is a variation on the symbol for Tapu'a, or Mother Earth, and the maze-like construction of the emblem represents one's journey through life.

She had this inked at a shop in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania.

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