Tattoos I Know: Paul, Part 5 or, The Great Cover-Up of 2008, continued...

In December 2008, we posted about our friend Paul getting some cover-up work done on his upper right arm. Revisit the report here.

We checked in with Paul again this past November to see the progress (here). And, just last Friday, he updated us again on the latest efforts by Horisei, who has one more session before this cover-up is done:


Horisei tattoos out of the Chelsea Tattoo Company, formerly the home of Rising Dragon.

Thanks again to Paul for sharing. I'm guessing we'll see the finished product later in 2010!

Two Tattoos From John: One for Superstition, One for Courage

Last Friday, I met John, who was in Penn Station in a t-shirt and shorts, certainly brave, considering the cold temperature outside.

He has four tattoos, and shared two with us. First, a four-leaf clover on his right elbow, which he got because he is superstitious:


And this Latin phrase "sine metu," which means "Without Fear" on his left forearm:


Both tattoos were inked by Eric Barrett, who currently works at Orange Tattoo Company in Annapolis, Maryland. Please note, I previously attributed this to a different artists named Eric in Annapolis. My apologies for the mix-up.

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

Markjames Helps Start February with a Hoot

February 1st found me scowling optimistically.

I was pondering how I had managed, since Christmas Eve, to only post ink-spotted tattoos only twice. Some days over the summer I easily eclipse that total on my lunch break.

But this is the heart of winter and, when the temperatures haven't been cooperating, things go slowly.

I was passing through the New Jersey Transit section of Penn Station and was about to head back to the office when I spotted Markjames.

He had tattoos on his hands, neck, and head and answered affirmatively whenI asked if he was a tattoo artist.

After taking a picture of his knuckles to share with the good folks at KnuckleTattoos.com, he offered up this wonderful neck piece:


He wanted a bird of some sort on his throat and collaborated with the artist Matt Rosenthal at Tattoo Nation in Wayne, New Jersey. Work from Tattoo Nation has appeared previously on the site here.

The owl as a symbol of wisdom is a popular tattoo motif, as is evident from the folks over at Owl Tattoos and their site dedicated solely to owl ink.

Markjames works out of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and will be tattooing at Triple VI Tattoos, beginning in April.

Thanks to Markjames for sharing his amazing tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Tattoorism: Dean's Samurai

Last Saturday, I posted some tattoos sent to us from Tammy in Texas. Her son Dean is also tattooed and, in a much bigger way. We'll let him explain:

My very first tattoo was done on my 18th birthday in 2005...[it is] a black dragon with kanji above it. About a year letter I had a koi fish done on my calf...both of these tattoos were just drawings I had found. In 2006 I started working on my rib piece and in 2007 I got together with John from A Different Drummer here in Wichita Falls (he is now at the Lawton, OK location), and the two of us collaborated on bringing the rib piece together. Once the drawing was to our satisfaction, it took a little over 2 months of 3-4 hour sittings weekly until the tattoo was complete. 16-plus hours and worth every minute!

In 2009 I decided it was time for an arm piece and went back to A Different Drummer and Tuan who was in Art Class with me in high school listened to what I wanted... and the arm piece came to life...this one was done in one day and took a little over 7 1/2 hours:

Both pieces are marvelously done.

Thanks to Dean for sharing his work with us here on Tattoosday! And a hearty thank you, as well, to Tammy, for being a cool mom, sharing her pride in her son's amazing body art!

Tattoorism: Tammy from Texas

Last summer, my wife Melanie met Tammy on the staff message board of their company's website, where she and other employees across the country can exchange ideas and feedback. As a leader for Weight Watchers, Melanie often comes across members and co-workers who have used tattoos for inspiration and to mark milestones.

When talking to Tammy, a leader in Texas, she learned that she was inked, as well. She sent her the link to Tattoosday, and Tammy sent us photos of a few of her eleven tattoos.

We'll let Tammy describe them for us:

"I got my very first [tattoo] when I was 21 in Virginia while getting a tattoo for my younger brother but I didn't get another for several years at which time I had my uncle in Arkansas place a rose under the butterfly I had done first. It is old and faded but holds so much meaning to me as my uncle passed away in his 40s about 5 years ago so I have him with me at all times...I then waited a couple more years and had a dolphin put on my left ankle as a reminder of a trip we had made to Florida. About a year later an apprentice in Shreveport added an ankle wave under the dolphin.

I then took a long break from tattoos and the rest have all been done in the last 5 years here in Wichita Falls, Texas, with the exception of the tribal butterfly [seen below]. I had it done in Lawton, Oklahoma, when my son was getting his rib piece finished up [a subject of a later post].

On my right thigh I have the New York Yankees logo:

On my left shoulder blade my husband and I got kanji symbols for Eternity for our 19th wedding anniversary. I have a tribal butterfly (the only tattoo I have ever picked off a wall) put on the top of my left foot and I love it:


When I hit 50 pounds gone, my oldest son paid for the star that everyone sees in pictures I post:

And a Pisspot with my husbands name [pictured left]. My husband just retired with 26 years in the service and was AMMO-I always wanted this but was never brave enough nor skinny enough for that so called "tramp stamp"... it actually looks awesome although this picture is a little blurry.



And of course when I hit Lifetime [when a Weight Watchers member reaches their goal and maintains it for six weeks], my rib piece came alive:

The photo above is the tattoo right after it was completed. Here is how it healed:



Most of Tammy's work was done at A Different Drummer Tattoo Studio in Wichita Falls.

Thanks to Tammy for sharing some of her photos with us here on Tattoosday!

A Lull

On January 20, I logged the following notes:

12:10 PM. Rather than wander in search of ink, I am trying something else. Staying put, here in front of the Amtrak Departures board in Penn Station, and seeing what walks to me.

I have only successfully met 2 of the inked nation in the last 27 days, and I'd like to resume posting more regularly.

I figure, sooner or later, this wintry drought will end.

12:20 A woman walks by with two interlinking gray hearts behind her right ear. I hesitate and decide not to approach her as she walks by. The tattoo didn't speak to me.

12:35 Still nothing. 5 minutes left in my little experiment.

12:36 Ed Hardy baseball cap.

Experiment Fail.

Daniel Returns with Another Machine Head Tattoo

Last month I featured a leg tattoo belonging to Daniel, who was visiting from Australia. At the time he alluded to the fact that he had a pretty cool chest piece, as well. Understandably, he wasn't about to whip his shirt off in Penn Station in December.

Anyway, Dan was kind enough to send me this picture. Although not the best quality from a photographic standpoint, it's clear enough to see what a great tattoo this is:


The inspiration from this art, also related to the band Machine Head, can be seen on their main web page here. Like his other tattoo featured previously, these pieces were done by Jonny at Abandoned Art in the Wanneroo section of Perth, Australia.

Daniel says they took two sittings and about five hours to complete.

Thanks to Daniel for following up with this photo here on Tattoosday!