Rachel's Roses

I spotted these beautiful roses last week outside of Madison Square Garden, and had to find out more about them.I introduced myself to Rachel with my standard opening line, "Can I ask you about your tattoo?" Rachel admitted to me that the first impression she had was that I was going to try to sell her on a tattoo-removal product or service. She has not been the first person to think that.

The Virgin Mary Will Be Saved

I ran into Michael last week outside of Madison Square Garden. He had numerous tattoos up and down his arms, but he told me that he regretted most of them. He had been in the military, based in the San Diego area, and he said he hoped, someday, to have all of his ink removed."All of it?" I asked. He had a lot.He nodded, but then pointed to the one pictured above, inked on the underside his left

Vaj Shares His Interpretation of the Creative Process

The triptych above (ok, it's not technically a triptych, but I am calling it that as I divided it into three sections) belongs to Vaj (rhymes with Dodge), a filmmaker who I met across the street from Macy*s on 34th Street and 7th Avenue early last week.This piece was inked about 16 years ago in California by Jeff Rassier, who currently works out of Black Heart Tattoo in San Francisco.Vaj, who has

Josh Slices Up a Sturgeon on His Culinary Sleeve

At the beginning of the week, I ran into Josh, a chef at an upscale restaurant in Tribeca. He was actually showing his tattoos to a couple of people standing with him, so I felt in apropos to join in the conversation.Josh is hard at work on a culinary sleeve on his left arm, which includes a langoustine, a Red Junglefowl, and the tattoo above, a sturgeon, complete with slicing knife and roe.The

Dylan's Tattoo Dances on Her Ankle

Earlier this week, I met Dylan as she was crossing 34th Street by Macy*s Herald Square. She had the tattoo above her right ankle.She had been a competitive dancer as a teenager, and had this inked when she was eighteen in Santa Cruz, California.It was merely an expression of her love for the art of dance.Thanks to Dylan for sharing her tattoo here with us on Tattoosday!

News Link: Tattoos Gain Even More Visibility

Tattoos Gain Even More VisibilityBy GUY TREBAY Published: September 24, 2008 WHO in the world gets a neck tattoo? A couple of years back you could have narrowed the answer to gang members, prison inmates, members of the Russian mob and the rapper Lil Wayne. Then something occurred.Continued from the New York Times here

Christopher's Ink Bridges Generations

Last Friday I met Christopher on Penn Plaza. He estimated that he had tattoos numbering in the mid-fifties.Again, I am sometimes intimidated by folks with a lot of ink, and will usually not trouble them, but not this time.And, of all those tattoos, Christopher lifted up his shirt to reveal one of his most meaningful pieces:The cross with angel wings behind it is graced by a banner that reads "In

Buddy's Advice about Neck Tattoos

Last Friday was a banner day for inkspotting. By day's end, I had four great Tattoosday stories to tell. This is the third of the four, although it was the first encounter of the day. It certainly set the tone.I was walking east on 34th Street when I spotted a well-inked guy walking in my direction. I am sometimes less-inclined to talk to people with a TON of tattoos, but I stopped him anyway and

First Day of Autumn Tattoo Blues

To celebrate the end of summer (farewell, tattoos aplenty!) and welcome the beginning of fall (come out, come out, wherever you are!), I am posting this appropriate tattoo celebrating the new season.I was fortunate enough to meet Brian on Friday, right in front of Borders on Penn Plaza.As the last weekend of summer was upon us, it seemed bittersweet to find his tattoo above. Brian told me that it

A Series of Nautical Stars Guide Me to an Amazing Tattoo

I've said it before and I'll say it again: sometimes asking about a common tattoo reaps great visual rewards.Carrie is a prime example. I spotted her nautical stars gracing her right arm near 39th Street and Broadway and I asked her about them. Had she only had one, I may have passed her by, but she had five running up the length of her inner arm, and I had to ask.Well, like this tattoo, I knew

Sal Shares His Illusion-ary Tattoo

On Tuesday I was in Brooklyn Heights, walking toward Cadman Plaza on Clark Street. As I passed a local video store, Mr. Video III, I spotted some ink on one of the employees and decided to head in and introduce myself.Sal has seven tattoos, but he chose to share the one above, from his left bicep.This is, of course, recognizable to anyone who is a rock fan, as the artwork gracing the cover of the

Melissa's Biblical Footnote

Strange as it may seem to have back-to-back foot posts, this may be a trend as the weather cools and sleeves grow longer.I interrupted a conversation Melissa was having with someone else in front of Borders on Penn Plaza to ask her about her inked right foot.The words are based on a passage from the Bible, from the Book of Matthew, Chapter 22, Verse 37, "You shall love the Lord your God with all

Jackie Wears Words of Wisdom

Last week I had just left the house when a woman passed me on the street. She had the words "live & learn" tattooed on her left right foot. I caught up to her and introduced myself. Jackie had just moved into the building on the corner two days earlier, and I wished her a Tattoosday welcome to the neighborhood.She explained her tattoo by acknowledging that, like most people, she makes mistakes in

A Portrait of Marilyn

Tom Doherty gave me the best answer I have heard to the question "How many tattoos do you have?"He looked me in the eye and said, matter-of-factly, "Not enough."Tom has a ton of ink, and is one of the artists in residence at Another Tattoo Shop in Bound Brook, New Jersey.It's always like winning the lottery when I chance upon a tattoo artist, because they seem to have a greater appreciation for

A Grandmother's Vision, Inked in China

Last winter, the cold weather drove me inside, into the nearby Manhattan Mall food court, when I had time at lunch to go inkspotting. The food court has since closed and the mall is undergoing a massive J.C.Pennification, rendering it near useless for people-watching. I bring this up in thewaning days of summer, as last week I had some lunch time to spare and it was raining.So I plodded off into

A Spider from Across the Sea

Last week outside of Penn Station, I spotted this not-so-itsy-bitsy spider crawling across the left side of Alexandra's back.Turns out the spider, along with Alexandra, were visiting New York from Switzerland. Alexandra had limited English, but did impart to me that she "had always wanted something like that" as a tattoo, and that she doesn't regret it one bit.The tattoo artist was named Stephan,

Introducing Nina's Ink, Part 1

based on:Last Saturday I posted an amazing tattoo the day after I spotted it and alluded to some posts that take longer than others. This is one of those examples.I met Nina about a minute after meeting Mike and spotted the tattoo above. It's a tiny piece based on the graffiti art of one of my favorite artists, Keith Haring.I asked Nina about it and she went on to catalog all eleven of her

Rob's Rite of Passage

I braved a trip to Staples on Sunday, contrary to my notion of self-preservation. September in Staples is one of the outer circles of Hell, at least in my neighborhood, where it seems everyone with children goes for their school supplies. Everyone.But I digress. On a mission for a printer cartridge, I spotted Rob, who is covered moderately by tattoos. I approached him with a flier, which he was

Paul's 9/11 Memorial

Earlier this month, I mentioned meeting Paul here, on the bike path that runs along the southern tip of Brooklyn.I saved the other tattoo photo I took of Paul's work for today, the seventh anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.What I didn't mention in the previous post is that Paul is a federal agent who grew up in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.From his vantage point there, he watched the World Trade Center

A Patriotic Tattoo for Patriot Day

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

Repost for Patriot Day: Mike's Tribal 9/11 Tribute

The following excerpt predates the official launch of Tattoosday as a stand-alone blog. I think it's fitting to revisit this tattoo that I spotted on September 4, 2007:I made another pass and headed back home. Once I made my way to the Shore Road promenade, where I do the majority of my cycling. I have several spots along the several-mile route from which I can head home. I decided to go down to

Mercedes Honors Family Members with her Ink

Mercedes doesn't remember the specific shops where she got her ink, but each piece honors members of her family, both living and gone.Mercedes is a make-up artist that has very close ties to her family, and these relationships have manifested themselves on her tattoos.The piece I first noticed, on her right arm, was this one:This is actually comprised of two parts, the rose and the ankh. The rose

Tattoosday Celebrates Its First Bloggiversary!

I know, I know. You may recall a post from July 31 of this very nature. A year of tattoo blogging in New York City. But this is slightly different.A year ago today, as I was celebrating BillyBlog’s 2nd year in the ether, I launched Tattoosday as a separate blog, apart from the weekly Tuesday post on its parent site. The rest, as they say, is history. Since then, Tattoosday has grown in

Mike Remembers Mom with a Traditional Tattoo

I met Mike in the Penn Plaza area and asked him, among his countless tattoos, which had the most meaning for him. I may have mentioned before that asking a multi-tattooed individual that is like asking a parent to choose his favorite among his multiple children. Mike shared this feeling,but ultimately chose to offer up the piece above.It's a traditional mom tattoo that he had to honor her memory

James and His Tree of Life

I spotted this Tree of Life tattoo on Court Street in downtown Brooklyn and started talking to James about it.It was inked by an ex-girlfriend of his about ten years ago.The tattoo consists of the tree of life, under which sits Buddha (or The Acorn Man) who is holding a chalice. James pointed out that he is surrounded by a serpent, although it's hard to tell in the piece.Below it is a rune of

Michelle's Amazing Owl Tattoo Honors Her Dad

I follow a method to creating content for this blog and I generally post ink in the chronological order that I see it. Sometimes a post may take longer because it requires more research. Other times, a tattoo is so good, it deserves to be seen right away. The tattoo above is one of those that demanded it be posted immediately. It helped that the story behind it is short and sweet.I had left the

A Butterfly Journeys with Gillian

I spotted this absolutely beautiful butterfly on the back of Gillian at a street fair in Manhattan last Saturday.Gillian and her sister got the same butterfly together just before she left for college and before her sister headed off on a trip to Europe.The butterfly can represent numerous things. In Gillian's case, it not only represents a bond with her sister, but it also is a symbol for a

A Butterfly Koi Rising on the Arm of Belquis

Had I not forgotten to get my daughter Shayna her copy of Judy Blume's Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, I wouldn't have wandered into the Court Street Barnes & Noble in Brooklyn on Labor Day and spotted this awesome butterfly koi above.Belquis, who has five tattoos, explained that this tattoo represents an interpretation of the koi fish mythology, where the koi is rising out of the water, about

Verrazano Redux

Just the other day, I posted a cool graffiti-style tattoo of the Verrazano-Narrows bridge, which connects Brooklyn to Staten Island.While on the bike on Sunday, I spotted another amazing bridge tattoo. How amazing? Another Tattoosday first: I pulled up along side the owner of the piece while he was riding his bike and he pulled over to tell me about it.This tattoo, which is a colorful depiction

Michael's Taurus Tattoo

I ran into Michael at Borders in Penn Plaza. He has five tattoos, including a large koi sleeve on his right arm. He offered up the bull tattoo above on his left arm.The piece was inked at Mike's Tattoo in Peterborough, Ontario, north of the border in Canada.Michael is a Taurus, and this bull tattoo represents the astrological sign in the Zodiac. I have featured a Taurus tattoo before in the blog

Alexa's Blue Bird Honors Her Grandfather's Memory

I met Alexa on the southeast corner of 34th Street and 7th Avenue last Tuesday and may have saved her from a little bit of parental grief.I asked her about the sparrow below her neck and she was happy to tell me about it, especially since I reminded her about it. She was waiting to meet her father, who doesn't know she's inked, and she covered up after I snapped the picture.Alexa got this tattoo