Jubail Celebrates the Midnight Mile

I met Jubail on the corner of 34th and 6th Avenue, and he shared this awesome tattoo:"Midnight Mile" is a song by Bouncing Souls, and it reminds him of coming home to New York City.Jubail, who has "nine or ten" tattoos, was a student at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia.He was about to earn his commission as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army when I spoke with him, and he knows he can

Where The Wild Thing Tattoo Is

The day after I met one Jared, I met another, out in front of Madison Square Garden.With a tattoo like this:how could I not stop him?As one would imagine, Jared loves the book, Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.The tattoo displays, on Jared's right forearm, one of the "Wild Things" that is in Max's imagination.Jared, who was in town visiting from Boston, has ten tattoos. He had been

Jared Shares His Vegan Tattoo

I met Jared while he was waiting for a train in Penn Station.After the Manhattan Mall food court closed last summer, I discovered this wide expanse of Penn Station (especially the Amtrak area) was great for inkspotting when the weather made normal traipsing about unappealing.Jared's ink runs down the length of his arm, from the top of his right bicep, down to the inner part of his forearm.As a

Tattoosday Boxcars: A Leonine Tattoo and Wearing One's Heart on One's Sleeve

I met Jeff and Jeanie in Penn Station as they were about to board an Amtrak train out of the city.I've been trying to come up with clever terms for different inkspotting phenomenon, basically creating my own lexicon.I'll call Jeff and Jeanie "boxcars". Meaning, I approached the two of them and gambled, asking them both to participate, and they came through. Like rolling two sixes on the dice (

Gina's Mayan Design

Earlier this month, I met Gina in Manhattan at the corner of 31st Street and 7th Avenue and I asked her about these tattoos:The main element is a the piece she had inked in January 2007, on a trip to Mexico.She went on a cruise to Mexico with her mother. While exploring some Mayan ruins, she made a rubbing of the design above, which bears some relationship to Xul, a canine god in the Mayan

Mark's Gypsy Tattoo Pays Tribute to the Female Singer-Songwriter

I have mentioned before that I tend to shy away from approaching subway commuters about their tattoos.However, like most of my self-imposed guidelines, I always make exceptions for work that is transcendent. That is, if the tattoos are supremely blogworthy, I will solicit, for the sake of the reader, people on the subway. One such case presented itself last week on the Brooklyn-bound N train.I

Leesa's Memorial Tattoos

There are certain signs I look for when I am scanning a crowd for tattoos. Colored hair and/or facial piercings are good, but not always reliable, indicators that someone may be inked. A guitar case, you would think, also favors the theory that its possessor has tattoos, but it's not always the reality.So when I spotted a tall woman walking out of Penn Station carrying what appeared to be a

Sarah Shoulders Her Slavic Heritage

A couple of weeks ago, I had a very productive Wednesday, speaking to five different people about their tattoos.Sarah is the last of those five that I an posting, and was my favorite of the group that day.This tattoo was her sixth (she has thirteen or fourteen) and is an homage to her Slavic heritage.The piece is based on the poster for a 1921 art exposition put on by the Czech Art Nouveau

My Third Tattoo: A Hand Steeped in Faith

Last June, I wandered into a 711 and met a tattoo artist named Pete, who works under the moniker Sweetpea. Like most artists, he himself has amazing work. However, I was camera-less that day, so I gave him a flier and we went our separate ways.Later that week he e-mailed me and we scheduled to meet and talk about tattoos. We hit it off nicely and, in one of the perks of writing Tattoosday, I

Jake's Redd Foxx Tattoo Helps Us Celebrate Father's Day!

Last week, I posted about a trio of friends that had recently moved from San Francisco to New York, all of them inked.Jake was the first of the three to share his tattoo with us, and it is such a good piece, I saved it for a special occasion, Father's Day:This is, of course, a portrait of the great comedian Redd Foxx. People of my generation (X) remember him as the bristling curmudgeon in the

Ashley's Trio of Tattoos

I've always said that Tattoosday is 50% about the tattoos and 50% about finding them. But once in a while, tattoos just present themselves and I can't contain myself.Ashley is a case in point. She was at the laundromat the same time as I was, and she had two small tattoos inked on her feet. Out on the street, I likely would have let her walk by without stopping her, but there, as we stood around

Amy's Variation on a Sailor Jerry Classic

I met Amy one day a few weeks back, outside of Madison Square Garden.She estimates she has spent about 36 hours being tattooed, and that her body is "a work in progress".She offered up this tattoo on her left arm, which is a modified version of a classic Sailor Jerry design:The original concept is your basic naval tattoo design, with the "Stewed, Screwed, and Tattooed" slogan:This piece has been

A German Gypsy in New York City

I met Dominic a couple of weeks ago out in front of Madison Square Garden in Penn Plaza.He was visiting from Cologne, Germany, and was displaying an arm with tattoos:Dominic has seven tattoos, most of which are based on traditional flash art.We looked specifically at his gypsy tattoo, which Dominic says is especially poignant:Why is this piece so meaningful? Dominic says his family once was very

Three Tattoos from Mary: Marilyn Monroe and Robert Frost, Fire and Ice

What jumped out at me when I saw Mary in front of Penn Station, on a drizzly late afternoon during Rush Hour, was this amazing tattoo on her left bicep:Marilyn Monroe tattoos are not incredibly unusual (click here to see those that have appeared on this site previously), but this one strays from the glamorous and dabbles in the tragic.What we see is the back of her head, passed out on a make-up

Two for Tattoosday: Some Traditional Work Imported from California

Last week I spotted a young tattooed woman chatting with a friend outside of the Chelsea Whole Foods store. I hesitated because I was running late, but doubled back across the street and introduced myself. As it turned out, Krista and her two friends, Ryan and Jake, had recently moved from San Francisco to New York. All of them had tattoos.Her friend Jake shared his first, but I am deferring that

Matt Wears His Heart (of Bacon) on His Sleeve

I first met Matt a year or so ago when he and his wife Allison opened the gourmet grocery Robicelli's in our neighborhood of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn (there's more on Robicelli's here).It was only recently, however, when I popped in to pick up some of their incredible gourmet cupcakes (the "Irish Car Bomb" is my favorite), when I spotted this amazing tattoo on the inside of his left forearm:So it

Mike's Tribute to His Thai Heritage

There are generally two kinds of Tattoosday subjects (and by subjects I mean people):Those that let me take a picture or two and I never hear from them again, and those that send me nice messages and a correspondence more or less develops.Last weekend I met a guy named Mike at the laundromat (which is turning out to be quite a lucky locale for inkspotting) and he falls in the latter category.Not

A Dozen (or So) of Ed's Sixty-Eight (Approximately) Tattoos

Every neighborhood has at least one or two of them: old-timers who have retired from the workforce and can now shed their suits and proudly display what they have accumulated over a lifetime: their vast tapestry of ink.Ed lives in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn (my neighborhood) and worked for a bank for forty years. Even today, when the stigma of tattoos is dissipating with the changing times, Corporate

John's Demon Sleeve

Under normal circumstances, I may not have stopped John, as I tend to not feature full sleeves here on Tattoosday. However, last Wednesday I was on a roll, and he gladly modeled his right arm for me:Here's a little better look at that demonic face that dominated the bicep:John's ink, which he estimates covers 25% of his body, has no specific meanings, the artwork is just a form of expression.

Tattoos in the News - Friday Jones Fifth Avenue

Sara from W Magazine just e-mailed me about a couture studio in New York's Flatiron District.She writes:"...Thought you might be interested in our article on Friday Jones Fifth Avenue, the "couture" tattoo saloon located inside the Flatiron District's Senses NY Saloon & Spa. Classically-trained tattoo artist and owner Friday Jones has catered to a clientele of Hollywood stars and socialites

Audrey's Wrist Tattoos Keep Her Grounded

Last week I had a wonderful Wednesday of inkspotting, photographing four tattoos at lunch, and those of a fifth volunteer after work.The run started with Audrey, whose tattooed wrist caught my eye in the plaza in front of Borders.As it turns out, Audrey has both wrists done:Her left wrist bears the slogan "Be Present" and the right wrist hosts a series of Roman numerals.The "III.XX.MMVIII" refers

Jason's Lucky Devil

I spotted Jason walking among the crowds during the annual Bay Ridge Fifth Avenue Festival.He had sweet tattoos on his forearms but he chose to share one, near and dear to his heart. His wife chimed in that it was her favorite as well.Where once there was a "bad tribal/skeletal dragon," there is now this phenomenal new tattoo on his left bicep:This was, he told me, his groom's gift, a tattoo

Brian's Amazing Angelic Ink

On Saturday, I was at the park, playing ball with my daughter, and I noticed a guy off in the distance with some dark ink on his upper arm. When we were ready to leave, I ambled on over to him.What I initially spotted was just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. Brian was more than generous in rolling up his sleeves and sharing his astonishing work. He showed me both biceps and his back piece

Vince and a Word from John Keats

I'm a sucker for words.Scrabble, crossword puzzles and, when I find them, words inscribed in flesh.I recently spotted Vince, walking down 32nd Street in Manhattan. I caught up with him after he crossed Broadway, heading east.He has eight tattoos, but I snapped a picture of this one:And why does he have the word Beauty inked on the outside of his right forearm?Vince is an artist and illustrator (

Pepper's Apprentice

It was Rush Hour in Penn Station when I spotted a fairly large tattoo on the right ankle of a woman walking, as it turned out, to the same train platform as me.I was able to grab a few words and a photo from Pepper as we waited for the downtown train:This one-color tattoo, one would imagine, for its size, should have significant meaning (or so I thought), but that is far from the truth.Often,

Danielle's Stars and Signs Forever

Despite great inkspotting weather earlier this week, I found myself walking in Chelsea at lunch, marveling at the absence of tattoos.I like to remind myself from time to time that Tattoosday is 70% tattoos and 30% about finding them.So, I had walked down to one of our vendor's offices at lunch (13 blocks away) to get some forms we needed. I was on the elevator heading back downstairs when I

Alex's East Indian Tribal Mask

What's fascinating about approaching two inked people talking on a subway platform and asking them if either would like to share a tattoo, is that you never know what you'll get (if anything).On Saturday, May 23, I found myself in such a situation, and Alex, one of the two people chatting on the 59th Street subway platform in Brooklyn, offered up this, one of his sixteen (16) tattoos:This piece,

Tattoo Highway Contest #2

Win Prizes from the New A&E Real Life Series TATTOO HIGHWAY, THIRD AND FOURTH EPISODES AIRING WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3 AT 10/9C.Tattoo Highway follows 15-year tattoo veteran and star of former A&E hit “Inked,” Thomas Pendelton as he takes his tattoo parlor on the road to cities like Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Salt Lake City to transform personal stories into living art. Pendelton and his

Tattoorism: Josh Pays Tribute to the Verrazano Bridge

Last Friday I received a very special surprise via e-mail from a guy named Josh:The following explanation accompanied the photo:"I recently discovered your blog's postings about various Verrazano Bridge tattoos you've seen [here and here] ... They both looked pretty awesome. I'm also a big enough fan of the bridge to get it inked on my skin ... Although mine is a slightly different style than

Alice and the Cheshire Cat in Manhattan

At one of the busiest intersections in Manhattan (34th and 7th), I recently met Kelsey, who offered up this still-fresh tattoo:This is a scene from Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, when Alice meets the Cheshire Cat for the second time.The tattoo is based on this illustration:This is her most recently tattooed piece. The inspiration behind it is that this was one of her favorite

Michaela's Tattoo Illuminates a Life

Yesterday at a street fair in my neighborhood (always prime ink-spotting locals), I saw this beautiful tattoo on the upper right section of Michaela's back:When I asked her what the meaning of the tattoo was, she asked me "The real story?""Absolutely," I replied.So she told me that years ago, she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and she had this tattooed to remind her that there are two sides