Ivan Shares an Amazing David Sena Tattoo

This post is a straggler from 2011 and readers may wonder why it took so long to appear here on the site.

First, take a gander:

Pretty cool, isn't it?

Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of information on it, as I snapped this on the subway one evening last June, and I wasn't able to record a lot of details. This is what I do know: the host of this tattoo is Ivan, and the piece  took 2 sessions and approximately 15 hours to complete. The talented artist behind this is David Sena from North Star Tattoo in New York City.

The detail in the piece is wonderful:

And the scale of the tattoo as it wraps around the arm is impressive:

Unfortunately, there's not much more I can provide in terms of what went into the work, but the quality of the tattoo speaks for itself.

Thanks to Ivan for allowing me to snap these shots on the subway and consenting to sharing them here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Better Late Than Never

Back in April, I ran into John in Herald Square (34th and 6th) who had some pretty amazing work. He estimates he is about 25% covered in tattoos, which includes both arms, hands to shoulders, and both sides of his neck.

I stopped him and handed him a flier, but he was in a hurry, so we went our separate ways.

A month or so later, he e-mailed me a couple of photos:

John "loved Popeye growing up" and "love[s] the way [tattoos] look".

Not a lot more to tell, other than this was done by Rodrigo Melo, when he was at Rising Dragon Tattoos on 23rd Street (now on 14th). Rodrigo has since left Rising Dragon and co-founded North Star Tattoo in the East Village.

John is a photographer whose work can be seen here.

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

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

William's Museum of Art

I met William on the A train one Sunday morning. He was covered with tattoos. When I asked him how many he has, he replied that he had "never counted".

As many of my subjects can attest, when I meet people with a lot of ink, I ask them which one they'd like me to post on the site. William offered up a tattoo he has of Marilyn Monroe, as seen by Andy Warhol. But, as such a tattoo has appeared here before (see Nina's ink here), I asked for something else. He let me choose this piece, a tattoo of the work of Jean-Michel Basquiat:

A closer look:

This is based on Basquiat's artwork, which is most recognizable from its appearance on the cover of a Maya Angelou children's story.

William also let me take a picture of his name on his hand, which appeared in Ina Saltz's Body Type 2:

William credited the Basquiat tattoo with David Sena at North Star Tattoo in Manhattan. Work by David Sena appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

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

Two for Tattoosday: A Purple Lotus and the Fletcher House

In keeping with the spirit of duality, today's post is a two-for-Tattoosday Tuesday special.

Yesterday outside of Madison Square Garden, amid throngs of Iron Maiden and Dream Theater fans, I met two guys who just happened to be there. If you want to see a great Maiden tattoo, look back in the archives here.

I met Roman, who conceived and performs in "Evolution," showing Tuesday, July 13, and Tuesday, July 20, at the Magnet Theater (254 W. 29th Street between 7th and 8th Avenues). With him was Louie, who directs the show which is billed as "international and comedic true stories intertwining spirituality, sex, laws, identity, drug vusts, discomfort, fear and discovery from a spontaneous road trip down south".

Roman shared first, which seemed only fair, as it was his tattoo I noticed,creeping out from under his left sleeve:

He got this purple lotus because he likes the color purple (the actual color more than the movie of the same name). And the lotus is special because, in Buddhism, he understands the lotus to symbolize "freedom of attachment and desire".

This tattoo took 3 to 4 hours and was inked by David Sena when he was at Rising Dragon when they were at their 23rd Street location, although Sena is now at North Star Tattoo, the shop he co-founded in the East Village.

Louie's tattoo was much smaller, but it had a more elaborate story:

This small design, on the outer left ankle of, represents a house in Vancouver, British Columbia, in which he and seven different people lived at different times during their college days. The house and the memories they all shared together there are so important, that Louie and six other friends share the same tattoo.

The narrative took on a more elaborate spin, as Louie explained that his group of friends came up with a family name to represent the denizens of this house. They were/still are "the Fletchers," all residing in the Fletcher House. He likened them to an extended family like The Ramones, and they chose the name because it sounded tough.

So, as Louie a.k.a. "Rock" Fletcher tells it, his friend "Slim" Fletcher drew up the simple design for the house tattoo, and they had it inked at Addiction Ink NYC. Over the years, when one of the Fletcher family came to town, they went down to the shop to have the family member tattooed with the same design, not necessarily on the ankle, like Louie/Rock.

It should be noted that Kim Fletcher, who is a relatively new mom (congrats Kim), has avoided the tattoo, so the rest of her Fletcher family created a needlepoint design of the house for her, so that she has the tattoo in a different shape and form, needled, but not in her flesh. Yet. Now that it is written here, forever on the pages of Tattoosday, it is only a matter of time. Kim Fletcher, you destiny is calling.

Thanks again to both Roman and Louie for sharing their tattoos with us here on Tattoosday! Be sure to catch their play "Evolution" at the Magnet. If you show up at the box office and mention this post, you won't get any kind of discount, but I'm sure that they'll be thrilled to hear that you showed up as a result of their contribution here!