Gina Shares Two Works of Art by Mark Ryden

I wanted to start off the new week after the holiday by showing off some amazing tattoos that I was fortunate enough to encounter last week.

I met Gina in Penn Station and she offered up these beauties, which are tattooed in her ditches (inside of her elbows), in what many consider to be one of the more painful places to be inked:

There are two artists behind these tattoos. First is the painter Mark Ryden, upon whose work these tattoos were based. Next is the master craftsman Tim Kern, from Tribulation Tattoo, whose work appeared last on Tattoosday here.

No big story, just incredible body art.

Thanks to Gina for sharing these incredible tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Benjamin's Amazing Viking-Geisha Sleeve by Tim Kern

Please join me as I extend a metaphor.

I approach inkblogging as if I were one of those guys that goes out on the beach with a metal detector.

You find a lot of interesting stuff and, every once in a while, you find treasure.

Earlier this month, I saw a man in front of Madison Square Garden walking south. I was headed in the opposite direction and, despite my general reluctance to post sleeves here (I wonder if I can even do them justice), I stopped and asked him to show me the amazing work on his right arm.

I should also preface this by acknowledging how awesome it is to randomly find work by a tattoo artist who is at the top of his game, and is a recognized talent in the tattoo community.

Benjamin, the guy I stopped, was visiting New York from Denmark to see his artist, Tim Kern at Tribulation Tattoo. He was in town to begin work on a new sleeve. Benjamin happily shared his first sleeve:


Benjamin summarized the theme of his arm by stating that life is about choices. The two extrmes are, you can take a life, as represented by the Viking warrior at the top of the shoulder:


This is juxtaposed by the geisha who is taking her own life through ritual suicide:


The detail of the blood-spattered hand holding the seppuku blade is fascinating in its stark grisliness:


The sleeve also includes stunning waterfall and pagoda elements on the inside of the arm:


I especially appreciate the beauty and shading of the pagoda:


The color and artistry of this entire sleeve are astonishing and we are honored that Benjamin consented to contributing this work to Tattoosday.

We thank him and the artist Tim Kern for their work!