Collin's Gypsy Snake and Time

I met Collin back in August in the middle of Broadway, between 35th and 35th Streets, sitting at one of those tables that New York City had installed in the middle of the street.

He had a lot of ink, and chose to share this section of his upper left arm:

This piece, a snake with a gypsy head, circling an alarm clock, was done by Grez at Kings Avenue Tattoo in Manhattan on the Bowery. We promoted the shop opening back in May here.

Collin explained the elements of this piece that curves around the arm:

"The clock represents when I was born ... the candle's my life, burning, it's the time I have left ... gypsies are usually known to be good luck ...  the snake is for the fucked up parts of my life and the gypsy head is for the good parts of my life, you know, the future."

Collin explained that Grez initially was concerned about all of these elements combined into one piece. "At first he [Grez] thought it was going to be too much," Collin told me, "but it worked out and I'm happy with it."

The clock is particularly remarkable:

Grez's work has appeared on Tattoosday before, here and here. He's a great talent, and I'm always happy to stumble upon his work.

Thanks to Colin for sharing this great tattoo 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.

Adrian's Ink Celebrates His Heritage

I met Adrian last month on a fluke - I was on the D train headed to Brooklyn going to a dentist's appointment, having left work early.

I approached him about his ink and we had a really great discussion about tattoos and art.

Adrian is a wonderful artist and his work can be seen here at Viajero Art (dot) com. Take a look at this exhibit, a mixed media piece that just looks amazing.

He shared two of his tattoos with me. First, this piece:

This tattoo, on the inside of Adrian's right arm, is a Puerto Rican mask. Adrian's family hails from the small town of Loíza, in northeastern Puerto Rico. In the festival of St. James, the Apostle, people wear traditional masks like these as part of the celebration. Adrian explained that St. James was known, among many things, for helping the Spanish fight back invading Moors. One of the functions of the masks, he explained, was to  scare people into going back to church, where the masks represented the terrifying Moors.

Adrian also shared this piece from his right forearm:

This tattoo, he told me, represents the women in his life. The fact that she is depicted as a gypsy is for good luck. The detail in this tattoo is astonishing:

He told me that the artist, the talented Marcus Kuhn, used the image from a popular brand of jalapeno peppers, La Morena, as a model for the woman in the tattoo. You can see the resemblance:

Marcus Kuhn tattoos out of Red Star Irons when visiting New York.

Thanks to Adrian for sharing his amazing tattoos with us here on Tattoosday! I look forward to seeing more of his art in the future!

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.

Danielle's Beautiful Gypsy Tattoo

Well, we're back after a month-long hiatus of regular inkspotting while we celebrated National Poetry Month with the Tattooed Poets Project. It was actually on my way back from interviewing one of our poets, Alicia Adams, in Union Square, when I ran into a woman on the uptown subway platform who had some incredible tattoos.

We discussed her ink for a couple of stops and, when we got off the train, I snapped this phenomenal tattoo:

Oh, and let me tell you, dear readers, how tough it was to hold on to this picture through the entire month of April. But, as they say, good things come to those who wait.

This incredible piece was inked by Regino Gonzales at Invisible NYC. Danielle recalls, "I wish I had some amazing story about  the tattoo we picked. When I was at InvisibleNYC to talk with another artist, I fell in love with the gypsy woman that Regino designed. Then I made my appointment with him!"

I have been fortunate to come across Regino's work in the streets, by chance, three times before. You can read about those encounters, and see the tattoos, here.

Thanks to Danielle for sharing her awesome tattoo 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.

Jason's Pennsylvania Devils

I ran into Jason on the West 4th Street platform back in July. He was on his way to Smith Street Tattoo, to accompany a friend who was getting tattooed by Bert Krak.

I asked him if he wouldn't mind sharing some of his work, and he gladly complied.

I snapped some photos and chatted with him all the way to Brooklyn. Check them out:

Why a devil on his leg? Jason said he was considering putting something on his leg that he was afraid to place there. When he asked himself if he should really do that, he reasoned, just by asking himself that, meant he should do it. He also gave some advice that I thought was very valuable.

Jason said that when he is looking to get tattooed, and isn't sure what he wants, he'll go to an artist and ask them what they're currently drawing. Most artists in the shop, when they're not tattooing, are either drawing, sketching, painting, or creating something. Jason reasons that if you ask for what the artist is currently doing, he or she will be that much more passionate about the work.

This logic is behind several of Jason's tattoos.

The work above was created on Jason by Ryan Westvall at Old Soul Tattoo in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania.

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

Max's Spin on a Traditional Gypsy Tattoo

I was passing through Penn Station late yesterday when I spotted Max, who offered up this fascinating tattoo:


At first glance it looks like the traditional gypsy piece, but if you look closely at the back of the gypsy's head, you can see Max added an element that extended the design up and around his right arm:



That is a deer skull that the gypsy woman is wearing, complete with a set of antlers.

When I asked Max about this he acknowledged that the tattoo, in concept, had started as just the old-style gypsy profile but, growing up in Maryland, he said that there were deer everywhere around his home, and that this was a nod to his former home state.

Perhaps reading too much into it, I asked him if he was taking a symbol of home and tying it to the nomadic image of the gypsy to illustrate a dichotomy between the two contrasting lifestyles. He nodded and said he hadn't thought of it in those terms before, but it seemed to make a little sense if you looked at it like that.

This is one of nine tattoos Max has. The piece in question was designed by Paul Bosch at Saved Tattoo in Brooklyn. Max came to Paul with the concept and left it to the artist to design the tattoo. Work from Saved has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Thanks to Max for sharing this fascinating spin on the traditional gypsy tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Gypsy Roses and a Tombstone

Last month, I ran outside toward the end of the day to throw a letter in the mailbox at the corner of 31st and 7th, near Penn Station.

Always prepared, I had a flier and my camera with me, just in case, and I spotted a woman ahead of me on the sidewalk with an interesting-looking tattoo on the back of her right arm.

After dropping my letter in the box, I ran up and introduced myself. She said her name was Jeanette and she showed me this chest piece which truly took my breath away:


I was however, without a pen, so she lent me hers. Fortunately, she later e-mailed me a fuller explanation of her work, reiterating what she told me in the street:

My gypsies on my chest are a representation of my open, free spirited soul, my wandering spiritual ways and my childhood. As a child, my mom moved my 4 sisters and I from place to place; never truly getting settled but gaining amazing friendships and experiences on the way.


These gypsies were created and drawn by Mo Coppoletta a tattoo artist originally from Italy but now residing in London.


He owns and operates The Family Business...He is a feisty but charming fellow who I bonded with immediately after meeting. You can view more of his work and his shop at www.thefailybusinesstattoo.com.

I also snapped a photo of the original tattoo I had spotted on her right arm:

She explained:

This tattoo is very sentimental...[in memory of] my mother who passed away at the young age of 50 in May of 2003. The words inscribed on the tombstone..."It's Gettin Chistled on yer tombstone" are from one of my favorite films, The Devil's Rejects. These words represent the things you do in life...each moment...each day you are engraving a memory for which people will remember you by, and this is how my mother lived. Always giving a hand and offering her last dollar from her pocket to a stranger. This tattoo is not completed yet, I intend to have the front of the tombstone added soon which will have my mother's name, date of birth and death and the words "Loving Mother and Loving Soul" in bold ink. This tattoo artist is Ezra [McCabe] from Sacramento, CA owner and operator of Timeless Tattoo and his work is truly timeless and remarkable. They are located at 912 J St Sacramento, CA and can be reached at (916) 443-6441.

A little more about Jeanette:

"I am a freelance fashion designer for my own clothing line "Altered Betty's," a line of clothing that comes straight from my heart. All one of a kind pieces made from all recycled fabrics and notions. What once was very special to one could be a delightful surprise for another. I recently moved to New York from California, I am still adjusting but I am beginning to really love and appreciate this beautiful city. "

It was an unexpected treat to meet Jeanette and I thank her for sharing her amazing gypsy rose tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Mason's Gypsy, with a New Orleans Twist

I met Mason at the 7th Avenue Street Fair in Park Slope on Father's Day.

He has "twenty or so," tattoos, mostly accumulated from different artists from different places he has visited.

His offering for Tattoosday, however, was inked here in New York. It is a take on the traditional gypsy tattoo which I have been seeing a lot of lately:

Mason went to Kings Avenue Tattoo in Massepequa, Long Island, with a general idea for this piece, which is something he wanted to get for a while.

The artist, Grez, added a Fleur-de-Lis to the piece, per Mason's request, as a nod to the city of New Orleans where he grew up.

Thanks to Mason for sharing this fantastic tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

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 approached Mark Turrigiano as the N emerged from the subterranean underworld and climbed the Manhattan Bridge. He has phenomenal sleeves, intricate work that wraps and surrounds the limbs.

His right arm, with an Asian-inspired theme, is mostly attributed to Elio Espana at Fly Rite Tattoo Studio (whose work has been seen previously here). His left arm hosts an incredibly huge and colorful octopus, which was inked by Lou at Third Eye Tattoo (whose work has appeared on Tattoosday here).

Because of the scale of those sleeves, we opted to go with one of his newer pieces, a gypsy on the back of his left calf:


This piece, designed and inked by Craig Rodriguez at Hand of Glory Tattoo Studio in Brooklyn, is seen by Mark as "a good way to commemorate [his] work with female singer-songwriters".

I like this piece a lot because it contains a lot of traditional gypsy elements, but is atypical in its presentation. It seems much larger with greater detail than the traditional gypsy profile tattoos that are much more common. The vividness of the colors also helps the tattoo pop, and you can almost feel the texture of her scarf.

Mark says the piece was completed in about four hours over two sessions. He estimates that his body is about 30% covered in ink.

Feel free to check out Mark's website here.

Thanks to Mark for sharing this great gypsy tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

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 well-off ("blue-blooded"), but they lost their fortune. As a result, he feels a certain kinship to the tattoo.

The tattoo was created by Carlos at Fine Line Tattooing in Düsseldorf, Germany.

Thanks to Dominic for sharing his gypsy with us here on Tattoosday!

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 one to a later, more appropriate date (hint: check back on Father's Day).

After seeing Jake's tattoo, I turned to Krista and Ryan. "Who's next?" I asked hopefully.
Fortunately, I didn't get the "Wasn't the one tattoo enough?" attitude.

Krista deferred to Ryan and he offered, with his friend's assistance, this amazing piece:


I was surprised, to be honest, to see such a huge, traditional sailor tattoo on a tall young man with a finely-waxed handlebar mustache, so I had to ask what was behind this amazing piece.

He had a simple answer, "I'm American." And the logic computes on different levels. The eagle is our national bird, and the art of tattoo, which was discovered by British sailors on the indigenous populations of the South Pacific, didn't really explode in popularity until American servicemen started bringing their body art home from overseas.

There is something purely American in the naval tattoos that have embedded themselves in our cultural psyches and, although other cultures may argue the uniqueness of such art to U.S. citizens, that is the perception that has been re-enforced by our society.

This amazing tattoo was completed in four four-hour sessions by Zach Johnson at Idle Hands Tattoo Studio in San Francisco. Mr. Johnson is no longer listed on staff there but, according to his MySpace page, he occasionally pops back in from time to time.

Chest tattoos are notoriously painful and Ryan concurred: the pain, he said, especially over the diaphragm, was the worst he's ever felt ("worse than that from accidents" he has been in, he insisted). And he has seven tattoos, to boot, so he is no novice.

I turned to Krista, inquiring, and smiled when it was clear she was contributing as well. I believe it was the first time I got three people together to participate, with three very different tattoos.

She offered up this unique tattoo, also by Zack Johnson:



Krista explained that Zack had drawn up a whole series of flapper-esque, gypsy-style profiles, putting his personal spin on each one. This one has a feline appearance and, as a lover of cats, she took a shine to the design. The tattoo, as a result, has a traditional feel, but with a modified spin that makes it more unique. I particularly like the collar with the bell attached to it:


Thanks to Krista and Ryan for sharing their tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Lacey's Traditional Gypsy Tattoo

I will never hesitate to ask someone about traditional tattoos. There's something classic about the imagery that just intrigues me.

Last week I ran into Lacey as our paths crossed on Seventh Avenue. It was a gloomy, overcast day, and I spotted a flash of vibrant color cutting through the streets. She shared this lovely gypsy:


This tattoo in particular, Lacey told me, doesn't necessarily signify anything other than an appreciation of the design. She did acknowledge that gypsies were mysterious and, as she put it, "a little naughty". This and the fact that there is a familial resemblance (she has several sisters), made this an appealing choice to sport on her inner left forearm.

The tattoo was inked at Ron and Dave's Tattooing on Staten Island by the artist Chris Lopez.

Thanks to Lacey for sharing her tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

The Tattooed Poets Project: Gina Myers and Her Colorful Gypsy

Today's Tattooed Poet is Gina Myers, who offered up this beautiful traditional gypsy piece:


Gina provided me the following commentary to accompany the tattoo:

"Sharing tattoos in this public forum is a little strange for me. I used to keep my tattoos covered when visiting family or working, and have only recently felt comfortable in the office at my current job letting them show. I tell my friends when I am going to get something new done, and I show them pictures afterward. However, I rarely, if ever, talk about the reason behind the tattoos.

I get tattoos for very personal reasons and the tattoos are for me, not for others. Strangers in public will often ask me about my tattoos or even go as far as touching my arm, moving my hair, or pulling up my shirt sleeve to see my work. What shocks me is that they often do not see anything wrong with their behavior. How often do people walk up behind strangers and rub their arms or ask them intensely personal questions? Someone once actually lifted my friend's skirt to see the tattoo on her thigh that stuck out some below her hemline. It would seem to go
without saying that what is beneath her skirt is not public. A tattoo is not public.

Sometimes when people ask me what a particular tattoo means, I ask them what they think it means. Usually people are able to put together a string of adjectives to which I respond, "That sounds pretty good to me."

I got this tattoo in September 2007 by Chad Koeplinger at Tattoo Paradise in Washington, DC. Chad is from my hometown of Saginaw, Michigan, and we grew up with the same people. I find this important. I kind of believe people who have a lot of tattoos are damaged in some way, and Chad, being from Saginaw, kind of gets my damage with no explanation. In 2006, I got a piece by Chad on the outside of my right arm, a fully-rigged ship, and then this piece, a gypsy, is on the inside of the same arm. To me, the pieces are related. They both represent people. This gypsy represents a particular person but can stand in for many as I have been lucky to have been surrounded by many strong women in my life. When I ask people what they think a gypsy means, aside from the occasional "stealing babies" comment, I often get strong-willed, mischievous, and free-spirited. To which I respond: "Yes, that sounds pretty good."

Thanks to Gina for sharing one of her amazing tattoos with us here at Tattoosday!

Please head over to BillyBlog to read one of Gina's poems.