RoBear Shares a Pin-Up

A familiar face passed me in Penn Station a couple weeks back and I jumped at the opportunity to talk to him - it was RoBear, from the TLC series NY Ink.

For those of you not familiar with the show, RoBear is the floor manager at Wooster Street Social Club, the setting for the show.

I first encountered RoBear last May, when I was one of the lucky people selected to take part in "Roosterfest," a fundraiser segment of episode seven on season one. $50 rooster tattoos were on order and I got, in my opinion, the best one - from Megan Massacre. I documented the experience here.

So, here I was, talking to RoBear in Penn Station and, well, I had to ask, would he mind sharing one of his tattoos?

Much to my happiness, he was game and, after a moment of thought, rolled up his right pant leg to reveal this tattoo:

RoBear explained that the pin-up is based on his long-time friend Natascha de los Angeles, and he elaborated by e-mail:

"I got the tattoo to commemorate my friendship to the girl who named me Robear when I was sixteen. We met at a BIGLNY (Bisexual, Gay and Lesbian NY) youth group back in the day at the Gay & Lesbian Community Services Center on West 13th Street and right after meeting she said I was 'cute, a little furry and that she was going to call me Robear.' It totally stuck and she has never one since called me by my birth name, which is Robert.

So, after getting the job on NY INK, since the name was so catchy, I wanted to thank [Natascha] and celebrate our friendship that has spanned almost 20 years now ... my artist, Tony Silva of High Roller Tattoo in NY, and I came up with this pinup specifically for her. [Natascha] is a pastry artist and chef in Manhattan, so I did the bakers hat, apron and her holding one of her own cakes she has made. Her website is Artesenal Sweets ... She is a constant inspiration and muse for me and all I do with my fashion, interior design and culinary arts, since she emcompasses everything that is beautiful and creative to me. A truly unqiue and special woman that will be in my life forever."

RoBear was also kind enough to send a crisper photo of the tattoo

Pin-Up by Tony Silva, Photo Courtesy of RoBear

and a picture of him with Natascha for reference below: 

Natascha de los Angeles & RoBear, photo courtesy of RoBear

I want to thank RoBear for sharing this tattoo with us here on Tattoosday. It's obviously a piece with a lot of  deep personal meaning, and he was kind enough not only to let me take a photo in Penn Station, but also to send along more pictures and give me a complete back story.

You can catch RoBear on repeats of NY Ink on TLC. Still no word on whether the show will be picked up for a third season. You can also become a fan of RoBear on his Facebook fan page here.

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. 

Ryan Shares Two Tattoos by "Brooklyn P"

I often wonder how may Tattoosday encounters would have been lost had my apartment come with its own laundry facilities. I raise this point because, yet again, I met someone cool with tattoos at my local laundromat and he was generous enough to share his ink with us here on Tattoosday.

In fact, Ryan, who is this particular contributor, and I share a common bond, which is that we have both been tattooed by the same artist, Peter Caruso a.k.a. "Brooklyn P," who originally shared his work with us here on the site way back in 2008 here.

Ryan currently has a back piece in progress, but he shared two tattoos from his legs. First, on his right leg, is this work:

This pin-up girl is classic old school Brooklyn ink, based on flash by the legendary artist Tony Polito. Brooklyn P is an admirer of Polito, and even shared a piece that Tony did on him here.

Ryan also has this tattoo of butterflies on his left leg, which is based on a original design by Brooklyn P:

Ryan estimates he has about fifteen tattoos in all.

My tattoo from Brooklyn P is documented here.

Thanks to Ryan for sharing his tattoos with us here on Tattoosday! And thanks again to Brooklyn P, who continues to work hard at keeping that old school style of Brooklyn tattooing alive!

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.

Little Darling's Ink: Pinups for Pitbulls

Last spring, I met Deirdre, aka Little Darling, as she was leaving Penn Station to cross Seventh Avenue.

I snapped these pictures of her upper right arm:

Deirdre explained that she is the president and founder of a non-profit organization called Pinups for Pitbulls.

The two pups pictured are portraits of two of her dogs, as interpreted by skin artist Jon Clue.

Little Darling invites people to check out her company's website PinupsForPitbulls.org if you are interested in supporting the ongoing effort to help fulfill their mission of working "to educate the public about the history and temperament of the American Pit Bull Terrier and pit bull type dogs [and] to raise awareness about Breed Specific Legislation and Breed-Specific abuse."

One of the ways that Little Darling and her company strive to "reestablish the defamed reputation of pit bull type dogs as America's premier companion animal, war hero, and therapy dog," is through fundraisers and the sale of Pinups for Pitbulls merchandise, such as their annual calendar. Many of these products can be purchased through Amazon (see link below).

Other Pinups for Pitbulls Merchandise can be found by clicking the hyperlink in this sentence.

Thanks to Deirdre for sharing her tattoos with us here on Tattoosday, and for waiting so patiently for this post to appear.

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.

Vickie's Pin-Up Has Blood Money

In what must have looked odd to passers-by, I interviewed Vickie in Penn Station the day after Halloween. I'm guessing that she and her friend had attended costume parties the night before. What interested me most was Vickie's ink. She "lost count" of how many tattoos she has, and she offered up this wonderful piece on her upper left arm:

This tattoo, whose name is "Trixie," was designed and inked by Tatu Baby, who works out of Chico's Marked 4 Life, in Miami.

She also wanted to point out that, in Trixie's right hand, she's holding blood money:

Thanks to Vickie for sharing Trixie with us here on Tattoosday!

Andrea Shares a Gil Elvgren Pinup by Shane O'Neill

Earlier this month, I met Andrea while waiting for the A train.

Andrea is covered with tattoos, estimating she has over 50% of her body inked. I always feel privileged when someone so dedicated to the art of tattoo agrees to share their work. Andrea offered up this amazing pin-up on her right forearm:

This amazing tattoo is based on the work of  legendary pin-up artist Gil Elvgren. The tattoo artist responsible for this incredible work is Shane O'Neill, who is based in Middletown, Delaware. The detail in this piece is incredible.

Work by Shane has appeared previously on our site here.

Thanks to Andrea for sharing her amazing work 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.

Salvatore Shares a Family Heirloom

Yesterday marked the anniversary of the death of Norman "Sailor Jerry" Collins, so it seems appropriate to share the following tattoo, courtesy of Salvatore:

Located on his upper right arm, Salvatore explained that his family emigrated from Europe several generations ago. His grandfather joined the service when he was a young man and served in World War II. His travels brought him, at some point, through Honolulu where, according to Salvatore, his grandfather received the original version of the tattoo above, from none other than Sailor Jerry himself. The design above is a replica of Slavatore's grandfather's tattoo, a Sailor Jerry original.

Not only is he carrying a piece of traditional tattoo history on him, he is also honoring the memory of his grandfather. How cool is that?

Salvatore is a chef at One if by Land, Two if by Sea, a restaurant in New York's West Village. He is also a personal chef for several mixed martial arts fighters.

The Sailor Jerry piece above, as well as his left arm, which is fully-sleeved, was tattooed by Elio Espana, formerly of Flyrite Tattoo. Elio now works upstate at ADK Tattoo in Constable, New York.

Thanks to Salvatore for sharing this wonderful tattoo, that celebrates both an American tattoo master, and a family patriarch, here on Tattoosday.

A Bright Spot in December: A Phoenix and a Pin-Up

As one would expect, inkspotting is tough during December. Here we are at the end of the month, and I have only interviewed three people since the 1st. There were a few times over the summer when I interviewed three contributors during my lunch hour!

The last person whose work I photographed was Megan, who I found upstairs at the Penn Plaza Borders store.

Megan has seventeen tattoos, but it was this one that caught my eye:

This is a phoenix, of course, but fewer people may recognize it as Fawkes, the phoenix of Professor Albus Dumbledore, in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

The artwork is based on the illustration by Jason Cockcroft on the cover of the UK edition of the aforementioned book.

The tattooist Jamie Nichols at Gargoyle Tattoo in Aberdeen, Washington, completed this piece in about eight hours over two sittings.

Megan also has this pinup on her upper left arm:

The use of negative space for the bombs is pretty cool.

Marcus was the artist at Gargoyle that Megan credited for creating this piece..

Thanks to Megan for taking the time to speak to me about her cool tattoos!

Julia's Pin-Up

I met Julia briefly in a Hudson News in Penn Station.

The flash of color on her foot caught my eye:

Julia explained that she is a visual artist that likes to do pin-up illustrations. This particular design she wanted to be transformed into a tattoo. She brought it to Morgan Reed at Electric Lotus Tattoo in Boonton, New Jersey, and he made some slight adjustments that resulted in this lovely tattoo.

Work from Electric Lotus has appeared on Tattoosday before. This link will show you what else we have featured from their shop.

Thanks to Julia for sharing her pin-up girl with us here on Tattoosday!

Caitlin's Pin-up with a Heart on the Sleeve

Earlier this month, I ran into Caitlin as I got off the A train at West 4th Street. She has twnety-three tattoos and, as customary, I asked if she could pick one to share with us here on Tattoosday.

She obliged, selecting this, her most recent tattoo:

This is based on the artwork of the pin-up stylings of Baron von Lind. I believe the piece that this is replicating is his work "Daphne":

I wish I could give proper credit to the artist, but it was a noisy train platform, and I scribbled down Willie Childress, Asheville, North Carolina. If anyone knows who this is, or what shop he belongs to, please let me know so I can give the artist his proper due.

Thanks to Caitlin for sharing her pin-up with us here on Tattoosday!

Be sure to head over to the Baron von Lind website to see more of his art.

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 tattoos, most of which I photographed.

Whereas I appreciate someone taking the time to show me all of their ink, to do the subject justice in one post can be a daunting task.

Therefore, I'll be spreading Nina's tattoos across two posts.

As displayed above, Nina had at least one Haring tattoo. This first post will be dedicated to Nina's left arm, which boasts 7 of her 11 tattoos.

She actually has three Haring pieces, including the barking dog:

based on:

I've always been a fan of Haring, and it was a phenomenal Haring chest piece, spotted at the 2007 Siren Festival on Coney Island, that inspired me, in part, to start blogging about ink. Here's the third of her Haring pieces:

based on:

Haring was prolific in his short life, often repeating elements in his work. I have included in this post the works that are most likely used as the basis for these tattoos.

Nina is a big fan of the work of Andy Warhol, as well. She credits her love of his and Haring's work to a relative - her aunt worked at Warhol's Pop Shop in the 1980s, and it was always part of the family discussion.

She has a relatively obscure Warhol piece on the inner part of her bicep:


I should say, it is obscure in the sense that I am unfamiliar with it. It is based on his silk-screened Knives:



Most stunning among the Warhol and Haring tattoos is her Marilyn Monroe piece, which is based on an iconic Warhol work:



On her inner forearm, Nina sports a sweet pin-up piece that she believes is based on a piece of German art, circa World War I:


She loves pin-up art and this was one of the first pieces she had inked.

Not pictured is the word "Say" tattooed on her inner wrist.

All her ink was tattooed by Dan at Amazing Grace Tattoo in Geneva, New York. She's kept him busy in the past year, having just turned eighteen, and he is responsible for all of her body art, all done within the past twelve months.

Thanks to Nina for sharing her passion for tattoos here on Tattoosday. Be sure to check back for more from Nina in the future.

Untouchable is Something to Be

John had much ink and, as often happens when I ask, a previously unseen tattoo is revealed which is just as impressive as all the other visible work.

John offered up this right upper arm piece, a pin-up straddling a bomb. It's exceptional work and I found the source material on which this is based, a concert poster for the Against Me!:

The poster is from a October 14, 2005 gig in Portland, Oregon at Loveland, with the bands The Epoxies, Smoke or Fire and The Soviettes. The designer is Mark McCormick Lee Zeman* who is associated with the company Mad Pakyderms.

A little more detail from the tattoo:


John said that the art, and hence the tattoo, represents to him the sentiment that "untouchable is something to be". He had this done when he moved away from home, went out on his own, and started taking care of himself.

The detail in the tattoo is incredible. His wife Liz, who was with him, made sure I took a shot of the top of the piece and captured the detail and shading in the planes:


This was inked by Chance Kenyon out of Jack Brown's Tattoo Revival in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

John was on his way back home from New York where he was spending his honeymoon with his new wife Liz. See the post below to see the tattoos John and Liz got to commemorate their union.

Thanks to John for sharing his awesome tattoo here on Tattoosday!

*I initially reported that Mark McCormick designed the poster, as it was attributed to him on the poster website, Expresso Beans. I e-mailed Mark through his company's website to tell him about the post and he wrote back:

Hey Bill!

That is AWESOME!!! Thanks so much for sharing it with us. I am Mark McCormick, but Mad Pakyderms is myself and Lee Zeman. That particular poster was created by Lee. If you could credit him accordingly that would be amazing! I'll be sure to let him know about it and direct him to your site to see it for himself. I'm actually moving to NYC myself next month. Perhaps you'll see me on the street someday and ask me about my own tattoos. HA! Awesome site, man! Thanks again! Battle on!

CHEERS!
Mark
http://www.markmccormickart.com/

I have amended the post to give proper credit to Lee Zeman. You can see more or Lee's work at www.gigposters.com here. If you've never checked out the gigposters site, do yourself a favor and go exploring. It's fun!

Surgeon General's Warning: A Varga Girl Smoking on Your Arm Looks Awesome

Meet Priscilla. That's her above on Maeve's arm, as seen last week on 6th Avenue. Maeve offered her to Tattoosday from among the thirteen tattoos she has. Priscilla, as Maeve calls her, is based on the pin-up art of Alberto Vargas. Check out more of his work here.

The work on which she is based initially had her as a blonde, but Maeve, made her a brunette. She also chose to have her smoking because, although she acknowledges that it's bad for you, it's still pretty cool-looking.

This beautiful tattoo was inked in November 2007 by Aryn at Twysted Imagez Tattoo Studio in Alexandria, Virginia.

Thanks to Maeve for sharing Priscilla here with us at Tattoosday!

Peter Caruso's Ink: Old-School Brooklyn Represented

These two inner-arm pin-ups belong to local free-lance tattoo artist Peter Caruso.

I ran into Peter a couple of Sundays ago, caught without my camera at the local 7-Eleven, so I left him with a flier so he could check out Tattoosday . He did, and e-mailed me shortly thereafter, offering to meet up, take pictures, and talk tattooing. This past Sunday, we reconnected in front of the 7-Eleven and I took a few shots of his awesome tattoos.

Here's Peter with his forearms extended:

Your standard article on the popularity of tattooing in 2008 always looks back to the old days, back when the only inked folks around (supposedly) were bikers, veterans or sailors, criminals and circus performers.

But we are living in an "enlightened" era, says the conventional wisdom, when there is a lot less stigma attached to the art. Tattooing was illegal in New York City from the early 1960's to the mid-1990's.

Peter remembers growing up in Bensonhurst and admiring the tattoos of the neighborhood heavies. There was a lot of admiration for the tattooed gangster-types that were the fixtures in the neighborhood delis, hanging out in front of the mom-and-pop stores, and being active in the community.

Peter admired the ink, and that old school style has influenced not only his own work, but the work he had done on himself.

Peter learned from, and was influenced by, those artists he considers to be the "Old School" of Brooklyn tattooists.

He worked with and apprenticed under Paul Raffelo of Paulie Tattoo and Vito of Vito Tattoo.

He estimates that he has approximately 13 tattoos, including 2 full sleeves.

A closer look at the pin-ups on his forearms shows a style of tattoo that is classic old-school. Peter said that this was the type of tattoo that was typical in the old neighborhood he grew up in.


The "Steady as She Goes" motto was a standard phrase in a lot of old naval flash art.

These pinups were inked by Paulie Tattoos.

On Peter's inner right forearm is a green Tibetan ritual mask:

The mask is used, according to tradition, to drink the blood from the head in an attempt to keep the spirit alive after the body dies. Vito of Vito tattoos was the artist.

Peter is also particularly proud of this Sanskrit piece on his forearm:

Peter explained that this represents the thunderbolt that destroys ignorance, a concept explained by the term vajra and a precept in Buddhism that leads to the destruction of ignorance through enlightenment.

Thanks to Peter Caruso for sharing his tattoos here on Tattoosday. Peter is currently working free-lance and can be contacted by clicking here.

The Rising Sun

Despite the warmer weather, it was drizzly and overcast on Friday when I was walking north on Broadway at lunchtime.

Despite the occasional raindrop, the journey didn't warrant an umbrella. As I ambled toward Times Square, I passed a gentleman smoking a cigarette outside of a building. His arms were inked.

I walked to the corner contemplating whether I should head back and ask him about his tattoos. I dismissed the weak excuse of precipitation and wandered back and introduced myself.

He had multiple tattoos on both arms, but what jumped out initially were the pin-ups on the interior of his forearms:



I especially liked his newest piece, on the right, with the Stars & Stripes theme and what appeared to be a rising sun tattooed on the lower right buttock of the woman. "Great detail," I thought.

I handed him a printout and said that Tattoosday averages a modest 150 hits a day. He indicated he had a blog too, with significantly more traffic. I asked if I could get the site to link and he hesitated.

Remembering that he had met me only minutes before, and that people generally have strong opinions about lifestyles that may be different than theirs, his pause was understandable when he disclosed that his blog, The House of Richard Windsor (Mature Readers only), is dedicated to the fetish of, well, spanking.

I'm an open-minded guy and such a revelation hardly phased me. If anything, it made the encounter more interesting.

So, going by the name Richard Windsor, the possessor of the above tattoos is a 44-year old originally from the English town of Swindon.

He offered up the pin-ups happily. They actually represented the lifestyle he lived. On his left forearm is the "good girl". He drew her himself* and she was later inked by Kelly Krantz at FlyRite Studio in Brooklyn. The shop has previously been featured on Tattoosday here.







The opposite arm bears the Naughty Girl, as tattooed by Krantz most recently. Both were done at the same shop, although Krantz is now working out of Hold Fast Tattoos, in Williams-
burg, Brooklyn.

It was then that I made the additional connection. I said to him: "Oh, the mark on the Naughty Girl is a hand print! I thought it was a rising sun!"

Richard smiled and laughed, "Well, it is."

Brilliant.

Anyway, thanks to Mr. Windsor for being so open and sharing his ladies with the denizens of Tattoosday!

*NOTE: Richard wrote to me, clarifying the design of the "good girl" after this posted:

I just want to clarify a little bit what I told you. While I did indeed sketch the first tattoo, all credit should really go to Kelly as his interpretation of my "very rough" drawing by far exceeded my expectations. He took my ideas and the finished product is actually his work, I shouldn't really take credit for what he created. All I did was provide the ideas and the original sketch, which in fairness was 100 times inferior to his creation.

Thanks to Richard Windsor for a) clarifying this matter and b) sending visitors this way to check out his pin-ups over here on Tattoosday!

Diablo Shows Off Her Tattoo on Hollywood's Biggest Night

Ok, so this is out of the theme, in that I am in no way involved with the photography of this tattoo. But it is a big story and so I thought I'd throw out some ink news.

Diablo Cody won the Oscar for best original screenplay last night, and she made the New York Post front page, along with her pin-up tattoo.

But there's more to this than meets the eye...

Click here to read about Diablo Cody's tattoo "drama".


She actually just recently had "Jonny's Girl" covered up. Actually quite a fine job...you'd never know it's a cover-up.

A little plug, here's her book:



You can buy it here.