Dispatch from the New York City Tattoo Convention

I take pride in the fact that this site is very positive. Even "bad" tattoos get their moments in the sun. If the story behind an "eh" tattoo is compelling, then it's worth telling.

There are enough places on the web where "free speech" reigns, wearing the stained sheet of petty negativity.

So I don't feel too bad about offering this word of advice to the organizers of the New York City Tattoo convention: answer your e-mails, answer your messages.

I left several messages via e-mail and phone offering to help promote the show via the blog. My inquiries weren't even acknowledged. And that's fine. Except, of course, it isn't. Why else would I be writing about it? The rote response from people I've voiced my disappointment to has been similar, "Well, what do you expect? They're old-time tattoo people."

There my be truth to that sentiment, but I'm not willing to embrace it. There are plenty of people who are in the tattoo industry who are savvy enough to hit "reply" on an e-mail.

So, disclosing fully, I approached the show at the Roseland Ballroom last weekend with a bit of a chip on my shoulder. But I was determined to enjoy myself. And I did.

I spent a little over five and a half hours wandering the aisles, watching the artists, introducing myself to various people, checking out some amazing tattoos.

I enjoyed meeting Mike Bellamy from Red Rocket Tattoo and Elio Espana from FlyRite Studio in Brooklyn. I had nice chats with people from Lotus Tattoo in Sayville, Rising Dragon in Chelsea, and New York Adorned. Many of the shops whose artists' work has appeared on the blog, everyone friendly and courteous. It was nice to put faces to the hard-working people in
these, and many other shops.

I was asked by a lot of people after the show if I took a lot of pictures. The answer is no, not what would be expected from a guy who is taking tattoo photos as often as he can.

I posted one amazing back piece on Sunday, and I have another post in the works featuring an incredible artist from Quebec.

Other than that, I just observed, met other fans. Talked with the editors of fine tattoo magazines, like Inked. Took in the sights.

I thought I would feel extremely self-conscious being there with no visible tattoos. But there were a lot of people who appeared similarly un-inked. I showed my tattoos once, to a big mensch of a tattoo shop owner from Staten Island, who started peppering his speech with Yiddish when he saw my last name was Cohen. He told me that his Jewishness didn't stop him from having 52 tattoos, and it drove his father crazy.

And I even ran into two people who have been featured here on best-tatto-design. I passed by John, from my neighborhood in Brooklyn, whose work appears here and here. I also had a nice chat with Melanie, whose holstered revolvers remain one of my favorite on the street encounters.

In all, I had a fun time. I can see why many I've spoken to about the New York show have seemed hesitant to admit that it's a top-notch tattoo convention. It's cramped and dingy, but that seems a bit in character with what the promoters are trying to convey.

Will I go back next year? Perhaps. But it certainly leaves me hungry for more. Las Vegas, Vancouver, Milan.

A blogger can dream, can't he?

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 best-tatto-design!

A New Tattoo Show on A&E is Coming Down the Highway

I owe a great debt to shows like Miami Ink, Inked, and L.A. Ink.

When I first decided, almost two years ago, to run a once-weekly over on my original site, BillyBlog, I had no idea how much I would enjoy the project. I basically conceived of a "Poor Man's Miami Ink," a once-weekly Tat-Tuesday post. Before long, I had spun off best-tatto-design onto its own page, and it hit the ground running.

But Inked and Miami Ink are distant memories, and Kat Von D has been the only one holding the tattoo torch on television, of late. That is, until now.

Next week, A&E is premiering Tattoo Highway.

This is a new thirteen-episode mobile tattoo show that is helmed by Thomas Pendleton, who many of you will remember from Inked.

And I have seen it, and it is good.

Pendleton & Co. have equipped a mobile home with a tattoo studio and they go out and find the subjects to be inked.

Stay tuned for more news about the show. Here's a little bit of a taste of what viewers can expect next week:



Wednesday nights are about to be a lot more colorful!

P.S. Be sure to have some fun with the show's virtual tattoo generator here.

Lauren's Thigh Tattoo Salutes Mastodon

If you're reading this post and the best-tatto-design banner features some wonderfully-inked revolvers, those "hand guns" belong to Amanda and the original post is here.

Just recently, I was thinking that I hadn't seen Amanda in a while and was wondering if she still lived in my neighborhood. Later that day, a much-tattooed woman named Lauren walked into the laundromat where I was packing up the weekly family wash.

I had never met Lauren before, but she knew about best-tatto-design because she was friends with the aforementioned Amanda. She told me that Amanda had moved out of our neighborhood (thus explaining her scarcity) and yes, she was happy to share a piece for the blog.

Lauren has a vast array of ink, thirteen tattoos by her count, and she offered up this phenomenal thigh piece:




First of all, we don't show too many thighs here on best-tatto-design, partly because they're only visible when it's warm enough for shorts. But more importantly, people with thigh tattoos tend to be few and far between, to begin with.

So what's with this image?

Lauren explained it is the album art for the metal band, Mastodon, off their debut album, Remission:


In fact, Lauren saw them play that same night at Irving Plaza with the bands Kylesa and Intronaut. Check out the awesome blog Brooklyn Vegan here to see a write-up and photos of the show.

This amazing tattoo was inked by Andrea Elston at East Side Ink. Ms. Elston has since departed New York and now tattoos out of Classic Tattoo in San Marcos, Texas. Work from East Side Ink has appeared previously on best-tatto-design here.

Thanks to Lauren for sharing her cool tattoo with us here on best-tatto-design! I'm looking forward to (hopefully) showing more of her work here on the site in the future!

As a little extra bonus for Mastodon fans, or for people who want to hear what they sound like, here's the band performing their Grammy-nominated song "Colony of Birchmen" with Josh Homme:

Mixed tribal tattoo extended

Hi there!

When the final tattoo design was finished, my customer asked to extend it with an extra 10 cm.
So I had to make it in the same maori / tribal style and make connect it to the existing design.

Here's the finished tattoo design:



















Please note the images on this blog are protected by copyright and cannot be used for your personal tattoo.

If you're interested in a similar tattoo sketch, just send me an e-mail or visit my website.


Kind regards, Mark Storm
info@best-tatto-design.com
www.best-tatto-design.com

Doug's Colorful Demon

I ran into Doug in Penn Station a couple weeks back and he offered up this, one of seven tattoos:


He said that this tattoo, which represents twelve hours worth of work, is based on a Japanese demon he spotted while poring over a book on medieval manuscripts.

There's no real specific meaning behind it, he just liked the design, especially how different it was from other demons one typically sees in Japanese art.

The tattoo was created at Cross Creek Tattoo Gallery in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

Thanks to Doug for sharing this amazing piece with us here on best-tatto-design!

Emily's Back Piece Takes Yin and Yang to the Next Level

I spent yesterday at the New York City Tattoo Convention at the Roseland Ballroom.

I'll provide a fuller dispatch later but I wanted to share one of the more visually-stunning pieces that I chanced upon.

This is Emily's back piece:


This represents about sixty (60!) hours of work by Erick Diaz at Asylum Studios in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York. A smaller, much less complicated tattoo by Mr. Diaz appeared last summer here on best-tatto-design.

What's depicted is the classic battle between good and evil, angels and devils, heaven and hell. Emily went to Erick with the basic concept of the piece and Erick did the rest.

"It's the state of every human being," Emily summarized, "a giant yin-yang".

The "13" at the bottom of the back is a memorial, of sorts, but Emily didn't want to elaborate. She also noted that this elaborate piece covered up two smaller tattoos at the top of the back.

I thank Emily for sharing her marvelous canvas with us here on best-tatto-design!