Steve's Sleeve of Leaves Ushers in the Fall Season

Earlier this month, I met Steve on the D train, as we headed home to Brooklyn.

He had a veritable panorama of fall foliage on his left arm and he happily shared his autumnal tattoos with us here at best-tatto-design.

It only seemed fitting that, as summer has ended, we celebrate the new season with some fall colors.

Behold, Steve's sleeve o' leaves:

The eleven maple leaves on Steve's arm were all inked free hand by Mark Harada at Manhattan's East Side Ink over four sittings.

Steve acknowledges that the leaves changing colors represent a change, and these colorful symbols remind him that change is good.

Happy Autumn to all! And thanks to Steve for sharing his fallen maple leaves with us here on best-tatto-design!

catch up

So I forgot to get on here yesterday to post my tattoos.

Monday I tattooed two walkins, a small heart on the wrist and small hibiscus on the wrist. Here they are. I was having a really stressful day on top of it.... need to keep my mind focused. Ever have those days when everything you do and say is just off somehow? That was one of those days for me.

This heart didn't stress me out as much as the hibiscus. There are alot of ways that I know to do it better next time. Still need to work on making my lines deliberate, and work on how I'm going to color before I start. Top to bottom.

I struggled a little bit with the swirly lines, but after I chatted with Bill about better stretching, things went just fine. I know for next time now.

This was the tattoo I put on Ashley yesterday.... this went by alot smoother I think and I know she was happy to get it. I think next time I'll use a smaller liner on the flowers, but overall i like the design she picked out, and I got to try out making the brush stroke look.

I get to tattoo Noah again tonight. More pictures to come.

Aloha!

Sara's Psalm Speaks to the Desires of Her Heart

I met Sara on the 36th Street subway platform in Brooklyn last month during the late afternoon rush hour commute.

What can I say? I'm a sucker for words and this tattoo looked poetic:

Sara filled me in. She has three tattoos and this passage "spoke to her". She wanted something religious for her 30th birthday.

This is an excerpt (verse 4) from Psalm 37 in the Bible.

The verse reads "Delight thyself also in the Lord, and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart" [King James Version]. Sara changed the thee and thine to read me and my, respectively, making the verse more personal.

This was tattooed by Alex Franklin at Brooklyn Ink in Bay Ridge. Work from Brooklyn Ink (and much from Alex) can be seen on this best-tatto-design label here.

Thanks to Sara for sharing her source of inspiration with us here on best-tatto-design!

Khalil's Organic Biomechanical Arm

One thing regular readers may notice is that I tend to prefer singular tattoos, as opposed to larger "concept" pieces. This preference is what you see illustrated here on best-tatto-design.

However, once in a while, I see work  that, although atypical of our content, is irresistible.

Just check out Khalil's sleeve, which I captured one day after work in Penn Station:

Representing thirty-two hours of work by Mike Boissoneault at Black Lotus Tattoo Studios, in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, Khalil explained that this vision represents a spin on a biomechanical design, "but more organic".

To him, in a world in which people are becoming less human, this tattoo reminds him to be human.

Here's a "fresher" shot from the Black Lotus website:

Tattoo by Mike Boissoneault © 2008 Black Lotus Tattoo Studios

Thanks again to Khalil for sharing this amazing work with us here on best-tatto-design!

Day 2 with Noah

I got to work on Noah for 2 more hours last night. He sat great! This was the first time that I was left alone the entire time. I have to say that I wasn't so nervous this time around. Since I was going to be alone Bill asked me to stay away from relining the tribal, instead just color in what I could and leave the linework for when him or Anna is around... which I can understand totally. The last thing I want to do is mess up what he has... I'm no where near being confident in my linework yet. Soon enough with more practice I'll be ok....

Here are some more pics.

Heres a close up of the area on his shoulder... used one of the 7's I made to fill it in. there's a light spot at the end of the curve which I could have filled in more with the mag... but to be honest I was too scared to get too close to that point with the mag and risk going out of the lines. After this heals i'll go back in with the liner and clean up the outline and fill in the points. Next time, fill in the points first dummy!

I didn't take a picture of the other side, but after 4 days his other shoulder is already peeling! That's a good sign! No holes. It's still too early to tell if there's light spots or not, but he'll be in again this Wednesday so we'll see then and I'll take some pics.

 Tonight I don't have anything going on, I work the floor with Anna after 5 so we'll see what walks in. The evenings at the shop have been weird lately, either its busy or it's dead... no inbetween.

On another note, saw a huge rainbow yesterday from the condo! figured this would be a good note to end on.

If I get to do anything tonight i'll post pics tmrw.

Aloha!

Christina's Owl and Lighthouse

I met Christina one day after work while walking outside of Madison Square Garden.

She had this incredible tattoo, which she gladly shared with us here on best-tatto-design:

This tattoo that covers her upper left arm was actually done in two segments by artist Orrin Hurley, who currently tattoos at Dare Devil Tattoo in Manhattan.

As for the source material behind this beautiful tattoo, Christina chose a piece of art by Frances Olive Esme Eve:

A closer look at the tattooed owl shows how it was changed, but you can still see that there is still a lot from the original design:

The lighthouse was inspired by the Portland Head Light on Cape Elizabeth, Maine.

Thanks to Christina for sharing her tattoo with us here on best-tatto-design.

Stacy's Amigo Tugs Her Back to Milwaukee

At the end of July, I ran into Stacy waiting for the F train at West 4th Street in Manhattan.

She had a panther peeking out from under her shirt on her back, but we couldn't get the whole tattoo in a shot, so she offered up this piece on her right arm:

Stacy is a poet and the Artistic Director of The Poetry Project at St. Mark's Church in New York City. She has been here five years and originally hails from Milwaukee.

Living next to Lake Michigan has many benefits. Having always lived in a location near a large body of water, I can relate to her admiration for the beauty of a seascape, whether it be an ocean or a great lake.

Stacy told me she enjoyed watching the tugboats in her home town, and that these small vessels are a "connective image" that draws her back to her original home.

This tattoo was designed and inked by Stephanie Tamez at New York Adorned. Work from Stephanie on best-tatto-design can be viewed here.

This is also the second tugboat of the summer. The first one is here.

Thanks to Stacy for sharing her tugboat with us here at best-tatto-design. Perhaps we'll see her panther when the Tattooed Poets Project returns next April for its third year!