Best Tatto Design

Monday, November 7, 2011

Lauren and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Tattoo

Today's tattoo is perfect for a Monday.

Last month in Penn Station, I met Lauren, who had a familiar-looking face on her upper right arm:

I couldn't quite put my finger on why I recognized the art, until she clarified for me that it was based on an illustration from a wonderful children's book by Judith Viorst called Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

The phrase in the banner, "Some days are like that," is a line from the story.

When I asked Lauren why she got this tattoo, she elaborated:

"I have a very good friend who has If You're Afraid of the Dark, Remember the Night Rainbow on his arm and I was like, 'Ah, children's book! Great idea!' So I went to my mom and said, 'What was my favorite children's book?' and she's like, 'Well, Alexander or The Lupine Lady [from Miss Rumphius].' And I thought 'I don't want pastel colors. I want black and grey and I liked the artwork much better.' So I went with this."

This was Lauren's first tattoo and it was inked by Christian Beckman at Saints and Sinners in Baltimore. He modified Alexander's shirt, adding the skull, but it's still certifiably Alexander.

Thanks to Lauren for sharing this awesome tattoo with us here on best-tatto-design!

This entry is ©2011 best-tatto-design.

If you are reading this on another web site other than best-tatto-design, 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://best-tatto-design.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.

Friday, November 4, 2011

Ryan's Religious Verse

I met Ryan at the end of September outside of Madison Square Garden, approaching him to ask about this tattoo on his upper right arm:

He explained that Philippians 4:13 was his confirmation verse. He added, "I went with the hands and everything because I already have a cross on my back."

Philippians 4:13 reads "I can do all things in him that strengtheneth me." (American Standard Version)

The chain in the hands connects to this part of the tattoo on the bicep:

Ryan commented that "I put only God can judge me because I've been going through some legal difficulties." It's a reminder that, when all is said and done, the ultimate judge is, in the belief of many, above and beyond the world in which we live.

Ryan credits Joe Bawden from Skin Alternative in Hillside, New Jersey, with this tattoo.

Thanks to Ryan for sharing his ink with us here on best-tatto-design!

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Winter approaches.....

So winter season has come SO FAST! pretty scary... however I'm happy to announce that I'm going to tattoo my first ribcage on Sunday, i'll keep you all posted on that! Big things are coming, moving on up!

All that aside, here's a few things I've gotten to do over the past week... some lettering done at No Ka Oi...

This was a fun walk-in, he brought the image and considering how much I LOVE pinups this was a fun one for the portfolio...

Client brought this in too... I tattooed her and her friend, both with a brush stroke look to it. Her friend's tattoo pic came out blurry so i'm not going to post it, she got an infinity symbol smaller with a painterly feel to it.....

I also had an opportunity to work on Steve again for his polynesian 1/2 sleeve. This session was much shorter, traffic was bad so he came late and we didn't have time to finish the section. I was also having trouble with my shader so when I get to finish the section I'll be sure to post more.

This weeks update: Will be finishing the flag I started 2-3 weeks ago, as well as touching up a small part of the IRS badge I did a few weeks back as well. I'll post more soon.

Now off to the drawing board... off to look for more freelance work so I can afford to pay my bills this winter.

An Epipleptic Bicycle

Being as it is still Halloween week, perhaps a little Edward Gorey is appropriate?

This tattoo was shared by Megan, when I spotted her in Penn Station at the beginning of October:

Clicking on the Gorey tag at the bottom of the post will confirm what you may have already expected - the work of Edward Gorey is quite popular as body art.

This piece is one of six tattoos Megan has, and is based on Gorey's book The Epipleptic Bicycle. That's Embley and Yewbert, hitting each other with mallets. She told me she got this because "I love Edward Gorey and it's one of my favorite books and this is the opening sequence."

This was inked by Fatty at Fatty's Custom Tattooz in Washington, D.C.

In researching I stumbled upon this story, of a woman with a similar tattoo.

Thanks to Megan for sharing her Gorey tattoo with us here on best-tatto-design!

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Repost: Michael's Mariachis

Well, it has been a repost sort of week, and as it is All Soul's Day, a.k.a. The Day of the Dead, this only seemed fitting. It's from my college friend, Michael, and it appeared here originally on December 30, 2008. Enjoy!

In reconnecting with old college friends through Facebook, my old friend Michael who I haven't seen in almost twenty years sent me an amazing tattoo he has on his right arm.

He sent me before and after shots so we can see the transformation from outline to spectacularly colorful body art. First, the before shots.....

The detail and the line work is exemplary and breath-taking. As someone with a guitar inked on my arm, I can appreciate the intricacies of a finely-drawn instrument. The detail on the mariachi's jacket cuff is incredible.

And now, for some color:

Michael explains the basic premise of this tattoo:

In a sense, this piece is a "memorial" tattoo, although I hate to call it that. Since I grew up in the Southwest, Day of the Dead was a regular thing, so I've always been drawn to that type of imagery, plus I like the meaning -- honoring the dead, and reminding us to live life to the fullest. I picked the mariachis partly because I am so into music, and partly because of the celebratory aspect of mariachis.

Like many intricate tattoos with multiple elements, every part has significance. The tulips, for example, that are growing at the mariachi's feet, "are an actual heirloom varietal that I have in the garden" [and] are for my wife -- tulips are her favorite flower".

And the angel at the top of the piece (and the top of the post)?

Michael informs us that "the angel is for my mother, who is no longer with us. The angel holds a purple iris (my mother's favorite flower), and looks down over the whole scene."

This amazing piece was inked by Susan Behney-Doyle who works out of Jinx Proof Tattoo in Washington, D.C. Mexican folk art is one of her specialties (see a gallery of her work here) and Michael says he "gave her a few reference pieces to look at, but she basically drew it after a consultation". He continues, "we made just a couple tweaks after I saw the drawing, but it's a one-of-a-kind custom piece".

The whole tattoo was crafted back in 2006 over a five-month, seven-session period. Michael notes that one of those sessions was devoted solely to shading the guitar. A closer look at the instrument reveals an incredible complexity of brown variations that truly makes the guitar jump off the skin.

Thanks again to Michael for sharing this amazing tattoo with us here on best-tatto-design - twice!

If you are reading this on another web site other than best-tatto-design, 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://best-tatto-design.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.

Monday, October 31, 2011

Repost: Eddie Graces Egghead's Shoulder

For Halloween, I felt like re-posting a piece that appeared here back in November 2009. To date, this tattoo is in my Top 10 that has appeared on best-tatto-design. Enjoy! And have a safe, happy Halloween!

I recently met a gentleman from England, along with his wife, as they were milling about outside of Madison Square Garden.

He referred to himself as "Egghead," I'm guessing due to his bald head. I first noticed the logo for the band Slayer on the back of his calf, along with several other interesting looking tattoos. He estimated he has about a dozen tattoos.

But, like the best best-tatto-design stories, he shared this amazing tattoo on his right shoulder, hidden under a sweatshirt, which he pulled off so I could see it properly:

That's a phenomenal piece, courtesy of his artist Ben Boston at The Tattoo Studio in Bristol, England.

The tattoo is a likeness of Eddie, mascot for the band Iron Maiden, one of the premiere metal bands that came out of England in the late 1970's/early 1980's. I won't bore the reader with the catalog of my Iron Maiden fandom, but it certainly made the tattoo even that more wonderful for me.

I even had a nice chat with Egghead and his wife about concerts we had attended.

I thank Egghead for sharing this awesome tattoo with us here on best-tatto-design!

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Mary's Call of the Wild

I met Mary outside of Penn Station on Seventh Avenue a couple weeks ago. She shared this tattoo on her right calf:

Mary explained:

"I got my wolf tattoo at some place on St. Mark's Place, I don't remember, I was drunk, after I read [The] Call of the Wild. I had broken my foot and they let me leave work early, so I went to a bar with my best friend and started drinking. And then, I was like, 'We should get tattoos' and she was like 'I'm gonna go home' and then ... she was like 'I'm not gettin' tattooed'. So we went to some shady tattoo shop where they let me run around without shoes on and drink beer like a crazy girl. And all I remember is him asking me if I like lavender and I said, 'yeah, I like lavender' and that was that."

Not your ideal tattoo story but, all things considered, this came out well.

Thanks to Mary for sharing her cool tattoo with us here on best-tatto-design!