Patti Shares a Stunning Floral Sleeve

Today we have some work submitted by a reader, who patiently waited a month and a half for me to post her sleeve work. Although I do post submissions, they generally take a back seat to tattoos I encounter in the streets.

Patti sent in these photos of her stunningly beautiful floral tattoos running down her arm:

Patti credits the talented Mike Shea at Redemption Tattoo in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for these gorgeous flowers.

She said she had started with a half sleeve, but "really loved it," so they turned it into a full sleeve. Can you blame her? She elaborated:

"The original idea came from a quote, 'Where does one find the flowers? You must learn to follow butterflies, she replied.' (author unknown).  I chose lilies because they have always caught my eye…vibrant, vivid, strong…and there are endless variations of them.  

To me, my tattoo symbolizes learning how to embrace life and live, surrounded by the love and friendship and support of others. It memorializes a sharp change in direction in my life’s path, and the end of a very dark and destructive time in my life.  It reminds me to keep on moving forward…to bloom, and to be myself.

I chose Mike to do the tattoo because of his classic tattoo style, and Japanese influence."

Work from Redemption appeared once before on Tattoosday here.

Thanks to Patti for sending in these photos of her beautiful work!

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 can contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Patti Shares a Stunning Floral Sleeve

Today we have some work submitted by a reader, who patiently waited a month and a half for me to post her sleeve work. Although I do post submissions, they generally take a back seat to tattoos I encounter in the streets.

Patti sent in these photos of her stunningly beautiful floral tattoos running down her arm:

Patti credits the talented Mike Shea at Redemption Tattoo in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for these gorgeous flowers.

She said she had started with a half sleeve, but "really loved it," so they turned it into a full sleeve. Can you blame her? She elaborated:

"The original idea came from a quote, 'Where does one find the flowers? You must learn to follow butterflies, she replied.' (author unknown).  I chose lilies because they have always caught my eye…vibrant, vivid, strong…and there are endless variations of them.  

To me, my tattoo symbolizes learning how to embrace life and live, surrounded by the love and friendship and support of others. It memorializes a sharp change in direction in my life’s path, and the end of a very dark and destructive time in my life.  It reminds me to keep on moving forward…to bloom, and to be myself.

I chose Mike to do the tattoo because of his classic tattoo style, and Japanese influence."

Work from Redemption appeared once before on Tattoosday here.

Thanks to Patti for sending in these photos of her beautiful work!

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 can contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Virginia's Flowers Forecast Spring

This is a quick one for Monday morning, on the last day of February, with spring looming just around the corner. Here's one of Virginia's tattoos:

Virginia is a long-time reader and fan of Tattoosday who I have met on anumber of occasions. This is the first piece she has shared with us.

This floral tattoo is at the top of her right shoulder and was done by Craig Rodriguez at Hand of Glory in Brooklyn.

She explains further, "We are all hoping for an early spring. Daffodils and forget-me-nots. It is a memorial tattoo. I always bring yellow flowers to the cemetery when I honor my family members."

Work from Hand of Glory has appeared previously here on Tattoosday. A piece of Craig's was featured here.

Amen to the early spring! Thanks to Virginia for sharing this lovely tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Virginia's Flowers Forecast Spring

This is a quick one for Monday morning, on the last day of February, with spring looming just around the corner. Here's one of Virginia's tattoos:

Virginia is a long-time reader and fan of Tattoosday who I have met on anumber of occasions. This is the first piece she has shared with us.

This floral tattoo is at the top of her right shoulder and was done by Craig Rodriguez at Hand of Glory in Brooklyn.

She explains further, "We are all hoping for an early spring. Daffodils and forget-me-nots. It is a memorial tattoo. I always bring yellow flowers to the cemetery when I honor my family members."

Work from Hand of Glory has appeared previously here on Tattoosday. A piece of Craig's was featured here.

Amen to the early spring! Thanks to Virginia for sharing this lovely tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Jessica's Floral Half-Sleeve

A trip to the Fairway market in Red Hook last month was not only remarkable for the experience with the cheese monger, but because I met Jessica, the owner of this beautiful tattoo:

 

I love the variety of flowers, colors, and textures:

Jessica credited this work to Greg at Planet New York Tattoo in Poughkeepsie.

Thanks to Jessica for sharing this beautiful tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Jessica's Floral Half-Sleeve

A trip to the Fairway market in Red Hook last month was not only remarkable for the experience with the cheese monger, but because I met Jessica, the owner of this beautiful tattoo:

 

I love the variety of flowers, colors, and textures:

Jessica credited this work to Greg at Planet New York Tattoo in Poughkeepsie.

Thanks to Jessica for sharing this beautiful tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Two Segements of Renae's Arm

I spotted a whole lot going on with Renae's left forearm, while browsing at the Chelsea Salvation Army store, so I just had to ask.

Let's deconstruct:

The first part of this tattoo is the dark heart on the inner part of the forearm. Renae attributes this to Rob at the Orlando branch of Hart and Huntington. In over three years of inkspotting, this is the first piece on Tattoosday that has been credited to one of their shops.

Renae, who has "no idea" how many tattoos she has (which is synonymous for "too many to count"), wanted to add to her arm, so she headed to Brooklyn Ink in Bay Ridge.

Alex Franklin was given free reign, according to Renae. Her exact quote was "use your imagination and run," which must be music to many a tattooists ears.

Alex did the flourishes around the original tattoo, along with the phrase "gutta cavat lapidem," a Latin phrase by Ovid which translates to "dripping water hollows out a stone," which is a shortened version of the line "Dripping water hollows out stone, not through force but through persistence." This quote is known to many New Yorkers who have seen it inscribed underground here (with a broader description here).




And he tattooed the piece on the other side of the arm:

Work from Brooklyn Ink (and a lot by Alex) has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Thanks to Renae for sharing her tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Two Segements of Renae's Arm

I spotted a whole lot going on with Renae's left forearm, while browsing at the Chelsea Salvation Army store, so I just had to ask.

Let's deconstruct:

The first part of this tattoo is the dark heart on the inner part of the forearm. Renae attributes this to Rob at the Orlando branch of Hart and Huntington. In over three years of inkspotting, this is the first piece on Tattoosday that has been credited to one of their shops.

Renae, who has "no idea" how many tattoos she has (which is synonymous for "too many to count"), wanted to add to her arm, so she headed to Brooklyn Ink in Bay Ridge.

Alex Franklin was given free reign, according to Renae. Her exact quote was "use your imagination and run," which must be music to many a tattooists ears.

Alex did the flourishes around the original tattoo, along with the phrase "gutta cavat lapidem," a Latin phrase by Ovid which translates to "dripping water hollows out a stone," which is a shortened version of the line "Dripping water hollows out stone, not through force but through persistence." This quote is known to many New Yorkers who have seen it inscribed underground here (with a broader description here).




And he tattooed the piece on the other side of the arm:

Work from Brooklyn Ink (and a lot by Alex) has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Thanks to Renae for sharing her tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Alex Shares a Floral Tattoo, Roots and All

Sometimes I see tattoos before I see people.

Back in July, for example, I approached a guy on the West 4th Street subway platform to ask him about this tattoo on his right forearm:

It was only after I said hello to him that I realized he was someone named Alex who lives in my neighborhood in Brooklyn.

In fact, Alex had a tattoo featured here back in 2009, after I stopped  him in the laundromat.

This floral tattoo is a representation of how a flower overcomes obstacles and pain to lay down roots, rises up, and blooms.

He draws the comparison to life, as nothing comes without hard work and bypassing obstacles.

The tattoo was created by Shon Lindauer at Thicker Than Water in Manhattan. Shon is the same artist that did the tiger on my calf. Other work from Thicker Than Water has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Thanks to Alex for once again sharing his work with us here on Tattoosday!

Alex Shares a Floral Tattoo, Roots and All

Sometimes I see tattoos before I see people.

Back in July, for example, I approached a guy on the West 4th Street subway platform to ask him about this tattoo on his right forearm:

It was only after I said hello to him that I realized he was someone named Alex who lives in my neighborhood in Brooklyn.

In fact, Alex had a tattoo featured here back in 2009, after I stopped  him in the laundromat.

This floral tattoo is a representation of how a flower overcomes obstacles and pain to lay down roots, rises up, and blooms.

He draws the comparison to life, as nothing comes without hard work and bypassing obstacles.

The tattoo was created by Shon Lindauer at Thicker Than Water in Manhattan. Shon is the same artist that did the tiger on my calf. Other work from Thicker Than Water has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Thanks to Alex for once again sharing his work with us here on Tattoosday!

Shaina's Back Piece Blooms

A post-work errand had me walking down 6th Avenue to 23rd Street where, to my delight, I ran into Shaina, whose large back piece stopped me dead in my tracks. Lucky for me, and all of our Tattoosday readers, she had no problem sharing it with us here:

This piece is a cover-up (more on that later) and initially was born out of a desire for a large bunch of purple flowers. Shaina explained that, at six feet tall, her size can sometimes take the edge off of her feminine side. "I try as hard as I can to be girl-y," she said, and she embraced her floral design as "a sign of girliness".

As time passed, the whole tattoo, which Shaina estimates was composed in five four-hour sessions totaling twenty hours, took on additional elements. When her grandmother passed away, she added a memorial line for her ("In Loving Memory of Eleanor Vespie) along with the red carnations, which were her favorite flowers.

She later added the additional memorial on her neck, for her cousin Tasha.

The tattoo was created by Cliff Evans at Fuzion Ink in Norfolk, Virginia.

Of course, I had to ask about the tattoo she covered up. Shaina looked at me, and I'll give her points for honesty, she confessed, the original tattoo had been a portrait of the Icelandic singer Björk.

She looked at me. I looked at her. "Don't take this the wrong way," I cautioned her, but what would possess you to do that?" Shaina had good humor about it. Like a lot of eighteen-year olds, what seemed cool at the time, in retrospect seemed ill-chosen. But there are many amazing tattoos out there that might not exist had they not been needed to cover up an earlier, less memorable piece.

Thanks kindly to Shaina for not only sharing her lovely back tattoo with us here at Tattoosday, but for taking the time to chat so candidly about her body art.

Shaina's Back Piece Blooms

A post-work errand had me walking down 6th Avenue to 23rd Street where, to my delight, I ran into Shaina, whose large back piece stopped me dead in my tracks. Lucky for me, and all of our Tattoosday readers, she had no problem sharing it with us here:

This piece is a cover-up (more on that later) and initially was born out of a desire for a large bunch of purple flowers. Shaina explained that, at six feet tall, her size can sometimes take the edge off of her feminine side. "I try as hard as I can to be girl-y," she said, and she embraced her floral design as "a sign of girliness".

As time passed, the whole tattoo, which Shaina estimates was composed in five four-hour sessions totaling twenty hours, took on additional elements. When her grandmother passed away, she added a memorial line for her ("In Loving Memory of Eleanor Vespie) along with the red carnations, which were her favorite flowers.

She later added the additional memorial on her neck, for her cousin Tasha.

The tattoo was created by Cliff Evans at Fuzion Ink in Norfolk, Virginia.

Of course, I had to ask about the tattoo she covered up. Shaina looked at me, and I'll give her points for honesty, she confessed, the original tattoo had been a portrait of the Icelandic singer Björk.

She looked at me. I looked at her. "Don't take this the wrong way," I cautioned her, but what would possess you to do that?" Shaina had good humor about it. Like a lot of eighteen-year olds, what seemed cool at the time, in retrospect seemed ill-chosen. But there are many amazing tattoos out there that might not exist had they not been needed to cover up an earlier, less memorable piece.

Thanks kindly to Shaina for not only sharing her lovely back tattoo with us here at Tattoosday, but for taking the time to chat so candidly about her body art.

Nadine's Ankh and Orchids

I met Nadine last month and she was kind enough to share this beautiful floral piece with us:

The symbol in the foreground is her own "stylized version" of an ankh, a symbol dating back to ancient Egypt which means eternal life.

She has orchids added to the piece because her mother loves those flowers.The orchids were inked about five years ago which is remarkable because reds and yellows tend to fade more quickly on the skin and, Nadine notes, "so far my color has held true".

The ankh took about 45 minutes to do while the rest of the tattoo took five and a half hours over two sittings.

She wanted to point out that the outline is done in purple ink, not black, a nice artistic touch that she convinced her artist was a good choice.

This lovely tattoo was done at New York Adorned, by Brian Randolph.

Work from NY Adorned has been posted previously here (links to all posts tagged NY Adorned).

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

Nadine's Ankh and Orchids

I met Nadine last month and she was kind enough to share this beautiful floral piece with us:

The symbol in the foreground is her own "stylized version" of an ankh, a symbol dating back to ancient Egypt which means eternal life.

She has orchids added to the piece because her mother loves those flowers.The orchids were inked about five years ago which is remarkable because reds and yellows tend to fade more quickly on the skin and, Nadine notes, "so far my color has held true".

The ankh took about 45 minutes to do while the rest of the tattoo took five and a half hours over two sittings.

She wanted to point out that the outline is done in purple ink, not black, a nice artistic touch that she convinced her artist was a good choice.

This lovely tattoo was done at New York Adorned, by Brian Randolph.

Work from NY Adorned has been posted previously here (links to all posts tagged NY Adorned).

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

Mandy's Leopard Stars

I spotted Mandy on Seventh Avenue in Manhattan last month and I had to stop her to ask about this, one of her three tattoos:


She came up with the design and made sure to include the leopard print that she likes so much.

She credits the artist Eric Newby at Ink Xpressions on Ringgold Road in East Ridge (Chattanooga), Tennessee.

You may notice another tattoo peeking into the picture, so let me show you the larger perspective and a glimpse of the piece to the left of the stars:


Mandy informed me later, via e-mail, that the floral piece

"was actually a stencil I found, and I really liked the design a lot. I had two black and white tattoos, so I wanted bright colors and we decided no outlines would look cool. It was a long process to get the colors I wanted to absorb, but it was well worth it in the end. The artist was Shane Hartline at Evermore Galleries in Chattanooga".

Thanks to Mandy for sharing these tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Mandy's Leopard Stars

I spotted Mandy on Seventh Avenue in Manhattan last month and I had to stop her to ask about this, one of her three tattoos:


She came up with the design and made sure to include the leopard print that she likes so much.

She credits the artist Eric Newby at Ink Xpressions on Ringgold Road in East Ridge (Chattanooga), Tennessee.

You may notice another tattoo peeking into the picture, so let me show you the larger perspective and a glimpse of the piece to the left of the stars:


Mandy informed me later, via e-mail, that the floral piece

"was actually a stencil I found, and I really liked the design a lot. I had two black and white tattoos, so I wanted bright colors and we decided no outlines would look cool. It was a long process to get the colors I wanted to absorb, but it was well worth it in the end. The artist was Shane Hartline at Evermore Galleries in Chattanooga".

Thanks to Mandy for sharing these tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!