A Word of Thanks.....

With the onset of Fall, I compose this note as the month of September is coming to an end.

I look around sadly at the long pants, long sleeves, and covered frames that, just a few weeks ago, were so much more interesting to behold.

I am filled with sadness.

The past month has been a record-breaker for Tattoosday. When we first spun off from BillyBlog, we garnered 120 hits in the first three weeks of our infancy.

Last year, I was amazed by my progress, in September '08 we racked up 13,351 hits.

And this September, when I anticipated a drop off from a record August, Tattoosday soared into uncharted territory, on pace to top 38, 000 hits on the last day of the month. This may not seem like a big deal, but blogging is often lonely, and the number of hits is often the only measure of recognition we receive.

So, the summer ink is running dry, but despair not, I will continue to spot tattoos, although perhaps not at the dizzying rate of the past few months.

I have a backlog of posts and a head full of ideas to keep us entertained as the leaner months loom.

I thank you all for your continued readership and participation. I am very appreciative of your support!

Bill Cohen

Little Dead Riding Hood

I met Amy in Penn Station earlier this month and she agreed to share this, one of her eight tattoos:


Actually, she has since e-mailed me about her ninth, and I am waiting for a photo.

This tattoo represents an undead version of Little Red Riding Hood, which is Amy's favorite fairy tale.


She also likes zombies, so it seemed like a good match.

This tattoo was inked by T.J. Mcinnis at Mcinnis Tattoo Company in Providence, Rhode Island.

Thanks to Amy for sharing this cool tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Picture Sexy Girl With Japanese Koi Fish Tattoos Design

Picture Sexy Girl With Japanese Koi Fish Tattoos Design

Picture Sexy Girl With Japanese Full Body Tattoos Design

Picture Sexy Girl With Japanese Full Body Tattoos Design

Images Sexy Girl With Full Body Tattoos

Images Sexy Girl With Full Body Tattoos

Zack's Spectacular Foot Tattoos

I met Zack earlier this month as he was walking north on Broadway. But, like many Tattoosday encounters, the ink I spotted (on his leg) was not what ended up here on the blog.

Behold, Zack's feet:

These incredible foot tattoos were created by Beef Stu at Bleed Blue Tattoo in Lexington, Kentucky. Zack recently moved to New York from the Bluegrass state.

Zack told me that the idea for these tattoos came to him in a vision. His right foot tattoo is comprised of a DNA strand, the key to life.
And the left foot. with the skull, represents death.


The word "LIVE" is spelled out above the pieces, with "LI" on the right foot and "VE" on the left. The tattoos, together, Zack told me, serve as a "reminder not to get caught up in the shit" and to "make the most of what you can between life and death".

It took three or four sessions (the feet are not easily inked) for these tattoos.

Thanks to Zack for sharing his amazing foot tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

J.R.'s Five Elements

At the end of August, I spent a couple of minutes on the R train with J.R., who has quite a few tattoos. I didn't have time to take notes, just photos, and I hoped that she would e-mail me with all the details of her work. Fortunately, she did. So, what follows is her explanation of the tattoos, with a little bit of friendly editing.

"My left arm? Dedicated to the five elements...as I see them to be. Earth, Air, Water, Fire and Friendship.

The ants (done by Roni from Hidden Hand Tattoo in Seattle) represent Earth.


Ants are the closest social structure to mirror humans. They have no real strength individually, but together can achieve so much. As a human, I feel it is destined to feel lonely and when I got the tattoo, I came to terms with that and even found beauty in it. I want to feel less like an ant in the sense that there is something that I'm "supposed" to do and if I don't do it I'll be punished or kicked out of the colony, so to say. I want to feel more that there is a greater purpose for my life (or at least one that reflects me as an individual and not what society tells me to be) and that with the help of others I can realize that to it's fullest potential.

The clouds and birds (done by Jeff Cornell owner/artist at Hidden Hand Tattoo) represent Air.


There is a Leonard Cohen song called "Bird on the Wire" that I think is one of the most beautiful songs ever written. I feel the lyrics of the song so deeply and feel that they express such a core sense of who I am. Always, trying to be free. I aspire to someday be free instead of always trying and the tattoo is an attempt to remind myself that the feeling of trying is also a choice just as easy as the feeling of being free is a choice. The past tense nature of the words remind me to be light and free as a bird...

The blue tattoo on my inner arm (done by a girl in her apartment 10 years ago and I can't even remember her name) represents Water.


It is a play on yin and yang as well as a the symbol for Cancer, which is my astrological moon sign. Cancer is ruled by the moon and your moon signs make up your emotional nature. So, I feel this sign very strongly and luckily balances my Leo sun sign which I will get to more later. The symbol has stars instead of circles like a traditional yin yang because I wanted it to represent the universe within myself versus me questioning the universe around me. I got the box around it to express the feeling of being limited due to the human mind. I wanted to remind myself that any limitations are just an illusion and the healthy balance is one in which I'm learning from my experiences but also pushing my own boundaries.

The red and orange tattoo on my outer arm was done by the same forgotten artist though I will mention I was one of her first clients and that she was the perfect person for the job due to her own self-exploratory nature. She provided a healing space in which I was able to have an out of body experience.


The tattoo represents Fire. It captures my before mentioned fire sign of Leo, which is ruled by the sun. It is also Buddhist themed using a Tibetan mantra Om Mani Padme Hum which roughly translates to "the jewel is in the lotus," which to me is a beautiful way to live life. The lotus roots reach far into the muck and swamp but emerge with a beautiful flower on top. The tattoo is an attempt to capture the notion of living in the world yet being separate from it, as to not get burned or be consumed by it. The circle in the tattoo represents the sun and myself and the red is the part of myself that struggles to find my way in the world.

The beehive (done by Louis Barak here in NYC) is a tribute to Emer and Naomi, two best friends of mine, and the tattoo as a whole captures what I consider to be the fifth element, Friendship...It bears the lyrics of The Beatles' "With a Little Help from My Friends." We lived together in Seattle and called our lovely house the Beehive. We used to listen to The Beatles A LOT...though now I'm more of a Stones fan.

There are two bees buzzing to represent them


and the three forget-me-not flowers represent each of us. Emer and Naomi have known me the longest and have seen me through thick and thin. They mean the world to me and I love them both like sisters. I know in my heart that we will know each other forever."

A big thanks to J.R. for sharing her tattoos with me on the subway and then writing so eloquently about them for us to read here on Tattoosday!

Zodiac Tattoo Symbols

Zodiac Tattoo Design Symbols

Zodiac tattoos symbols design now are very popular and zodiac star tattos or Zodiac Celtic tattoo are some of the variations. the zodiac tatto can be combined with other designs such as the dragon tatto, hearts tattoo, angel, tattoo, skulls tattoo, and other tattoo and can really look more great. Zodiac tattoo are popular because they relate to one's birthday or astrological signs tattoo design. tattoo zodiac are twelve signs of the zodiac namely Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces. try combine with harmonious color more so nice

Cogito Chuck Robbins (Literary Ink)

Sometimes I abbreviate post titles and they seem nonsensical, like one of those captcha messages, or a subject line in a morsel of spam.

So I'm sticking with this title "Cogito Chuck Robbins" because I like the way it sounds. So there. It will all make sense eventually.

I met Chris outside of Penn Station one Friday afternoon, intrigued by his forearm tattoo:


"Cogito ergo sum" is a Latin phrase that means, in English, "I think, therefore, I am." It is attributed to the 17th Century French philosopher René Descartes.

This was the first of Chris' three tattoos. He is a philosophy and creative writing major at SUNY New Paltz. This phrase is the "missing link in a belief system," or, in his words, "what I always knew, but never knew".

The tattoo was done at a shop in East Meadow, New York.

Chris also has this dead bird near his right elbow:


Inked at Skin Deep Tattoo in Levittown, this is inspired by the art on the cover of Chuck Palahniuk's Lullaby.

Work from Skin Deep has appeared previously on Tattoosday here. Palahniuk also has quite a cult following, and his work is the most often represented in ink here on Tattoosday. Check out other Palahniuk tattoos here.

And Chris' third tattoo is based on the cover art from one of my favorite authors, Tom Robbins:


This echoes the front of the great book Still Life With Woodpecker, which has made many people a fan of the writer.


The piece, which was inked by Mike Vlad at Triple X Tattoo in Manhattan, is a subtle nod in appreciation of Robbins and his great book. Work from Triple X has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

If you like these pieces, and are a fan of literary tattoos, you should certainly check out Contrariwise, a site dedicated solely to contributors' literary ink.

A hearty thanks to Chris for sharing his tattoos with us here on our site!

Full Body Dragon Tattoos Design

Full Body Dragon Tattoo motif Design

extreme tattoos, so colorful and nice design and pretty model for that tattoos design! nice Japanese dragon tattoo motif! excellent tattoos design

Colin's Left Leg is Traditionally Flash-y

I spotted Colin one afternoon while I was waiting for another tattooed individual to get off of her cell phone.

(Not only have I come up with individual terms for things that are associated with inkblogging, but I follow a code, as well. One of its tenets is to never bother someone talking on a cell phone.)

Colin ambled by and I bounded after him, stopping him and asking about his tattoos.

His left leg is covered with traditional flash, from swallows and bombs, roses, death's head moths,


and a pin-up girl, done in the Sailor Jerry style.


He explained that the sleeved left leg is a result of being "overzealous and excited" about tattoos.
Usually I try to talk about one or two pieces, but because most of his work is just flash, I captured most of his calf.

No fascinating stories to tell, just tattoos.

Thanks to Colin for sharing his ink with us here on Tattoosday!

Wave and Flower Tattoo Design Ideas

Wave & Flower Tattoo Design Ideas

See that wave and flower lower back body woman tattoo look so sexy and feminine! contras color with great tattoos design ideas! suitable for back body full tattoos

Sweet Pea Shares More Classic Brooklyn-Style Ink

My last tattoo (here) was inked by Pete who uses the moniker "Sweet Pea".

I stopped by to say hi a few weeks back and I got a glimpse of him tattooing a koi on a client's leg.

Sweet Pea invited me to snap a shot of his own leg, recently inked by legendary tattoo artist Tony Polito:


This piece of classicly-inspired flash, signed by Polito himself, is another fine work of body art on Sweet Pea's canvas. See the original post featuring his ink here.

Thanks to Sweet Pea for sharing this tattoo with us here on Tattoosday.

Picture Sexy Girls With Butterfly Back Neck Tattoos Design

Picture Sexy Girls With Butterfly Back Neck Tattoos Design

Picture Sexy Girl With Back Neck Tattoos Design

Picture Sexy Girl With Back Neck Tattoos Design

Any Port in a Storm: Chris Wears His Clipper Ship with Pride

I spotted this beauty of a tattoo in Bay Ridge on the calf of Chris:


He explained that it is a cover-up and took Alex Franklin at Brooklyn Ink about four hours to complete. Work from Alex and the other artists from Brooklyn Ink have appeared previously on Tattoosday here.


Chris is originally from Boston and he said the clipper ship tattoo just "seemed like the New England thing to get". He later elaborated, in an e-mail:

"I wanted to get something true to where I've grown up and my heritage. A clipper ship is a very New England type tattoo and I was born and raised in Boston before setting off to NYC. Ships also mean a lot to me as 3 of my relatives left England for NYC on the Titanic and 1 of them perished at sea with the ship. In addition, my grandfather was aboard the Navy's USS Allagash in the Korean War. Any Port in A Storm is an important saying for me, because I am a cop in Brooklyn. Essentially it means, when you're in trouble, any way out is a good way out, whether or not you like the decision.

Thanks to Chris for sharing this wonderful tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Glamor Sexy Tattoos Designs Ideas

Glamor Sexy Tattoos Designs Ideas for Woman

Have a tattoo is a pride for every person as well these sexy girl he's very proud of that glamor tattoo on his body! wan a make sexy tattoo design copy this picture and i thing good ideas for woman make your more glamor with full body tattoos

Great Japanese Full Body Tattoos Design

Japanese Full Body Tattoos Design

Wew this full body tattoos design looking so nice with full color and full body tattoos in sexy female model, with japanese tattoos concept so great combination color make very perfect tattoo design! wan a make tattoos like that picture? please copy that tattoos image will be rare that you compete with your tattoos

Black And Grey Tattoos Ideas Design

Black & Grey Tattoos Design Ideas

looking this high quality of black and grey tattoo designs! nice design and good color for white skint! natural color and great design with combination little tribal tattos! do you interested with Black and Grey Tattoos? very good likes that half-naked girl's! he

Claire's Tree of Memory and Strength

On a drizzly day in late August, I ran into Claire, a woman on my block in Bay Ridge, with this tattoo on her upper right arm:


When I asked Claire about the tattoo, she explained that her mother is mentally ill and that, despite being present, she really has not been there as a parent to her, due to her illness.


She remembers, as a child, that her mom often wore a suit with a floral pattern. When deciding upon this, one of her five tattoos, the design reminded her of that suit, and subsequently, the tattoo came to represent the absent parent.

This tattoo was inked by Charlie Foos at Fly Rite Studio. Charlie apprenticed there and is now working in Baltimore at Read Street Tattoo Parlour. Work from Fly Rite has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Thanks to Claire for sharing this powerful and beautiful tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!