premiumtattoo: September 2011

Friday, September 30, 2011

Tattoo's of the Day!

Matt Decker's completed Cannon Lady Piece on Lauren!

Lauren's Hourglass

Occasionally we'll share a reader submission and today we have a piece contributed by Lauren. She sent in this cool hourglass:

Lauren explains:

"I decided on an hourglass after wanting something to represent living your life to the fullest and realizing time is precious. After thinking and going through all the quotes I could find I decided I would get an hourglass to represent it all. Paul Anthony Dobleman at Spider Murphy's Tattoo in San Rafael, CA is a genius. He has done about 75% of my tattoos and he took my idea and ran with it. Exactly what I wanted. Couldn't be happier! The tattoo is located on my left rib cage."

Thanks to Lauren for sharing her timely tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

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Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Anthony's Phenomenal Marilyn Monroe Portrait

Without question, Marilyn Monroe has appeared more on Tattoosday than any other celebrity, living or dead. You'd think I'd get tired of seeing her in ink, but I never do. Probably because there are artists out there doing this:

This portrait is on the left leg of Anthony, a photographer I met on Penn Plaza a couple weeks ago. The work is based on this famous photograph:

Anthony credited the artist as Horacio Martinez, at Golden Eagle Tattoo in Santa Barbara, California. The detail in the piece is really spectacular:

When I asked why he chose to ink the legendary actress on his leg, he said, "I was in photo school at the time and we were doing a lot of Hollywood glamor stuff and it was just kind of, on a whim. Why not?"

The piece is two years old and took only three and a half hours for Horacio to complete.

To see all the Marilyn Monroe work that has appeared on Tattoosday, click here. You can also see Anthony's work as a photographer on Tumblr here, or you can visit his website here.

Thanks to Anthony for sharing this incredible tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Frank's Koi Blends Traditional and Modern

Back on the first of July, I met Frank as I was headed home through Penn Station. He shared this tattoo on his lower leg:

Frank explained that the tattoo artist was Gus, who works out of John's Tattoos in Islip, New York. He elaborated, telling me, "I originally wanted a koi fish ... not too traditional, but a little bit different. Some modern twist on it ... Gus put the traditional with the modern and there it is."

Thanks to Frank for sharing his koi fish and cherry blossoms with us here on Tattoosday!

Monday, September 26, 2011

Jacqueline's Blood Rose

Two weeks ago I spotted Jacqueline and knew I had to ask her about this large tattoo in the center of her back:

Jacqueline explained that she and her older brother got this same tattoo in the same spot. "We just wanted to get a matching tattoo," she told me, "and, you know, we're both blood relatives". It's as simple as that.

She credits Seth Wood with this tattoo. Seth currently works out of Saved Tattoo in Brooklyn. Work by Seth appeared previously on Tattoosday just last month here.

Thanks to Jacqueline for sharing this amazing tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Andrea Shares a Gil Elvgren Pinup by Shane O'Neill

Earlier this month, I met Andrea while waiting for the A train.

Andrea is covered with tattoos, estimating she has over 50% of her body inked. I always feel privileged when someone so dedicated to the art of tattoo agrees to share their work. Andrea offered up this amazing pin-up on her right forearm:

This amazing tattoo is based on the work of legendary pin-up artist Gil Elvgren. The tattoo artist responsible for this incredible work is Shane O'Neill, who is based in Middletown, Delaware. The detail in this piece is incredible.

Work by Shane has appeared previously on our site here.

Thanks to Andrea for sharing her amazing work with us here on Tattoosday!

Saturday, September 24, 2011

THE PROCESS.

It always feels good to go back to the basics. We may forget or don't have time to draw

but in my case drawing seems essantial in order to upgrade my tattoos. Here is a study of a portrait i did today. I took picture of each step of the process. Check it out...

A skill is not born over night, practice is the key to our success.

Never settle.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Natalie's Geisha Butterfly

Last month, I ran into Natalie on Seventh Avenue and 24th Street. She had several tattoos, but shared this geisha, with butterfly wings, floating on the top of her back:

She got this about six years ago in the city of Leeds from an artist named Diego.

When I asked why she got this particular tattoo, she replied, "I kind of just wanted something that was quite girly, yet strong at the same time."

Natalie is a professional photographer whose work can be seen on her website here.

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

Thursday, September 22, 2011

a taste of todays fare

Check out this classic. With Robs addition of the striped cane.

Video by Matt Dronkers for Premium Tattoo!

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Kristen's Anchor - Dedicated to Daddy

"This tattoo is for my father," Kristen told me, as we sat talking at the laundromat earlier this month, "because he's my anchor and he's the only man that could ever hold me down and take care of me."

She credits an artist named Twace who works in Brooklyn. [On October 4, 2011, I learned Twace is working at Citizen Ink.] Twace does all her work and is working with Kristen on her sleeve, which is based on family and inspired by Sailor Jerry flash.

When I asked her about coming up with the design, she praised Twace, her artist:

"What I love about him is that we designed the entire piece together ... I paint and do artistic things, as well, which you find [can be] very difficult with tattoo artists to put your inspiration in ... The heart rope was my idea, the color scheme, we basically worked together, bounced ideas off each other, which makes it even more like a special event."

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

EP in DK

I know this blog has more guest artist posts than resident artist posts these days... and it's gonna stay that way, at least for now!
Because we have more exciting guest news!
Or, "guest" is such a weird word to use about our bro, our BFF, our favorite human, our man in Asia...
Yes, Nick, or Electric Pick, as the world has come to know him as, is coming to work at the shop, and soon too!
He'll be working here from the 2nd till the 31st of January 2012.
Regular clients with unfinished pieces in progress will obviously get booked in first, but he'll be booking new clients in for one shots as well (think pieces that can be finished in 8 hours max).
As always, you can write to him at pick@electricpick.com and he'll get back to you in a timely fashion (totally just kidding about that last part, but he will get back to you eventually!)

Here's some example of recent work, to see older pieces click here or use the labels to your right.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Jungle Queen, Almost done.

9/19/2-11

This purdy little Minx is almost done. Finish the base and a little fine tuning.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

LIKE FATHER LIKE SON.

Chris came in yesterday to get a captivating image of his sons face. He chose his stomach to be the perfect canvas to always have his son by his side. No strong session is easy to sit trough and Chris sat through this 6 hours experience. Take a look.

A gaze into each others eyes.

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Tattoo Time!

Oakland Pride!

Jules started a new piece today.

It's a Blog World, After All

It's not unusual to occasionally run into someone who's been featured on the blog before, especially in my neighborhood, but this morning I ran into four former Tattoosday subjects. So, out of sheer laziness and the desire to share these encounters, we'll be revisiting these old posts.

First, I ran into Melanie, whose Marilyn Monroe tattoo appeared earlier this year here.

I spotted her where I first met her, in the laundromat. We were chatting when Sandra walked by and said hi. I also met Sandra in the laundromat back in 2009. Her tattoo was featured here.

Then, I ran into James and . James was also a laundromat encounter, although his son went to school with my youngest daughter, so we had seen each other around the neighborhood a lot. Today I ran into him about a block from the laundromat. James was here on Tattoosday in our second post, back in 2007! It's worth checking out here, just to get a perspective of what the site was like "back in the day."

James was walking with his girlfriend, Jeanette, who I met on the subway in 2009, and featured here. What's remarkable is that, at the time, James and Jeanette were not a couple, and I only learned they were together almost a year later, when I ran into James and he told me that his girlfriend had been featured on the site as well.

So, there you have it, folks. Small world, Tattoosday-style!

Friday, September 16, 2011

LA PATIENCE EST UNE VERTUE.

A small glimpse into what's been in the works here at the studio...

Erin's Tribute to Thomas, Her Grandfather

Back in June, I met Erin on the subway, and she shared this section of her inner forearm:

This tattoo is a tribute to her grandfather, Thomas, who served in the U.S. Navy.

The work was done at High Street Tattoo in Columbus, Ohio.

Erin explained:

"I just told [the artist] that I wanted something that would relate to the Navy, I guess, so that's the anchor. I like Old School tattoos, I like Sailor Jerry classic-style."

Erin also has a Friday the 13th tattoo below this, on her wrist:

This was done at Only You Tattoo in Atlanta.

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

Thursday, September 15, 2011

A Beacon for Marci on Buddy's Arm

I met Buddy a while back while riding the subway. He had 13 or 14 tattoos and shared this piece, from his left forearm:

Buddy explained that this old gas-lit street light serves a memorial piece for Marci, his French bulldog, who passed away at the age of 14. Marci was his "light in the dark" for a dozen years,

The tattoo was inked at The End is Near in Brooklyn. He couldn't remember the artist's name, but based on his description (and my rudimentary knowledge of the artists there), I believe the tattooist was Joey Wilson, who has moved on to Asylum Studios in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

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

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Tattoos of the Day!

Nate's chest text piece was done completely with a shader!

A brother and sister going off to college get commemorative tattoos

before leaving the nest!

Hello, fancy lady

A quick and slightly blurry update on Joseph's fancy backpiece.
Obviously he has a few more sessions to go, but it's definitely starting to look like something!

I can't wait till this is finished, and i'm sure Joseph can't either!

Ashley's Scarabs

I met Ashley a couple months ago, over the summer, on a Friday afternoon at the Broadway-Lafayette subway station.

She had two tattoos on her upper left arm that jumped out at me:

These two scarabs were tattooed by Jason June, from Three Kings Tattoo, in Brooklyn. Why scarabs? Ashley explained that they have "a family significance from the scarab bracelet that I have." She showed me the bracelet and two of the stones matched the colors in the tattoos. Pretty neat.

Check out posts tagged Three Kings here to see the work we've featured from the shop on Tattoosday.

Thanks to Ashley for sharing these scarabs with us here on Tattoosday!

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Good Time Sam and the Mad Hatter

Last month I ran into a young lady who called herself "Good Time Sam" in Penn Station. She was very enthusiastic about sharing one of her tattoos. She has "at least twenty". She offered up this memorable character:

That is, of course, the Mad Hatter, from Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

Sam credited this piece to her friend Justin from Pigment Custom Tattoo and Piercing in New Orleans.

She chose this for a tattoo because she likes the character, Hatter, from the book, and she always wears a hat.

The image is based on the original John Tenniel illustration

although it seems that the tattoo artist added some additional detail, along with the phrase "live the madness"

Thanks to "Good Time Sam" for sharing this cool tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!