Saturday, February 2, 2013
HORACIO.
Here is a look into the brother Horacio's sleeve. We still have to fill the rest of the arm but this piece set the tone. Thanks again Horacio! We'll see you soon at the studio…
Hello, February!
Can you believe it's February, already?! We've been keeping ourselves busy at the shop with clients and.....an interior REMODEL! Matt and I just can't go a year without doing some serious upgrading!
We put in a counter! We also plan on changing the murals (I know...sad...) but change is good. We are far from finished but I think we're off to a great start. Okay, so now for the real reason you visit this blog. TATTOOS! Brett Baumgart returned from Miami with some photos of some pretty stellar work.
Back at the shop there was no shortage of awesomeness occurring. Matt Decker has been working on a new flash set. Photos of those to come soon. If you cant wait you can view a sneak peek here: http://web.stagram.com/n/deckro/ . Matt also tattooed a stylized version of a Klimt master work.
Danielle Silva tattooed a "Circle of Life"
Danielle has also been working on a series of pin-up watercolor flash pieces. I'll give you a quick sneak peek now. A more in depth look to follow soon....
Needless to say life is pretty good at Premium Tattoo. You should probably come by and join in on the fun.
Saturday Links: Hello February!
I posted a bunch of links last Saturday and it seemed like the thing to do. So I started this last Sunday and added to it as the week progressed, giving you a snapshot of what interested me in the world of tattoos this past week, as we left January behind, and headed into February.
On Sunday, Artist Joe Capobianco updated us on a back piece he was working on here.
On Monday, "Shanghai" Kate Hellenbrand, one of the longest-tattooing female artists, alerted me to a Kickstarter campaign (here) to raise money for a documentary about her career called "From Voodoo to Vogue".
On Friday, I spotted this piece on xoJane about getting matching tattoos.
On Saturday (today), I looked back and said, "Really, only three things?" It's a little misleading, as I have a lot of cool stuff in the works, including a great contest next week for readers.Y'all come back now, ya' hear?
On Sunday, Artist Joe Capobianco updated us on a back piece he was working on here.
On Monday, "Shanghai" Kate Hellenbrand, one of the longest-tattooing female artists, alerted me to a Kickstarter campaign (here) to raise money for a documentary about her career called "From Voodoo to Vogue".
On Friday, I spotted this piece on xoJane about getting matching tattoos.
On Saturday (today), I looked back and said, "Really, only three things?" It's a little misleading, as I have a lot of cool stuff in the works, including a great contest next week for readers.Y'all come back now, ya' hear?
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Melissa Got Her Gun
Last May, on the first day of the New York City Tattoo Convention, I was almost thirty blocks away from the Roseland Ballroom, where the three-day event takes place, when I bright flash of yellow hair caught my eye on Broadway.
I was about to meet Melissa "Alabama" Graves.
Her bright yellow hair was not the only thing I noticed - she was also heavily-tattooed.
I stopped to talk to her, but she was on her way to an appointment, but she seemed open to being featured on Tattoosday and she assured me she'd make time for me to interview her the next day, Saturday, at the convention.
Melissa is a model and she is a striking figure - despite her tiny frame, she fills a room with her personality and she commands a great presence.
Not to mention, her bright hairstyle makes her easy to spot in a crowded tattoo convention. She was kind enough to spend a significant amount of time with me talking about her tattoos. I could have written much more, but had to pare down our conversation for brevity's sake.
Incidentally, this is my last remaining item from 2012, and I'd like to think I've saved one of the best for last.
Among her tattoos, Melissa chose to share the gun inked on her right thigh:
Here's a closer look:
She credited this work to Gene Coffey at Tattoo Culture in Brooklyn, explaining that she was thrilled that he was able to depict so well this image of a .45 Magnum, tattooed to scale.
Melissa gave me the nitty-gritty about why she had a gun, specifically this gun, inked on her thigh:
“I met this guy a long time ago, his name was Blackie ... he was ripped and tattooed and rockabilly and sexy and he had this, you know, powerful thing about him … He moved away with his girlfriend, it must’ve been … five years ago and the girlfriend and him had been together for a while, and I had a crush on him for a long time …[when] him and the girlfriend are breaking up and, this must’ve been 2008 ... I went on vacation from my job at the beginning of 2009 ... He talked me into going out to California with him and ... I went out to California and we had a week-long vacation together that was probably the most ... fun time I ever had with somebody. And the best sex I ever had in my entire life.
And one of the things we did together was we went to the Downtown L.A. gun range and I fired his .45 magnum in that gun range wearing a mini skirt and six-inch stiletto heels … the chunky heels ... and the guys in the gun range were like, this girl cannot fire this gun … it’s like a cannon of a gun ... it’s life size, compared to little me ... and, you know, um, I weigh a little bit more now than I did back then, but only like five pounds more, and they were like, she still can’t fire this gun. In those heels? No. And I said, Oh yeah I can fire this gun, and I was just ballsing it and I took the gun and I fired it and I asked for the most bizarre absurd targets. And I fired that gun and I hit every target. And ... he was so impressed. It turned him on. And we went back home after I fired that gun. I saved every target and we had the best sex afterwards, I mean, he was just so turned on that I could fire a gun that well. And I’ll never forget that experience. It was like, I could fire a gun and hit a target in the forehead and it was just like really exciting, girl power kind of thing and I left L.A. and he left me at the airport and said ... I’ll see you later kid.”She added that "he was cordial enough after we broke up when I got the idea for the tattoo to scan the gun and send me the image of the gun."
Melissa praised Gene Coffey, the tattoo artist, to no end. He was responsible for the art on her left leg, which she said he had worked on while he was still an apprentice.
What's cool about the tattoo, as well, as that it circles the thigh, with a garter and a badge:
Melissa added,
"The gun signifies a lot to me because I have a broken heart [seen in top photo on her lower abdomen] ... that's broken and stitched back together ... the gun is protecting it ... this gun, I can pull out and say Don't break my heart ... but it's a metaphorical thing - I would never want to hurt somebody ... I'm the sheriff of my heart. I guard my heart and I police my heart and I have my gun to protect it."She wanted to make sure we credited Gene for this work that she entrusted with him. "He's a really talented artist and ... he's going to do the rest of my right leg." We also featured a really cool sleeve by Gene last year here.
Thanks to Melissa for sharing her gun (and time) with us here on Tattoosday! You can check out her website here.
This entry is ©2013 Tattoosday.
If you are seeing this on another website 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 contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Steve's Sleeve and the Narrative Behind It
Earlier this month, I was in the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn for a mixer for The Brooklyn Crescents lacrosse program.
The event was held at Der Schwarze Kolner, a beer garden that offered up some tasty beverages. Over the course of the evening, I noticed one of the employees who was diligently passing out frosty steins to patrons. I introduced myself and asked if I could photograph his sleeve:
Since Steve was working, I asked him to e-mail me with details about the tattoo, and he didn't disappoint, even sending along a collage of the sleeve so our readers could get a better look at the full scope of the artwork:
One of the aspects missing in both photos is this part, which I captured when Steeve bent his arm:
Steve explained:
"First, one needs to know that this tattoo was about 4-5 years in the making before I sat for my first session. So I definitely thought about it for a long while. It was originally inspired by a Bansky stencil in which a woman in a dress is shooting herself in the head. From this bloody mess emerges a number of butterflies. Interpret what you will... I took this to mean rebirth after death and the cleansing properties of fire. I had studied medieval alchemy heavily as a graduate student, and this symbolism of death and rebirth through flame resonated with me greatly. Plus, I know that each of us has a fiery self-destructive side and I am no exception. I wanted to honor that side of myself and also to silently pay homage to those friends over the years that I have lost to suicide.
So working closely with Joy Rumore at Twelve 28 Tattoo in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, we designed the upper sleeve [that] would show a woman, slightly cartoon-like and pin-up styled, holding a gun to her head. Rather than a bloody mess like in the stencil, I wanted her face to be content and pretty. Her hair burns red and orange like the fire elemental she is. From the gun, which has been fired, emerges stars and smoke. From the smoke, moving down the sleeve, emerges a spiral galaxy and more stars in negative space. The bottom sleeve is dominated by a salamander and a phoenix inside of a retort.
These two creatures are mythical symbols of fire, as they both burn up and rise from their own ashes. Fire blows from the top of the retort, and a 1up Mario Mushroom [visible in the top photo at the bottom of the sleeve, near the wrist], the one overt pop-culture reference on my arm, comes forth again illustrating rebirth and 'extra' life after death. Other features of the sleeve are the bullet casing, which is haloed inside my elbow pit, and the final black star on the inside of my wrist, which has the alchemical symbol for Mercury within. Mercury is the activator, the 'invisible, secretly working fire' of the purification process. Lastly, the Latin words MUNDUS VULT DECIPI are inscribed on my arm. They translate to 'the world wishes to be deceived.' I agree with this saying, attributed to the Roman Petronius (1st c. AD), as many individuals live life 'asleep.' Only though the fire can one truly awake into a higher self.
Still, despite the short novel of meaning I find and imbue into this tattoo, overall it is a beautiful piece of art and I couldn't be happier with Joy's work. She was very patient with me as we completed the piece over the course of three years! Money ran tight at times and our schedules conflicted, but in truth the time allowed for us to work together and for the tattoo to organically take shape. For instance, the bottom sleeve was not designed at all when we began the top sleeve. I remember suggesting to Joy the idea of the 1up Mushroom blasting from the retort, only to have her laugh with enjoyment at how nicely it would bring things together. You know you have found an excellent tattoo artist when they are genuinely interested and excited to work to create a shared piece of art.
I guess that's my sleeve's story then. Oh, and by the way, the girl has no name and I doubt she ever will!"Steve's praise for Joy Rumore is not unfounded. She's a remarkable artist who has had work featured on Tattoosday several times before (click here to link to all previous posts tagged with her shop).
I greatly appreciate Steve sharing his sleeve with us, and for taking the time to give us a full and thoughtful explanation of the design process. Thank you Steve!
This entry is ©2013 Tattoosday.
If you are seeing this on another website 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 contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Tom's Portrait of Ghost Bear Watches His Back
Someone on Tattoosday's Facebook page had recently inquired about an artist on this post which featured some great work on Tom, who I met on the Coney Island boardwalk last summer.
I reached out to Tom for some additional details and not only did he clarify the reader's question, but he sent along a new tattoo, inked less than two weeks ago:
This was done by Kyle Proia, the owner at Tymeless Tattoo & Piercing in Baldwinsville, New York, just west of Syracuse. It was based on this photo:
Tom explained that this is a picture of Ghost Bear, a member of the Crow Nation. This version of the image was created by Wendelin, based on an original black and white photograph by Edward S. Curtis:
Tom elaborated:
This entry is ©2013 Tattoosday.
If you are seeing this on another website 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 contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.
I reached out to Tom for some additional details and not only did he clarify the reader's question, but he sent along a new tattoo, inked less than two weeks ago:
This was done by Kyle Proia, the owner at Tymeless Tattoo & Piercing in Baldwinsville, New York, just west of Syracuse. It was based on this photo:
Tom explained that this is a picture of Ghost Bear, a member of the Crow Nation. This version of the image was created by Wendelin, based on an original black and white photograph by Edward S. Curtis:
| photo from Library of Congress (here) |
"I have loved [this imagery] from the very first time I learned about the history, way of life these people that populated the American Plains before the arrival of the Europeans. I have another Native American on my left shoulder that is black and grey. I now have two warriors watching my back. I am planning on doing the rest of my back with a scene from the Black Hills, Badland area in The Dakotas."Thanks to Tom for sharing this awesome new tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!
This entry is ©2013 Tattoosday.
If you are seeing this on another website 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 contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
I Link, Therefore I Am
Modeling this after one of my favorite poetry blogs (Thank you, Ron Silliman), here's my attempt to share some links....
Saturday morning, while standing in line for Brooklyn bagels that, as they say in Hawai'i, broke da mouth, I spotted an item ("Tatt-tle Tales") on the cover of the New York Post: Read about San Francisco '49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick's tattoos.
Speaking of the 49ers, a Vallejo tattoo shop is offering 49er logo tattoos for, you guessed it, $49.
Yesterday, my lovely friends over at the Needles and Sins blog alerted me to the existence of a new online explosion of awesomeness called Tattoo Culture Magazine. I envision hours of time lost in these digital pages.
Ok, that's not a really impressive list of links, but the Tattoo Culture Magazine should keep you busy for a while.
Maybe I'll be back next Saturday with more links, maybe not.
| Photo by Michael Short/special to the Chronicle (via SF Gate) |
Saturday morning, while standing in line for Brooklyn bagels that, as they say in Hawai'i, broke da mouth, I spotted an item ("Tatt-tle Tales") on the cover of the New York Post: Read about San Francisco '49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick's tattoos.
Speaking of the 49ers, a Vallejo tattoo shop is offering 49er logo tattoos for, you guessed it, $49.
Yesterday, my lovely friends over at the Needles and Sins blog alerted me to the existence of a new online explosion of awesomeness called Tattoo Culture Magazine. I envision hours of time lost in these digital pages.
Ok, that's not a really impressive list of links, but the Tattoo Culture Magazine should keep you busy for a while.
Maybe I'll be back next Saturday with more links, maybe not.
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