Kara's Kara-cature (and a Killer Back Piece, to Boot)

I spotted Kara on 7th Avenue back in July.

She was headed south while I was headed north. When I turned and saw her back piece, I whirled around and caught up to her to ask her about her work. She was kind enough to share. Check it out:

She credited an artist named Augustin Espinosa with this piece and most of her tattoos are "all about decoration." Espinosa was at A-List Industry Studios in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn when he did the back piece, but he was at New York Hardcore in Manhattan when he tattooed her left arm:

Kara explained,

"My arm piece is basically a caricature of me ... I am a marathon runner ... I wanted a pin-up tattoo and I'm a narcissist so I wanted it to be about me ... I gave Augustin basically what I wanted and he drew this."

Thanks to Kara for stopping when I asked her about her tattoos, and for sharing them with us here on Tattoosday!

UPDATE: I learned just recently, while researching this post, that Kara has joined the ranks of the many burlesque performers that have graced these illustrious pages. She performs under the name Magdalena Fox and is, by my best estimation, the fifth performer (that I am aware of) that has been featured here. Just one of the fun perks of being a tattoo blogger!

This entry is ©2012 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.

Matt's Black Flag Tribute

I met Matt on the 59th Street subway platform in Brooklyn back in October 2011 and he shared one of his tattoos with me.

Before I proceed though, I should point out that this is my last photo from 2011. I was holding out to make this an elaborate post, combined with a book review, but it just never evolved that way.

And, as Tattoosday recently reached its five year milestone (more on that later), we're going to try things a little differently around here. Of course, that has nothing to do with this tattoo:

This tattoo is based on the album cover for Black Flag's My War.

Note the slight artistic differences:

Matt credited this work to Oscar Varela, a visiting artist at New York Hardcore Tattoo in Manhattan.

When I asked Matt why he chose to pay tribute to this album with a tattoo, he explained, "That's been one of my favorite hardcore albums of all time ... I grew up in Anaheim, California, so, you know, the So Cal scene and everything like that ... gotta keep it real."

I had originally wanted to tie this piece in with a review of Henry Rollins' book Occupants.

With Rollins the lead singer of Black Flag, it seemed like a cool tie-in.

The problem is, I really couldn't wrap my head around a book review for the site, but I can give it a rousing endorsement. The volume consists of Rollins' photos as he has traveled the world, and essays he has written to accompany the images. The words are profound and the linked photos are stark and moving. I strongly suggest that people check out the book.

Thanks to Matt for sharing his Black Flag tattoo with us here on Tattoosday, and for waiting patiently these past months for me to post it!

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading 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.

Good Sparrow, Bad Sparrow

Last month along Eighth Avenue, I spotted Phillip, who had a ton of traditional ink. In fact, he had just had work done on his neck, rocking these two tattoos:

These two sparrows combine to represent a take on the good versus bad consciences that people have.

Phillip says he has "hundreds" of tattoos, and he credits Baz at New York Hardcore Tattoo with these pieces.

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

This entry is ©2012 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 contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Ysabel's Devil Girl

I met Ysabel last month on 34th Street across from Macy*s, and she shared this tattoo from her upper left arm:

Ysabel got this devilish girl purely as a decorative piece (no hidden meanings here!) and this is one of her thirteen tattoos.

This was inked at New York Hardcore Tattoos by Ronda Biondi. Ysabel told me that Rhonda is no longer there, and I was unable to find her on the web, so if anyone knows where she can be reached, please let us know so we can link her properly in this post. Xanthos.

After this post went live, I did receive a confirmation from the artist, Ronda Xanthos, who clarified, "I did do that pin-up (not the back-round)," when she was at New York Hardcore. You can check out some of Ronda's work here on Facebook.


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

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

Small World, Tattoosday-Style

I have a few days off and was buying some milk at the grocery store when an older gentleman in line behind me complimented me on the tiger tattoo on my calf, which has been well-documented here, in this initial post, and subsequent ones.

The gentleman asked who the artist was and mentioned his son was an artist as well. "Who?" I asked, and he told me, Mike Perfetto, aka Designs by Michael Angelo in Brooklyn. I gave him a flier and he introduced himself as Ralph Perfetto, our Democratic District Leader here in Bay Ridge.

I know you're likely thinking, "Nice story, Bill, but is it really that much of a small world coincidence?" Actually, yes, because my backlog had brought me to posting a couple of tattoos on Peter, who I had last seen at the Matty No Times benefit back on July 17. One of those tattoos, you guessed it, is by Mike Perfetto.

Let's take a look:

Pete also shared a tattoo on his leg by legendary Brooklyn artist Tony Polito. As you can see, Pete has quite a collection of ink, and he takes pride in the work he has from "old school" New York artists tattooing in the American Traditional style.

Pete explained that "Old Calcutta" was a nickname for Tony's shop from the early '80s to the mid '90s because of the high intensity atmosphere of the shop and the people who were there.

Thanks to Peter for sharing his tattoos with us here on Tattoosday (again and again). Peter has been working hard at New York Hardcore Tattoo on Stanton Street. They have recently remodeled the shop and are working hard on producing quality art on the denizens of New York City. Be sure to stop in and meet their crew.

Mike Remembers Mom with a Traditional Tattoo

I met Mike in the Penn Plaza area and asked him, among his countless tattoos, which had the most meaning for him. I may have mentioned before that asking a multi-tattooed individual that is like asking a parent to choose his favorite among his multiple children. Mike shared this feeling,
but ultimately chose to offer up the piece above.

It's a traditional mom tattoo that he had to honor her memory after she passed away in January of this year from cancer.

The piece was inked by Tasha at NY Hardcore Tattoo in Manhattan.

Mike offered up his knuckle tattoos, as well:

Thanks to Mike for sharing some of his ink here at Tattoosday!