Jon's Molten Flesh Tear

Well, we seem to be taking care of a lot of our orphan posts earlier in the month than later, as I expected. Our next piece is from Jon, who I met in Herald Square back in June. He was visiting New York from England, and his travelling companion, Marjo, shared her tattoo with us back in July here.

Jon let me snap a photo of his leg, which is a take on one of those torn flesh motifs:

Note you can see Marjo in the background, rocking a pretty cool leg piece.

I don't have much more to say about Jon's tattoo, which I dubbed "Molten Flesh Tear," other than he credited to an artist named Mick J at Blue Dragon Tattoo in Brighton, England. I did find the following reference pictures on Mick J's MySpace page:

Thanks to Jon for sharing with us here on Tattoosday!

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Richard's Cybernetic Tattoos

I met Richard in the Amtrak section of Penn Station, which I have found to be a wonderful place to find tattoos from all over the world.

He was in the New York area on business, having traveled from Oregon where he lives and runs his company, Out of the Box Mods, LLC.

His tattoos are directly related to his vocation of computer modding, which "involves making physical changes to a computer for aesthetic reasons or to improve the performance".

Here is the piece on his upper left arm:


Often, I will be sent, a better photo that was taken right after completion, or in better circumstances than my quick little snapshots in public. By comparing the photo I took with the one Richard sent, you get a better idea of how the tattoo artist envisioned the piece, down to the bruising of the skin around the torn flesh.


I also took a photo of a work-in-progress on his forearm:


The outline for the second piece is completed, for the most part, and it is soon to be colored.

This style of tattoo is often referred to as "torn flesh" and is marked by an added dimension of perspective. When done properly, the effect of the tattoo is unsettling, as if the skin of the tattooed person has been ripped away, exposing the workings within. The variance comes in what lies beneath the skin, which allows individuals to express more about their selves through their tattoo art. See some other examples of the torn flesh motif as seen on the site can be viewed here and here.

The machinery below Richard's outer layer of skin personifies that which drives him: mods.

The work shown is the creation of tattoo artist "Lil Kev" at Ink-Daddy's Tattoo in Salem, Oregon.

Richard tells me he's getting the forearm piece finished in a couple of days, so check back to see the link to the updated piece, once it's done.

Thanks again to Richard for his participation and cooperation in sharing his cool mod tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Mario Reveals the Soul Beneath the Skin

I met Mario outside of Madison Square Garden and he shared this, his first tattoo, which he had inked on his eighteenth birthday:


His friend did the design and he took it to Coney Island Vinny's Tattoo and Body Piercing in Brooklyn.

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

Skeleton Emerging

I met Javier outside of Madison Square Garden back in July and he shared this incredible tattoo on the back of his right calf:


He had the idea in mind and took it to Uccio, a tattoo artist in a shop in Salamanca, located in western Spain.

This amazing piece has an incredible three-dimensional feel, with a skeleton emerging through the torn flesh of Javier's leg.

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

UPDATE:

Javier was kind enough to clarify for us that the shop where this was done is called Stres Tattoo in Salamanca.

He also sent me images of the sketches upon which this amazing tattoo was based:




Thanks to Javier for the update!

Adam's Tattoos Honor God and Country

On April 28th, I was walking across Penn Plaza, outside of Madison Square Garden, and saw a couple of guys taking pictures.

This is fairly common outside of "the world's most famous arena".

Depending on the event going on that day or night, one can get an eyefull of tattoo ink. When there is a rock concert scheduled, there is quite a few visible tattoos on the plaza, when the Westminster dog show's in town, not so much.

On this particular day, there was a WWE wrestling event at the Garden, and the guys I saw taking pictures were waiting for the show to begin.

I approached and met Adam, who had this very cool tattoo on his right bicep:


The piece is designed to flow with his musculature and falls under what I call the "torn flesh" category of tattooing. That is, the tattoo takes on an additional dimension, as it is inked to appear as if the flesh is ripped away, allowing the viewer to see what lies below the skin.

In Adam's case, he bleeds red, white and blue in the form of the American flag. His patriotism is exemplified by this tattoo. As a member of the United States Air Force, he serves our country proudly, and his tattoo is a symbol of how his love of our country runs deep.

Adam also wanted to show me his back piece, a religious-themed work that reflects his faith:


The cross takes up most of the space, and is anchored by a banner that proclaims "May God Have Mercy".

There are also two biblical verses on either side of the cross at the top of the back.

The left is from the book of Joshua, Chapter 1, Verse 9 (New Revised Standard Version):

"Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."

The right is from lines 14 and 15 of Psalm 91 (also NRSV):

"Those who love me, I will deliver; I will protect those who know my name. When they call to me, I will answer them..."

All the work shown here on Adam was inked by Adrian at Ken's Underground in Dover, Delaware.

Thanks to Adam for sharing his awesome tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!