Tattoosday: September 2014

Monday, September 22, 2014

Paulie Wears Gene Proudly on His Sleeve

For quite some time, I have been passing by a street vendor on Wall Street who has been sporting a pretty cool tattoo.

I usually see him around lunch and he's often busy selling sandwiches, so I always balked at bothering him when he was busy.

Finally, a couple weeks back, he had a break and so I introduced myself.

When I told Paulie about the site, he was happy to share this tattoo on his left forearm:

That is, of course, Gene Simmons, the bassist from the band KISS known for many things, including his long tongue.

Why does Gene grace Paulie's arm?

"I've been following KISS for the longest time ... He's like a mentor to me ... what he has, we have something in common ...Gene's always working, always working, even when he's retired, always working to make the money, and I like that."

And what do they have in common? Paulie showed me:

The best part of the story, for me, was finding out who did this tattoo. Paulie told me it was a guy named Siki, aka Siki Boy or Siki the Kid, from Brooklyn, who was coincidentally the artist that did my first tattoo back in 2003.

So if you're walking down on Wall Street and you see a guy with Gene Simmons staring up at you from his arm, say hi to Paulie and buy a sandwich from him. They're pretty damn good!

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

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Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Maureen's Last Line: Lost, Then Found

I met Maureen on the 59th Street subway platform last month in Brooklyn.

She had a cool literary tattoo on the inside of her wrist, so I asked her if she'd allow me to take a photo and tell me about it. She agreed, but when I hot home, the photos I had taken were gone, due to a bad memory card.

I was fairly bummed but I had hope. New York commuters are creatures of habit and I banked on the fact that I would spot Maureen again and, sure enough, a couple weeks later, there she was. I confessed my technical issue and she was kind enough to let me take another photo. This time, I got it:

The tattoo reads:

"So we beat on,
boats against the current,
borne back ceaselessly into the past."

Maureen explained that this is the last line in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, which has always been her favorite book. "It was an important book for me growing up," she explained.

She had this done by an artist known as "A-Rod," in South Glens Falls, New York. A-Rod is currently working out of Tattoo Clinic, Ink 4 Joe.

Thanks to Maureen for sharing her literary ink with us here on Tattoosday!

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Abby Remembers Fressa Pants

Looking back over the summer, I had one remaining post from the day of the Coney Island Mermaid Parade.

I was sitting on the N train, waiting to head back from the beach, when I noticed the woman sitting next to me had this tattoo on her arm:

Of course, I had to introduce myself and ask what this tattoo was about.

The tattoo graces the arm of Abby Bean, a vegan blogger, whose site A (soy) Bean, chronicle some of her culinary adventures.

She explained that FP are the initials of her late dog, Fressa, a Maltese-Shih-Tzu-Toy Poodle mix, who she affectionately called Fressa Pants.

Abby got this tattoo at a vegan tattoo shop called Scapegoat Tattoo in Portland, Oregon.

Thanks to Abby for sharing her tattoo with us here on Tattoosday! Please head over to her blog A (soy) Bean, and check out her adventures!

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Taylor, Tops, and Ink Master Returns!

Over the years, we've been fortunate enough to have featured the work of Taylor here on Tattoosday. We first met her here in 2010 and she has shared several new pieces as she has added to her collection. Taylor lives in my neighborhood, working at her family's business, and keeping me posted on her latest work.

I was pleased to see this, her latest tattoo, in my inbox last week:

Taylor explained that she got this pin-up "in honor of Tops Restaurant Supplies, which was established in 1968 by [her] grandfather Harry Monier, who was also owner of the Parakeet Club back in the day."

It's also in honor of her grandmother, who passed away at a very young age, and her father, who started with Tops at the beginning at the age of 17. Taylor works there, too, helping with the family business.

Like a lot of Taylor's other work, this is by Angel at Puncture Tattoo in Brooklyn. Angel is appearing on Ink Master Season 5, premiering tonight on Spike. This season has a twist, in which artists are paired with "rivals," and Angel is paired with Cris Element, now out of Leathernecks Tattoo in Brooklyn.

Both artists will be at a viewing party tonight in Bay Ridge at The Wicked Monk

Be sure to stop by and help usher in the new season of Ink Master!

Thanks to Taylor for once again sharing her awesome tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!