Two Segements of Renae's Arm

I spotted a whole lot going on with Renae's left forearm, while browsing at the Chelsea Salvation Army store, so I just had to ask.

Let's deconstruct:

The first part of this tattoo is the dark heart on the inner part of the forearm. Renae attributes this to Rob at the Orlando branch of Hart and Huntington. In over three years of inkspotting, this is the first piece on Tattoosday that has been credited to one of their shops.

Renae, who has "no idea" how many tattoos she has (which is synonymous for "too many to count"), wanted to add to her arm, so she headed to Brooklyn Ink in Bay Ridge.

Alex Franklin was given free reign, according to Renae. Her exact quote was "use your imagination and run," which must be music to many a tattooists ears.

Alex did the flourishes around the original tattoo, along with the phrase "gutta cavat lapidem," a Latin phrase by Ovid which translates to "dripping water hollows out a stone," which is a shortened version of the line "Dripping water hollows out stone, not through force but through persistence." This quote is known to many New Yorkers who have seen it inscribed underground here (with a broader description here).




And he tattooed the piece on the other side of the arm:

Work from Brooklyn Ink (and a lot by Alex) has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Thanks to Renae for sharing her tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Sleeve Tattoos For Girls

Clearly there is not limit in the range of designs a girl can choose from when selecting a sleeve tattoo, however we've determined that the most common sleeve tattoos for women often include flowers, sometimes as the centerpiece or perhaps to complement a larger design.

Green vegetation sleeve tattoo idea for women.

Large flower and peacock idea.

Colorful artwork with four leaf clovers.

Nautical star with large rose.

Youthful toy inspired art.

Bright cosmic design picture.

Sleeve Tattoos For Girls

Clearly there is not limit in the range of designs a girl can choose from when selecting a sleeve tattoo, however we've determined that the most common sleeve tattoos for women often include flowers, sometimes as the centerpiece or perhaps to complement a larger design.

Green vegetation sleeve tattoo idea for women.

Large flower and peacock idea.

Colorful artwork with four leaf clovers.

Nautical star with large rose.

Youthful toy inspired art.

Bright cosmic design picture.

Quarter Sleeve Tattoos

The quarter sleeve tattoo is a partial design which starts at the top of the shoulder and usually extends to just above the bicep area. And despite these shorter sleeve designs being rather small in size, they really pack a punch, as you can includes several smaller tattoo designs within this compact quarter sleeve.

Skull and flowers quarter idea.

Aztec inspired quarter tattoo.

Voodoo skull and vegetation art.

Japanese dragon and crystal ball idea.

Koi fish and water artwork.

Quarter Sleeve Tattoos

The quarter sleeve tattoo is a partial design which starts at the top of the shoulder and usually extends to just above the bicep area. And despite these shorter sleeve designs being rather small in size, they really pack a punch, as you can includes several smaller tattoo designs within this compact quarter sleeve.

Skull and flowers quarter idea.

Aztec inspired quarter tattoo.

Voodoo skull and vegetation art.

Japanese dragon and crystal ball idea.

Koi fish and water artwork.

John's Root People

At the end of July, I coincidentally exited the A train at 14th Street at the same time as John, who was visiting from Nevada.

I had been admiring his sleeve on the train, but didn't have the opportunity to speak to him about it until after he got off the subway.

He referred to these creatures as "Root People":

It's an abstract collaboration with the artist, Rickett, at The Ruby Lantern in Carson City, Nevada.

They started working together in January of this year, and they're not yet finished with the whole sleeve. As you can tell, it's very unusual and has a very unique approach.

These designs are all on John's right arm, and I am particular to the female tree person above on his inner forearm.

Thanks to John for sharing his Root People here with us on Tattoosday!

Gina's Phoenix

In late June, I ran into Gina in Penn Station and complimented her on a tattoo she had on her back. At the time, she was wearing something with straps that covered part of the design. I gave her a flier and she remarked that she had just recently discovered the site through this post on the tattoo of Julie Powell.

Alas, like so many folks to whom I give fliers, I didn't receive any emails or photos. But a month passed and one day I was pleasantly surprised to see an email from Gina, with the following photos of her phoenix tattoo:

I'll let her explain the rest:

"... I had completely forgotten [about sending in the photo] until I found the picture I took for you on my camera... This was done by Junii at the Diamond Club in San Francisco. [Bill Salmon, Junii's husband, is the studio owner]. She does amazing line work.  She's also incredibly conscientious about design and her clients.  For both my tattoos, she spend a lot of time talking with me, looking at the 20 pictures I had brought in of bits or aspects of what I wanted, then went off and did her own research, always coming back with exactly the right drawing.

This one - I got it after a really, really difficult year. So, obviously, not the deepest symbolism - just wanted to remind myself of the possibility of renewal."

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

Alex Shares a Floral Tattoo, Roots and All

Sometimes I see tattoos before I see people.

Back in July, for example, I approached a guy on the West 4th Street subway platform to ask him about this tattoo on his right forearm:

It was only after I said hello to him that I realized he was someone named Alex who lives in my neighborhood in Brooklyn.

In fact, Alex had a tattoo featured here back in 2009, after I stopped  him in the laundromat.

This floral tattoo is a representation of how a flower overcomes obstacles and pain to lay down roots, rises up, and blooms.

He draws the comparison to life, as nothing comes without hard work and bypassing obstacles.

The tattoo was created by Shon Lindauer at Thicker Than Water in Manhattan. Shon is the same artist that did the tiger on my calf. Other work from Thicker Than Water has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Thanks to Alex for once again sharing his work with us here on Tattoosday!

Japanese Sleeve Tattoos

Japanese sleeve tattoos are truly stunning works of art, often containing such designs as dragons, flowers and plant life, fish, animals such as cats and of course the Japanese sword wielding samurai.

Enjoy these wonderful pictures of cool Japanese sleeve tattoo ideas below.

Flowers, clouds and flames design.

Bright and colorful idea with vegetation and sun beams.

Flowers and ocean waves idea.

Peacock and bengal tiger artwork.

Animal inspired with sea creature.

Cloud base with samurai and tiger.

Koi fish.

Japanese Sleeve Tattoos

Japanese sleeve tattoos are truly stunning works of art, often containing such designs as dragons, flowers and plant life, fish, animals such as cats and of course the Japanese sword wielding samurai.

Enjoy these wonderful pictures of cool Japanese sleeve tattoo ideas below.

Flowers, clouds and flames design.

Bright and colorful idea with vegetation and sun beams.

Flowers and ocean waves idea.

Peacock and bengal tiger artwork.

Animal inspired with sea creature.

Cloud base with samurai and tiger.

Koi fish.

Kevin's Gravitational Tattoo

I love word tattoos so I couldn't help but stop Kevin at Barnes & Noble earlier this month. He had this tattoo inked on his inner right forearm:

He explained that he enrolled in school not knowing for sure what he wanted to do. He was on a path for a career in finance, but also has a keen interest in art and graphic design.

He says that the tattoo is a reminder that, although gravity is all around us, and pulling us toward the status quo, he should stay true to himself and never give up his interest in art.

He had this done by Betty Rose at Red Rocket Tattoo in Manhattan. Work from Red Rocket has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Thanks to Kevin for sharing his Gravity with us here on Tattoosday!

Sleeve Tattoos

Full sleeve tattoos start at the top of the shoulder and stretch down the entire arm to the wrist. And if you fully intend on getting a sleeve tattoo, its absolutely essential to pick out the right tattoo artist for the job, and the best way to evaluate an artist is to view his previous work, so don't be afraid to ask.

These sleeve designs below are some real top quality masterpieces, so perhaps you can gather some ideas within the artwork.

Alice in wonderland inspired artwork.

Dragon and flowers idea.

Classic sailor Jerry inspired art.

Asian themed idea.

Voodoo with witchdoctor.

Nintendo Mario with light cartoon flavor.

Retro with good look charms.