Tom Shares His Escher and Hokusai-Inspired Sleeves

Back in June, I rode my bike out to the Coney Island boardwalk and did a little inkspotting. One of the several tattooed individuals I met was Tom, who had some cool work to share.

It was his M.C. Escher-inspired sleeve that first caught my attention:

Among the designs from which Tom drew inspiration were Escher's "12 Birds"

and his "Lizard."

Tom credited his artist Haun Duong, located in Queens, with this work.

His other arm has a compilation of the works of the Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai:

This is based primarily on his most recognizable work, The Great Wave of Kanagawa:

Tom told me that the koi fish represent the fact that he is a Pisces and that he has a twin sister. And there are additional elements from the Japanese master lower on the arm that represent him and his wife, along with three turtles (not pictured) which represent his kids. And inside the bicep:

The falcon and the snake represent the good and the bad within him.

Thanks to Tom for sharing his great work with us here on Tattoosday!

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Frank's Koi Blends Traditional and Modern

Back on the first of July, I met Frank as I was headed home through Penn Station. He shared this tattoo on his lower leg:

Frank explained that the tattoo artist was Gus, who works out of John's Tattoos in Islip, New York. He elaborated, telling me, "I originally wanted a koi fish ... not too traditional, but a little bit different. Some modern twist on it ... Gus put the traditional with the modern and there it is."

 

Thanks to Frank for sharing his koi fish and cherry blossoms with us here on Tattoosday!

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Amanda and Her Koi

This koi is swimming upstream on Amanda's left arm.

Talking to her in Penn Station, Amanda explained that she was "really interested in the Japanese style".

She received the tattoo from Pat James Dean at Tattooville, in Neptune, New Jersey. Done in two sessions, Amanda told me that she selected Pat, in part, because he had his whole back inked in the traditional Japanese fashion. I'm going to take a leap and say it might have been by Horiyoshi III of Yokohama, based on a reference in his bio on the Tattooville site.

Thanks to Amanda for sharing this, one of four tattoos she has, with us here on Tattoosday. 

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday.

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Andrew's Traditional Sleeve by Horisei

Every once in a while, it's nice to appreciate a tattoo for its own sake. This is especially rewarding for me when I am familiar with the artist, and I know people who have been tattooed by him or her, which has allowed me to appreciate their craft over time.

Two of my friends have been fortunate enough to have been tattooed by the wonderful Horisei (their work appeared here and here). Horisei works out of Chelsea Tattoo Company, former location of Rising Dragon.

So, when I spotted Andrew, coming out of Penn Station last month, I was more than thrilled to take shots of his Horisei-crafted sleeve.

Andrew estimates that this took about twenty hours of work, over a two to three month period.

His traditional Japanese sleeve consists of a tiger, two koi, and peonies, in addition to the water background.

Thanks to Andrew for sharing his awesome sleeve with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday.

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Two-for-Tattoosday, Brazilian-Style

Sometimes, due to a) a language barrier and b) the passage of time, we're not always able to give you the most in-depth story about our subjects' tattoos.

Such is the case with Celso and Reginaldo, who I met back in September outside of Madison Square Garden.

Both gentlemen were visiting from São Paolo, Brazil and one of Celso's tattoos caught my eye:

That was on his right arm. He also had this one on his left arm:

Celso's friend Reginaldo pulled his shirt off so I could get the full view of his koi tattoo:

Celso credited Artur at True Love Tattoo in São Paolo for inking his dragon and his mermaid.

Artur also was the artists who did Reginaldo's koi.

Thanks to Celso and Reginaldo for sharing their tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

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