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A post-work errand had me walking down 6th Avenue to 23rd Street where, to my delight, I ran into Shaina, whose large back piece stopped me dead in my tracks. Lucky for me, and all of our Tattoosday readers, she had no problem sharing it with us here:

This piece is a cover-up (more on that later) and initially was born out of a desire for a large bunch of purple flowers. Shaina explained that, at six feet tall, her size can sometimes take the edge off of her feminine side. "I try as hard as I can to be girl-y," she said, and she embraced her floral design as "a sign of girliness".





As time passed, the whole tattoo, which Shaina estimates was composed in five four-hour sessions totaling twenty hours, took on additional elements. When her grandmother passed away, she added a memorial line for her ("In Loving Memory of Eleanor Vespie) along with the red carnations, which were her favorite flowers.



She later added the additional memorial on her neck, for her cousin Tasha.



The tattoo was created by Cliff Evans at Fuzion Ink in Norfolk, Virginia.



Of course, I had to ask about the tattoo she covered up. Shaina looked at me, and I'll give her points for honesty, she confessed, the original tattoo had been a portrait of the Icelandic singer Björk.



She looked at me. I looked at her. "Don't take this the wrong way," I cautioned her, but what would possess you to do that?" Shaina had good humor about it. Like a lot of eighteen-year olds, what seemed cool at the time, in retrospect seemed ill-chosen. But there are many amazing tattoos out there that might not exist had they not been needed to cover up an earlier, less memorable piece.



Thanks kindly to Shaina for not only sharing her lovely back tattoo with us here at Tattoosday, but for taking the time to chat so candidly about her body art.

A post-work errand had me walking down 6th Avenue to 23rd Street where, to my delight, I ran into Shaina, whose large back piece stopped me dead in my tracks. Lucky for me, and all of our Tattoosday readers, she had no problem sharing it with us here:

This piece is a cover-up (more on that later) and initially was born out of a desire for a large bunch of purple flowers. Shaina explained that, at six feet tall, her size can sometimes take the edge off of her feminine side. "I try as hard as I can to be girl-y," she said, and she embraced her floral design as "a sign of girliness".





As time passed, the whole tattoo, which Shaina estimates was composed in five four-hour sessions totaling twenty hours, took on additional elements. When her grandmother passed away, she added a memorial line for her ("In Loving Memory of Eleanor Vespie) along with the red carnations, which were her favorite flowers.



She later added the additional memorial on her neck, for her cousin Tasha.



The tattoo was created by Cliff Evans at Fuzion Ink in Norfolk, Virginia.



Of course, I had to ask about the tattoo she covered up. Shaina looked at me, and I'll give her points for honesty, she confessed, the original tattoo had been a portrait of the Icelandic singer Björk.



She looked at me. I looked at her. "Don't take this the wrong way," I cautioned her, but what would possess you to do that?" Shaina had good humor about it. Like a lot of eighteen-year olds, what seemed cool at the time, in retrospect seemed ill-chosen. But there are many amazing tattoos out there that might not exist had they not been needed to cover up an earlier, less memorable piece.



Thanks kindly to Shaina for not only sharing her lovely back tattoo with us here at Tattoosday, but for taking the time to chat so candidly about her body art.

A post-work errand had me walking down 6th Avenue to 23rd Street where, to my delight, I ran into Shaina, whose large back piece stopped me dead in my tracks. Lucky for me, and all of our Tattoosday readers, she had no problem sharing it with us here:

This piece is a cover-up (more on that later) and initially was born out of a desire for a large bunch of purple flowers. Shaina explained that, at six feet tall, her size can sometimes take the edge off of her feminine side. "I try as hard as I can to be girl-y," she said, and she embraced her floral design as "a sign of girliness".





As time passed, the whole tattoo, which Shaina estimates was composed in five four-hour sessions totaling twenty hours, took on additional elements. When her grandmother passed away, she added a memorial line for her ("In Loving Memory of Eleanor Vespie) along with the red carnations, which were her favorite flowers.



She later added the additional memorial on her neck, for her cousin Tasha.



The tattoo was created by Cliff Evans at Fuzion Ink in Norfolk, Virginia.



Of course, I had to ask about the tattoo she covered up. Shaina looked at me, and I'll give her points for honesty, she confessed, the original tattoo had been a portrait of the Icelandic singer Björk.



She looked at me. I looked at her. "Don't take this the wrong way," I cautioned her, but what would possess you to do that?" Shaina had good humor about it. Like a lot of eighteen-year olds, what seemed cool at the time, in retrospect seemed ill-chosen. But there are many amazing tattoos out there that might not exist had they not been needed to cover up an earlier, less memorable piece.



Thanks kindly to Shaina for not only sharing her lovely back tattoo with us here at Tattoosday, but for taking the time to chat so candidly about her body art.

A post-work errand had me walking down 6th Avenue to 23rd Street where, to my delight, I ran into Shaina, whose large back piece stopped me dead in my tracks. Lucky for me, and all of our Tattoosday readers, she had no problem sharing it with us here:

This piece is a cover-up (more on that later) and initially was born out of a desire for a large bunch of purple flowers. Shaina explained that, at six feet tall, her size can sometimes take the edge off of her feminine side. "I try as hard as I can to be girl-y," she said, and she embraced her floral design as "a sign of girliness".





As time passed, the whole tattoo, which Shaina estimates was composed in five four-hour sessions totaling twenty hours, took on additional elements. When her grandmother passed away, she added a memorial line for her ("In Loving Memory of Eleanor Vespie) along with the red carnations, which were her favorite flowers.



She later added the additional memorial on her neck, for her cousin Tasha.



The tattoo was created by Cliff Evans at Fuzion Ink in Norfolk, Virginia.



Of course, I had to ask about the tattoo she covered up. Shaina looked at me, and I'll give her points for honesty, she confessed, the original tattoo had been a portrait of the Icelandic singer Björk.



She looked at me. I looked at her. "Don't take this the wrong way," I cautioned her, but what would possess you to do that?" Shaina had good humor about it. Like a lot of eighteen-year olds, what seemed cool at the time, in retrospect seemed ill-chosen. But there are many amazing tattoos out there that might not exist had they not been needed to cover up an earlier, less memorable piece.



Thanks kindly to Shaina for not only sharing her lovely back tattoo with us here at Tattoosday, but for taking the time to chat so candidly about her body art.

A post-work errand had me walking down 6th Avenue to 23rd Street where, to my delight, I ran into Shaina, whose large back piece stopped me dead in my tracks. Lucky for me, and all of our Tattoosday readers, she had no problem sharing it with us here:

This piece is a cover-up (more on that later) and initially was born out of a desire for a large bunch of purple flowers. Shaina explained that, at six feet tall, her size can sometimes take the edge off of her feminine side. "I try as hard as I can to be girl-y," she said, and she embraced her floral design as "a sign of girliness".





As time passed, the whole tattoo, which Shaina estimates was composed in five four-hour sessions totaling twenty hours, took on additional elements. When her grandmother passed away, she added a memorial line for her ("In Loving Memory of Eleanor Vespie) along with the red carnations, which were her favorite flowers.



She later added the additional memorial on her neck, for her cousin Tasha.



The tattoo was created by Cliff Evans at Fuzion Ink in Norfolk, Virginia.



Of course, I had to ask about the tattoo she covered up. Shaina looked at me, and I'll give her points for honesty, she confessed, the original tattoo had been a portrait of the Icelandic singer Björk.



She looked at me. I looked at her. "Don't take this the wrong way," I cautioned her, but what would possess you to do that?" Shaina had good humor about it. Like a lot of eighteen-year olds, what seemed cool at the time, in retrospect seemed ill-chosen. But there are many amazing tattoos out there that might not exist had they not been needed to cover up an earlier, less memorable piece.



Thanks kindly to Shaina for not only sharing her lovely back tattoo with us here at Tattoosday, but for taking the time to chat so candidly about her body art.

Last week I was down in Chelsea when I spotted Niki from a distance. She appeared to have a colorful Madonna-like tattoo on her right shoulder, so I changed course and caught up to her only to discover this lovely tattoo instead:

This lovely photo was supplied to me by Niki, as my own camera's battery had run out of power and my BlackBerry photo seemed inadequate:





Niki explained that, after her beloved cat Elizabeth passed away, she wanted a memorial tattoo to honor the friend she had for fourteen years.



She went to artist John Reardon, then at Saved Tattoo, and told him she wanted a memorial in the style of the Virgin of Guadalupe, and the look of Mexican shrines and altars.





One can see Reardon hit the ball out of the park, as proven by my mistaking the piece from a distance as a religious icon.



John Reardon is no stranger to Tattoosday. His work has appeared previously here and here.He now works out of his private studio in Brooklyn.



Thanks to Niki for sharing her beautiful tattoo with us on Tattoosday!

Last week I was down in Chelsea when I spotted Niki from a distance. She appeared to have a colorful Madonna-like tattoo on her right shoulder, so I changed course and caught up to her only to discover this lovely tattoo instead:

This lovely photo was supplied to me by Niki, as my own camera's battery had run out of power and my BlackBerry photo seemed inadequate:





Niki explained that, after her beloved cat Elizabeth passed away, she wanted a memorial tattoo to honor the friend she had for fourteen years.



She went to artist John Reardon, then at Saved Tattoo, and told him she wanted a memorial in the style of the Virgin of Guadalupe, and the look of Mexican shrines and altars.





One can see Reardon hit the ball out of the park, as proven by my mistaking the piece from a distance as a religious icon.



John Reardon is no stranger to Tattoosday. His work has appeared previously here and here.He now works out of his private studio in Brooklyn.



Thanks to Niki for sharing her beautiful tattoo with us on Tattoosday!

Last week I was down in Chelsea when I spotted Niki from a distance. She appeared to have a colorful Madonna-like tattoo on her right shoulder, so I changed course and caught up to her only to discover this lovely tattoo instead:

This lovely photo was supplied to me by Niki, as my own camera's battery had run out of power and my BlackBerry photo seemed inadequate:





Niki explained that, after her beloved cat Elizabeth passed away, she wanted a memorial tattoo to honor the friend she had for fourteen years.



She went to artist John Reardon, then at Saved Tattoo, and told him she wanted a memorial in the style of the Virgin of Guadalupe, and the look of Mexican shrines and altars.





One can see Reardon hit the ball out of the park, as proven by my mistaking the piece from a distance as a religious icon.



John Reardon is no stranger to Tattoosday. His work has appeared previously here and here.He now works out of his private studio in Brooklyn.



Thanks to Niki for sharing her beautiful tattoo with us on Tattoosday!

Last week I was down in Chelsea when I spotted Niki from a distance. She appeared to have a colorful Madonna-like tattoo on her right shoulder, so I changed course and caught up to her only to discover this lovely tattoo instead:

This lovely photo was supplied to me by Niki, as my own camera's battery had run out of power and my BlackBerry photo seemed inadequate:





Niki explained that, after her beloved cat Elizabeth passed away, she wanted a memorial tattoo to honor the friend she had for fourteen years.



She went to artist John Reardon, then at Saved Tattoo, and told him she wanted a memorial in the style of the Virgin of Guadalupe, and the look of Mexican shrines and altars.





One can see Reardon hit the ball out of the park, as proven by my mistaking the piece from a distance as a religious icon.



John Reardon is no stranger to Tattoosday. His work has appeared previously here and here.He now works out of his private studio in Brooklyn.



Thanks to Niki for sharing her beautiful tattoo with us on Tattoosday!

Last week I was down in Chelsea when I spotted Niki from a distance. She appeared to have a colorful Madonna-like tattoo on her right shoulder, so I changed course and caught up to her only to discover this lovely tattoo instead:

This lovely photo was supplied to me by Niki, as my own camera's battery had run out of power and my BlackBerry photo seemed inadequate:





Niki explained that, after her beloved cat Elizabeth passed away, she wanted a memorial tattoo to honor the friend she had for fourteen years.



She went to artist John Reardon, then at Saved Tattoo, and told him she wanted a memorial in the style of the Virgin of Guadalupe, and the look of Mexican shrines and altars.





One can see Reardon hit the ball out of the park, as proven by my mistaking the piece from a distance as a religious icon.



John Reardon is no stranger to Tattoosday. His work has appeared previously here and here.He now works out of his private studio in Brooklyn.



Thanks to Niki for sharing her beautiful tattoo with us on Tattoosday!

Last month, as I wandered despondently down my street, mourning the loss of my camera, I saw Pete standing on his stoop in the afternoon heat, without a shirt. He had a really cool tattoo and I talked to him about it, taking a picture with my BlackBerry.



Alas, the image quality wasn't good enough, I thought, to post here, so I waited until I saw Pete again, almost a month later, when I had my new camera in hand.



So here, without further delay, is Pete's tattoo:

Pete explained that this tattoo is a tribute to his grandfather, a magician who went by the name "The Great Merlini". The tattoo was designed by Kiki at Tattoos by Lou in the South Beach section of Miami, Florida. Pete went to him and explained what he wanted and Kiki drew it up and inked it.



On a sidebar, the Great Merlini wasn't just your run-of-the-mill magician. The man behind the persona was Clayton Rawson (click name for full biography). Rawson wrote four mystery novels that featured the character also known as The Great Merlini. And as this YouTube clip shows, Merlini also was a noted illusionist:







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

Last month, as I wandered despondently down my street, mourning the loss of my camera, I saw Pete standing on his stoop in the afternoon heat, without a shirt. He had a really cool tattoo and I talked to him about it, taking a picture with my BlackBerry.



Alas, the image quality wasn't good enough, I thought, to post here, so I waited until I saw Pete again, almost a month later, when I had my new camera in hand.



So here, without further delay, is Pete's tattoo:

Pete explained that this tattoo is a tribute to his grandfather, a magician who went by the name "The Great Merlini". The tattoo was designed by Kiki at Tattoos by Lou in the South Beach section of Miami, Florida. Pete went to him and explained what he wanted and Kiki drew it up and inked it.



On a sidebar, the Great Merlini wasn't just your run-of-the-mill magician. The man behind the persona was Clayton Rawson (click name for full biography). Rawson wrote four mystery novels that featured the character also known as The Great Merlini. And as this YouTube clip shows, Merlini also was a noted illusionist:







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

Last month, as I wandered despondently down my street, mourning the loss of my camera, I saw Pete standing on his stoop in the afternoon heat, without a shirt. He had a really cool tattoo and I talked to him about it, taking a picture with my BlackBerry.



Alas, the image quality wasn't good enough, I thought, to post here, so I waited until I saw Pete again, almost a month later, when I had my new camera in hand.



So here, without further delay, is Pete's tattoo:

Pete explained that this tattoo is a tribute to his grandfather, a magician who went by the name "The Great Merlini". The tattoo was designed by Kiki at Tattoos by Lou in the South Beach section of Miami, Florida. Pete went to him and explained what he wanted and Kiki drew it up and inked it.



On a sidebar, the Great Merlini wasn't just your run-of-the-mill magician. The man behind the persona was Clayton Rawson (click name for full biography). Rawson wrote four mystery novels that featured the character also known as The Great Merlini. And as this YouTube clip shows, Merlini also was a noted illusionist:







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

Last month, as I wandered despondently down my street, mourning the loss of my camera, I saw Pete standing on his stoop in the afternoon heat, without a shirt. He had a really cool tattoo and I talked to him about it, taking a picture with my BlackBerry.



Alas, the image quality wasn't good enough, I thought, to post here, so I waited until I saw Pete again, almost a month later, when I had my new camera in hand.



So here, without further delay, is Pete's tattoo:

Pete explained that this tattoo is a tribute to his grandfather, a magician who went by the name "The Great Merlini". The tattoo was designed by Kiki at Tattoos by Lou in the South Beach section of Miami, Florida. Pete went to him and explained what he wanted and Kiki drew it up and inked it.



On a sidebar, the Great Merlini wasn't just your run-of-the-mill magician. The man behind the persona was Clayton Rawson (click name for full biography). Rawson wrote four mystery novels that featured the character also known as The Great Merlini. And as this YouTube clip shows, Merlini also was a noted illusionist:







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

Last month, as I wandered despondently down my street, mourning the loss of my camera, I saw Pete standing on his stoop in the afternoon heat, without a shirt. He had a really cool tattoo and I talked to him about it, taking a picture with my BlackBerry.



Alas, the image quality wasn't good enough, I thought, to post here, so I waited until I saw Pete again, almost a month later, when I had my new camera in hand.



So here, without further delay, is Pete's tattoo:

Pete explained that this tattoo is a tribute to his grandfather, a magician who went by the name "The Great Merlini". The tattoo was designed by Kiki at Tattoos by Lou in the South Beach section of Miami, Florida. Pete went to him and explained what he wanted and Kiki drew it up and inked it.



On a sidebar, the Great Merlini wasn't just your run-of-the-mill magician. The man behind the persona was Clayton Rawson (click name for full biography). Rawson wrote four mystery novels that featured the character also known as The Great Merlini. And as this YouTube clip shows, Merlini also was a noted illusionist:







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