Jonathan Gives Us a Sun on a Sunday

I met Jonathan in Brooklyn Heights and he shared this, one of his four tattoos:


This tattoo, on his inner right forearm is based on artwork he found on the CD of Ofra Haza, an Israeli musician with Yemenite roots.


Jonathan believes it to be a middle-Eastern symbol that is a "stylized sun." It is ambiguous enough to cause many to take pause and ask him what it is. Some have even questioned if the outer circle is comprised of coffee beans. He appreciates the solar representation illuminating his arm.

The tattoo was inked by Steve at Artfreek Tattoo in Providence, Rhode Island.

Thanks to Jonathan for sharing his tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Daniel's Back Piece Begins...

In my previous post, I described meeting Daniel and Katte. And, although Katte's work was what initially prompted me to stop the couple, Daniel offered up the bigger surprise.

I have yet to come up with a term for the phenomenon, but anyone who responds to an inquiry about a visible tattoo with an unprompted unveiling of a covered one, earns a place in Tattoosday lore.

(See some memorable examples here, here, here, and here).

Daniel lifted up his shirt to reveal "the start of a back piece":


He went to Chuck at Broken Heart Tattoos in Keyport, New Jersey, with a general outline and gave the artist the "freedom to shade and color" as he saw fit. Three sessions and nine hours later, Daniel had this kick-ass skull on his back to anchor what will eventually be a much larger piece.

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

Katte's Memorial for the Artist, Gone Too Soon

I met Daniel and Katte as they were about to go into the subway station at 34th Street and 7th Avenue.

Although Katte had a lot of visible work that was interesting, she rolled up her left pant leg to show me this interesting collage on her calf:


The tattoo, along with much of her work, was inked by her step-father, who works out of his home.

The piece is a memorial for an ex-boyfriend, who was hit by a car and killed in February 2008.

He had been into Japanese art and graffiti and had drawn this on her wall. After he died, she transposed it so that it could be tattooed on her.

She wears it as a keepsake by which to remember him now that he's gone.

I thank Katte for sharing this very personal piece with us here on Tattoosday!

See what Daniel had to offer here (or just scroll up if you are reading this chronologically).