Ganesh Waits for the A Train

Actually, Kerry was waiting on the platform for the uptown A Train when I walked by at 34th Street.

How could I not stop and ask her about this tattoo:

This absolutely stunning depiction of the Hindu deity Ganesh took between eight and nine hours to complete.

Guy Ursitti at Thicker Than Water is the tattooist responsible for this work of art, the newest (at the time I met her) of Kerry's approximately fifty tattoos.

The detail in the tattoo is absolutely incredible.

Work from Thicker Than Water has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Thanks to Kerry for sharing this amazing tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

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Tracy's Indian God

I approached Tracy in Penn Station to ask her about the large Shiva tattoo on her right arm.

However, the piece wasn't finished, so she rolled up her left pant leg to display this intricate tattoo:


She couldn't remember which god this is, in the Hindu pantheon. I'm going to guess it is Brahma, the Creator, but I will entertain corrections, especially if I'm wrong.


Tracy loves Asian art and similarly loved this design.

It was inked in about four hours at Brooklyn Tattoo by Robert. Work from Brooklyn Tattoo has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

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

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Elvis and the Saint

I met Kristin and Jason at the 7th Avenue Street Fair in Park Slope on Father's Day.

Street fairs in New York City generally occur in the summer months and, to an inkspotter like me, they are heaven on earth.

Well, perhaps I exaggerate. They are also hot, crowded, and dangerous. I have seen many a fair-goer clipped by a slowly-moving baby stroller. But I digress.

There were tattoos aplenty at the street fair, and one is so overwhelmed by the sheer volume of great ink, it is often paralyzing to pick just one. Compare it to letting a child lose in a candy store, and tell them they can have all the candy they want, as long as they spend just a dollar.

So when I saw a few people walking along that were festooned with tattoos, I stopped them as soon as I could wend my way through the crowd and get their attention.

When someone has "lost count" of how many tattoos they have, it is safe to say that they have a lot.

Kristin offered up her inner right forearm:


She loves Elvis Presley and this portrait, based on a shot of him from the film Girls! Girls! Girls!, is wonderfully done.

She noted that this was an older Elvis, but definitely pre-Vegas.

Jason, who was walking with Kristin, and also incredibly inked, offered up his right forearm as well:


Upon returning from a trip to India several years ago, Jason brought home a poster of a Hindu saint. He loved the poster so much, he decided to have it tattooed.

I'll be honest here. I was initially disappointed that these were the tattoos that Jason and Kristin offered. Not that they're bad tattoos. Far from it. But, they had other work I admired more.

However, I do ask people which tattoos they'd like to share, so I certainly have no right to complain.

But, in the week or so since I shot these photos, I've come to appreciate the level of skill and artistry with which these pieces were created.

Both were inked by Josh Carlton at the Great American Tattoo Company in Indianapolis.

If you look closely, he has infused each tattoo with colorful highlights that really accentuate the tattoos with an extra element of artistry.


It's a brilliant effect.

Thanks to both Kristin and Jason for sharing these two amazing tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

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Fabiana's Saraswati Tattoo

First of all, let me first thank all my visitors who helped me get 10,000 hits in the month of June alone. That's more than the first five months of Tattoosday (September '07 to February '08, combined). I am grateful for your interest and hope you continue to visit us here.

Above is another one of Fabiana's tattoos. It is located on her inner left bicep and is the Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of arts, knowledge and music.
Fabiana first learned about this goddess while reading a Tori Amos book (probably this one) and thought Saraswati "was so beautiful....I knew she would bring me strength and knowledge".


This piece was inked by Lou Andrew, the owner and artist at Third Eye Tattoos in Brooklyn.

Fabiana's ink has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Thanks again to Fabiana for sharing her body art here! If you like her ink, don't worry there's more appearing here later this month!!

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Kali Takes Manhattan

Ronda J. is a painter/musician from New York City who wears this beautiful tattoo on her left bicep.

This is the Hindu goddess Kali, who is often associated with death and destruction, although she more accurately represents change.


This tattoo is a traditional image of Kali, with one significant exception. Whereas she is usually pictured standing upon the deity Shiva, this incarnation has her standing on a city aflame. Ronda J. points out that the burning metropolis is New York City.


It should be noted, she points out, that the flames reach highest behind the two twin towers in the lower right section of the tattoo:

This is of course the World Trade Center, but the piece was completed in 1997, four years before 9/11. This makes the tattoo that much more haunting.

This remarkable work was inked by Elio Espana at Fly-Rite Studio in Brooklyn. Work from Elio and Fly-Rite has appeared on Tattoosday previously here and here.

Ronda J. is a self-described Kali-initiate. Hindu mysticism takes on many forms, and I got the distinct impression that her faith in Kali was multi-layered, and by proxy, her connection to this tattoo and its meaning was exceptionally complex.

Thanks to Ronda J. for sharing her tattoo here at Tattoosday!

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