David's Traditional Hands

Last month I met David when I stopped after noticing his neck tattoo. However, it was his hands he offered up to us here at Tattoosday:

David works in construction and is a contractor. He also manages the band, Drew Nugent & the Midnight Society.

He has about thirty-five (35) hours of work done on his body, and he explained that these are traditional pieces on his hands.

He was inspired to have his knuckles read "True Blue" as they speak to his belief that our country has lost its values that need to be regained. Key among these values are loyalty and honor, in the traditional, "true blue" sense of the words.

To him, the panther represents that we need to fight to regain these ideals.

And the two roses represent the ideal (the healthy, red flower on the right hand) and what he called the "diminished," (on the left) that is, where we're headed with our loss of values.

David embraced these traditional elements because he feels that "the only way to have a future is to look at the past".

He had the panther done at a tattoo convention. The roses and "TRUE BLUE" knuckles are credited to Rick Meggison at Marked 4 Life in York, Pennsylvania.

Thanks to David for sharing these very cool hand tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Sean Shares a Host of Traditional Tattoos

I ran into Sean at the Foodtown in my neighborhood and when I stopped to talk to him about his tattoos (he has nine), I ended up with photos of several pieces, all of which reside on his left arm.

Most of the designs are traditional tattoo subjects, all of which were inked by Eli Quinters at Smith Street Tattoo Parlour in  Brooklyn. Work from Smith Street Tattoo has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

First up is this amazing lighthouse:

Sean explained that this tattoo is for his mother, as this tattoo is based on her "favorite lighthouse," the Fastnet Lighthouse on the most southerly point on the coast of Ireland.

Then there is this owl tattoo:

This was done for no other reason that Sean has always liked owls. If you love owl tattoos, be sure to head over to this site.

Then there is the elephant tattoo:

He has this piece because "elephants never forget".

I know we posted a sugar skull yesterday, but here's another one:

This was all Eli's design. Sean gave him free reign and likes the fact that it is unusual in that there are not a lot of colors in it, like one sees in most sugar skull tattoos. For all that have appeared on Tattoosday previously, check this link.

There is also the traditional female figure, not modeled after anyone in particular, just done in a traditional style:

And Sean's last tattoo is this bat:

He told Eli that he "wanted something spooky" that included the moon. Quinters free-handed this piece, starting with a white Sharpie and then finished with a darker Sharpie before finishing the tattoo.

What's neat about all of Sean's tattoos is that they flow nicely together, as readers can see elements of many of the tattoos on the borders of the photos of specific designs.

Thanks to Sean for sharing these amazing tattoos by Eli Quinters with us here on Tattoosday!

Juli's Right Calf: A Sugar Skull and More!

Back in April, I met Juli, who hosts a dozen tattoos, and counting.

She offered up two pieces, both on her right calf.

First was this sugar skull, inked by Chris Strangebreu, who currently is working out of Studio 33 Tattoo on St. Mark's Place in Manhattan:

Always a fan of sugar skulls here on Tattoosday, I was glad that Juli was more than happy to share this tattoo. She pointed out that the flowers are Gerbera daisies ("my ultimate favorite flower ever") and that the eyes and the tips of the daisies have unusual accents. Chris used an ink known as "Japanese pink,"  which makes the specific areas of the piece glow in the dark.
 
The other tattoo Juli shared is part of what she envisions to be a larger piece that will wrap around her calf and thematically connect with the sugar skull:

This was done by Geoff Horn at the Philadelphia Tattoo Arts Convention.

I'm hoping that this won't be the last we see from Juli, and I thank her for sharing these great tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!