Cecelia's Trio of Bats, or, The Girl with the Dragonlance Tattoo

Back in October, I met Cecelia on the D train in Brooklyn, and she shared these tattoos on her left forearm:

Those three bats, named, from top to bottom, Ralph, Roberto, and John, were a birthday present from her friend Dan. Roberto, in the middle, was named after a fruit bat that appears in a couple of books by Christopher Moore (namely, Island of the Sequined Love Nun and The Stupidest Angel).

The bats were inked by Steve Kane, owner and artist at A List Industry Tattoo, in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.

Cecelia also told me about another tattoo she had, but it was not one she could show me on the train, as it wasn't the day of the No Pants Subway Ride.

Fortunately, she did send us a cell phone photo later with this piece on her left thigh:

She explained:

"This tattoo was inspired by a Dragonlance book, The Dragons of Winter Night. Started in '95 by an artist from Buffalo, it was finished 10 yrs later by Seven O'Brien @ Tattoo Mania [Staten Island]. He is now at another shop.  He came up with the fantastic background and border."

Thanks to Cecelia for sharing her trio of bats and her dragon tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Derek Shares Three Tattoos Inspired by Alice's Adventures Under Ground

Looking back to the summer, I ran into Derek one evening while waiting to board the R train at 36th Street in Brooklyn.

I first noticed this piece on the outside of his right leg:

Derek explained that he had this illustration by John Tenniel from Alice's Adventures Under Ground by Lewis Carroll because Alice's passion and curiosity appeal to him. The book is a classic of children's literature and was later published as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

This piece depicts Alice being stretched tall, and Derek added this tattoo to his chest:

That one (above) is just incredibly well-done.

Just last week, Derek sent me his latest Alice-inspired piece to me via e-mail :

Inked on his right forearm, this is another Tenniel illustration from the book featuring the scene in which Alice observes three playing cards painting white roses red, on orders from the Queen of Hearts. Derek noted that "this particular image is a reminder not to blindly follow orders without considering the consequences of my actions."

Derek credited all three of these tattoos to Craig Rodriguez at Hand of Glory Tattoo in Brooklyn. Craig is an amazing artist whose work first appeared on Tattoosday here. I'm a big fan of the shop, as evidenced by these posts. I plan on visiting them again in January for their regular Friday the 13th extravaganza.

Thanks to Derek for sharing these awesome tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Lauren and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Tattoo

Today's tattoo is perfect for a Monday.

Last month in Penn Station, I met Lauren, who had a familiar-looking face on her upper right arm:

I couldn't quite put my finger on why I recognized the art, until she clarified for me that it was based on an illustration from a wonderful children's book by Judith Viorst called Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

 

The phrase in the banner, "Some days are like that," is a line from the story.

When I asked Lauren why she got this tattoo, she elaborated:

"I have a very good friend who has If You're Afraid of the Dark, Remember the Night Rainbow on his arm and I was like, 'Ah, children's book! Great idea!' So I went to my mom and said, 'What was my favorite children's book?' and she's like, 'Well, Alexander or The Lupine Lady [from Miss Rumphius].' And I thought 'I don't want pastel colors. I want black and grey and I liked the artwork much better.' So I went with this."

This was Lauren's first tattoo and it was inked by Christian Beckman at Saints and Sinners in Baltimore. He modified Alexander's shirt, adding the skull, but it's still certifiably Alexander.<;br />
Thanks to Lauren for sharing this awesome tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday.


If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Mary's Call of the Wild

I met Mary outside of Penn Station on Seventh Avenue a couple weeks ago. She shared this tattoo on her right calf:

Mary explained:

"I got my wolf tattoo at some place on St. Mark's Place, I don't remember, I was drunk, after I read [The] Call of the Wild. I had broken my foot and they let me leave work early, so I went to a bar with my best friend and started drinking. And then, I was like, 'We should get tattoos' and she was like 'I'm gonna go home' and then ... she was like 'I'm not gettin' tattooed'. So we went to some shady tattoo shop where they let me run around without shoes on and drink beer like a crazy girl. And all I remember is him asking me if I like lavender and I said, 'yeah, I like lavender' and that was that."

Not your ideal tattoo story but, all things considered, this came out well.

Thanks to Mary for sharing her cool tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.