Tatto For You

It's Shark Week, folks, last week I spotted this fierce creature on the subway on the Upper West Side: Like just seeing a fin in the water, this is only a part of the whole tattoo, which wraps fully around the host's upper right arm. It was a quick subway encounter, but I was able to get the photo on the 72nd Street platform and identify the artist, Kurt, formerly of Lola's Tattoos  ( @lolastattoos ) in Bogota, New Jersey. Kurt now runs Hommage Tattoo  ( @hommagetattoo ) in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey. As for the woman who so graciously shared this fierce creature, I haven't heard back from her, so she will remain anonymous, for now. Be safe out there, folks! This entry is ©2019 Tattoosday. If you are seeing this on another website 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 conten...

This is the final post of The 2018 Alphabet Game. Last year, I only made it through the R, but this year, if you've been following along (the full recap post is  here ), you will know I took a detour after the W train and knocked out the 1, 2 and 3, because I was so efficient, and had to wait for the rush-hour Z train to start running. So here, we go.... Already done above and beyond what I had hoped, except for the mighty Z train, Debating whether to go back for the 4/5/6/7. I'm beat. FitBit says 12,787 steps. There's little chance I can get those four done and  the Z, when the Z runs only for an hour. Most amazing is that I approached 20 people and only 1 declined. I just stayed on the 3 and passed Fulton, so I will just take a break and chill at Broad, grab the first Z and hope and pray. 4:32 Back at Broad. Such a different approach from last year. The Z is now the prize and I have a small window to snag t. I have to get the first one and hope I get something right qui...

The Alphabet Game took a twist when I had to postpone my trip on a Z train until it started up during rush hour. So, for fun, I started going through the numbers, at least until I could make it to a Z. If you don't know what I'm talking about, start with this post  here . I hopped off the 2 train at 34th Street/Penn Station and boarded a downtown 3 train. I stayed on the 3 until I got to Fulton Street, and then ran, at 3:30 PM across that platform to get an uptown 3 train, rather than heading further downtown. This proved a good move, as I met Wendy, who was kind enough to share the following koi tattoo swimming over her shoulder: Wendy credited this to Diego Mannino  ( @diegovmannino ) over at Daredevil Tattoo  ( @daredeviltattoo ) in Manhattan. Thanks to Wendy for sharing her cool tattoo with us here on Tattoosday! This entry is ©2018 Tattoosday. If you are seeing this on another website other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied wit...

So the last post found us in a plot twist. The Z train was running only during rush hour and I had time to kill. So I took a little numerical detour. If you're wondering what I'm talking about, best check out our master post  here  for the details.  Having just found a tattooed contributor on the 1 train, I hopped off at 3:01 PM at 14th Street. At 3:12, I jumped onto an uptown 2 train and met Rob, who shared this Batman tattoo: Rob credited the work to an artist named Toxyc  ( @toxycxlr ), out of Autopsy Tattoo Studio  ( @autopsy.tattoo.studio ) in Austin, Texas. Thanks to Rob for sharing this cool tattoo with us on Tattoosday! This entry is ©2018 Tattoosday. If you are seeing this on another website 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...

On a hot day in August, I spent the day on the subway, trying to go through the MTA system in alphabet.  Our progress so far is recounted  here . Remember, last year when I tried this, I wrapped up on the R train after 5:00 PM. This year, I was determined to be more efficient. So, when I finished on the W train, I set my sight on the last letter in the alphabet. The elusive Z train. I remained on the W and switched at Canal Street - it wasn't even 3:00 PM! All throughout this journey, I kept notes, so you may be wondering why, at 2:53 PM, my entry reads "1 train uptown leaving Rector." Hold the phone. The 1 train? That's not the alphabet! What's going on? My journal continues.... Oh, the best laid plans. Sigh. Way ahead of schedule, I hit the J/Z platform at Canal and was dismayed when the countdown clock showed only J trains. Is the Z defunct? No, I learned, it's a rush-hour only train. [In hindsight, this makes complete sense, and I feel foolish for not real...

In case you're just joining in, I have been recounting a day in August when I played the Alphabet Game, spending the day attempting to go through the NYC subway system, in alphabetical order, finding a tattoo on every train line. You can catch up on the progress (or see the whole adventure) here . I had surpassed last year's attempt by successfully finding a tattoo on the S train and set my sights on the W. In case you were wondering, there's no U train, the T train was discontinued in the 1960s and the V train only ran from 2001-2010.  At 2:25 PM, I got a W train headed toward Whitehall Street. Between 23rd and 14th, I met Mark, who had these cool arrows tattooed on his right arm: Mark had to hop off at 14th Street, so we had a very brief conversation, but he did manage to tell me the arrows represented strength, and he credited Daniel Delgado ( @danieltattoos ) with the work. Daniel currently works out of Brooklyn's Hand of Glory Tattoo ( @handofglorytattoo ). Shortl...

Last year, when I played the Alphabet Game, I quit at R. But this year, I ventured into uncharted territory. The alphabetical trains at the end of the sequence. Wonder what the hell I'm talking about? Go here  and come back when you're done. My concern with the S train is that S stands for "shuttle" and it runs regularly between Times Square and Grand Central station. One stop, back and forth. How long, I wondered, will I be on the S train trying to interview someone in a short window of time? Side note: I know that there are other versions of the S train, notably near Prospect Park, in Brooklyn, but that is isolated and out of the way. Back to the Alphabet Game, at 1:56 PM, after checking off the R, I hopped off at 23rd Street, exited near the Flat Iron Building, and hopped on a northbound W to 42nd Street. Once there, I utilized one of the restrooms and then headed to the S train. Remember how worried I was that the S would be a challenge? You should, that was only ...

Last year, when I played the Alphabet Game for the first time, I finished on the R train. I was beat, it was the end of the day, and I called it quits having run through a dozen other train lines. If you want to know what I'm referring to, head to the "master post" here . This year, I was much more efficient. So, when I hopped off the Q at Union Square at 1:15 PM, I was way ahead of last year, and quite pleased with myself. And then it took twelve minutes for a northbound R to arrive. And then the R train was not offering up much in terms of tattoos. At 1:40, I was at 57th Street, looking to reverse directions. At 1:42 PM, I hopped on a southbound R and finally, between 34th and 23rd, I met Nicole, who shared this unusual-looking tree tattoo: Nicole hails from Texas and explained that this is a representative of a tree from the Lone Star state, she couldn't recall the name but gave me a couple of clues. It's a tree indigenous to Texas and, she explained, her mothe...

We're continuing our subway experiment, trying to get through all of the lettered trains, in alphabetical order, in one day. We're in pretty good shape, having just finished on the N train. You can see the master 2018 Alphabet Game post here . At 12:56 PM, I jumped from the N to a northbound Q train (there is no "O" or "P" line) and then, three minutes later, switch to a southbound Q at Lexington/63rd. It was on the Q that I met Katie, who had a lot of tattoos, and was kind enough to share this awesome piece on her thigh: Katie obviously likes sour things, as represented by this cool skull design with lemons. She credited the artist "Purple" from Devils Ink Tattoos  ( @devils_ink_tattoos ) in East Harlem, New York. It was Purple's design, she told me, noting he is"great with skulls." I love this design, especially because I had never seen anything quite like this before. Thanks to Katie for sharing her cool tattoo with us here on Tatt...

We took a day off for fall yesterday, but we're still playing the Alphabet Game, my one-day journey through the subway system, in alphabetical order. Need to catch up? The whole journey is recapped, A through M  here . After the M, I hopped on a D to 34th Street where I could switch to an N train. At 12:47 PM, I board an uptown N at 34th Street. Eight minutes later, I meet Fatima, who shares this rose tattoo: Fatima told me little, just that this was done at a shop in the Bronx. Thanks to Fatima for sharing her rose with us here on Tattoosday! This entry is ©2018 Tattoosday. If you are seeing this on another website 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...

Continuing our alphabetical adventure through the subways, I set my sights on the M train (Wonder what's going on? I recap A through L here ). I took the L one stop to 6th Avenue, where I switched for the M. 12:27 Waiting for the M. 12:35, on a northbound M, when I met Casey. Casey had some tattoos marked on his hands which I found interesting: Looking at the visible tattoos in this image, you'll see four letters. From left to right, there's a "C" on his index finger, a "T" on the middle finger, another "C" on his ring ringer, and a "K" below the knuckle of his pinky. Casey explained that the letters were initials of his siblings, and they are all based on fonts from French childrens' books. So, the first C and T are based on the font in Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince . The second C and the K are based on fonts from Edmond à la plage . These tattoos were also on his hand: He pointed out that he tattooed the word...

I took a lunch break in the Tattoosday Alphabet Game, and then resumed, heading for an L train. See the prior progress  here . 12:04 PM, I'm on a 4 train to 14th Street/Union Square where I can grab an L train. Definitely ahead of where I was last year: A-J, 8 trains in 4 hours, or 2 per hour on average. L-Z remain, 9 to go and I have 5 hours, maybe 6. So far, so good. 12:10 PM, On the L, just missed someone covered with ink, got off at 6th Avenue. Just went 2 stops to 8th, now will head the opposite way - toward Brooklyn. The L was sitting at 8th and our doors didn't open in time, so the train on the opposite platform left before I could switch, so I stayed on the original L. Good thing, because that's when I met Tina, who shared her wonderful sleeve: This cool sleeve was the work of Steve Boltz ( @steveboltz ), out of Smith Street Tattoo Parlour ( @smithstreettattooparlour ) in Brooklyn. Tina estimates that this was created back in 2002-2003 over five sessions. Really co...

Our Alphabet Game continues (see the previous progress here ) as we figure out how to get to the J train from the G. 11:08 AM - After talking to Zach on the G train , I had to hop off at Bergen, but realized I had to leave the station to switch directions - ended up helping a woman up the stairs with her stroller (good deed for the day accomplished). 11:10 AM - Jumped on a Manhattan-bound F train. Also of note, my battery is still at 75%. Honestly, three hours in and I've done the A,B,C,D,E, F and G - not too shabby. Approaching lunch, considered taking A train to Fulton but am staying on the F for only three stops more. Considering taking the J back toward Broad Street where I work, so I can lunch and use the restroom. All depends on what the MTA gods provide. 11:25 AM - Delancey Street, waiting for a J. 11:29 AM - Boarded a J toward Broad. I rode the J to Broad and, in the process, interviewed Kenny, who shared this alternative take on a Japanese half-sleeve: Rather than your tra...

As we continue our quest to travel through the NYC subways in alphabetical order, spotting ink as we go (see the adventure summary  here ), you may recall we left off yesterday waiting on a subway platform for the G train. The G train runs with only four subway cars, so pickings were slim. Got my first rejection of the day at 10:50 AM, from a woman with a leaf tattooed on her arm. So, decided to switch back at Fulton Street  and head back in the opposite direction. 10:53 AM. Back on a Brooklyn-bound G, Success shortly follows when I meet Zach, who shares this unusual piece on his leg: Zach tells me this is based on the work of Santiago Caruso , a surrealist artist from Buenos Aires, Argentina. The tattoo was created by Tommy from Tattoo Lou's o Long Island about ten years ago. Thanks to Zach for sharing this cool tattoo with us here on Tattoosday! This entry is ©2018 Tattoosday. If you are seeing this on another website other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note t...

For the past week on Tattoosday, we've been playing the Alphabet Game (see the recap here ), as we travel the subways seeking out tattoos, going in alphabetical order. We have previously seen work on the A, B, C, D, E and F trains, so next up was the G train. 10:28 AM: I take the F to Carroll Street in Brooklyn where I plan to switch for the G. It's my first real break of the day, since the G is a pretty isolated line in Brooklyn. I've managed to avoid any intermediary lines between trains, but once I do the G, I have to take it back to the F and then take the F to the J. There's a way to get off/exit and walk to the J, but that takes too far out of the way to my liking. 10:36 AM: On a G, missed a shot at a Family Guy sleeve, considering switching back to a Queens-bound G. Switched at 4th Avenue/9th Street and, while waiting for another G, met Dan on the platform, who had a tattoo too good to pass up: This amazing black and gray octopus on the back of Dan's leg was ...

If you're just joining us on our subway journey, we're recapping our subterranean adventure on the rails last month when we attempted to "play the alphabet game," finding tattoos on every lettered train, alphabetically, over the course of a single day. Please check out the master post  here  to see the master post. We are up to the F train. After spotting the old ladybug tattoo on the E train, I rode the E down to West 4th Street, where I planned to switch for the F train. 10:07 AM, waiting for an F train at West 4th. At 10:18 AM, on the F train, I struck up a conversation with Ivan between the Broadway/Lafayette and Delancey Street stations. Ivan used to be a piercer, so he had worked in tattoo shops and accumulated some cool tattoos. I initially took a photo of this piece on his leg: Ivan credited the artist Sinsentido ( @sinsentido10 ) who works out of Circus Tattoo  ( @cricustattoomadrid ) in Madrid. After the train had rolled into Brooklyn, Ivan asked to share ...

As we continue our subway adventure (summarized  here ), I set my sights on the E train ... I took the D to 7th Avenue where I switched for an E. Noting that knocking the D train out of the equation ebfore 10AM was great - last year I rode the D all the way out to Coney Island where I met someone as the train was pulling in. But then it was an hour back into Manhattan to catch an E - that was the worst time-management piece of the day. So, now on an E train, I talk to Melissa before the E even hits 50th Street: So, this was probably the muddiest tattoo of the day, Melissa was still cool sharing this ladybug on a flower, inked in "n old shop in the Bronx that doesn't exist anymore." Thanks to Melissa for sharing nonetheless! This entry is ©2018 Tattoosday. If you are seeing this on another website 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 vis...

In our continuing journey on the New York City subway one day last month, I set my sights on the C train. Please see the summary post here for the first part of the challenge. 9:20am, I'm on a southbound C that I grabbed at West 4th Street. I am trying to get a woman's attention on the C. She has a small Keith Haring tattoo on her forearm, but she is buried in her phone and has earbuds in. And a Basquiat tattoo, which I only noticed when she got up to get off at Chambers Street. :-( 9:27am, back at Fulton Street, switching over to a northbound C train. 9:30am Northbound C train, I meet Jeffrey, who is kind enough to share this cool "suicide king" tattoo: Although the heart symbol is not in the tattoo, one is instantly reminded of the King of Hearts  playing card, commonly referred to as the "Suicide King," because of the way he is holding his sword, it appears as if he is driving it through his own head. Jeffrey told me he just "liked the idea of"...

This is part 2 of our sequence of events when we played the Alphabet game last month on the subway. Check out the master post here  for a more thorough explanation. Yesterday's post was from the A train, so on we go to the B train... At 9am I'm at 59th Street, having recently disembarked from an A train, waiting for a B. It rolls in at 9:04, and five minutes later, at 9:09, I'm talking to Tiffany, who has a whole movie theme on her leg, including this compass, from the Pirates of the Caribbean : That's Jack Sparrow's compass  [click through to read the compass' own wiki page] and was inked by Todd Griesch at Forever Studio  ( @forever_studio_tattoo ) in Longmont, Colorado. It is based on this: Pretty cool! That was it for the B train, as I hopped off at West 4th to catch a C train. Thanks to Tiffany for sharing her tattoo with us as Tattoosday rides the rails! To be continued.... This entry is ©2018 Tattoosday. If you are seeing this on another website other tha...

As explained in our introductory post here , I had so much fun with last year's Alphabet Game, I attempted it again last month. Let the game begin! Well, I'm at it again. Last year, I tried to run the letters, A to Z, on the MTA. It's 8:06 on the J platform at Broad Street. I'm going to hop on a J, ride a stop, and hit the A train , where it will begin again. I'll be honest, I'm not super confident, so my goal is to just go one better than last year, so if I make it to the S (Shuttle) train, I will be happy. I know it's all about momentum and being efficient, but I'm still a little concerned that I can pull it off. A big stumbling block last year was the D train and going all the way out to Coney Island and back. Here's the J, it's 8:10 AM, and we're off. 8:12 AM, great train luck, one stop to Fulton and an A is pulling in at the bottom of the stairs on the A/C platform. Already headed north. Found a cool tattoo, but the dude id sleeping. I...