Website Review: Print Tattoos Online

Website Review: Print Tattoos Online

As tattooing becomes even more popular, the proliferation of sites dedicated to the art is amazing.

I was recently made aware of a new site called Print Tattoos Online that caters to the tattoo customer seeking designs for their next tattoo(s).

People seeking tattoos in the past used to have the sole option of going into a shop, poring through the flash art is books or on the walls, and going with the best of whatever limited selection was available.

Nowadays, with the internet at one's fingertips, a site like Print Tattoos Online can help the discerning customer search out unique designs and have them on hand when they visit their local tattoo artist.

The website is relatively new, but it offers a wide range of options, from a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page, a gallery to see reader-submitted tattoo photos, and a blog that covers a range of subjects, from shop reviews and samples of specific styles of art (i.e. biomechanical, dragon, koi, and cherry blossom tattoos, to name just a few). And, of course, there is the store section which sells printable tattoo designs.

Their tattoo gallery is currently seeking new submissions, and readers are encouraged to head here in order to submit photos their site.

It's always nice to see well-crafted sites devoted to the art of tattooing, and catering to the discerning customer looking for printable designs.

Please head on over to Print Tattoos Online to check out their site!

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Tattoos from the Blogosphere: The Back of Nathan's Legs

Tattoos from the Blogosphere: The Back of Nathan's Legs

My recent affiliation with Nathan over at KnuckleTattoos.com has been fairly sparse with the cold weather seizing the Northeast. However once he added me as a contributing writer, I queried about him sending me photos of some of his ink to put up over here on Tattoosday. This post reflects a couple of leg pieces he sports.

First a pre-color peek:

And then, with some color, in its completed form:


A little limb isolation (click to enlarge):



These pieces were inked by Jason Brooks ("he is incredible") at Rock of Ages Tattooing in Austin, Texas.

The following is an excerpt from Nathan's blog, which begins to explain "bitter strength" and "Quixotic honor":

So I went under the gun again. First time in almost six years. I was just supposed to get the outlines done, but then his appointment after me canceled and I got a four hour session. The crook behind the knee and the area around the Achilles tendon were miserably painful, but the rest was pretty tolerable.



The theme behind the piece is a warning about virtues bordering on being vices. Values that can bite you back. Just because I am strong enough to endure hardship does not make it any less hard. Sometimes not bearing the load is better than having the strength. Honor is good up to the point that it becomes pride or self delusion. Of course it also works backwards. I am strong enough to persevere. Sometimes the windmills are dragons in disguise.

Thanks to Nathan for sharing his ink here on Tattoosday. Be sure to check out his ink blog here. Who knows, may be you'll see a post by yours truly over there one of these days...

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Tattoos from the Blogosphere: Matt's Canva Gypsy Head

Tattoos from the Blogosphere: Matt's Canva Gypsy Head

We're revisiting an old friend, Mat, whose last piece posted here, will link you to two previous posts as well. Mat had dropped off my radar a while, but these photos remained in my inbox, awaiting to see the light of Tattoosday.

Here's the finished piece:

Mat explains, "I've attached a new leg piece. I got recently of a cavna gypsy head. Dustin Golden from Roanaoke, VA. was doing a guest spot [at 713 Tattoo] and had a last minute cancellation. I jumped on it."

What is a "canva gypsy head"? I'm still not sure, but Mat responded to my recent query for further clarification on the motivation behind the piece: "That Kafka mask was sort of a "gypsy" phase (which I am finding myself in now again). The real shiner of that piece was Dustin's red inks, which he mixes himself."

Indeed. The piece just jumps out at you like a bolt of light in a dark alley.

Thanks again to Mat for sharing and illuminating his ink for us here on Tattoosday!

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xGoboBeanx's Fairy Tattoo

xGoboBeanx's Fairy Tattoo

I met Jill outside of Penn Station last week and she had this interesting creature on her left calf. I guessed it was a fairy, and noted (to myself) that it looked like one of the creatures in Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book.

I later learned that this was no coincidence, as the illustrator of said book is Brian Froud, upon whose work this tattoo was based.

Jill identified it as a cat fairy, which is supposed to grant protection while one sleeps. She had this inked at a tattoo shop in the Corona section of Queens about 6 years ago. Jill doesn't recall the name of the shop, nor the artist that inked this, one of her six tattoos.

Jill deserves a little cross promotion here, as she is a video blogger over at www.xgobobeanx.com. Some of her other tattoos, along with this one, make fleeting appearances in her video posts. Her YouTube channel is here.

Thanks to Jill for sharing her fairy here on Tattoosday!

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Tattoos from the Blogosphere: Mat's Take on the Sugar Skull

Tattoos from the Blogosphere: Mat's Take on the Sugar Skull

Everyone remember Mat? His ink has appeared previously on Tattoosday here and here. Well, he has been a lean, mean tattoo-accumulating machine. Remember the infinity symbol on his wrist? It has a new neighbor:


Well Matt hat some might awesome work, and this piece just adds to the oeuvre of his canvas.

This is what is known as a Mexican sugar skull (a common recurring element at Tattoosday - in fact I just shot a new one on yesterday that will make its way here next week). Since Mat is currentl residing in Texas, let's let him explain this piece (with my scant editing, of course)...

It is a sugar skull, yes. Any work done on my forearms is significant to my son [Jack], and that's about it...[Jack's name is tattooed on the opposite wrist]

Since El Día de los Muertos [The Day of the Dead] is celebrated November 1 & 2, and Jack was born on November 1, I thought it would be fitting as I mulled over more and more the significance of the first day in the Day of the Dead celebration. The strange part is that the celebration on the first day is meant to honor the deceased infants and small children, whereas the second day is in honor of grown-ups/adults.

Also, we've noticed Jack at a super young age responsive to non-existent beings, as if he was communicating or interacting with something that wasn't there. It is said that during the Day of the Dead, it is easier for the departed to visit and communicate with the living.

After learning that, and remembering how focused he was as an infant on these things that I really wasn't able to make sense of, it all tied itself together.

Since it basically wraps my forearm, it's kind of hard to see how it is bookended by a rose on each side, ocher-shaded, and footnoted by a traditional red rose with okra folds.

This was also another piece by Travis Stanley at 713 Tattoo Parlour in Houston, and was tackled as we went along. I enjoy working like that- researching with the artist and maintaining the level of comfort to develop a meaningful piece that sometimes only makes itself apparent after a day or so of life on the body.

The bizarre color scheme and the bluish brain matter seen behind the top of the piece, behind the red cracks in the skull, are meant to convey the playfulness of a candy skull, but also to introduce a slight feeling of discomfort or uncertainty when a closer look is taken.

Thanks to Mat for sending this along, and giving us a behind-the-scenes perspective of the piece. We can always rely on Mat to get us to look beyond the tattoo and come to a better understanding of the thought process, as well as the creative instincts, that helped craft his body art.

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