Miguel's Vision Reveals What Lies Within

A few weeks back, I popped in at my wife's workplace, and she introduced me to Miguel, the husband of one of her colleagues. In warmer weather, she had seen that Miguel had a tattoo, and she thought I would be interested in talking to him about it. Unfortunately, at the moment, it was in the high 20's outside and Miguel had on layers of clothing, which covered the artwork on his upper right arm. I did, however, ask him to send me a photo when he got the chance.

Miguel was good to his word and e-mailed me the following photo:

Miguel told me that, one night, a couple of years ago, during a difficult time in his life, he had a dream about the tattoo and, when he awoke, he drew up the image he had seen in his mind. The vision, to him, "represents the evil that people have inside". He took the idea to Sunset Tattoo in Brooklyn, and one of the artists  created the piece.

Thanks to Miguel for sharing his tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Evil Tattoo Designs

From demons to Beelzebub: there is never any shortage of evil tattoo designs to choose from. For many people, the very idea of having such an evil design tattooed onto them would be completely anathema, but this style of body art is actually increasing in its level of popularity.

Whether you believe in the stories of evil that have managed to raise the hairs on the backs of our necks, since we were kids, there are definitely some elements of evil that manage to capture our attention and imagination. To be fair here, people are rarely turning to evil tattoo designs as a form of worship in the dark arts; instead, it often seems to be a way of showing a level of respect to such darkness in life and a sort of lucky talisman that may help to keep these forces away from our door.

Of course, top of the list for evil tattoo designs must be the head honcho: The Devil himself. Now, I must admit to finding it a little strange that someone actually wants any form of depiction of the most evil entity that is known to exist, but they really do. And what's more, even some brave females are going in for tattoo pieces that incorporate this tyrannical demon as the main feature.

There are numerous other demonic designs to choose between and if you have ever taken a close look at the detail and effect that these tattoos exude, you will definitely be impressed with they way in which they translate onto the body. These pieces are nearly always done in black and grey shading and it has to be said that this gives off the most awesome results.

Evil Tattoo Designs

From demons to Beelzebub: there is never any shortage of evil tattoo designs to choose from. For many people, the very idea of having such an evil design tattooed onto them would be completely anathema, but this style of body art is actually increasing in its level of popularity.

Whether you believe in the stories of evil that have managed to raise the hairs on the backs of our necks, since we were kids, there are definitely some elements of evil that manage to capture our attention and imagination. To be fair here, people are rarely turning to evil tattoo designs as a form of worship in the dark arts; instead, it often seems to be a way of showing a level of respect to such darkness in life and a sort of lucky talisman that may help to keep these forces away from our door.

Of course, top of the list for evil tattoo designs must be the head honcho: The Devil himself. Now, I must admit to finding it a little strange that someone actually wants any form of depiction of the most evil entity that is known to exist, but they really do. And what's more, even some brave females are going in for tattoo pieces that incorporate this tyrannical demon as the main feature.

There are numerous other demonic designs to choose between and if you have ever taken a close look at the detail and effect that these tattoos exude, you will definitely be impressed with they way in which they translate onto the body. These pieces are nearly always done in black and grey shading and it has to be said that this gives off the most awesome results.

Jarrod's Multicultural Demon Sleeve

When I met Jarrod last month in Penn Station, he was happy to share what he called his Demon Sleeve.

It currently has a Viking Demon:

And a Hannya mask, representing a demonic figure from Japanese theater.

He hopes to add an Aztec demon, as well.

Both tattoos were done by Pepe at The Tattoo Shop, in Medford, NY.

Thanks to Jarrod for sharing his ink with us here on Tattoosday!

Danny's Incredible Tattoos

On occasion, I will wander from 7th Avenue to 8th Avenue, through the campus of F.I.T., hoping to spot some creative work. One of my first posts (documented here) featured tattoos from someone I met on that stretch of street.

Last month, I ran into Danny, who had several very nice tattoos.

First I took a picture of this hannya mask on his right forearm:


Then I snapped this photo of the tattoo above his right wrist:


This metal-plated heart represents Danny's emotional toughness, with a trace of sensitivity. In his words, "even if my heart is dead, it will still bleed".

I also took a photo of Danny's knuckles, which I wanted to post up on Knuckletattoos.com. However, since they're working on a six-month backlog, I thought I'd spare them the extra post and just share these here:


They read, of course, "HATE PAIN". This just represents what Danny was going through at the time he had his digits inked.

Initially, he had told me his back was done, but I didn't press him to show me the work. By the time I had taken pictures of his knuckles, I guess he felt comfortable enough to share this truly remarkable back piece:


All of his work was done by Thailand Mike at Scratch Tattoo in Elmhurst, Queens. He initially went to Mike for a cover-up on his back, providing just the central part of the design...


Danny visited from time to time for over a year, having elements of the back filled in. The demon head at the top of the back is particularly cool


and the dragon hovering above the wasitline is also impressive:


I rarely get to feature back pieces, as they have to be offered up by generous contributors, so when I see one, I am seldom disappointed.

Thanks again to Danny for sharing so much of his work with us here on Tattoosday!

John's Demon Sleeve

Under normal circumstances, I may not have stopped John, as I tend to not feature full sleeves here on Tattoosday. However, last Wednesday I was on a roll, and he gladly modeled his right arm for me:


Here's a little better look at that demonic face that dominated the bicep:


John's ink, which he estimates covers 25% of his body, has no specific meanings, the artwork is just a form of expression. He's 42, and has been getting tattooed since he turned 18.

He credits this work, along with most of his ink, to Bobby at Skin Deep Tattoo in Uniondale, New York.

Thanks to John for sharing his tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Doug's Colorful Demon

I ran into Doug in Penn Station a couple weeks back and he offered up this, one of seven tattoos:


He said that this tattoo, which represents twelve hours worth of work, is based on a Japanese demon he spotted while poring over a book on medieval manuscripts.

There's no real specific meaning behind it, he just liked the design, especially how different it was from other demons one typically sees in Japanese art.

The tattoo was created at Cross Creek Tattoo Gallery in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

Thanks to Doug for sharing this amazing piece with us here on Tattoosday!

Anger Management

It is my practice, when someone is heavily inked, and they've agreed to let me take a picture, to ask them to offer up the piece that means the most to them.

Last week I approached a guy named John in front of Madison Square Garden. He had numerous tattoos on his arms and looked like an excellent Tattoosday candidate. However, when I asked him what tattoo was the most special, he raised his right pant leg to show me this interesting design on his calf:

John described this "biomechanical" design as a shield that keeps his demons locked inside. The tribal symbol is an anchor that keeps him grounded. He was very open and acknowledged that he had anger management issues. The tattoo gives him strength to control those issues.

This tattoo is one of 15 that John has. It was inked by High Roller Tattoo, in Hicksville on Long Island, NY.

After thanking John, I asked the woman standing next to him if she had any tattoos she wanted to share. She did. Donna has two kanji characters on her lower back that I wasn't able to get complete photographs of. I asked her to, at her convenience, send me better pictures, if she was interested in joining these pages. She said the kanji meant a lot to her, so I am interested in finding out why.

Thanks John, again, for your participation. Here's hoping Donna will e-mail me about her tattoos.