Jessy's Sugar Skull (Tattoorism)

In what I refer to as tattoorism, today's selection is a reader-submitted tattoo that comes to us from Jessy, in Denver, Colorado.

Jessy writes:

"I was looking at your blog, and since you love sugar skulls, I thought I'd share mine with you...I had it done in Santa Fe by Guido Baldini [As of publication, Mr Baldini's site is not connecting, but he is tattooing at Inborn NYC in Manhattan through July 2, 2010, according to the shop's MySpace]. A bit of a story behind it... at the time, last September, I was just developing a chronic pain problem that was mainly in my left arm. The pain was (and still is) so excruciating that while on vacation with my family, when I should have been out to dinner and having fun (it was a bit of a reunion) I was instead in the hotel room, eating percocets, and just miserable and crying and pissed off and not understanding WHY this pain wouldn't leave me the hell alone. So the next day my brother and I wandered into a tattoo shop [most likely Four Star Tattoo] and a couple hours later I emerged with this - my 1st tattoo!  It was meant to kind of scare the pain away while also reminding me of a (otherwise) great trip with my family to a town I fell in love with. I think Guido did a great job. I love my sugar skull. I plan to go back to Santa Fe soon and have him add some more flowers to it."

Those of you regular readers with good memories may recall that I recently ran into the artist's cousin and he shared this piece, inked by Mr. Baldini in New Mexico.

Thanks to Jessy for sharing this cool sugar skull with us here on Tattoosday!

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Kevin's Angel Tattoo Inspires

I spotted Kevin at the corner of 33rd Street and 7th Avenue and asked him about his incredible tattoo covering the majority of his left arm:


His upper arm has a cross on it, so Kevin worked downward on the arm. The angel is based on the sculpture of "The Angel of the Waters" in Central Park's Bethesda Fountain.



He subsequently added the banner that reads "Veni Vidi Vici" on the back side of the forearm:


This famous Latin phrase, attributed to Julius Caesar, means "I came. I saw. I conquered." In his mind, this sums up Kevin's life, having moved from a town of 70,000 people to a megopolis of over 7 million, attaining a senior position with a fashion corporation.

Kevin is particularly happy with the detail in the wings and the angel herself.


Ray Jerez at Inborn NYC on the Lower East Side of Manhattan is the artist behind this tattoo.

Thanks much to Kevin for sharing his amazing tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

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