I thought about saving this photo for a Halloween post, as it definitely would fit in with the colours and theme of the holiday. But then I realized it was just too awesome to wait to post, so here you go.
Even without the watermark, it’s pretty obvious this is one of Nail‘s tattoos. The orange line work is what gives it away as one of his, acting as a sort of signature.
In random browsing I came across this stunning Joy Division tattoo, and since like most things on the Internet it was uncredited it took me some searching before I even knew if it was a real tattoo or a photoshop job, which was my first assumption because it’s just so incredibly bold. I was happy to discover that it was the work of Thomas Hooper (meditationsinatrament.com) of Saved Tattoo (savedtattoo.com) in Brooklyn.
By the way, if you like that, check out this Joy Division cutting posted last year.
As stunning as this piece is — it’s a beautiful example of graphic design — but not really something that pushed him technically or artistically as a tattooist. His custom work is so top-notch that I thought he deserved proper coverage, so here is a small selection of some of my favorite pieces he’s created. Visit his websites for more. I know I’ve said this to death, but wow, the talent pool that’s out there in the tattoo world these days is unbelievable. I could feature a new artist every single day for the next year and only have scraped the tip of the iceberg. Glad to have discovered today’s polar bear.
Following up the post I made earlier today about the great new tattooing that Lucky Diamond Rich is getting I wanted to remind people that he’s also a tattoo artist at Jinxproof Tattoo Studio in Geelong, Victoria. This little thumb skull — and who doesn’t love skull thumbs? — that he did for Tonii particularly caught my eye because it’s got one of those special little touches that 99.9% of the time you’ll only see if you know what to look for. Meaning, that it’s something that’ll bring one of those sneaky smiles to the wearer’s face when they’re reminded of it as they look down at their hands, creeping out everyone else at the funeral (or whatever). If you haven’t noticed it yet even with all that hinting — the skull has a gold tooth. Little details like this really separate the wheat from the chaff.
I’ve seen a few tattoos that hide a skull inside a field of flowers or architecture or shadows and figures, but this illusion skull for me is my favorite yet, and maybe even has what it takes to become one of the iconic tattoos of the dotwork/geometric genre… I have no doubt you’ll see this tattoo forwarded endlessly over the next decade, so if you see it, let the world know that it’s the work of Kike Bugni (facebook.com/tattoosbybugni. I see a lot of amazing geometric, dotwork, and blackwork tattooing these days, but after a while they start to blend into each other, so it’s nice seeing one that really stands out and will never get mixed up with anyone else — until of course the inevitable copies start!
Good morning everyone! We’re starting today off with some dotwork foot tattoos by Michael E. Bennett from 2Spirit Tattoo in San Francisco.
While this isn’t a traditional Arlecchino mask, it’s pretty clear that it’s some form of harlequin that fits perfectly on to this young man’s skull. IAM: RAFAEL is the artist behind this skull piece.
To think, it was only 6 years ago that the world first met Rick Genest. Looking back at his first couple of ModBlog appearances, you can see back then people thought that his dramatic facial tattoos were either incredible, or incredibly stupid. Here are some choice quotes.
Is it just me or does he look like a full of acne, russian looking nerd? I mean, thats a great work by the artist, but common.. that guy just looks ugly “whearing” this.
Well, everyone’s gotta be unique somehow. While it might be fine to say “Fuck society” society will fuck you back. Big balls? I guess.
I don’t care what kind of crap I get for saying this but I think this is a really dumb tattoo. I know everyone can do what they want with their body but everyone is also intitled to their own opinion, and mine is negative towards this. When I first saw the photos, before reading anything I hoped so much that this was just a cool halloween mask someone painted on. To my dismay it is a tattoo. No doubt the tattoo is done pretty well but come on! It just plain looks stupid. I sincerely hope this individual knows what he has done to himself and is ready for a life time of negative feedback in many different forms. Yes, he may have support from the body modification community but he most certainly will not have support anywhere in the outside world and I am afraid for what his future looks like. . Hopefully it is more positive and safe than what I am suspecting.
And my personal favorite…
wat a moron, his whole life is ruined
Well, it’s 2012, and we all know that Rick has gone on to great success within the world of fashion. In fact, he’s become so successful he now has his own action figure!
From Tonnerdoll.com..
Here is a peek at our 2012 SDCC Exclusive: Zombie Boy. If you don’t know Rick Genest visit his website rickgenest.com to find out more about him and like the Rick Genest Facebook fan page. Rick came into larger global awareness when Lady Gaga featured him and his tattoo styling in her “Born This Way” video (below). You can read his personal story here, on this website.
Not only is this doll – the hashtag #zombiedoll on twitter – a SDCC 2012 exclusive (our only SDCC 2012 exclusive and limited to 500 pieces), Rick himself will be at our booth 4149 for two signings on July Friday 13th, one at 11am and another at 3pm.
It’s pretty amazing the journey that Rick has gone though, and for those that found his tattoos to be amazing back then, be happy to know that you were right, and the naysayers were so incredibly wrong.
Oh, and if you happen to be in San Diego this weekend, pick one up for me.
This Day of the Dead inspired Mariachi is by none other than Jackie Rabbit from Star City Tattoo in Roanoke, VA. Now I have a craving for some puerco pibil.
BME is up for a small business grant and we need your support!!
Visit www..missionsmallbusiness.com, sign in using facebook, search for “BME”, and click the vote button! Voting ends June 30th, so vote today!
More details here.
I don’t know when they started doing it, but lately the submissions from Tattoo Temple have included the names the artists have been giving the pieces. As you’ve probably already guessed, this piece by Wang is entitled “Technicolor Visions”.
Help out the youngest member of the BME family. Get a limited edition 2012 BME Classic Logo t-shirt. Read all the details here.
This just goes to show that Jackie Rabbit can do so much more than bright, colourful, happy pieces. In total it took 5.5 hours to complete this arm, and if you look really closely at the edges, you can see the armband that it covered.
Also, 30% OFF almost everything in the BMEShop! Coupon code: movingsale
Sale ends April 11th! Check here for details!