Jake's Redd Foxx Tattoo Helps Us Celebrate Father's Day!

Last week, I posted about a trio of friends that had recently moved from San Francisco to New York, all of them inked.

Jake was the first of the three to share his tattoo with us, and it is such a good piece, I saved it for a special occasion, Father's Day:


This is, of course, a portrait of the great comedian Redd Foxx. People of my generation (X) remember him as the bristling curmudgeon in the sitcom "Sandford and Son".



For those who are unfamiliar with the series, the show is about a widower, Fred Sanford (Foxx), raising his adult son Lamont (played by Desmond Wilson), and their junkyard business. It was a breakthrough show that was one of the first on network television to feature a minority cast.

The father-son dynamic is an ongoing theme, and Jake recalls watching the show with his dad and it being a bonding experience.

His father passed away about four years ago this month from cancer. The tattoo is not only a tribute to the great comedian, but a reminder of the times Jake spent watching "Sandford and Son" with his dad. Jake added, "I'm pretty sure if [my dad] was still around, he would get a kick out of seeing Redd Foxx on my calf."

This amazing portrait was tattooed on the back of Jake's right calf by Greg Rojas at Everlasting Tattoo in San Francisco.

As we celebrate Father's Day today, I thank Jake for sharing this awesome tattoo with us here, and invite everyone to revisit the host of tattoos previously posted on Tattoosday that pay tribute to dads. Click here to see the lot.

And, as a special treat, in the spirit of the day, I present the following clip:



Happy Father's Day from Tattoosday!

Ashley's Two Little Birds

Last July, I met two tattooed women, Becky and Ashley, outside of Borders (Becky's post is here, Ashley's is here) on Penn Plaza.

A few months later, in one of my more embarrassing moments as an ink-spotter, I approached Becky again, outside of Macy*s, and asked her about her tattoos. She reminded me that she was already featured on Tattoosday, and I reddened, apologized, and moved on. In my defense, the tattoo I featured was on her foot, and it was covered in the subsequent encounter.

Flash forward to the last Friday in April, and I spotted both Ashley and Becky again, outside of Macy*s. I wasn't sure, but something seemed familiar, so I approached cautiously. Becky had dyed her black, so my failure to identify the two of them immediately was again explainable.

But unlike the previous encounter with Becky, this time I wasn't embarrassed and Ashley volunteered her two newest tattoos.

Ashley, a make-up artist, about two months ago, had two small "Mom" and "Dad" tribute tattoos inked behind her ears. Mom is on the left:


And Dad is on the right:


The birds remind her of something that her mother would tell her when she was a little girl. She would tell Ashley that if she wasn't good, the birds would get her. That, combined with the small forget-me-nots, make these small, pretty, tattoos nice tributes to her parents.

The work was done by Mohawk John at Three Kings Tattoo in Brooklyn. Work from Three Kings has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Thanks to Ashley for re-visiting us here on Tattoosday and sharing her newest tattoos!

Stephen's Tailored Tribute to His Father

I met Stephen while walking through Herald Square on an unseasonably warm Friday afternoon.

He had his sleeves rolled up and I noticed the set of circles on the outside of his right forearm. He was more than happy to share the story behind them.

Stephen was raised in New Jersey and he remembers his father commuting daily into Manhattan, where he was a Vice President at AT & T. His father was extremely dapper, and always wore a "crisp" suit to work, dressing impeccably for the job.

He vividly recalls his father taking him for his first suit, and how his father imparted all of his knowledge onto Stephen; how the suit was the uniform of a true gentleman, and all about the cut, the style, the fabric, etc.

When Stephen decided to get his first tattoo, he wanted to pay tribute to his father and wanted something above and beyond a normal tribute tattoo.

With a tip of the hat to nostalgia, and the acknowledgment that his father's influence guided him toward a career in the fashion industry, Stephen had the circles tattooed on both outer forearms:


Seen together, and knowing his background, it is all the more apparent that Stephen has tattoos representing two sets of buttons on the suit sleeves of childhood memories.

When I asked him what his father thought when he saw this tribute, he replied, "He wasn't super pumped about it, but it grew on him. The first thing he said after I explained it to him was, 'Couldn't you've just gotten DAD tattooed...?' ."

Stephen now has 10 tattoos, most of which were inked at Electric Lotus Tattoo and Piercing in Boonton, New Jersey. His friend Don Perdue was the artist responsible for these honorary buttons.

Thanks to Stephen for sharing these cool tattoos honoring his father!

Tattoos I Know: Mary-Lee's Paternal Inscription

I'm particularly proud of this particular tattoo story because it hatched out of Tattoosday itself, in a roundabout way.

The signature above is a freshly-inked autograph of a man who has been dead over forty years. It graces the back of Mary-Lee, who I have known and worked with for a decade. The signature is that of her father.

Earlier this year, Mary-Lee, who has regarded the Tattoosday hobby of mine with a curious amusement, was moved by the story of Kate's tattoos (here), especially the one of her twin sister's signature. Kate's sister had died in a car crash the previous year, and the name of her sister, in her own handwriting, is a touching and beautiful memorial.

Upon hearing this tale, and seeing this tattoo, Mary-Lee began thinking of a similar tribute, made all the more remarkable by the way the stars lined up to make this happen.

Her father died at the age of 53, when Mary-Lee was only eleven years old. She was a typical Daddy's Girl, and has never forgotten the sudden nature of his passing, and the absence of closure, as she was not allowed to go to his funeral.

So, as the anniversary of his death approached on December 4, and she realized that this anniversary was special in that she is the same age as he was that he died, she decided it was only fitting to get her first tattoo, honoring her dad, at the same age as he was on the day he died.

The final question was, would she be able to get it inked after 6pm on the anniversary? She doesn't know the exact time he left this world, only that it was after 6pm.

She started looking for a reputable shop in the area, and stumbled upon Red Rocket Tattoo, located between work and her home in Manhattan. She booked an appointment after 6pm on December 4 with Betty Rose well in advance. As if the kismet of the dates lining up wasn't enough, Red Rocket is where our friend and co-worker Paul (see his ink here) had his work done, and Betty Rose was the girlfriend of Chris (see his ink here) with whom I served a brief stint of jury duty over the summer.


When December 4 rolled around, everything went smoothly. Betty Rose had lifted the signature from the old ssocial security card that Mary-Lee still had in her possession, enlarged it, and placed the stencil in the perfect spot on the first attempt.

She is very pleased with how the nuances of the signature were picked up in the process, and loves how the inked reproduction is tilted "upwards, toward heaven".

And, whether it is the physical fineness of the lines and minimal surface area the tattoo affects, or whether there is a paternal heavenly influence with its hand in the process, Mary-Lee has marveled that she has experienced none of the typical symptoms that come with a healing tattoo.

This lack of self-consciousness about the ink, combined with the minimal pain and aftercare required, has validated for her the transcendent healing nature of her tattoo.

And it has helped her obtain another level of closure that she never received when she lost her father at the age of eleven.

Thanks to Mary-lee for sharing her tattoo and its story here with us on Tattoosday!

Jeremy's Patriotic Tribute to His Father

I spotted this patriotic and paternal piece earlier this week at Penn Station.

Jeremy explained this straight-forward tattoo, which is inked on the inner part of his left bicep. The design is a tribute to his father, who died on the 4th of July, 2001. Dad had served in the U.S. army in the Korean War and it seemed fitting to Jeremy, who has six tattoos in all, to honor his memory with this piece.

The tattoo was inked at Bob's Crystal Blue Tattoo & Body Piercing in Shirley, New York.

Thanks to Jeremy for sharing this tribute to his father with us here on Tattoosday!

Raul Honors His Father with a Portrait

I spotted Raul outside of F.I.T. and stopped to ask him about this portrait on his inner left forearm.

The gentleman pictured is Raul's father, based on a photograph of him taken when he was serving as a paratrooper in the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic.

Raul told me he always had a special relationship with his father, who had always wanted his son to follow in his footsteps in the military. Raul explained that his father, however, changed his tune about this late in his career.

Raul did not indicate whether this was due to his father's feeling about life in the military, or a result of his seeing that his son was not meant for a life as a paratrooper.

Regardless, the portrait is a touching example of a son's affection for his father.

Raul credits this piece to Triple X Tattoo in Manhattan, and remembered the artist being from Australia and named Mike. A call to Triple X did not clarify this, as I could not connect the three elements to positively identify the artist.

Nonetheless, thanks go to Raul for sharing his inked portrait of his father with us here on Tattoosday!

Michelle's Amazing Owl Tattoo Honors Her Dad

I follow a method to creating content for this blog and I generally post ink in the chronological order that I see it. Sometimes a post may take longer because it requires more research. Other times, a tattoo is so good, it deserves to be seen right away. The tattoo above is one of those that demanded it be posted immediately. It helped that the story behind it is short and sweet.

I had left the office for lunch on Friday and I spotted this owl (sorry, bad pun) going into Starbucks. I suddenly realized I had left my camera on my desk. What to do? Run upstairs and risk missing the chance? Ask her to send me a photo? Then, I realized I had my phone, a recent upgrade, with a functioning camera. But would it take a good tattoo picture?

I believe so.

This is Michelle's tattoo, covering her upper left arm. It is dedicated to her father, who is her very own "wise old owl". The tattoo artist was Marina, who was apprenticing at Fly-Rite Studio, in Brooklyn.

All I can say is, "Wow." Not only is it an amazingly beautiful piece of body art, but it rendered the dozen or so tattoos I saw throughout the day uninteresting. When you fly first class, it's hard to go back to sitting in coach.

Everything I've seen come out of Fly-Rite has been spot-on. See other tattoos that were inked st the studio here.

Thanks again profusely to Michelle for sharing her wonderful owl tattoo with us here on Tattoosday, and thanks to Marina for inking such a cool piece!