creationism all around:

jack and i came up w/ this turtle design. he wanted it to more or less represent creation in the center portion. we had a couple of sit-downs regarding the design, added, subtracted, and came up w/ something that worked very well.



this is my friend, jeff. we started work on what will (hopefully) be a rib panel. ribs are notorious for being a "sensitive" (read as: painful) area to get tattooed. the piece is a modification of an eyeball monster that is briefly featured in "Bride of the Re-Animator"... a zombiesque flick. enjoy!

what's better than gambling w/ fate?

i immortalized this hot-ass version of "Lady Justice" on Nelson this past Saturday afternoon.
nice dice.

Pictures of the Shop:

so, in case you haven't been down to the shop yet, now you know what you're in for! hope to see you soon.

happy birthday to my brother:

my brother, roy, turned 19 today. he came in and got his first tattoo. he's tried to get tattooed before, but he didn't have very good ideas... so i wouldn't let him. haha. he's a film-making/editing student at the school of visual arts in nyc. so, here's his filmstrip tattoo. i have a feeling he'll be back for more.

his latest piece is in a film festival this weekend and you should all go. tomorrow, 10:10pm.


miss. casey also came in today to get her "mommy" tattoo done. nice placement, pretty font, sweet client.

all in all, a good day.

my apologies:

i would like to apologize to anyone who stopped by yesterday (thursday). i called a car service (fancy cab) to take me to work and on the way, my driver rear-ended the two cars in front of us! i'm okay and everyone else was okay... other than some sprains and strains. icing on the cake? the driver left the car and fled the scene on foot. yay new york, right? i was back in for a full day's work today and will be in tomorrow as scheduled.

i just wanted to apologize to anyone who found the gate down yesterday!

yikes, YELP... help!!!

hey kiddies,

i recently signed up for YELP.
when i got there, i saw that a friend had already written a review of twelve 28! thanks mike!

if you've been tattooed by me (or even been to the shop) please write the shop a review. i'd really appreciate it... thank you!!

FUNDRAISER.

tonight.

8pm.

The Four-Faced Liar.

come drink to raise money for my brother's expenses in the film festival!!!

i talk about how cool my brother is all the time:

he's got a movie (no, it's not raggs, sorry.) in the New York International Independent Film Festival! you can follow the links on that site, or just click here to read about his movie.

there is a fundraiser tomorrow night that i need to get more information on. it's at a bar in the city i think up near 59th street (if not on it) and they're donating funds from their profits to roy's movie.

opening night is this thursday, July 19th at Pacha.

his movie is scheduled for July 25th (wednesday) at 10:10pm. buy your tickets now!

my brother's been working his ass off since he found out he was in the festival; he found out a lot later than the other filmmakers. he's pretty much been going to work and then making flyers, posters, finding tables and walls for the booth on opening night, and essentially running around like a chicken w/ his head cut off! i'm really proud of him for all his hard work and the fact that he finally seems to be buckling down in school and life in general.

i love him, you'll love him, too. go support!! and now, raggs...

if you're not familiar w/ the original video by pink, watch this so you get why he's so incredible. mind you he pretty much films this alone and edits everything by himself.

if you want to see more, he's royrumore424 on you tube.

bit of a busy saturday:

started off w/ some work on mr. g's sleeve. this is by far one of the most eclectic sleeves i've worked on. today we added some planets above the smirking clockface. next session, we'll throw some stars around and solidify the galaxy background, but its certainly good headway for and hour and a half on a saturday afternoon.


amy came in for her lily. we watched some lost and chit chatted through the whole thing. you never would have known she was nervous!


to conclude the day, anthony stopped by on a "whim" and got this super sweet triforce inner-lip tattoo. i'm sure i'll be seeing him again for some more work soon; i'll bet next time it'll take longer than ten minutes!

regarding piercing:

i have been hearing this a lot: "you do piercings, right?"
ladies and gentlemen, the answer is no. no, i do not do piercings.
however, i have worked at two shops in nyc that do offer piercing and i whole-heartedly recommend either of these places.

Pure Body Arts in Brooklyn on Boerum b/w Graham and Manhattan or Venus Modern Body Arts in Manhattan on E4th b/w A and B and also on Broadway.

like i explain to everyone who walks in my door looking for a piercing: they'll probably be more expensive than other places around here, but they aren't using cheap, turn-your-skin-green jewelry and they know their trade. i've been pierced at both shops. i have brought my friends, family, and my own mother to be pierced at these establishments. not all tattoo artists are the same and neither are all piercers! both shops will special order jewelry for you, as well. go see them!

p.s. make sure you tell them i sent you there so they know i still love them.

schedule changes:

tomorrow (7.12.07) the shop will be closing at 6pm. sorry to ruin your plans if you were going to woo me to dinner. i don't have any appointments on the calendar for tomorrow, so if you want to pop in and get something done: POP IN! i'm also down for the dropping in to say hi. have a good thursday.

tree goils from joisey:

that's "three girls from jersey" if you're not familiar w/ the accent. tina got her heirloom tomato vine, angela's bird is singing on her back, and amanda toughed out her pretty, vintage inspired birds. it was great to get them to the shop and hang out watching movies all day.

thanks again, girls! see you in september, if tina doesn't show up at the shop before then!

chris hearts ct:

this is chris and he loves connecticut.

we've known each other since high school thanks to one of my best friends, sara, whom i met in kindergarten. he'd gotten the kanji (japanese symbol) years ago and wanted to spice it up a bit. since we're both from connecticut, he figured it would be best for me to do it... oh yeah, and since i'm a pretty okay tattoo artist, as well.

julie's flower background.

julie and i have been working on the background for her sleeve. she had the lettering at the top, the rose in the center, the super cute cupcake in front, and the doggies sniffing each other on the back. i'm simply providing a lush, floral background to pull everything together and i must say, i'm digging the way it's turning out! we've gotten through the purples and oranges and blue, but we're not done yet. i can't wait to see it finished....

it's that time again:

here i go making coupons to save you money on tattoos!

simply print this coupon, bring it in, and save $40.00 on your next tattoo!! you can use this coupon for any tattoo; a brand new one, to re-work an old piece, to do that cover-up you so desperately desire, or even toward the next session of one we've already started.

see you soon!

porn stars need tattoos, too:

ms. bella vendetta hopped up in my chair for some rib tattoo action. she's previously subjected herself to such torture as the dreaded armpit tattoos, so this wasn't so terrible. she was joined by ms. audacia ray who played photographer for us. it was a treat to get to hang out w/ my girls for the evening.

the rib piece is a memorial piece for bella's mother. it is the flower "love-lies-bleeding" and the root system turning into a human heart. this was a good first session and we're hoping to complete the piece in one more session. more pictures upon completion!

in other news, happy fourth of july! twelve 28 will be closed... party on, wayne.