Hello Speakeasy Readers,
Seems we’re getting a break from the sun this week with this warm cloudy weather. It’s still nice outside so don’t forget to make some fun weekend plans!
This week’s topic is Dave Navarro. A lot of people know him from the popular tv show Ink Master, while others know him for his music career as a guitarist in Jane’s Addiction and Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Regardless of how you know who he is, one thing we all seem to notice about him is he has a lot of tattoos. In an interview with Inked Magazine, Navarro shared his memory of his first tattoo with his bandmate Eric Avery. "[We] were in a bar, getting drunk and talking about tattoos," Navarro recalled. "We were really fascinated with them at that time, because it seemed like an underground lifestyle. The drinks just flowed, we got the courage and we ran over to Bob Roberts’s shop and got them. I was hooked. People asked me, 'What are you going to do when you’re an old man?' And the answer was: I’ll be an old man with tattoos."
For Navarro, all of his tattoos come with special meanings, stories, or memories which is why even a cover up has to have meaning for him. Navarro once said about his ex wife’s initials tattooed on his sternum, "I feel like at some point your body becomes like a walking diary and you’ve got to live with it," noted Navarro. "I still had that experience. It’s a part of my story and my life, so I celebrate that. I feel that to cover up something would be to deny having gone through it. I had a great time being married to [Carmen]. That’s my life. And the fact of the matter is, all those elements are things that, as human beings — not to get too spiritual — are collective pieces of who you are today. I probably wouldn’t be who I am today had I not gone through that marriage. I’m not going to deny that marriage and then go get it lasered off and get a fucking skull to cover up the scar. A skull means nothing to me. It’s similar to trying to un-ring a bell." Navarro would later on cover up his CE tattoo with a heart with barbed wire to symbolize pain, sufferings, and emotional loss.
Navarro’s favorite tattoos are the ones he has in memory of his mom Constance who passed away when he was 15. One is his mother’s name on his lower back and the other is a portrait of her on his ribcage. "It’s my mom’s name and was done in the early ’90s by Charlie McDonald," explained Navarro. "It’s more than likely my favorite because of what it stands for as a commemorative piece for my mom, who passed when I was 15. Second to that is probably the portrait of my mom on my rib cage done by Kat Von D. They are similar in nature, and both of those pieces are actually unusual for me because both of them required appointments. Generally speaking, I’m not the artwork-planning type. I prefer spur-of-the-moment tattoos, like, 'Let’s just roll over and get something done right away.' I like the instant gratification, hence I have a lot of smaller pieces."
So how many tattoos does this tattoo enthusiast have? To be honest we may never know, especially since Navarro is constantly getting new tattoos in the spur of the moment, but the last confirmed count was 93.
Until next time my fellow apes,
Peter Hernandez
Hello Speakeasy Readers!
Another bright and sunny day in Los Angeles with more warm weather ahead of us. Hope everyone has a great weekend.
Today’s topic is about the history and styles of realism tattoos. A realism tattoo looks so realistic that it could look just like a photo. It’s full of intricate details and lots of shading with no solid lines to achieve the look. Realism tattoos most popularly depict portraits and animals, but really you could apply this style to any subject matter.
Realism tattoos really began to take off in the West in the late 1800s and early 1900s. This tattoo style has a lot of its origins in Japan. In the early 1800s, Japanese tattoo artists began to experiment with Western styles of tattooing. They incorporated elements such as shading and perspective to create incredibly lifelike images. These Japanese tattoo artists were then approached by Western sailors who were looking for similar tattoos. The first recorded instance of a realism tattoo in the West is from 1846, when British sailor Johnnie Coy was tattooed by Japanese artist Hori Chiyo while in Yokohama. Coy's tattoo, which depicted an eagle clutching a snake in its talons, was so realistic that it garnered attention from other sailors and soon became a popular design.
There are several different styles of realism tattoos which include…
Photo-realism: This style can be black and grey or full of color. It requires a lot of detail and through the shading, and 3D effects you will be left with a tattoo that perfectly captures your subject matter.
Hyper-realism: The details are so extensive in this style that the tattoo will look so realistic like the subject is actually there on your skin.
Morphed-realism: This style takes lifelike images and merges them together to make up one design. While they are realistic in their visual effect, the design itself is abstract.
Portraiture: This style is about creating a photo-realistic tattoo of a person. The level of detail should be so exact that there is no denying who the person in the tattoo is.
Black and Grey Realism: This style uses fully saturated black ink and graduation of grey tones to bring the tattoo to life. This is one of the most popular sub-genre of realism tattoos.
Color Realism: This tattoo style has become more popular in recent years. They are full of varying shades of color and depth with minimal use of black. These tattoos often have that 3D effect and are popular for design of animals, flowers, and portraits.
Today, realism tattoos are more popular than ever. There is so much incredible skill that today these tattoos can really look life-like. If you're considering getting a realism tattoo, be sure to do your research and find an experienced artist who can create the design you're looking for.
Until next time my fellow apes,
Peter Hernandez
Good Morning Speakeasy Readers,
Another bright and sunny day, with more warm weather ahead of us for the rest of the week. Hope everyone has a fun weekend!
Not sure if you noticed, but the Barbie movie has taken over Los Angeles. Barbie pop ups, Barbie themed food and drinks, and nearly everyone has been covered in pink this week as they head to watch the movie.
Barbie was directed by Greta Gerwig who is also known for Little Women and Lady Bird. The movie was released on July 21st, and scored the largest opening weekend of 2023 pulling in $155 million in the US and $337 million globally.
The character Barbie has been popular since its release when the dolls hit the shelves in 1959, and this new movie is reminding a lot of people of their forgotten love of Barbie.
With that said I personally suspect we will see a lot of Barbie tattoos in the near future.
Here’s a gallery of some of my personal favorite Barbie tattoos.
Until next time my fellow apes,
Peter Hernandez