Girls tattoos, tattoo styles, tattoo artists and tattoo shops

Special thanks to Pixie who flew overfrom Sunderland UK to get this Grumpy Cat tattooed. Pixie you made me a happy man!

A new tattoo design available on my website, www.seiza.ro. For this tattoo design I've combined some swirled elements with a tribal butterfly design. Because the butterfly is both a symbol of the ephemerality and a symbol of the joy of living I've also included a Japanese expression: ????? (reading: ima o tanoshime; meaning: enjoy the present / the present moment; this expression is equivalent with the famous Latin maxim "Carpe Diem").

This tattoo design was drawn using Adobe Illustrator. If you like this tattoo design and you want to draw a similar one, you might find some useful informations in the tutorials available on my other blog, http://123-graphic-tutorials.blogspot.com

Butterfly tattoo design. If you like this tattoo design and you want to use it as an inspiration for a future tattoo, you can find it in a larger format on my web site www.seiza.ro

Dear All,

There is a new book by Jinxi Caddel in which I had a pleasure to participate!

Eight Arms of Inspiration: The Octopus Art Project

A wonderfully published collection of tattoos, drawings, paintings as well as other art- inspirations of the octopus creature.
Must have for tattoo fans but also those interested in exploration of the various art-media of great artists gathered just in one book!

You can order it at www.OOSBooks.com , a percentage of each book purchase goes to arts education charity!

Dear All,

I became a part of Tattoo Fest Brand project - the collection of awesome designed t-shirts by tattoo artists.

You can find there an American Apparel quality t-shirts with the design that I did specialy for TFB.

Check out their collection under this link: http://www.tattoofestbrand.com

Some lines and bug are fresh and most of it is healed.

Dear Dudes and Babes, I will be working at the Amsterdam Tattoo Convention this year that takes place on 31 of May - 02 June in RAI Amsterdam.

There I will be doing small tattoos (like a hand-palm size) using lots of black with only 2 additional colors.

All interested in the designs from the flash-sheet below or other idea mail me to: jankowzki@gmail.com

Hope to see you there.

Best wishes,

Pawel Jankowzki

Besides those already mentioned, there are some other meanings of the skulls tattoos that have their roots in some ancient beliefs and practices.

Skulls as trophies - it was a common practice to keep the skulls of the killed enemies and to display them as trophies (eg.: to decorate with them the city walls and towers, to keep the skulls on the palisades as a warning sign, to display them on pikes at the Traitor's Gate, etc) or even to use them as wine-cups. Skulls-tattoos as trophies are a very common theme when it comes to the gang tattoos, prison tattoos, etc. For example, if we consider the russian criminal tattoos, a skull tattoo signifies murder (a significant one). When a tattoo design combines skulls with military insignia (especially with the epaulets tattooed on the shoulders), it usually designates a murderer.

russian criminal tattoo: epaulets and skulls

The epaulets are distinctive decorations for the inmates who are members of the "Vory V Zakone" (aprox "Thieves in law"). An inmate who has this kind of tattoo is a person with a high position in the prison hierarchy. The presence of the skull designates the wearer as a murderer. Read more about this topic on this blog: russiancriminaltattoo.blogspot.com

russian criminal tattoo: epaulets, skulls and a spider web

A russian criminal tattoo. The presence of the epaulets indicates that the wearer has a high rank in the prison hierarchy. The presence of the skull designates the wearer as a murderer. The spider is a symbol with multiple meanings; it may symbolize racism, doing time in prison, drug addicted, etc. Read more about this topic on this blog: russiancriminaltattoo.blogspot.com

In the Mexican tattoo-culture, skulls and skeletons are linked with the celebration of the Day of the Dead. The most common themes and representations are: the sugar-skull (brightly colored and highly decorated), the partying skeletons (because El Dia de los Muertos is not a time for sadness, but for joy and celebration) and the in-loving-memory-tattoos (these tattoos include attributes of the passed person in the skull's design: her favourite flowers, his / her weaopns, facial features, etc).

In-loving-memory-tattoo. Some of the passed person's features are still present (the moustache and the hair)

Typical Mexican tattoo: a fancy dressed skeleton playing a violin

a very popular Mexican holiday: the Day of the Dead

For the Mexicans, El Dia de los Muertos is not a mournful day, but a day of family gatherings and holiday cheer.

Alchemy and Magic - the skull is an ancient symbol and it has several embodiments of the alchemical �union of opposites�, an ancient doctrine which accepts a syncretism of conflicting views, a harmony as opposed to a never-ending conflict between Good and Evil.

a skull decorated with alchemical symbols

The skull is a one of the alchemical symbols

Wisdom - sometimes, a skull tattoo is a symbol of the mature realization of a continuity of life into death, and the ability to accept death. This is very important because it is only when a person can live with the presence of death that he can fully learn to appreciate life.

A medieval depiction of the skull as a symbol of wisdom.

One done, more to go...

I don't support destroying hoodies. That was not my idea.

Some parts fresh and lots of healed.

click to zoom

Many people choose to get a skull tattoo because they want to show their affiliation to a group or to show their beliefs and their devotion to them.

The famous Jolly Roger (the black flag with a white skull and two human bones crossed under the skull) once used by pirates, was both an intimidating signal and a symbol of the total disregard for the authorities, as well as a symbol of the absolute freedom. This symbol (which is still preserving its original meaning) symbol was integrated into various systems of symbols belonging to different subculture or/and counterculture groups (like the outlaw motorcycle clubs whose members often get Jolly Roger tattoos to show their lawlessness). Sometimes, the anarchists use the "Jolly Roger" as a symbol of rebellion against the organized authority.

Jolly Roger tattoo: a pirate skull and two crossed pirate swords

a Jolly Roger tattoo

The Dead Man's Head consists usually of the human skull with or without the mandible and often includes two crossed long-bones (the femurs). Unlike the Jolly Roger design, the Dead Man's Head design features a skull with the crossbones placed behind the skull, instead of beneath it. The Dead Man's Head is an ancient symbol and has had different meanings over time; in the Elizabethan England, for instance, The Death's-Head Skull (usually a depiction without the lower jawbone), was emblematic of bawds, rakes, sexual adventurers and prostitutes; the term Deaths-Head was actually parlance for these rakes, and most of them wore half-skull rings to advertise their station, either professionally or otherwise. The original rings were wide silver objects, with a half-skull decoration not much wider than the rest of the band; this allowed it to be rotated around the finger to hide the skull in polite company, and to reposition it in the presence of likely conquests.

Dead Man's Head ring

The Totenkopf was used by the german Schutzstaffel (SS) as the unit's insignia. As a consequence of that, this particular design of the Dead Man's Head has become closely associated with various movements like the "white nationalist" movements, the "white power skinhead" movements and the "Neo-Nazi" movement.

a Totenkopf tattoo - a symbol of the Neo-Nazi movement

a Totenkopf tattoo - a tattoo design closely associated with the Neo-Nazi's ideology

the 3rd SS Division's Totenkopf insignia

Totenkopf design; the draw also contain a variant of so-called "Cross Pattee (English: Cross Patty; German: Tatzenkreuz)"; the Cross Pattee is often mistakenly identified with the gothic crosses, but actually it is an ancient symbol which was largely used by the Teutonic Knights and sometimes by the Templiers. The Cross Pattee design was incorporated in the design of the "Iron Cross", a german decoration for military valor established by the King Frederick William III of Prussia in 1813. The Iron Cross remained in use, in various forms, by Prussia and later Germany until 1945.

Variations on the Skull and Crossbones are used by various military units as a symbol of strength, courage and bravure, as well as a symbol of the disregard for one's life. On wikipedia you can find a list of the Skull and crossbones military insignias.

The BOPE emblem, a skull impaled on a sword, backed by two gold pistols sends out a strong, unambiguous message. The emblem symbolises armed combat, war and death. The BOPE�s emblem, a skull with a crisscross of pistols, is believed to possess mystical powers of protection. BOPE = Special Policial Operations Battalion, a special forces unit of the Military Police of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. If you want to know more about BOPE you can visit their blog or you can watch these two movies: Elite Squad and Elite Squad: The Enemy Within

I�ve received lots of requests for tattoo appointments. And I am very happy that there is so much interest. In the last period I've worked mostly on big projects. Now, because my appointments gain bigger proportions and lately I am fully booked till the end of May/June. I prefer the regularity in planning sessions when I work on big pieces to avoid double work. Therefore, I need to finish the actual projects that I have now, so that I have some room for the new ones. That means that I have to stop booking new big projects for a while like full sleeves / backpieces .

At the end of February and begin of March I am taking new but only smaller projects to fill up the whole month June. And around April or May I hope to know more about the booking of big projects.

Please stay in touch, check the blog for more updates.

Here some sneak peek of some works in progress: