Spilled Ink: Brooklyn Bartenders Talk About Their Tattoos
Luis
Dining Room, Downtown Brooklyn
I’d love to hear about the bird on your leg.
Totally. Owls have always represented wisdom. If you can see, this one is holding a sun and a moon in its claws — it’s in total control. I like to redirect that towards me — being in total control of myself. So the owl symbolizes me in a sense. I don’t know if you can tell, but the wings were done by separate artists. This one [rotates calf to show one wing] has more shading and the other has more outlining. My leg was twitching by the end of it, so I couldn’t get the other wing done in the same session. I think it was about four hours and three beers in. I just couldn’t do it anymore. The first artist wouldn’t return my calls, so I had to find someone else to finish it. Had to pay for it again too.
Oh, man, that sucks. What about the tattoo on your wrist?
That’s a Keith Haring piece. He was an artist in the 80s. He made a huge impression on me when I was younger. I used to live in Manhattan, and he did the Houston wall on Bowery. They used to change it seasonally, but his was up there for a while. It was always my favorite. It really stuck with me. For me, the tattoo means moving forward and progressing. The iconic character, Haring named it Batman. It motivates me.
Follow Lauren Beck on Twitter @heylaurenbeck.