Spilled Ink: Brooklyn Bartenders Talk About Their Tattoos
Erics
Trophy Bar, Williamsburg
There’s a lot going on in your sleeve. How long did that take to complete?
Well, it’s actually not complete. I did four 4-hour sessions with the same artist in San Diego — his name is Dave Warshaw. But then I moved. And I’m a bleeder when it comes to tattoos, which sucks, so I can only do a session for so long. It was hot, there was no A.C. It was bad. But I had fun doing it.
Can you talk a bit about what’s happening in the images? Is it one story?
I’ve always thought characters are the best way to explain something — they each have their own morals in a story — so all my tattoos are based on a character. I’ll start at the bottom — I have a wizard here. To me, a wizard is a creator making something out of nothing. Magic, you know? It’s funny, I always try to bend my arm so I can see his face. This next one [above the wizard] is a musician because he’s passionate. We all need to be passionate about something. The gypsy — she’s right there [points above the musician]. She’s my favorite.
I love her hair.
Yeah, I think it symbolizes strength. She’s pretty much dragging all the other charachters behind her. She’s actually supposed to have a tattoo on her arm, too, but I still need to add that. And here’s her sword. I added the wings because I love traditional art. During the Renaissance times, there was all this imagery of angels. It’s timeless [imagery], you know? It’s art. What’s more beautiful than an angel? And so I wanted her to have wings. Why not have art on your body? And a tattoo’s meaning can change with time, too. I know when I’m super old and super wrinkly they’re just not going to look right, but I rather be covered in tattoos — in characters, in art — than not be. I’m going to be that grandpa.
Was this all your concept, or did you work with Dave to create the whole sleeve?
It was my concept, but we worked together to put all the pieces together. The latest tattoo I got is on my chest right here [pulls down shirt around neck].
That one is a little more menacing.
Yeah, it’s a more traditional tattoo. I got this one here in New York at Red Rocket Tattoo. And then this one on my wrist is based on one of my all-time favorite illustrators. His name is James Jean. His stuff is amazing. This is his artistic signature. I had to get it. It stands for “forever growing.”