(I never really considered tattoos for myself until last year. Something about dealing with hubby's cancer and coming through the fear and uncertainty felt like a rite of passage. I think that's a big part of my sudden desire to mark myself permanently as someone different. Living scared and stressed to the marrow for months tweaked my perception of what's really essential. As a result, my incessant, insecure fretting about who I "should be" has started to abate. There's irony, isn't there, in the fact that halting my OCD levels of "Who am I?" has led me to understand better who I am.)
I think what I most enjoy about the idea of a great tattoo is the art in it. Having my own piece of art to carry around on my skin. Which brings me back to pondering what kind of design I'd like for me. I find retro-style, classic "pinup girls" very appealing as tattoos. Especially on women (I've seen a couple women get versions of pinups on Miami Ink--one got a sailor girl to honor her dad, a Navy man; the other woman got her own motorcycle customization company's logo, stylized into a pinup). Just any curvaceous female form isn't going to work. Consider the unfortunately common mudflap girl, you know the one: the shadow girl, all boobs and big hair.
Blech.
If I saw her on a mudflap, I'd be pretty impressed with the person driving that truck. She's far sexier (and very glamorous--do you see her tiny red manicured digits, people?) I found her among lots of great Alberto Vargas girls and lots of other pinups at The Pinup Page, which I found so I could do a little research on "my" tattoo.
Here's one that I called Hubby in to see, asking if he could figure out why I like her so much (besides the fact that she's the art of Pearl Frush, a female pinup artist of the 40s and 50s). If you've read a few of my other posts, you'll probably get it as quickly as Hubby did:
Here's one that I called Hubby in to see, asking if he could figure out why I like her so much (besides the fact that she's the art of Pearl Frush, a female pinup artist of the 40s and 50s). If you've read a few of my other posts, you'll probably get it as quickly as Hubby did:
Yeah, of course. The shoes. Those platforms rock, don't you think?
Then I found this one, and she has such a pretty, open smile, I fell in love with her:
Then I found this one, and she has such a pretty, open smile, I fell in love with her:
These women have beautiful faces and bodies, but they also look like you could have a laugh and some good conversation with any of them. I didn't know a shadow could look vapid, but check out Mudflap Girl again.
I want my beauty to look as sexy and curvy as the best of them, but I want her to show a little brain to go along with all the skin. So I'm looking for one I can modify into a "librarian pinup." Perhaps she can be perched on a book ladder and sport a pair of reading glasses on the tip of her nose. Or how about my girl here, with nothing but an open OED to keep her modest:
Of course, she'll need some shoes...
As scout pointed out, a pinup tattoo belongs on one's bicep. True, but my arms are in no shape to support a tattoo (what would a nice girl like that be doing in a place like this?). So I'm thinking I'd put her on my back. Up along the shoulder blade.
What do you think?
(All images from The Pinup Page. )
I want my beauty to look as sexy and curvy as the best of them, but I want her to show a little brain to go along with all the skin. So I'm looking for one I can modify into a "librarian pinup." Perhaps she can be perched on a book ladder and sport a pair of reading glasses on the tip of her nose. Or how about my girl here, with nothing but an open OED to keep her modest:
Of course, she'll need some shoes...
As scout pointed out, a pinup tattoo belongs on one's bicep. True, but my arms are in no shape to support a tattoo (what would a nice girl like that be doing in a place like this?). So I'm thinking I'd put her on my back. Up along the shoulder blade.
What do you think?
(All images from The Pinup Page. )
6 comments:
I LOVE the last one with the OED. That's so perfect and I also like the back idea. Can we come? Can we? When are you going to do it?
Yea!
I also love, by the way, how much you've thought about this. Exactly the way to do it, I think.
Perhaps some sultry librarian shushing?
Niiice, treecup. Good suggestion...how's the new gig going?
So, mudflap girl's out? ; )
Of course, you realize that we've been spoiled by watching "Miami Ink"--nothing less than a Garver will do justice to these, I'm thinking. Road trip to Miami?
Yay! Go, Slang, go! Liberate thyself from questioning whether you're the kind of person who can pull off a tattoo and make yourself that person!
I, too, like the OED idea.
Check out thepinupfiles.com (do not leave off "the" or you will get porn). Edward D'Ancona and Gil Elvgren each have one librarian image. Unfortunatley that's it. There are hundres of other pin-up images that that you could use for inspiration (though I'd skip the contemporary stuff--it's pretty trashy).
-rdhd
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