Here is an article from the MetroWest Daily News. It is the story of an airbrush artist who went on to become a tattoo artist, with a little “Vision.”

“A lot of people don’t associate tattoos with art,” said Cannistraro, who returned to his hometown about four years ago from Florida, after learning to become a tattoo artist. “They think all we do is tattoo, but that’s not the case.”

You can take a look at Visions unique tattoo studio and art gallery at their official page. Their work is very unique and impressive.

The Houton Chronicle has an article about a new policy effecting Houston police officers. Strict new rules will require laser tattoo removal or permanent coverup when the cops are on the job. Only undercover police officers won’t be affected.

That means officers with tattoos on their forearms must wear long sleeves year-round or have the artwork removed by a laser — an expensive and time-consuming procedure. Likewise, bicycle patrol officers with tattoos on their lower legs will have to wear long pants in the summer if they don’t wish to permanently erase the ink from their skin.

Think cops don’t have lots of tattoos? One in this article had 17.

Ironicly, there is a program to help former gang members get their gang tattoos laser removed. Police officers have to pay out of their own pocket.

I’ve been seeing reports about Vladmir Putin tattoos becoming popular in Russia. So far we have been unable to find any pictures of the popular Russian president.

I’m assuming this means either a) the story is made up or b) the tattoos look so bad no one wants to take a picture of one.

On the flipside, we were only able to find one photograph of a George W Bush tattoo on Google Images. I don’t want to hurt the US President’s ego here, but the tattoo was a Photoshop — and it was from an anti-Bush satire site.

The new tattoo reality TV shows looked interesting to me. Unfortunately, they seem more about employee drama in personal relationships than tattoos.

This is a real dissapointment when that same level of drama can be achieved with nearly any other reality TV show. If thats what I want, I’ll watch Real World Austin — but its not.

Shows such as American Chopper and American Hot Rod seem to do a much better job of capturing what everything is really about. Sure, the “drama” is still there, but at the end of the day the show is about to chopper or the hotrods — and they are damn nice at that.

Maybe I am missing something. To me Inked seems like 80% drama 20% tattoos. At least make it half and half.

This isn’t breaking news, but it is news to me. The black henna tattoo may cause an allergic reaction. The black henna contains paraphenylenediamine which can cause skin irritation.

This chemical, PPD for short, is contained in hair dye and other products. The Center for Disease Control lists PPD as causing contact allergens. You can read more about this chemical at Wikipedia.

If you want to read more about the new tattoo reality TV shows check out this article over at Slate. Slate’s TV critic examines the differences and similarities of these two shows.

“I decided to do something in China first, and I realised tattooing pigs would be a good introduction to the country. It’s low-tech,” Delvoye, 40, told Reuters.

Here is an interesting article from Reuters about an artist tattooing pigs in China. This isn’t a new idea, you can see pictures of a tattooed pig he did at the Swiss Institute of Contemporary Art.

A&E’s tattoo show — Inked premeired tonight. The show was cut up into 2 30-minute episodes.

Inked had many simularities to Miami Ink. I would like to see a little more about the actual tattoo art rather than so much emphasis on the characters & drama that occurs in the tattoo shops between owners and employees.

Adults approaching middle age are tired of contantly keeping up with trends, according to NewsDay. The constant trend for keeping up with all of the latest fashions is starting to tire more than a few people out.

“We’re in a post-hip era, which means everybody’s hip,” says Leland. “I can’t tell you how many churches I’ve been in where the pastor has a goatee, tattoos and earrings.”

Without a doubt, tattoos are hardly an “underground” experience in the US today. Recent statistics indicate that 30% or more of Americans have them. For the people that want to stay ahead of the curve tattoos are going to be a dissapointment.

Miami Ink premeired on TLC tonight. The show follows a newly opened tattoo shop, the tattoo artists, and the people getting tattooed.

I found it amusing that they blurred the nipples on one man’s tattoo art. Is illustrated nudity on skin more dangerous than illustrated nudity on paper?