A Butterfly Koi Rising on the Arm of Belquis

Had I not forgotten to get my daughter Shayna her copy of Judy Blume's Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, I wouldn't have wandered into the Court Street Barnes & Noble in Brooklyn on Labor Day and spotted this awesome butterfly koi above.

Belquis, who has five tattoos, explained that this tattoo represents an interpretation of the koi fish mythology, where the koi is rising out of the water, about to turn into a dragon.

The piece was designed by her friend Karleen Ang, and inked by Kazuhisa (Kaz) Matsumoto at New York Adorned. Belquis has been loyal to Kaz since he was an artist working out of his home. When he moved to Adorned, she followed.

Belquis added, "All five of my tattoos were done by Kaz...I have an ohm (neck), the ambigram (neck), dark fairy (left back shoulder), my first and middle name in Arabic under the symbol for Zahir (right back shoulder). All black." Who knows? Maybe we'll see more of Bel's ink in the future here on the blog.

Work from NY Adorned has appeared on Tattoosday previously here.

Thanks to Belquis for sharing her awesome tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!