Johnny Depp’s literary inspired tattoo

Johnny Depp has a great relatively new tattoo “Silence Exile Cunning” which is a quote from the book “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man” by James Joyce. The tattoo comes from a quote near the end of the book by the main character Stephen: “I will tell you what I will do and what I will not do. I will not serve that in which I no longer believe, whether it call itself my home, my fatherland, or my church: and I will try to express myself in some mode of life or art as freely as I can and as wholly as I can, using for my defence the only arms I allow myself to use – silence, exile, and cunning.”

It is on the inside of his left arm and is a great quote and an awesome tattoo. If you want to see a picture of it – just google it – it is everywhere – no need for me to recycle the same old photos!

We also know that Johnny Depp has a multitude of other tattoos – around 14 known tattoos, including:

• American Cherokee Head- reflecting his great-great-grandmother’s cherokee heritage
• Brave Symbol – on his inside right arm from his movie The Brave
• Lily-Rose -  the name of his first-born child is tattoed near his heart
• Heart with Betty Sue – on his left upper arm is his mother’s name
• Inverted Triangle – is above the Betty Sue tattoo and is often used as an expression of romantic love
• Jack – his son’s name
• Wino Forever – on his right bicep is his notorious Winona Forever tattoo which he had changed after his breakup with Winona Ryder
• Three small rectangles on his right index finger – he has described these as a “permanent phone doodle”
• the number 3 – on his left hand between his thumb and index finger is said to be a mystical, magical number
• Flying Bird – on his right forearm and is from the Pirates of the Caribbean movie – but he turned the tattoo around so that it flies towards him – his son Jack’s name is tattoed below
• Skull and Crossbones – on his outside lower right leg with the phrase “Death is Certain” below it
• Question mark ? – on his right inside leg over his ankle

Most of Johnny’s tattoos have been done by New York tattooist Jonathan Shaw.

He is a true tattoo aficianado and every tattoo means something to him and marks a specific time in his life. I have several tattoos myself and each one means something special to me – I think this is one of the best ways to approach getting a tattoo – linking your tattoo to something that means something special to you.

As Johnny Depp says tattoos are milestones to remember life’s journey by.

Celebrities and Their Tattoos

When deciding on whether or not to get a tattoo, the first thing to think about is how the tattoo will be a permanent mark on the body.  The next thing to consider is what the preferred style might be.  Most tattoo parlors have samples of previous designs that can be altered to suit the customer.  But what many people enjoy is sampling and mimicking what many of those whom we idolize might have already had created.

Today, celebrities influence much of what is done in society.  Clothing styles, hair dos, things to eat, places to hang out and, yes, even tattoos are often influenced by many celebrities.  There are more famous people that have tattoos than what has been originally thought.  Some may be quite surprising.

As many people know, Angelina Jolie is one of the most popular tattooed actresses today.  She flaunts over a dozen tattoos, each with their own meaning. Angelina Jolie is such a fan of tattoos that there are always plans for more in the future.  In fact, she’s made the tribal dragon tattoo the most popular among women.

When it comes to tattoos and famous actresses, it’s certain that Pamela Anderson’s name will be brought up.  The arm band was made popular almost entirely due to Pamela Anderson.  She also put an emphasis on the barbed wire tattoo as it’s one of her most well known marks.

Mike Tyson sports a facial tattoo that is of Maori influence.  While the tattoo didn’t exactly cause a boom in applied facial tattoos, it does prove interesting among tattoo enthusiasts.

Johnny Depp is one highly acknowledge actor for having tattoos.  He’s decorated with over twelve known tattoos all with stories behind them.  Depp’s tattoo on his right bicep is the most well known.  When Johnny Depp and Wynona Ryder were together, he had “Wynona Forever” tattooed on his arm.  When the relationship ended, it was modified to say “Wino Forever.”  A good example of why tattoos should be thought through before taking the leap.

A group tattoo was made for those actors in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.  Each actor received a tattoo of the word “nine” written in Elvish script.  Tattooed on different areas of the body, and a first tattoo for some, each member now has a permanent mark commemorating the making of the movies.

Other movie celebrities where we will find many tattoos to admire or copy include Drew Barrymore, Julia Roberts, Gillian Anderson, Alyssa Milano, and Christina Ricci.  We can also find tattoos in music artists such as Billy Idol, Eminem, Henry Rollins and Brittany Spears.  Kobe Bryant, Dennis Rodman, Anna Kournikova, and Stone Cold Steve Austin make up just a few of the sports models that flaunt their own ink.

This is just a sampling of a few of the tattoos that are likely to be found among celebrities.  These people are acknowledged and admired for their style and personalities.  Many of them have caused booms in the tattoo trends throughout the years with special emphasis on designs that closely resemble their own.  It’s not unusual or unheard of by tattoo artists to receive requests for a tattoo that looks just like one sported by the hip celebrity of the times.

Celebrities Love Tattoos

It is not really surprising to learn that many celebrities love tattoos, nor is it surprising that those who are in the public eye and in the media have quite a significant influence on the American population’s fascination with tattoos.  The stars have tattoos, so all of their fans want tattoos also.  For celebrities, age is not a factor;  older stars as well as the younger ones have them.  We know all of these people–  but how much do we know about what unique styles of artwork they have?

One of America’s most longtime popular movie stars, Robert DeNiro, has appeared in movies sporting numerous tattoos.  Whether or not his fans realize that they are only accessories for his films, the fact is in real life Robert DeNiro has only one tattoo, that of a black panther.  Another actor who shows off many tattoos in his movies is Johnny Depp;  all of his, however, are real.  Bruce Willis also has a few tattoos;  most notably the symbol of his movie “Die Hard.”

Tattoos have long been in style with musicians.  Former teen idol Justin Timberlake has a guardian angel, amongst others.  Rapper Eminem has more tattoos than can be counted, including his daughter’s name and his own.  The wording on Keith Urban’s wrist, “Omni Vincit Amor” is Latin for ‘Love Conquers All;’  he also has an eagle on one arm.

Some sports celebrities also go for tattoos.  Michael Jordan has his fraternity symbol tattooed above his heart, while Dennis Rodman is a virtual canvas of artwork.

Not to be outdone, many female stars also show various degrees of artwork.  Young actress Drew Barrymore is essentially a canvas full of tattoos;  it is said that she created most of the designs herself.  Reese Witherspoon is more subtle, wearing only one small star tattoo which is rarely visible.  Pamela Anderson has a variety of tattoos also, the most notable being the word ‘Mommy’ on one finger, which reportedly used to read ‘Tommy.’  Spice Girl Victoria Beckham has five stars to represent each member of her family, her husband’s initials, and the traditional Jewish phrase ‘I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine.’

Some of today’s supermodels also sport tattoos.  Kate Moss, Christy Turlington, and Stephanie Seymour all have these permanent forms of fashion accessories.  Most supermodels who opt for tattoos show fewer and smaller designs than celebrities in other fields.

While many celebrities have had tattoos for a very long time, the popularity of tattoos amongst stars has been increasing, both in the number of celebrities who have them and the number of tattoos that they have.  A very few have only one tattoo;  more and more are taking on a large number of tattoos as well as more and more visible tattoos, using skin as a canvas for nearly unlimited varieties of permanent artwork.

As celebrities show off their tattoos, and this is picked up by the media, it presents an ever-increasing influence for their fans, especially amongst the younger generation, to want to do likewise.  As with anything else that stars do in the public eye, their influence with tattoos helps this form of artwork become more widespread, more popular, and more acceptable to most of the American population in general.

Sanskrit Tattoos

If you devour everything newsworthy about tattoos then you would know that the singer Rihanna has a misspelled Sanskrit tattoo!

For those of you who don’t know what Sanskrit tattoos are – they are tattoos written in Devanagari for the ancient language Sanskrit – which is an historical Indo-Aryan language. It is a dead language, which means it is no longer learned as a native language – and as such it does not change over time – which means the meaning of the words do NOT change – so you can be certain that there is only one meaning for your Sanskrit tattoo and it will never change its meaning like so many modern words.

Celebrities love these Sanskrit tattoos, and some of the celebrities who have Sanskrit tattoos are:

• Jessica Alba from Sin City – has “lotus flower” in Sanskrit on her right inner wrist
• Gillian Anderson from X-Files – has “every day” in Sanskrit on her right wrist
• David Beckham – has the misspelled “Vihctoria” tattooed on his left forearm
• Rihanna – has a sanskrit prayer reading “forgiveness, honesty, suppression and control” on her right hip which is supposedly misspelt

Sanskrit is incredibly beautiful to look at but if you are looking at getting a tattoo in this language be sure to get more than one translation done – just to be sure you are getting the meaning you want to. We have all heard the stories of someone getting a tattoo in another language thinking it means one thing and finding out it means something totally different – like the guy in America who thought his Chinese character tattoo meant “Love honor and obey” only to find out it meant “This boy is ugly”.

Because of the popularity of Sanskrit tattoos Hindus are now urging all tattoo artists to undertake basic training in the ancient Sanskrit language so there are no more embarassing misspelled tattoos – especially on celebrities!