Flora tattoo #5 (and 6, 7, 8, etc.)

We've posted a series of photos of Floraphiles sporting skin art. We neglected this one—actually more than one—sent by Kelly Kimball in 2010. Multiple camera angles required to view the entire anatomical exhibition:

As best we can discern, the details are derived from Mambo for Cats, the Little Man Press, and The FCC's Expanding Demanding Universe, though there might be other sources.

If you missed our prior Flora skin art posts:

Fresh Ink and Flora tattoo #4
Bix, birthday boy
Fresh ink and Flora tattoo #2
Demonstrated commitment!

Fresh Ink and Flora tattoo #4

Reader/art lover Tiago writes: "I am a huge fan of Jim Flora’s work. (I have already bought books and prints.) I would like to share this image of my latest tattoo, from a Flora work. Hope you guys like it! It is a sincere homage to one of my favorite artists!"

The original illustration is from 1942:

This isn't the first time Flora has inspired skin art:

Bix, birthday boy
Fresh ink and Flora tattoo #2
Demonstrated commitment!

Bix, birthday boy (and Flora tattoo #3)

Leon "Bix" Beiderbecke (1903-1931)

Today is the 109th birthday of Leon "Bix" Beiderbecke, an American "hot jazz" legend who's been dead for 81 of those years. Bix was an alcoholic who never took a legal drink in his life. He was underage when Prohibition commenced in 1919, and died before it was repealed in 1933.

Jim Flora, who loved jazz, rendered a caricature of this revered cornetist on a 1947 Columbia Records 4-disc set. Last week we issued a limited edition fine art print of the illustration. Despite his brief, sordid life, Beiderbecke was one of the most influential musicians of the 1920s, the only decade commonly identified with a specific strain of music — "The Jazz Age." Bix lived it, and helped define it.

P.S. Bix and Flora also helped define this man's arm:

Photo: Julie Belcher/Yee-Haw Industries

Fresh ink and Flora tattoo #2

Some people dedicate their bodies to science. Shannon Wade, of Portland OR, dedicates hers to the art of Jim Flora. Not the first time, either.

The above distended figure originally appeared on the title page of GUP, a 1942 Little Man Press publication written by Robert Lowry and illustrated by Flora.

Demonstrated commitment!

Floraphile Shannon Wade, of Portland, isn't content to admire Flora art in books, on album covers, or displayed on walls. It's not enough for her to wear it. She wants to BE it. Shannon combined elements from two of Flora's more well-known album cover illustrations—the Pete Jolly Duo and Mambo for Cats—into some nifty skin art. Design-in-progress (at right), with color added (below).

Shannon writes:

"This was my first tattoo, and it was done in Austin about seven years ago by a wonderful tattoo artist, Chris Gunn.

"I first saw Jim Flora's work a few years before that in Eric Kohler's book In the Groove. I was hooked from the start, and no one was happier than I when his stuff started appearing on eBay. I've collected most of my favorite covers, but I'm still desperately seeking the Pete Jolly Duo.

"I wanted a tattoo for many many years but was determined to wait for just the right image. Then I saw Flora's work. I asked the artist to combine elements from Mambo for Cats and Pete Jolly Duo. It's a bit simpler in design than the originals, the colors are different and the motion lines have been embellished, but I couldn't be happier with how it turned out. It took three two-and-a-half hour sessions to finish—one black session and two color sessions. It didn't hurt as bad as you might think. Folks ask me about it all the time, which always gives me a chance to spread the word about Jim Flora."

Update AUG 6, 2009: More about Jim Flora images and tattoos.