In Ink Spot, we stop people in Dallas to shoot, and learn about, their body art. Know an interesting human canvas? Leave a tip in the comments.
Eamon Maxwell, a soft-spoken 23-year-old from Coppell, already has 12 tattoos with plans for more. Maxwell says he wants people to see his tattoos as sort of an "about-me section."
See also: This Fort Worth Stylist Wants to be Inked Head-to-Toe; She's Well On Her Way
When he's not working behind the bar at The Pearl Cup, Eamon Maxwell can be found perched at one of Dallas' many coffee shops with a book and a latte. His most recent tattoo is a dedication to his love of coffee, a redish zig-zag that turns into a heart on his forearm.The design imitates a design often poured into a latte.
Wrapping around his left wrist, settled under the latte art design, are several feathers, which Maxwell says he has always thought of as his good luck charm. "I think it may have something to do with my fascination with trying to fly when I was younger."
Another symbol of good luck for Maxwell is the number 23. When he turned 23 on the 23rd last year, he commemorated his birthday with the number in roman numerals just below the inside of his left elbow.
Maxwell has New York inked on his right side. "A lot of my friends have Texas tattoos and I wanted to represent my own home state, so I got it last time I was in New York." On Maxwell's left side, opposite the New York tattoo, he pays homage to style icon James Dean with a quote in cursive: "Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today."
His favorite artist, the New York street artist Keith Haring, is also represented on his body, with one of Haring's iconic dogs on the inside of Maxwell's left upper arm.
Maxwell's favorite tattoo is also his biggest one, an Irish claddagh, which stands for "love, loyalty and friendship," across his chest. It was the first tattoo that he wanted but the eighth he actually got because "it took some courage to get that bad boy."
The symbol is the same one his parents used as their wedding bands and "has just always been an important part of my family." Tattoos are also an important part of Maxwell's family: His parents started getting tattoos when they were in their 40s, and he recently took his little brother to get his first tattoo. Though he is working on plans to complete his sleeve and fill in his chest piece, Maxwell says he doesn't "ever want to stop" getting tattooed, but he also doesn't want to be "Travis Barker-covered."
