By: Diana A. Cruze
Debbie Kronick’s tattoos are confirmation of a mother’s love. Her daughter, Chelsea Linnabary began her artistic career at age 17 after attending a Las Vegas tattoo convention while she was a cosmetology student. During her tattoo apprenticeship in Miami, Chelsea’s instructors required her to provide her own customers. Her father’s skin was already heavily inked, so at age 46, Debbie became her daughter’s doodle pad.
Debbie points at one of her first tattoos. Photo by Judy Blackstock.
Debbie loves her tattoos. All 46 of them. “I have the retro girl heads, hearts, stars, cats, a Russian nesting doll, and a Morrissey portrait. My favorite is my granddaughter Rosalie’s baby face portrait.”
Debbie Kronick (seated) with Chelsea & Rosalie (child) Linnabary. Photo by: Mallory Bertrand Photography.
Tragically, in 2012, Chelsea’s husband, Marine Cpl Daniel L. Linnabary, III, was killed in action in Afghanistan. As a way to honor her husband, who was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart, Chelsea opened her first Purple Heart Tattoo shop in Jacksonville, North Carolina, near Camp Lejeune. In 2014, Chelsea opened a Purple Heart Tattoo shop in Knoxville, Tennessee. The shop is located in a renovated house at 1723 N. Central Avenue.
Most recently, Chelsea’s artwork decorates the interior and back cover of The Black Lillies’ latest CD, Hard to Please.
Cover Photo by: Judy Blackstock
© Diana A. Cruze
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