Beautiful Rock of Ages.Amazing colours in this bouquet and vase.
Esther does brilliant American traditional work in colour, black and grey, and blackwork.
Super cool Midsommar piece.Healed butterfly and rose and fresh chain and barbed wire.
Her work is made to last, with thick black lines and beautifully bright colours, or heavy blackwork.
Butterfly and stars for a classic throat piece.Killer scorpion.
Esther’s Instagram is full of classics such as Pharaohs Horses, Battle Royale’s, ships and more. But check out her flash for something drawn up by her, or email her for a custom design.
Blackwork Battle Royale.Lady head with flowers in her hair.
Large or small pieces, Esther has you covered. Whether you want a small gap filler in your sleeve or a full back piece, Esther is a must see artist if you’re visiting Montreal or live nearby.
Love this classic spiderweb lady.Awesome blackwork ship and mermaids.
Black out tattoos have been growing in popularity over the last few years, with some people even getting full body suits in this style.
Sleeve and chest piece by 3Kreuze at Ruin Your Life Tattoo in GermanyNegative space black out work by Hoode Tattoos at Black Vulture gallery in Philadelphia
Black out tattoos are exactly what they sound like, large amounts of black ink as the subject, sometimes covering older existing tattoos.
Heavy black out work by Dekalcomanu in Toulouse, FranceFresh black out sleeve by Lukasz Melcher at Stygmat Tattoo
Some black out tattoos also feature some geometric style work mixed in, or white ink over top of the black.
Geometric black out work by Guy Le Tattooer at Sigue Sigue SputnikGeometric black out work in progress by Kenji Alucky at Black Ink Power in Berlin
Many black out tattoo collectors do it in part for the experience of getting the tattoo, as a full blackout (especially as a coverup) can be very painful, creating an almost spiritual experience for the person getting tattooed.
Black out sleeve with white ink flower by Miguel Vanacore at Black Club TattooBlack out half sleeve by Xiao Lun at Hailin Tattoo studio in Los Angeles
Most artists who do black out tattoos specialize in it, as it’s not actually all that easy to make a full sleeve or torso look even in its blackness, especially when the piece is done in multiple sessions.
Full black out sleeve by Joe Larralde at Historic Tattoo in Portland, OregonBlack out sleeve around some existing work, by Kalle Koo at Paradise Helsinki
Tony Torvis is the owner of Mortem Tattoo in Montréal, Canada. His work consists of traditional old school designs without colour, making his clients look like the brilliant black and white photographs of days long past.
Full sleeve with hand Battle Royale on the stomach
Tony’s work is reminiscent of the great tattooers of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s but is still recognizable as a Tony Torvis piece.
Full back featuring a dragon and ladiesBeautiful chest piece
Expect crisp clean lines and bold, powerful motifs such as dragons, snakes, lady heads, portraits, and flowers. There is original flash in the shop to choose from, or you can bring your own idea to him, or re-create an old piece of historical flash.
Pharaohs cats as part of a back pieceAngelic ladies
Tony’s Instagram page is full of both large and small scale work, from chest pieces to full backs, sleeves, and little filler pieces.
Full front torso, some healed some freshBert Grimm sintered chest piece
You’ll also notice from his Instagram page that the majority of clients are repeat customers. Tony’s tattoos are kind of like chips, you just can’t stop at one! Mortem tattoo is a must visit shop if you’re in the area, and there are other brilliant artists working there as well.
Combining classic old school portraits of ladies and the wings of butterflies has long been a staple in old school tattooing. Flash from such legends as Bert Grimm, Ben Corday, and others from the 1800’s and 1900’s featured variations of the designs below, and more.
Back design done by Kasper_ftw in Seoul South KoreaBlack and grey chest piece done by Rich Hardy in the UK
Portraits of women are one of the most popular images in tattooing, as are butterflies. Combining the two beautiful designs makes sense, and can form an elegant tattoo that stands the test of time.
Black work back piece featuring a butterfly lady atop a skull, alongside two at the bottom done by Paul Dobleman at Black Heart Tattoo in CaliforniaButterfly lady head done on the hand by Reuben Todd at Kapala Tattoo in Winnipeg, Manitoba
One of the most popular ways for this design to be tattooed is a woman’s head with butterfly wings sprouting from behind, to the left and right.
Stomach butterfly lady head done by Francesco Ferrara in RomeButterfly lady atop a heart done by Blair Maxine Mckenna in Perth Australia
These butterfly ladies can also be seen more like fairies, with the bodies of women and butterfly wings.
Butterfly lady with a hidden face done by Capilli Tupou at Sunset Tattoo in Auckland New ZealandBlack work butterfly lady head done by Kim-Anh Nguyen-Dinh at Seven Seas in the Netherlands
Old school American traditional is the most common style for this design, but black work, black and grey, and Neo-traditional are also popular.
Black and grey butterfly woman done by Jade Harper at House of the Rising Sun Tattoo in WinnipegButterfly lady head on the chest done by naughtyjam_tattooer in Taipei, Taiwan
Roblake is an artist specializing in black work designs with mainly old school motifs. Working out of Dead Slow in Brighton, Roblake also sells merchandise such as prints and clothing here.
Sweet filler head piece.Matching hands
Roblake has a very distinctive style, taking inspiration from old school flash while adding his own flare that includes detailed line work and sometimes soft and delicate shading inside of tough looking pieces.
Beautiful nesting dollBig one shot chest dragon
He is particularly well known for his knife designs, whether they be a sharp singular switchblade, a row of daggers, or a knife through a skull.
Healed row of knives Devil and lady
Along with tattooing, Roblake has an extensive tattoo collection, and also does some clothing modelling.
Burning cop car and getaway carHealed forearm pieces
If you’re in Brighton or passing through, Roblake is a must see artist, or, if you can’t visit, check out his online store.
Duncan X is a old school artist whose inspiration comes from early photographs of old school tattoos. These photographs are of course all in black and white, so the tattoos appear black even if they were colourful. This led to Duncan tattooing in only black.
Bold anchor and rope.Lock and chain.
He is one of the most popular artists in London, and he works out of Old Habits Tattoo shop.
Filler rib piece.Lines and lines on a portrait tattoo.
Duncan was born and raised in London in the 60’s and was introduced to tattoos through the punk scene. Artist Dennis Cockell taught him tattooing and helped him shape his unique style.
Black work castle.Full sleeve done by Duncan X.
While Duncan uses mainly old school motifs for his source of inspiration, his style resembles medieval wood carvings and is distinctly working class.
Foxes on feet.An evil and beautiful looking crow.
To learn more about Duncan and see his own tattoos watch David Penn’s short film here.
Japanese is undeniably one of the most popular tattoo styles, but heavy black pieces are changing the game.
Blackwork wave sleeve mixed with geometric patterns by Raimundo Ramìrez.Spirited Away’s Yubaba done by Stephen Doan.
Japanese tattoos traditionally use lots of red and black, but also feature some yellows, orange, and shades of grey. Basically the same colour palette as original American traditional.
Blackwork tiger back done by Takizomoro.Samurai Hannya done by Daniel Ra.
Blackwork is becoming a more and more popular style all the time, and can be done in many styles.
Blackwork leg sleeves done by Guy Le Tatooer.Blackwork cloud sleeves with geometric patterns done by Gakkin.
Japanese blackwork often makes great use of negative space, making the subject pop, particularly when done on lighter skin tones.
Blackwork Bodhidharma by HoriNami.Blackwork peony and snake sleeves by Lupo Horiōkami.
Some artists also mix styles such as Neo-traditional and geometric with their Japanese work. Both of these styles are often done as all black pieces, so it mixes well.
Blackwork namakubi by Damien J. Thorn.Blackwork fish by Horihiro.
Which tattoo is your favourite?
Blackwork negative space sleeve by Oscar Hove.3/4 sleeves and chest panels by Gotch.
There is unfortunately still quite a bit of subtle (and not-so-subtle) racism in the tattoo industry. It’s often believed that customers with darker skin are harder to tattoo, but that’s certainly not the case. Especially as body modification is such an important part of all cultures and histories, not just white ones.
Black ink is also not the only ink that has to be used on dark skin, contrary to what many believe. Darker skin can still feature bright and colourful pieces. you just have to know what you’re doing with that tattoo machine.
More tattoo artists should push themselves to learn how to tattoo different skin types, including darker skin, as the subculture of tattooing isn’t so “sub” anymore. It can be disheartening for black or tanned customers walking into a tattoo shop when all they see is flash painted on white paper, and portfolios filled with white skin, or only very dark tattoos on darker skin.
(June 2020) With the world finally rallying beside our black brothers and sisters it’s more important than ever to support black businesses, including tattoo artists.
All Things Tattoo 