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.
Candles are often seen as a representation of religion or spirituality. They can also be paired with light and dark for contrast.
Brilliant hyper realistic candles coming out of fingers, with skull and woman portraits. Done by Jak Connolly Based in Bournemouth and Manchester.Realistic black and grey candle coming out of the hand. Done by Arlo DiCristina.Large dotwork sternum candle lantern with roses and a moth. Done by Jason Call in Dallas, Texas.Badass candlestick with moths and skull. Done by Matt Adamson at King’s Avenue in New York.Spooky ghost and candle done by Teresa Sharpe at Unkindness Art in Richmond VA.
Candles can also represent honor, faith, love, wisdom, energy, and life.
Dripping black candle with spooky witch hand. Done by Akos at Adorned Empire.Death moth, rose, and lantern with candle. Done by Fraser Peek from Chatham, England.Neo traditional skull and candle with lots of gold. Done by John Mendoza in Mexico.Black candle dripping over a small skull. Done by Pari Corbitt.Linework candle done by Tine Defiore at Black Oak Tattoo.
Candles are often accompanied by flowers, skulls, moths, and books.
American traditional candlestick with butterfly. Done by Cedric Weber.Terrifying skull and candle done by Gara in South Korea.Beautiful candle with pink roses done by Kaitlin Greenwood in Perth.Hyper realistic candle, book, and skull. Done by Ryan Mullins who works out of New York and New Jersey.Bright neck piece with roses and a lantern done by Ulysses Blair.
Candles dripping with wax can also be in remembrance of a deceased person.
American traditional candlestick with dotwork crescent moon. Done by Devx Ruiz.Neo traditional female portrait with dripping candles. Done by Hannah Flowers.Candle with lots of red. Done by Kevin O’Connell at With Love Tattoo in Brisbane, Australia.Blackwork candle with lots of light! By Scott Move at Parliament Tattoo. London UK.Candle, skull, and book done by Xabier Barreiro at Black Poison Tattoo, Ourense, Spain.
When done as a tattoo, they are most often done as realism, neo traditional, or American traditional. Black and grey is also a popular option.
Another spooky witch hand with some bright neo traditional colours. Done by Emmanuel Mendoza.Bright purple candles done by Helena Darling at HFX Tattoo in Halifax Nova Scotia.Realistic portrait mixing black and grey with colour, and geometric pieces. Done by Kyle Cotterman.Badass neck piece done by Sergey Vaskevich.
Lera is an artist from Moscow, Russia. Her specialty is blackwork, particularly Asian inspired horror.
Japanese Yōkai featuring a couple of lantern demons and terrifying head.Terrifying demon woman.Incredibly dark blackwork demon and monsters.Japanese geisha demon with a geometric kimono.Detailed moth and moon.Shoulder flowers with eyeballs.Japanese inspired demon with too many hands!
Most of her work takes on a dark theme, such as ghosts, demons, and skeletons.
Skeleton and nude woman. Some fantastic details in there.Peony flowers covering up old scars.Robotic severed hand and knife.Sternum moth.Maneki-neko cat from Japan.Heavy blackwork goldfish.
When she isn’t doing blackwork, her other work is quite delicate, including flowers and other natural plants.
Delicate pink rose.Cute mushrooms!
Lera has an incredible attention to detail, with an eye for the supernatural and spooky!
Queen of hearts meets gruesome death.Creepy goblet of blood.Namakubi with incredible linework in the hair.Small butterfly with some great dotwork detail.Some brilliant kanji with great hand placement.Split lion head with a distinct Asian style.
Lera is a must see artist for your creepy blackwork needs.
Jan Veldman works at First String Tattoo in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Matching Russian nesting dolls with totem designs.Blackwork death’s head moth.Big ole’ werewolf and red moon.Badass cobra with witchy hands.We all float down here… Pennywise and balloon.A Salvador Dali inspired piece.Traditional ship with flowers.He’s late! Black and grey white rabbit from Alice in Wonderland.Terrifying snake lady with barbed wire.
Jan’s style can be characterized as neo traditional and new school, with a hint of American traditional thrown into the mix. He tattoos everything from classic roses to characters from shows and movies.
Ghost sheet tattoo with some classic flowers.Devilish baphomet in black and grey.American traditional style Jesus Christ and cross.Hobo cat doing his thing!Japanese good fortune Maneki Neko cat.A drunk Speedy Gonzales.Road Runner and Wile E Coyote.Creepy new school spider with eyeball.
Most of Jan’s work is bright and bold, but he doesn’t shy away from some brilliant black and grey work either!
Neo trad woman and wolf head.Classic and deadly scorpion with red background.A ghostly Bart Simpson with some script and trad flowers.Cute little cactus with budding flowers.Bender!Bright red chameleon.Adorable Michelangelo with his favourite food.Super cute new school cupcake.
Bring in your own design or pick one of his. Whatever you choose, Jan is a must see artist in Winnipeg!
Shawn Beatty is a tattoo artist working out of Soul Survivors Body Art in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Shawn is a talented artist who works in several styles; including American traditional, black and grey, realism, blackwork, new school, neo traditional, and some Japanese.
Disney’s Cinderella and quote.Badass grim reaper.Neo traditional flower and snake.Black and grey surrealist death moth.Black and grey realistic/neo traditional sleeve featuring a demonic version of V from v for vendetta, a bird, snake, and caged heart.Black and grey neo traditional fortune teller and tarot card.Black and grey compass with arrow and biblical quote.Bright new school Sailor Moon piece.Canadian Eddie from Iron Maiden!Realistic black and grey tiger with skull and quote.Japanese tiger and flower cover up.Knight inspired armour full sleeve. Looks like the real deal!Red crescent moon and skull.Neo traditional leopard headdress piece.Simpsons pig and donut, anti fascist piece!Lego leg piece tearing through the skin.David Bowie astronaut piece inspired by the song Heroes.
Shawn Beatty is a must see artist if you’re in Winnipeg!
Vince is a Canadian tattoo artist working out of Emerald Club Tattoo in Selkirk, Manitoba.. Vince does brilliant American traditional work, creating his own original work as well as doing the shop’s flash work.
Classic clasped hands and wreaths.Badass wolf head!Bright lighthouse.Aboriginal girl head.Angry snake head.Classic swallow, lantern, and “dad”.Skull, scythe, and spider web.Disney piece featuring Chip from Beauty and the Beast and Tinkerbell from Peter Pan.Eagle!Beautiful stag and traditional flower.Japanese peony!Bold stomach scorpion.Aboriginal styled bear paw and head.American traditional deaths head moth.Brilliant traditional dragon!Bart Simpson skull.
Vince is a must visit artist for you walk in and American traditional needs!
Carly Montgomery is a Winnipeg tattoo artist who works out of First String Tattoo. Carly has fantastic attention to detail, doing both colour and black and grey work, as well as fantastic script.
Fun lazy sloth with scriptHedwig and Hogwarts for Harry Potter fansPartially finished Japanese koi leg pieceBright and colourful peacockWrapping crowDeaths hand moth and tree
Carly has done a number of my own tattoos, including these.
Black and grey chest piece. Anchor, rose, and heart.Calf knight, bat wings, and tree.Carl from Pixar’s UP.Harry Potter quote and Deathly Hallows mark.
Be sure to check Carly out if you’re going to be in Winnipeg!
Moth tattoos are the darker version of a butterfly tattoo. They often stand for searching for a light in the dark. They are also often associated with moonlight, searching for this light with little to no regard for their own safety. This makes it a vulnerable, spontaneous, but determined creature.
Creepy, super realistic moth done by Duncan Whitfield, in Southampton, UK.
Moth tattoos can be done in most styles, but are most popular in black and grey, dotwork, realism, and old school. They are also often done in neo traditional.
Traditional death moth and moon pairing done by Cory Craft in Lakeland FL, Black Swan Tattoo.
Death moth tattoos are also an extremely popular design. Deaths-Head Hawkmoth get their name from a species of moth that gets it’s name from the skull-like mark on its thorax. It has often been seen as a bad omen in history.In 1840, entomologist Moses Harris wrote that “It is regarded not as the creation of a benevolent being, but the device of evil spirits—spirits enemies to man—conceived and fabricated in the dark, and the very shining of its eyes is thought to represent the fiery element whence it is supposed to have proceeded. Flying into their apartments in the evening at times it extinguishes the light; foretelling war, pestilence, hunger, death to man and beast.” It is no wonder then that it is a popular tattoo design for lovers of the darker side of life.
Death moth done on the back of the head by Alex Bage, done at Fat Panda tattoo in the UK.Neo traditional hand moth done by Ela Berger, a neo trad artist from Germany.Black and grey sternum piece by James Armstrong done at Holy Mountain tattoo in Scunthorpe UK.A rare watercolor moth and coverup tattoo done by Jay Van Gerven working out of Titan Tattoos in Hobart Tasmania.Small colorful elbow piece by Justin Dion at Sovereign Tattoo in Portland Oregon.An amazing black and dotwork back tattoo done by Kamil Mokot at AKA Berlin tattoo in Germany.Beautiful blackwork moth once again paired with a moon, done by Levi Hatch.An amazing macabre neo traditional moth and moon pairing done by Lipa Andrzej. See her work and where she will be tattooing at https://www.instagram.com/_lipa_/Amazingly detailed Dotwork tattoo done by Uls Metzger tattooing out of the Black Lodge, in Poland.Old school death moth tattoo by Virginia Elwood working out of Saved Tattoo in Brooklyn, New York.One last traditional death moth tattoo done by Zach Bowden working out of St. Petersburg, Florida.
Do you have your own moth tattoo? Let’s see it in the comments!
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