David O’Connor is a traditional tattoo artist working out of Trophy Tattoo in Hamilton, Ontario. The shop caters specifically to those looking for American traditional tattoos, and all of the artists who work there do fantastic work.
Jesus chest pieceOld school flowers
Davids Instagram is full of classic flash and finished pieces that would have been seen on the walls of tattoo shops throughout the 1900’s and on the bodies of sailors.
Healed GeishaBlack traditional chest piece
When booking a tattoo with David you can choose from pre-drawn flash or bring your own idea to the table. David and the rest of the shop also take walk-ins.
Tiger vs snakeClassic old school dragon
The majority of his work is done in colour, with the traditional colours of black, red, and green, but if you’re looking for some black traditional work he’s got you covered as well.
Queen of Heartsmatching forearm pieces
Whether you’re looking for a small walk-in piece or a full back, David does it all, with style. If you’re in Hamilton or just passing through he is a must see artist for all your traditional needs.
Duan Tattooer is an artist at and the owner of Sick Rose Tattoo Parlour in Shanghai, working alongside great artists in the shop like Kai who tattooed me.
Woman and dragonMonkey King
Duan specializes in American traditional and single needle styles, seamlessly blending old school American and Asian motifs.
Traditional woman portraitKnee ditch webs
Whether you’re looking for bright and bold colours, black and grey, or heavy black traditional work, Duan can take care of all your needs.
Black trad horseMatching hands
If you check out their Instagram linked above you’ll find plenty of flash to choose from, or you can check out the shop in person and find the perfect tattoo for you.
A classic roseSuper cool cat lady
Whether you’re in the market for a full sleeve or a small filler piece, Duan is a must visit artist in Shanghai for clean and bold tattoos.
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.
Moira Ramone is a tattoo artist working out of Bont & Blauw Tattoo in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Moira does old school and neo-traditional work with and without colour, with a particular love for all things horror and punk.
A classic demon breaking free of its shacklesKiefer Sutherland as David from “The Lost boys”
Moira’s Instagram page is filled with images such as punk rock girls with black boots and tattoos of their own, horror icons like Jason Voorhees and Christmas Devil Krampus, circus performers, and portraits (among others).
The Hindu Goddess KaliClassic horror sleeve
Moira makes a point to create a safe space for all people regardless of skin colour, gender identity or sexual orientation. Tattooing is quite an intimate experience so it’s always great to be able to receive your new art from someone who makes an effort to make all people comfortable.
Old school back featuring Bert Grimm’s butterfly ladyNo Means No!
Whether you’re looking for a small or large piece, Moira does it all. If you’re passing through you can get something smaller, or if you live in the area (or can get there easily) maybe you could start a full back or sleeve.
Krampus bringing some naughty children down to HellAll Cops Are Bastards tombstone
If you can’t make it all the way to the Netherlands for a tattoo, or just want to support Moira from a distance you can check out her store here and get yourself some clothing, books, stickers, candles, original paintings, or prints.
Punk girl meets the devilCircus performer featuring her own tattoos
Percy Waters was a well-known American tattoo artist from the early 1900’s. Born in 1888, in Anniston, Alabama, he was (allegedly) first introduced to tattooing through the sideshows of traveling circuses that passed through his hometown. At the time he was learning the trade of molder, and tattooing locals became a hobby on the side.
He’s known to many as a Michigan artist, and not from a small town in Alabama, due to the fact that in 1917 he tattooed someone he shouldn’t have and got in trouble. He left Anniston and moved to Detroit, Michigan. He built up a successful tattoo business where he also sold supplies to other tattoo artists. In 1929 he even got a license for his tattoo machine design, which was an adjustable two-coil electromagnetic machine that hasn’t changed too much in modern tattoo machines. It had also taken almost 55 years (from 1875) for the tattoo machine to be adjusted after Edison’s machine. In 1939 he moved back to Anniston and ran what was most likely the biggest tattoo supply company in the world at the time until his death in 1952.
Two men tattooed by Percy WatersMan tattooed by Percy Waters in 1921
Percy was very modest and was known to call himself “just a good tattooer”; However, he was quite well known regardless of his humility, particularly in the sideshow world where he tattooed “tattoo attractions” such as; Bobby Smith, Red Van, Detroit Dutch, Shelley Kemp, Clyde Williams, and Mrs. Ted Hamilton among others.
His style stays true to early 20th century old school designs. With classics such as portraits of women, dragons, eagles, snakes, panthers, good luck symbols, ships, and more. His original designs are still redrawn often today, and many contemporary artists are heavily inspired by him in their own styles.
Some of the most well-known tattoos he did were Pharaohs’ Horses as a back piece, an image of a woman riding an eagle, and whole-body suits made up of patriotic American pieces coupled with images such as butterflies, flowers, dragons, snakes, and ladies.
Ryan Cooper Thompson is a well-known tattoo artist based in Portland, Oregon. His work is a highly recognizable take on classic American traditional, using only black, red, and green in his colour palette, and taking direct inspiration from greats such as Percy Waters, Bob Wicks, and George Burchett.
A beautiful rose/butterfly lady A bold back of the head lady head
Ryan’s lady portraits in particular are highly sought after, and his instagram feed is full of them for good reason; his ladies range from heads to full bodied nudes to butterfly ladies, and are wonderful to look at whether they’re palm sized or full backs.
Dragon lady thigh pieceA bold knee design
If you’re getting your own RCT piece you can choose to have something custom designed, a piece of flash made by Ryan, or a flash piece based on older artists work that often date back to the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.
A beautiful nude portrait and some butterfliesA gorgeous dragon lady back featuring butterflies
Along with ladies you’ll find lots of flowers, dragons, butterflies, and other animals in his portfolio and on the walls of his shop.
A bright and bold peacockA classic panther and rose
Ryan tattoos everything from hands to backs, large and small, one session to multiples. So whether you live nearby or are just passing through you’ll be able to get yourself a timeless piece. (Though he is only tattooing people in the Oregon and Washington area during pandemic times). If you can’t make the trip to get a tattoo you can also buy prints of his here.
According to the Canadian Cancer Society, 1 in 8 Canadian cisgendered women will develop breast cancer at some point in their lives, and 1 in 33 will die from it. In 2020, 25% of all cancers in Canadian cisgendered women was a form of breast cancer, with approximately 27,400 women diagnosed and 240 cisgendered men also diagnosed.
Peony flower by Justin Dunwoody at Eastern Pass Tattoo CoBlack and grey bird and rose by Emma at True Love Tattoos in Norwich
Breast cancer is unfortunately quite a common form of cancer, and mainly affects cisgendered women. Often a breast cancer diagnoses leads to a mastectomy. A mastectomy is a surgery that removes part or all of the breast. There are 5 kinds of mastectomy surgeries including; “Simple” or “total” mastectomy, modified radical mastectomy, radical mastectomy, partial mastectomy, and subcutaneous (nipple-sparing) mastectomy.
Before and after nipple recreation by Eric Eye in SeattleBreast cancer awareness ribbon and flowers by Kerry Soraci in St Louis
For years now people who undergo various forms of mastectomies have turned to tattooing to either cover the area after it is healed, or in some cases recreate what they looked like before the mastectomy.
Black and grey flowers by Clara Welsh at Evil From the Needle in Camnden, UKPastel flowers and nipple recreation by Lita Edwards at Boobs and Tattoos
Many tattoo artists even specialize in mastectomy tattoos, either covering the whole area with an image, or nipple and/or breast recreation. Many people who decide to get tattooed after a mastectomy opt for some form of cancer awareness piece, such as the breast cancer awareness ribbon with flowers or a butterfly, or something that they find beautiful to help them deal with the trauma they’ve been through.
Breast cancer awareness ribbon and flowers by Sabrina Cruz at Skin Elixir TattooWater colour style rose by Michelle Gómez in Guadalajara Mexico
Some tattoo artists also offer to do mastectomy tattoos for free if they have some sort of personal connection to it, but those who specialize in this type of work always do a great job.
Breast cancer awareness ribbon and water colour tree and birds by Louisa Kleinert at Blue Bird InkedBreast cancer awareness ribbon and flowers by Erin Mathews at Canvas Tattoo in MN
You can donate to the Canadian Cancer Society here.
She tattoos in a hybrid style of old school and new school. Her old school techniques consist of thick bold lines and the classic colour scheme, with an added almost cartoon-ish look.
Mickey and Minnie meets Ice CreamMaui, Hei Hei, and Pua
Lots of her work features cartoon characters from popular Disney movies and shows like Mickey and Minnie, Moana, Mulan, and more. Her Instagram is also full of old school classics like swallows, reapers, skulls, pinups, and lady heads.
Mulan, Mushu, and Cri-KeeGrim Reaper on holiday
Much of the work she does can be done as smaller pieces if you’re a tourist in the area, and she also puts together fantastic larger pieces such as full sleeves.
Party sharkA beautiful red cardinal
If you’re traveling in the area be sure to send her an email and get yourself an appointment, or if you live nearby add a few new pieces to your collection.
A classic swallow and rose on the neckDaria’s Jane Lane
Joel tattoos mainly in classic old school American traditional style, with dark and muted colours. He also does work with no colour, as well as work in the Japanese style.
Skeleton from Takiyasha the Witch and the Skeleton Spectre and traditional buildingGnarly palm skull
Much of Joel’s work features dark imagery such as skulls, demons, snakes, and reapers. When he does work in the Japanese style, he mainly focuses on Oni and Yurei (demons and ghosts).
A very full back with a lady head, skull, snake and flowersMatching hands of a swallow and rose
Joel does a lot of smaller work that can be done in one session if you’re just visiting the area, but he also does a lot of beautiful large-scale work such as full sleeves and back pieces.
Sacred Heart with rosesA devilish bleeding goat head
Joel’s work is just what you look for in an old school artist, with dark bold lines and perfectly shaded colours, particularly in various shades of red, yellow, and green.
A different depiction of the Grim ReaperA sacred heart and severed heads
Be sure to get some work done by him if you’re traveling in Sweden or if you live in the area.
