As per usual, here’s a look at some tattoos and progress pictures taken throughout September! It’s been a busy month, and we’re hoping to carry this momentum through the rest of Spring into Summer.
Steph’s backpiece, completed by Horisumi. Initially a nukibori but now complete with background!
Twin foo dogs on the chest for Tom, tattooed by Shin. My personal favourite tattoo from this month, clean shading and satisfying flow with the shape of the body.
Another by Shin! Full colour nature scene, design brought in by client.
Classic dagger and skull combo along the forearm by Suraj.
Justice and balance. Continuation of full sleeve with various concepts for Suraj’s client. Pictures of the completed sleeve coming soon!
There’s a lot of exposition in this month’s post. Can’t help it! Even though we see these things small things every day, to the point that they may be absorbed into the monotony of ‘business as usual’ there’s some undeniable beauty and peace in the routine, in the unpacking of the tools of the trade.
Lily’s stencil wall is coming along steadily. Thanks to the clients who’ve allowed us to make it happen!
A colourful Sphinx by apprentice Kaede. Liv sat well, if not a bit miserably, through this one. Commendations to her for her bravery!
Day two of double sleeves by Ian. Picture of the previous day’s progress, mind the redness. This sleeve flows nicely into an old chest tattoo.
Fineline butterfly by Bonzai. Small and neat.
Travel themed tattoo! Sun, waves and heart, done by Bonzai.
Gradientttttt! So satisfying.
It’s not (all) blood!
Shin working on a full Japanese tiger sleeve for John. Full progress pictures coming soon.
Love this sleeve! New style black and grey sleeve by James, depicting the client’s cats alongside a koi fish and background. All finished now. Here we only have pictures of the inside of the arm, but should soon acquire the pictures of the inside. Stay tuned for that!
Intersecting love hearts, representing the family. Unfortunately, the camera is focused on Coco’s gloves. Apologies for that!
Considering…analysing…
Kangaroo and mountain range, two tattoos for one half of a kind couple touring around Australia. Done by Bonzai.
Min Zumi! Reworking an old tattoo (done by a different artist) and coverup. While the lotus’ on the chest are being refreshed and reworked, the koi fish and back ground are covering up some old ink. A big project, but quite a satisfying one. Still some more to go.
Sneaky pic of Lily, caught drawing for the following sleeve.
A large-scale mandala and floral sleeve, working around old ink on the upper arm. Lily’s light shading and clean linework are something to marvel at.
Ian working on Dan’s dragon sleeve. This sleeve has been months in the planning, and it’s finally coming to fruition! It won’t be until December till Dan is in again to start shading, so we’ll all have to be patient.
Max, Max’s phone, this camera, his client. Lot’s going on!
Angel on the back of the calf, black and grey realism.
Melbourne-based guest artist Steph (@peturbed_tattoos) was only here for a few days, but she made sure to be booked and busy! Touch up on Medusa on the left, and Maleficent’s portrait on the right.
Her own tattoos are pretty awesome too! It’s sad to see her go, but she’ll definitely be back as a guest in the future.
It must be a dragon month! Ian’s working on a few different dragon projects at the moment. Here, he’s tackling the line work for a shoulder/back tattoo.
Lilies in a vase, by Lily.
First tattoo, tiger and bamboo on the arm by Max. Thanks for the trust!
Coco tattooing! She has a cool tattooing face, working slow and steady on some linework.
‘Elyssa’ as a patch by Min. 3rd child after 5 years. Congratulations and well wishes to the family!
‘I love you’, in Korean below the elbow, copied from a card written by the client’s mother. Done by Min.
Another butterfly! Light shading, giving a soft appearance to the tattoo. Lovely, done by Bonzai.
Ouuuuuuuugh. Heron and snake on the back of the calf, done by apprentice Kaede for myself. This one hurt the most along the edges of the calf, during the linework. Thank god Kaede did an incredible job otherwise this article wouldn’t have been written, we’d both be underground. Cell shading, blue and yellow ink, and white highlights. Kudos Kaede!
That’s it for September! Thanks to all of the awesome clients for their trust, and for letting us bring to life all of these incredible projects.
See you in October!