In the Island nation of Vanuatu they have a sand painting tradition, and a former Peace Corps volunteer brought me a sketch he had made of a pattern he saw in a museum while working there. I suggested that we render it all in dots, to emphasize the sand origins of the design.
Vanuatu Sand Design Bird Tattoo by Pat Fish
This dragon is an homage to the work of my esteemed colleague Coin Dale http://www.skinandbone.dk/ whose iconic style is an absolute delight. The client is a Nordic fellow who wanted to get something to celebrate his heritage, and together we picked elements of several of Colin Dale's dragons to create a new one for him. It is first drawn in lines and then all the shading was done one dot at a time, slowly sculpting it across his chest and up onto the shoulder. In the future we will add a body.
Nordic Style Dragon Head Tattoo by Pat Fish
Today's interesting assignment was to fill a long thin space up the spine with Celtic dogs........ this is a traditional bit of marginalia from an illuminated manuscript but changed, adding a little bit more knot work to weave around the main bodies of the dogs and using dots to give bold dimensionality. Just the thing for someone born in the year of the dog!
Celtic Knotwork Dogs Tattoo by Pat Fish
Today's tattoo would have been a challenge even BEFORE my time-out, but to do it today so soon after returning to work, well, let's admit it, I am seriously STOKED. The client came from far away, and absolutely insisted that I do it all in one day. I promised him I'd give it my best, if HE could handle it. 7 hours later, he has been transformed from a guy with just an armband I did 6 years ago on the other arm to >>> a heavily tattooed guy with a half sleeve.
A complex full-coverage half sleeve in a bell shape that follows the contours of the shoulder and ends at the elbow. A bold statement of integrated Celtic knot work that covers all visible sections of the upper arm and has the appearance of chain mail armor.
