National Tattoo Association Convention 2014

May 05, 2014

In May 2014 I attended and lectured at the 35th annual National Tattoo Association Convention in Garden Grove, California. I've been a member of the NTA for 30 years, and these "family reunions" are an opportunity to catch up on the careers of people I have known for decades and see inspiring work. I was honored to win two awards with a "Pictish Keymorphic" right forearm that received both People's Choice and Artists' Choice Awards for best tribal tattoo.

Colin Fraser and I presented a slide show and lecture: CELTIC TATTOOS & TRADITIONS, An illustrated lecture about Celtic and Pictish art with an emphasis on historical sources and the adaptation of archival material to modern tattooing. Examples of ancient artworks and tattoos created from them, plus technical tips for successfully fitting Celtic knotwork patterns onto the body.

And I am pleased that I was able to once again share my booth with my esteemed colleague Colin Dale:

Pat Fish and Colin Dale Booth Banner by Colin Fraser Purcell

Award WInning Pictish Keymorphic Tattoo by Pat Fish

Garfinkel Family Crest Tattoo

April 22, 2014

The designs appearing on family crests were chosen generations ago to express things of symbolic importance to the heads of the family, representing their occupations or enthusiasms or allegiances. When researching these images many people turn to internet sources and end up with quite generic patterns that may or may not make impressive tattoos. For instance in this pattern the crosses on the shield were quite small, and the red lion looked like a mouse floating above the helmet. By enlarging those elements to prominence the meaning remains, the symbolism as described in the ancient books of heraldry is preserved, and the tattoo is greatly enhanced.

Garfinkel Family Crest Tattoo by Pat Fish

Father and Son Clan Campbell Badge Tattoos

April 20, 2014

What better father-son bonding experience could there be than getting tattooed together? Today I had the pleasure of embellishing two of my clansmen, members of my own Clan Campbell, with our mighty boar and motto. We chose to place a Celtic circle behind the clan badge as a way to extend it to fill the upper arm. Dad went first, with the boar looking back to his heritage, and a crimson background. Son chose to have his boar facing forward, to his long life ahead, and a blue-green background. This way they are the same, but different; a set, but not identical.

Father and Son Clan Campbell Badge Tattoos by Pat Fish

See more heraldic tattoos on the Heraldry Portfolio Page.

Hamilton Clan Badge Tattoo

April 18, 2014

The fortunate Scots have a lovely form of tribal identification in the Clan Badge. Specific to the Scottish clan system, the belt represents fealty to a Laird. Each clan has specific heraldic symbols inside their belt. The Hamiltons are traditionally sawyers, harvesters of forests, so for this custom version of their badge we chose a crown, a symbolic oak tree made of a few stylized leaves and acorns, and a two-man saw slicing into the trunk. I take pride in being able to do research both in my own archives and online, to make accurate and unique designs that are correct to the heraldic standards. This is true tribal art.