Mid Year Assessments

[jnin]

Just had the first session on my forearm done yesterday. I see myself getting a lot of traditional. I fell in love with it, bold lines, heavy shading, badass!

[Graeme]

I've been seeing a lot of heads with the faces replaced with things like staircases or outer space. Been seeing a lot more hand poked work this year, and a lot of tattoos with backgrounds in various geometric shapes.

Related to this, I'm seeing a tendency among the "I'm a gentleman tattooer, I'm 20 years old, have a moustache and face tattoos, BOLD WILL HOLD" crowd for tattoos without outlines. They're all ripping off some European tattooer whose name I don't care to know but often pops up on those idiotic "HERE ARE 20 TATTOOS THAT WILL MAKE YOU WANT TO PUNCH YOURSELF IN THE DICK" kind of sites.

[hogg]

I've been seeing a lot of heads with the faces replaced with things like staircases or outer space. Been seeing a lot more hand poked work this year, and a lot of tattoos with backgrounds in various geometric shapes.

My buddy Aaron Hodges started doing "ship faces" a while back and they've really taken off. "Let's get shipfaced!" as he likes to say. I've seen a few other artists pick up on it, too. He's @aaronhodgesart on IG if you wanna check some out. I think they're great.

[tatB]

re: ship faces

i think i remember seeing a ron wells flash sheet on instatatgram from 2-3 years ago

[jimstanley]

I was under the impression that traditional wasn't really done from the 70s-90s, at least not in the mainstream. When we developed all the styles and really expanded on the possibilities of what tattoos could be. Its just never stopped. We're still trying out all this shit that I imagine people pre-70s wouldn't have touched. Woodcuts, watercolors (though I've heard Europe kinda did these in the 90s? Supposedly they're all covered or gone now), and whatnot, trying to expand on possibilities. Traditional seems to be winning the fight though, which it probably always will.

Been seing a lot of magic/pseudo-magic tattoos, runes, some generically "witchy" shit. Rose morphs but also these skull morph things I'm pretty into. Stairs, beehives, owls, arrows are coming in, traditional landscapes, traditional frames/framed traditional tattoos, mandalas and dotwork, these black and gray torso pieces that I kinda dig but feel weird to me (seems like a style that black and white photography created rather than black and grey tattooing), and a lot of linework.

No one will like everything forever, and trends come and go, but the nature of tattoos gives them staying power. Puts them in the cycle.

[suburbanxcore]

My buddy Aaron Hodges started doing "ship faces" a while back and they've really taken off. "Let's get shipfaced!" as he likes to say. I've seen a few other artists pick up on it, too. He's @aaronhodgesart on IG if you wanna check some out. I think they're great.

Yeah, these are definitely killer. He'll be at King's Avenue in July, and I'm bummed my tattoo fund will be too empty to get something between all the other tattoos I'll be getting this summer. Which I guess is a good problem to have. Haha.

[JAllen]

I've been seeing a lot of heads with the faces replaced with things like staircases or outer space. Been seeing a lot more hand poked work this year, and a lot of tattoos with backgrounds in various geometric shapes.

loads of this, was just mentioning it to someone at the shop a few weeks back.

also it seems like everything is becoming a hybrid....crabs with oni faces, shark eagles, geisha snakes, etc....and everything is "sick" "soooo sick". looking for someone to start doing "healthy" tattoos.

[keepcalm]

Unofficial observations about tattoos on folks of my generation (roughly ages 21-35) in Portland, Oregon after spending a week there:

Freaking EVERYONE has tattoos.

Everyone has a bunch of small and randomly placed tattoos all over the place on their limbs.

Often it looks like they just enjoy doodling on themselves. Most people look like walking sketchbooks.

50% of the tattoos any given person has seem to be ironic.

Approximately 1% of the tattoos I saw would be considered American Traditional.

Conclusions:

Go big. Be bold. None of this wimpy "arrow on my forearm" bullshit.

Side note:

Getting even more excited for my appointment with Dennis del Prete in September! Lady head allllll over my right thigh. #winning

[chrisnoluck]

tattoos are cool.

[MrsGougeTheEyes]

It finally happened to me, in New York. I was walking around Park Avenue North running an errand for work. I was bopping along listening to Garbage when suddenly I realized I was a fucking outcast among all these business people for like, TWENTY BLOCKS.

I am going to hold on to that sweet moment for a few days.

[polliwog]

Everyone has a bunch of small and randomly placed tattoos all over the place on their limbs.

Often it looks like they just enjoy doodling on themselves. Most people look like walking sketchbooks..

I'm so glad you said this, because it's often what comes to my mind when I see a bunch of tiny outline-only tattoos on a person and then I sort of feel like a jerk for thinking it. It shouldn't matter what other people choose to get tattooed, it's just a bummer that a lot of it isn't more interesting to look at.

[hogg]

I'm so glad you said this, because it's often what comes to my mind when I see a bunch of tiny outline-only tattoos on a person and then I sort of feel like a jerk for thinking it. It shouldn't matter what other people choose to get tattooed, it's just a bummer that a lot of it isn't more interesting to look at.

Such a great observation, @keepcalm.

I can't find it now, but just yesterday, someone on LST pointed out that some tattoos (artsy-fartsy ones with very little black that take up lots of real estate) look like they're wearing the person instead of the other way around. I loved that observation, too.

[polliwog]

Re tattoos wearing the person. I know this isn't exactly what you were referring to, but I'll admit that getting a large-ish eagle on me was a bit of a leap of faith. It's an image with a long history. For something that also sometimes feels pretty goofy, tattoos have been way more powerful than I'd ever imagined going in to this. I hope that this trip, if I can even call it that yet, continues to challenge me and shake me up!

[Graeme]

I can't find it now, but just yesterday, someone on LST pointed out that some tattoos (artsy-fartsy ones with very little black that take up lots of real estate) look like they're wearing the person instead of the other way around. I loved that observation, too.

I believe that came from @SeeSea and agreed on it being a really great observation. It made me think of a blog I came across a couple of years ago from a local (visual) artist who was kicked out of a tattoo apprenticeship after a day because he had no tattoos and didn't seem to even really want any. Putting aside all questions of why this guy was offered an apprenticeship in this first place, what struck me about the post, and why I still think of it, was the extent to which this guy seemed like a total egotistical jerk, like he felt he was entitled to put his art on people. Conversely, I also thought about that Vice interview with Mike Brown where he talks about mostly tattooing hibiscus flowers on tourists, because he's a tattooer and that's what people want. we need more Mike Browns and fewer art school douchebags.

[keepcalm]

I'm so glad you said this, because it's often what comes to my mind when I see a bunch of tiny outline-only tattoos on a person and then I sort of feel like a jerk for thinking it. It shouldn't matter what other people choose to get tattooed, it's just a bummer that a lot of it isn't more interesting to look at.

Yeah, I agree, I feel like a dick judging people and their tattoos like that, but the thing is, that kind of work all over the place is visually challenging to look at, ha. I've said this before I think, but I think of tattoos as permanent accessories, like jewelry or a scarf or something, and one of the things I dig about them is how amazing it can look when a tattoo flows perfectly with the shape of the body, or fits nicely into its spot. And honestly, everything else just looks messy. (at least to me, haha)

[heathenist]

Rose morphs were the first thing to come to mind, but they rule so it's not really a bad trend. However, I think we often overestimate how popular traditional tattoos actually are, sure they are hip right now, but in the larger scheme of things, are they really that popular compared to other styles? Like among tattoo collectors, the punk scene, etc. traditional tattoos might be pretty popular, but like in the general public I don't think many people give a shit about them. Whereas things like black and grey portrait work and even Japanese traditional are actually pretty popular in the general public.

[DJDeepFried]

In our neck of the woods (SoCal) I see a lot more traditional than large-scale Japanese but fine line B&G outnumbers both combined.

[taaarro]

Knee tattoos. Sort of want one/sort of think my knees already hurt enough and are off limits...

[Jon Reiter]

yeah the rose morph thing blew up with a quickness like that dietzel girl head did a year or two ago

- - - Updated - - -

oh yeah

and face tattoos?

The masked Dietzel girl was an instant classic. And still going strong. Favorite part is that unlike most designs of that era, I've yet to see another tattooer having done it. All Dietzel.