Hello there! - I need help classifying a style of a tattoo!

[rebslater]

Hi everybody!

I'm Reb and I'm a tattoo lover in Seattle. I just got a great job working at my local zoo and tattoos are no problem for employees.. This means I can finally get the half-sleeve I've always wanted! In my intro, I want to ask a little bit of advice from my fellow members about style of a tattoo.

I'm trying to find an artist that matches my style of tattoo that I want, so as to get the best, most accurate depiction of what it will look like in my head. However, I'm running into an issue with classifying the style of my tattoo.. Is it more old school, realistic, etc.? I have no idea. I know it's not going to fit into any of these categories perfectly, but I'd love to be able to classify it as best as I can. I'm wanting to get a Dutch delft piece. You've probably seen delft before.. it's the blue and white Dutch pottery.. usually with windmills and usually on plates or cups, etc. If I wanted to get a tattoo in the exact same style as the picture I've included.. how would you classify that? Thanks for your help! Ultimately it will help me select the best artist for the job.

I can't wait to show you all my new tattoos! Thanks again!

Reb

[SStu]

I don't think that design is going to have a tattoo label - just the Dutch Delft should work as a description (I guess).

Any competent realism artist should be able to reproduce it, as well as those who do well with filigree, botanical and such.

No doubt a few of our PNW members can head you in the right direction . . .

[rebslater]

Great, thanks.. That's good to know! Do you have any suggestions on how to search for an artist that does that type of tattoo? Besides just typing "botanical tattoo artist - seattle" into google..

[CultExciter]

Well, those aren't actual tattoos, so I'd classify them as Photoshop!

[rufio]

Only thing that comes to my mind is the word pastel. I googled pastel tattoo and this is what i found on pinterest.

btw, are you from holland:) ?

[Graeme]

Welcome Reb! When I look at the pictures you posted the first person who came to mind is Dan Gilsdorf in Portland because his tattoos often have this really wonderful folky quality that I think would work really well with reference drawn from Dutch deflt. I could also see somebody like Greg Whitehead, also in Portland, doing a great job with it. I'm sure there are also people in Seattle who are equally capable of taking your idea and giving you a great tattoo, but I'm not super familiar with people working there. Hopefully somebody with more local knowledge can help out here.

Also keep in mind that porcelain and skin are two totally different mediums so it's not going to translate exactly and a good artist will be able to give you what you want in a way that makes sense and works as a tattoo. For example, with the image above, the problem with a lot of pinterest stuff including that tattoo is that the tattoos might look nice when they're fresh but they don't obey fundamental design principles and so they're not going to stand the test of time. There's a thread here that will hopefully clarify that.

[sophistre]

Seconding both of Graeme's choices. I'm going to see Dan in May and I can't wait; his folk flowers are incredible. Greg did my whole arm, so obviously I'm biased that way, too.

There is another tattooer in Portland who does a ton of florals. Her name is Alice Carrier. No idea whether or not her stuff holds up in the long term, but it's very pretty.

[Pleadco]

Try http://i.instagram.com/suzannafisher/ http://i.instagram.com/matt_lentz/

http://i.instagram.com/krystendae/

Seattle, portland, and Vancouver B.C. are all pretty dense tattoo towns.