More and more people are choosing to transform their bodies to express themselves which causes such a high demand for tattooing equipment and wholesale body jewellery, although choosing something that is personal to them can be an arduous task. People can often end up choosing something that may be trending or novel at the time which is why it might be a better idea to draw inspiration for a tattoo from the work of different legendary artists who are part of a lasting culture.
Famous pop art pieces prove popular choices, such as Andy
Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe prints and Roy Lichenstein’s unmistakable polka-dot
face portraits. There are also more modern designs inspired by graffiti artist
Banksy which now rate as favourites for more modern tattoos.
However, in recent years there have also been artists who
have been inspired instead from tattoo culture, using the style of tattoo
artistry in their works of art. Inspired by tattoo design, here are some
artists who exhibit a different view on the industry of inking.
Dr Lakra
Mexican tattooist turned artist, Dr Lakra, (real name
Jeronimo Lopez Ramirez) found he wanted to take his craft further by sketching
his designs on things other than skin.
Lakra would salvage different objects such as dolls and old medical illustrations, doodling tattoo style drawings all over them. Cut-outs from 1950s magazines were a popular choice featuring pictures of scantily clad pin up girls and Mexican wrestlers, or pretty much anyone with a great deal of exposed skin on which he would etch his designs.
Cheyenne Randall
Instead of doodling on anonymous fifties floozies, Randall
focuses more on the idea of celebrity by tattooing famous images of well-known
music, TV and film personalities.
Amongst his muses are
the Prince and Princess of Wales, Muhammad Ali and John Lennon and Yoko Ono.
The Seattle-based artist claims that tattooing these iconic faces makes it
appear as though they are completely different people from a parallel universe.
The tattoos themselves aren’t just drawn on at random either
– Randall chooses specific ink for certain celebrities in order to tell a story
and to depict a special meaning. For example, on a pensive picture of Albert
Einstein, emblazoned on his knuckles is his famous formula E=MC².
His work can be found on his Instagram account which has accumulated over 107,000 followers.
Mike Giant
Like Lakra, Giant’s work has expanded from tattoo artistry
to exhibiting his fine art pieces at various art galleries around America. He
got his big break however in creating tattoo style designs for Think
Skateboards.
Earlier this year in the US, Giant exhibited his Rocky Mountain
High pieces which take on the style of tattoo flash sheets with hand-written
notes around each describing his thought processes behind them.
Punk-rock imagery, religious symbols and a range of typical tattoo iconography feature in a lot of his work.
Drawing inspiration from the work of people’s favourite artists, or even from one of their pieces, could give you ideas for designs to suggest to your clients. Whether you focus on the intricate details of Gustav Klimt, or the abstract images of Gaudi, be sure to be equipped with all the necessary needles and colours to replicate these famous masterpieces.
To browse our range of inks and supplies visit our website
or if you would like to request a brochure contact us at 01922 744 088. Or to
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