85 Great Tattoos as Art and InspirationListThumbs

85 Great Tattoos as Art and Inspiration

Tattoos are now recognized as art, body painting, form of illustration and also as inspiration, it all depends on the point of view! Some years ago unfortunately they were pointed as marks or symbols of rebels, people with tattoos were even discriminated because of their "marked skin". After some cultural evolution and also good sense, people left all the taboos surrounding tattooing and started to admire this way of art.

I started my researching for this post after a suggestion from one of our readers, Jake, that mention that would be nice to have a tattoo post at abduzeedo. I have to mention that it was a bit hard to get good quality tattoo images online, but I got some pretty nice ones to show here. I also would like to thank the guys from all the studios used at this post for having such great sites and images to show us their art! It's very nice to have an opportunity to mention at a post some TV Series that I like to watch as Miami Ink and LA Ink for example.
So I really hope you enjoy the post!!

Chris Garver

Chris Garver is a very talented tattooer and also a member of the Miami Ink TV series. Chris is known as one of the best tattooers in the world not only because of his art quality but also because of his humble demeanor. He started his painting and drawing by the age of 6 and had the first experiences tattooing around the age of 17. After that he moved to New York, has tattooed in Asia, both Americas and around Europe. His work is really worthy to show here!

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Image selected for the Tattoos as Art and Inspiration

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Kat Von D

Kat Von D is another very talented artist that is a former member of Miami Ink and now is the main runner of the LA Ink TV series. Besides her amazing work Kat is also known for her great personality and enthusiasm for tattooing, at the show we can see that she loves her work! To check out another pieces from Kat go to her personal site.

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Image selected for the Tattoos as Art and Inspiration

Image selected for the Tattoos as Art and Inspiration

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Image selected for the Tattoos as Art and Inspiration

Ami James

Also from Miami Ink Ami James is an amazing tattooer with a very particular and tough personality. At the series we can see his temper and also his great tattoos. Ami did his first professional tattoo by the age of 15 and since then just evolved his art.

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Image selected for the Tattoos as Art and Inspiration

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Chris Nunez

Chris is the ladies' man from Miami Ink. He first started his career as a graffiti artist and after traveling around Brazil and Europe tattooing with his favorite artists he expanded both his artistic sense and knowledge about the art.

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Image selected for the Tattoos as Art and Inspiration

Image selected for the Tattoos as Art and Inspiration

Daren Brass

Another Miami Ink member also known as the teddy bear of the team due to his very kind personality. Daren tried some arts schools but most of his talent came from a very known technique: trying and error. He also has some awesome work that we must mention here!

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Kat Von D's High Voltage Tattoo

High Voltage is a studio from LA that besides Kat Von D counts with some great artists and that "borrows" they events and histories to the TV Series LA Ink. Here we will show some of their work.

Jeff

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Nikko

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Dennis

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Khoi

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Corey

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Mojo

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Adrian

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Dan

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Hart & Huntington Tattoo Company - Hawaii

Hart & Huntington is a tattoo studio in Hawaii that counts with very talented tattooers with different kind of specialization. Here we will check out some samples of their work!

Wakako Yamamoto

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Maxwell Kilbourne

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Jack Omoto

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Hart & Huntington Tattoo Company - Las Vegas

Hart & Huntington has also a studio in Las Vegas witch is the one from the TV Series Inked. Check out some of their work!

Blanco

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Dizzle

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Jime Litwalk

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Emiliano Gabaldon

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Jason Tritten

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Tee

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Miscellaneous Tattoos

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The ones suggested by our reader Jake

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Image selected for the Tattoos as Art and Inspiration

Image selected for the Tattoos as Art and Inspiration

Image selected for the Tattoos as Art and Inspiration

Image selected for the Tattoos as Art and Inspiration

About the author

Someone with a bachelor degree in Foreign Trade that really likes technology, design, photography and creativity. A person ‘digging’ a new way as a ‘geek apprentice’, blogger 'wanna be' and a communication lover! Current location: Porto Alegre, RS – Brazil
Twitter user: gismullr

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66 Comments

Yoshikun05/15/2009

Poor choice of artists in my opinion.

Brendon O'Dwyer05/15/2009

Some absolutely amazing works there. Still don't think I could ever commit to a life long tattoo on my body though.

HenZen05/15/2009

The "Spiderman" is really sick...

Pedro05/15/2009

Nice collection. I had already seen most of them!

Rubineboy05/15/2009

Yummy! Don't have one but want a sleeve.

Bruno Duarte05/15/2009

The spiderman's tattoo is awesome!

Anonymous05/15/2009

I don't think this post (or any 'Tattoo-as-art' piece for that matter) would be complete without a shout-out to Mike Giant.

(http://www.mikegiant.com/tattoo.php)

Purple_Parker05/15/2009

if your looking for good tattoo artist i suggest you pick up juxtapoz (magazine). One example would be mike giant a true tattoo master.

cyberpuppet05/15/2009

I agree Yoshikun, besides some exceptions, it's mainly typical stuff (lot's of derivatives and copies), not all of it well executed either.... Not one of the best tattoo artists in the world ismentioned.... Guy Aitchison and Michelle Wortman, Filip Leu, Paul Booth, Heidi Hay, Sabine Gaffron, Horitoshi, Robert Hernandez, Grime, Eddie Deutsche, Aaron Cain (now making only awesome machines), to name a few....

DJ DEEP05/15/2009

YA THE SPIDERMAN ONE LOOKS REAL DAWG!!!!

Gustavo Templar05/15/2009

The spiderman one is really sick [2]
How that possible?

Luca Guidi05/15/2009

Let me share with you some great pieces of my tattooer:
http://www.myspace.com/mariagraziatolino and
http://venombodyart.com

droppixel05/15/2009

This is a great idea for an inspiration thread, but I somehow knew all of the TLC/TV artists would be in here. There are so many other artists that have such incredible work that it is sad to see them not listed here just because they aren't on TV and aren't known in the mainstream. Not knocking the TV artists, they are all talented, but could of had more diversity here.

Traz05/15/2009

I like the Spiderman !!!! awesome !

nathan05/15/2009

i can only see about 5-10 great tattoos...

Pedro Melo05/15/2009

Spider man is SICK! and as usual, Kat von D's awesome tattoos are some of the best (if not, indeed, the best) - as she is too ;)

LarsEfx05/15/2009

Agree with droppixel. Very nice idea, but the tv-guys are not the best imo.

A few other artists to check out, could be:

Shige
Jason Vaughn
Uncle Allan
Saira Hunjan
Steve Moore
Kamil Mocet
Jeff Gogue
Dave Bruehl
H-Bomb
King Carlos
Franz jäger
Myke Chambers
Valerie Vargas
Electric Pick
Adam Hathorn
...and the list could go on.

They vary in styles, but most of them do great oldschool work (my favorite style).

Anonymous05/15/2009

Whoever put this article together...have you never seen a tatt before? Seriously, there's nothing inspirational or new here. I've been seeing the same thing presented here for over a decade. And some are really sub-par.

With all the amazing things being done with tatts, it's amazing you chose this crap.

collide00705/15/2009

These are awesome, the spiderman one is EPIC.

I'm always stunned by Kat Von Ds work.

Leonardo siqueira05/15/2009

sorry to be a dick but not a good choice of artist!!

Try: Nick Baxter, Nikko Hurtado, Mike Devries, Anil Gupta, Guy Aitchson, Mordenti Brasil, Shige, etc....

Carrie05/15/2009

I, too, was a bit sad to see so many mainstream tattoo artists being featured. I feel a bit like their talents have had enough exposure, why not feature the people who don't have a reality tv show or a tattoo studio franchise?

Oddball Studios in Portland, OR has done some of the most amazing work I've ever seen.

Avida05/15/2009

Enormous kudos to whoever got the spiderman tattoo.

ftrc05/15/2009

when it comes down to tattoos, you really dont what you are talking about

there are some lousy tattoos here and the rest is just mainstream artists that anyone can see on tv.

show us some really cool stuff

bluedee05/15/2009

wew...Lot of tattoo designs but I love the elvis one.

CarlesS05/15/2009

I don't believe spiderman tatto was real

Will05/15/2009

Not the best tattoo artists in my opinion. All very talented but a little generic especially being that most of them are known because of *vomit* reality TV. For a truly brilliant tattoo (and artist in his own right) check out www.nickbaxter.com. this guy is incredible

cyberpuppet05/15/2009

Did you not like my comment?

Will05/15/2009

Not the best tattoo artists in my opinion. All very talented but most are known because of *vomit* reality TV. To see a truly brilliant tattoo artist (and artist in his own right) check out www.nickbaxter.com. This guy is incredible.

Kirvi Inci05/15/2009

The elvis one is absolutly horrid.

Apu05/15/2009

@droppixel: true, but if you're gonna complain bout the selection, at least post links to sites of artists you think should have been inluded...

And yes, the Spiderman tattoo is just awesome and I can't imagine running around with something like that at the beach. Just imagine...

Mr. Crapic05/15/2009

El awesomo!

Luis Quiñones05/15/2009

damn! there are some crazy ones! lol! really inspiring! Thanks for sharing! ;)

Franky05/16/2009

Cool stuff. I would like to see some flash art!

Tattoo Flash - (Tattoo artwork)

For all you noooobs

Dave Harding05/16/2009

Paul Timman also does some great work. You can check it out here: http://www.paultimman.com

And speaking of Tattoo's and art - his line of dinnerware is number two in Metropolitain Home's Design 100.

You can check that out here: http://www.inkdish.com

Anonymous105/16/2009

http://www.victorytattoo.com/g.php?var1=0&gallery=Tattoos&theartist=Kip
This is one of the best artists in my home town. Look throught his gallery and you will see art that surpasses alot of the above pictures. I imagine there are many like him. They just never made it on TV. I wonder what art would end up on here if it were Chris Garver or Kat doing the picking? There are some awesome tats on here no doubt, but some are so plain jane run of the mill.

Dill Nates05/16/2009

You missed the best one: Best Tattoo Ever

the pope05/16/2009

Lots of those portraits suck. (#6) I would be pissed if i paid a bunch of money to some "famous" tattoo artist and ended up with a tatoo of crooked face or one eye lower than the other one...unless it's sloth from the goonies

Anonymous05/16/2009

only two or three good artist everybody else average at best

Anonymous05/16/2009

http://austintattoos.com/

corax05/16/2009

Actually, beyond pandering exclusively to artists featured on TV, randomly throwing other deserving artists' work into "Miscellaneous" is even harsher. Please give credit where credit is due.

As for myself, I would suggest people visit bmezine.com, or Google people like Tom Renshaw, Paul Booth, Yann Black, Tin-Tin, Stéphane Chaudesaigues, Nephtys, Vyvyn Lazonga, Kari Barba...the list goes on and on.

Anonymous05/16/2009

Yep, Spidey was a standout for me as well.

shawn05/16/2009

*yawn* nothing in terms of quality that I haven't seen from half the artists in any city.

over rated is an understatement

Jack Woods05/16/2009

Wow, very cool tattoes dude!

RT
www.whos-watching.net.tc

Television Spy05/16/2009

Some of those are really really poorly done in scaling. Don't get me wrong the artists have talent, but the work probably isn't their finest (I hope).

Here in Japan, you should see some of the ink done by some of these Yakuza tattoo artists. They use a special ink that's probably not entirely safe but is more about tradition. The precision with which they ink is amazing.

MINDROT05/16/2009

While every artist listed has nice work..........my favorite artist listed is Chris Garver.

The artist that absolutely captivates me is a private artist named Jason Clay Dunn. His artwork and tattoo's are stunning and he is one of the most down to earth guys you will ever meet. One of the things that irritates me about most tattoo artists is the "rockstar" attituide, and Jason has nothing that even resembles that.

http://blog.jasonclaydunn.com/

Anonymous05/16/2009

too many,tv personalities for me tbh.

http://www.nickbaxter.com/tattoos/tattoos_19806.html
(yeah i know its the nightmare before christmas but shit it looks sick)

http://www.nickbaxter.com/tattoos/tattoos_23163.html
(Pollination Sleeve I)

Nick Baxter's tattooing skills > pretty much all of these ones here.

Anonymous05/16/2009

where is paul booth? every single one of his tattoos is a work of art. google him, replace this webpage with his homepage. then your header will be true :)

rdfaulkner05/16/2009

I agree with droppixel, would have loved to see some other very talented non-tv aritist.

Here is one link to some other amazing artist although they aren't in the U.S.

http://www.swastika-freakshop.de/en/tattoo.html

These guys put out amazing work on a daily basis.

You can also check out www.bmezine.com for links to tons of other amazing artist.

cyberpuppet05/16/2009

@apu

So far no luck... my suggestions have been denied... apparently

markeetoo05/16/2009

I missed the artists from L.A Ink, Hannah and Kim, they rock and are famous,
Also, u could put some of the brazilian tattoo girl, Akemi, shes pretty good too =]

but nice selection!

Jesse Peters05/17/2009

Comon now, terrible artist choices.....
Paul Acker and all of deep 6 labs is missing, NY adorned, which imo is the best oin the east coast for Japanese traditional work. This is like saying Soulja Boy represents hip-hop, it's just....not accurate.

Anonymous05/17/2009

you should check out daemon rowanchilde's work on urbanprimitive.com. now theres talent.

Buckie05/17/2009

Try these guys, the patterns and designs Tomas Tomas does are truly astounding -

Mr X - http://www.duncanx.com/
Tomas Tomas - http://www.siddhamrastu.co.uk/galleries/galleries.html

kadaffy05/17/2009

how about the alien dude.That is just unbeliveble...

Anonymous05/17/2009

We have a great tattoo artist in Maine that specializes in amazing traditional Japanese tattoos. Worth checking out http://www.tsunamitattoo.com/page1.html

Anonymous05/17/2009

The world still needs more cliché Asian-themes tattoos...thank you to those who get "tats," you're heroes of culture.

typisch-fotografie05/17/2009

love it!

Anonymous05/17/2009

None of the tattoos by the TLC cast are particularly impressive- next time you create a list like this, list the artists based on skill, not on star power. Kat Von D's portraits are sometimes quite beautiful, but overall her works leave much to be desired.

mik42005/17/2009

Chris Garver is the best artist on this page...I wish I could get a tattoo from him...

GisMullr05/18/2009

Dear All,

Thanks for the comments and suggestions, for sure we will use it in a next post!

Regarding the selection to this one, I used the ones that offered quality images at their websites and from most artists I directly contacted to receive some nice pics since the site didn't offer it, I had no reply!

For sure the guys from the TV series are not the only ones, but they are very talented! So be kind. ;)

Gisele

Anonymous05/20/2009

Nothing screams "I don't know anything about tattoos" than boasting art from Hart & Huntington, Miami Ink, and Kat Von D. The best artists are the ones you never hear about.
This list kinda blows.
Look at Nick Baxter, Earl Funk, Jason Stephan, Gabe Smith, Jesse Smith, etc.

Curtis05/27/2009

My grandfather was Sailor Jerry. He used to talk about how tattooing was an art that allowed people to make a permanent statement. He saw it as an art, and spent his life trying to prove it was. I think it's great that you're portraying the art so well, but your point of how the art has changed over the years has been completely missed! You've said nothing about the great artist's that paved the way and inspired most of the artists you've shown. People like Bert Grimm, Kate Hellenbrand, or my grandfather.

boy blue05/30/2009

Hey the spiderman is clever..Who's the artist??

Puregroove_Org10/22/2009

Too much awesome work!

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