Tattoo Art

I have always had an interest in this type of art form. I am particularly interested in the old school sailor tattoos, oriental styles, Bio Mechanical tattoos and old rockerbilly tattoos.

i love sailor tattoos because as Samuel O'Reily (a famous tattooist) once said "A sailor without a tattoo is like a ship without a grog, not sea worthy." a sailors tattoos are like a map of where he's been and what he's been up to in his travels.

After captain cook found tattooed natives in the south pacific he brought back the art form as a very exotic souvenir. i love the style of them and they have special meanings: a pig on one foot and a rooster on the other is said to stop the seamen from drowning as barnyard animals cannot swim so it would help him get quickly to shore. an anchor is said to show that the sailor had been to the Atlantic ocean, a dragon means he served on a china station, a full rigged ship means the sailor had sailed round Cape Horn, a shell back turtle means he has passed the equator and so on.

Chinese/ Japanese tattoo art also has alot of meaning behind it whether it means strength or prosperity there are symbolic pictures such as the koi carp which is a common tattoo it symbolizes courage, ability to achieve hard goals and overcoming life's difficulties.

Rockerbilly tattoos started around the 1950's and in those days your were a rebel if you had tattoo's they weren't as widely accepted as they are now, the style is still around today and still has the essence of rebellion about it.

Bio Mechanical tattoos are just cool and clever because they are pretty much an illusion of something else being or living inside the human body that's not really there.