Rad stuff, thanks! Following.
I really like that last guys stuff
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Also check out Parliament Tattoo in London, they always have great artists. Matt Bailey (@baileyillustration) is awesome and has just left Parliament to open his own studio. Sang Blu as others have said too. AKA Berlin is worth checking out too, I got a lot of mine from Bobby Anders (@bobby_anders) there (he’s moved now though). Matteo (@matteo_gallo) is one of my faves atm, he is Italian but he always comes to Brighton Tattoo Convention. If you have loads of money to throw at a tattoo check out Serena (@serenacaponera) who is also Italian. I got my forearm done by her in London in 2019 and its awesome.
I’ve seen you have mentioned ignorant style, Mr Preston (@mrprestontattoo), European Son (@european.son.420), Mr Heggie (@mr_heggie) are all good and UK based.
I’ll have another think/dig through my instagram and send some more names your way
I know very little about tattoos but I was aware of the growth in the trend for hand poked and DIY tattoos amongst skaters a few years back. I see it everywhere now. Would you say that is the mainstream style now? Or am I just being exposed to a lot of it on social media?
Last time I became aware of tattoos it was through a skateboard collector called Grime Monster and his style was all the range at the time…talking early 2000s era. Super colourful dragons and skulls stuff. I hardly see that style these days, is that over now?
Tattoos are so lame. Appreciate the art side of them but it’s like wearing the same clothes for the rest of your life - Clothes that look gradually more shit and out of fashion the older you get. It’s like being stuck wearing a shit 80s shell suit until you snuff it.
There are bad takes and then there’s what you just said 
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My mate just got his kids name tatooed on his arm surrounded by a heart, some swallows and an anchor. If my dad had that I would think he was a thick brian cant.
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I think football is lame, just going to nip into the football thread and let everyone know.
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I like drawing, so I like tattoos. I don’t have any, and I’m not into the scene in any way so it just kind of bypasses me until friends or social media bring it to my attention. When I see it done well I can appreciate it.
Some tattoos are shit, some are sick. As with everything.
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Whats wrong with that if you like em? Id rather wear the same gear for the last 15 years (which I basically have) than look back on pictures and try to work out what the fuck I was thinking dressing for trends ending up looking like Jim Greco got kicked naked through Oxfam covered in superglue. Personally I dont think theres anything stupider than having 10 different looks in 15 years as people jump on whatever was trendy at the time. Skin tight gap jeans one year, sagged out gangsta jeans the next.
Ive got tattoos, I also couldnt give less of a shit about what other people think about them, I didnt get them for other people’s approval.
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Love Matt Bailey! He’s big on skateboarding too. His insta is funny because of the amount of people who try to rip off his style and then send him the results
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I’m well in the minority on this and my lady has a tatt, so I’ve no leg to stand on. I just think that they date someone to a particular time, depending on the tatts style. It’s the same as that old fella who still rocks a teddy boy pomade hair do from his youth, even though he’s now fat as fuck, in trackie bottoms, reading the racing post in the pub at 11am. It just looks weird.
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Cheers man. Yeah I’ve got it in mind to get something by MrPreston at some point, I like his line style. I used to follow Mr Hegie but it was slightly too silly for my tastes.
Having said that, I got something by @woozymachinetattoos on a spur of the moment flash day end of 2019 and I love it.
I guess I do like ‘ignorant style’ but it can’t be too sloppy. I’ve seen a lot of shit in that style, almost like an excuse for making bad tattoos - I like simple stuff, but the line work still needs to be good.
Pretty much yeah. As far as I can gather, black and white is much more popular than colour these days. A lot of complex stuff still being made, but you hardly ever see big colour pieces anymore - at least on Instagram which is where I see stuff
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Matt Bailey is great, got 2 from him now, got him to do a scene from Mad Max on my leg and he did a freehand skull on my arm at Brighton Tattoo Convention. Soon as I get my second jab I’m going to see him again
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Yeah black and white seems to be very in at the moment. Most of my tats are colour - arm pieces very much in that early 2000s vibe (Steve Byrne when he was still in Leeds) and a bit more old school on my leg.
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Ive got another session booked at the end of the month to get a bit more done, currently got two half sleeves but want to bring one down to my forearm
yeah there is a fine line between good ignorant style and shit tattoos for the sake of shit tattoos.
I’ve thought of a few more you might want to check out
@bradhostiletattoo - he’s based in manchester, not got anything from him yet but plan to soon
@keatez - also based in manchester, I’ve had 3 from him and got 4th and 5th planned already
@vliegwerkpremium - one of my faves atm but based in Netherlands
@racotattoo - another manchester one, think you’ll like him based on what you’ve said, nice mix of old classic style and modern solid black
edit: also check out @deborahpowtattoos - she is based in Scotland but often comes to the Newcastle Tattoo Jam (Convention) and she is really good for black line work, she did a Roman helmet for me a few years ago and one of my mates got the siracha chicken from her
That old guy in the pub looks great, because he’s into his thing and doesn’t give a fuck what any fly-by-night posers think. Should he shave his head because he’s fat? That makes absolutely no sense. Your hair will probably go grey or fall out, so you’ll look different when you’re old too. Maybe you should shave your head now, so you don’t look different when you get older.
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